Chapter 20: Stinky Skin

The third day of March is the Shangsi Festival. The spring breeze is intoxicating and it is a good time to entertain guests.

The banks of Liuhu River in Zhou Mansion were filled with distinguished guests, and wine cups flowed along the winding stream.

Zhou Tieyi held a wine glass and greeted the nobles who arrived first. There is a distinction between high and low in this world. The more noble the guest, the later he will arrive.

"Master Yuchi Jing from the Right General's Yuchi Mansion has arrived."

The doorman came in to report.

Zhou Tieyi nodded and went out to greet them.

Although Yuchi Jing was born in the Right General's Mansion, his family had been engaged in literature since his father's side. However, he perfectly inherited his grandfather's appearance, with a strong build and a beard. Even when he was wearing a scholar's gown, he looked like a gown ripped off a scholar by bandits.

Yuchi Jing's younger sister was quite pretty, wearing a light pink lotus dress, with a phoenix hairpin with tassels swaying slightly with her eyes.

It's just that the jewel in the crown of the Right General's Mansion looked listless at the moment. She had no interest in attending the banquet hosted by Zhou Tieyi, a second-generation rich man. She just wanted to go back quickly after giving the gift.

"Brother Yuchi, please forgive me for not coming to meet you."

Zhou Tieyi's voice arrived before he arrived.

Yuchi Jing looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young man wearing a unicorn-shaped robe and a blue shirt, without a crown. His half-long black hair fell on his shoulders, like a waterfall of ink falling on a piece of painted silk. His sword-like brows and star-like eyes were always smiling, and the dimples on both sides of his face diminished his overbearing sharpness and added a touch of spring warmth. When he walked, his figure had the heroic posture of a soldier, and when he clasped his fists, he had a bit of the free and easy air of a martial artist.

It's a good-looking appearance.

Yuchi Jing sighed secretly.

"What a pity for this stinking skin."

Yuchi Mengyao, the jewel in the crown of the Right General's Mansion, lowered her head and muttered something.

That day, Zhou Tieyi's words "Brothers are like limbs, women are like clothes" at Linshuixuan angered all the women in Tianjing, big and small.

"Little sister."

Yuchi Jing pulled his sister beside him and said that they came here to give gifts, not to make enemies.

Zhou Tieyi walked up to the two siblings, not getting angry, and said with a smile, "It seems that Sister Yuchi is upset about what I said the other day, 'Women are like clothes.' When we come to this world, whether we are men or women, we are nothing but a bag of stinky skin. It's just that Buddha loves gold ornaments and people love clothes. All we see is the appearance. Only when we see through that beauty is like clothes can we see the true face."

Yuchi Jing was really shocked by Zhou Tieyi this time. It seemed that the second son of the Zhou family was really something. Could it be that he had been hiding his potential under the table before?
Yuchi Mengyao looked up in surprise.

Zhou Tieyi smiled and looked at Yuchi Mengyao, "Sister Yuchi, are you shocked at how a fool like me could come up with such a statement?"

Yuchi Mengyao didn't want to talk to Zhou Tieyi, but wanted to know the answer, so she could only nod, swaying her steps very agilely.

Zhou Tieyi said, "Of course, this is the argument prepared in advance by the counselors at home."

After saying that, he shrugged proudly, "How powerful are our Zhou family's counselors?"

Yuchi Mengyao's mouth was slightly puffed up with anger, like a squirrel that had just stolen food.

The second son of the Zhou family is really a fool!
Yuchi Jing also laughed in silence, but the Zhou family's strategist with such insight should not be underestimated.

"Such a profound talk is like thunder to my ears. I wonder if I can pay a visit to this layman?"

On the other side, Monk Shenxiu came with Zhao Taisui. Monk Shenxiu put his palms together, looking as if he was still savoring the wonderful theory he had just said.

Zhou Tieyi turned around and smiled, "You can't bear to see it."

"Why?"

"Because you are not beautiful."

Shenxiu looked somewhat thoughtful. Could this be another kind of wit?
Zhao Taisui didn't care about anything else and shouted, "Zhou Zhong, barbarian, if you have something to say, please speak up. We are both the same, why are you pretending to be a scholar?"

Zhou Tieyi spread his hands and said, "I have already given the reason. Shenxiu is not even a beauty. If he cannot pass the test of my appearance, how can he see the true face of the master in the mansion?" "Little pervert."

Yuchi Mengyao said with a light sigh.

A loud laugh came from the distance, "My dear brother, what you said makes sense."

Prince Anle Li Jing came with his servants, and beside him was Guan Guan, who was dressed in plain clothes.

How do you calculate time so well and in such a hierarchical order?
Zhou Tieyi complained in his heart, but on the surface he still greeted Li Jing excitedly, "Brother Jing, I have broken through to the ninth level of martial arts. What gift did you bring?"

Li Jing smiled and pointed at Guan Guan beside her, "Is this beauty enough as a gift?"

Zhou Tieyi felt bitter, wondering why this evil woman was like a dog-skin plaster.

But on the surface, he still waved his hand nonchalantly, "We are brothers in the same field, why bother discussing this anymore."

Li Jing showed a helpless look on her face, "Miss Guan Guan has a strong temper. Her words made me feel ashamed. I dare not be in the same boat with you, my dear brother."

"But my dear brother, breaking through the ninth level of martial arts is not enough just for a beauty."

He signaled his men with his eyes, and they brought out a nine-foot-long spear. The spear was forged from wood and steel, and the spear body was azure blue, like the clear sky after rain. A dragon shadow was embedded in the wood, circling around it, and at the dragon's claws, a cold light was as quiet as a deep pool in a valley, restrained and deep.

"Dragon Pattern Wood Steel!"

Yuchi Mengyao exclaimed in a low voice.

Wood steel is precious in itself, and this dragon-patterned wood steel is cultivated with national destiny, and only the royal family can cultivate it.

"Good baby!"

Zhou Tieyi was attracted by the spear at first sight.

The servant beside Li Jing said at the right time, "Master Tieyi, don't underestimate this gun. The Fourth Prince knelt outside the emperor's study for a whole night to beg for it for you."

"You're the only one who talks too much!"

Li Jing laughed and scolded the old servant beside him, then said to Zhou Tieyi who was a little afraid to hold the gun, "Originally, if my dear brother had gone with me to the brothel, I would have given him ten beautiful maids today, but now is different from the past. My dear brother has just started to practice martial arts and has become the best in the country. This is a good omen for our Great Xia. As a brother, I am not talented enough to teach my dear brother. As a prince, I am incompetent and cannot assist in state affairs. The only thing I can do is kneel in front of my father's door and still be of some use."

What you said almost moved me to tears.

Zhou Tieyi's blood rushed to his eyes. He picked up the spear and said proudly, "Brother, why do you have to be so humble? One day I will take this spear and kill all the generals of Yuan Meng, so that they dare not go south. It will all be half of your credit!"

"What a shameless statement!"

Zhao Taisui poured cold water on him.

"Whether it is bragging or not, we will know tomorrow."

Zhou Tieyi simply ignored Zhao Taisui and stood with his gun behind his back.

Yuchi Jing interrupted, "The second brother of the Zhou family has such an ambition, so our Yuchi family cannot help but express its opinion."

He took out the prepared gift and opened the crystal box. In the box that was imprisoned by the military power, a drop of blood was lifted up by auspicious clouds and half floated in the air.

"This is the Qilin's blood essence, it can help Brother Zhou."

Zhou Tieyi touched his face and thought, has my domineering aura awakened?

How come I received such a valuable treasure today just after breaking through to the ninth level of martial arts? It seems that I will have to hold more banquets of this kind in the future, and on a grand scale!
He turned to look at Zhao Taisui, "Everyone who came today brought valuable gifts. Are you, Zhao Taisui, coming here to eat for free?"

He was just irritating Zhao Taisui out of habit, but Shenxiu seemed to have expected it. "Why don't you have a valuable gift? This is the Three Treasures of the Lotus Sutra and the Picture of the Buddha Conquering the Demons. Donor Zhou, please take it!"

(End of this chapter)