Chapter 125: Making You Give Up Completely

Xu Mo laughed when he heard this. “Master Ning, is that why you asked me to come here?”

Master Ning replied, “Xu Mo, I can give you three days to think it over. After three days, you can come back and give me your answer.”

Xu Mo answered at once, “There’s no need. I can give you my answer right now!”

Then he said, “Impossible!”

Master Ning’s brows immediately drew together. “Xu Mo, you’d better think carefully. To become my Ning family’s son-in-law—even if you are only a live-in son-in-law—would be a blessing earned through the good fortune of your previous life!”

“I have no need of such a blessing!” Xu Mo replied without hesitation. “Master Ning, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”

With that, Xu Mo turned and walked out of the room.

Master Ning frowned as he stared at the open doorway. Deeply displeased, he shook his head and muttered, “He doesn’t know what’s good for him.”

After leaving Master Ning’s courtyard, Xu Mo headed straight for the main gate. Before long, he encountered Ning Yaxin.

Ning Yaxin hurried over and asked in a low voice, “Young Master Xu, what did my father say to you?”

Xu Mo shook his head. “We merely chatted for a while. Nothing special.”

Then he cupped his hands. “Miss Ning, it’s getting late. Mutou and I should take the tung oil back. Farewell.”

Ning Yaxin wanted to ask a few more questions, but Xu Mo had already gone.

She turned to Ling’er beside her. “Ling’er, go and see Young Master Xu off for me.”

“Yes, eldest young mistress.”

Ling’er nodded and hurried after Xu Mo.

Ning Yaxin, meanwhile, quickly made her way to her father’s courtyard.

“Father, what did you say to Young Master Xu just now?” she asked before even entering his room.

Inside, Master Ning had been discussing something with Steward Gao. Seeing his daughter approach, he signaled for Steward Gao to withdraw first.

After Steward Gao left, Ning Yaxin repeated her question.

Master Ning said calmly, “I told him that if he wanted to be with you, he would have to return home, divorce his wife, and then marry into our Ning family.”

“Father!” Ning Yaxin immediately became agitated. “How could you say such a thing to Young Master Xu?”

She had always been composed and levelheaded, but now her emotions were running high.

“Father, what you did was… it was simply too much! How am I supposed to face Young Master Xu in the future?”

“If you don’t know how to face him, then don’t see him again!” Master Ning suddenly raised his voice.

Perhaps his emotions had become too agitated, for he began coughing violently.

“Cough, cough… cough…”

Once the coughing subsided, Master Ning steadied himself and slowly said, “Yaxin, you should understand by now. Xu Mo will never divorce his wife, and you cannot possibly marry him as a concubine. The two of you can never have a future together. I did this so that you would give up completely.”

When Ning Yaxin had fled to Gushan Village to avoid Zhang Zhishen, Master Ning had already realized one thing.

His daughter’s feelings for Xu Mo had grown too deep, and she was no longer able to control them herself.

There were countless places where she could have hidden from Zhang Zhishen, yet she had chosen Gushan Village of all places—and had even lived under the same roof as Xu Mo. That was the strongest proof of all.

Thus, for the sake of his daughter’s future, Master Ning had deliberately summoned Xu Mo and made such an unreasonable demand.

In truth, he had known from the beginning that Xu Mo would refuse. His intention was to make Xu Mo dislike him, so that Xu Mo would no longer remain in close contact with his daughter. He wanted this matter to create a rift between them, causing them to gradually drift apart.

Ning Yaxin lowered her head without speaking, but tears silently streamed down her face.

Master Ning continued, “Yaxin, since you do not like Zhang Zhishen, I will not force you to marry him anymore. But remember this: as long as I draw breath, Xu Mo will never be allowed!”

After saying this, Master Ning fell silent.

Ning Yaxin wept soundlessly for a while. Then she suddenly turned and ran from the room, disappearing at the far end of the covered corridor.

A moment later, Master Ning summoned Steward Gao back inside.

“Have people keep a close watch on Yaxin in the days ahead. Do not let her see Xu Mo again,” Master Ning ordered.

Steward Gao immediately accepted the command.

Master Ning sighed, tilted his head toward the sky, and murmured, “Yaxin, one day you will understand that what Father did was right.”

After leaving the Ning residence, Xu Mo first took a mule cart to the blacksmith’s shop and retrieved the Purple Rainbow Sword, which had been remade into a dagger.

He tested the dagger at the smithy and discovered that it was sharper than it had been during his previous trial.

Only after asking did he learn that the blacksmith had carefully honed the dagger after finishing the reconstruction. It could now truly be said to cut through iron as easily as mud.

The custom-made leather sheath was also excellent. Its appearance was plain, even somewhat rustic, but the workmanship was superb. One touch was enough to tell that it was sturdy and durable.

Xu Mo slid the dagger into the sheath and fastened it to his lower leg.

He walked around with the Purple Rainbow Dagger and tested drawing and sheathing it several times. He was extremely satisfied.

After paying, Xu Mo and Qin Mutou left the smithy, loaded the tung oil onto the cart, and departed the city.

On the road back to the village, Xu Mo seemed preoccupied and hardly spoke of his own accord.

Qin Mutou noticed, but he was not good at comforting others. Each time he thought of saying something, he swallowed the words instead.

By the time they returned to Gushan Village, it was nearly evening.

When Chen Miaoyi saw that only Xu Mo and Qin Mutou had returned, she immediately asked in curiosity, “Husband, where is Miss Ning? Why didn’t she come back with you?”

“Zhang Zhishen has already left, so Miss Ning went home,” Xu Mo replied.

“I see…” Chen Miaoyi sounded faintly disappointed.

Over the past few days, she and Ning Yaxin had grown as close as sisters. With Ning Yaxin suddenly returning home, it was only natural that Chen Miaoyi would feel somewhat unaccustomed to her absence.

Just then, Xu Tieshu and Xu Ping’an approached from the direction of the soap workshop.

“Xu Mo, what did the authorities say?” Xu Tieshu asked.

Xu Mo frowned. “The county magistrate refused to see us. It seems we can’t count on the authorities in this matter.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?” Xu Tieshu was furious, but more than anything, he felt helpless.

Xu Mo consoled him, “Uncle, it’s all right. As long as we finish training with the bamboo spears as quickly as possible, we can still deal with that gang ourselves.”

“Mm, that’s right!” Xu Tieshu nodded firmly.

Afterward, Xu Mo, Xu Tieshu, Xu Ping’an, and Qin Mutou went to unload the tung oil.

Once they had finished, Xu Mo asked about Niu Da.

Xu Tieshu told him that Niu Da had taken several men into the mountains to cut bamboo and would certainly return before dark.

Xu Mo wanted to inspect the quality of the bamboo they had cut, so he took Qin Mutou toward the foot of the mountain.

As soon as they reached the area near the mountain’s base, Xu Mo saw the villagers coming down from the hills. Each of them carried a huge bundle of bamboo on his shoulder, and they were making their way over while laughing and chatting.

Xu Mo hurried forward to meet them. When the villagers saw him approaching, they all greeted him of their own accord.

Xu Mo quickly nodded in response while examining the bamboo they had brought back.

After inspecting a great many stalks, Xu Mo finally relaxed.

The bamboo was about as thick as an adult’s wrist, making it perfectly suited for crafting bamboo spears.