The Great Wei Music Bureau

Chapter 191 Xiahou Marrying a Wife (Part )

Last time, we talked about Li Yi and Xu Li going to find the Xiahou clan, descendants of King Yu. Does the Xiahou clan know the whereabouts of the measuring ruler? Let's read on.

Li Yi and Xu Li drove to Pengze County. Xiahou was a big family in the city, and half of the county's industries were in the hands of this family. Walking on the busy streets, Li Yi looked at the stage where the colorful plays and acrobatics were performed, and whispered, "It's still too late. Many people have already come to Shura Palace."

Xu Li said, "These are just small characters. They are probably here to gather information. We haven't seen any real masters yet."

Li Yi asked: "Do you have a way to find out the truth?"

Xu Li looked at the artist who was performing with flying knives on the stage and said, "Maybe there is a way. I have seen that person before. He was in Ghost Blade Hall and later went to Ghost Spirit Hall."

Li Yi nodded and said, "Let's split up and see you at the inn tonight." Xu Li nodded and walked towards the stage for the performance.

As he walked, Li Yi came to the door of a teahouse called Shushui Pavilion. Just by looking at the name, he knew it must be related to the Xiahou family. He was about to step in, but was stopped by the waiter. You have to know that this is in Nanliang, Buddhism is the state religion, and no one is so rude to monks.

Li Yi bowed and said, "Amitabha, I just want to ask for a cup of tea, why are you stopping me?"

The fellow said arrogantly, "Hey, I want to ask you, a monk, whether you know the rules or not! Is our Shushui Pavilion a place you can come to?"

Li Yi shook his head and said, "I am a wandering monk. I don't know the rules here. Please tell me."

The waiter said unhappily, "Listen carefully, there are three things you cannot enter our Shushui Pavilion! First, monks, Taoist priests, and alchemists are not allowed to enter! Second, evil spirits are not allowed to enter! Third, people with the fire element in their fate are not allowed to enter!"

Li Yi asked in confusion: "May I ask, benefactor, how do you judge a person's fate?"

The waiter pointed proudly at a sapphire on the door frame and said, "See? This is the Water Spirit Pearl. Whenever someone who doesn't meet the requirements comes in, it will spray water! For monks, Taoist priests, it will spray ice water, for evil spirits, it will spray boiling water, and for people with the fire element, it will spray warm water."

Li Yi was surprised and said, "Oh? So magical! Can I try it?"

The waiter said unhappily, "You are sick, monk! You have nothing to do, right? Stop making trouble for me!" As he was about to chase him away, Li Yi pushed the waiter casually, making him stagger, and then stepped inside.

Surprisingly, the Water Spirit Pearl did not react at all, and Li Yi smiled and helped the waiter up and said, "Look, benefactor, I think I can come in and have a cup of tea."

Just at this moment, the shopkeeper came over. The waiter was about to complain but was stopped by the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper smiled and said, "It's okay, you go and do your own thing! I'll take care of this master." The waiter gave Li Yi a blank look and turned away.

Li Yi bowed and said, "Amitabha, I am a wandering monk, and I am honored to meet this donor."

The shopkeeper returned the greeting and said, "Amitabha, come, come, come, please come this way, Master." The shopkeeper welcomed Li Yi to the elegant seat by the window on the second floor, asked someone to bring tea and snacks, and then sat opposite Li Yi. After drinking a sip of tea with Li Yi, the shopkeeper smiled and said, "I wonder what advice the Master has for you?"

Li Yi said, "The world has been in turmoil recently. Many evil cultivators have come to Pengze County. I heard they are looking for something and have captured many descendants of King Yu. I came here to give the Xiahou family a warning."

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "We already know about this. The people from Shura Palace are looking for our ancestor's measuring ruler, but they found the wrong person and came to the wrong place."

Li Yi asked in confusion: "Oh? What do you mean, benefactor?"

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "To be honest with you, my name is Xiahou Yu, a member of the Xiahou clan. We have already fought with the people from the Shura Palace."

Li Yi asked: "If that's the case, why are those evil cultivators still staying in the city?"

Xiahou Yu shook his head and said, "I guess they haven't given up yet. Fortunately, they didn't cause trouble in the city, so we ignored them."

Li Yi waved his hand and said, "They arrested the seven surnamed Boyi and tortured two of them to death. I'm afraid it won't be easy to make them give up."

Xiahou Yu smiled and said, "For thousands of years, countless people have come to search for the Heavenly Ruler, but all have returned empty-handed. In the end, even we in the Xiahou clan are not sure whether the Heavenly Ruler really exists."

Hearing this, Li Yi naturally didn't believe it. Since the sacrificial axe was the axe head of Tianshui Yue, the axe handle must exist, but the Xiahou clan didn't know it, or maybe they knew it but didn't want to say it. Li Yi nodded and said, "If that's the case, I'm worrying too much. I won't bother you anymore. Thank you for the tea." After saying that, he stood up and left.

Xiahou Yu stretched out his hand to stop him and said, "Wait a minute, venerable monk!"

Li Yi turned around and asked, "What advice do you have for me, benefactor?"

Xiahou Yu pondered for a moment and then said, "Tomorrow our Xiahou clan will hold a marriage-recruiting meeting. If you have nothing to do, you might as well stay and watch the fun. This year's marriage-recruiting meeting is the biggest in the past years! Talents from all over the country have been invited. It is an event that cannot be missed!"

Li Yi thought: He wants me to participate in the marriage meeting? No, I am a monk now! He definitely doesn't want me to participate in the selection of a son-in-law. Hiss, is there another purpose for this marriage meeting? Is he going to deal with the people of Shura Palace?

Thinking of this, Li Yi shook his head and said, "I am a monk and have no interest in such worldly affairs. I will not watch the marriage recruitment meeting."

Xiahou Yu stood up and said, "You should stay and watch, Master. After all, the people of Shura Palace are also waiting for this grand event. As far as I know, they have not only mixed in with the singers and jugglers, but will also send people to participate in the selection of sons-in-law. Master, don't you want to see how our Xiahou clan will deal with them?"

Li Yi nodded and smiled, "Then I can take a look." Then he bowed and said goodbye and left Shushui Pavilion.

In the evening, Li Yi returned to the inn to meet Xu Li. The information he got from him was similar. The people from Shura Palace had already contacted the people from the Xiahou clan and did not get any information about the measuring ruler. They did not give up and planned to send people to participate in tomorrow's marriage conference, either marrying into the Xiahou clan and going into the mansion to inquire, or directly kidnapping Boyi and interrogating him separately.

So no matter what the situation is, Li Yi can't miss tomorrow's marriage meeting. So Li Yi went back to his room early to rest. He hadn't slept in bed in the past few days. He needed a good sleep. And there might be a big battle tomorrow, a big battle close to Lingyin Temple.

The next day, the originally bustling Pengze County became extremely deserted because everyone went to the marriage-recruiting stage outside Xiahou Manor to watch the fun.

When Li Yi and Xu Li arrived at the marriage proposal venue, there were already thousands of people gathered there, and it was like a big fair in Yangcheng. Street performers including colorful plays, jugglers, animal taming, lion dancing, fortune-telling, and storytelling had all moved their stages here. There were also vendors selling goods and vegetables, and even food stalls had been set up.

Li Yi and Xu Li had some plain noodles at a noodle stall and then headed to the official venue for the marriage proposal. They saw that the place was packed with people, just like the buses and subway stations during rush hour. Li Yi lost interest instantly. He had bought the scooter just to avoid the crowded buses and subways.

Seeing the huge crowds of people, Li Yi touched his bald head and said, "Is there no other way to get in and see?"

Xu Li stretched his neck to look and said, "Master, there is no one queuing over there. Let's go over there and have a look?" As they talked, they came to the other side, but it turned out that there was no one there. This was the registration area. Xu Li said awkwardly, "Master, what should we do?"

Li Yi smiled and said, "I don't want to squeeze with them. You go and sign up so I can get a private seat."

Xu Li scratched his head and said, "Master, you are kidding, right? I am already over 30 years old, how can they let me sign up?"

Li Yi said unhappily, "I am a monk. If you don't report it, how can I report it? Stop talking nonsense and go!"

Xu Li walked to the registration office awkwardly. The servant in charge of registration said in embarrassment when he saw Xu Li: "No, big brother, you are already this age, so don't come to join in the fun. Even if you can get the interview, my lady will not choose you!"

Xu Li turned his head and glanced at Li Yi, who waved his hand to signal him to hurry up, as he was still waiting to enter the venue to watch the show. He didn't give in, so he said arrogantly: "What do you care! I want to participate in this marriage proposal! I don't care whether I am selected or not! Write it down for me!"

The servant sighed and said, "Okay, then pay one hundred taels of engagement money first."

Xu Li was stunned when he heard this and cursed, "What? I'm here to find a wife and I have to pay money?"

The servant said sternly: "Otherwise, how can I advise you not to sign up? It's a waste of money!"

Li Yi casually took out a gold ingot from the sack and placed it on the table, saying seriously: "Please, benefactor, report this disciple to me. He is already quite old. I want to find him a wife so that I don't have to take care of him anymore."

The servant was stunned when he heard this. A young monk in his early twenties said that a man in his late forties was his disciple. He looked at Xu Li, who angrily said, "Didn't you hear what my master said? Tell me now! Otherwise, I..."

Xu Li slapped the three-ring knife on the table, and the servant nodded repeatedly, saying, "Okay, okay! Tell me right away. What's your name? Do you have any reputation in the martial arts world?"

"Xu Li, Xu Huandao! Write quickly! Yes, the powerful Li! Hey! Yes!"

"Birthday horoscope?"

"Oh, you're asking this at this marriage-seeking convention? It's quite formal..."

After registering, Xu Li and Li Yi walked towards the venue. On the way, they saw Xiahou Yu, and simply said hello, and then came to the competition seat. Others were contestants sitting, and their followers stood behind them, but it was different for Li Yi. Li Yi sat, and Xu Li stood beside him.

Of course, Xu Li didn't dare to say anything, but there were always people who gave him strange looks, and he would raise his knife in response. Li Yi asked, "Why don't you sit for a while?"

Xu Li quickly smiled and said, "No, no, Master, please sit down. Just sit there and feel free. I ate too much this morning, so it's fine for me to stand for a while." Li Yi smiled and didn't say much.

Soon, Bo Yi from the Xiahou family came to the stage and explained the rules of the marriage proposal. It was actually very simple, involving a literary competition, a martial arts competition and an interview. The top four in both literary and martial arts would enter the interview.

After listening to the rules, Xu Li asked, "Master, with my current strength, don't worry about this fight. I looked around and I can defeat everyone except Cheng Jinyu, the pale-faced scholar from Shura Hall! That guy is from Xuanji Hall and has some skills. If I really pick him, I'm afraid I won't be able to beat him."

Li Yi chuckled and said, "Why, do you really think you are here to find a husband? If you run into him, just admit defeat."

Xu Li muttered, "Master, what are you saying? Didn't you just say you would help me find a wife? Monks don't lie!"

Li Yi glanced at him and said, "Hmph, okay, if you really face that pretty boy, I will find a way to help you, but you have to retain your strength, because there might be a fierce battle in the next few days."

Xu Li smiled and said, "Okay, don't worry!"

Because the Xiahou clan was not considered a big clan in Southern Liang, and had no support in the court, and only had some fame in the Jingchu area, most of the people who came were the descendants of major gangs in the martial arts world. There were more than eighty people who signed up for the marriage proposal, and most of them wanted to find a wife by relying on their kung fu.

So the first day was filled with fighting, which was a great pleasure for the onlookers. These people really fought, and some of them were so angry that they really wanted to kill each other. It was possible that someone would have a grudge against them. After all, Xu Li was an evil cultivator, so it was easy and pleasant for him to deal with these young warriors, and he smoothly entered the top four of the martial arts test.

Since they had registered and paid the money, the Xiahou family would naturally provide them with food and accommodation. During dinner, Xu Li and the others started drinking, and he really thought that he was going to marry into the Xiahou family. Li Yi didn't care about him and just ate a bite and went back to his room to rest.

Li Yi was sleeping in the middle of the night when the door was pushed open and Xu Li knelt down in front of the bed. This scared Li Yi. He stood up and asked, "What's going on? Why are you drunk and coming to me like that?"