Chapter 37: A Bet with the Sword Monarch

After Lou Mu Yan left the transaction area, she went to join Yun Lan and the rest.

As soon as she exited the door of the Ming Alliance of Merchants, she saw a burly, middle-aged man and a black-clothed, skinny old man stop Yun Lan and the others in their steps. When she thought about it, she easily guessed who they were.

“Mu Yan, how about I send you back to the General’s Mansion.” Yun Lan found Lou Mu Yan walking out towards them from the entrance and gave her a surreptitious, meaningful look.

Just now, the King of Zhen’xi asked them who bought the Fire Cloud Mink, and although he desperately tried to hide it, but Gu Yan Ran told them, and now they could only send Lou Mu Yan away first.

Lou Mu Yan nodded with a smile: “Sure!”

Although she said that, she knew that things wouldn’t be that simple today—she wouldn’t be able to leave easily.

“Why be in such a rush?” The King of Zhen’xi stretched out his arm to stop Yun Lan. He still had business to settle, so how could he allow Yun Lan to take the person away.

Then he swept his gaze to Lou Mu Yan, examining her. With a light purple dress, hair worn in a simplistic style, indifference in her eyes, an elegant and otherworldly temperament, and a beautiful face without powder, even if she was rather young, she had the disposition of one who’s capable of causing the downfall of a country1.

Lou Mu Yan was one of the very few people whose appearance he considered pleasing to the eye. But it was a pity that this beauty was Lou Mo Yu’s daughter—he couldn’t touch her.

“This is General Lou’s daughter, correct?” Yun Tian Zong had seen Lou Mu Yan before, but she didn’t leave any impressions at the time.

What he knew more deeply was Lou Mu Yan’s reputation as trash, which he often used to ridicule Lou Mo Yu.

“King of Zhen’xi.” Lou Mu Yan nodded, with apathy and distance. 

She didn’t want to show any looks of goodwill to her father’s enemy, not to mention the man’s wanton gaze made her feel exceptionally unpleasant. A killing intent rose in her heart.

“You won the Fire Cloud Mink?” Yun Tian Zong hadn’t yet spoken when the skinny old man in black asked Lou Mu Yan first.

Lou Mu Yan’s expression didn’t change as she nodded: “Yes.”

“Hand it over to this old man now, what this old man said before is still valid. I owe you a personal favour.” The black-clothed old man was expressionless with a sharp look in his eyes.

“Apologies, Senior, this Junior’s answer remains the same.” Wanting to take advantage of his seniority and age and bully the weak—as if she’d allow that.

“Little girl, this old man is a Sword Monarch expert! Didn’t your father teach you the principle of being kind to others?” The black-clothed old man’s eyes were full of displeasure and a pressure that only belonged to the strong spread from him. Ever since he advanced to a Sword Monarch, there were fewer people who didn’t give him any face.

Lou Mu Yan’s lips curled into a smile, and yet it couldn’t be considered a smile. One couldn’t understand what she was feeling as she looked at the man’s eyes fearlessly, “Presumably Senior also understands the rules of an auction, right? The person with the highest price wins the item. This has been the unchanging principle since old times. If Senior must snatch the Fire Cloud Mink from me in front of the Ming Alliance of Merchant’s entrance today, then this Junior has nothing to say.”

So what if he was a Sword Monarch? She’s really had enough. Everyone just wanted to step on her these days, what’s that all about.

She wouldn’t tolerate and compromise, but in the face of absolute strength, she wouldn’t have a brain cramp2 and directly engage in battle with this Sword Monarch.

“Just what do you want done so that you can give this Fire Cloud Mink to this old man?” The black-clothed old man’s face sank. His hoarse voice carried with it a little anger, and the pressure he exuded thickened a little.

Lou Mu Yan narrowed her eyes, straightened her back and bore the pressure the black-clothed old man deliberately released upon her. A layer of sweat rose on her nose and her face grew slightly pale.

It was the first time that she had faced a pressure from a Sword Monarch expert by herself. The gap between three major Stages truly wasn’t a joke! The pressure alone already made her unable to move her feet. If they really did start fighting, then that old man could seriously take her little life in minutes!

Yun Lan’s clenched hands were full of cold sweat. This strong Sword Monarch expert’s face was as thin as sticks, his complexion was slightly green, and hidden in his eyes was an ominous glint and viciousness. This person probably practiced skills relating to the Path of the Ghost, had an unpredictable temperament, and was definitely cruel and ruthless.

He couldn’t let Lou Mu Yan be in danger, but it was inconvenient to leave, so he surreptitiously gave Yun Jin a look.

Yun Jin nodded gently. What Yun Lan worried about was what he was worried about. Looking up, he saw that the Sword Monarch didn’t even care about the rest of them, so he silently retreated through the crowd of people and returned to the Ming Alliance of Merchants to ask for help.

After a short stalemate, Lou Mu Yan saw that the other party’s face was covered in a shadow and his eyes revealed more and more impatience. With a thought, the palm-sized little white beast landed in her hands, then she smiled at the old man lightly, “Senior, how about we make a bet.”

“What bet?” The black-clothed old man glanced at the little white beast with a flame of desire in his eyes. Then he raised his eyes and looked at Lou Mu Yan to see what sort of tricks she wanted to play.

“Since this little beast is important to both of us, then why not see what it chooses, how about that?” Lou Mu Yan smiled generously and said: “If the Fire Cloud Mink recognises Senior as its master, then I will give it directly to Senior, without taking a cent and I won’t need Senior to owe me that personal favour.

“But if it still chooses this Junior, then it proves that it is more fated with this Junior. I ask that Senior let go when that happens.” Lou Mu Yan didn’t forget the appropriate respect that should be given to experts, but her attitude and tone was neither humble nor haughty.

The black-clothed old man’s lips curled up slightly. He probed the Fire Cloud Mink’s forehead using his Mental Energy and discovered that nothing suspicious had been done to its Sea of Consciousness, so he nodded: “Fine!”

He secretly laughed at Lou Mu Yan’s naivety. Everyone only knew that he was a Sword Monarch expert, but they didn’t know that he was also a Spirit Beast Master! It was just a Tier 2 Demonic Beast. Even if he was only a low-level Spirit Beast Master, he could still easily obtain it.

“Then, Senior, please.” Lou Mu Yan’s lips curled up, placed the little beast on the floor, then took a few steps back.

Because the auction just ended, there were many people who were attracted by the news of their bet, and those that wanted to watch a show all stopped and crowded around.

Seeing Lou Mu Yan’s actions, they guessed that she wanted to yield the Fire Cloud Mink to the Sword Monarch expert. But to give herself a proper way out of the embarrassing situation, she made such a meaningless bet.

Gu Yan Ran’s clenched hands beneath her sleeves suddenly loosened and her eyes revealed a sense of gloating. For a Demonic Beast, she even dared to offend a Sword Monarch expert. Lou Mu Yan was truly an idiot. When the time came when she lost her bet, it was like losing one’s army on top of losing one’s wife3. She’d just wait to watch this trash start crying when the time came.

And at this time, Ming Xiu, who was about to exit the Ming Alliance of Merchants with Elder Ye, stopped in his steps. He watched with interest as he folded his arms and leaned against a stone pillar at the entrance.

Seeing his master suddenly stop, Elder Ye looked at Ming Xiu, befuddled and asked: “Your Highness?”

“Let’s take a look first.” Ming Xiu cast his gaze on Lou Mu Yan. He sure wanted to see what tricks this little woman would use to win this bet.

1idiom describing a devastatingly beautiful woman. A woman so beautiful that she could make monarchs focus solely on her and disregard their land and people, causing their country’s downfall.

2Chinese equivalent to ‘brain fart’. So in this context, she won’t do stupid things.

3Chinese idiom meaning suffering a double loss after trying to outsmart the enemy as the enemy outsmarted them.