14: Chapter 14 is useless.

When that crisp, mature female voice rang out, everyone turned their heads in unison, looking toward the direction the sound came from.

This included Ye Xiaoyao, whose hand was already on his Storage Pouch; Lu Guan, with his sinister expression; and those two lackeys who were raring to go.

The crowd seemed to be parted by a giant hand, rustling as they retreated to the sides, forcibly clearing a path through the crowded trade fair.

Sunlight slanted in through the gap in the human wall, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air, and also lighting up the figure slowly walking over from the other end of the path.

She wore a gorgeous light pink dress, the hem swaying gently with her steps, like the most delicate peach blossom in spring unfolding in the breeze.

Her figure was graceful, her curves exquisite, and every step carried the composure and elegance unique to a noblewoman from a cultivation Family.

On her bright and beautiful Face, her eyebrows were like distant mountains, her eyes like autumn water, her nose was pert and straight, and her lips were red without the need for rouge.

She was none other than the number one beauty of the Outer Sect.

Cao Sini.

"It's Fairy Cao!"

"Fairy Cao has come to the trade fair too!"

"What kind of day is it today? One lively event after another..."

Low gasps and discussions spread through the crowd.

The gazes of many male cultivators became heated.

The female cultivators had complex expressions, containing envy, comparison, and simple admiration.

The short male cultivator who had previously stood up to accuse Lu Guan was now like someone pumped full of adrenaline, using all his strength to squeeze through the gaps in the crowd, just wanting to get closer to the goddess in his heart.

He stood on tiptoe, stretched his neck, and stared at Cao Sini without blinking, muttering to himself in a voice only he could hear:

"I've seen her again... so beautiful... although I can't touch her, I have new material for my dreams tonight, hehe..."

A silly smile mixed with obsession and satisfaction appeared on his Face.

Cao Sini seemed oblivious to the surrounding gazes and discussions.

She strolled through the path the crowd had automatically cleared, walking straight to the center of this small disturbance.

She stood still between Ye Xiaoyao and Lu Guan.

She turned slightly, her pink skirt spinning a small arc, bringing a wave of elegant fragrance.

And following behind her like a loyal big dog was the brawny man, Zhang Jiba.

He followed closely, his gaze practically glued to Cao Sini's back.

That obsessive appearance formed a stark contrast to his domineering persona on the matchmaking stage that morning.

As soon as Lu Guan saw Cao Sini, his previous sinister and angry expression was instantly suppressed, replaced by an eager smile, and his eyes lit up a bit.

"Fairy Cao! What a coincidence, you're here at the trade fair too? Our fate is truly deep!"

He tried hard to make his voice sound dashing, and even deliberately adjusted his posture, attempting to show his best side.

However, Cao Sini's gaze first landed on Ye Xiaoyao.

She quickly scanned him from head to toe, pausing for a moment on his hand pressing against the Storage Pouch and the ghost-head blade in the hand of Sharp Mouth opposite him.

Then, she acted as if she had just heard Lu Guan's words.

She tilted her head slightly, but there was no warmth in her eyes; instead, there was a trace of obvious scrutiny and...

A faint disdain?

She did not respond to Lu Guan's talk about "our fate."

Instead, she asked directly, her voice clear and melodious but with a questioning tone: "Senior Brother Lu, what is going on here?"

She tilted her chin slightly, gesturing toward Sharp Mouth.

"Why is this Senior Brother holding a Magical Artifact against Junior Brother Ye? Judging by this stance, it doesn't look like a normal greeting."

She actually already had a guess in her heart.

Given this guy's petty nature and consistent style in the Outer Sect, the probability of him looking for trouble with Ye Xiaoyao was extremely high.

She asked Lu Guan only to see how he would make up a story.

Lu Guan was enraged by her attitude of ignoring him while questioning him, and his smile almost couldn't hold.

It's Ye Xiaoyao again!

Cao Sini, are your eyes crooked?

I'm so enthusiastic toward you, yet you don't see it, and the moment you arrive, you care about this little white face first!

He cursed wildly in his heart, but on his Face, he still had to maintain a stiff smile.

"Fairy Cao, your words make me sad."

Lu Guan "whooshed" open his folding fan and shook it gently, trying to regain a bit of composed demeanor.

His tone also became slow and deliberate, carrying a sense of grievance, as he said:

"You don't know, just now, for some reason, Junior Brother Ye was quite disrespectful to me in his words. But fortunately, I, Lu Guan, am a broad-minded person; how could I take such a small matter to heart?"

He paused, pointed his folding fan at Ye Xiaoyao, and changed the subject, becoming high-sounding:

"I just saw that Junior Brother Ye's complexion is good today, thinking his cultivation might have improved, so I wanted to let my Junior Brother, Sharp Mouth, spar and exchange pointers with him, so they could verify their skills and progress together."

"Between fellow Disciples, a friendly spar, isn't that a wonderful thing?"

After speaking, he turned to Ye Xiaoyao.

The smile on his Face deepened, but his eyes carried an unmistakable threat, and he deliberately slowed his tone: "Junior Brother Ye, you say... is that right?"

He was certain.

In front of Fairy Cao and so many people, Ye Xiaoyao, this small character with no background, would definitely not dare to defy him like before.

He could only go down the steps he provided and admit it was a friendly spar.

In this way, he could regain some Face and make Fairy Cao think he was magnanimous; perhaps...

He could still continue to teach Ye Xiaoyao a lesson.

His wishful thinking was clicking loudly.

Unfortunately, Ye Xiaoyao was never someone who played by the rules.

Ye Xiaoyao's hand, which had been pressing on his Storage Pouch, let go. He even patted the worn-out pouch, as if it had dust on it.

Then, he raised his head, meeting Lu Guan's threatening gaze.

Not only did he not retreat, but he suddenly laughed "haha" twice.

The laughter was hearty, exceptionally abrupt in the somewhat tense atmosphere.

"Senior Brother Lu,"

Ye Xiaoyao finished laughing, a smile still lingering at the corners of his mouth, but his eyes were incredibly clear and open.

"These words of yours, they were truly spoken... without changing your expression or heart rate; I admire you, Senior Brother."

He changed the subject, his tone suddenly becoming sharp.

"However, let's speak plainly. You are hounding me, isn't it because on the matchmaking stage this morning, I, Ye Xiaoyao, was lucky enough not to be immediately eliminated by Senior Sister Cao, and later lucky enough to gain the favor of Her Highness the Saintess, making you, Young Master Lu, feel that you lost Face and are unhappy in your heart?"

He spoke faster, his words clear, firing at Lu Guan like a chain of cannonballs.

"Now you are blocking me with two helpers, nothing more than wanting to rely on having more people and higher cultivation to force me to hand over the Medicinal Pill and Spirit Stone I just bought, so you can vent your anger and incidentally grab some benefits."

"What friendly spar, what progress together? Senior Brother Lu, do you think the eyes of the Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters present are just decorations? Or is it..."

Ye Xiaoyao turned his gaze to Cao Sini, his tone carrying a touch of well-measured helplessness and grievance.

"Does Senior Brother Lu think that Senior Sister Cao is someone so easy to fool, that she can be deceived by just making up a reason?"

This speech was well-organized and logically clear.

It tore away Lu Guan's hypocritical fig leaf completely and cleverly threw the problem to Cao Sini.

The onlookers immediately started buzzing with discussion, and many people's gazes toward Lu Guan became intrigued.

Indeed, that display just now, how did it look like a friendly spar?

Lu Guan was so furious at Ye Xiaoyao's ruthless exposure that his Face turned livid, his chest heaved violently, and he even forgot to shake the folding fan in his hand.

He pointed at Ye Xiaoyao, his finger trembling slightly, and shouted angrily: "You... you are spitting blood! Nonsense! How could I, Lu Guan, be that kind of person? Clearly, you humiliated me in public just now!"

In his urgency, his gaze swept across the crowd, and he caught sight of a blue-robed male cultivator who was usually close to him and had received some small favors from him, and immediately, as if grabbing a life-saving straw, he shouted:

"Junior Brother Zhao! You were there just now, tell me, was it Ye Xiaoyao who spoke rudely first and insulted me?"

The blue-robed Disciple surnamed Zhao was stunned at being named.

Immediately seeing the threat and hint hidden in Lu Guan's eyes, he understood at once.

This was a great opportunity to perform in front of Fairy Cao and at the same time curry favor with Senior Brother Lu!

He immediately straightened his back, squeezed out of the crowd, and said loudly: "Answering Fairy Cao, what Senior Brother Lu said is absolutely true! Just now, this Disciple saw with his own eyes and heard with his own ears that this Ye Xiaoyao indeed spoke wildly and did his utmost to humiliate Senior Brother Lu!"

His voice was loud, striving to make everyone hear clearly.

Cao Sini's originally slightly furrowed eyebrows raised, and her gaze swept across the calm Ye Xiaoyao, the secretly smug Lu Guan, and this witness who had suddenly jumped out.

Finally, it landed on the blue-robed Disciple with great interest.

"Oh? Since this Junior Brother saw it with your own eyes, then why don't you tell us, how did Junior Brother Ye do his utmost to humiliate Senior Brother Lu? What exactly did he say?"

Her voice was soft, but carried a force that compelled one to answer.

Seeing that Fairy Cao had actually taken the initiative to ask him a question, the blue-robed Disciple was overjoyed, feeling as if he were floating on air.

Eager to impress, his brain heated up, and without thinking carefully, he blurted out what he thought would hit Ye Xiaoyao the hardest and best highlight Lu Guan's grievance:

"Reporting to Fairy Cao! That Ye Xiaoyao... he... he publicly mocked Senior Brother Lu, saying that Senior Brother Lu's body... that place... doesn't work! Saying Senior Brother Lu is a pewter spearhead, good-looking but useless!"

After the words fell, the whole scene was silent for a moment.

Then — —

"Pfft — —"

"Hahahaha!"

"Oh my mother, I'm dying of laughter!"

"This Senior Brother is a talent!"

"Senior Brother Lu doesn't work? How does he know? Has he tried?"

The roar of laughter was like a bursting flood, instantly sweeping through the entire corner.

Even some female cultivators couldn't help but laugh, covering their mouths.

This blue-robed Disciple had intended to commit perjury to step on Ye Xiaoyao, but with one sentence, he nailed Lu Guan to the pillar of shame for being physically useless.

It could be called an outstanding effect.

The smugness on Lu Guan's Face instantly froze, then peeled off piece by piece like broken porcelain, revealing the mottled blue and red color underneath.

He glared at the blue-robed Disciple, his eyeballs almost popping out, a mouthful of blood stuck in his throat, almost spraying out on the spot.

Idiot!

Moron!

Pig brain!

He was roaring wildly in his heart, wishing he could immediately rush over and sew that blue-robed Disciple's mouth shut.

Who told you to say that!?

Even if you had to make something up, couldn't you make up something else?

Cao Sini was stunned at first, then couldn't help but "pfft" with a light laugh, hurriedly covering her lips with her sleeve, but the curve of her eyes betrayed her.

She glanced at Lu Guan with a strange look, then looked at Ye Xiaoyao, who had an expression of "it has nothing to do with me, I'm also very shocked," and the smile in her eyes deepened.

On the surface, Ye Xiaoyao had an expression of "indifferent and unconcerned," even slightly frowning, as if feeling helpless about the blue-robed Disciple's false accusation.

In reality, the inner person inside him was already rolling on the ground laughing, slapping his thigh.

What a god-tier teammate, Lu Guan!

It's like someone sending a pillow when you're sleepy, or handing you a brick when you want to slap someone's Face!

He hadn't even put much effort into fighting back, and the opponent had already sent out such a sharp suicide truck!

This show effect is top-notch!

After the blue-robed Disciple finished speaking, he realized the atmosphere was wrong; the surrounding laughter and Lu Guan's murderous gaze made him realize belatedly.

It seems... I said the wrong thing?

He opened his mouth, wanting to remedy it, but didn't know what to say, so he could only shrink his neck sheepishly, retreat into the crowd, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

The scene was suddenly filled with a cheerful Spiritual Qi.

Only Lu Guan stood there, his Face as black as the bottom of a pot, enduring the meaningful gazes cast from all directions, feeling like a monkey being watched.

He gripped his folding fan tightly, his knuckles white, his gaze toward Ye Xiaoyao so resentful it almost solidified.

And after Cao Sini finished laughing, her beautiful eyes turned, and when she looked at Ye Xiaoyao again.

In that gaze, besides the previous scrutiny, there seemed to be a little something else.

It seems this trade fair can't be continued today.

But this play was, contrary to what she expected...

Much more interesting.