Wang Yunchong's Present

As the fourth-generation descendants of the Marquis's Residence exited the Conference Hall, they all received a hundred drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid and a hundred drops of Blood-increasing Liquid. They beamed with excitement.

Ning Xiner and Ning Xiaochuan were the only ones who were not smiling.

"Elder Brother, why did you agree so easily? Considering the deep love Grandfather has had towards you ever since your youth, if you had pleaded with him, he'd surely be reluctant to expel you from the Marquis' Residence. After leaving the Marquis' Residence, it'll be difficult for you to return in the future," Ning Xiner said.

Ning Xiaochuan merely gave a faint smile. "Leaving the Marquis' Residence isn't such a bad thing. At least no one will mock and ridicule me."

Ning Xiner pursed her lips tightly, looking as if she was holding back her tears, which was an adorable look.

"Haha! Isn't that the Marquis' own grandson, Master Ning! No, I should call you Proprietor Ning, congratulations, congratulations!" Ning Hengqing came over, along with a few elite geniuses of the Marquis' Residence. He was already calling out to Ning Xiaochuan from a distance.

A few days ago, Ning Hengqing was rebuked by Ning Xiaochuan outside of the Conference Hall, to the point where Ning Hengqing spat blood. After a few days of recuperation, his injuries had fully healed.

His resentment towards Ning Xiaochuan ran deep into his bones. Now, Ning Xiaochuan was expelled from the Marquis' Residence. Naturally, Ning Hengqing wanted to insult him for satisfaction. 

Ning Xiaochuan observed that the Marquis' Residence geniuses who came overall had a Cultivation of Stage Seven Qi. Among them, Ning Hengqing had reached Stage Eight Qi.

Based on their Martial Art Cultivation, they were martial art experts whom ordinary people must look up to.

"So it's Brother Hengqing. Have your injuries healed?" Ning Xiaochuan gave a broad, frank smile.

At this jibe, Ning Hengqing saw red, but he held back his inner rage and squeezed out a smile. "They've healed very well!"

"Oh! I've heard that the Five Desolate Ridges are very dangerous, so Brother Hengqing, please take care! By all means, don't be injured by some Mystical Beast you've never even heard of. As for me, I'm only brave enough to live a comfortable life in Begonia Manor. I wouldn't dare go to a treacherous place like the Five Desolate Ridges. Brother Hengqing, do take care." After Ning Xiaochuan said his piece, he turned away and left, dragging Ning Xiner with him.

Ning Hengqing was so furious that he was shaking all over. Just as he was about to rush forward to mercilessly teach Ning Xiaochuan a lesson, he was stopped by Ning Meier.

"Why did you stop me?" Ning Hengqing fumed.

Ning Meier was around sixteen or seventeen as well. Her long hair reached her waist, and her clothes were dark green, like a lotus pad. Excluding Ning Xiner, she was the most outstanding female in Marquis Jiange's Residence. She had already achieved Stage Nine Qi. She had a curvy figure and was very alluring, with long, delicate lashes and silky eyes. Ning Meier was smiling. "Are you a match for Xiner?"

The moment Ning Hengqing recalled Ning Xiner's Cultivation, he calmed down.

Ning Meier glared at the departing figures of Ning Xiaochuan and Ning Xiner, saying derisively, "He's an invalid akin to trash, and you stoop to his level? He's fated to be a nobody without any status in this lifetime. As for us, after we train at the Five Desolate Ridges, our Cultivation is sure to advance immensely. Gaining entry into the Heavenly Emperor Academy isn't an impossible task. From today onwards, there's a world of difference between our rank and his. He's a mere ant, whereas we're martial art practitioners revered by countless people."

Ning Meier was proud and haughty, condescending to all. The goal she was working towards marrying the strongest man amongst the young generation. She looked down upon trash like Ning Xiaochuan most of all. She would not even spare him a glance.

…

"Elder Brother, when you're at Begonia Manor, you must take good care of yourself. After three months of training, I'll visit you." Ning Xiner was helping Ning Xiaochuan pack his things. Secretly, she took a hundred drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid and a hundred drops of Blood-increasing Liquid, which she had received earlier, and hid them in Ning Xiaochuan's bundle.

Naturally, Ning Xiaochuan noticed these gestures of hers and was deeply moved.

Footsteps rang outside, and a Marquis' Residence Guard entered, saying, "Master Ning, there is a Mister Wang outside the Marquis' Residence, here to see you."

"A Mister Wang?" Ning Xiaochuan frowned slightly. He did not know any Mister Wang and looked towards Ning Xiner.

Could it be a friend of this body's previous owner?

Ning Xiner shook her head too. Because her brother faced constant discrimination, he rarely left the Marquis' Residence and did not really have any friends.

Burning with curiosity, Ning Xiaochuan and Ning Xiner went to the gates of the Marquis' Residence.

Wang Yunchong was wearing a burgundy embroidered gown. His hair was coiled in a bun and he waved a folding fan in one hand, looking just like the son of a noble prince. When he saw Ning Xiaochuan coming out, he bounded forward in delight. "Brother Ning, you're finally out! I've waited here for a long time."

"Wang Yunchong, you dare come to Marquis Jiange's Residence!" A dazzling layer of Combat Qi erupted all over Ning Xiner, and the surrounding space of seventy or eighty feet shuddered briefly. A layer of scarlet Mystical Fortification formed over her palm. With a slash of her palm, the Mystical Fortification acted like a blade, severing the bun on top of Wang Yunchong's head. His hair came loose.

If this Mystical Fortification had been directed at Wang Yunchong's neck, his head would have been flying away by now.

Condensing Qi into a blade-form, turning it into Fortified Qi, sending it out of the body to kill someone without touching them, using petals and leaves as weapons, freezing water into a sword – one would only have these techniques after their Cultivation had reached Stage Seven Qi.

Ning Xiner, who had cultivated the Divine Martial Body, could form Mystical Fortification at will. In one strike, her Qi could kill an enemy a hundred feet away.

Wang Yunchong had heard of Ning Xiner's distinguished name long ago and was overcome with shock. He dared not move a muscle and nearly peed his pants as he said in a panic, "Misunderstanding… It's a misunderstanding! I've come this time specifically to make amends with Brother Ning. Come on then! Quick, give them the present."

Behind Wang Yunchong was a Green Deerhorse carriage.

From the carriage, a soft, lily-white hand emerged, parting the curtains made of agate beads. A young lady wearing a long, white chiffon skirt disembarked.

This maiden had a delicate figure and extremely fair skin, and her brow was decorated with a gorgeous, red, floral pattern. Her hair was twisted into graceful loops, pierced with a butterfly jade hairpin!

She bowed her head slightly, greeting Ning Xiaochuan respectfully, and said slowly, "I'm Yu Yan. I'm acquainted with Mister Ning."

"This is…" Ning Xiaochuan fixed his gaze upon this fifteen or sixteen-year-old beautiful maiden. It was the girl he had rescued at the riverbank the other day. Today, she was gorgeously dressed and exquisitely made up. Her beauty was actually flawless, like a serene orchid in full bloom.

She was not fully matured, yet was tender and alluring.

Wang Yunchong flashed a grin. "Brother Ning, are you happy with this present?"

"Present?" Ning Xiaochuan asked.

Ning Xiner wore a curious expression too.

Wang Yunchong said, "In order to gain Maiden Yu Yan's freedom, I used up all my savings from the past years, and even borrowed from others, all to make reparations with Brother Ning. I hope that you will be the bigger man and forgive what I did. Please pardon my previous ignorance."

Guanyu Tower was not an ordinary brothel. The women there were equally beautiful, talented, and passionate. They were also very expensive. It was not easy, even for the sons of Nobles, to pay for these maidens' freedom.

In order to gain Yu Yan's freedom, Wang Yunchong had been borrowing money for the past three days. Today, after much effort, he had gathered enough for the payment. After he bought her from Guanyu Tower, he immediately sent her here, to Ning Xiaochuan.

Wang Yunchong fished out a piece of brocade from somewhere, which was inscribed with some words. With both hands, he handed the brocade to Ning Xiaochuan. "This is Maiden Yu Yan's slave contract. I now pass it to you, Brother Ning."

Wang Yunchong moved closer to Ning Xiaochuan and whispered in his ear, "Maiden Yu Yan was Guanyu Tower's third-rate hostess – she sold her talents, but not her body. Even now she's only slightly wrinkled. Brother Ning, you're a lucky man!"

Ning Xiaochuan's eyelids twitched. In his past life, he had never visited a prostitute. Now, this Good-for-nothing Descendant was giving him a prostitute as a present to make amends!

This…

Wang Yunchong was deeply afraid that Ning Xiaochuan would refuse, and immediately boarded the Green Deerhorse carriage.

He spurred on the carriage and left in a swagger.

"Hey! Wang Yunchong." Ning Xiaochuan called out, but the Green Deerhorse carriage had gone far away, disappearing at the end of the street.

Ning Xiaochuan glanced at Maiden Yu Yan who stood at the bottom of the steps.

She looked so lovely and pitiful standing there, her delicate fingers gripping the edge of her clothes, her lips pursed. There was a deep tenderness in her eyes as she stared at Ning Xiaochuan.

Ning Xiaochuan had never encountered a situation like this. For a moment, he was at a loss for what to do. Sending this maiden back to a Good-for-nothing Descendant like Wang Yunchong would be akin to condemning her to a living hell. Naturally, Ning Xiaochuan would not do such a thing.

However… Ning Xiaochuan could not possibly keep her with him.

"Rip!"

After thinking for a long while, Ning Xiaochuan ripped the slave contract in half, then handed it to Yu Yan, saying, "Young maiden, from this day onwards, you're free."

Ning Xiaochuan dragged Ning Xiner and turned back towards the Marquis' Residence, leaving Yu Yan behind and alone at the bottom of the stairs.

Yu Yan pinched the torn contract in her hands, and her lovely face looked slightly terrified. With a dull "thud", she fell to her knees. "Master Ning, I beg you not to drive me away. Without the slave contract, I don't even have an identity. I'll surely be seized and locked in jail by the Tianwei Army of Imperial City. If I'm not banished to the barbarians at the border, I'll be sold off as a lowly courtesan."

"What? Without your slave contract, you don't even have an identity?" Ning Xiaochuan berated himself. He had wanted to do something good but instead had caused her even more trouble.

Ning Xiner took pity on this girl and said, "Elder Brother, the status of the girls who have been sold into brothels is just as low as the servants in the Marquis' Residence. The slave contract is their proof of identity. If their masters chased them out, they would not even have an identity. If the court gets hold of them, they might even be judged to be spies from enemy nations and thus executed. Elder Brother, why don't we keep her?"

Yu Yan directed her pleading gaze at Ning Xiaochuan.

"But, tomorrow I'm heading to Begonia Manor," Ning Xiaochuan said.

Ning Xiner replied, "Then isn't it good that there's someone to look after you?"

Ning Xiaochuan gazed at Yu Yan, who was kneeling. The girl was rather beautiful indeed. Her skin was so smooth, it seemed like it would shatter at a touch, and her eyes shone like black pearls.

If this was his previous life, he would never have imagined that a proclamation from him could determine the fate of such a beautiful maiden.

Ning Xiaochuan felt a headache coming on. After a moment of pondering, he said, "In that case, come with me to Begonia Manor!"