One person: Starting with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, his grandmaster uncle emerges from seclusion.

This torment of experiencing both extremes of heat and cold made Zhang Lingyu feel extremely strange every day.

Just as Zhang Lingyu was lost in thought...

The atmosphere at the main table suddenly changed.

Several senior members who had finished their porridge wiped their mouths and their gazes swept across the crowd, landing on Zhang Lingyu.

His eyes were filled with a look of utter disappointment and reproach.

"Lingyu!"

Master Zhao put down his chopsticks, cleared his throat, and launched the first attack:

"What are you doing, spacing out while eating? Didn't you see Xia'er running around all sweaty? Why don't you go over and lend a hand, help carry a plate?"

Zhang Lingyu was taken aback, quickly put down her bowl, stood up, and stammered an explanation:

“Senior Brother Zhao… I… the kitchen is a sensitive area, and it’s always been managed by a designated person, I…”

"What do you mean by 'specialized personnel in charge'! That's just plain blind!"

Master Li then slammed his hand on the table, his beard bristling and eyes wide as he began to berate him:

"You little rascal, you've gone stupid from all that cultivating Taoism! You're so stubborn!"

"What a wonderful girl Xia is! She works tirelessly from dawn till dusk to take care of our whole family. She's beautiful, hardworking, and has a good temper!"

This is a wife you'd be hard to find even with a lantern, and you still put on airs and give her attitude all the time?

"That's it!"

Several other senior Taoist priests also joined the ranks of the "criticism meeting".

"Lingyu, it's not that your senior brothers are criticizing you, but you're just ungrateful for your good fortune!"

"The girl doesn't mind the hardship of living in the mountains and is willing to follow you, so why are you still insisting on these rules and regulations every day?"

"If you ask me, we should quickly pick an auspicious day and get the wedding done! Our Celestial Master's Mansion hasn't had a happy occasion in a long time, so this will be a good opportunity to celebrate!"

"what?!"

Zhang Lingyu was completely stunned by the barrage of words from these highly respected elders.

Forced marriage?!

The senior members of the Celestial Master's Mansion are collectively pressuring him to marry them?!

And the person he's pressuring to marry is none other than one of the Four Madmen of the Quanxing Gang?!

What's wrong with this world?!

Chapter 229 The fox borrows the tiger's power; Heaven is truly effective!

"Senior brother...this...this is absolutely impossible!"

Zhang Lingyu was so anxious that he was covered in sweat, his fair and handsome face turned bright red, and he frantically waved his hands.

He had never encountered such comprehensive pressure from an elder before, and he stammered as he tried to explain:

"Xia... Xia He, after all, was once... once a member of the Quanxing Sect."

According to the ancestral rules of our Celestial Master's Mansion, good and evil cannot coexist. If this gets out, wouldn't the whole world laugh at our Celestial Master's Mansion for harboring filth and evil...?

"Snapped!"

Zhang Lingyu hadn't finished speaking his "righteous and awe-inspiring" words.

The old master, who had been sitting in the middle without saying a word, suddenly slammed the bowl of porridge he was holding onto the table.

The sound wasn't loud, but the dining hall fell silent instantly.

The old celestial master lifted his eyelids, his deep old eyes glancing sideways at Zhang Lingyu.

He twitched his mustache, his tone revealing a look of utter disdain for someone who seemed like an idiot:

"Rules? Ancestral traditions?"

"Lingyu, is your brain made of wood? How come you're so slow to understand?"

The old master pointed to Xia He, who was standing to the side, her shoulders shaking from trying not to laugh, and then pointed to Zhang Lingyu.

"What do you mean by 'a member of the Quanxing Sect'? What did your second martial uncle tell you? Did you just ignore it?"

"Your second uncle said that this girl will be a member of our Celestial Master's Mansion from now on. She sweeps the courtyard and prepares vegetarian meals here every day. Who would be blind enough to call her a Quanxing demoness?"

The old master snorted coldly, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and slowly added insult to injury:

"Besides, when you did that kind of thing with someone down the mountain, didn't you ever think about the rules of our ancestors?"

"Now that this young lady has put aside her past grievances and is coming up the mountain to cook and make soup for you every day, you're here pretending to be a gentleman? I taught you to cultivate the Tao, not to be a scumbag who pulls up his pants and then reneges on his promises, did I?"

"boom!"

Upon hearing the old celestial master's words, all the young Taoist priests in the dining hall stared wide-eyed, their jaws dropping to the floor.

All eyes, like spotlights, were fixed on Zhang Lingyu.

"Wow... the young master had such explosive information back then?!"

"With the Grand Tutor personally getting involved in beating someone up, this melon is guaranteed to be ripe!"

The young Taoist priests below whispered among themselves, and their gazes toward Zhang Lingyu changed, even showing a hint of admiration as "fellow practitioners."

Zhang Lingyu had completely lost the ability to speak at this point.

He closed his eyes in despair.

Social death.

Absolutely socially reprehensible!

His own master exposed his most secret dark history in front of the entire sect.

All he wants now is to dig a hole right here and bury himself forever in the back of Longhu Mountain, never to come out again!

"Master...please...please stop talking..."

Zhang Lingyu's voice was barely audible, as if he wanted to bury his head inside the collar of his Taoist robe.

Looking at Zhang Lingyu's expression, as if she wanted to disappear into the ground.

Xia He, who had been standing by the table, had a sly smile on her face.

She put down the large wooden spoon in her hand and naturally walked to Zhang Lingyu's side.

In front of everyone.

Xia He reached out her fair hand and considerately straightened Zhang Lingyu's collar.

"Lingyu, don't upset the elders."

Xia He's voice was soft, carrying a hint of grievance and a hint of understanding.

Those peach blossom eyes looked at Zhang Lingyu with a watery gaze, but a hint of mockery flashed in their depths that only Zhang Lingyu could understand.

“I know you have high standards and think that my past reputation is not good enough for you, my innocent junior uncle.”

Xia He deliberately sighed, lowered her eyelids, and feigned a sorrowful expression:

“If you really feel it’s difficult, I won’t force you. I’ll pack my things and go down the mountain right now, and I absolutely won’t cause you or the Celestial Master’s Mansion any trouble…”

As she spoke, Xia He turned around as if to leave.

"Hey, hey, hey! Xia girl! Don't go!"

At this, the old Taoist priests became very anxious.

Master Zhao stood up abruptly, slamming his cane on the ground, and pointed at Zhang Lingyu, cursing loudly:

"Zhang Lingyu! If you dare let Xia girl step off Longhu Mountain today, this old man will personally bring out the ruler and watch your backside!"

"That's right! You couldn't find such a good wife even with a lantern! Don't be ungrateful!" Master Li chimed in from the side.

Zhang Lingyu was forced into a corner by this situation.

He looked at Xia He's seemingly aggrieved but actually scheming back.

I was so miserable!

This woman, this woman has a complete grasp on the psychology of these senior members of the Celestial Master's Mansion!

"I...I didn't say you could leave."

Zhang Lingyu gritted her teeth.

He took a deep breath, attempting a final struggle, bringing up his last line of defense:

"Xia He, this is the dining hall, a place for quiet cultivation. Even if we... even if we have that kind of relationship, we should still keep our feelings within the bounds of propriety."

"How can you stand so close to me in public? It's best to keep your distance."

As Zhang Lingyu spoke, she subtly took half a step back, trying to create distance between herself and Xia He.

however.

Xia He not only didn't back down, but instead took another step closer.

She reached out and grabbed Zhang Lingyu's wide sleeve.

"Keep your distance?"

Xia He blinked, and the aggrieved look on her face immediately disappeared.

It transformed into a self-righteous little fox.

She cleared her throat to make sure everyone in the dining hall could hear her:

"Lingyu, you're talking to me about manners, aren't you?"

"Alright, let's talk about the rules then."

Xia He deliberately raised her chin, her eyes brimming with the confidence of "I have powerful backers, who am I afraid of?"

"My second uncle personally told me this when we came back from Beijing!"

"Second Uncle said: 'Xia He, Ling Yu is a stubborn kid who's prone to getting stuck on things. When you go back to the mountain, you're in charge of keeping a close eye on him!'"