Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 21: Staying Overnight

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The corners of Young Miss Shang’s eyes twitched. She closed the book and stood up to receive the two, speaking in an icy voice. “Thank you for bringing Little Green back. I’m Shang Yuan.”

As if Shang Yuan was its savior, the parrot flapped its wings to escape from Lu Yang. Lu Yang let go, allowing the parrot to fly freely in the room.

“Do be careful next time. Fortunately, this parrot kept flying around Taiping Village. Had it flown somewhere else, it would have been nigh impossible to find it.”

Shang Yuan noticed that Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye were dressed in refined attire. It was obvious to her at one glance that the two were experienced young heroes upholding justice in the jianghu.

Their attire had actually been recommended to them by the Great Mission Hall. They claimed that the two could pass off as young heroes who had wandered the jianghu for a long time.

Shang Yuan’s attitude was somewhat distant. It was unclear if it was due to her personality or other reasons. “Now that Little Green is back, you two may leave.”

Tao Yaoye frowned slightly, displeased with the young miss's attitude.

Lu Yang pretended to not have heard her attempt at chasing them away. He cheerfully said, “Come on, let’s chat. The Shang Family is quite welcoming to us. Maybe they would even ask us to stay overnight.”

Shang Yuan sneered. “Just because the Shang Family welcomes you, it doesn’t mean that I welcome you. You should leave quickly. Best is if you leave Taiping Village.”

“It’s not like there are monsters here in Taiping Village. Why should we leave? Besides, you also haven’t left the Shang Estate for a long time. Don’t you want to hear us share stories about the outside world?”

Shang Yuan was taken aback by Lu Yang’s words, and her tone softened. “Where are you two from? I haven’t left the house for the past month. Can you tell me about your experiences in the jianghu?”

Lu Yang began unhurriedly, “We are from the Dao-Seeking Sect, one of the Great Five Immortal Sects. Both of our cultivation are at the Foundation Establishment Stage. We came to Taiping Village because we heard that there was a demon bird causing a disturbance...” His voice was gentle, making him a good storyteller.

Upon hearing that the two were at the Foundation Establishment Stage, a trace of joy flashed past Shang Yuan’s eyes.

The three chatted for a while. Shang Yuan was attracted to the life of cultivators traveling by land as described by Lu Yang. She was inspired to also venture outside to carve out her own path while witnessing the vast world.

“I want to cultivate, but my dad doesn’t allow me to. He says that cultivation is too dangerous. Had he not gotten lucky when exploring an ancient tomb, he would have long died. I’ve asked him about his experience many times, but he refuses to tell me,” Shang Yuan said angrily. She enjoyed hearing about interesting and strange stories, yet her own father wasn’t willing to tell her despite having first-hand experience.

Lu Yang sighed inwardly. Looks like Family Head Shang is also someone with a story.

“What’s Family Head Shang’s cultivation?”

Reminded of her father’s boastful expression, Shang Yuan rolled her eyes. “Listening to him blow his trumpet, he used to be Level Nine Qi Training. However, he encountered a disaster and was lucky to survive. Despite that, his cultivation regressed drastically to Level Four or Level Five Qi Training.”

Tao Yaoye comforted her, “That’s still not too bad. There aren’t many cultivators in Taiping Village. The village chief who is the strongest is only at the Level Seven Qi Training Stage. Level Four or Five Qi Training is good enough for a comfortable life, and that’s not even mentioning that Family Head Shang still has some foundation here.”

Shang Yuan lamented, “But I don’t want to be confined to just Quhe Commandery. I want to travel the jianghu and see this magnificent and intriguing world. We are of similar age, yet you are already a Foundation Establishment cultivator while I’m not even at the Qi Training Stage.”

Tao Yaoye was about to advise her when Steward Zhang knocked on the door. “Young Miss, it’s time for dinner. Young heroes, the patriarch specifically instructed that since it’s late, you may have a meal and stay for the night before leaving. The patriarch, matriarch, and Village Chief Huang are already waiting for you all.”

“Got it, we’ll be right there,” Lu Yang replied.

Tao Yaoye originally wanted to decline, but Lu Yang stopped her. “Look, I’ve already told you that the Shang Family is hospitable and will let us stay overnight. How can you not accept their kindness?”

~~~

At the dining table, Family Head Shang was seated in the main seat. He was engrossed in a conversation with Village Chief Huang. The others were enjoying their meal. Although it couldn’t compare to the Dao-Seeking Sect’s food, it was still considered delicious. Throughout the meal, Steward Zhang and the maidservants stood at the side respectfully and attended to them.

After the satisfactory meal, Village Chief Huang went back while Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye stayed for the night in the east wing, with only a wall separating their rooms. Tao Yaoye didn’t want to sleep there because she was picky about her bed. Apart from her bed in the Dao-Seeking Sect where she could fall asleep as soon as she lay down, she took a very long time to fall asleep in other places. She knew that it wasn’t a good habit since it was common for cultivators to sleep in the open, but her attempts at changing this habit hadn’t succeeded yet.

“Senior Brother Lu, you can really fall asleep anywhere,” Tao Yaoye mumbled to herself. For some reason, she chuckled softly before yawning. “I’m going to bed early tonight. Looks like I can get a good sleep...”

Tao Yaoye suddenly realized, “Something’s wrong! Someone poisoned us!” She turned to grab her Thousand Illusion Umbrella to open a barrier but discovered that the flow of spirit energy in her body was sluggish and hard to mobilize.

She was shocked. Someone actually poisoned us without me noticing! Who is it? This is a poison targeted at cultivators. Since the other party still dared to act despite knowing that we are cultivators, they must also be one. There are only a few people in the Shang Family. Other than Family Head Shang, I didn’t sense anyone else being a cultivator.

Is it Family Head Shang?

Or is there a higher-level cultivator that I’m not able to detect?

How’s Senior Brother Lu doing?

A string of questions overcame Tao Yaoye’s mind in an instant. Before she even had time to think, she heard light footsteps from outside the room.

The door opened.

Steward Zhang slowly marched in, smiling excitedly and cruelly.

“It’s you!” Tao Yaoye widened her eyes, not expecting his revelation. Her heart sank. I couldn’t tell that Steward Zhang is a cultivator, which means that his cultivation is higher than mine.

In Steward Zhang’s hand was a skinning knife. Even from five steps away, Tao Yaoye could feel the thick grudge emanating from it. I wonder how many people died under this knife to have such heavy resentment overflowing from it.

Moonlight shone on the blade, making it gleam brightly.

Steward Zhang licked his lips as he watched Tao Yaoye struggle yet to no avail, like a predator eyeing a ferocious prey that had fallen into a trap. “What beautiful skin. I have never seen such fair and fine skin.

“I know you’re from the Dao-Seeking Sect, and their influence extends far and wide, so killing you will be very troublesome. How could a minor character like me dare to provoke them?” Saliva was drooling from the corners of Steward Zhang’s mouth, and he wiped them off as he continued, “But your skin is simply too beautiful that I couldn’t resist taking the risk. Furthermore, you willingly stayed behind to eat at the Shang Family. With such a perfect opportunity to poison you, I couldn’t pass it up.”

There was poison in the dinner!

Seeing that Tao Yaoye had not given up, Steward Zhang exhorted her thoughtfully, “Don’t struggle anymore. Even if you hadn’t been poisoned, you’re still not my match. You’ve just reached Foundation Establishment while I’m at Advanced Foundation Establishment.”

That said, Steward Zhang didn’t let his guard down. I can’t treat a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Dao-Seeking Sect as just an ordinary one!

He had said those words just to discourage Tao Yaoye from resisting. The more she resisted, the tighter the skin would be, and the harder it would be to peel the skin. This was based on his experience.

“Relax, it’ll just hurt for a moment. You’ll stop being scared soon.” Steward Zhang licked his skinning knife as he approached Tao Yaoye.

Suddenly, Tao Yaoye sprang up, her spirit energy flowing without obstruction. She smashed the Thousand Illusion Umbrella into Steward Zhang’s face. Just when Steward Zhang thought that victory was in his grasp, he was caught off guard.

“Why aren’t you poisoned?!”