Chapter 348 - To h.e.l.l With It!
Ai Hui, who was busy fixing the damaged floor, forgot to use elemental energy to dry his clothes. As such, when he appeared at the dining hall in drenched clothes, the lively dining atmosphere quieted down in an instant.
There was a dignified and beautiful woman sitting at the seat of honor. A surprised look flashed across her alluring eyes but she soon regained her composure. Ai Hui’s gaze landed upon an old woman who was standing by in attendance behind the beautiful woman.
A cold s.h.i.+ver went down Ai Hui’s spine. The old woman might appear inconspicuous, but Ai Hui could sense that her strength was of an unfathomable depth.
After a momentary silence, the guests then broke into an uproar.
"Such a boorish fellow, how dare he come for dinner in this manner?"
"That’s right, he really has no manners!"
"How can a guy who doesn’t even have basic manners teach us swordsmans.h.i.+p?"
"It seems like Aunt Ye has made the wrong judgement this time around."
Murmurs rang inside Ai Hui’s ears. He noticed the guests were mainly kids that were around ten or more years old. He had to teach these brats swordsmans.h.i.+p?
Eh? Ai Hui soon noticed some familiar faces among the guests.
The gorgeous Xiao Shuren was extremely eye-catching amongst the crowd. When she saw Chu Zhaoyang, her eyes involuntarily lit up.
Ai Hui was puzzled. Didn’t Chief send her here to put her under house arrest? Why would they treat her like a guest now?
Ai Hui also knew the girl sitting beside Xiao Shuren. She was Qin Xian’s fiancee, Lian Junyu.
When Lian Junyu saw Ai Hui, she smiled and winked at him. She did not make a fuss over Ai Hui’s appearance. After all, she had personally witnessed how Ai Hui destroyed five sword formations in a row and she was very confident in Ai Hui’s capabilities. It was normal for talented people to have some eccentricities.
When Ai Hui saw Lian Junyu wink at him, he did not know what she meant. However, it did seem like a sign of goodwill to him. Hence, he winked back at her.
Then, when Ai Hui saw another two familiar faces, he groaned silently. Isn’t that Fu family’s oldest daughter? And isn’t that cold-looking fellow Qingye’s aunt? Is she called Huaijun or something?
Ai Hui felt numb. If it was anyone else, he would not have cared much. However, Fu family’s oldest daughter and Huaijun stayed in Peace City and they had met his true self before. If they recognized him, he would be in deep trouble.
The old man had reminded him many times that he should not let the a.s.sembly of Patriarchs know his true ident.i.ty. Otherwise, things would become very problematic for him.
To h.e.l.l with it!
Why would he encounter acquaintances here?
If he had known earlier this would happen, he would not have come to this place to teach swordsmans.h.i.+p!
At this moment, a teenager beside Madam Ye mumbled, "Mum, Xiaobao is hungry."
Madam Ye’s son?
The teenager was around fifteen years old. He looked rather handsome but his facial expression seemed somewhat half-witted.
"Since Xiaobao is hungry, we will have our dinner now," Madam Ye told Xiaobao gently. Then, she spoke to Ai Hui, "Mr Chu, please take your seat. I’m not sure what Mr Chu likes to eat, please forgive me if the dishes are not to your standard. Whatever Mr Chu likes to eat, feel free to order the servants to make it. Don’t be shy."
Madam Ye seemed to be highly revered by these people. Whenever she spoke, these proud and arrogant young masters and mistresses would become well-behaved.
Without even giving a bow, Ai Hui burst into loud laughter, "Madam, you’re too courteous. I’m fine as long as there’s meat."
After finis.h.i.+ng his sentence, he sat his a.s.s down and started gobbling the food as though there was n.o.body else present.
The surrounding young masters and mistresses felt uncomfortable in an instant. Since they were young, they had been taught proper dining etiquette. This applied to their surrounding friends as well. Since when had they ever met such a boorish individual?
One by one, those who sat near Ai Hui walked away from him with a look of disdain on their faces.
Ai Hui, whose face was gleaming with oil from the food, heaved a quiet sigh of relief. He was especially happy when he saw a disgusted look flash across the face of Fu family’s oldest daughter from the corner of his eyes. Following which, he began to eat with more aggressiveness.
He was most worried about Fu family’s oldest daughter. Even though they had not had many interactions before, her shrewdness and capabilities had left a deep impression on him.
He did not have much of an impression of Qingye’s aunt, Su Huaijun.
Who exactly was Madam Ye?
"I’m going crazy, who wants to change seats with me? The sound of this fellow eating resembles thunderclaps!"
"I can’t take it anymore, can’t he be more civilized?"
"Oh my G.o.d, he did not spit out the bone! He ate the entire chicken drumstick without spitting out the bone!"
On the other side of the table, Xiaobao was looking at Ai Hui with his eyes wide open.
Ai Hui noticed Xiaobao’s gaze. Being in a relaxed state, he had sensed that Xiaobao was slightly mentally challenged.
Suddenly, Xiaobao opened his mouth and said, "You look as if you’re having a great meal! Let us compete to see who can eat faster!"
Upon seeing Xiaobao filled with expectation, Ai Hui’s gaze slightly softened and he replied cheerfully, "Come, come, come, let’s compete!"
Xiaobao was overjoyed. Immediately, he lowered his head and began to stuff food into his mouth.
Ai Hui could not stand to be outdone. He had been scared of taking part in an eating compet.i.tion.
Everyone looked blankly at these two persons, especially Chu Zhaoyang. Everyone looked puzzledly at him. Xiaobao suffered from an illness when he was born. This caused a problem in his mental development as he grew up. Currently, his intelligence level was only equivalent to a three years old kid’s.
Chu Zhaoyang’s intelligence level doesn’t seem that high as well....
Amidst the loud rumbles of both of them gobbling up food, Madam Ye’s gentle voice could be heard constantly, "Xiaobao, eat slower, don’t eat too fast…"
The rest of the guests were like wax statues, staring blankly at the two of them gobbling up food.
Phew. Both of them stopped eating at the same time. They could not eat anymore.
The two of them looked at each other several times. Heroes appreciated one another.
Everyone heaved a deep sigh of relief. For civilized and refined people like them, who ate their meals without making any noises, this scene was no doubt hugely torturous to them.
Initially, they still could ridicule Chu Zhaoyang. However, after Xiaobao joined in, all of them shut their mouths and stared on blankly.
No one was interested in eating dinner anymore.
Ai Hui collapsed against his chair. He was so full that he could not move, "Can I have some tea? I’m a bit thirsty."
Lian Junyu could not help but turn her face away. This was far too embarra.s.sing. Even she could not tolerate such behaviour from Chu Zhaoyang. The rest of the guests were annoyed. They had never seen such a crude individual!
On the contrary, Madam Ye was smiling. She then ordered one of her servants, "Go and bring some tea here."
"Yes, Madam," the servant quickly went to pour some tea.
Xiao Shuren looked interestingly at Chu Zhaoyang. She clearly remembered Chu Zhaoyang wasn’t so boorish the last time he was boarding Auspicious. Why did he seem to have completely changed today?
When Chu Zhaoyang saw her, he was slightly surprised. Clearly, this was the real Chu Zhaoyang.
She was a shrewd individual. Even though she was doubtful, she did not show it on her face at all. Furthermore, she clearly knew of the situation she was in now. Staying here seemed to be better than staying in Karakorum Sword League. Madam Ye was very friendly to her, but in reality, she was still a prisoner.
Xiao Shuren remained calm and collected. Her gaze casually swept across the crowd, but she failed to observe anything important.
The dinner’s leftovers were cleared and the tea was served.
Other than Ai Hui and Xiaobao gulping down the tea, the rest of the guests were motionless. They were looking at Chu Zhaoyang with contempt. Since when was the dining table a place to drink tea?
Today was definitely not a happy day for them.
Madam Ye casually picked up the teacup in front of her. After taking a sip, she put it back down and her gaze swept across everyone. Then, she began to speak with a gentle voice, "Recently, swordsmans.h.i.+p has been very popular. Since all of you are very interested in swordsmans.h.i.+p, I have invited Karakorum Savant to my residence to teach everyone. Maybe some of you might have a flair for swordsmans.h.i.+p."
Madam Ye changed her tone slightly and continued, "However, Karakorum Savant is busy and she doesn’t have the time to teach all of you. Therefore, she recommended Mr Chu Zhaoyang to come in her place."
With a smug look on his face, Ai Hui raised his right hand and waved to everyone.
Clap, clap, clap. Xiaobao was clapping enthusiastically.
Ai Hui gave Xiaobao a thumbs-up. The friends.h.i.+p built out of an eating compet.i.tion was indeed extraordinary.
Upon seeing Ai Hui’s reaction, Xiaobao clapped with even more enthusiasm.
Everyone’s face turned ugly as if they had swallowed a fly. Lian Junyu was filled with embarra.s.sment. Chu Zhaoyang was not really young. When he was in Karakorum Sword League, he was still alright. Why did he behave like this today...
Madam Ye had a panoramic view of everyone’s facial expressions. With a stern voice, she continued, "I know why all of you are here today. Actually, if you don’t come, it won’t affect your chance of being selected. After all, everyone here is an outstanding genius of the younger generation in the Avalon of Five Elements. All of you will definitely be selected. I am just a woman, and have no power to interfere with such an important matter."
Everyone was bolt upright and remained silent. Whoever believed these words was stupid.
Madam Ye smiled and continued, "Therefore, I hope everyone can treat this as a break and relax. Swordsmans.h.i.+p is on the rise these days and none of you have made contact with it before. Therefore, I invited Mr Chu to teach all of you swordsmans.h.i.+p. Maybe some of you might have a flair for swordsmans.h.i.+p. It would be a pity if you neglect it. Of course, all of your respective family absolute arts are very powerful. However, you still can further improve yourself by exposing yourself to new things and accepting criticism from others. Give the popular swordsmans.h.i.+p a try and it might bring you some revelations."
"Madam, you’re right."
To Ai Hui’s surprise, after Fu family’s oldest daughter showed her support for Madam Ye, the rest of the guests followed suit.
Ai Hui was slightly puzzled. Selection? What kind of selection would make these pampered young masters and mistresses come all the way here? Even the shrewd Fu family’s oldest daughter was not excluded.
Furthermore, why did Madam Ye want these people to learn swordsmans.h.i.+p?
The more Ai Hui thought about it, the more puzzled he felt.
Alright, why does he need to think so much? He should quickly think of a way to get out of here. Otherwise, if his ident.i.ty was revealed, he would be in deep trouble. Ai Hui had already decided that he would intentionally put up an inferior performance later. These fellows had been tolerating him for so long. They must be feeling very angry deep down. As such, when he screwed up later, they would definitely heckle him. When that moment came, he could act dejected and leave this place earlier.
He did not really care about being embarra.s.sed.
Who would be the first one to humiliate him later?
Ai Hui’s gaze swept to and fro across the crowd, trying to find his target.
This guy seems shrewd, he might not want to defeat me. Oh? How about this one? His eyes look sly and squinty, he is a good choice...
"Actions speak louder than words. Why not everyone try for themselves? I will give all of you a chance to challenge Mr Chu and see his capabilities for yourself."
Upon hearing Madam Ye’s words, everyone turned restless. A lot of people stared at Ai Hui with vicious looks on their faces.
Ai Hui’s eyes lit up. The chance is here.
It was time to test his acting skills!
"Of course, this challenge can’t proceed without a reward. I have a pair of gloves here. This pair of gloves is one of the representative works by the late embroidery master, Han Yuqin. It’s called Star Reaper. You must have heard of its name before. Anyway, I shall not be so long-winded, we will just treat this pair of gloves as the reward."
An uproar broke out among the crowd. Everyone’s eyes lit up, feeling extremely eager to give it a try.
Ai Hui’s mind jolted and his entire body froze.
Mistress...