Chapter 209: Chapter 209: Destined for Unrest
"Xu Xing’an."
The sturdy old man bellowed.
Immediately, a middle-aged man in a cyan robe with a handlebar mustache walked out. He stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "Patriarch, I am here."
"Xu Xing’an, you will go. Even if you have to dig three feet deep through all of Taoyuan Town, you will find that demoness for me."
The sturdy old man’s hands trembled as he spoke, his voice filled with rage.
Xu Xing’an hesitated for a moment. "But Patriarch, this is a conflict among the younger generation. According to the rules, it is not our place to interfere."
BANG!
The sturdy old man slammed his palm down, and a nearby table instantly shattered into pieces. "Fool! This is no time to be worrying about such things! Do you want all the young talents of our Xu Family to be lost here?"
"Yes, Patriarch."
Xu Xing’an nodded quickly.
Just then, a Xu Family descendant rushed in. "Patriarch, we just used a Secret Skill to send a message to Young Master Xu Fei, but we haven’t received any reply! I’m afraid Young Master Xu Fei and the others are..."
Hearing this, Xu Xing’an quickly shot the descendant a look, signaling him to stop talking.
BOOM!
The sturdy old man slammed his palm down again. A whole row of tables beside him exploded into splinters with a series of loud bangs.
The sturdy old man gritted his teeth. "Xu Xing’an, what are you still waiting for? Go now! Find that demoness and tear her to pieces for me!"
"Yes."
Xu Xing’an quickly acknowledged the order, and with a flicker, his figure vanished from the great hall.
...
The next day.
The sky began to brighten.
Shen Daoxing slowly opened his eyes, his night of cultivation complete. He opened the door, stepped out of the inner room, and saw that the girl in red was still sitting cross-legged on the bed. She seemed to have been healing for an entire day, but her face remained pale, showing little improvement.
Without disturbing her, Shen Daoxing went into the kitchen. A moment later, he came out with a bowl of congee and brought it to the girl in red.
"The food in Taoyuan Town is rich in Primordial Energy. It will be good for your injuries."
Shen Daoxing said calmly.
The girl in red opened her eyes, glanced at Shen Daoxing, and took the bowl. She first took a small, tentative sip. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and unable to restrain herself any longer, she began to gulp it down, forgetting all about her image.
In no time, she had finished every last drop of the congee and even licked the bowl clean. Only then did she realize her lack of composure and shot Shen Daoxing a look that was almost accusatory.
Then, she turned her back to Shen Daoxing and wiped her mouth with her hand.
The girl in red then turned back around and handed the bowl to Shen Daoxing. "Thank you!"
Shen Daoxing took it calmly. The color had already returned to her cheeks. After all, she had been unconscious and hadn’t eaten for several days.
Shen Daoxing turned and walked toward the kitchen.
"Another bowl."
The girl in red’s voice suddenly came from behind him.
Shen Daoxing couldn’t help but smile slightly. ’Even a celestial fairy from the heavens probably can’t truly live on air alone,’ he thought.
He went back to the kitchen, ladled out another bowl of congee, and added a few side dishes.
After that, the girl in red downed five more consecutive bowls of congee. She let out a burp, patted her stomach in satisfaction, and closed her eyes to continue focusing on her recovery.
Next, Shen Daoxing cautiously ventured out of the courtyard to take a look around and restock on food. He discovered that as the day of the Huangliang Immortal’s inheritance drew closer, the town was becoming more and more lively. It wasn’t just the Xu Family; many other factions had arrived, but none of them were familiar to Shen Daoxing, which he found strange.
To avoid attracting attention—it would be terrible if he was unlucky enough to run into another group like the one from yesterday—Shen Daoxing didn’t stay out for long and returned to his residence.
Just as Shen Daoxing got back, he saw Yi peeking into the courtyard. Yi saw the girl in red inside the house, focused on meditating and healing.
Yi quickly put a finger to his lips, signaling for Shen Daoxing to be quiet.
Then, Yi tiptoed up to the girl in red. With his hands on his hips and his cheeks puffed out, he said indignantly, "You wretched demoness! Don’t think you can just stay here shamelessly just because you beat me yesterday."
"Hmph! I learned a new move from my master, and today I’m going to show you how powerful I really am."
As he spoke, he raised his palm, twisting it slightly in the air. A dense, white energy gathered in his hand.
"Behold my Vast Cloud Palm!"
Yi then thrust his palm forward, but he stopped abruptly halfway through the motion, as if remembering yesterday’s encounter and feeling it wasn’t safe enough.
He quietly circled around behind the girl in red before confidently striking out with his palm.
However, just as his palm shot out, his entire body was suddenly lifted into the air.
The girl in red, who had been meditating and healing all this time, suddenly opened her eyes. With a simple reach behind her, she grabbed Yi and lifted him over.
"SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!"
Her palm landed heavily and mercilessly on Yi’s bottom.
It looked like an ordinary spanking, but to Yi, it was excruciatingly painful.
"Ahh! Stop, Big Sister! Stop! I give up! I give up!"
Yi shrieked and begged for mercy.
But the girl in red didn’t stop. She continued spanking him for a while longer until Yi’s eyes were brimming with tears. Only then did she casually toss him aside.
Escaping the girl in red’s demonic grasp, Yi scrambled to his feet with a WHOOSH and darted behind Shen Daoxing. He poked his head out, complaining aggrievedly, "Shen, she hit me!"
Shen Daoxing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
"Hm?"
The girl in red shot Yi a cold glance.
Terrified, Yi quickly pulled his head back and hid behind Shen Daoxing, not daring to come out.
"Wretched demoness! Evil demoness! Don’t think you’re so great just because you’re powerful! You can’t just do whatever you want! Hmph, you just wait! Once I’ve finished my training with my master, we’ll fight again!"
Yi’s indignant voice rang out from behind Shen Daoxing.
Then, Yi bolted out of the courtyard in a flash.
Shen Daoxing looked puzzled. "Why does that kid, Yi, dislike you so much?"
The girl in red didn’t speak, only rolled her eyes at Shen Daoxing.
This only made Shen Daoxing even more confused.
Shen Daoxing shook his head, deciding not to dwell on the issue. He turned and closed the courtyard gate.
"SCREEE—"
At that moment, a piercing crane cry rang out.
Shen Daoxing looked up to see an enormous Xianhe flying across the sky, carrying numerous young disciples in Daoist robes on its back.
After the giant Xianhe flew past, an old and a young cultivator arrived, riding an Eight Trigrams Compass. The elder had the air of an immortal, while the youth radiated Spiritual Qi.
Following them was a giant gourd bobbing through the sky. A middle-aged man with drunken eyes sat on it, and behind him was a young man with a cold, expressionless face.
More and more people were arriving. It seemed the coming days were destined to be anything but peaceful.
Shen Daoxing didn’t linger at the gate any longer. He returned to the house, went into the inner room, sat cross-legged on the bed, and seized the time to cultivate.
The girl in red, however, didn’t even glance at the sky, remaining absorbed in her meditative healing.
Time flowed on, suns and moons turned, and the days passed one by one.
