Fang Shuo hung his head, his spirits thoroughly dampened.
In truth, he did not quite understand why the Divine Lady wanted him to stay in Yecheng for another three days. But if she said so, there had to be a good reason. Perhaps she was worried he might disrupt his father's tribulation and ascension?
With that thought, he felt a sense of relief.
Only when the Divine Lady's celestial carriage had completely vanished into the horizon did Shen Yu slowly withdraw his gaze. He turned his eyes toward the young master in fine brocade, the one who received the Divine Lady's clear favoritism, and a trace of gloom flickered in his gaze.
Even if he was loath to admit it, he had to acknowledge that the Divine Lady showed a different kind of indulgence toward the man before him.
Did he really please the Divine Lady that much?
Was it because he possessed talent capable of reshaping the world, or because he possessed the martial prowess of a lone warrior holding a mountain pass against ten thousand?
It could not possibly be just because he was blessed with a face as beautiful as a woman's. That was out of the question. The Divine Lady coexisted with heaven and earth, having witnessed the rise and fall of countless eras. What kind of peerless beauty had she not seen? How could she ever be swayed by the mere looks of a mortal?
Though a thousand thoughts raced through his mind, the expression on his face remained calm and unperturbed.
He took a step forward and bowed deeply to the clearly distracted young master in brocade. His etiquette was flawless, betraying none of his true feelings.
“This humble one is Shen Yu. May I ask who you are, sir?”
The steady inquiry suddenly rang in his ears, snapping Fang Shuo back to his senses. He flurriedly returned the bow, his clumsy, obviously improvised movements looking rather comical.
Seeing this, Shen Yu offered a polite remark, “We are all believers of the Divine Lady. There is no need for you to be so formal, young master.”
Anyone else would have recognized this as mere politeness, but Fang Shuo, simple-minded as he was, took it completely at face value.
He peeked at Shen Yu, stood up straight, lowered his hands, and smiled, revealing two sharp little canine teeth. “That's wonderful! Honestly, I'm not used to greeting people in such a formal way either. It feels so bizarre.”
“Mr. Shen, you are a truly good person.” He spoke with absolute sincerity, without a hint of pretense.
Shen Yu: “...”
While Shen Yu would not claim to possess absolute discernment, he did have a knack for reading people. The man before him lacked the temperament of a strategist, and judging by his build, he was certainly no martial artist either.
To put it bluntly, this man was no different from the useless, playboy dandies he had seen in the capital.
The only difference was that he lacked the arrogant, overbearing attitude typical of those rich playboys.
And yet,
that did not change the fact that he was still a useless fool.
Having reached this conclusion, Shen Yu felt rather depressed.
Why did someone like this deserve the Divine Lady's favor?
Could it truly be because of his good looks? But if that were the case, Shen Yu's own appearance was by no means inferior. Why did the Divine Lady regard someone who possessed nothing but looks with such high esteem?
No matter how hard he tried to restrain himself, it was futile; he simply could not suppress the urge to compare.
He wanted to know exactly where he fell short.
If the Divine Lady treated everyone equally, he would never have harbored such thoughts. Ultimately, it was not scarcity that troubled him, but inequality.
Fang Shuo, the subject of these thoughts, remained completely oblivious.
He had no idea that from just a few sentences, Shen Yu had already seen right through him, even going so far as to designate him as an imaginary rival.
“Oh, by the way, I'm Fang Shuo! The Divine Lady told me earlier that I should study under you at the academy in the future. Don't you recognize me? Ah, that makes sense. My face was covered in coal dust back then...”
Shen Yu remained silent for a long moment before speaking. “If I may ask, Young Master Fang, what books have you studied?”
Fang Shuo scratched his head, his face flushing. “I've only ever been forced by my dad to barely learn the Thousand Character Classic.”
Shen Yu nearly lost his composure.
The Thousand Character Classic was a mere primer for toddlers!
Setting aside those child prodigies, even Cui He, who had only started her education at the age of nine, had been able to memorize the entire text within seven days.
Fang Shuo looked older than his own younger sister; how did he have the nerve to admit he only knew the Thousand Character Classic?
“Young Master Fang, do you possess any other talents?”
“Talents?” Fang Shuo shook his head honestly. “I don't think I have any talents. I'm just lucky. I was born into a wealthy family, and I have an incredible dad. Thanks to my dad, the Divine Lady takes extra care of me too.”
Hearing this, Shen Yu thought of a certain possibility. His expression changed dramatically, and his voice trembled slightly. “Young Master Fang, may I ask what the relationship between your honorable father and the Divine Lady is...”
He dared not, and could not, speak the rest of his thoughts.
If it was not as he suspected,
would that not be a desecration of the deity?
Fang Shuo looked at Shen Yu in surprise. “Mr. Shen, you are so smart! I haven't even said anything, yet you've already guessed it!”
At those words, Shen Yu's face grew even paler. His body swayed, and he could barely keep his footing.
“Sir, please don't get too excited!” Fang Shuo quickly reached out to support Shen Yu, saying helplessly, “I know, it's absolutely mind-boggling that my dad is the reincarnation of Immortal Lord Tiande from the heavens and a good friend of the Divine Lady. Honestly, I feel a bit embarrassed myself for getting so many benefits just because of my dad's connections.”
“Sigh, take this safety lamp, for instance. It prevents miners from striking earth gas and causing cave-ins. I thought it would be much more suitable for General Shen, but the Divine Lady insisted that I am destined to have it. She said it belongs to no one but me, and she has high hopes for me, wanting me to carry it through all the mines to provide light for the miners...”
As he spoke,
he produced a brass-colored lamp from somewhere.
Shen Yu looked at Fang Shuo, then at the lamp. Realizing there had been a misunderstanding, he gradually calmed down. He discreetly took a step back to distance himself from Fang Shuo, resuming his composed demeanor as a modest gentleman.
“I can see that this lamp is no ordinary mortal object.” He lowered his eyes in thought for a moment, then turned to Cui He behind him. “Ar He, take Young Master Fang to find Daoist Master Xuan Jing.”
“Yes, sir,”
Cui He bowed respectfully.
After standing up, she turned to Fang Shuo, her expression instantly switching to a cold, frosty mask. “Follow me.”
Everyone else had worked so hard just to earn a tiny shred of the Divine Lady's pity, yet Fang Shuo received her favor simply through his connections.
She thoroughly disliked him.
It took Fang Shuo a while to react before he chased after the fast-walking Cui He. “Hey, wait for me!”
Upon seeing her face clearly, he gasped in surprise, “You're that brat who sent me to mine coal?”
“Impertinent and uncouth!” Cui He scolded him with a stern face. “I am Mr. Shen's student and entered the academy a year before you. You should call me Senior Sister.”
Having been inexplicably lectured by a child, Fang Shuo's face flushed red with anger. But since this was not his home, he could only swallow his grievance, furious but not daring to speak up.
Yun Shu sat cross-legged on her bed.
Seeing that Fang Shuo had been taken to Fang Yingqiu as she had anticipated, she shut down the surveillance screen.
As expected, Shen Yu was both clever and highly efficient.
“I spent two million Shock Value to upgrade the Rainbow and Feather Garment from Level 8 to Level 10, leaving me with over a million.”
She opened the permanent prize pool. “Although my current wardrobe is sufficient for the upcoming trip to Chaoyang City, if I could draw a complete set of the Heavenly Balance or the Sword Sovereign of the Nine Heavens, the impact would be even better, and I would earn far more Shock Value.”
Rate on N.U.
