Young Master Jiang Is a Gentleman

"Rumors all say that Young Master Jiang is a man of dissipation and debauchery, yet seeing you today is truly a shocking surprise. As expected of the Prime Minister's son, you are hardly a simple person."

Su Qinghan's beautiful eyes were calm. Her jade-like hand lifted the teacup before her, and she tilted her snow-white, swan-like neck to drain it in one gulp, as if it were mere wine.

The disaster was of her own making. If she were more ruthless, she could have abandoned her family entirely and ignored whatever threats Jiang Lan used against her.

Yet, her conscience would not allow her to do such a thing...

Just moments ago, Su Qinghan had even considered disfiguring her own face, thinking that Jiang Lan would surely lose interest in her then.

However, with the power and status of the Prime Minister's Manor, he would undoubtedly be able to find the finest physicians to restore her to her original state.

Since she could not escape this fate regardless, she naturally could not be bothered to put on a pleasant face.

Jiang Lan sighed softly and said, "Why must Miss Qinghan wear such a look of despair? I have always been one to cherish the fair and protect the fragile; I cannot bear to see a beauty's heart break or her brows furrow. The more you act this way, the more guilty I feel."

Su Qinghan stared at him with clear, stunned eyes, then her lustrous red lips parted slightly. After a long silence, she spat out two words: "Shameless."

Jiang Lan shook his head slightly and stood up.

Su Qinghan assumed he was about to make a move to molest her again.

Like a startled rabbit, she hurriedly rose and retreated backward.

Clearly, Jiang Lan was just an ordinary man with no cultivation, while she was a practitioner of the Fourth Realm, the Illuminating Nether Realm, possessing strength far greater than his.

Yet, facing him now, it was as if she were confronting a ferocious tiger.

However, the next moment, seeing Jiang Lan's actions, Su Qinghan was left stunned, even feeling a sense of being flattered.

Jiang Lan picked up the steaming teapot from the red clay stove nearby and refilled her empty cup.

His clean, slender palms showed distinct knuckles, though for some reason, they were overly thin and pale, lacking color.

Su Qinghan stood there, momentarily silent and unable to speak. Given his status, to pour tea for her himself—

What was the meaning of this?

Jiang Lan sat back down, looked at Su Qinghan, and wore a faint smile as he said, "Miss Qinghan, are you afraid that I have poisoned it?"

"Rest assured, the tea leaves are the finest Lake Dragon Green Jade in the Great Xia. Not only do they have the effect of calming the mind and spirit, but they also help practitioners sort out the spiritual energy within their bodies, removing the dross and selecting the essence."

"The water was taken from the Heavenly Pool Cold Water atop the Chi Yao Sect, of which less than a hundred catties are offered as tribute each year..."

In truth, there was no need for Jiang Lan to say it. When Su Qinghan had drained it like ordinary tea earlier, she had already sensed its uniqueness.

The spiritual energy within her body was circulating on its own without needing to be guided, and the slight instability in her foundation caused by her breakthrough today was steadily solidifying under the tea's influence.

This seemingly simple tea, both the leaves and the water, belonged to the category of spiritual treasures that practitioners dreamed of.

For a moment, Su Qinghan could not tell if she felt envy or numbness. With such supreme resources and background, Jiang Lan was actually an ordinary man with no cultivation...

An ordinary man with no cultivation?

Suddenly, Su Qinghan felt as if she had grasped something.

With the power and status of the Prime Minister's Manor, even a common pig could be made to embark on the path of cultivation and possess impressive strength.

Yet, Jiang Lan was truly an ordinary man. In fact, to Su Qinghan, his body seemed even worse than that of many commoners—his blood and energy were depleted, his complexion was pale, and his frame was thin, as if he had just recovered from a great illness.

Was there truly nothing strange about this?

"Rest assured, Miss Qinghan. If I had poisoned the tea, you would have already succumbed, lying limp by my side, leaving you at my mercy."

"Though I am no paragon of virtue, I am not the type to take advantage of someone in such a state."

"Besides, at this moment, if I were to do something to you, do you think you would have the ability to resist?"

Jiang Lan's leisurely voice interrupted Su Qinghan's thoughts.

He toyed with the cup, his posture quite casual.

"Young Master Jiang is indeed a gentleman."

Jiang Lan's words caused a flush of annoyance and a rosy hue to rise on Su Qinghan's flawless, fair face as she replied.

She truly had not thought of it from that perspective. If Jiang Lan had really poisoned the tea, she would have had no way to counter it, and as he said, she would indeed have been at his mercy.

Setting aside her initial prejudice, a Second Generation Scion like Jiang Lan who possessed certain "principles" was at least not entirely worthless.

Jiang Lan chuckled inwardly. If it were not for the hindrance of Su Qinghan's Sword Immortal master and the subsequent issue of winning over this female protagonist, he would never have gone to such trouble.

A twisted melon might not be sweet, but it could still quench one's thirst.

In the pavilion, the tea fragrance was mellow and the mist curled. Under the night sky, the moonlight fell, lending the scene a touch of ethereal charm.

Su Qinghan wore a plain white dress and sat upright. Her slender, graceful figure was exquisite and well-proportioned.

From the bottom of her heart, she was certainly unwilling to surrender herself to Jiang Lan, but for the moment, she dared not provoke him further.

Jiang Lan guessed what Su Qinghan was thinking, his face wearing a light and breezy smile from beginning to end.

If one ignored the tension in Su Qinghan's expression and the chains at her feet, an outsider unaware of the situation might have thought the two were on a secret tryst.

"Assassins!"

"Protect the Young Master!"

Suddenly, at that moment, the sounds of fighting erupted not far away, accompanied by a series of angry shouts.

A stranger in coarse linen robes appeared there, knocking the guards away and kicking them into the pond.

Su Qinghan, sitting in the pavilion, was stunned.

Was there really an assassin? Had he come to kill Jiang Lan? Or to rescue her?

Yet, she had never seen this strange man before.

"Protect the Young Master!"

With shouts of rage, a massive swarm of Jiang Family guards surged from around the pavilion, all of them at the Third Realm, the Spirit Sea Realm.

This force, in any city, would be considered the elite of the elite.

"Overestimating yourselves."

The newcomer was, naturally, Lin Fan.

He had not expected this; he had assumed Su Qinghan was locked in a dungeon, yet who would have thought he would find her sitting in a pavilion at night, drinking tea with that Second Generation Scion, looking perfectly unharmed.

While he breathed a sigh of relief, an irrepressible anger still burned within him.

Lin Fan's gaze was cold and fearless as he strode forward, a formidable sword intent swirling around his body.

Using his palm as a blade, he merely flicked his hand, and a terrifying force rippled outward; the erupting sword intent was as tangible as reality, its edge biting and sharp.

Pfft...

As the many guards rushed forward, they were all struck as if pierced by longswords, blood spraying from their limbs, unable to come within half an inch of him.