Breaking Off the Engagement

The next day, Xia Mo sat on a little stool by the door again, basking in the sun. He knew that today marked the beginning of Xiao Yan's rise. He wanted to see what Nalan Yanran, the woman who had made Hun Tiandi suffer a crushing defeat, looked like. He also wanted to see Xiao Yan in his chuunibyou phase.

Before long, Xiao Yan passed by with Steward Mo. Xia Mo immediately stood up, picked up his stool, and walked over to Xiao Yan. "Xiao Yan, are you going somewhere to play? Take me with you." He perfectly displayed a child's curiosity and playfulness.

"We're not going out to play. We're going to meet some guests." Xiao Yan gave a wry smile at Xia Mo's appearance. He really was carefree.

"Come on. You count as a member of the Xiao Clan now—an outside hire. Besides, the other elders will be bringing their own 'outstanding' juniors to meet the guests too."

The two followed Steward Mo through the residential area in the rear courtyard. Xiao Yan and Steward Mo stopped solemnly outside the reception hall, knocked on the door, and then entered directly.

Upon entering the hall, Xia Mo looked around. There were quite a few people inside. At the head sat Xiao Zhan and the Three Great Elders. Below them were several other Xiao Clan elders, with their "outstanding" juniors standing behind them.

On the opposite side sat three people. Xia Mo guessed they were the distinguished guests. They wore moon-white robes embroidered with sparkling moons and stars, as though afraid others would not know how powerful they were.

Judging by the number of stars and moons, the elderly man at the front was a Seven-star Da Dou Shi. The man beside him was a Five-star Dou Zhe, while the girl about Xiao Yan's age was a Three-star Dou Zhe.

So this is Nalan Yanran—the Nalan Yanran people always talk about when they say that if they were Hun Tiandi, they would definitely insist on being the officiant at her wedding. She really is exceptionally beautiful. Too bad she's an arrogant white goose with no brains. Or maybe she does have brains; she just thinks the Xiao Clan is too insignificant to matter, Xia Mo thought.

The people in the hall also looked the two of them over. In particular, the sight of Xia Mo carrying a little stool instantly shattered the hall's solemn atmosphere.

Xiao Yan paused for a moment before stepping forward, and Xia Mo immediately followed. "Father, Three Great Elders!" He bowed.

"Yan'er, you're here. Hurry and take a seat. Xia Mo is here too—find yourself a seat as well," Xiao Zhan said, ending his conversation with the guests when he saw Xiao Yan arrive.

The Three Great Elders looked at Xiao Yan with disdain, but Xiao Yan ignored them. He swept his gaze around, discovered there was no seat for him, and remained standing where he was. The people around him began again.

Seeing this, Xiao Zhan grew angry but could do nothing about it. The Three Great Elders had deliberately intended to embarrass Xiao Yan and crush his spirit. Why would they care whether Xiao Zhan was angry?

Xia Mo patted his forehead. Seriously? Mocking their own clansman like this in front of guests?

"Brother Xiao Yan, Xia Mo, come sit over here!" A young girl's crisp voice rang out from a corner of the hall.

Xia Mo saw Xiao Xun'er waving at Xiao Yan and him. He poked Xiao Yan, handed him the little stool, and pointed at Xiao Xun'er. "Come on, let's go over there."

The two walked over to Xun Er. Xiao Yan returned the stool to Xia Mo and sat beside Xun Er. Xia Mo rolled his eyes at that, set down the stool, and sat beside them as well.

Xiao Yan listened for a while, though Xia Mo had no idea whether he had figured anything out. The three of them sat there rather bored...

Sitting to the side, Xia Mo yawned and swayed, almost falling asleep. When are they going to get down to business? They're dragging this out forever. If they know it's embarrassing, why did they even come?

"Brother Xiao Yan, do you know who these people are?" Xiao Xun'er asked.

"You know?" Xiao Yan asked curiously.

The Misty Cloud Sect's insignia is so obvious, yet Xiao Yan didn't even notice it, Xia Mo grumbled inwardly.

"Look at the cloud-and-silver-sword insignia on their cuffs," Xiao Xun'er said.

"The Misty Cloud Sect?" Xiao Yan said in surprise.

After all, it was one of the dominant powers of the Jia Ma Empire. So long as a family possessed even a little strength, whether it was a great clan in a large city or a small clan in a small town, it would have records of the Misty Cloud Sect to avoid provoking it and bringing disaster upon itself.

"What are they doing at our Xiao Clan?" Xiao Yan asked in confusion.

Xiao Xun'er fell silent for a moment. "Perhaps they have something to do with Brother Xiao Yan."

Ah, the original wife is dissatisfied with her husband and wants to break off the engagement, while the mistress seizes the chance to forcefully take the position of legitimate wife, Xia Mo imagined, staging a grand palace drama of love, hatred, and intrigue in his mind.

"I have no connection with them." Xiao Yan shook his head.

"That girl is the disciple of the Misty Cloud Sect's leader and the treasured daughter of the Nalan Clan—Nalan Yanran." Xiao Xun'er's tone was faintly sour.

"Nalan Yanran? My fiancée?" Xiao Yan's expression changed.

"Yes. It's the marriage arrangement your grandfather and Nalan Jie made for Brother Xiao Yan. Nalan Jie valued his promises and had the final say in his clan. Even though the Xiao Clan had declined, and despite doting on Nalan Yanran, he had never intended to come to the Xiao Clan to break off the engagement."

"Nalan Yanran became the disciple of the Misty Cloud Sect's leader and displayed outstanding cultivation talent, while your Dou Qi regressed and you never recovered..." Xia Mo added.

"So she came to break off the engagement?" Xiao Yan's face completely changed.

The three members of the Misty Cloud Sect stood up. This should be where they start getting to the point, Xia Mo thought.

First, the people from the Misty Cloud Sect stated that Nalan Yanran wished to break off the engagement. As the discussion continued, they began grinding the dignity of the Xiao Clan and Xiao Yan into the ground. Thus, the strongest members of the two sides clashed with their auras in a brief test of strength.

Xiao Zhan was helpless. The Misty Cloud Sect was too powerful, and if a conflict erupted, the consequences were more than the Xiao Clan could bear.

Afterward, the Misty Cloud Sect proposed that, as long as the marriage contract was handed over, they would receive a Qi Gathering Powder. The Xiao Clan members were tempted and wanted to agree, but this was not something they could decide.

Sure enough, Xiao Yan stepped forward before long. Suppressing his anger, he told the Misty Cloud Sect to take back the pill, after which the Three Great Elders began noisily making their presence known again.

Then Xiao Yan began arguing with Nalan Yanran, trading words back and forth. After that, Nalan Yanran began tempting him with "money," trampling the last remnants of Xiao Yan's dignity into the ground.

Xiao Yan's face twisted savagely, and the killing intent radiating from him gave Nalan Yanran a fright. Just as it seemed a fight was about to break out, Xiao Yan suddenly restrained his emotions and became calm.

Sure enough, those three years of hardship were not wasted. A person with both talent and resilience... Xia Mo thought.

He continued watching Xiao Yan debate Nalan Yanran. In the end, Nalan Yanran was left speechless, and then Xiao Yan declared, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Never mock a young man's poverty."

Nalan Yanran flew into a rage and proposed the Three-Year Agreement, only to find that Xiao Yan had no interest in the terms she offered. A letter of repudiation was thrown before Nalan Yanran.

Finally, the young man swore that, three years later, he would wash away his father's humiliation.

Once everything was over, Xia Mo saw Xiao Yan leave and quickly picked up his little stool to chase after him. He wondered whether Old Yao would appear later. He simply followed behind Xiao Yan without saying a word.

At times like this, people did not need words of comfort. Staying by his side was enough to prove everything.

The hall began seeing the guests off. The Qi Gathering Powder that had made the Xiao Clan members envious was not accepted. Nalan Yanran was verbally taught a lesson by Xiao Xun'er, while Ge Ye was so frightened by the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame that he fled in disgrace...

PS: Thanks again to everyone for your votes.