Free Web NovelChapter 2130: Chapter 2167: Setting a Trap
It is said that Miss Rufeng from the Daozhen Family’s Herr household has arrived, and the Great Elder of the Xu family, accompanied by several elders from the Xu family and these affiliated island masters, went out together to welcome her.
Urged by the Second Elder, Ding Fan also went out. He walked at the back, and from a distance, he saw a large group of people surrounding a young woman dressed in a pink long skirt walking toward them. Approaching a bit closer for observation, he couldn’t help but admit that Miss Rufeng, one of the two stars of Tianmu Sea, was indeed quite beautiful.
That lady seemed younger than Xu Xingying, likely around the same age as Ding Fan, with a physique that hadn’t fully matured, tantalizingly resembling a flower bud about to blossom.
Her complexion was very white and transparent, her skin seemingly as delicate as one could imagine, and as white as milk. Her eyes were like sparkling stars, with dark pupils resembling a vast galaxy. Ding Fan was quite impressed by her nose, which was small, exquisite, and elegant, with a slightly upturned tip exuding Spiritual Energy.
"She’s truly a Seventh Level Legacy Warrior!"
Ding Fan saw a red mark like a small crescent moon on the girl’s forehead and nodded secretly. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen such a mark of a Legacy Warrior; the first time had been in the hot springs of Great Python Mountain, where he accidentally stumbled into the hot spring water and saw a small Seventh Level Phoenix Warrior’s Inheritance Seal on Xia Mengqing’s back.
Thinking of Xia Mengqing, Ding Fan couldn’t help but feel a pang in his heart, wondering how she was doing now. It’s been so long; has she become a female disciple of the Jade Goshawk Palace?
"Ah, Miss Herr has already reached the Third Level Intermediate Realm of the Divine Realm, how remarkable!"
Someone nearby exclaimed, pulling Ding Fan back to reality. He sensed a moment and found it true — at such a young age, Herr Rufeng had already become an intermediate-level expert of the Third Level in the Divine Realm. Indeed, a young lady from such a prominent family is impressive.
However, the Herr Family is the top family in Tianmu Sea, with countless resources. Herr Rufeng and her sister Herr Ningshuang were favored by Master Daozhen, He Daozhen, which meant they were consistently supplied with Heaven and Earth Treasures. Therefore, it’s not surprising to Ding Fan that she has reached such a realm.
At this moment, Xu Haitian, the Great Elder of the Xu family, led a large group of people from the family toward Miss Herr, greeting her with utmost courtesy. The Third-grade power island masters and elders also scrambled to greet Herr Rufeng, with flattery and reverence echoing without end, except for Ding Fan, who remained unmoved.
Ding Fan has always despised fawning flattery, and in his heart, he never considered himself inferior to those in the Divine Realm. Besides, he was the Legacy Warrior of the Sirius Clan, the top family in Central Continent, so why should he flatter Herr’s contemptible household? Even if he tried to curry favor with Herr Rufeng, it wouldn’t make her view him in a higher regard. That was clearly impossible.
At that moment, the Second Elder was quite anxious, seeing it as an opportunity. However, since Ding Fan didn’t move, as subordinates, they couldn’t make a move either. Although the Second Elder felt impatient and urged Ding Fan twice, Ding Fan was indifferent, forcing him to remain silent.
Amid the crowd, Herr Rufeng appeared very composed. Although surrounded by people, her expression remained calm, perhaps having grown accustomed to such scenes, and no longer caring about them.
While she continued talking, her gaze fell upon Ding Fan, who stood slightly apart from the group surrounding her.
Ding Fan stood there with a group of people behind him, clearly the leader of some influence, as he had come along to welcome Herr Rufeng but refused to approach, appearing rather distinct from the crowd. He merely stood there, his gaze somewhat distant.
Herr Rufeng seemed quite interested in Ding Fan. After glancing twice, she looked back at Great Elder Xu Haitian with an inquisitive expression. Xu Haitian was momentarily puzzled, as he hadn’t seen Ding Fan before either.
Nearby, Third Elder Xu Haibo quickly reacted, hastily beckoning to Ding Fan who stood not too far away: "Ding Fan! Come quickly to pay your respects to Miss Rufeng. Miss Rufeng, this is the newly appointed Island Master of Skull Island, formerly Tie Family Island."
"Oh, so you are Ding Fan. I’ve heard your name before!"
Since she arrived on the island, Miss Rufeng hadn’t shown a smile, yet she now smiled brightly at Ding Fan.
This sparked an uproar among the crowd. Despite Ding Fan not stepping forward to greet her, Herr Rufeng’s attention was drawn, and she mentioned having heard of Ding Fan’s name, catching the interest of various forces’ island masters. Especially, several young gentlemen from the Xu family glared with jealousy; if it weren’t for the presence of many, they might have skinned Ding Fan alive.
Feeling the penetrating gazes from those young men, Ding Fan sensed a pressure on him but managed a reluctant smile, walked toward Herr Rufeng, and made a polite bow: "Haha, Miss Rufeng, though we haven’t met before, you’ve already heard of me. It seems I should feel fortunate about that." freewebnσvel.cøm
"Haha, you’re quite self-assured. I’ve heard of you because some people find you very disagreeable..."
After finishing speaking, Herr Rufeng gave Ding Fan a disdainful look, ignored his bow, turned around, and walked straight into the Xu Family’s castle.
The eyes of those young lords and gentlemen no longer showed envy, jealousy, or resentment. They all looked at Ding Fan with schadenfreude expressions, and a few of them even mocked him unabashedly.
Herr Rufeng didn’t explicitly tell Ding Fan who disliked him, but anyone who knew Herr Rufeng wouldn’t be an ordinary person. Such a person looking down on Ding Fan meant his future days wouldn’t be easy, so everyone was happy about it. These people already harbored some jealousy toward Ding Fan, and now they were even more delighted. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
At this moment, Ding Fan was also a bit puzzled. He touched his chin in confusion, feeling something strange. Perhaps it was related to the Crimson Flame?
That’s probably it. Years ago, Crimson Flame looked down on a girl from the Herr Family, causing the girl to commit suicide out of shame and anger. Because of this, it’s only natural that someone from the Herr Family would dislike Ding Fan.
Thinking back, since the day Crimson Flame knelt, the Daozhen Trade Firm’s attitude towards the Skeleton Sect had changed drastically, from treating him warmly to becoming indifferent when Wu Qingxia visited the firm for lower prices. It all seemed to revolve around Crimson Flame.
With this in mind, Ding Fan felt a little more confident, but he wasn’t afraid. What kind of family is the Daozhen Family? They’re the top family in the Tianmu Sea. If they wanted to harm him, they could wipe out him and the Skeleton Sect in an instant, couldn’t they?
It’s been over a month now, and Ding Fan is still standing steadily, which shows that the Daozhen Clan doesn’t plan to deal with him. Even a big family has rules and wouldn’t casually attack someone like Ding Fan. Even if they wanted to act rashly, they would have to consider who they’re dealing with, wouldn’t they?
At this point, people from the Xu Family led the group, with Herr Rufeng surrounded by young lords and gentlemen heading forward, with some unable to get close following behind. The entire square was packed with people eager to see the young lady of the Tianmu Sea’s first family. After all, such an occasion isn’t something you can witness daily.
Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, the birthday banquet was about to begin. Under the leadership of the Xu Family members, they moved towards the main hall. It was only then that Ding Fan saw the protagonist of today, Xu Guotao, the overlord of the southwest Tianmu Sea!
The Xu Family of Moon Mist Island is a fourth-grade power, and they are a vassal family of the Daozhen Family. Although Herr Rufeng is young, she is a standout among the younger generation favored by Master Daozhen, so Herr Rufeng is also considered a small master of the Xu Family!
For Herr Rufeng, although Xu Guotao is her family’s vassal island master, he is still a relatively capable subordinate. Therefore, Herr Rufeng is considered his junior. Originally, he didn’t have to come out to greet her, but to save face for Master Daozhen, he personally came out to welcome her.
Since Xu Guotao was so considerate, Herr Rufeng, of course, would reciprocate. She was very polite to Xu Guotao, showing a respectful attitude in her speech. Moreover, she didn’t come empty-handed and brought a birthday gift for Xu Guotao. They mutually gave each other face.
Everyone followed Xu Guotao into the great hall of the castle. After a short while, Xu Jianqiang and Xu Xingying entered with some guests. Everyone calmly found their places to sit down. Xu Jianqiang quickly spotted Herr Rufeng, and his eyes lit up, full of admiration, unable to take them off her, constantly lingering on her, and even his breathing seemed different from usual.
Afterward, it wasn’t interesting. A large group of representatives from third-grade powers fawned over Xu Guotao, while the young lords gathered around Herr Rufeng, and the daughters of various island masters surrounded Xu Jianqiang, hoping to leave him a good impression.
Meanwhile, Ding Fan felt there was no one he could be close with. He sat alone, drinking, appearing somewhat lonely. The island masters of Luoying Island, Xian Kong Island, and Blood Demon Island came to toast with him, hoping Ding Fan wouldn’t hold grudges against them. Ding Fan casually drank two cups with them.
The Third Elder, Xu Haibo, also came to accompany him for a while. The two chatted casually and drank a couple of cups, and then Xu Haibo went to entertain others. Ding Fan joined everyone in toasting Xu Guotao with a glass of wine, then drank on his own without interacting with anyone else.
He didn’t want to cause trouble, but it seemed Herr Rufeng wasn’t planning to spare him. Herr Rufeng, being the young lady of the Herr Family, was used to such occasions, handling them with ease. She glanced across the great hall and happened to spot Ding Fan quietly drinking. Her eyes twinkled as she smiled and said to Ding Fan, "Island Master Ding, I’ve long heard of your great name. May I take this opportunity to offer you a toast."
"Whoosh..."
In an instant, all eyes turned to Ding Fan. The gazes of those young lords were as sharp as swords and blades, and Xu Jianqiang’s heart was filled with the urge to cut Ding Fan into pieces. Herr Rufeng had only toasted Xu Guotao after arriving, refusing to drink with anyone else. Even Xu Jianqiang, the Young Island Master of Moon Mist Island, had only gotten her to briefly sip a drink despite multiple attempts. Yet now she was offering Ding Fan a toast, what was the meaning of this?
"Oh no! Does this young girl have a grudge against me? Isn’t this obviously setting me up to make me look bad..."
Ding Fan cursed inwardly. Herr Rufeng was clearly playing him, digging a pit for him to jump into. After drinking this toast, she could just walk away unscathed, but Ding Fan would become the target of everyone’s anger. Those young lords wouldn’t easily let him off, and they were bound to resort to underhanded tactics since they couldn’t confront him openly.
