The sight of it all caused Bai Xiaochun’s scalp to go numb. He was completely surrounded, and no matter which way he tried to move, he ran into something soft and warm. They even began to tug at his clothing, causing his heart to pound. Finally, a cold snort rang out, and Hou Xiaomei appeared. Glaring angrily, cheeks puffed, she stormed up to him, shoving the other young women aside.
“Get out of my way! What do you people think you’re doing!? This is Fragrant Cloud Peak of the Spirit Stream Sect. Don’t you bunch of old coots know how to keep your cool? Get out of my way, all of you. Hey you! Look at you! You’re skinnier than a greenbean! What are you shoving people around for? And you! You’re fatter than a dairy cow! Get the hell out of my way!!” Hou Xiaomei sounded genuinely furious as she pushed aside all of the young women crowding around Bai Xiaochun.
She was small and delicate, but she was fuming, and seemed to be filled with boundless strength. Facing such opposition, the other young women immediately surrendered and opened a path, crying out in confusion. Hou Xiaomei stormed forward with her hands on her hips, looking like a chili pepper, the words she uttered incisive and damaging.
Bai Xiaochun took advantage of the moment to hurry into the courtyard. Once inside, he looked down to find that his garments had been tugged at so much that they were about to fall off.
“Absolutely terrifying!” he thought, gasping. Heart pounding with residual fear, he looked back out through the main gate and saw Hou Xiaomei standing there verbally sparring with the other young women, standing alone against a crowd of dozens.
Eventually, the responsible members of the cultivator clans couldn’t stand idly by. They finally intervened and suggested to the young women that they leave. Clasping hands respectfully in Bai Xiaochun’s direction, they promised to come back to visit at a later date.
Soon, it was evening. It was quiet outside of Bai Xiaochun’s gate, but off in the distance, people from various cultivator clans were sitting cross-legged in meditation, seemingly guarding the area.
All of these people had used various means and methods to come from afar, and also had ways to keep themselves from being driven away.
Bai Xiaochun was sure that something momentous had occurred. Looking at the quiet scene outside, he eventually dragged Hou Xiaomei into the courtyard.
To outsiders, Hou Xiaomei was as fiery as a hot pepper, but as soon as Bai Xiaochun’s hand made contact with her, her face turned bright red, and she felt dizzy. Her tiny frame almost went limp as Bai Xiaochun dragged her inside.
When she spoke, her voice was as soft as the drone of a mosquito. “Big… big bro Xiaochun, there are so many people around, what are you planning to do to me…?”
“Huh?” Bai Xiaochun said, staring in shock. Seeing Hou Xiaomei’s odd countenance, he could tell that something was wrong with her, and quickly slapped her cheek. When she didn’t seem to recover, he slapped her again. Hou Xiaomei immediately regained her senses.
“What’s wrong with you!?” she snapped, stamping her foot. However, realizing she had been the one in the wrong, she tossed a jade slip to him, and then turned heel and fled.
As he watched Hou Xiaomei flee into the distance, Bai Xiaochun stood there wondering what was going on. Finally, he looked down at the jade slip and scanned it with spiritual power. As he did, his eyes went wide. After scanning it again, he stood there in the courtyard, breathing heavily.
“Prestige clan….”
The jade slip had been sent to Bai Xiaochun by Hou Yunfei, with Hou Xiaomei being the messenger. The words contained within were the type that almost couldn’t be uttered aloud. They explained why all of the cultivator clans were so interested in Bai Xiaochun’s status as a Prestige disciple, and what had occurred as a result. They also explained that the Hou Clan held an intense hope that Bai Xiaochun’s descendants… would also have the blood of the Hou Clan running in their veins.
Then Bai Xiaochun thought about how Hou Xiaomei had been acting just now, and he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Eyes sparkling, he thought, not about Hou Xiaomei, but about his own words from moments ago. Something momentous had occurred!
“How could I have imagined…? And here I thought the reward for my meritorious service was basically useless. I thought that being the Junior Brother of the sect leader would make me a big hero in the sect, but I never thought that being a Prestige disciple would make me so important on the outside!” He licked his lips, and soon, his heart began to beat faster.
“I could pick any Daoist partner I wanted! All of their clan resources would be at my disposal…. Finally, I have some real hope to live forever!” Chuckling mischievously, his eyes began to shine. Previously, he had been worried about how to keep up his efforts to concoct tier-2 spirit medicine. But now, people were essentially fighting over the chance to give him gifts.
“What a pity I can’t accept them all….” he murmured. But then, he was struck with inspiration.
“Wait a second! Why can’t I accept them all?!” Clearing his throat, he entered his cabin to rest for the evening, thinking the whole time about what to do next. The following morning at dawn, he leapt out of bed, trembling with excitement. After pushing open the gate of the courtyard, he found a whole host of people from various cultivator clans waiting for him.
“Fellow Daoist Bai….”
“Greetings, Fellow Daoist Bai. Your humble servant has come upon the request of our clan patriarch to offer formal greetings….”
Everyone started talking at once, filling the air with a cacophony of sound. Bai Xiaochun stuck out his chin and flicked his sleeve.
“Alright, enough is enough,” he said, smiling so widely that his eyes became slits. “Everyone come close. Whatever requests you have, we can talk them all out.” With that, he randomly nodded in the direction of one of the clans. The responsible member of the clan rushed forward in delight, dragging a few young women with him.
The women approached, looking a bit nervous. As for all of the other observing clans, they also seemed nervous, although for different reasons; they quickly began to transmit messages back home.
Things went on like that for the next clan, and then the next. One by one, all day. Bai Xiaochun met with dozens of them.
He didn’t choose any of the clan daughters, and yet, neither did he refuse anyone. He merely told them that he needed some time to think, and that the matter was too weighty to decide on a whim. As for all of the ‘introductory gifts,’ he didn’t refuse a single one.
“I, Bai Xiaochun, always handle all matters in a just and fair manner. Considering that I haven’t yet chosen which honorable clan to ally with in marriage, I truly am unable to accept your gifts.” Those were the words he would speak to each and every clan.
Of course, the more he spoke in such a way, the more the cultivator clans insisted that he accept their gifts. In fact, they grew even more polite. Many of them went on to say that even if no marriage resulted, they still wished to be good friends. Only then did Bai Xiaochun reluctantly accept the gifts.
Although they might be fools, the people from these cultivator clans weren’t stupid. They knew that when Bai Xiaochun said he needed to think about the matter, he was most likely just waiting to see which clan would make the best offer.
That, of course, was within the purvey of expectation. Furthermore, all of them feared that if they didn’t offer their gifts, Bai Xiaochun wouldn’t even consider their clan daughter to be his Daoist partner. The result was that the next day, the crowds hadn’t thinned at all, and in fact, had grown more numerous. Furthermore, some of the cultivator clans even went so far as to say that even if their clan daughter couldn’t become Bai Xiaochun’s Daoist partner, they were still willing for her to be a maidservant to warm his bed at night. As long as she could pass on his bloodline, and he acknowledged them formally, that would be sufficient.