Peach Blossom Dual Cultivation

After leaving the restroom, Zhou Lang let out a sigh of relief upon seeing that the hallway outside was empty. If someone had seen Xiaoxi and him walking out of the men’s restroom together, they might have assumed something inappropriate was going on between them. While such behavior might be acceptable in his own home, this was the public restroom of a noodle shop. Doing something like that here would be highly inappropriate and subject to public scorn—something Zhou Lang was eager to avoid.

Thanks to their previous experience, Xiaoxi skillfully linked arms with Zhou Lang. As the two walked through the noodle shop’s main hall, the thirty-something shop owner was left dumbfounded. Two beautiful women had just left, and now Zhou Lang was with another stunning woman. It was one of those moments when you can’t help but compare yourself to others—and it’s infuriating!

However, Zhou Lang’s speed at wooing women seemed almost too fast. Meeting a beautiful lady in the restroom and managing to get close to her in just a couple of minutes? That was beyond the skill of even legendary playboys, making it impossible not to be impressed.

“Bro, can I have a word with you?”

The noodle shop owner hesitated for a moment before instructing a waiter to take over at the register. He then quickly walked over to Zhou Lang, his face full of admiration.

“Xiaoxi, wait for me outside. I’ll be out soon,” Zhou Lang said after a brief moment of hesitation.

Xiaoxi obediently nodded and stepped out of the shop in her high heels. By now, she had become quite adept at walking in them, her graceful, swaying figure likely to captivate countless men.

“Brother, you’re truly amazing—a master at wooing women! Could you teach me a few tricks? From now on, any time you come to my noodle shop, your meals are on the house.”

The shop owner lowered his voice as soon as Xiaoxi left. His primary concern was learning the art of picking up women; he hadn’t even thought about how a beautiful woman like Xiaoxi had entered the shop or when she went into the restroom. If he had, he would have been surprised, as no one had seen Xiaoxi enter the shop—she had appeared out of thin air.

“I can’t teach you that. Wooing women isn’t something that can be explained—it has to be understood,” Zhou Lang replied, somewhat amused. He quickly left the shop, though he couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. Back in college, he had been marginalized because he was poor and had to work part-time. The more attractive girls in his class wouldn’t even give him the time of day. Yet now, in less than a month, his situation had changed so dramatically that he was being hailed as a master of romance. It was beyond anything he had imagined.

Soon after, he met up with Xiaoxi outside the shop, and the two continued their stroll, enjoying their time together.

That afternoon, Zhou Lang received a call from Li Mengxue. She told him that she wouldn’t be going to Lover’s Bar for the next few days, so he was free to arrange his schedule and didn’t need to pick her up.

“What could Li Mengxue be busy with? Or is she intentionally distancing herself from me? Maybe she thinks I’m no longer useful as her bodyguard and wants me to quit voluntarily?”

Zhou Lang wondered after ending the call. He figured it was more likely one of the first two possibilities. After all, he had helped Li Mengxue before, so she wouldn’t just discard him once he’d served his purpose.

Zhou Lang returned to his rented apartment before Zhao Xiaorou got off work. Xiaoxi had gone back to the Heaven and Earth Palace, and Zhou Lang sat on the couch, cross-legged, to meditate.

“Brother Lang, it’s rare to see you at home today. Didn’t you go hang out with your foreign girl?”

Zhao Xiaorou asked in surprise when she got home and saw him there.

“Ahem, don’t be so jealous. I’ve told you already, if you want to be my girlfriend, you’ll have to tolerate the fact that I have other women. I’m a cultivator, not an ordinary man,” Zhou Lang replied, stopping his meditation.

“Ivannova isn’t exactly a foreigner; she’s mixed-race. Her mother’s Chinese, and her father’s Russian. But both her parents have passed away.”

“I don’t care about her background. It’s not that I’m jealous; it’s just that she’s so disrespectful to me, sleeping with you in our shared apartment right in front of me,” Zhao Xiaorou said.

“Even a woman with the biggest heart would be upset by that.”

“She’s just trying to provoke you,” Zhou Lang chuckled.

“You two should stop bickering.”

Just as Zhao Xiaorou was about to say something else, Zhou Lang’s expression changed subtly. He suddenly lowered his voice and asked, “Did anyone follow you home?”

“What’s wrong?”

Zhao Xiaorou whispered back, unsure of what he meant.

Ding-dong!

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Zhou Lang opened the door to find two large men in suits and sunglasses standing there. They were almost identical in height and build, likely twins. The only difference between them was that one had a black mole on his cheek.

“And you are?”

Zhou Lang asked. He had sensed the arrival of these two men before opening the door. They were trained martial artists with formidable inner energy—true experts.

In an age where martial arts and cultivation were in decline, it was rare to encounter such experts. The sudden appearance of two masters outside the apartment he shared with Zhao Xiaorou made Zhou Lang suspicious. Could it be that Zhao Xiaorou’s beauty had attracted unwanted attention from some perverts on her way home?

“This doesn’t concern you. Get out of the way. We’re here to see Miss Zhao Xiaorou,” said the man with the mole, not even bothering to look at Zhou Lang. He walked straight toward Zhao Xiaorou.

“Who… who are you?”

Zhao Xiaorou asked, clearly frightened.

“Miss Zhao, surely you recognize us—the Wang brothers?” said the man without the mole.

“You disappeared from the provincial capital a month ago, and our Young Master Shangguan has been worried sick about you. We’ve been searching everywhere and finally tracked you down to Feiyun City. You’ve had your fun; it’s time to go back. Young Master Shangguan is eager to marry you.”

“Wang brothers? Young Master Shangguan? Marriage?”

Zhou Lang’s mind raced with questions. Could Zhao Xiaorou not be the orphan and working girl she claimed to be? What was her true identity?

“I can stay wherever I please. It has nothing to do with you two. I’ve already told Shangguan Yu that I won’t marry him. Go back and tell him to give up,” Zhao Xiaorou said coldly.

“Miss Zhao, your marriage with Young Master Shangguan was arranged by your father and our master, Old Master Shangguan. Young Master Shangguan is deeply in love with you and hopes you’ll come back with us,” said the man with the mole, Wang Fan, the elder of the brothers by two hours.

“If my father and Shangguan Long made such an arrangement, then they should just marry each other,” Zhao Xiaorou retorted.

“Miss Zhao, don’t push your luck. We didn’t come all this way for nothing. Whether you’re willing or not, we’ll take you back. Do you think we’d leave empty-handed?”

Wang Zhong, the brother without the mole, snapped, his face darkening as he revealed a more menacing side.

“Do you think you can use force?”

Zhao Xiaorou asked defiantly.

“In this world, there’s nothing the Wang brothers can’t do,” Wang Fan said with a laugh.

“Excuse me, but this is my house, and you’re not welcome here. I suggest you leave,” Zhou Lang interrupted, stepping between Zhao Xiaorou and the brothers.

“Who are you,? Living with Miss Zhao, huh? You realize that if our Young Master Shangguan finds out about this, you’ll be a dead man, right?” Wang Fan yelled, clearly not taking Zhou Lang seriously.