Chapter 99: Rich Family Seeking a Marriage
When Shen San caught up with Lu Yunxi, she was leisurely strolling through a bustling night market.
Seeing his gloomy, tense face, her heart skipped a beat. For a terrifying second, she wondered if her apprentice had somehow discovered that she was a fake NPC. But she quickly dismissed the thought; there was no logical way for him to have suddenly unearthed that secret.
She blinked, masking the curiosity in her eyes. Deciding to comfort her dutiful disciple, she stepped over to a roadside stall and bought a stick of candied haws.
As she was paying, she caught him watching her out of the corner of her eye. His expression was incredibly complicated, completely unreadable. But the moment she began to turn around, he panicked, dodging behind a street corner to hide.
Yunxi pretended not to notice. Amused, she quietly raised an eyebrow and ate the sweet treat herself.
How strange. What on earth is wrong with him?
At that exact moment, Shen San was having a massive internal crisis.
His younger brother’s words kept echoing in his mind. “You just laughed like that… Your data is completely compromised.” Had he really smiled that sweetly while reading those magazines, looking exactly like a man daydreaming about his lover?
Sweet?!
Preposterous! How could his face ever wear an expression like that?
When he had been flipping through those pages, his only thoughts had been about how to design a spectacular new set of clothes for his master. The traditional garments in Ancient Times were already beautiful, but he figured he could incorporate some of the more novel, avant-garde silhouettes from the interstellar era. Perhaps because she had spent so much time in an infant state, he had grown accustomed to tailoring micro-garments for her. After doing it for so long, it had simply become a deeply ingrained habit. Even though her character model had fully restored to adulthood, he was still used to designing outfits for her.
He didn’t harbor a single inappropriate thought! None at all!
Shen San drew a long, heavy breath to settle his erratic thoughts. Feeling thoroughly irritated with himself, he logged back into the simulation, only for his eyes to instantly lock onto that familiar figure.
She was drifting through the night market, her eyes and brow curved with a gentle, serene joy. She was chatting warmly with a vendor, her face lighting up with an adorable smile. Then, she meticulously selected a particularly beautiful stick of candied haws…
Enough!
Master, Master, Master! What was wrong with his brain? Why was his entire consciousness utterly consumed by thoughts of his master?!
Unable to look any longer, he quickly slipped away into the shadows before she could turn around and spot him.
A few days passed.
“Shen San, if your parameters are still flagging, we should anchor here and rest for a few more days before we resume our journey,” Lu Yunxi said, studying the heavy dark circles bruising his eyes. She hesitated for a moment before adding, “There is zero urgency in tracking down my aunt. We can set out later.”
She had spotted him lurking in the market that night, but he had systematically vanished from her radar until today. Now, he looked completely haggard and drained of stamina, as if he had just survived a catastrophic system illness.
She had been genuinely startled when he walked back into the room. If she didn’t know any better, she would have assumed his real-world persona had just suffered a devastating life crisis.
Shen San, however, offered a relaxed, deeply relieved smile. “Clear your concern, Master. I am perfectly fine. I was simply gridlocked by a few personal thoughts over the last few days, but this morning, my mind finally cleared the data.”
“…Regardless of the circumstances, even if the sky decides to fracture and fall, your top priority is to sleep.” She firmly pressed his shoulders, forcing his massive frame back onto the mattress and refusing to let him protest.
Leaving him to rest, she glided downstairs to the lobby and extended their reservation for another seven days.
Watching her slim silhouette disappear down the stairwell, a soft, genuine smile flashed in Shen San’s dark eyes.
He had completely parsed his emotions! The sole reason he had been smiling so happily in the real world was because his subconscious had essentially categorized his master as his own daughter. When her model had shrunk, her personality had temporarily shifted into a much more childish, slightly spoiled register. Having fiercely protected her throughout that vulnerable phase, he had naturally adopted the mindset of a doting parent. That was why the mere thought of designing beautiful dresses for her had triggered such an intensely joyful expression.
What father wouldn’t be radiant with happiness at the prospect of dressing his daughter up in the finest garments imaginable?
Thanks to his little brother’s idiotic teasing, he had actually panicked and convinced himself he had fallen in love with his own martial master!
Haha! It was mathematically impossible!
“The town ahead appears remarkably lively. Look at the sheer density of the crowd on the thoroughfare. Do you think we’ve stumbled onto a local market day?”
Lu Yunxi stood at the perimeter of the settlement, staring at the swarming, chaotic mass of citizens with a trace of hesitation. The paths were so tightly packed she seriously doubted the two of them could even squeeze through the gates.
Shen San stepped forward, randomly stopping a few passersby to run a quick diagnostic on the situation.
As it turned out, the solitary daughter of the town’s wealthiest tycoon was currently hosting a martial marriage selection to secure a husband, which was why the regional population had completely converged on the square.
“They’re the undisputed elite clan of our territory! If a man manages to secure the daughter’s hand, he can bypass a hundred years of brutal economic grinding! He’ll be set for life, allowed to feast on premium delicacies every single day without ever performing a lick of physical labor!”
“Exactly! If one soul hits the jackpot, his entire ancestral lineage ascends! To say nothing of the lucky groom himself, even his extended relatives will be ushered into a life of absolute luxury!”
“And let’s not forget, the young mistress presiding over the selection is a flawless, ethereal celestial beauty!”
The surrounding citizens gossiped excitedly among themselves.
Lu Yunxi and Shen San exchanged a look, immediately pivoting away from the main avenue to navigate toward the exit coordinates. Since the event centered around securing a bride, it held zero statistical relevance to their itinerary. Neither harbored any desire to watch the spectacle, preferring to push past the town as quickly as possible.
However, crossing a highly populated event zone wasn’t something they could execute at will. The sea of bodies was simply too vast. As they fought their way through the throng, the surging crowd began to violently displace their pathing, threatening to separate them.
“We will rendezvous at the outer boundary markers past the town!” Yunxi shouted, her voice cutting through the din a single micro-second before a wave of people forcefully swept her apprentice away.
Unconcerned for his safety given his Master-tier stats, Lu Yunxi activated her high-speed agility skills, nimbly weaving through the narrow gaps in the crowd until she successfully broke free, landing on the quiet grass outside the town lines.
Almost the exact second her boots cleared the perimeter, a massive, thunderous roar of excitement erupted from the center of the square behind her.
“Wow!”
Whirling around to track the commotion, her jaw dropped. Shen San was standing squarely in the epicenter of the stage area, a brilliant, bright crimson silk hydrangea resting noticeably in his massive hands.
He froze for a stunned second, then frantically hurled the bridal bouquet away as if it were a live explosive, throwing his weight against the crowd as he tried to force his way out.
But tossing the hydrangea yielded zero utility.
Without warning, a faction of burly, heavily armed domestic guards surged down from the main pavilion. In a flash of high-speed movement, they pinned Shen San’s arms, hoisted his massive frame into the air like a prize catch from a hunting expedition, and carried him straight back onto the raised stage.
The wealthy tycoon scrutinized Shen San’s impressive armor and sharp facial features. His expression soured slightly, evidently displeased by the warrior’s unyielding posture, but he ultimately forced himself to tolerate it.
“Are you the traveler who successfully intercepted my daughter’s bridal bouquet?” the tycoon asked, using one hand to slowly stroke his goatee while tucking his free arm behind his back.
“Negative. The trajectory was a complete misunderstanding,” Shen San countered rapidly.
The tycoon visibly choked, his irritation toward the young man instantly scaling up. Had his precious daughter not been peeking through the lattice screen on the second floor, adamantly insisting that this specific warrior was the only model she would accept, he would never have tolerated such a son-in-law! Not only was the boy’s speech patterns entirely devoid of respect, but his high-tier aesthetics were far too attractive for comfort.
“A misunderstanding?! What absolute garbage! My own vision parameters explicitly registered your hands grasping the silk bouquet!” the tycoon roared, his beard bristling as he glared.
“My apologies, but the hydrangea forcefully impacted my coordinates while I was merely executing a transit across the square. Didn’t the projectile subsequently bounce into another resident’s inventory?” Shen San explained sincerely, his eyes scanning the crowd in a desperate, futile attempt to locate his master. A massive headache was rapidly brewing in his temples.
The tycoon was trembling with pure, unadulterated fury. Ever since he had broadcasted the marriage selection for his cherished daughter, every single bachelor in the territory had swarmed his gates, daydreaming of climbing into his lineage. Yet this brat, handed a golden ticket to absolute wealth on a silver platter, not only refused to register gratitude, but was actively firing venomous counter-arguments at his face!
The tycoon’s dissatisfaction peaked. Darkly weighing his options, he prepared to wave his hand and command his personal guards to violently evict the warrior from the map.
However, observing the shift from her vantage point on the second-story balcony, the wealthy young mistress instantly dispatched her personal maid down to the stage to arrest the order.
Receiving the frantic winks and covert hand signs from the approaching maid, the tycoon gritted his teeth, forcing a strained command past his lips. “Secure the groom and escort his party directly to our main estate!”
He desperately wished he could launch the arrogant warrior thousands of kilometers away from his borders, but his daughter’s fixation left him completely trapped. Alas!
Although Shen San’s line of sight was completely blocked by the guards, Lu Yunxi had monitored the entire sequence with absolute clarity from her position.
Watching the heavy wooden gates of the tycoon’s estate slam shut as the disappointed crowd slowly began to disperse, she vaulted down from her perch on a tree branch and massaged her temples.
What under the sun is this absolute nonsense?
That evening.
The moment Shen San perceived the breathing of the guards stationed outside his chamber turning deep and synchronized, a sharp gleam entered his eyes. The domestic units had succumbed to the sleep cycle! It was time to execute his extraction.
Applying a fraction of his physical strength, he effortlessly snapped the heavy hemp ropes binding his wrists. After rolling his shoulders to loosen his muscles, he slipped through the window, navigating stealthily toward the tycoon’s primary courtyard to scope out an exit path.
“Shen San,” a faint, crystalline whisper echoed from the shadows behind him.
He flinched in surprise, spinning around only to see his master regarding his coordinates through the dim moonlight.
“M-Master?!”
“Move along. I’ve already mapped our escape routing,” Lu Yunxi said calmly.
Her baseline mindset had effectively achieved total enlightenment. Their journey had been so densely packed with absurd anomalies and sudden map surprises that her psychological parameters were completely immune to shock. Nothing in this world could startle her anymore.
Shen San paused, then frantically fell into step behind her slim frame. He covertly scrutinized her profile, his internal confidence wavering.
Earlier this afternoon, the young mistress of the estate had personally entered his holding room, uttering a stream of subtle, sentimental phrases regarding her desire for him to remain… Had his master’s sensory range picked up the dialogue?
His heart initiated a frantic, nervous rhythm. He couldn’t pinpoint the exact source of his anxiety, but a wave of pure panic was actively destabilizing his composure. Objectively speaking, when the wealthy young lady had visited his quarters, she had merely expressed her romantic interest through highly veiled, traditional metaphors! There was no logical reason for him to feel this guilty.
“Master… at what precise timestamp did your station arrive at the estate?” he probed cautiously.
Lu Yunxi halted her advance, turning her head to fix him with a steady stare. Looking into his shifty, evasive eyes, a wave of total confusion washed over her.
Why on earth was he projecting this much guilt? Could it be that his internal settings genuinely desired to anchor his coordinates here and become the tycoon’s pampered son-in-law?
