Hearing this, Yang Kai was stunned. If he didn’t remember wrongly, this should be the woman who had appeared on stage eight on the first day of the Martial Meeting.
It seemed she wasn’t a fool. Yang Kai smiled slightly and his first thought was to refuse. When he was the judge that day and Yu Zhuo was sent flying, he naturally wanted to help. He didn’t expect her to repay him, but after thinking about it for a moment, he realized that since she was already here, refusing would be a bit unreasonable, so he changed his mind and said, “Bring her here.”
“Yes!” The maidservant replied and retreated.
Outside the hall, Yu Zhuo stood there respectfully, her hands held up in front of her as she held a set of washed clothes, her expression somewhat nervous as she wondered if that Elder Yang would see her. After receiving Yang Kai’s help that day, she had rested for a day before recovering. Originally, she had wanted to immediately thank him, but she didn’t know who Yang Kai was or what force he came from, so she had been asking around for information these past few days and had finally found some clues.
The judge who had saved her and secretly fed her a Spirit Pill was actually a guest Elder of the Azure Sun Temple. Yang Kai’s name was not unfamiliar to many people in the Southern Domain. He had refined the Extreme Mysterious Pill in the Four Seasons Land and the Azure Sun Temple had conferred the title of guest Elder to him. During the conferment ceremony, Yang Kai had even fought with the Star Soul Palace’s Elder, so many news had already spread.
However, over the past ten years, he had kept a low profile and was gradually forgotten.
Yu Zhuo also hadn’t expected that she would be lucky enough to meet such a person, so she couldn’t help feeling somewhat surprised. Now that she had found out Yang Kai’s identity, she immediately rushed over.
Disciples from Azure Sun Temple came in and out, and when they saw her, they all looked at her strangely. Some even asked her what she was here for, but after learning that she was here to pay a visit to Elder Yang, they didn’t bother with her anymore.
Just as she was worrying about her personal gains and losses, the maidservant returned. Yu Zhuo’s expression became serious as she stared at her nervously.
Fortunately, the maid smiled and said, “Elder Yang invites you in.”
“Many thanks,” Yu Zhuo nodded politely.
The maidservant didn’t say anything more and turned around to lead the way while Yu Zhuo followed behind her. Not long after, they arrived in front of a room. The maidservant stretched out her hand to indicate to Yu Zhuo and Yu Zhuo gently took a deep breath before walking in.
There was only one person in the room, standing by the window with his hands behind his back, gazing out at the distant scenery. When he heard this voice, he turned his head and looked back. When their eyes met, Yu Zhuo immediately recognized that this was the referee from Arena Eight.
“Rakshasha Sect’s Disciple Yu Zhuo greets Senior!” Yu Zhuo quickly stepped forward and bowed.
Yang Kai glanced at her from head to toe, his eyes fixed on the clothes she was holding in her hands, understanding something in his heart. Smiling, he asked, “Is there something you need?”
Yu Zhuo raised her head and stared at him with her big bright eyes, respectfully saying, “A few days ago, I received Senior’s help and the assistance of a Spirit Pill, so I came to express my thanks.”
Yang Kai waved his hand, “It’s my duty, Miss Yu is serious.”
Yu Zhuo smiled, “Senior saving me was part of his duty, but bestowing a Spirit Pill upon me was a kind deed. Although Yu Zhuo’s consciousness was hazy at that time, she was not completely unconscious. If it weren’t for Senior’s Spirit Pill, I’m afraid Yu Zhuo wouldn’t have been able to continue the competition for the next few days.”
These words were the truth. Although she didn’t know what grade the Spirit Pill Yang Kai had secretly given her was, if she didn’t have that Spirit Pill, she definitely wouldn’t have been able to use her full strength in the upcoming competition. She suspected that the Spirit Pill was an Emperor Pill because only an Emperor Pill could have such a powerful healing effect, allowing her to fully recover the next day.
Yang Kai smiled faintly but didn’t comment.
Logically speaking, as the referee, he shouldn’t have given the contestant some kind of Spirit Pill, but since he had done it without anyone noticing, it was likely that no one would be able to see it, so Yu Zhuo wouldn’t go around announcing it. Moreover, she only take it after the match was over, so it didn’t matter.
Yu Zhuo took a step forward and raised the clothes in her hand slightly, “I have already washed Senior’s clothes, so I’ve come to return them.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Put it down.” He didn’t reach out to take it.
It was just an ordinary set of clothes. At that time, Yang Kai had casually taken it out to cover Yu Zhuo’s wound, but he hadn’t thought of taking it back. However, this woman’s actions gave Yang Kai a favorable impression.
Yu Zhuo obediently put down the clothes in her hand and turned around, curiously examining the environment in the room. She didn’t show any signs of fear, instead appearing quite natural and unrestrained.
Yang Kai rubbed his nose and asked, “Is there anything else?”
Although the door wasn’t closed in order to avoid arousing suspicion, it wasn’t good for a man and a woman to be alone in a room together, not to mention that he was now a judge. What is going on with him secretly interacting with the participants of the Martial Arts Conference? If word of this were to spread, it would be hard to guarantee that he wouldn’t be affected by some malicious rumors.
His words seemed to imply that he was sending off a guest.
Yu Zhuo was obviously not an idiot and understood the meaning behind Yang Kai’s words. She quickly took out a beautiful set of clothes from her Space Ring and said somewhat embarrassedly, “Yu Zhuo will remember Senior’s great kindness in her heart. I don’t know how to thank Senior, but I happened to see a good piece of clothing in the market and bought it. If Senior doesn’t dislike it… please accept it.” Her voice became softer, obviously thinking that it wasn’t good for a woman to give a man a set of clothes, but she really didn’t know what to give Yang Kai as a gift.
With Yang Kai’s cultivation, if he were to offer her an Emperor Pill to heal her injuries, it was obvious he was quite wealthy. With her wealth, even if she were to spend her entire fortune to buy something, it would likely be worthless to Yang Kai.
Instead of wasting it, she simply bought a new set of clothes since she dirtied one of Yang Kai’s clothes before giving him a new one. This could be considered as returning the favor, not only was it expensive, it was also a kind gesture.
Looking at the beautiful clothes, Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. This was the first time someone had given him clothes, and it was a woman he had never seen before.
If anyone else saw this scene, it would be difficult not to misunderstand.
Staring at Yu Zhuo thoughtfully, Yang Kai said lightly, “As the Martial Meeting’s referee, I naturally won’t be biased in the arena. Saving you isn’t something I should do, and giving you a Spirit Pill is only because the competition has already ended. If it were anyone else, I would have done the same.”
In other words, he was telling her not to think too much about it. Yang Kai suspected that this woman had some kind of special purpose for approaching him, but if that was the case, this woman was too realistic.
Yu Zhuo nodded, “Senior is right.”
Yang Kai stared at her for a moment.
Although Yu Zhuo didn’t make eye contact with him, she clearly felt something from the corner of her eye and suddenly felt uncomfortable. Lowering her head, she said, “If Senior doesn’t like it, I’ll take it back.”
Feeling somewhat depressed, she bowed and said, “Sorry for disturbing Senior, this Junior will take her leave.” It was only a piece of clothing, how could he have the face to take it out? Now that she thought about it carefully, she couldn’t help feeling a bit embarrassed.
Unexpectedly, Yang Kai suddenly said, “Since it’s a gift of gratitude, how can you take it back?”
Yu Zhuo looked up at him in surprise.
Before she could recover from her shock, Yang Kai took the dress from her hand and didn’t try it on. The main reason was that this dress was a bit too gorgeous, so it was bound to be extremely flashy. How could Yang Kai dare to wear it?
Seeing him really accept the item, Yu Zhuo immediately smiled, revealing two small dimples on her cheeks, her eyes clear.
It seemed he was thinking too much. Yang Kai observed her expression and came to a conclusion.
“Then Senior, please rest, this Junior will take her leave.” Yu Zhuo bowed again, her mood quite pleasant.
“Wait,” Yang Kai raised his hand.
“Does Senior have any other instructions?” Yu Zhuo turned around and looked at him curiously.
“I heard from you that there’s a market nearby?”
Yu Zhuo nodded and said, “Yes, there’s a very large market inside Plain Palace that sells everything. Has Senior not been there before?”
Yang Kai shook his head. He really didn’t know this, so he asked, “Where is it?”
“It’s under a canyon, not far from here. If Senior wants to go, I’ll take you there,” Yu Zhuo volunteered.
“Give me a direction, I’ll go by myself.”
Yu Zhuo smiled and said, “It doesn’t matter, since today’s competition is over, it’s none of my business.” Yu Zhuo didn’t know what she was thinking and simply didn’t know how to avoid arousing suspicion. When she heard that Yang Kai was going to the market square, she became extremely enthusiastic and even added, “I don’t know what Senior wants to buy, but I’m quite familiar with the market square so I can show Senior the way.”
Since the other party had good intentions, Yang Kai couldn’t refuse, so after thinking about it for a moment, he simply accepted it and nodded, “Good, then I’ll have to trouble you.”
Yu Zhuo quickly waved her hand, “Senior is too polite.”
After finishing their discussion, the two of them walked out. Yang Kai wrapped his Emperor Qi around her and followed her directions towards the market.
After casually asking about the situation of the competition these past few days, Yang Kai learned that she had actually passed all the trials without suffering a single defeat, causing him to have a whole new level of respect for her. In fact, on the first day, Yang Kai was able to tell that with her performance at that time, no matter what her final results were, she had definitely entered the eyes of many people.
As long as Rakshasa Sect was willing to let her go, Yang Kai estimated that the three top forces of the Southern Domain would not refuse her joining. The problem was, would Rakshasa Sect be willing to let her go? Of course not. It was not easy to raise such a disciple, so how could they give her up so easily? Moreover, whether she was willing to leave Rakshasa Sect was still uncertain.
As they chatted along the way, Yang Kai more or less understood her personality. She was quite lively and cheerful, and she really didn’t have any ulterior motives. Yang Kai didn’t reject such a person, not to mention that she was quite pretty and had a pleasant voice, so accompanying her was not a bad idea.
“The Martial Meeting has always been a place where fish leap over the dragon gate. If someone invites you to join a better Sect after the Martial Meeting ends, what would you choose?” Yang Kai asked casually.
Yu Zhuo’s expression immediately became solemn, “The Sect has treated me with great kindness, and Master has treated me like my own parents. I won’t leave Rakshasa Sect.” Pausing for a moment, Yu Zhuo glanced at Yang Kai and asked, “Senior, do you want me to join Azure Sun Temple?” Yu Zhuo’s expression became awkward, as if she didn’t know what to do.
Yang Kai waved his hand and said, “I was just asking casually, I didn’t have such intentions.”
“Oh,” Yu Zhuo nodded and suddenly pointed down, “We’re here, that’s the market.”
TO BE CONTINUED...
Martial Peak