Chapter 155: Enduring Great Injustice

Hearing this, Xiao Yang nodded, conceding that the logic was sound.

He had long since regarded Zhou Yan as his future wife.

In a couple of years, he planned to discuss the matter with his master... Hehe!

"Alright, whenever I have some free time, I'll treat you."

After exchanging a few more polite remarks, Xiao Yang walked straight out of the City Lord's Mansion.

Because of his disheveled and unkempt appearance, he inevitably attracted a lot of curious glances.

"How strange, that beggar actually walked out of the City Lord's Mansion."

"You're telling me. Even high-ranking officials and nobles aren't usually allowed in casually, yet they let a beggar enter."

Many people murmured quietly among themselves.

Xiao Yang, however, had no desire to pay attention to them; his mind was entirely occupied by a single thought at the moment.

That was to return as quickly as possible and find his junior martial sister.

Xiao Yang chose not to speak, but that didn't mean Hao Wenlong could tolerate it.

In his heart, this young master of his had bestowed upon him a kindness akin to a second birth.

How could he stand by and let anyone slander him?

"Shut your mouths, all of you! If any of you dare to wag your tongues again, I'll cut them out."

With a furious roar, the surrounding crowd instantly fell silent.

Clearly, some people had already recognized Hao Wenlong's identity.

He was a Martial Marquis expert.

He was definitely someone they could not afford to provoke.

Sensibly, they all kept their mouths shut, not daring to speak recklessly any further.

Xiao Yang glanced at Hao Wenlong.

"Why bother with them? If they want to talk, let them talk. I won't lose a piece of flesh."

"Young Master, these people are just despicable bullies who prey on the weak."

Hao Wenlong was clearly still harboring anger; if Xiao Yang hadn't been right there, he would have found a way to cut out the tongues of those few people.

He wanted to let them know the consequences of speaking nonsense.

The two of them soon arrived at the Gathering Fortune Restaurant.

However, the atmosphere felt somewhat wrong.

The entire restaurant seemed exceptionally lively and bustling.

"What is this..."

Looking at the crowds of people coming and going, Xiao Yang cast a puzzled glance at Hao Wenlong.

Noticing the look, Hao Wenlong wore an awkward expression.

"Young Master, you'd better go inside and see for yourself."

Even without stepping inside, Xiao Yang had already caught the rich, savory aromas wafting out.

It was unmistakably the scent of cooked food.

Suddenly, Xiao Yang's body trembled slightly.

"Damn it!"

He let out a loud shout and sprinted toward the Gathering Fortune Restaurant.

To his horror, he could almost vividly picture his master wielding a sword and coming after him to hack him to pieces.

Stepping into the restaurant, things were exactly as he had feared.

There was a young maiden, busy cooking away, a faint layer of fragrant sweat glistening on her face.

At this sight, Xiao Yang's face turned completely dark.

He took a deep breath and walked toward the counter.

Hao Huahu felt someone approach, but without even lifting his head, he said in a weary, lifeless tone:

"The menu is over there, take a look yourself. Tell me whatever you want."

However, after waiting for a moment, there was no response.

Feeling somewhat displeased, he added:

"If you're not here to eat, please step aside. We still have a business to run."

Yet, the person remained stubbornly planted in front of the counter.

This instantly irritated Hao Huahu.

Over the past few days, he had thrown quite a few troublemakers out, and he immediately assumed this person was here to cause trouble.

He raised his head to look.

It turned out to be a beggar.

"Wait here, I'll go get you a couple of big steamed buns."

Recalling Zhou Yan's instruction that they should offer appropriate charity to people in difficulties, he turned to fetch the buns for Xiao Yang.

Suddenly, he noticed a guard standing beside the disheveled beggar, and upon closer inspection, a trace of surprise crossed his face.

"Eldest Brother?"

At this moment, Hao Wenlong was holding back laughter with great difficulty.

To have his own young master gnawing on steamed buns and mistaken for a beggar on the spot—his younger brother was truly peerless.

"Go call that girl Zhou Yan over here."

Xiao Yang finally spoke.

Hao Huahu was momentarily stunned, but he quickly realized the true identity of the beggar before him.

"You're... Young Master?"

Xiao Yang nodded slightly.

"Young Master, you..." Hao Huahu was about to cry out in excitement, but with lightning-fast reflexes, Xiao Yang reached out and directly covered his mouth.

He raised a hand, making a gesture for silence.

Hao Huahu nodded.

"Go call Zhou Yan over."

"Understood!"

Hao Huahu grasped the situation instantly and, not daring to make a fuss, hurried toward the back kitchen.

At that moment, Zhou Yan was up to her ears in work. Seeing Hao Huahu enter, she assumed he was bringing another set of orders.

"Just put the menu over there, I'll cook them in a moment."

However, Hao Huahu was clearly not here to deliver a menu this time.

"Miss, someone outside is looking for you."

Hearing this, a look of annoyance crossed Zhou Yan's face.

Working as the head chef here over the past few days had been quite enjoyable, but it also came with a few frustrating nuisances.

For instance, a certain young man frequently came to harass her.

Had that youth not carefully avoided crossing any lines, she would have long since had the Hao brothers throw him out.

Hearing Hao Huahu's words, Zhou Yan assumed that pest had returned.

Just as she was about to refuse, she heard Hao Huahu clarify:

"Miss, it's not that person. It's someone else this time."

A flicker of confusion crossed Zhou Yan's eyes.

She didn't have many friends in Northern Desert City, and her only real friend had left the city on business a couple of days ago and had yet to return.

"Someone else? I'll go take a look, then."

With that, Zhou Yan set down the work in her hands and walked toward the front, with Hao Huahu following closely behind.

A single glance swept across the room.

Zhou Yan's eyes landed on the disheveled, unkempt beggar.

One glance.

She felt the figure looked somewhat familiar.

A second glance.

"Senior Brother!"

A look of pure joy bloomed on her face, and she trotted over toward Xiao Yang in small steps.

Xiao Yang certainly didn't dare to embrace the young maiden; given how filthy he was at the moment, he was as messy as they came.

He nimbly dodged out of the way.

This reaction instantly left Zhou Yan stunned.

Her eyes turned slightly red as she looked up at Xiao Yang.

"Senior Brother, you..."

She looked as though she had suffered a grave grievance.

Seeing this, Xiao Yang's heart softened.

So what if she liked cooking? So what if she hadn't listened to his instructions?

What did it matter? In his past life, finding a wife who could cook would have taken eight lifetimes of accumulated blessings.

Why should it be unacceptable now?

"Stop crying. Look how filthy I am. Once I wash up properly, I'll let you hug me to your heart's content."

He hastily began to explain.

Hearing these words, the tears that were about to fall were promptly reined in.

Instead, she burst into a relieved smile through her tears.

"Senior Brother, you're so filthy."

"Go wash up quickly," she said with a cheeky grin.

Then, she turned around and announced to the diners in the restaurant:

"I'm sorry, everyone. We need to close early today, please bear with us."

In the next instant, all the diners were dumbfounded.

You two wanted to show affection, fine, but what did that have to do with them?

Why were they being chased out?

Yet none of them dared to voice their complaints, because this modest little restaurant happened to harbor two Martial Marquis experts.

Though dissatisfaction lingered in their hearts, none of the patrons dared to say anything superfluous.

They all quietly stood up and left, not daring to linger.

Otherwise, they might not be walking out on their own feet, but rather being tossed out by a Martial Marquis.

Before long, the entire Gathering Fortune Restaurant was completely empty.

Xiao Yang had finished scrubbing clean and had changed into a fresh set of clothes.

"Much more refreshing."

He walked down from the upper floor.

Zhou Yan looked up slightly, and upon seeing Xiao Yang, she suddenly felt a strange sensation.

"Senior Brother seems to have acquired an even more extraordinary bearing."

She muttered softly to herself.

Even Xiao Yang himself was unaware that ever since he successfully condensed his Martial Dao Avatar, his aura had been subtly influenced by it.

Even in his everyday moments, his presence naturally exuded an air that seemed to stand above all living beings.