Early the next morning, the anger and chaos of the night before had settled into a heavy silence. Everyone sat around the table in front the kitchen in the open. As the sun rose, they spotted Cao Fengge and Cao Wenyan standing on the other side of the stream. Rao Zhengsheng instantly rose, renewed anger surging through him.
Yuan Xiurong quickly pulled him back. "Rao gege, you are not their opponent. Please come down."
Cao Fengge slowly walked toward the house and stopped in front of the gate, looking at Dong Shun with cold disdain. He smirked. "How are your years spending inside the bottom of that hill?"
Dong Shun met his gaze. "I should thank you."
Cao Fengge scoffed. "Don't think that you stay behind Mu Dishi's front gate, and I will not dare to hurt you."
Dong Shun countered, unwavering. "I don't know who Mu Dishi is, but I'm sure he is someone you dare not step on his toes."
Cao Fengge asserted his power. "I'm not afraid of dead men. I am given Chief Fu's face."
A new voice arrived from afar. Yuan Zixin, Yuan Xiurong's father spoke. "Since Chief Cao is given Chief Fu's face, how about giving this old man some face too?"
Cao Fengge acknowledged him. "What business does Master Yuan have in Tianshan?"
Yuan Zixin walked forward. "Since Chief Cao is here, I will save my journey to Beixing Sect." He reached into his sleeve and handed Cao Fengge an invitation. "This is an invitation to my future son-in-law's celebration of the reconstruction of Rao Manor."
Cao Fengge narrowed his eyes. "Master Yuan, it's not good for you to choose sides."
"I don't pick sides. Rao Zhengsheng will be my son-in-law. Also, if the Cao family wants to fight him, it is better to wait for the competition among the four households," Yuan Zixin stated, appealing to martial law. He looked pointedly at Rao Zhengsheng. "Now, everyone has accepted the invitation. If Chief Cao wants to attack Rao Zhengsheng, what would the martial arts world think of Beixing Sect?"
Cao Fengge smiled, a dangerous expression. "Master Yuan, you might not know about me?"
"I have," Yuan Zixin confirmed.
Cao Fengge held up the invitation card. "If you have, don't step on this old fox's foot, but once he bites, he will refuse to let go." He bowed slightly. "Thank you for the invitation. I will definitely give a gift to the new leader of the Rao family." He then put his hand behind his back and left with Cao Wenyan and the other members, withdrawing the attack due to the political pressure.
Yuan Xiurong smiled widely. "Father!"
Yuan Zixin returned her warmth. "I came as soon as possible I got your letter."
"Thank you, Father," Yuan Xiurong said.
Yuan Zixin smiled proudly. "For my beautiful daughter, for my future son-in-law, there is nothing I wouldn't do."
Rao Zhengsheng composed himself. "Master Yuan, this is my Dong shushu," he introduced.
Dong Shun bowed his head. "Master Yuan, thank you for everything you have done. We are greatly in debt to you."
Yuan Zixin waved a hand. "I did this because he is my future son-in-law."
Dong Shun smiled, relieved. "I am very happy that Zhengsheng has your full support. I accept Yuan guniang as his wife." He then added, "Leader Yuan, I have a favor to ask."
"What is it?" Yuan Zixin asked.
Dong Shun suggested, "I would like a double wedding."
"A double wedding?" Yuan Zixin questioned.
Dong Shun explained his motivation, a mix of gratitude and desire to protect his newly found daughter, Cao Yanmei. "Yes. I just met my daughter. Rao da ge and I were very good brothers at that time. Since Zhengsheng is going to marry Xiurong, Yongzheng should marry Yanmei."
Cao Yanmei smiled, a hopeful light in her eyes. "Father, are you telling the truth?"
Dong Shun smiled kindly at his rediscovered daughter. "Yes…"
Rao Zhengsheng smiled, accepting the proposal. "Then let it go with Dong shushu's idea."
Yongzheng spoke from behind them, his voice cold. "I'm not marrying Cao guniang." He walked inside the guest bedroom.
Dong Shun was bewildered. "Yongzheng... Why not?"
Inside the guest room, Yongzheng wet a towel and gently wiped Xue Horan's face. Xue Horan held Yongzheng's hand. "Yongzheng, I think Cao guniang likes you very much. It's not bad to marry her," he suggested weakly.
Yongzheng's eyes were intense. "Others can say this, but you can't. You once told me that if you want to marry someone in the future, that person can only be me. Is this still true?"
"Yes, but it doesn't apply to you," Xue Horan replied, still trying to push him away for his own good.
Yongzheng was firm. "Horan, I don't want to marry anyone; I only want to marry you. If you decide to marry Rao Zhengsheng, after I have taught him the last twenty moves—as I promised your father—I will go back home and become a Taoist."
Xue Horan took Yongzheng's left hand, rubbed it against his right cheek, and kissed it, pressing his lips to the back of the hand. He closed his eyes. "I'm very happy," he whispered, smiling.
"I'm very happy too," Yongzheng said, smiling back. He saw that Horan had passed out from sheer exhaustion. Touching Xue Horan's hot forehead, he pulled the quilt over him.
Suddenly, the door was kicked open. Cao Yanmei walked in, raging. "Yongzheng, what's wrong with me?"
Yongzheng remained calm. "Cao guniang, keep your voice down. Horan needs his rest."
"Answer my question!" she demanded.
Yongzheng looked at her, his voice devoid of emotion. "Love cannot be forced. I made it as clear as I can. I cannot marry someone that I don't love."
"Who do you love? Tell me!" she cried.
"If you know who I like and want to get married to, what are you going to do?" he countered.
Cao Yanmei vowed, "Compete with that person."
"No matter how you compete, that person's position in my heart will not change. Maybe you should go find someone who likes you, and you can marry him," Yongzheng advised.
Cao Yanmei tried to use authority. "My father, your shushu, wants us to get married. This is the elder's order!"
Yongzheng glanced at her coldly. "Let me make it clear. I have never obeyed anyone's instructions. I do what I think is right, and I do what my heart desires. The same goes for seeking revenge on Cao Fengge. I refuse to join hands with Rao Zhengsheng and Dong Shun to seek revenge on Cao Fengge."
"Why?" she asked.
"If I seek revenge on Cao Fengge, who will seek revenge on those I killed?" he stated plainly.
Cao Yanmei was taken aback. "You speak like an assassin." She grabbed his hand. "I don't care what you say. You are a descendant of the Rao family, and you must follow the order of your elder."
Yongzheng sharply pulled away his hand. "Number One doesn't take orders from anyone. You get out, or I will send you out," he warned, his gaze icy. "So annoying."
Cao Yanmei angrily walked out to the group sitting outside.
Yuan Xiurong asked, "Yanmei meimei, what did he say?"
Cao Yanmei spat out the words. "He told me to scram. He said that Number One doesn't take orders from anyone."
Yuan Zixin's face darkened instantly. "What does he call himself?"
"Number One," Cao Yanmei replied.
Yuan Zixin confirmed the terrifying truth. "He is Number One, leader of Men Of a Thousand Faces Organization."
Dong Shun asked, bewildered. "Who is that?"
Yuan Zixin explained the legendary assassin. "Number One is a famous contract assassin who killed people no one dared to kill." He looked at Rao Zhengsheng. "If Number One is your brother, killing Cao Fengge will be as easy as peeling a banana."
Cao Yanmei added glumly, "He said that he would not avenge Cao Fengge, nor would he marry me."
Yuan Zixin decided on their next move. "We leave here and sleep in the inn. After that, we will rebuild Rao Manor. As for Number One, there is still time to convince him. Anyway, he is still a Rao."
Just around the back mountain of Yuan Manor, the cold wind blew. A bird landed on the fence, and Yuan Chaomei picked it up, removing a thin bamboo tube. She read the paper inside, then walked to a man dressed in black, facing the setting sun.
Yuan Chaomei reported. "Chief, Father told me that the Rao family has established a reputation in the martial arts world. Moreover, the competition of the four families is scheduled in four months."
The man scoffed softly. "Chaomei, have you ever seen the sunset over Tianshan?"
"I have not," Yuan Chaomei replied.
The man, hinting at a grander, distant plan, said, "I have, but there is no sunset as beautiful as watching the sunset over the mountaintop down south in Tong Village." He sighed. "How much I miss that view."