Escape the Miaojiang Villain - Chapter 10
Chapter 10: The Marriage Matchmaking Assembly: An Eccentric Habit
Tu Lingxiang’s attention was not on the tower at all; she kept looking to see if the male lead had arrived, for if he did not come soon, the marriage matchmaking assembly would begin without him.
Right at this moment, a rough voice suddenly sounded from the crowd.
“No need for a contest, I am Miss Sang Yue’s bridegroom for this marriage matchmaking assembly.”
“Hmm???”
A hubbub rose all around as everyone searched for the speaker.
A man was seen taking a few steps forward, coming to the front of the arena. Tu Lingxiang looked closely—wasn’t that person the wretched guy who had picked up her undergarment earlier?
He came to participate in the marriage matchmaking assembly as well?
“Young Master, what are you saying?” The steward on the stage walked over to inquire, his expression extremely stern.
That man stepped onto the arena, flashed a smile, and said loudly, “I have a keepsake from Miss Sang Yue here. I wonder if everyone will still doubt me after seeing it?”
“What keepsake?”
The man smiled wickedly, drew out a bright red embroidered undergarment from his robe, held it by the thin strap, and gave it a light shake.
“Precisely this item.”
“Ah??”
Exclamations broke out from everyone.
The one with the biggest reaction was Tu Lingxiang; when she saw that red undergarment, she nearly collapsed to the ground.
Her hand tightly grabbed an arm beside her, whose owner turned back displeased to warn her, “Are you trying to pinch me to death?”
Seeing Lian Jing’s cold face, Tu Lingxiang immediately released her grip, her face flushing red and white in turns. How could that wretched man produce that garment in front of so many people?
Right now, she wished she could dig a hole and crawl into it.
If others were to find out that the garment belonged to her, she might as well stop living in this world.
However, why did he claim that the garment belonged to Sang Yue?
The steward on the arena reprimanded him, “Young Master, you are deliberately here to cause trouble, aren’t you? How could my young lady’s clothing be in your possession?”
“I picked this up at Baiyue Spring. Besides Miss Sang Yue, who else would go to that place?”
“Baiyue Spring?”
Many outsiders did not know what kind of place Baiyue Spring was, but the local people of the Miao Territory knew that it belonged to the Miao King’s domain, where ordinary people generally would not go.
Furthermore, Baiyue Spring was a distinguished place where ordinary maids would not go to bathe, leaving only Sang Yue and Sang Yu.
Near Baiyue Spring lived a thousand-year-old demon monster. Sang Yue was skilled at controlling demons and did not fear such evil creatures, whereas Sang Yu was merely a useless beauty.
Therefore, besides Sang Yue, no one else would go there to bathe.
“Indeed. Since I picked up Miss’s intimate garment, I must naturally take responsibility for Miss. Therefore, there is no need to hold this marriage matchmaking assembly anymore. Let us choose a day to marry.”
Up on the tower, Sang Yue was flushed with anger, while Sang Yu asked in her ear, “Sister, is it really yours?”
“No! I haven’t been to Baiyue Spring at all recently.”
“I haven’t been there either, so whose could it be?”
The steward said to that man, “This is not my young lady’s clothing. Cease your nonsense.”
“Nonsense?” The man laughed loudly.
“In fact, I can recognize a beauty by her scent. Why not invite your young lady down and let me smell whether it is hers or not?”
“Rogue!” Sang Yu on the high tower could not help but shout out an insult.
Right at this moment, a bright voice echoed through the crowd.
“How could your nose be as sharp as my spiritual pet? I have raised a three-hundred-year-old spiritual creature whose nose is sharper than a dog’s. With just a single sniff, it can tell whether that garment belongs to Miss Sang.”
Surprised, the crowd turned their heads to look at the youth in white slowly walking up from behind. Wearing a fluttering white robe and a jade crown, with a clear and handsome face, an extraordinary carriage, and a red jade sword hanging from his waist, he walked as if accompanied by a gentle breeze.
Tu Lingxiang’s eyes widened in astonishment. This person was none other than the male lead, Baili Xi.
Watching him walk onto the arena with steady steps, he bowed politely to the steward, then said to that man, “How about it? Would you like my spiritual pet to take a sniff?”
Before the man could answer, people below started jeering.
“Let it sniff, let it sniff!”
Having no other choice, the man gritted his teeth and said, “What if it’s not accurate?”
Baili Xi drew out a small spiritual pet from a gold-threaded cloth bag on his person. It was a furry little animal that looked somewhat like a small hamster, with golden fur all over its body and round, shiny eyes, extremely adorable.
Holding the small spiritual creature, he said to the crowd below, “To be more convincing, why doesn’t someone choose an item for me to test my spiritual pet and see if its nose is truly sharp?”
“Fine, turn around, and we will pick an item for you to test,” someone in the crowd said.
Baili Xi turned around as requested.
Then, someone indeed handed a personal handkerchief to the steward on the arena, and the steward handed the handkerchief to Baili Xi.
The spiritual pet in Baili Xi’s hand sniffed the handkerchief, then leaped out from his hand and flew toward the crowd below. After circling in mid-air for a moment, it landed on a young lady’s shoulder.
“Heavens! It’s so accurate!” someone nearby called out.
“Miss, is this handkerchief yours?” Baili Xi asked the lady.
The lady nodded blankly, her face full of disbelief, “It’s mine, it’s mine.”
Baili Xi smiled and returned the handkerchief to the steward, then hooked his finger gently, and the small golden cute pet flew back into his hand.
He turned to look at the troublemaker beside him and said, “Do you believe it now?”
Zhang Haiming let out a muffled snort without answering.
The spiritual pet in Baili Xi’s hand leaned toward him, sniffed the undergarment in his hand, and then Baili Xi released his hand and pointed a finger at the spiritual pet, which flew toward the tower behind them.
As the spiritual pet flew over, he explained, “If my spiritual pet stops over there, it means this clothing belongs to Miss Sang. But if it flies back, it means it does not belong to Miss Sang.”
That small spiritual pet flew onto the high tower, circled twice around the two young ladies, but did not stop on either of their shoulders. Before long, it flew back.
The anxious expression on the steward’s face relaxed as he said, “This clothing does not belong to my young lady.”
Sang Yue on the high tower also showed a smile, her eyes lingering on Baili Xi. Was that youth also here to participate in her marriage matchmaking assembly?
However, why did he not have a token on him?
Zhang Haiming on the arena looked in surprise as the spiritual pet flew back, feeling even angrier in his heart. This damned kid ruined his plans completely.
“Since the farce has reached this point, why not ask your spiritual pet to help me find the owner of this clothing? Since I picked up someone else’s clothing, I must take responsibility for her.”
Hearing this, Tu Lingxiang’s face turned pale with fright. She turned around to run, but Lian Jing grabbed her arm.
Foolish woman, running at this moment—wasn’t that announcing to everyone that she was the owner of that clothing?
Tu Lingxiang looked at him with pleading eyes, calling out, “Young Master…”
She really could not stay here any longer. Once that spiritual pet flew over, everyone would cast strange looks at her.
She could not afford to lose face like this.
On the arena, the man waved his hand and caught the spiritual pet in his hand. He placed the undergarment in its mouth for it to hold, then threw it into the air.
“Go, find its owner.”
In the brilliant sunlight, that spiritual pet flew toward the crowd below.
Tu Lingxiang was held by the wrist by Lian Jing. She wanted to run but couldn’t, so she tried her best to shrink behind him, lowering her head, cursing in her heart: Damn Lian Jing, he just wants her to lose face, doesn’t he? How could he be so vile?
The spiritual pet made a turn in the sky, then flew in their direction. Just at this moment, Lian Jing reached out his hand and caught the spiritual pet in his palm.
“You fellow are quite annoying,” he said with a smile.
Tu Lingxiang raised her head in shock, seeing the spiritual pet imprisoned in Lian Jing’s hand, while he also leaped up onto the arena ahead.
Everyone was as astonished as she was, watching Lian Jing land gracefully on the arena. Holding the spiritual pet, he said to Baili Xi and Zhang Haiming, “What do you two mean by this? Do you actually want to participate in the marriage matchmaking assembly or not? Half the morning has been completely wasted by you two.”
As he spoke, he threw a vermilion wooden token toward Baili Xi, which was the number token for the marriage matchmaking assembly.
Baili Xi: “???”
He caught it smoothly, turned it over to take a look, and only then realized what it was.
He wanted to return it to Lian Jing, but Lian Jing said, “Since you have accepted this marriage token, how can there be any reason to return it? If Miss Sang suffers an unhappy marriage in the future, it will all be blamed on you.”
Baili Xi’s wrist froze; he could neither return the token nor keep it, and for a moment, he did not know what to do.
“And this lousy spiritual pet of yours, sniffing here and there every day—what kind of eccentric habit is this? Could it be that you taught it to do so?”
He took the butterfly-embroidered undergarment out of the spiritual pet’s mouth and threw the pet back to Baili Xi opposite him.
“This spiritual pet of mine is trained to search for demon monsters,” Baili Xi explained loudly, his face stiffening slightly.
Without changing his expression, Lian Jing stuffed the red undergarment into his own lapel, leaving Tu Lingxiang below utterly dumbfounded.
How did he dare…?
In front of so many people, he just tucked it into his bosom like that?
At the thought that her intimate garment was placed close to his chest, two blushes bloomed on her cheeks.
Zhang Haiming on the arena pointed at him in surprise and said,”You… you… why did you put it away yourself?”
Lian Jing looked sideways at him with a bright smile on his face, the corners of his eyes raised slightly, yet his words were vulgarly shameless.
“I have a collection hobby, is that not allowed?”
The man was instantly rendered speechless, finding it inappropriate to fight over the clothing again at this moment.
The people below all discussed Lian Jing continuously, seemingly not expecting that such a handsome young master would actually have such a disgusting, eccentric habit.
No one associated the matter with Tu Lingxiang, and this farce was thus considered over.
Sang Yue on the high tower had her good mood ruined by this incident, so she announced that the marriage matchmaking assembly would be postponed by one day, with the first round of competition starting tomorrow.
The crowd gradually dispersed, while Tu Lingxiang remained standing on the spot, looking at the youth in red on the high stage, lost in thought.
She had thought he would laugh at her, but she had not expected that he would actually step in to help her.
Lian Jing and Baili Xi stood facing each other, one in red and one in white, looking like two fine trees. Lian Jing smiled at Baili Xi and said, “Remember to come tomorrow.”
There was a strong provocation in his words.
It was clearly a marriage matchmaking assembly, yet Lian Jing turned it into a martial contest.
Baili Xi was a standout in today’s cultivation realm, so naturally, he wanted to compete against him.
Don’t think he didn’t know why he came to the Miao Territory.
He would not let him succeed.
Having finished speaking, he walked down the steps and went toward Tu Lingxiang, who was staring at him in a daze to the side. Grabbing one of her braids, he dragged her forward.
“Little Slave Bell, what, are you captivated by me?”
Tu Lingxiang instantly came back to her senses from the pain, shaking her head vigorously.
“Not at all.”
Narcissist!
She was dragged back to Xiaoli Village by him. When there was no one around, she put on a smiling face and cupped her hands toward him.
“Thank you, Young Master, for helping me retrieve my clothing. Can you return it to me now?”
Lian Jing smiled without moving, the golden light of the sun embellishing his delicate skin, especially those upturned peach-blossom eyes, which looked like golden-lacquered mirrors.
“I already said I have a collection hobby, so why return it to you?”
“???”
Tu Lingxiang stared at him in utter disbelief. Wasn’t that just an excuse he made up on the spot?
“Young Master, stop joking. How could a pure-minded person like you have such a strange hobby?” She looked at him earnestly, the light in her eyes clearer than snow water.
“Quickly return it to me…”
Lian Jing bent down, leaning close to her face. His mountain-like thick eyebrows arched, his eyes curved into two crescent moons, and he said word by word.
“No, returning.”
