A Parent's Command

Since the Qian Family head had arrived, Chen Xian struck first, stating his purpose directly.

After some exchange of words...

"Regarding the dissolution of the engagement, I would ask Miss Shangguan to reconsider? My Qian Family will not treat you poorly."

Throughout the conversation, Qian Yue's face bore a faint smile, revealing no emotion.

At this moment, the brewed Shou'er Tea had begun to emit a faint mist.

Steward Li Youde kept his head lowered, his hands—those of an Inner Strength martial artist—steadily lifting the purple clay teapot.

The blood-amber tea stream fell into the cup, producing a deep, muffled gurgle like a sinking jade plunging into an abyss.

"Senior, please! Though this Shou'er Tea cannot compare to the sect's Spirit Spring Jade Dew, it is still a top-tier treasure here in Ask-Dao City, with miraculous effects for nourishing blood and qi, beautifying the complexion, and extending life!"

"In all of Ask-Dao City, including my Qian Family, only three establishments can trade in this Shou'er Tea."

Qian Yue sat across from Chen Xian, his smile genial.

Chen Xian, in turn, quietly observed this head of the Qian Family.

Qian Yue wore a dark brocade robe patterned with copper coin motifs. His face was square and well-proportioned, with a short beard, temples touched with frost yet still showing dark hair beneath. His entire demeanor was like ancient jade soaked in patina—calm and natural, betraying no trace of age.

Just sitting there, he exuded a faint pressure of long-held authority.

Hongyue had said this man was over fifty, but Chen Xian could not tell at all, for Qian Yue's complexion was excessively ruddy, the fine lines at his eyes relaxed. A single glance was enough to feel the vigorous life force spilling from his very bones.

Chen Xian had been through life before; he knew well what a mortal over fifty should look like.

Could cultivating martial arts really have such a beautifying effect?

His heart stirred slightly, but he responded casually: "Heh, Family Head Qian's complexion is like spring itself. It seems you've not skimped on this Shou'er Tea?"

Chen Xian glanced again at the reddened tea in his cup, and absurdly felt it looked like a bowl of blood.

With this notion in his mind, the tea's mist drifting to his nose seemed to carry a faint scent of gore.

He instantly lost any desire to drink.

"Heh, Senior flatters me. Qian is merely afraid of death and has used some clumsy methods to preserve my health."

Qian Yue inclined his body slightly. Though he was a family head, his posture was extremely deferential.

Deacon Huang, sitting to the side, habitually took a sip of tea. Setting down his cup, he cupped his hands toward Chen Xian: "Grand-Master Uncle, according to sect rules, if a sect disciple has any mortal engagement or contact within five years of entering the sect, it must be notarized and reported."

"But since you have personally come forward today to propose dissolving the engagement, as for the procedures... I believe Family Head Qian is a reasonable man and will naturally cooperate."

Chen Xian looked at this newly arrived Deacon Huang, who appeared no more than thirty, with a fair, clean face and a lean build, seeming quite capable.

He understood the hidden meaning in Deacon Huang's words: the engagement could be dissolved, but Qian Yue's face still needed to be saved.

He nodded: "Family Head Qian conducts himself with grace. For both sides to resolve the issue amicably—that would be best."

"Naturally. The marriage between the Qian and Shangguan families should have been a fine tale, but since Niece Hongyue has set her heart on cultivation, Qian will not force the matter. However..."

Qian Yue took over the conversation, paused mid-sentence, chuckled, and clapped his hands.

From behind a screen in the side hall, a middle-aged couple in plain clothes walked out.

"Father! Mother!" Shangguan Hongyue's face, which had been taut all along, finally crumpled the moment she saw the middle-aged couple.

She wanted to step forward, but as if remembering something, she forcibly stopped herself and remained standing by Chen Xian's side.

Chen Xian frowned at the cry. How had Qian Yue managed to invite the girl's parents here?

He said nothing, waiting to see how things would unfold.

Hongyue's father had the rough appearance of a fifty-year-old farmer, leaning on a bamboo staff, yet his gait was unusually steady.

Hongyue's mother, on the other hand, wore a look of misery, clutching a plain handkerchief in her hand.

Before her daughter could speak, Hongyue's mother spoke first: "Yue'er, you child... how can you be so heartless?" As she spoke, tears began to fall.

Shangguan Hongyue's expression stiffened, and she was suddenly at a loss.

Her mother continued: "Do you not know what kindness the Qian Family has shown our family? Your father's leg, crippled for ten years—the Qian Family hired a divine physician to heal most of it. And now you want to break off the engagement? Do you want your father to be bedridden again?"

"I... I don't." Shangguan Hongyue's eyes were panicked as she watched her mother's tears fall one by one to the ground. Her heart seized, and she could say nothing more.

Hongyue's father said nothing, simply dropping his bamboo staff and standing there firmly.

The staff clattered to the ground with a sharp sound, as if striking Shangguan Hongyue's heart. Her body trembled slightly.

Chen Xian watched all this coldly.

He had seen sixty years of human warmth and coldness in Chang-le Village; he could clearly see that this couple was emotionally blackmailing their daughter.

The mother wept as if her heart were breaking. Shangguan Hongyue froze for a long moment before looking at her father: "Father... the engagement was made secretly after I entered the Sword Sect. I didn't even know you had made this decision behind my back..."

As she spoke, she could not continue, leaving only a pleading gaze fixed on her father.

"Yue'er! When your mother and I first came to Ask-Dao City, the Qian Family took us in. And now my crippled leg—Family Head Qian had it treated. We cannot forget our roots!"

Hongyue's father suddenly stomped his right foot heavily, his voice booming.

A streak of blood flowed down from his right pant leg.

"Father!" Shangguan Hongyue's eyes instantly turned red at the sight. She still argued, "I've entered the Sword Sect now and just cultivated the Sword Path. If I marry someone I don't love, my heart will be shackled, and I'm afraid my cultivation will struggle to advance from now on..."

Before his daughter could finish, Hongyue's father suddenly roared:

"What path or no path!? We don't understand that! You're at the age for marriage now. Thanks to Clan Master Qian's great favor in taking a liking to you and betrothing you to the Sixth Young Master of the Qian Family, this is our family's fortune, and your fortune too!"

"I've met the Sixth Young Master for you—he's a top-tier talent, dignified and handsome. Marrying him won't put you at a loss at all. Besides, the betrothal gifts even include three shops in West Second Ward for your mother and me to live on in old age! Yue'er, we're thinking of you!"

Hongyue's father had an enormous voice, and her mother cried even harder, putting on a full display of pitiful parents' earnest advice.

Shangguan Hongyue was completely stunned.

She had traveled twenty thousand li, entered the Sword Sect, and proven herself a Sword Master. Yet in her parents' eyes, this achievement couldn't compare to a mortal clan's young master, couldn't compare to so-called betrothal gifts of three shops...

Thinking of this, her composure finally shattered, tears streaming down her face like a burst dam.

"Cough!" Seeing the atmosphere ripe, Qian Yue beside him chose the right moment to speak. He lifted his teacup, blowing on the hot steam to hide the hint of a playful curve at the corner of his mouth, and gently soothed Hongyue's father: "Brother Shangguan, no need to be angry! Since niece Hongyue has higher aspirations, Qian will never force the matter!"

Chen Xian glanced at Qian Yue. This old fox was retreating to advance—he still hadn't given up!

"Clan Master Qian! My daughter is ignorant, please don't take offense. If she insists on breaking off the engagement today, I'll break this old leg of mine!"

Seeing that Qian Yue, a clan master of such high status, was actually taking the initiative to comfort him, Hongyue's father was deeply moved and only more convinced that his decision was right.

He stomped his right leg again, and the carpet was already stained red.

"Cough! Grandmaster Uncle, you see, the parents' command..."

Involving family matters, Deacon Huang was also at a loss. He coughed and looked toward Chen Xian.

"Father!!"

Shangguan Hongyue felt herself on the verge of collapse and looked helplessly at Chen Xian as well.

"Alas..."

Seeing everyone's eyes on him, Chen Xian let out a long, weary sigh.