บท 16: Change
บรรณาธิการ: Atlas Studios
"Why don't you ask around for the name of the Lu family's Fourth Young Master?"
It suddenly dawned on Chu Liuyue. So, this is Chu Xianmin's cousin.
Things haven't even begun to take shape, yet he was trying to claim his connections. Indeed, people who didn't belong together also didn't get to live together.
The old man scoffed. "I don't care who you are! Ten thousand silver taels, not a penny less. You can't afford it, but there are many who can."
Lu Zhitao was so furious that he could only laugh. Playing with that red stone, he spoke openly, "Really? I'd like to see who would be willing to buy this thing."
He glared at his surroundings with a look of warning. Those who had been interested in the red stone stopped in their tracks. Nobody could afford to offend the Lu family's Fourth Young Master.
A red stone of this size would cost 2,000 silver taels at most. Nobody would pay 10,000 silver taels for it.
Moreover, Lu Zhitao deliberately made a spectacle of himself by announcing his name. One would be going against him if they bought the stone.
Most people had heard that the Crown Prince was fond of Chu Xianmin. For the past two days, it was even rumored that the Crown Prince's personal bodyguard, Song Yuan, had hand-delivered her invitation to the Crown Prince's birthday banquet.
It seemed that Chu Xianmin would be the future Crown Princess. To offend the Lu family was akin to offending the Crown Prince.
There was dead silence in the area.
Lu Zhitao was proud of himself. "Old man, you should know better. No one will buy this except me."
"Ten thousand silver taels. I'll take it." A cold and clear voice called out. At the same time, a fair hand suddenly came out from the side and took that red stone away.
Lu Zhitao never expected anyone to have the guts to steal what he wanted. It took him a while before he reacted.
At first glance, the other party seemed to be a young girl dressed in a black robe with a bamboo hat.
Lu Zhitao was so angry he almost hit the roof. "Who do you think you are? Did you eat a bear's heart or a leopard's gall? You dare to steal what I wanted?"
The old man was surprised too. He finally opened his other eye and took a closer look at Chu Liuyue. "Really?"
Indeed, the red stone had excellent color, but it was definitely not worth 10,000 taels. He had casually said he would sell it for 10,000 taels because he was short of money lately, and he didn't want to sell it to Lu Zhitao. He didn't expect anyone to buy it willingly.
Chu Liuyue took out a 10,000 silver tael banknote and gave it to the old man.
At first, the old man hesitated, but when he saw the banknote, his eyes lit up, and he immediately accepted it. Recently, he was in a state of poverty.
"Don't you understand that the highest bidder gets the item? Besides, this red stone is worth 1,000 silver taels. If you want to buy it for 100 taels, where in the world would you get such a deal?" said Chu Liuyue with a laugh. "Or did the Lu family gain its fortune by resorting to such tactics?"
Lu Zhitao's face turned scarlet-red from anger. His family had been implicated. Without a thought, he drew out his sword at his waist, intending to strike Chu Liuyue. "I will do as I please. You are in no position to lecture me! Meet your doom!"
The old man—who had just received the banknote—clasped his hands. His eyelids fluttered, and he was about to move. He stopped in surprise and looked at Chu Liuyue.
She moved aside with light steps, turned around, and somehow managed to avoid Lu Zhitao's sword.
Seeing that he missed, Lu Zhitao flew into a rage out of humiliation. He charged at Chu Liuyue again.
Instead of avoiding this time, Chu Liuyue moved forward. Her body strangely bypassed his sword. She raised her leg and kicked Lu Zhitao above his elbow hard.
The kick numbed his elbow, making him drop his sword.
In the next moment, he felt a coldness against his neck. Chu Liuyue had already picked up his sword and placed it on his shoulders.
He might lose his head if he moved.
The old man's eyes changed from amazement to curiosity because of what he saw. He examined Chu Liuyue carefully. "Huh?"
Apparently, there was no fluctuation of force from this young lady. So, logically, she wasn't a match for Lu Zhitao. Those moves earlier were simple yet deadly.
If she wanted, she could have Lu Zhitao dead in an instant.
Interesting…
Lu Zhitao immediately broke into a cold sweat as he stammered, "W-What… W-What… are… y-you doing? H-How d-dare…"
Chu Liuyue exerted more force. Blood began to ooze from Lu Zhitao's neck.
"Noisy!"
Lu Zhitao was scared to death. He swallowed the rest of his words. He could tell that the other party was reckless. She would do anything. He really didn't have the talent for cultivation, but over the years, the Lu family had thrown in a lot of money to allow him to become a stage three martial artist at the very least.
A martial artist of this level didn't have a rich source of force. One could only master some simple martial skills. However, no ordinary person could compare to them, regardless of physical strength or fighting skills.
The other party was obviously not a warrior, but she could defeat him easily.
"Get lost!" shouted Chu Liuyue.
It made Lu Zhitao shiver as he stood up. He retreated continuously for more than ten paces before he finally shouted in return, putting on a show. "You! Just you wait!" Without waiting for Chu Liuyue to respond, he turned around and fled.
Chu Liuyue didn't take him seriously. She threw the sword down and turned to leave. It's a blessing to have bought that red stone. There's no point in staying here any longer. Besides, she knew that Lu Zhitao must have gone back to get help. She had no wish of revealing her identity so soon.
The crowd that had gathered in a circle made way for Chu Liuyue subconsciously when they saw that she was leaving. Although nobody could make out this person's frame or face, there was something about her that made people submit subconsciously.
"Hey. You there, wait." The old man reacted quickly just as she was leaving. He packed his things in a hurry and chased after her. However, when he looked up, Chu Liuyue was nowhere to be seen.
He was so stunned that he couldn't help but shake his head as he chucked a curse. "She's really an alert girl!" She must be dreaming if she thinks she can lose me like that.
…
Chu Liuyue soon realized that someone was following her. She quickly changed her route and walked through several streets. Instead of returning to the Chu family, she went further and further off the beaten path, which eventually led her to a remote and narrow street with a dead end.
All was silent when she arrived on the street. She turned around. "It must have been hard on you to follow me all this way. You may speak your mind."
The silhouette of an aged, stooping man appeared in the alleyway. It was the old man in the tattered cotton jacket.
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