Gift
Chapter 7
The banquet hall was filled with laughter and merriment.
Dressed in semi-formal black-and-red attire that was elegant yet still practical enough for movement, Bajie stood proudly in the center of the hall before her entire family. One by one, she began presenting the treasures she had supposedly “risked her life” to obtain.
“Father! This first gift was chosen especially for you.”
Bajie reached into her belongings and produced a round object that shimmered with dazzling rainbow-colored light.
“It is a Rainbow Takraw Ball from the Northern Lands! As for what special powers it possesses… I am not entirely certain. But what I do know is that I had to snatch it from the nest of a Northern Qilin! Since Father loves playing takraw, I thought no ordinary ball could possibly suit you better than one that sparkles like this!”
Wei Balong’s eyes widened until they were nearly the size of goose eggs, his heart swelling with delight at his daughter’s thoughtfulness.
“Oh! How magnificent! You took this from a Qilin’s nest? You have gone through so much trouble for me, my child. In truth, simply seeing you return home safely already brings me more joy than anything else. But now you have even brought me such a marvelous takraw ball… I shall treasure it dearly!”
Bajie then turned toward the First Wife with a sweet smile.
“For Great Mother, I have brought cosmetics from the Northern Lands. They say the colors are bright and vivid, yet they wash away with ease. They will certainly do no harm to Great Mother’s beautiful and radiant complexion.”
“You truly know how to please me, you little rascal,” the First Wife said, accepting the gift with an affectionate smile.
“And for Mother Yufan…”
Bajie turned toward her birth mother and offered her a cloth bundle from which the faint fragrance of medicinal herbs drifted.
“These are rare restorative herbs. Their properties are said to be extraordinary. They may be consumed to nourish the body from within or added to bathwater to help regulate Qi from without. Since Mother enjoys studying medicinal texts, I thought you might like to try cultivating them in your garden.”
Yufan nodded in satisfaction.
“An excellent choice, Bajie. Mother will study them carefully.”
Finally, Bajie moved toward the Third Wife, holding up a parcel of pastries that she had protected with particular care.
“And for Mother Daifu… I certainly did not forget you! These are sweet herbal buns from Granny Yi’s shop, a famous establishment that opens for only seven days each year! I had to stand in line especially to obtain them.
“As soon as I got them, I rode home at full speed so that Mother could eat them while they were still fresh. These buns are especially for you! I tried one on the journey home, and goodness—the filling nearly burst out! The taste lingered in my mouth for ages. I am certain they will suit Mother’s tastes perfectly!”
The Third Wife laughed heartily as she accepted the pastries.
“My, my… as expected of Mother’s beloved child. You understand your Third Mother’s tastes so well. Thank you, Bajie.”
While everyone admired the gifts Bajie had brought, she secretly cast another glance toward the entrance.
Deep inside, she wondered when that beautiful young woman would finally appear.
“And what about us?!”
“You have been wandering through the martial world for so long. Have you forgotten your elder brothers entirely?”
The combined protests of her three brothers interrupted the cheerful atmosphere.
Bajie burst into laughter. Of course she had not forgotten them. She had already prepared something special to “welcome” her elder brothers.
“Oh, Big Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother… how could your youngest sister possibly forget any of you?”
Bajie bounced to her feet and handed an object to her eldest brother with a sly smile.
“This is for Big Brother! I thought it looked adorable, so I bought it for my nephew…”
Wei Pabao accepted the object and stared at it in confusion.
It was a small pellet drum of the sort commonly given to children. He lifted it and twisted the handle between his palms.
Clack… clack…
The sound echoed loudly throughout the hall.
“Your gift is certainly… unusual, Bajie,” Pabao said, staring down at the little drum in his hand. “But your elder brother does not have a child yet.”
“Eh? You still do not have one?”
Bajie widened her eyes in exaggerated shock and placed a hand against her chest.
Pabao shook his head with an amused smile.
“You were only gone for three months. You already know that I do not even have a wife. Where could I possibly have found a nephew for you?”
“This is terrible!” Bajie exclaimed, immediately playing along with a deeply troubled expression. “How can my handsome Big Brother still be without a wife?
“If Big Brother does not marry, how could Second Brother Puzhen or Third Brother Beyuan dare to marry before you? Or are all three of you planning to remain bachelors together for the rest of your lives?”
Puzhen and Beyuan immediately flinched.
Their faces twisted with discomfort as they stared at their troublesome younger sister, their expressions clearly saying:
You little menace… You have deliberately given Father and the mothers another excuse to lecture us about marriage!
“Bajie, do not tease your brothers like that,” the First Wife warned, though her scolding was far from serious and amusement glittered in her eyes. “It is unbecoming.”
“Yes, yes. I will stop teasing them,” Bajie said with a giggle. “I shall give them their real gifts now.”
She bent down, intending to retrieve the gifts she had genuinely prepared for them.
Before she could take anything from the cloth bundle, however, the sound of soft yet steady footsteps came from the entrance to the hall.
A-Ling appeared at the threshold.
She lowered herself into a respectful bow according to proper etiquette before announcing in a clear, resonant voice,
“Lady Lin Lanyi has arrived to attend the banquet at the invitation of the Lord of the House.”
The playful conversation within the hall immediately fell silent.
Every gaze turned toward the main entrance at once.
Bajie, in particular, froze with one hand still reaching toward the gifts. She slowly straightened and stared without blinking at the figure entering the hall.
Lanyi stepped into the banquet chamber with graceful composure.
She wore fine, pale-blue silk embroidered with flowing patterns of white clouds. Her pure and radiant appearance made her seem like a celestial maiden who had descended from the heavens. The brilliance of her beauty captured every gaze in the room and held it there.
Around her slender wrist rested the Dark Jade Bracelet that the First Wife had given her.
The ancient black bracelet had completely sealed away her Rouling Yin energy.
Beyuan and Puzhen, the two brothers who had previously experienced the effects of her Qi firsthand, shuddered slightly as Lanyi entered.
They felt themselves being drawn toward her once again.
It cannot be… Are we being affected by her Qi again!?
No. Mother said her energy had been temporarily sealed!
Neither brother realized that what captivated them this time had nothing whatsoever to do with Lanyi’s Qi.
It was simply her beauty.
Lanyi paid no attention to the stares around her.
She walked calmly toward the master of the estate before lowering herself into a graceful bow to Wei Balong and the First Wife.
“Please forgive Lanyi for arriving late.”
Balong waved his hand dismissively.
“Oh, you are not late at all, little Lanyi. My youngest daughter is simply impatient and enjoys beginning every celebration ahead of schedule!”
He laughed heartily and gestured toward the seat prepared for her.
“Come, sit down. There is no need to concern yourself with such things.”
Lanyi acknowledged him politely and walked over to take her assigned seat.
The moment she had settled down, Bajie wasted no time.
She turned toward her parents with a broad smile.
“Father, Mothers! May I move my seat and sit beside Lady Lanyi?”
Without waiting for an answer, she seized the gift she had originally intended to give to her eldest brother, rose from her seat, and walked directly toward Lanyi.
“I have prepared a special gift especially for an honored guest like Lady Lanyi!”
Bajie approached with a sly smile.
Pabao watched as the gift he had believed to be his was carried away before his very eyes.
He remained sitting perfectly still, stunned.
Wait… Was that not supposed to be mine?
An awkward atmosphere immediately descended over the hall when everyone saw the “gift” that Bajie so proudly presented.
Resting before Lanyi was a pair of black meteor-iron knuckle guards covered in razor-sharp spikes.
They looked brutal and violent—an instrument of death far more suited to a desperate battlefield warrior than to the dining table of a noble young lady.
Bajie’s elder brothers each raised a hand to their forehead.
Their troublesome little sister truly possessed no common sense whatsoever when choosing gifts for women.
Wei Balong and the three wives could only offer strained laughter. They assumed this was merely another example of Bajie’s eccentric behavior after spending so long in the martial world and returning home with even rougher habits than before.
Lanyi, however, did not find the situation amusing.
The memory of Bajie provoking her at the lotus pavilion had not yet faded.
She is deliberately trying to trouble me…
She wants to imply that I am savage and violent—that I am dangerous because of my Qi.
I will not fall into your trap, Wei Bajie.
Lanyi stared calmly at the spiked knuckle guards.
She drew in a slow, deep breath, allowing the Dark Jade Bracelet to help suppress her irritation before it could agitate her Yin energy.
Then she lifted her gaze to meet the eyes of the red-haired Zhenyuan seated beside her, waiting eagerly for an answer.
“Fourth Young Miss… are you certain that this is truly the gift you intended to present to me?”
Her voice was gentle and even.
“I possess no knowledge of martial arts. If I were to accept such a valuable object, I fear that it would never be used or appreciated as it deserves.
“Accepting the kindness behind Fourth Young Miss’s gesture alone is already more than sufficient.”
The soft yet tactful rejection caused Bajie to pause for a moment.
She looked disappointed as she gathered the knuckle guards back toward herself, but she did not appear angry at being refused. The scheming smile on her face remained entirely unchanged.
“Ah… that is true. I completely forgot!”
Bajie laughed and placed the dangerous weapon on her own table.
“In truth, I merely wished to give you something valuable that I had fought hard to obtain. But I forgot that Lady Lanyi is such a gentle and refined woman.
“I returned to the estate so suddenly that I truly did not have time to find a gift properly suited to you.”
Bajie met Lanyi’s gaze once more.
The cunning light in her eyes immediately intensified as a new solution came to mind.
“Since Lady Lanyi says that she will accept the kindness behind my gift, then I shall change that kindness into something that truly suits you instead.”
She quickly turned toward Wei Balong and the three wives with great enthusiasm.
“Father, Mothers! Since Lady Lanyi has graciously agreed to accept my good intentions, I must make amends for failing to prepare a suitable gift in time.
“Tomorrow, may I have permission to take Lady Lanyi to visit the Willow Forest in the Cursed Lands? It would allow her to relax, enjoy the scenery, and broaden her horizons!”
Lanyi fell completely silent.
To everyone else, the Fourth Young Miss appeared to be acting as a considerate host, eager to entertain an honored guest.
But to Lanyi, being dragged into the Willow Forest with this troublemaking Zhenyuan sounded like a “gift” several times more troublesome than the spiked meteor-iron knuckle guards.