Xiao Yan Would Rather Die Than Lose Face

After resolving the Sand Mercenary Group's trouble, the specific details of the subsequent merger were left to Xiao Ding and Xiao Li.

I walked over to Xiao Meier, feeling slightly touched as I recalled the little girl's anxious cries just now.

Although we were engaged, there had actually been very little conversation between us. And since our last parting, we had not seen each other for over a year...

"Meier, was I cool just now?"

I walked up to Xiao Meier, blinked, and asked with a grin.

Xiao Meier blushed, turned her head away, and snorted. "You were just throwing your family's weight around to bully people. You didn't defeat Luo Bu with your own strength, so what's there to be proud of?"

I chuckled unconcernedly. "Meier, sometimes a family's strength is also part of one's own strength."

"Besides, look, no one died, yet Luo Bu surrendered. In military strategy, that's called 'subduing the enemy without fighting.' Don't you think that's harder to accomplish than fighting and killing?"

"Subduing... without fighting?"

Xiao Meier repeated it, but she clearly did not understand. Pouting, she stubbornly said, "You're just using your power to bully others. That's not real skill!"

I scratched my head and looked helplessly at Xiao Meier. She was only fifteen or sixteen now, right?

Then again, girls that age all liked boys who were good at fighting, thinking they were impressive and handsome.

How could they appreciate the charm of a mature man like me, one who subdued enemies without fighting?

"Little Yezi, I think you're pretty handsome!"

At that moment, a bright laugh came from beside me. I turned and saw Xiao Yu, with her long legs. She winked at me—was she flirting with me?

My whole body jolted, and I instinctively stepped back. Setting aside Xiao Yu's temperament, she was definitely just teasing me. And then there was Xiao Yan.

Xiao Meier and I were already engaged. If I got involved with Xiao Yu too, I felt that the Little Fighting God would definitely have a massive outburst and punch me to pieces...

I gave an awkward laugh and merely stared blankly at Xiao Yu without saying a word.

She immediately wrinkled her nose. "Little Yezi, you're no fun at all. Don't you think I'm much prettier than Meier? And my figure..."

As she spoke, she thrust out her chest and shot a sidelong glance at Xiao Meier's front.

Xiao Meier immediately gritted her teeth in anger. She lowered her head to look at her slightly flat chest, then looked at Xiao Yu's curvaceous figure and said indignantly:

"You're only two years older than me. What are you so smug about?!"

Seeing the two girls about to erupt into a war, my teeth ached. I rubbed my face and quietly slipped away to find Xiao Yan.

The Desert Iron Mercenary Group was currently busy merging with the Sand Mercenary Group. Both sides were swamped, and Xiao Ding and Xiao Li were especially busy.

Yet Xiao Yan was taking it easy. He had pulled Xiao Xun'er behind the sheltered side of a sand dune to whisper sweet nothings, making me search for quite a while.

I plopped down on Xiao Yan's left, since Xiao Xun'er was sitting on his right and there was no way for me to squeeze in.

"Nalan Ye, thank you for earlier."

The moment I sat down, Xiao Yan said, "If it weren't for you, we would have had to fight the Sand Mercenary Group today... They had more people, and we had fewer. We would've suffered quite a bit."

I laughed heartily, patted my chest, and said carelessly, "It was nothing, just a few words. We're family, so there's no need to thank me."

Xiao Yan wore his signature lazy smile. Hearing that, he nodded and truly said nothing more. Then again, with Yao Lao by his side, why would he care about Luo Bu?

Shaking my head, my expression turned solemn as I said in a deep voice, "Third Brother, there's someone—I think you should meet."

Seeing how serious I was, Xiao Yan put away his lazy smile and became solemn as well. Frowning, he asked, "Who?"

"The Yun Lan Sect Master!"

My gaze fell on the Flying Magical Beast still parked in the distance. "Third Brother, back then, your engagement to Yanran Jie..."

"Actually, the Nalan Family never agreed to break off the engagement. It was entirely the Yun Lan Sect Master acting on her own. Our Nalan Family couldn't withstand the Yun Lan Sect's pressure, so we had no choice."

"Today, you've run into the Yun Lan Sect Master. I think the two of you should still meet."

"The Yun Lan... Sect Master..."

Xiao Yan followed my gaze toward the Flying Magical Beast resting on the ground in the distance. His expression became complicated. He fell into a daze and remained silent for a long while...

"Xiao Yan Gege."

A sweet call rang out. It was Xiao Xun'er, quietly seated on the other side in a purple dress. She was still elegant and composed. Her fair little hand reached out and covered Xiao Yan's right hand as she smiled gently at him.

For a moment, I was entranced by the sight. Xiao Yan naturally came back to his senses as well. He turned his hand over and gripped Xiao Xun'er's, and the two smiled at each other.

A breeze blew over from the other side of the mountains. Several Sand Eagles circled high in the sky, and waves of heat carrying faint dust swept across my face, making me thoroughly uncomfortable!

If Xiao Meier were sitting beside me, willing or not, I'd definitely pull her into my arms and give my wounded heart a proper consolation...

"Let that matter... stay in the past. There's no need to bring it up again, and no need to meet anyone."

Only after the two gazed at each other for a long time did Xiao Yan turn toward me. The lazy smile returned to his lips as he spoke lightly.

I scratched my head in frustration. With the plot disrupted by me, what would Xiao Yan and Yun Yun's first meeting become? I was truly curious...

Of course, the most important thing was—I was there!

With me mediating between them, I could guarantee they would not leave a good impression on each other. Wasn't it the duty of us transmigrators to eliminate every possibility of Xiao Yan and Yun Yun rekindling their relationship?

"Xiao Yan, well, what I mean is, Sect Leader Yun might offer you some compensation. She's a Dou Emperor. The compensation she gives would definitely be enough to make even Dou Spirit experts jealous—don't you want it?"

I tempted him relentlessly, but all I got from Xiao Yan were two icy words:

"Don't want it."

"Uh, well, there'll be a gift for meeting her. You don't want that?"

"Don't want it."

"You really don't?"

"Don't want it."

"Fine."

I sighed and looked helplessly at Xiao Yan. You forced me to do this. Taking a deep breath, I suddenly struck, grabbing Xiao Yan and yanking him up from the ground.

Xiao Yan was only a Dou Zhe, while I was a Dou Master. How could he compare to me? As for Yao Lao? It was not as if I was going to kill Xiao Yan. Was such a trivial matter worth him showing himself?

At once, I dragged Xiao Yan toward the Flying Magical Beast in the distance while earnestly lecturing him:

"Xiao Yan, for us Dou Zhe, aside from talent, cultivation resources are the most important thing. With the Yun Lan Sect Master here, we can get some benefits from her—there's no reason to refuse something free."

"You're being so stubbornly proud, refusing the benefits. That's truly unwise."