Chapter 21: Staying the Night

The young lady of the Shang family felt her eye twitch slightly as she closed her book to welcome the two visitors, her voice tinged with ice: "Thank you for bringing Little Green back, I am Shang Yuan."

The parrot, upon seeing Shang Yuan, seemed to view her as its savior, flapping its wings wildly in an effort to escape Lu Yang, who released his grip and allowed the bird to fly freely about the room.

"You must be more careful next time; it was fortunate this parrot kept flying in circles within Taiping Village, for had it flown elsewhere, it truly would have been lost forever," Lu Yang reminded her with a smile.

Shang Yuan gazed at the pair dressed in lean, practical attire, recognizing at once that they were young heroes who had long roamed the martial world, championing justice wherever they went.

The attire worn by Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye was precisely what the Wendao Sect's Mission Hall recommended, for dressing as such allowed them to pass as young wanderers of the martial world, dedicated to righteous deeds.

Shang Yuan’s demeanor remained somewhat distant, though whether this was born of her natural temperament or something else remained unclear: "Now that Little Green is back, you two may take your leave."

Tao Yaoye’s delicate brows furrowed slightly, displeased by the young mistress's discourteous attitude.

Lu Yang, feigning ignorance to the unspoken dismissal, replied with a cheerful grin, "Come, let us chat a while; the Shang family seems quite welcoming of us, and perhaps they will even insist we stay the night."

Shang Yuan offered a succession of cold sneers: "That the Shang family welcomes you does not mean I welcome you; you had best leave quickly, and it would be for the best if you left Taiping Village altogether."

"There are no demons or ghosts in Taiping Village, so why should we leave? Besides, you have not stepped out of the Shang estate in a long time; do you not wish to hear us speak of the world beyond?" Lu Yang countered.

Shang Yuan caught her breath, utterly caught off guard by Lu Yang's words, and her tone softened a fraction: "Where do you two hail from? I have not left home for nearly a month; could you tell me of your experiences in the martial world?"

"We come from the Wendao Sect, one of the five great immortal sects, and we are both cultivators of the Foundation Establishment stage; we came to Taiping Village this time upon hearing rumors of a demonic bird troubling the residents..."

Lu Yang began to speak in a calm and measured cadence, his voice gentle, proving himself an excellent storyteller.

Hearing that the two had attained the Foundation Establishment stage, a fleeting glimmer of joy flashed deep within Shang Yuan’s eyes.

The three conversed for a time, and Shang Yuan found herself captivated by Lu Yang’s descriptions of cultivators traveling through the earth and soaring through the skies, kindling her own desire to venture out and see the vast, wondrous world.

"I wish to cultivate immortality, but my father refuses to allow it; he says it is far too perilous, and that had he not been blessed with extraordinary luck during his exploration of an ancient tomb, he would have perished there long ago."

"I have asked him about those events countless times, yet he refuses to utter a word to me," Shang Yuan said resentfully; she adored tales of the strange and miraculous, yet her own father, despite possessing firsthand experience, was unwilling to share it with her.

Lu Yang sighed inwardly, realizing that the master of the Shang family was indeed a man with a past.

"What is the cultivation level of Master Shang?"

As if recalling her father’s self-satisfied visage, Shang Yuan rolled her eyes: "According to his own boasts, he was once at the ninth layer of Qi Condensation, but after surviving a great disaster by sheer fortune, his cultivation plummeted drastically, leaving him at either the fourth or fifth layer of Qi Condensation."

Tao Yaoye remarked, "That is still respectable; cultivators are scarce in Taiping Village, and even the strongest village magistrate is only at the seventh layer of Qi Condensation, so one can live very well at the fourth or fifth layer, to say nothing of the heritage Master Shang must still possess."

Shang Yuan sighed, "But I do not wish to be confined to Quhe County; I desire to roam the martial world and witness this magnificent, bizarre earth. We are of a similar age, yet you are already a Foundation Establishment cultivator, while I have not even begun Qi Condensation."

Just as Tao Yaoye was about to offer words of comfort, the sound of Butler Zhang knocking on the door interrupted them: "Miss, it is time for dinner. And to the two young heroes, the Master has specially requested that since the hour is late, you both enjoy a meal and stay the night before departing."

"The Master, the Madame, and Magistrate Huang are already waiting for everyone."

"Splendid, we shall be right there," Lu Yang called out in response.

Tao Yaoye had intended to decline, but Lu Yang subtly stayed her: "You see, I told you long ago that the Shang family is hospitable and would keep us for the night; since they offer such goodwill, why not accept it gracefully?"

...

At the dining table, the master of the Shang family sat grandly in the seat of honor, conversing with Magistrate Huang in high spirits; the others also dined to their heart's content, and though the fare could not compare to that of the Wendao Sect, it was quite delicious.

Butler Zhang and the maidservants stood respectfully to the side, attending to their every need.

When the feast concluded, Magistrate Huang returned home, while Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye stayed behind, lodged in the eastern wing with only a single wall separating them.

Tao Yaoye was not particularly inclined to sleep here; she was exceedingly particular about her bedding, and aside from the bed in her dwelling back at the Wendao Sect where she could drift off instantly, she usually had to lie awake for a long time before sleep would claim her.

Tao Yaoye knew this was not a favorable habit, for it was common for cultivators to brave the wind and sleep in the wild; she had attempted to change this trait, though success eluded her thus far.

"Senior Brother Lu, on the other hand, can sleep absolutely anywhere."

Tao Yaoye murmured to herself, laughing softly for reasons unknown, before letting out a yawn.

"I am feeling drowsy quite early tonight, it seems I shall enjoy a peaceful slumber..."

Suddenly, Tao Yaoye snapped to alertness: "No! Someone has poisoned me!"

She turned sharply, intending to seize her Thousand Illusion Umbrella to unfold its defensive barrier, only to discover that the spiritual energy within her body was sluggish and agonizingly difficult to manipulate.

A wave of shock struck her heart; someone had administered poison completely without a sound, but who could it be?

This was a poison specifically designed for cultivators. Since the perpetrator knew full well that she was a cultivator and still dared to strike, they too had to be a cultivator.

There were very few people within the Shang estate, and aside from the master of the family, she had not sensed anyone else possessing cultivation.

Could it be the master of the Shang family?

Or was there a cultivator whose level surpassed her own, rendering them undetectable?

What was the situation on Senior Brother Lu's side?

A torrent of questions flashed through Tao Yaoye’s mind in an instant, leaving her no time for deeper reflection as light, brisk footsteps echoed from outside the room.

The chamber door swung open, and Butler Zhang walked in with measured, deliberate strides, an expression of ecstatic cruelty written across his face.

"It is you!" Tao Yaoye’s eyes widened in astonishment; she had never anticipated it would be Butler Zhang, and her heart immediately sank.

Her failure to discern that Butler Zhang was a cultivator meant that his cultivation level was higher than her own.

In Butler Zhang’s hand was a skinning knife, and even from five paces away, Tao Yaoye could sense the dense, suffocating aura of resentment emanating from it; there was no telling how many souls had perished beneath this blade to leave it so thoroughly stained with malice.

The moonlight cast its reflection upon the blade, rendering it brilliant and blindingly white.

Butler Zhang licked his lips as he gazed upon the fruitlessly struggling Tao Yaoye, looking at her as though she were a fierce but thoroughly trapped beast.

"What exquisite skin; in all my days, I have never beheld skin so dazzlingly pale and lines so beautifully formed."

"I am well aware that you belong to the Wendao Sect, and that slaying you will bring immense trouble, for the sect's power overshadows the very heavens, so how could an insignificant figure like myself dare provoke them?"

As Butler Zhang spoke, saliva began to trickle from the corner of his mouth; wiping it away, he continued, "But your skin is simply too beautiful, compelling me to take this desperate risk, and since you willingly chose to remain at the Shang estate for dinner, I would be utterly foolish not to seize such a perfect opportunity to administer the poison."

The poison had been in the evening meal!

Seeing that Tao Yaoye was still resisting, Butler Zhang offered a considerate piece of advice: "Save your strength; even if you were not poisoned, you would be no match for me. You have merely just stepped into the Foundation Establishment stage, whereas I am at the late stage of Foundation Establishment."

Despite his words, Butler Zhang did not lower his guard in the slightest; a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Wendao Sect could never be treated as an ordinary opponent!

He spoke in this manner solely to break Tao Yaoye's will to resist.

The more a victim struggled, the tighter the flesh clung to the bone, making the skinning process far more arduous; this was a truth born of long experience.

"Relax, it is merely a moment of pain, and soon you will no longer feel any fear."

Butler Zhang ran his tongue over the skinning knife and stepped closer to Tao Yaoye.

Suddenly, Tao Yaoye surged to her feet, her spiritual energy flowing completely unobstructed as she gripped her Thousand Illusion Umbrella and slammed it viciously into Butler Zhang’s face.

Believing victory was assured, Butler Zhang was caught completely off guard by the strike.

"How could you possibly be unaffected by the poison?!"