Since the head of the Qian Family had arrived, Chen Xian took the initiative and got straight to the point.
After a long discussion...
"Would you please reconsider breaking off the engagement, Miss Shangguan? My Qian Family would never treat you unfairly."
Throughout their conversation, Qian Yue wore a faint smile, betraying no emotion.
By now, the freshly brewed Shou'er Tea had sent up wisps of steam.
The steward, Li Youde, kept his head bowed as his hands, trained in inner strength, steadily lifted the purple clay teapot.
The amber-red tea poured into the cup with a deep, weighty gurgle, like a piece of jade sinking into an abyss.
"High Person, please! Though this Shou'er Tea can't compare to the sect's Spirit Spring Jade Dew, it's still among the finest things in Ask-Dao City. It nourishes the blood and vital energy, preserves beauty, and prolongs life!"
"Throughout Ask-Dao City, including my Qian Family, only three households are in the Shou'er Tea business."
Qian Yue sat across from Chen Xian, smiling warmly.
Chen Xian, meanwhile, silently sized up the head of the Qian Family.
Qian Yue wore a black brocade robe patterned with copper coins. He had a square, regular face and a short beard. Though his temples were frosted with gray, black hair still showed beneath, and his whole bearing was like ancient jade taking on a natural patina—calm and composed, without the slightest trace of age.
He merely sat there, yet carried the subtle pressure of someone who had wielded great power for a long time.
Hong Yue had said he was over fifty, but Chen Xian would never have guessed. Qian Yue's complexion was almost unnaturally ruddy, the fine lines at the corners of his eyes smooth, and one glance was enough to sense the vigorous life force spilling from his very bones.
As someone who had lived a long life himself, Chen Xian knew what an ordinary person in their fifties should look like.
Could practicing the Martial Dao really have such an effect on one's appearance?
A thought stirred in his mind, but he casually replied, "Heh, Head of the Qian Family, you look as fresh as spring. I take it you've been drinking plenty of this Shou'er Tea?"
Chen Xian glanced at the deep-red tea in his cup. Absurdly, it looked to him like a bowl of blood.
Once that image had taken root in his mind, the steam drifting beneath his nose seemed to carry a faint, bloody smell.
He immediately lost any desire to drink it.
"Heh, High Person, you flatter me. I'm merely afraid of death and have resorted to a few clumsy methods to preserve my health."
Qian Yue inclined his body slightly. Though he was the head of a family, he kept his posture exceedingly humble.
Deacon Huang, seated to the side, took a habitual sip of tea. After setting down his cup, he cupped his hands toward Chen Xian. "Grand-uncle Master, according to sect rules, if a sect disciple has a worldly marriage arrangement made or is in contact with their betrothed within five years of entering the sect, it must be officially reported and recorded."
"But since you've personally come forward today to propose dissolving the engagement, I think... Head of the Qian Family is a reasonable man and will naturally cooperate with the formalities."
Chen Xian looked at the newly arrived Deacon Huang. He appeared no older than thirty, with a fair face and a lean build, and seemed quite capable.
He understood the unspoken meaning behind Deacon Huang's words: the engagement could be dissolved, but Qian Yue's dignity still had to be respected.
He nodded. "Head of the Qian Family is a gracious man. It's best if both sides can resolve the matter amicably."
"Of course. The marriage between the Qian and Shangguan Families should have been a happy union. But since Niece Hong Yue has set her heart on cultivation, I won't force her. However..."
Qian Yue picked up the conversation, then broke off halfway, chuckled, and clapped his hands.
A middle-aged couple dressed in plain clothes emerged from behind the screen in the side hall.
"Father! Mother!" The moment Shangguan Hong Yue saw them, her face—which had been taut all along—finally crumpled.
She wanted to rush forward, but seemed to remember something and stopped herself, forcing herself to remain beside Chen Xian.
Hearing her cry out, Chen Xian furrowed his white brows. Why had Qian Yue invited the girl's parents, too?
He said nothing, waiting to see what would happen.
Hong Yue's father looked every bit like a weathered, fifty-year-old farmer. He leaned on a bamboo cane, yet his steps were remarkably steady.
Hong Yue's mother wore a sorrowful expression, a plain handkerchief clutched in her hand.
Before their daughter could ask anything, Hong Yue's mother spoke first. "Yue'er, you child... how could you be so heartless?" As she spoke, tears fell from her eyes.
Shangguan Hong Yue's expression stiffened, and she was at a loss.
Her mother continued, "Don't you know what the Qian Family has done for us? Your father's leg had been crippled for ten years. The Qian Family invited a miracle doctor who managed to heal most of it, and now you want to break off the engagement. Do you want your father to end up bedridden again?"
"I... I didn't." Shangguan Hong Yue stared at her mother as tears fell one by one to the ground. Her heart choked up, and she couldn't get another word out.
Hong Yue's father said nothing. He merely tossed aside his bamboo cane and stood there, perfectly still.
The cane clattered to the ground as though it had struck Shangguan Hong Yue's heart. Her body gave a faint shudder.
Chen Xian watched it all with cold eyes.
He had spent sixty years in Chang-le Village, seeing all the warmth and coldness of human nature. How could he fail to see that this couple was emotionally blackmailing their daughter?
Her mother wept as if her heart were breaking. After freezing in place for a long while, Shangguan Hong Yue finally looked at her father. "Father... you made the engagement with the Qian Family after I joined the Sword Sect, without telling me. Back then, I didn't even know you'd made this decision behind my back..."
As she spoke, her voice faltered again. She could only look at her father pleadingly.
"Yue'er! When your mother and I first came to Ask-Dao City, the Qian Family took us in. And now the Head of the Qian Family has had someone treat my useless leg. We can't forget the people who helped us!"
Hong Yue's father suddenly stamped his right foot hard, his voice booming.
A trickle of blood ran down the trouser leg over his right foot.
"Father!" Shangguan Hong Yue saw this, and her eyes instantly reddened. Still, she argued, "I've joined the Sword Sect and just cultivated the Sword Path. If I marry someone I don't love, that will shackle my heart. I'm afraid my cultivation will never advance another inch..."
Before his daughter could finish, Hong Yue's father suddenly roared:
"What path this and path that!? We don't understand any of that! You're at just the right age to marry, and the Head of the Qian Family has taken a liking to you and chosen you as a bride for the Qian Family's Sixth Young Master. This is a blessing for our family, and for you, too!"
"I've met the Sixth Young Master on your behalf. He's an exceptional young man, handsome and well-mannered. You wouldn't lose out by marrying him. Besides, he's promised us three shops in West Second Ward as a dowry, so your mother and I can have a comfortable old age! Yue'er, we're only thinking of what's best for you!"
Hong Yue's father's voice boomed, and her mother wept even harder, both of them putting on the appearance of pitiful, well-meaning parents.
Shangguan Hong Yue was completely stunned.
She had journeyed twenty thousand li and joined the Sword Sect to prove her Sword Master Path, yet in her parents' eyes, that achievement couldn't compare to a scion of a worldly aristocratic clan—not even to the three shops promised as dowry...
At the thought, she could no longer hold back. Tears streamed down her face like a bursting dike.
"Ahem!" Seeing that the mood had been set, Qian Yue spoke at just the right moment. He lifted his teacup and gently blew away the steam, hiding the playful curve at the corner of his mouth. Then he softly tried to placate Hong Yue's father. "Brother Shangguan, don't get angry! Since Niece Hong Yue has set her sights on higher things, I won't force her!"
"Head of the Qian Family! My daughter is being unreasonable. Please don't take offense. If she insists on breaking off this engagement today, I'll give up this old leg!"
Seeing a man as powerful and influential as Qian Yue personally try to placate him, Hong Yue's father was deeply moved, and all the more convinced he was in the right.
He stamped his right leg again, and the carpet was already stained red.
"Ahem! Grand-uncle Master, what do you think? This is a matter of parental authority..."
Since it involved another family's affairs, Deacon Huang wasn't sure how to handle it either. He coughed and looked at Chen Xian.
"Father!"
Shangguan Hong Yue felt she was on the verge of breaking down. Helpless, she looked at Chen Xian, too.
"Sigh..."
Seeing everyone turn toward him, Chen Xian let out a long, slow sigh.