Translated by: WuWang
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Chapter 224: A Calculated Plan (Part 3)
After Mu Xiaoxiao left, Zhou Yan remained silent for a while before finally bringing up the main matter, "Tomorrow is Xiaoxiao's birthday..."
Seeing Zhou Yan's hesitation and wavering, Qiao Wan politely interrupted, "I will go."
Zhou Yan looked up, surprised, and glanced at her, "Wan'er..."
Qiao Wan calmly met the gaze of the man in front of her without flinching or avoiding.
Zhou Yan actually still cares about Mu Xiaoxiao, and this is almost undeniable.
But as soon as she said this, the coldness that always lingered in the eyes of Yuqing Spiritual Master gradually faded away, replaced by a mix of complexity, guilt, and even...pity.
At this moment, a hint of warmth between master and disciple unexpectedly emerged.
After coming down the mountain, Qiao Wan couldn't help but furrow her brows when she thought of Mu Xiaoxiao.
Although Mu Xiaoxiao is a bit fragile, her body is still healthy. However, even so, she still bears the marks of severe whipping from Elder Martial Brother...
Never did she expect to end up like this with Elder Martial Brother. In these past few days, Qiao Wan has seriously pondered over it. Elder Martial Brother is not only her martial brother, but also Mu Xiaoxiao's. He acted impartially and fairly, and his care and concern for her were genuine and uncompromised.
After much hesitation, upon returning to the cave, Qiao Wan still retrieved the medicinal herbs she had saved up from previous missions and secretly asked a disciple from Kunshan to deliver them anonymously to Lu Pihan's doorstep.
After delivering the medicine, Qiao Wan turned and ran to the Treasure Pavilion on Dingjiu Street to ask the shopkeeper for the white jade peony hairpin she had reserved a few days ago.
Even if Zhou Yan didn't say anything, Mu Xiaoxiao would still go to the birthday banquet. As for the goal...
"Thank you for your patronage. That will be forty-three top quality spirit stones," the shopkeeper smiled and said.
Qiao Wan snapped back to reality and took out her storage bag, handing over the money in one hand and receiving the hairpin in the other. "Thank you."
The next morning, after changing into a random outfit, Qiao Wan set off for Yuqing Peak with the white jade peony hairpin.
Due to being recently punished by the Precept Hall with more than ten lashes, Mu Xiaoxiao's birthday celebration could be considered the most low-key one in the past fifty years. Not many people came.
Although Xiao Boyang was invited as well, the young master of the Xiao family was currently in a delicate emotional state, which could be described as not quite a break-up but not not a break-up. In an unprecedented manner, he politely declined Mu Xiaoxiao's invitation.
As for Pei Chunzheng ... ever since he returned to Kunshan, she hasn't seen him again. Maybe he still needs time to sort out his emotions affected by that memory.
Therefore, only the disciples in Kunshan who have a good relationship with Mu Xiaoxiao and the two brothers, Xiao Sui and Xiao Huan , attended this birthday banquet.
As soon as she entered, her gaze met Xiao Huan's gaze right on.
The young man smiled and said, "Little girl, we meet again."
But he didn't mention anything about the appointment on Dingjiu Street two days later.
"Taoist friend Xiao," Qiao Wan bowed respectfully, her gaze unconsciously falling on Xiao Sui .
Xiao Sui was the young master of the Xiao family. Although he caused trouble in Kunshan, Precept Hall couldn't do anything to him. They only arranged for him to be confined and notified the head of his family, meaning that their child had caused trouble in our place, and now we have detained him. It's up to you to deal with it.
This is one of the reasons why the patriarch of the Xiao family hurried here, but to say that he was worried, he wasn't really worried.
The Xiao family and Kunshan have always had an alliance. It's not necessary to ruin the harmony between the two families for the sake of this disciple. It's just that there were more Kunshan disciples who witnessed this scene. Xiao Sui.in charge, only closed himself off to show his disciples, so as not to damage the "fair and strict" image of Precept Hall.
Even so, it was all because of Ma Huaizhen deliberately causing trouble. After all, it was Ma Huaizhen who intentionally didn't stop those Kunshan disciples who were listening in, and he immediately came out of the tent, making the interrogation highly transparent and open. Otherwise, this matter might have continued to be handled lightly.
Xiao Sui's expression was not good, probably because Xiao Huan was standing next to her, silently suppressing her. Although Xiao Huan's gaze was cold, she managed to hold back from making any sarcastic remarks.
Qiao Wan, pretending not to see, calmly greeted Xiao Sui and took a step forward. "I've met your taoist friend."
At the same time, she sent a message secretly, "Meet me in the backyard of Yuqing Hall."
Xiao Sui's eyes widened as expected.
Qiao Wan took a step back and calmly handed the gift to Xiao Song, then went about her business.
After Qiao Wan left, Xiao Sui's expression changed multiple times.
"Meet me in the backyard of Yuqing Hall," she messaged secretly, specifically avoiding what Xiao Huan said.
What does Qiao Wan mean by this? Does she want revenge, or is she purposely trying to embarrass him? Xiao Sui was both surprised and embarrassed.
"Little Sui?" Xiao Huan's gentle inquiry came to his ears.
Xiao Sui suddenly snapped out of his thoughts and gave a complicated look, shaking his head. "Big brother, I'm fine."
Fortunately, Xiao Huan thought he was just unsettled by seeing Qiao Wan, so he comforted him briefly and didn't bother much about it.
But afterwards, Xiao Sui started to feel restless. He couldn't stop thinking about the words, "Yuqing Hall's backyard, I'll be waiting for you."
After pondering for a while, he finally made up his mind and stood up, saying, "Big brother, I... I want to go and see Mu sister."
He quickly maneuvered through the crowd and headed towards the direction of the backyard.
He really wanted to see what Qiao Wan had in mind.
Qiao Wan was sitting in the cool pavilion in the backyard, waiting for Xiao Sui.
The moonlight was beautiful, casting a thin layer of fresh snow all around, illuminating everything.
Qiao Wan remembered that there was also a birthday banquet in the original book, "Immortal Ascending Road." However, it was different from the low-key nature of today's banquet. The one in the book was grand and magnificent, with many guests. During that birthday banquet, the female lead, Mu Xiaoxiao, confessed her love to Master Zhou Yan by the lake in the backyard.
From her position, she could clearly see every move by the lake.
"Since Master brought Xiaoxiao to Yuqing Peak, Xiaoxiao... Xiaoxiao has fallen in love with her master."
"For over forty years, Xiaoxiao admired only her master in her heart."
Yes, the heroine matured early. When she was still eight or nine years old, she secretly fell in love with her teacher. This is like a different version of the "Flower Bone" series in a different world, where the male lead in "Immortal Ascending Road" is not the master, but the gloomy demon king Pei Chunzheng.
After Mu Xiaoxiao confessed her feelings, Zhou Yan was slightly moved, but his rationality broke through his emotions and he pushed away his disciple.
But speaking of the male lead...
Qiao Wan thought for a moment. Pei Chunzheng couldn't really be considered the one and only male lead.
At least in the end, the original female lead Mu Xiaoxiao had several men around her, and Pei Chunzheng was just a "supporting actor".
Enough.
Regaining her thoughts, Qiao Wan pondered for a while. Although the plot had some changes,... today she was betting that this confession scene wouldn't be censored.
At least, knowing Mu Xiaoxiao's personality, with her recent frequent visits to Yuqing Peak, she's most likely trying to find a suitable opportunity to improve her relationship with Zhou Yan.
Just as Qiao Wan was silently pondering when the plot began, she suddenly heard a deep, chilly voice in her ears.
"Qiao Wan."
"Having intentionally avoided your older brother and secretly communicating to bring me here, what exactly is in your mind?!"
Instead of Mu Xiaoxiao, Qiao Wan found herself facing an irritated and impatient older brother.
Qiao Wan calmly gestured towards the extra seat on the pavilion. "Sit."
Unfortunately, Xiao Sui was not buying it and his face turned as black as a frying pan. "Enough with the idle talk, I have no intention of exchanging pleasantries with you."
"This is a long story," Qiao Wan said. "Since you're here, is Xiao taoist friend also planning to continue this tense conversation with me standing?"
Maybe because Qiao Wan felt like a second-rate person sitting while Xiao Sui stood, Xiao Sui coldly snorted and sat down.
Qiao Wan got straight to the point and spoke directly about the matter.
"I don't understand." The girl's face showed no anger or resentment, she just quietly looked at the lakeshore. "I have no grievances with the young master, so why does he keep bothering me?"
Why does he keep bothering him?
This question caught Xiao Sui off guard.
Of course, it was because of Mu Xiaoxiao, or rather, because of Mu Xiaoxiao, the "future sister-in-law who hasn't married into the family yet". If she was insulted, he naturally wanted to help her restore her dignity. That way, his older brother might look at him more favorably out of happiness.
Although Xiao Sui felt that he had a good relationship with his older brother Xiao Huan, he always sensed that Xiao Huan didn't seem as happy as he appeared to be. While others saw Xiao Huan as privileged and elegant, Xiao Sui knew that his older brother was always unhappy and lonely. Even as his younger brother, it seemed like he couldn't reach the depths of Xiao Huan's heart.
But his older brother always treated him well. From the beginning to the end, Xiao Sui just wanted to please his older brother. Although his attempts to impress Xiao Huan ended up backfiring, resulting in a series of failures with Qiao Wan, he ultimately realized that he was only looking out for himself.
But when Qiao Wan asked this question, Xiao Sui suddenly froze.
To the extravagant and powerful young master of the Xiao family, it seemed like he could ruin anyone who displeased him with the snap of his fingers. And while those people deserved it, no one had ever stood before him and asked him why he was "clinging on to her."
Of course, it was because she had upset him, but what kind of reason was that?
In the end, he simply didn't see other people as equals. Like when he squished an ant, and the ant asked, "I was perfectly fine, why did you squish me?"
Just as Xiao Sui stood there, stunned, a gentle voice filled with tears faintly came through the night breeze.
"For over forty years, Xiaoxiao only admired one person... the master," she said with longing in her heart.
The voice belonged to... Mu Xiaoxiao.
Like a sudden blow to the head, Xiao Sui's mind exploded with noise.
In an instant, he saw a young girl crying as she threw herself into a man's arms nearby.
"Master... master... Xiaoxiao was wrong, please forgive Xiaoxiao, okay?"
Xiao Sui only knew that Mu Xiaoxiao was his older brother's future wife, his future sister-in-law... and Yuqing Spiritual Master, who was like a father for life... and also his future father-in-law...
But now...
The young boy's face twisted, without even thinking, he impulsively drew his sword.
The sword suddenly flashed and stabbed towards the two people on the lake shore.
"You scoundrel, die!!!"
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