"I've been drinking with your father lately and feel they have some problems. I'm wondering if I can provide some guidance," Xiaoyao casually found an excuse to brush it off.

"Then brother must definitely guide Father. He's never been happy. When I try to cheer him up, he only smiles on the surface, and that kind of smile makes me feel very uncomfortable," Yinping said, her mood immediately becoming a bit unhappy.

"... Don't worry about it too much. Yinping, your progress is very good now. In less than three months, you'll be able to advance to King Level, and then you'll be much stronger than your little companions," Xiaoyao said with a smile, shifting the topic away, otherwise Yinping would feel very uncomfortable.

"Really? Haha, then I won't be called stupid anymore. Brother, you must continue teaching me and giving me pills to eat," Yinping jumped up, happily bouncing around.

"Of course. I'll also teach you a set of sword techniques," Xiaoyao smiled. Teaching Yinping sword techniques was actually very simple. She couldn't learn much now, so it could be completed quickly.

...

"Xiaoyao, why have you been running to the wine workshop lately? Are you not doing alchemy anymore?" Third Master asked during dinner. He was very concerned about Xiaoyao's future. Currently, alchemy could improve Xiaoyao's status within the family, which could be said to be the most important thing at present.

However, these past few days, Xiaoyao had been brewing wine at the wine workshop and only occasionally went to the alchemy room once, which made Third Master a bit worried. He was worried that Xiaoyao only knew how to play and had forgotten about serious matters.

...

...

"That's right, Fourth. Your most important task now is to make pills for the family and stabilize your position within the family. This is a rare opportunity," Luo Lingyu also said seriously.

"Exactly! Make more pills. Your pills are much better than others', and my cultivation progress has accelerated greatly. At this rate, I'll be able to reach Emperor Level Peak in less than a year," Lingling also chimed in, though she seemed to only be thinking of herself.

"It's fine, wine brewing is also good!" Ling Jiu expressed her opinion on this matter. Xiaoyao's wine brewing skills were quite impressive, bringing her pleasant surprises continuously. In this situation, she naturally supported Xiaoyao continuing to brew wine.

"Right, wine brewing is also good. You wouldn't understand the wonderful uses of wine," Xiaoyao nodded and said.

"Mm-hmm, exactly, exactly..."

"Ling Jiu, if you say one less word, no one will think you're mute," Luo Lingyu said irritably.

"..." Ling Jiu stopped talking.

"Alright, I won't go to the wine workshop tomorrow..." Xiaoyao said. The wine was already brewed to a sufficient degree anyway, and some would need to wait a while before they could be brewed.

"That's right. From now on, you should prioritize serious matters."

"I do serious matters every day!" Xiaoyao said seriously.

"... Fine, tomorrow you should go to the alchemy room to make pills."

"No, tomorrow I need to forge swords. I recently obtained some materials and can process my sword a bit," Xiaoyao replied.

"..."

Unexpectedly, after all that talk, Xiaoyao still wasn't going to the alchemy room. This made them feel somewhat powerless. However, if they knew about Xiaoyao's alchemy situation, they wouldn't feel that Xiaoyao needed to go every day.

"Xiaoyao, let me tell you something," Third Master suddenly said.

"Mm, what is it?" Xiaoyao asked with confusion. Why did it suddenly feel so heavy? Even when they were just talking about alchemy, it wasn't this serious.

"Let me put it this way. You're already in your early twenties. When I was your age, I had already married and had a daughter," Third Master said with a smile.

"..."

You're not trying to say that I should go get married and have children, are you!

"I know you've been busy lately and haven't had time to meet girls, but this is a lifelong matter after all. You can't delay it because of other things. So, your mother and I... helped you select a few girls," Third Master said with a smile.

Xiaoyao didn't refute the term "mother." He was too lazy to discuss this matter, and more importantly, Third Master and the others had arranged girls for him.

"You're asking me to go on blind dates. Sorry, I'm not available!" Xiaoyao refused.

"Don't be like that. Taking a look won't hurt. Don't think of this as a blind date, just consider it a gathering, a gathering among young people! If you like any of them, marry them. Men can have three wives and four concubines anyway. If you meet good ones in the future, just marry them too," Third Master said with a smile.

"Hmph!" In response, all the women at the dining table expressed their displeasure, but they could accept this matter. If it was Xiaoyao, they'd rather have a few more.

Currently, Xiaoyao was the only male heir in this household.

"I'm still young, no rush," Xiaoyao said, seeing this situation and not saying anything else, using being young as an excuse.

"Didn't I just say that when I was your age, I had already married and had children," Third Master said again, implying that Xiaoyao was already late.

"If you're worried, worry about Sister Lingyu first. She's almost at the age where she can't get married," Xiaoyao said irritably, and after speaking, he felt a strong killing intent.

"What did you say, Fourth?!" Luo Lingyu appeared behind Xiaoyao, patting his shoulder.

"I said you're almost at the age where you can't get married..." Xiaoyao replied very honestly.

"Go die..." Luo Lingyu punched Xiaoyao on the head.

"I'm telling the truth. You're already quite old. People younger than you have already married, but you still haven't. Do you already have someone in your heart?" Xiaoyao rubbed his head and said very innocently.

"My affairs are none of your business. You should take care of your own matters and attend the blind date Father arranged this time," Luo Lingyu said coldly. Although she didn't like Xiaoyao bringing up her marriage, she could feel that Xiaoyao meant well for her. Actually, she wasn't really angry, just annoyed that Xiaoyao brought this up.

"I won't go. I don't want to start a family so early," Xiaoyao shook his head.

"It's fine. This time it's just a gathering with many girls attending. Of course, there are also quite a few young masters attending. I secured a spot for you, so don't waste it," Third Master explained to Xiaoyao. So this wasn't a one-on-one meeting, but a group blind date, or rather just a gathering, only with more girls attending. It was an opportunity to meet girls.

"In that case, this spot could also be given to Sister Lingyu," Xiaoyao said. Since there were also quite a few young masters, it would be best to let Lingyu go. Maybe she could find a suitable husband.

"Do you think I don't want to? Originally this spot was for her... uh..." Third Master seemed to have let something slip. So Xiaoyao was just a backup.

"Sister Lingyu, why aren't you going?"

"No time. I still have work to do. Besides, I'm not in a hurry. Female martial artists are still like young girls until they're thirty. You'd better think of a way to give me some good pills to help me maintain my youth," Luo Lingyu said, seeming unwilling to say more about this topic.

Could it be that she already has feelings for someone? Looking at this situation, it seems so.

"Then Ling Jiu... forget it..." When Xiaoyao looked toward Ling Jiu, he directly gave up.

"What do you mean by that?" Ling Jiu looked at Xiaoyao. Although she definitely wouldn't go, the problem was that Xiaoyao's attitude made her very unhappy.

"So you want to go?"

"No!"

"Then why are you saying anything? Sister Jinsuo seems to already have a lover and doesn't need this at all. Zhen'er, why don't you go and broaden your horizons," Xiaoyao skipped over Jinsuo and looked toward Zhen'er.

"I still have things to do, I'm not going!" Zhen'er said with a red face.

"Lingling, it looks like it's just you. Go have some fun," Xiaoyao looked at Lingling with a smile. Lingling should have the highest probability, and in fact, this thought was correct.

"Okay!" Lingling agreed very straightforwardly. She didn't mind going to have some fun and see what kind of people were there.

"..."

"Lingling is still young and doesn't need to go. It's you, no need to decline anymore. You don't have anything to do anyway. Depart tomorrow," Third Master said. If it was Lingling, he felt she was too young, and besides, Lingling also needed to focus on cultivation now and couldn't be delayed by romantic entanglements.

"Departing tomorrow? From what you're saying, it sounds like this thing will take several days?" Xiaoyao frowned.

"This is an activity, going out for a spring outing. In previous years it was near West Mountain, and might also go to Falling Flower River. It might take one or two days," Third Master said.

"So it's a spring outing. That's nothing special. I'll go play," Xiaoyao replied. Occasionally going out to play was something he often did. If it was a spring outing, he wasn't very resistant to it, plus he had nothing to do these past few days anyway.

"So you're going?" Third Master said happily.

"Mm!" Xiaoyao nodded. It wasn't a one-on-one blind date anyway. With so many people going together, he wouldn't be noticed by anyone, and it wouldn't be different from an ordinary spring outing.

Xiaoyao was just curious about one thing—

"Why does a spring outing need to involve so many things and require spots? Can't anyone just go?"

The next day, Xiaoyao finally understood this point, why this matter required spots. It turned out this was a high-level spring outing activity. The people who could participate were not ordinary people at all. All the major families and royal families of Flowing Moon City were involved.

These people didn't seem to be going on a spring outing at all. They were all dressed in gorgeous clothes and brought servants to attend to them, with carriages and everything. At least that's how it was at the moment of departure.

And Xiaoyao was now wearing a leather hat, dressed in clothes suitable for mountain climbing and traveling, and carrying a backpack containing a set of clothes, some dry food, some backup tools, etc. These were all prepared for unexpected needs.

This was a very normal outfit for outdoor spring outings, but the problem was, this was commoner's attire, not that of these young ladies and masters. They really were just going to play, not needing to bring anything themselves, just bringing a servant would do.

Therefore, now standing in the group, Xiaoyao didn't look like someone who came to participate in the spring outing, but rather like a servant of those people.

(End of Chapter)