Chapter 362

Chapter 362: Second Young Master Jiang Isn’t Very Bright

You Bing Yue came to Mount Ming with the hope of watching Yu Zhi Yi make a fool of herself. She knew that back at Yu Manor, Yu Zhi Yi had never been valued-neither her father nor her mother cared-so she guessed that once Yu Zhi Yi returned to the Jiang Clan, she would also be cold-shouldered. She didn’t expect that all of the girl’s brothers would protect her.

Du Zi Heng and Li Chang Huai arrived to find You Bing Yue hiding in a corner and peeking inside; Du Zi Heng asked in a low voice: “Bing Yue, what are you doing?” You Bing Yue quickly smoothed her expression and smiled: “I just got here and heard they were talking about the strong wind, so I listened for a bit.” As she spoke, the noisy discussion inside swelled again.

After listening for a while, Du Zi Heng’s face went stormy and he moved to rush out; You Bing Yue grabbed his sleeve and whispered: “What are you doing?” He clenched his jaw and said: “They’re talking nonsense!” You Bing Yue sighed and kept her voice even: “They are talking nonsense, but gossip can kill. If you charge out now, it won’t help; it will only make more trouble for her.” Du Zi Heng frowned and asked: “What trouble could I bring her?” You Bing Yue spread her hands and reasoned: “Think about it. They already dislike her. If you storm out to argue, you’re a scholar-your words will crush them-and your martial arts are better too. They won’t accept it in their hearts. Since they can’t outtalk you and can’t outfight you, they’ll dump their anger on Miss Yu. Whether they confront her to her face or mess with her in secret, that’s a real problem.”

Du Zi Heng felt something off in her logic, but before he could untangle it, You Bing Yue continued, calm and confident: “Besides, the innocent stay innocent. We know this weather has nothing to do with Miss Yu, and she surely knows none of this is her fault. And the people of the Martial Alliance like Miss Yu so much that they won’t blame her. As long as tomorrow’s Earthly Ranking meet opens and ends smoothly, these rumors will fall apart on their own.”

Du Zi Heng was about to speak again when an angry shout cracked across the dining hall like a whip: “Shut your filthy mouths!” A tall youth burst in like a gust of wind, eyes blazing as he demanded: “Who’s been gossiping? Come out and face this young master!”

The gathered Martial World crowd fell silent.

Jiang Liu Bin swept the room with a furious stare. When no one stepped forward, he gave a cold laugh and said: “What, you’ve got the guts to whisper but not the guts to admit it? That’s all you amount to?”

A middle-aged man, stung by the taunt, stood up and argued, voice tight: “Fourth Young Master Jiang, nothing we said was wrong. The Martial World has held countless meets, and we’ve never had weather like ghosts wailing. Yet the moment Second Miss Jiang returns, this happens. How are we not supposed to suspect her?” Another person echoed sharply: “Right! What if the second miss you brought back is a jinx and curses us all?” A young man glared at Jiang Liu Bin and added coldly: “As soon as she came back, Miss Chen got grounded. They went to Gathering Heroes Manor, and not only did the arena collapse, a whole valley caved in.” He jabbed a finger at the air and concluded: “Wherever she goes, trouble follows. Oh, and I heard they even dug up a corpse near the Heaven-Climbing Steps not long ago.” He folded his arms and sneered: “Saying she brings bad luck isn’t wrong. So we reasonably suspect something’s off with her-what’s the problem?”

Jiang Liu Bin choked with anger. He was about to snap back when the crowd exploded into overlapping questions: “What? A corpse at the Heaven-Climbing Steps? Who died? How was it handled?” “Miss Chen was confined? Since when?” “That brother is right, Second Miss Jiang shows up and trouble follows. No way-we must keep her from attending tomorrow’s meet.” “Exactly. Who cares if the match goes smoothly? If we spectators catch her bad luck, that’s the true disaster.”

Seeing the way this was turning, Du Zi Heng started forward to help-only to pause when a handsome, otherworldly figure stepped into the doorway and asked in a voice gone icy: “Who here has a problem with my sister?” Jiang Liu Yi’s usually clear and gentle face looked as cold as an Antarctic glacier.

His gaze swept the room; everyone he looked at flinched and avoided his eyes. Watching so many so-called heroes of the Martial World shrink from a youth barely past twenty, You Bing Yue curled her lip in secret: [Heroes of the Martial World? What a joke-useless!]

To be fair, if they could have heard her thoughts, they’d have cried injustice. It wasn’t that they were weak; it was that Jiang Liu Yi was too strong. This Second Young Master Jiang became famous at thirteen and by fifteen had started challenging experts across the Martial World. If someone had a name-no matter their age-he sought them out and fought them, one by one. To this day, he had never lost. In other words, anyone here with any reputation at all had already been beaten by him.

The middle-aged man from before looked like he wanted to shrink back yet couldn’t swallow his pride. Gritting his teeth, he said: “Second Young Master Jiang, we don’t have a personal issue with the second miss-we’re honestly worried about our safety.” Jiang Liu Yi tilted his head and asked evenly: “People in the Martial World are hurt and bleed every day. Some even die. Can you pin all of that on my sister?” The man forced a smile and protested: “That’s not the same thing. You have to admit that since Second Miss Jiang returned, lots of bad things have happened on this mountain.” Jiang Liu Yi chuckled. A moment ago he’d been like ice on a high peak; now, with that sudden smile, he was like warm sun on the glacier-so striking it was hard to look away. Several young girls blushed, hearts racing; their gazes stretched toward him like taffy.

You Bing Yue also froze for a heartbeat, dazed: [This man is far too outstanding.]

Ignoring the waves of admiration aimed his way, Jiang Liu Yi looked back at the middle-aged man and asked lightly: “You seem to know the Martial Alliance very well?” The man’s expression turned even more guilty as he stammered: “I-I only heard what others said. People in the Martial World are well-informed. Just now that young hero said it too-after Second Miss Jiang returned, they dug up a corpse near the Heaven-Climbing Steps…” Jiang Liu Yi cut him off and corrected him crisply: “Not a corpse-bones.” He added with cool precision: “And those bones were dug up after my sister returned.”

The dining hall erupted into noise again. Du Zi Heng frowned, displeased, thinking: [Isn’t he pushing Yi’er into the fire like this?] You Bing Yue arched a brow and sniffed: [Good looks and great skills, but the brain’s not working. Say it like that and I won’t even need to lift a finger-Yu Zhi Yi will be condemned on the spot.]