Xiao Yan, Crawl for Me

"Forget it, forget it. This matter is too difficult for you. It really wouldn't be appropriate for me to say it, especially since your family has some standing here. If I brought up that matter and asked you to agree to it, your family would lose face. That would be unethical of me."

Yun Shenwei deliberately put on a troubled expression. In truth, this was called playing hard to get. To completely take down an enemy, he first had to draw their attention.

"Shenwei Ge, don't be like this. If you talk like that, then you don't consider me, Xiao Yan, a friend. Besides, we're fellow townsmen. In this world, aside from my parents and brothers, you're the person I should trust most. If I don't trust you, who else can I trust?"

The moment Xiao Yan heard this, he became upset. He slapped the table and stood up, his face full of displeasure.

"Don't be so distant, or you'll be looking down on me!"

After saying that, Xiao Yan clenched his fists. Clearly, he spoke those words from the bottom of his heart.

Excellent. This guy finally took the bait. But to make him take the initiative even more, I still need to retreat in order to advance.

Yun Shenwei was secretly pleased. The bait had already been cast; now it was just a matter of seeing how the fish would bite.

"No, this matter truly concerns your family's honor. You also understand that this place is ultimately different from our Blue Water Star. Just because you can think it through doesn't mean your father and clansmen can. You can't decide something is acceptable yourself, then take it for granted that others will think so too. That would be wrong."

Yun Shenwei waved his hand, still looking troubled.

In fact, he was not wrong. The matter he was talking about was breaking off an engagement. If this had happened on Blue Water Star, perhaps things would have been more open-minded now, less old-fashioned and rigid than before. Young people would be easier to reason with.

Even so, in certain places, parents still had the final say. Children had no choice but to obediently listen, and families all had their own rules.

Not to mention that this was the world of Battle Through the Heavens. The living environment here was actually very similar to the Ancient Heavenly Dynasty of Blue Water Star.

Thus, the people's customs, lifestyles, and traditions here were all quite similar.

"Why don't we just forget about this? I can't make things difficult for you and your father."

Yun Shenwei waved his hand again.

"Little Brother Shenwei, I'm not happy to hear you say that. You came here and can help my son—how could I possibly not be grateful for such immense kindness?"

At that moment, a middle-aged man's voice came from outside the door. Needless to say, Xiao Zhan had arrived.

Xiao Zhan quickly pushed open the door and strode in. His face still carried some of a patriarch's majesty, but upon seeing the two youths, he swiftly changed to a gentle expression.

"I only just arrived. Yan'er, tell me truthfully what Little Brother Shenwei just said to you. We are members of the Xiao Family and should know how to repay kindness. His status is noble, and he came here in the first place to gain experience. The fact that he can spare the effort to help us is already no small thing."

Xiao Zhan's words were forceful and meaningful.

"Father, your son doesn't know what this is about. Ask him." Xiao Yan wore a helpless expression. To be honest, after all that, he still had no idea what the matter was, and now his father had rushed over as well.

"Do you truly want me to say it?"

Yun Shenwei asked with feigned difficulty. At this point, he was actually ready to unleash his trump card.

"Say it. I am the Xiao Family Patriarch. As long as it is within my power, I will see it done for you."

Xiao Zhan nodded solemnly. He remained confident in his authority. After all, his position in the family was still the highest, and his other brothers did not dare act presumptuously.

"Then I'll say it. Do you know who that girl who came with me is?"

Yun Shenwei spoke mysteriously.

Xiao Zhan and Xiao Yan exchanged a glance and both shook their heads. Of course, they remembered that girl. She was indeed quite beautiful and appeared to be of noble status. At a glance, one could tell she was a descendant of a prominent family and possessed an extraordinary cultivation realm.

"She is Nalan Yanran."

Yun Shenwei spoke softly.

"Nalan Yanran? That name sounds somewhat familiar..."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhan involuntarily frowned. He had some impression of the Nalan Family.

"Could it be...?"

Soon, Xiao Zhan seemed to recall something.

"That's right. She is Nalan Yanran, the one engaged to Xiao Yan—the cherished daughter of the Nalan Family of the Gama Empire."

Yun Shenwei slowly nodded, speaking unhurriedly.

Everything was now proceeding according to his plan. At this moment, all he needed was convincing acting. He believed that when faced with a choice between benefits and emotions, these two would not disappoint him.

"So it's her! Father, does that mean I'm supposed to marry her after I come of age?"

Xiao Yan asked in confusion, only to receive a glare from Xiao Zhan. He could only shut his mouth.

"May I ask what exactly this matter has to do with Nalan Yanran?"

At this moment, Xiao Zhan had vaguely sensed something, but he did not dare be certain and could only ask.

"Nalan Yanran and I are in love, and both of our elders have already met. To be honest, I came this time to help Nalan Yanran break off her engagement with the Xiao Family."

The moment Yun Shenwei said this, the scene seemed to freeze.

Xiao Zhan's expression shifted constantly—first distorted, then fierce, then angry, then worried.

He was, after all, the patriarch of a family. Rather than fly into a rage from humiliation, he suppressed the anger in his heart and said, "Little Brother Shenwei, you should know what it means in the Gama Empire when someone comes to a family's door to break off an engagement. My Xiao Family is also one of the Four Great Families of Wu Tan City. I dare not claim that we are usually all that glorious, but at the very least, many commoners here still hold the Xiao Family in awe.

"If the engagement is broken, it would be an enormous humiliation. Although I am the patriarch, this matter truly puts me in a difficult position. Moreover, it concerns my son's happiness for the rest of his life."

As Xiao Zhan spoke, his fists clenched tightly.

"That's exactly why I never intended to bring this up in the first place. I was afraid of making things difficult for you. Now that I've said it, everyone is unhappy. Why don't we just forget it? After all, compared to restoring Xiao Yan's cultivation realm, I think it would be better for Xiao Yan to marry Nalan Yanran."

Yun Shenwei pretended to yield as he shook his head and said, "It's just that I have a very good relationship with Senior Pill King Gu He. If I personally ask him, perhaps he will help. But if someone else asks, I'm afraid it would be useless. Even the Yun Lan Sect Master could not manage it."