Villainous Junior Chapter 15
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 15: Rouge
The other disciples, upon hearing this, suddenly realized the strangeness of the situation.
Indeed. These families were so wealthy, they should have married young ladies of equal social status. Why would they choose farm girls like Er Feng and Gui Hua?
Even if it were young men and women who had privately agreed to marry for love, it was unlikely to be a coincidence that all three families were in the same situation.
They had been so focused on figuring out how the brides disappeared that they forgot to pay attention to other details and logical inconsistencies in the matter. They had indeed been careless and inflexible in their thinking.
Realizing this, the disciples looked at Xue Lang with some admiration, their impression of him as a "troublemaker" slightly improved.
Meng Chen also nodded, clearly agreeing with his point. "Good. But there's a third suspicious point."
There's more?
Everyone, including Xue Lang, turned their curious gazes towards Meng Chen.
Meng Chen turned sideways, lifting his face to look at the Wang family house they had just left. The grand gate was decorated with lanterns and festive ornaments, with large red lanterns of celebration hanging. Even the two stone lions guarding the door had large red flowers and ribbons around their necks, obviously prepared for the wedding.
It should have been a scene of joy, but now as evening approached and night fell, the streets were empty and quiet. The north wind blew the red lanterns, making them sway and spin in the air, producing hollow "clang clang" sounds, giving an inexplicably desolate and eerie feeling.
"There are three families who lost brides, but there are actually four houses with wedding decorations on their doors."
Four houses?
Everyone carefully recalled. When they had just visited the three households that lost brides, they had basically walked around the main street of Heyang City, and it did seem that there were four houses with red lanterns hung and wedding characters pasted on their doors.
Those who were quick to react had already realized something. "Among the recent weddings, there's one family whose bride wasn't lost. This family must have something extraordinary about them!"
Everyone immediately rushed to the last house. This family's status was indeed special - it was the home of the county magistrate of Heyang City.
"I didn't know the Immortal Lords were coming, please forgive my lack of a proper welcome!" The plump-faced Magistrate Zhao smiled profusely, repeatedly bowing to Meng Chen and his group, and was about to invite them to sit and have tea. Meng Chen stopped his actions, saying, "No need for the trouble, we're here about the missing persons case."
"Ah..." Magistrate Zhao wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead, bowing low and saying, "It's all due to my incompetence in handling this matter that we've had to trouble the Immortal Lords. I've already sent out all the guards to search, and I believe we'll have news soon. The Immortal Lords might as well enjoy the city for a few days. Although our humble place can't compare to the beauty of the immortal realm, it still has its own unique charm..."
Meng Chen interrupted his rambling and asked, "I saw red characters posted outside your door. Is there a joyous occasion in your household recently?"
Magistrate Zhao's expression froze for a moment, but he continued to wipe his sweat and smiled, "Yes... yes."
"Is it your son who has just taken a wife?"
"Yes... yes."
"Where is the bride from?"
"She's... from Zhangbai Village in Heyang City..."
Meng Chen nodded, with quite a meaningful tone. "What a coincidence."
Cold sweat broke out all over Magistrate Zhao's back. As he was thinking about how to respond, he heard the other party ask, "May we meet your son and his new bride?"
Magistrate Zhao swallowed hard, trying his best to remain calm as he said, "They... they're not in the mansion right now."
"Not here?"
"Yes. A few days ago, they hired a carriage to go sightseeing in the south. They should be halfway there by now."
Meng Chen fell silent. However, Magistrate Zhao's heart remained unsettled. He realized that although this immortal lord before him was handsome and spoke with a gentle tone and expression, somehow, a sense of fear and awe swirled in the depths of his heart. It was as if when he met the clear eyes of the person in front of him, he felt completely transparent from head to toe, with every thought exposed.
"If that's the case," Meng Chen said, "we won't disturb you further."
Magistrate Zhao suddenly let out a silent sigh of relief, like someone seeing off a plague god, eagerly yet cautiously escorting them out personally.
"Senior Brother Meng, that magistrate seemed a bit off," a disciple asked. "Shouldn't we question him further?"
"No need," Meng Chen said. "Let's find the missing girls first."
Hearing this, everyone perked up. "Are the missing brides alright?"
"Senior Brother Meng, do you know where they are?"
"If I'm not mistaken, they should be safe," Meng Chen said. "I don't know where exactly, but if we create another 'bride', we can follow her to find out."
Everyone understood. So it was a plan to lure the snake out of its hole!
As they still didn't know whether the bride-napper was human or ghost, they couldn't risk putting ordinary citizens in danger. So they decided to have one of them disguise as a bride to draw out the culprit behind the scenes. Among the ten new disciples, there happened to be two female disciples from Cuixia Peak. After a moment's thought, they bravely stepped forward. "Senior Brother Meng, let me go!"
Meng Chen gently shook his head. "You won't do."
The two girls' hearts sank, feeling somewhat dejected. Indeed, they were only at the Foundation Establishment realm. If the culprit was really a demon or ghost, they would be no match and would only hold the others back…
"With so many men here, how could we let young ladies take such risks?" Meng Chen looked at them and said softly, "Your courage to step forward voluntarily is already praiseworthy."
The two female disciples were stunned, then their hearts began to flutter, and both their cheeks flushed pink.
Ah ah ah ah, Senior Brother Meng is so gentle!!!
Wuwuwuwu, the senior sisters were right! Senior Brother Meng is indeed the most charming man in Taixuan Sect!!!
Xue Lang watched coldly from the side, unable to help but grind his back teeth slightly.
If you're not letting them go, just say so. Why add those extra sentences?
Even if you add them, why use such a gentle tone?
Didn't you see the young girls' faces turn red??
Hmph!!!
The other male disciples also nodded in agreement. How could they, as men, let young ladies charge ahead of them!?
But then they thought again and realized something was amiss.
If they were to go, wouldn't that mean dressing up as a bride? Wouldn't that mean putting on makeup and wearing women's clothes!?
The male disciples all shuddered, suddenly becoming cowardly. They shrank their necks and retreated, afraid that Meng Chen would pick them. Meng Chen's gaze swept over the quail-like disciples and landed on the young man at the back of the group. He said, "Xue Lang, you go."
While the others felt relieved, they couldn't help but inwardly slap their thighs.
It's confirmed that Senior Brother Meng and Xue Lang don't get along well!!
Xue Lang was clearly very unwilling. His eyes widened in defiance as he asked, "Why me!?"
Meng Chen stated the objective fact. "Because among us, except for me, you have the highest cultivation level. Or would you prefer that I go?"
If Meng Chen went, it would certainly be foolproof. However, the key was that this mission was meant to be a training experience for the new disciples. Meng Chen was only there to lead and guide. If he were to handle everything himself, this trip down the mountain would be meaningless.
Xue Lang had nothing to say, and could only mutter sullenly, "Fine, I'll go. But I won't wear women's clothes!"
"Not acceptable," Meng Chen lightly rejected. "If you're going to disguise, you must do it convincingly. Otherwise, we won't be able to lure out the person behind this, and it will all be for nothing."
Xue Lang gritted his teeth and stared at Meng Chen for a while, but finally conceded defeat. He turned his head and said fiercely, "Fine, I'll wear it! What's the big deal!"
So the next day, they hired a bridal sedan and a wedding procession, bought a bright red wedding dress, and had the two female disciples from Cuixia Peak help Xue Lang with makeup and dressing.
"Xue Lang, don't move! The powder on your face isn't evenly spread yet!"
"These earrings are clip-ons, they won't hurt. Don't be afraid."
"Let's add another hairpin... Oh, don't shake your head! The ones we just put in are about to fall out!"
"The wedding robe seems to be too small, the buttons won't close..."
"This is already the largest size. There's no helping it, what bride would have such a large frame?"
A vein throbbed on Xue Lang's forehead. "Are you done yet!?"
"Yes, yes!" The two girls giggled as they pushed him out of the room. "You can get ready to board the sedan now!"
When Xue Lang appeared, the disciples outside burst into laughter, doubling over. The young man was tall, and the bright red wedding dress was stretched tightly over his body, with the skirt barely reaching his calves. His face was covered in white powder, hiding his naturally healthy complexion. They had carefully drawn his eyebrows and put up his hair. It was clear that the two girls had done their utmost to dress up Xue Lang, but the young man's features were too strong and defined. No matter what, they couldn't hide his original characteristics. Coupled with the young man's current expression, he didn't look like a gentle and lovable new bride at all, but more like a bandit about to go kidnap a bride, exuding an overwhelming aura of ferocity.
Ignoring the sounds of hearty laughter, Xue Lang strode out with a black face, wanting only to quickly climb into the sedan chair before that person saw him in this state.
However, things didn't go as planned. The next moment, he saw Meng Chen coming towards him. His heart panicked, and he turned to run, but Meng Chen grabbed his shoulder and forcibly turned him around.
Xue Lang felt his entire face burning, but Meng Chen didn't laugh at him like the others. Instead, he examined him carefully for a while, then turned back to look for something. "Wait, you're missing something."
Xue Lang breathed a slight sigh of relief, thinking the other was going to give him some magic weapon for subduing demons or monsters. Unexpectedly, Meng Chen held out a piece of red paper and said seriously, "You haven't applied rouge yet."
Xue Lang: "…………"
"Hahahahahahaha!!"
The other disciples were already laughing uncontrollably, and upon hearing this, they laughed even harder, practically falling to the ground. Xue Lang glared at Meng Chen, gritting his teeth, so angry that the pearl hairpins and jade rings on his head jingled. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you!?"
Meng Chen looked at him, his eyes full of laughter and a hint of mischief. "Yes, I am."
Xue Lang was slightly stunned.
Meng Chen had always been emotionally detached. It was rare enough for him to smile, let alone show such a lively and spirited expression as he did now.
Everyone only paid attention to his halo, his reputation, his brilliant talents, but they all unanimously forgot that he was just a young man in his twenties.
He was clearly also in the prime of his youth, full of vigor and ambition. When had it become so difficult for him to even smile?
The embarrassment and anger in his heart ebbed away rapidly like a receding tide, leaving only an inexplicable, dense sadness and heartache.
If it could make this person smile again…
What was the big deal about applying some rouge?
Under Meng Chen's slightly surprised gaze, Xue Lang silently took the red paper and pressed it firmly against his lips.
