Martial Peak - Chapter 2302
Chapter 2302, Take It If You Want It
Translator: Silavin & frozenfire
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
The next day, the entire City Lord’s Mansion was decorated with lanterns and colourful banners. Happy voices bubbled about as the whole place bustled with extraordinary liveliness.
Today was the day when the Sky Crane City’s City Lord was going to get married to his new concubine. Guests and visitors streamed in from all directions to give their congratulations, while carriages filled to the brim with congratulatory gifts formed an endless chain ushered in by the City Lord’s Mansion’s subordinates. These gifts were directed to the rear courtyard, where dedicated personnel were present to record, differentiate and store them into appropriate storehouses.
All of the people within the City Lord’s Mansion had smiles plastered on their faces, as though they too were getting married.
At the entrance of the City Lord’s Mansion, handsome male servants and beautiful maidservants welcomed the incoming guests and visitors, their faces beaming with smiles, their actions refined and courteous.
Any guests who arrived here would have the Sect or power they hailed from loudly announced by the master of ceremonies, attracting the gazes of the public. Heading into the City Lord’s Mansion, they would be led by people into the inner hall, where they were arranged into different seating positions based on the status of their identities.
The representatives from the few prominent and powerful nearby Sects were naturally arranged to sit right at the front of the venue while those of lower status were seated further away.
No one dared to raise any issues towards this method of arrangement, as the more capable and powerful one was, the nearer to the front they would be seated. Everyone present knew very well how powerful the various local aristocratic families and Sects were.
The City Lord Mansion had definitely considered this during their planning, so it would naturally not incite unhappiness in others.
Following the members of Thousand Leaves Sect to the venue, Yang Kai started to size up his surroundings with curiosity.
This was the first time he was attending another person’s wedding. Although it was just a marriage with a concubine, this was a matter that would concern the entire lives of two people, which greatly piqued his interest. Looking at the lively festive scenery, he could not help reminiscing about Su Yan, Xia Ning Chang, Shan Qing Luo, and Xue Yue.
Waves of guilt welled up from the depths of his heart. He should have made proper arrangements for such a ceremony, allowing them to enjoy the happiness a woman deserved from her life partner.
Just thinking about this made Yang Kai feel that he owed them a great deal.
Originally, he did not plan to come here; however, after being invited several times by Ye Jing Han, Yang Kai had followed along with the Thousand Leave Sect disciples to avoid her developing wild fears of him leaving without informing her.
Du Xian and the others had also brought along some congratulatory gifts from their Sect. Although they weren’t extremely precious, they were still quite numerous. Therefore, they had carried them via carriage, handing them over to the City Lord’s Mansion subordinates to sort in the rear courtyard.
They were then guided by another subordinate to the inner hall where the ceremony would be held.
The inner hall was exceedingly large, and wasn’t crowded despite having over a hundred dining tables arranged within. When the Thousand Leaves Sect disciples arrived, the inner hall was already bustling with activity, with masters from various families and Sects either dining, drinking, or engaging in merry conversation. A place and event like this was precisely what many great powers used to forge connections, foster a good image, as well as take advantage of the opportunity to widen their social circle.
The subordinate leading the way for Ye Jing Han and the others came to a stop at a dining table situated in the middle area before saying with a faint smile, “Honoured guests, these are your seats. Please wait for a short while as the ceremony is about to begin.”
After saying those words, the person proceeded to leave.
Hearing those words and seeing the person’s subsequent actions, a sliver of anger flashed across Wu Ma’s eyes. Extending his hand, he grabbed a hold of that person’s collar, he growled, “These are our seats? Are you sure of that?”
The location of this dining table wasn’t anywhere near the front of the hall. In fact, it was located nearer to the back of the middle section. Other than Thousand Leaves Sect, the dining tables surrounding this table were occupied by small families and third-class Sects that, at best, had one Dao Source Realm Master assuming command, similar to the few big families of Maplewood City.
Although the Thousand Leaves Sect did not have any Emperor Realm Masters, it still had quite a few Dao Source Realm Masters. No matter what, they couldn’t be seated at this dining table. Even if they weren’t at the front few dining tables, they would still be somewhere close.
This arrangement was a clear sign of contempt and humiliation towards Thousand Leaves Sect.
Frightened by Wu Ma, that servant fell into a panic, “This lowly one is only in charge of guiding our honoured guests to their respective dining tables. This lowly one doesn’t know anything other than that! Please spare my life, sir, please spare my life!”
“Release him, Wu Ma!” Du Xian frowned deeply before giving an order with an indifferent tone.
“But, Senior Brother…” Wu Ma seemed to have something to say, but upon seeing the look Du Xian was giving him, he quickly swept his eyes around and discovered that quite a few people in the hall were staring at him with wide eyes. Clearly, his actions had already attracted the attention of these people.
“Since we’re already here, just let it go!” Du Xian said in a soft voice.
Hearing Du Xian’s words, Wu Ma clenched his teeth before releasing the servant’s collar in regret, a look of unwillingness present in his eyes.
The other Thousand Leaves Sect disciples proceed to quietly sit down, though ugly expressions filled their faces.
Wu Ma growled under his breath, “Senior Brother, Senior Sister, they’re clearly trying to humiliate us… how can we endure this?”
Du Xian looked at him and replied, “So, what are you going to do if you can’t endure it? Are you going to smash this place and kill that old fart?”
Wu Ma mumbled, “That isn’t what I meant… However, there were so many people who saw them arranging such a far seating location for us. This is no doubt a deliberate attempt to embarrass us in front of them.”
Ye Jing Han interjected, “What can we do? In the end, this is their territory, it won’t bring us any advantage if we start an argument here.”
Du Xian snorted coldly, “Luo Jin has planned this to make sure that we have no choice but to swallow these grievances. Just remember the humiliation we have suffered today and make sure to pay them back ten-fold next time around.”
An extremely angry look surfaced on Wu Ma’s face, but nevertheless, he knew that he had no way of changing the situation before them. Despite that, the strange gazes and hushed whispers coming from the surrounding cultivators made him feel as though they were mocking him, making him feel exceedingly uncomfortable, as though he was sitting on pins and needles.
Right at this moment, Du Xuan gave Ye Jing Han a stealthy tap on her shoulder before whispering in her ear, “There’s a person that has been watching you ever since you stepped into this place.”
“Who?” A look of doubt appeared on Ye Jing Han’s face as she scanned around. Soon though, she discovered Qiu Yu seated at the frontmost table, and indeed, his eyes were shining like luminous torches as he continued to stare at her.
She hastily made a spitting action, “Don’t talk nonsense. As if he’s looking at me.”
Du Xian let out a laugh in response, “Who else would he be looking at but you! How can that little bastard Qiu Yu resist Junior Sister Ye’er outstanding beauty and charm?”
Ye Jing Han blushed in embarrassment as she replied in a displeased tone, “Your words are getting more and more improper. You’re the Eldest Senior Brother, so you have to make sure you’re a proper role model for others to follow!”
Du Xian couldn’t help but flash an embarrassed chuckle.
Despite commenting on his behaviour, Ye Jing Han’s face was brimming with sweetness. How would she not know that Du Xian was feeling jealous?
Wu Ma suddenly interjected, “That bastard’s actually sending someone over here!”
Du Xian and Ye Jing Han turned their heads to look and immediately saw the old man who always stood by Qiu Yu’s side was currently moving in their direction at an unhurried pace.
A frown appeared on Du Xian’s face. “What is that little brat planning on doing?”
Ye Jing Han snorted, “Don’t worry about him. We’ll head back to our Sect right after this ceremony ends. I don’t plan on remaining in this place any longer than I need to.”
As she said those words, that old man arrived before their dining table. Cupping his hands slightly, “Sorry to disturb you all.”
Despite being a Senior, he was showing this much courtesy to them, so maintaining a polite demeanour, Du Xian also cupped his fist and replied, “You’re too polite, Senior Li.” He paused for an instant, before asking, “May I know what Senior Li is here for?”
The old man surnamed Li replied in an indifferent tone, “I’ve come on the order of my Young Lord to invite someone over.”
Hearing his words, Du Xian could not help but to shoot a look at Ye Jing Han.
This caused her to reply in annoyance, “Go back and tell your Young Lord that I don’t have any interest!”
A weird expression appeared on the old man’s face as he looked at Ye Jing Han, before smiling faintly, “Young Lady Ye is thinking too much. The one my Young Lord wishes to invite is this Little Brother.”
As he said those words, he raised his hand and pointed towards Yang Kai.
“Ah…” Ye Jing Han’s face turned red with embarrassment from the fuss she kicked up before saying in an awkward tone, “Why… does he want to invite him?”
Stunned looks were also present on the faces of Du Xian and the others, as all of them had made the same assumptions as Ye Jing Han, that this old man had come over here to invite her. After all, Qiu Yu had always shown interest in Ye Jing Han. Who would have thought that such an unforeseen change would occur, causing Ye Jing Han to feel embarrassed for putting herself in such an awkward spot.
The old man continued indifferently, “My Young Lord did not say anything, so this old man doesn’t know the reason. The only thing the Young Master instructed was for this old man to bring this Little Brother over.”
After hearing his explanation, everyone turned their eyes towards Yang Kai.
Upon looking over, they could not stop the corners of their mouths from twitching.
Unknown to everyone, Yang Kai had at some point brought the spirit fruit platter that had been set down on the dining table and placed it right in front of himself. Grabbing one spirit fruit in each hand, he proceeded to gorge himself heartily with an exceedingly satisfied look on his face. Furthermore, there were a few fruit cores present on the dining table. No one knew when he had started to eat, but he had actually managed to eat half of all the spirit fruits that had been on the platter.
The smile he had, coupled with his table manners as he wolfed down those spirit fruits, made him seem just like the reincarnation of a hungry ghost that had starved for several hundred years, leaving the Thousand Leaves Sect disciples utterly dumbstruck.
What’s more, the old man’s sudden visit to this dining table had caused quite a few people to look over out of curiosity. Upon seeing the way Yang Kai ate, they could not help but shake their heads and sigh, revealing looks of contempt in their eyes as they secretly assumed that he was some country bumpkin that had never seen the outside world before, causing him to react so greatly to a mere spirit fruit platter.
The Thousand Leaves Sect disciples felt a deep sense of discomfort.
“Young Master Yang!” Her face turning as red as a glowing oven, Ye Jing Han gave Yang Kai a light prod, indicating that he should restrain himself a little.
Turning his head around, Yang Kai’s mouth was currently stuffed with the pulp of some unknown fruit which he was eating with great relish. Smacking his lips in satisfaction, he waved the fruit platter in his hand before Ye Jing Han and said, “Do you want one? Take it if you want it.”
Ye Jing Han’s face twitched in response, while the redness of her face grew even more intense.
Despite that, Yang Kai appeared to not notice the current situation around him, as he offered the fruit platter to the other Thousand Leaves Sect disciples, “Don’t be courteous. They taste really good. Furthermore, eating them will aid in one’s cultivation. These spirit fruits should have been harvested recently, as they are really fresh and delicious.”
The few Thousand Leaves Sect disciples didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. They did not know about Yang Kai’s background, nor did they know exactly why Ye Jing Han had brought him along with her. Seeing such unsightly behaviour from him, all of them proceeded to turn their heads away, appearing as though they did not recognize him at all.
“Ahem…” Du Xiao gave a slight cough, “Young Master Yang, this Senior Li has a matter to discuss with you.”
“Senior Li?” Yang Kai asked. “What Senior Li?”
“We meet again, Little Brother.” The veins on the old man’s forehead bulged as Yang Kai had treated him as air, despite him already standing here for quite a while. Being a Third-Order Dao Source Realm Master, flames of anger naturally started burning in his heart.
Only then did Yang Kai raise his head, looking at the old man and smiling, “So it’s you. Aren’t you supposed to be with Qiu Yu? What did you run all the way over here for?”
