Ever since Melissa Mu returned from Haizhou, she brought back a spirit pill and gave it to her father, saving his life. But later, when Martin Mu interrogated her, he learned that Melissa had promised to exchange the Mu Family Ancient Sword for that pill. This made Martin furious.
Because of this, he crippled Melissa's father's meridians, turning him into a useless invalid. Not long ago, at the Springvale rooftop appraisal fair, a genius youth appeared who defeated a sword master from the Southriver Sword Sect. That youth arrived with Second Brother Sam Su, and the pressure on the Moore family grew even greater.
This so-called spouse selection for Melissa is mainly for the long-term interests of the Moore family, but the real key is to lure out the person who gave Melissa that pill. With the Southriver Sword Sect and countless experts present, they plan to ambush and kill him directly.
"Anyone who could give Melissa such a spirit pill is definitely no ordinary person. The pill's power far surpasses anything produced by Medicine King Valley, the overlord of Haizhou. And rumor has it that Medicine King Valley was wiped out by someone known as Master Lin. Only a person of that caliber could produce such a pill and have the guts to covet our Mu Family Ancient Sword," Bob Moore continued. "Do you think this whole setup is too much just to kill one man? If it really is Master Lin who wants our ancient sword, what could we possibly use to stop him when he comes knocking one day?"
"That Master Lin is rumored to have fought River City's Number One, Drake Huang, and even single-handedly killed Gavin Cheng, a fourth-grade Vajra. Not to mention the several Mystic Arts Adepts of Medicine King Valley who died at his hands!"
Bob Moore snorted coldly.
Just a few words were enough to make Martin Mu's face change. He had never really paid attention to what was happening over in Haizhou. Maybe he’d overheard people mention it now and then, but he’d never taken it seriously.
Now, listening to Bob Moore, he finally realized how serious things had gotten. "Is that Master Lin really so terrifying? Maybe people in Haizhou are just exaggerating? After all, that place hasn’t produced any truly impressive figures for years."
"Exaggerated or not, it's not something we can afford to gamble on. Have you found anything these past few days?" Bob Moore asked.
"No. Although a few previously unknown masters have shown up, most people still aren’t as strong as Drake Yu. And we haven’t found the person who gave Melissa the pill," Martin Mu shook his head.
"Hmm, maybe Master Lin hasn't arrived yet. There's no rush," Bob Moore said. "By the way, have you heard anything about that youth who defeated Sword Master Cui? If we could recruit such a talent, the Moore family would be unstoppable." Bob's face was serious.
"No news yet, but he might already be considered part of the Su family," Martin Mu guessed after thinking it over.
"If you see him, invite him over for a proper talk. Whatever the Su family offers, we can give even more. Didn’t you say Melissa admires him a lot? If necessary, let Melissa accompany him—anything goes!"
Bob Moore's tone was resolute.
Just as Martin Mu was about to leave, he suddenly thought of something. He turned back to Bob Moore and asked, "Dad, are we really going to give the sword away as Melissa’s dowry?"
"Give? Of course we'll give it! But even if the Moore family is willing, it depends on whether anyone can actually pull the sword out!" Bob Moore laughed. "Do you know why the Southriver Sword Sect hasn’t dared touch us for years, and never came to take the sword themselves? It’s not that they don’t want it—they just can’t take it!"
"Inside the woodland, the ancient sword stands on a stone platform. Anyone who tries to pull it out gets badly injured by the sword’s qi! If you want to claim the sword, you’d better be up to the task!"
Hearing Bob Moore’s words, Martin Mu finally understood and relaxed.
......
At Graceford City’s bus station, a long-distance coach from Capitalview City slowly pulled in.
"Graceford, we've arrived!"
The bus conductor yawned and shouted into the cabin.
Passengers got off one after another. Evan Lin slung his bag over his shoulder and walked out of the station.
It was now five in the afternoon. Graceford City’s bus station was a bit out of the way, still some distance from downtown.
After leaving the station, Evan flagged down a taxi and was just about to get in.
"Hey, wait up!"
Not far away, a nineteen-year-old guy in a casual T-shirt with a black backpack looked anxious, glancing at his phone every few seconds to check the time.
"Hey, buddy, are you heading downtown? Mind if we share a ride?" The guy scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "Bro, I just got pickpocketed at the station and lost all my cash. Could you give me a lift?"
He looked awkward saying all this—it clearly took a lot of courage.
Evan glanced at him and nodded. "Get in."
To Evan, bringing one more person or one less didn’t make much difference.
"Oh, thank you, thank you!"
The guy looked genuinely grateful, hurriedly opened the car door, got in, and kept thanking Evan.
"South Graceford Road, please."
Evan told the driver the address.
As soon as Evan said the address, the guy next to him paused, then lit up with excitement. "Whoa, bro, you’re heading to the Moore family too?"
"You’re going there too?" Evan glanced at him. The guy had a clean-cut look, and Evan couldn’t sense any inner-strength from him—just an ordinary person. His clothes didn’t look expensive, either.
His jeans were so faded they’d turned almost white, and the backpack he hugged looked old and worn out.
"Yeah, yeah! I’m here to see my girlfriend. She came with her classmates to check out the excitement—I thought it was a movie shoot or something, heard it’d be fun. I haven’t seen her in ages, so I wanted to use this chance to catch up." The guy scratched his head again, embarrassed. "But I got pickpocketed at the last station and don’t know my way around. Lucky you’re here."
"Oh, by the way, my name’s Lewis Lu! Nice to meet you!"
Lewis Lu grinned and reached out to shake Evan’s hand.
Evan just nodded at him, didn’t say much, and didn’t take his hand. Lewis awkwardly withdrew his hand, but didn’t seem bothered.
Just then, the driver up front spoke up: "It’s not a movie shoot over at the Moore estate, you know. They’re holding a martial spouse-selection tournament! Lots of people have gone to watch, but do you think you two can even get in?"
"A spouse-selection tournament? I don’t really know what’s going on, but my girlfriend said it’d be lively, so I’m just going to see her!" Lewis chuckled, looking satisfied and a little excited about seeing his girlfriend.
"By the way, bro, what are you going there for?" Lewis turned to Evan, curious.
"To collect a debt." Evan replied flatly. The two words made Lewis pause, then he broke into a grin. "Bro, you’re funny. Who could possibly owe you money?"