The young lady of the Shang family twitched her eyes, closed the book and greeted the two of them, her voice cold: "Thank you for bringing Xiaolu back. My name is Shang Yuan."
When the parrot saw Shang Yuan, it seemed like it had seen a savior. It flapped its wings and tried to escape from Lu Yang. Lu Yang let go and let the parrot fly around the house.
"Be more careful next time. Fortunately, this parrot has been flying in circles in Taiping Township. Otherwise, if it flew somewhere else, we would never be able to find it." Lu Yang reminded with a smile.
Shang Yuan looked at the two men in refined attire and knew at a glance that they were young knights who had been wandering the world for a long time, doing chivalrous things and helping others.
Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye's attire is the attire recommended by the Taoist Mission Hall. By wearing this, they can pretend to be the kind of young knights who have been wandering in the world for a long time and doing chivalrous things.
Shang Yuan's attitude was a little distant, I don't know if it was due to his personality or something else: "Xiao Lu is back too, you two can go back."
Tao Yaoye frowned slightly, not liking the attitude of this young lady.
Lu Yang pretended not to hear the words of expulsion and said with a smile: "Let's chat. The Shang family welcomes us very much. Maybe they will let us stay overnight."
Shang Yuan sneered: "Just because the Shang family welcomes you doesn't mean I welcome you. You should leave quickly. It's best to leave Taiping Township."
"There are no monsters in Taiping Township, so why do you want to leave? You haven't left the Shang family for a long time, don't you want to listen to us talk about the outside world?" Lu Yang said.
Shang Yuan was stunned. He didn't expect Lu Yang to say that. His tone softened a little. "Where are you two from? I haven't been away from home for nearly a month. Can you tell me about your experiences in the martial arts world?"
"We are from the Wendao Sect, one of the five major sects. We are all in the foundation-building stage. We came to Taiping Township this time because we heard that there were demonic birds disturbing people..."
Lu Yang spoke slowly and calmly, his voice was gentle and he was a very good speaker.
When Shang Yuan heard that the two were in the Foundation Establishment Stage, a hint of joy flashed in his eyes.
The three of them chatted for a while. Shang Yuan was attracted by the life of cultivators living underground as described by Lu Yang, and he also wanted to go out and explore the world.
"I want to cultivate immortality, but my father disagrees. He says that cultivating immortality is too dangerous. If he hadn't been lucky in exploring the ancient tomb, he would have died in the tomb long ago."
"I asked him several times what happened, but he refused to tell me." Shang Yuan said angrily. She liked to hear strange stories, but her own father clearly had the experience himself, but he was unwilling to tell her.
Lu Yang sighed in his heart, it seems that the head of the Shang family is also a man with a story.
"What is the cultivation level of Patriarch Shang?"
Shang Yuan seemed to think of his father's smug face and rolled his eyes: "Listen to him bragging, he used to be at the ninth level of Qi training, but then he encountered a disaster and luckily survived. His cultivation level plummeted and he is now at the fourth or fifth level of Qi training."
Tao Yaoye said: "It's not bad. There are not many cultivators in Taiping Township. The strongest township chief is only at the seventh level of Qi training. People at the fourth or fifth level of Qi training can live well, not to mention that the head of the Shang family has some background."
Shang Yuan sighed: "But I don't want to be confined to Quhe County. I want to travel around the world and see this magnificent and strange world. You and I are about the same age. You are already a cultivator in the foundation-building stage, while I haven't practiced Qi yet."
Tao Yaoye was about to say something when she heard Butler Zhang knocking on the door: "Miss, it's time for dinner. And the two young men, the master specifically told you to stay overnight after dinner, saying it's getting late."
"The master, his wife and Huang Xiangzheng are already waiting for you."
"Okay, I'll go right away." Lu Yang replied.
Tao Yaoye wanted to refuse, but was stopped by Lu Yang: "Look, I've already told you that the Shang family is very hospitable and will let us stay overnight. They are so kind, why not appreciate it?"
…
At the dining table, the head of the Shang family sat in the main seat, chatting happily with Huang Xiangzheng. Everyone else was also enjoying the meal. Although it was not as good as the food from the Wen Dao Sect, it was still quite delicious.
Butler Zhang and the maid stood respectfully by the side, serving.
After a delicious meal, Huang Xiang was going home, while Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye stayed overnight in the east wing, separated by only a wall.
Tao Yaoye didn't really want to sleep here. She was very picky about her bed. Except for the bed in the cave of the Taoist Sect, which she could fall asleep immediately after lying down, it took her a long time to fall asleep in other places.
Tao Yaoye knew that this was not a good habit. It was common for cultivators to sleep in the open air. She tried to change it, but has not succeeded so far.
"Senior Brother Lu can fall asleep anywhere."
Tao Yaoye talked to herself, not knowing why, she chuckled softly, then yawned.
"I went to bed early today. I think I can have a good sleep..."
Tao Yaoye suddenly reacted: "No! Someone poisoned me!"
She turned around and was about to pick up the Thousand Illusions Umbrella to open the barrier, but she found that the spiritual energy in her body was sluggish and difficult to mobilize.
She was shocked. Someone had poisoned her silently. Who was it
This is a poison targeting monks. The other party knew that I was a monk but still dared to act, so he must be a monk too.
There are only a few people in the Shang family, and apart from the head of the Shang family, she didn't notice anyone else who was a cultivator.
Is he the Patriarch of the Shang family
Or is there a cultivator whose cultivation level is higher than hers, so that she cannot detect him
How is it going over there, Brother Lu
A series of questions instantly flashed through Tao Yaoye's mind. Before she could think about it, brisk footsteps were heard outside the house.
The door opened and Butler Zhang walked in with a square step, an excited and cruel smile on his face.
"It's you!" Tao Yaoye's eyes widened. She didn't expect it to be Butler Zhang. Her heart sank suddenly.
The fact that she failed to tell that Butler Zhang was a cultivator meant that Butler Zhang’s cultivation was higher than hers.
Butler Zhang was holding a skinning knife in his hand. Tao Yaoye could feel the strong resentment from it even from five steps away. She didn't know how many people had died at the hands of this knife, and the resentment was overwhelming.
The moonlight shone on the blade, bright and clear as snow.
Butler Zhang licked his lips and looked at Tao Yaoye who was struggling in vain, as if he was looking at a ferocious prey that had fallen into a trap.
"What a beautiful skin! I have never seen such fair skin with such beautiful lines in my life."
"I know you are from the Daodao Sect. Killing you will be very troublesome. The Daodao Sect is so powerful that it can overwhelm the heavens and the sun. How can a small person like me dare to offend the Daodao Sect?"
As Butler Zhang spoke, saliva flowed from the corners of his mouth. He wiped it and said, "But your skin is so beautiful that I couldn't help but take the risk. You volunteered to stay at the Shang family for dinner. If I don't seize such a good opportunity to poison you, I would be too tactless."
There's poison in dinner!
Seeing Tao Yaoye still struggling, Steward Zhang advised kindly: "Don't struggle. Even if you are not poisoned, you are no match for me. You have just entered the foundation-building stage, and I am in the late foundation-building stage."
Although he said so, Steward Zhang did not let down his guard. The foundation-building period of the Taoist sect must not be treated as an ordinary foundation-building period!
Butler Zhang said this because he didn't want Tao Yaoye to resist.
The more they resist, the tighter the skin and flesh are connected, and the harder it is to skin them. This is something I learnt from experience.
"Relax, it's just a little painful, and you won't be scared about it soon."
Butler Zhang licked the skinning knife and moved closer to Tao Yaoye.
Suddenly, Tao Yaoye stood up abruptly, with all the spiritual energy in his body flowing freely. He grasped the Thousand Illusions Umbrella and smashed it hard on Butler Zhang's face.
Butler Zhang was confident of victory, but was caught off guard.
"How come you weren't poisoned?!"