Chapter 313: Chapter 148: If you dare to draw your swords, you will die!

Zhang Su descended the mountain and arrived at Haojin City.

Haojin City was as bustling as ever. The streets were thronged with people, and the traffic of carriages and horses was endless.

Zhang Su walked to the gates of the Yao Mansion.

Four guards stood on the steps before the gates. Each was burly with a sharp gaze.

Seeing Zhang Su approach, one of the guards held out a hand to stop him.

"Halt. What is your business?" the guard asked.

Zhang Su took out a calling card from his robes and handed it over.

"I am Zhang Su, a Named Disciple from Mixed Element Peak. I have come to visit Lady Yao of the Fifth Branch."

The guard took the calling card and opened it for a look.

Then he raised his head, his gaze sweeping over Zhang Su.

A gray robe—indeed the mark of a Named Disciple of the Upper Sect.

A longsword hung at his waist. Its scabbard was plain and unadorned, revealing nothing of its origin.

"Wait here. I’ll go announce you."

With that, he turned and entered the mansion, handing the calling card to the doorkeeper.

The doorkeeper was a man in his fifties, sitting behind the small window of the gatehouse.

He took the card, flipped through it, then looked up at Zhang Su.

"A Named Disciple from Mixed Element Peak?"

"Yes."

Zhang Su nodded.

The doorkeeper frowned.

Still, he picked up the calling card and ambled slowly into the mansion.

Zhang Su stood outside the gates, his gaze sweeping across the front of the Yao Mansion.

It was morning, and many people were coming and going.

There were merchants dressed in silks, accompanied by attendants and carrying gift boxes, who handed over their calling cards with beaming smiles.

There were also some Martial Artists in robes of various colors. When these people presented their cards, the guards’ attitudes were noticeably more courteous.

This was especially true for those wearing the attire of Official Disciples of the Upper Sect; the guards practically bowed as they invited them in.

Zhang Su glanced down at his own gray robe.

’A Named Disciple really is nothing in the eyes of the Yao Family,’ he thought.

But he was not in a hurry.

Time passed, bit by bit.

Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps came from within the gates.

"Make way, make way! Move it!"

A clear female voice called out from inside.

Zhang Su looked up.

A young woman was walking briskly out from the gate.

She wore a pale green dress with a white silk ribbon tied at her waist. Her jet-black hair was styled in two topknots, held in place by a pair of silver hairpins.

Her face was lit with a joyful smile.

It was Meng Yun’s daughter, Yao Peiyu.

"Senior Brother Zhang? It’s really you!"

Yao Peiyu reached Zhang Su in just a few steps, looking him up and down.

"Miss Yao."

Zhang Su cupped his fist in a salute.

"Come in, quickly! My mother was delayed by some matters and couldn’t get away, so she sent me to greet you."

As she spoke, Yao Peiyu grabbed Zhang Su’s sleeve and pulled him inside.

The guards at the gate watched this, a flash of surprise in their eyes.

The doorkeeper, who had just come back out, froze when he saw Yao Peiyu personally welcoming the guest.

’I misjudged him...’

The doorkeeper never would have thought that Zhang Su was so familiar with Yao Peiyu.

He secretly committed Zhang Su’s face to memory.

’I can’t afford to be so dismissive next time.’

However, Yao Peiyu didn’t even glance at the doorkeeper, leading Zhang Su straight into the Yao Mansion.

The two passed through the entrance hall and entered a long, paved corridor.

Yao Peiyu walked ahead, her steps light and quick.

She glanced back at Zhang Su from time to time, her eyes filled with curiosity.

"Senior Brother Zhang, don’t tell me you’ve already advanced to the Postnatal Realm?" she asked suddenly.

"No, I’m still at the Gang Force stage."

Zhang Su shook his head.

"Gang Force?"

Yao Peiyu stopped, turned around, and studied Zhang Su carefully from head to toe.

Her brow furrowed slightly, a hint of suspicion in her eyes.

"But I feel like the aura about you has changed somehow. The last time I saw you, your aura wasn’t so... how should I put it... it wasn’t so ’dense’."

Yao Peiyu thought for a long while before settling on the word "dense."

Zhang Su’s heart stirred.

The only change in him was his successful cultivation of Primordial Gang Force.

Although Pure Yang Gang Power and Primordial Gang Force were both types of Gang Force, their quality was worlds apart.

Primordial Gang Force was top-tier even among First-Grade Gang Forces, so its aura was naturally stronger than that of Pure Yang Gang Power.

The fact that Yao Peiyu could sense this change meant her perception was very keen.

However, Zhang Su didn’t explain in detail.

"Perhaps it’s because I’ve been cultivating in the Upper Sect for a while and made some progress," he said casually.

Yao Peiyu glanced at him but didn’t press the matter.

She continued to lead the way, and the two walked along the corridor, soon arriving at the inner courtyard of the Yao Mansion.

The scenery in the inner courtyard was much more exquisite than outside.

Winding paths paved with bluestone were flanked by all sorts of flowers and plants.

A faint floral fragrance filled the air.

In the distance stood a rockery, from which a thin waterfall trickled down with a gentle, murmuring sound.

The two walked along the path for a while and could faintly make out a large group of people ahead.

Zhang Su looked into the distance. The people were dressed in robes of various colors, surrounded by a crowd of attendants, creating a lively scene.

At the very front was a young woman in a long purple dress.

Her hair was swept up high and adorned with a golden buyao hairpin that chimed with every step.

Seven or eight people followed behind her.

Three of them wore the uniforms of Upper Sect Official Disciples, their cyan and blue robes standing out starkly in the crowd.

When Yao Peiyu saw the group, her expression changed slightly.

"Why are we so unlucky? We ran into her again?" she muttered.

Zhang Su also recognized the woman at the front.

Yao Ruohua.

The legitimate daughter of the Third Branch.

Three months ago, on his first visit to the Yao Mansion, he had encountered this very same Yao Ruohua while Yao Peiyu was showing him around.

Zhang Su remembered it clearly.

Back then, Yao Ruohua had also been followed by a large, fawning entourage, making for a grand spectacle.

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