Chapter 7: My Sister Said, I’ll Buy You a Wife

Description

Front house.

This was where the Su family gathered.

“Master! Great immortal!”

Su Patriarch hurriedly rose, bowing to Cang Ye and the monk, and shouted, “You must save our entire family!”

“Yes! Yes! Save us!” Third Concubine cried out.

The Madam of the Su family, however, furrowed her brow and held back from speaking. She needed to maintain her composure.

The old monk glanced at Cang Ye and asked, “What does the benefactor think?”

The old monk had only come out of goodwill to warn them, and perhaps to exorcise the demon for free.

Cang Ye, however, held a notice in his hand.

He was an exorcist here to earn money.

Cang Ye smiled and said, “To be honest, last night I came uninvited and also paid a visit to the Su family’s rear courtyard.”

“Ah?!”

The women of the Su family gasped.

Some pursed their lips and stole a glance at Cang Ye, then shyly lowered their heads, only to sneak another look at his handsome features.

Cang Ye first offered an apologetic smile, then explained to Su Patriarch:

“Last night, while passing through the rear courtyard in search of the cat demon the master mentioned… I merely happened to encounter Young Master Su Wan.”

“Ah?”

Su Wan let out a surprised sound.

‘How am I involved in this too?’

‘Wait,’ Su Wan thought again, ‘I didn’t see him last night!’

Su Wan glanced at Xiao Liu and asked, “Did I meet him last night?”

Xiao Liu took a look at Cang Ye’s appearance, then suddenly blushed, covered her shoulders with both hands, and said shyly, “You did~ At the time, this servant poured out your bathwater on him.”

“But he wasn’t soaked through. It must have been blocked by a spell. All the great immortals have immortal arts, right?”

Xiao Liu asked.

“We really met?”

Su Wan murmured quietly. In his memory, he clearly had not seen Cang Ye.

That was because Cang Ye had been invisible.

Su Wan didn’t know that, so he hadn’t seen him.

But Qian Yue, being a fox demon, and Xiao Liu, who was born with the Yin-Yang Eye and could naturally see demons and monsters, had both seen Cang Ye.

Cang Ye’s spell was cast carelessly, unconcerned about whether those of his own kind noticed his presence.

When Su Patriarch heard Su Wan’s words, he nodded, then suddenly widened his eyes in shock as he realized something. He asked:

“Then my concubine… the one from the Nine Quarters… that concubine, she’s his mother.”

Su Patriarch pointed at Su Wan and asked Cang Ye, “You didn’t see her last night, did you?”

As Su Wan’s father, Su Patriarch knew exactly what kind of woman Su Wan’s mother was.

Su Wan’s mother was originally a dancing girl he had picked up from a brothel, a woman who sold herself.

At the time, he had simply bought her for the night.

After that one night, he couldn’t tear himself away, so he simply purchased her and brought her back to the manor, and he had been playing with her ever since.

Cang Ye nodded and was about to say he had seen her.

Then he noticed Su Wan rapidly covering his mouth and shaking his head at him, a look of pleading in his eyes.

Cang Ye smiled again and said, “Indeed, I didn’t see her.”

Cang Ye had indulged his future female disciple a little.

Su Wan immediately let out a relieved breath and lowered his hand from his face, a smile appearing on his lips.

His favorability toward Cang Ye increased by one.

If any outsider man had caught a glimpse of Su Wan’s mother like that.

Late at night, she would most likely have been in disarray, and people would surely start gossiping again.

Looking at it from a lower level, it would be Xiao Liu’s failure for not protecting her young and beautiful mistress.

Allowing the Ninth Quarter’s concubine, Qian Yue, to lose her chastity.

Xiao Liu would be punished again, perhaps even sold off by the First Quarter on some pretext and sent to a brothel.

Looking at it from a higher level, it would mean the Nine Quarters had fallen out of favor, which could very well cause Su Patriarch to temporarily lose interest in Su Wan’s mother.

Perhaps Su Wan’s mother was seductive enough that she could easily win back his affection sooner or later.

But during that time, as the Ninth Young Master, a disfavored concubine’s son, his days would become even harder.

He would probably be trampled on by those who saw the chance, used as a punching bag, and bullied by members of his own family.

Su Patriarch also let out a relieved breath, a smile appearing on his face.

Even if the customs were open and the great households enjoyed gathering together to dally with prostitutes, the prostitutes within a household were still ranked by class.

Women who were half-prostitute and half-concubine were not willing to be passed around for casual entertainment, let alone a favored concubine kept as a private treasure.

Su Patriarch asked again, “Then what about the fox demon in the house… oh, and the cat demon too. Why don’t the two masters and great immortals take… one each?”

In worldly thinking, it was one-on-one, two-on-two. Equal numbers made it easier to get work done.

Whether exorcising demons, going to war, or fighting in an arena, it was all the same.

Cang Ye and the old monk exchanged a glance, then both slowly nodded.

Cang Ye smiled and said, “What a fine opportunity to compete with the senior and see each other’s demon-catching skills.”

Cang Ye said, “How about handing the fox demon to you, senior, and that cat demon… we swap? Does senior have any leads?”

For Cang Ye.

He had already confirmed the identity of the fox demon. She posed no threat to Su Wan and would not destroy the vessel Cang Ye needed to cultivate his third divine art.

But Cang Ye had only entered the Su family because he had sensed the cat demon’s aura earlier.

Now was the perfect chance to ask someone in the know for directions and eliminate the hidden danger nearby.

When the old monk heard Cang Ye’s words, he furrowed his brow.

But as a monk, he was kind-natured. He simply nodded and said, “Well then, let us… swap. As for leads?”

The old monk first returned the blood-stained fox fur that belonged to Cang Ye, then said, “That cat demon is a white cat. At the time, she was chasing a black cat and pursued it into the Su family’s courtyard. I crossed blows with her then, but I never landed a clean hit. She escaped toward the northeast.”

“Northeast?”

Su Wan murmured, suddenly recalling the side gate he often used to leave through.

Wasn’t that in the northeast direction?

So the cat demon was on the street he often wandered?

Su Wan suddenly began to tremble. He felt that daily life had seemed fairly normal, that he had never heard of any demon harming people.

But upon closer inspection of his own experiences, why did it seem like demons were everywhere around him?

Could it be that he himself was one?

No! That’s impossible!

‘I’m a pure human! There’s no trace of any demon or beast blood in me at all.’

Su Wan frowned inwardly.

Cang Ye noticed Su Wan’s expression and glanced at him with a light chuckle.

Cang Ye continued, “Su Patriarch, since we need to find the cat demon… I may need to stay in the manor for a few days. A cat demon is not a bound spirit; it won’t hide in one place in the manor forever. It could come by at any time. Since it came once, it might come a second time. There must be something here that draws it.”

Cang Ye went on, “Since I’ll be staying, perhaps I’ll need someone familiar with the Su family… to guide me, to prevent me from stumbling into certain inappropriate places.”

Cang Ye’s gaze landed directly on Su Wan, and he said with a smile:

“Coincidentally, I once met this young master at an… entertainment venue.”

“Cough, cough, cough!”

Su Wan coughed violently, his face suddenly turning red. He felt the gazes of all the men and women prickling against him, a mere child.

‘I didn’t!’ Su Wan screamed in his heart, “I’ve never been to an entertainment venue! And I’ve never… paid for a prostitute!”

Su Wan’s favorability toward Cang Ye decreased by one. His expression turned gloomy.

A smile spread across Cang Ye’s face as he continued:

“Since we were both friends who enjoyed listening to tunes together, shared tea, watched plays, and returned home together before dark.”

“Returned home before dark?”

A grown young master of the Su family said in a low voice, “Does that mean he didn’t enjoy himself a little? Hm?”

“Tsk!”

One of Su Wan’s other grown older brothers sneered, glancing at Su Wan with contempt, and said:

“The kid’s still wet behind the ears. What does he know about enjoyment? He definitely hasn’t done any of those things. He hasn’t even grown hair down there yet.”

Su Wan’s face grew even redder.

He clenched his fists and shot Cang Ye a furious glare.

He had directly added this debt to Cang Ye’s account.

If Cang Ye hadn’t run his mouth, he wouldn’t be stared at so strangely, nor would people be whispering such vulgar remarks about him.

Suddenly, Sister Xiao Liu stroked Su Wan’s face, gently and shyly comforting him:

“It’s alright. The young master will grow up soon. Once you’re a bit older, Xiao Liu will ask the lady for some silver and buy you a fine thin horse. How about that?”

Sister Xiao Liu said with a gentle smile, her cheeks flushed, with a hint of shyness lingering.

And she herself was actually of thin horse origin, so she knew how to judge the quality of one.

“Sister is the best!” Su Wan said with a laugh, his face turning red with excitement.

A pretty young woman was volunteering to help him pick out a wife?

And she could even buy one and deliver her to him as a gift?

What a wonderful thing!

Even if she was just a maidservant, she was still his dear sister.

He was so happy he changed how he addressed her on the spot.

‘I really want to grow up fast~’

Su Wan murmured quietly, his gaze filled with beautiful hope.

Cang Ye glanced at Su Wan with a smile and heard what he said. He chuckled, “Want to grow up and get married?”

At that moment, Su Patriarch hesitated, then said:

“He’s the ninth child of the manor. He usually likes to run around and may not be able to host you properly…”