Brotherhood, or Love?

Qian Daoliu was extremely embarrassed at the moment and had no idea how to answer Wu Qingkong.

He could only lead him to the council hall and arrange a seat for him first.

"Worthy grandson, please have a seat."

"As for your request, I understand it all. Please wait a moment."

After saying that, Qian Daoliu casually waved a hand.

A maid soon brought over fruit and fragrant tea to entertain him.

Wu Qingkong had barely taken a sip of tea when Guang Ling Douluo entered, leading a girl inside.

After entering, Guang Ling signaled to Qian Daoliu that everything had been arranged.

With a look from Qian Daoliu, Hu Liena sat down opposite Wu Qingkong.

At that moment, she had her head lowered and was sobbing silently.

Earlier, she had been conducting practical combat training with her brother at the training grounds.

As one of the Golden Generation, it was both an honor and a shackle.

Hu Liena had never dared to relax.

Guang Ling had arrived at the training grounds and directly seized her and brought her away.

She had been extremely unwilling and screamed herself hoarse on the spot, but Guang Ling had said only one thing.

"This is the decision of all the Consecration Hall elders. You don't want your teacher's situation to become even more difficult in the future, do you?"

On the way, Guang Ling had also told her about the elders' earlier plans.

Hu Liena could not help but give a bitter smile.

"What so-called Spirit Hall Saintess? Compared to the true little princess of Spirit Hall, I'm still far too inferior."

"Am I really just a substitute?"

Wu Qingkong was somewhat surprised by the girl who had appeared before him.

The girl possessed naturally seductive bones. Every frown and smile of hers was filled with endless allure, and merely looking at her made it easy for one to become lost in it.

"Th-this is Hu Liena?!"

"Why is she here?!"

A trace of confusion appeared on Wu Qingkong's face.

Qian Daoliu was the first to explain:

"My young friend, this is Hu Liena, disciple of the current Pope, Bibi Dong."

"Bibi Dong is my daughter-in-law, and she is my daughter-in-law's disciple, like a daughter of her own."

"She can be considered half my granddaughter. My biological granddaughter, Qian Renxue, is currently carrying out an important mission."

"She cannot return for the time being, so you can meet Hu Liena first. Once Xue'er returns in the future, I will immediately arrange for you two to meet."

As Qian Daoliu spoke, Hu Liena cried even harder.

Her shoulders began jerking up and down with her sobs.

Seeing her like this, Wu Qingkong immediately understood.

At this time, Qian Renxue should still be undercover in the imperial palace, so naturally she could not meet him.

But he had not really come to get married.

It did not matter whether Qian Renxue was here or not.

After Guang Ling delivered her, he exchanged a meaningful look with the others, and the several elders immediately understood and withdrew.

"You young people can take your time talking and getting acquainted."

"If anything comes up, call for us old men."

After saying that, the several elders promptly left and vanished from sight.

After the elders left, Hu Liena lay facedown on the table and began bawling.

"Wuwuwu, I don't want to get married."

"I want to go back."

Hearing Hu Liena cry, Wu Qingkong could not help but feel surprised.

"Who said I wanted to marry you?!"

"Could those old men have misunderstood and thought I came to propose marriage?!"

"This misunderstanding seems a little too big..."

Seeing Hu Liena crying, Wu Qingkong did not know how to comfort her. He took out a small cake from his soul tool and pushed it toward her.

"Um... let me treat you to something."

"Don't cry. Actually, I didn't come here to marry you."

Through her tear-filled eyes, Hu Liena saw an exquisite pastry appear before her.

Perhaps she was tired from crying. She grabbed the cake and stuffed it into her mouth.

Its soft texture conquered her taste buds, and for a moment, her crying stopped.

Hu Liena wiped away her tears and saw an impossibly handsome man before her.

Her eyes went wide, and her cheeks flushed red like burning clouds.

"He... he's way too handsome, isn't he?!"

"If I'd known he was this handsome, what was I crying for? I'll marry him!"

"If Sister Xue doesn't want to marry him, then I will."

Hu Liena suddenly leaned forward and grabbed Wu Qingkong's hand.

"My name is Hu Liena. May I know how to address you?"

"Wu Qingkong. Go tell those elders not to play matchmaker blindly."

"I came here this time to break off the engagement."

"I didn't come to marry..."

Hu Liena was clearly very surprised after hearing that.

"What? You came to break off the engagement?!"

"You didn't come to marry?"

"That's right."

Hearing that Wu Qingkong wanted to break off the engagement, Hu Liena felt a flicker of secret joy in her heart.

Then doesn't that mean I can...

A hint of delight appeared in Hu Liena's eyes.

Yet at the same time, she was deeply puzzled.

Whenever Qian Renxue occasionally returned, Hu Liena had seen her from afar a few times.

That flawless face had captivated even her, another woman, so deeply.

She did not know why Wu Qingkong wanted to break off the engagement, but she was truly happy about it.

"Are you sure?"

Hu Liena asked excitedly, her eyes full of springtime delight.

She hoped to hear the answer she wanted from Wu Qingkong.

"I'm sure..."

"Alright, I'll go tell the elders immediately."

"Do you have any more of the food you took out earlier? I still want some."

After thinking for a moment, Wu Qingkong took out a small piece.

"I can only give you this much."

"I need to save the rest for a friend."

He had made these cakes during spare moments on the road here, and he had not made many. Apart from eating a little himself,

he had wanted to bring the rest to Qian Qinghe.

After hearing this, Hu Liena felt both surprised and sorrowful.

In an instant, she seemed to understand something. So there was someone worthy of his cherishing.

Even when venturing alone into Spirit Hall, he had not forgotten her.

No wonder he had come to break off the engagement.

Hu Liena spoke with some sorrow and bitterness in her voice:

"I envy her so much..."

"She's so fortunate to have you thinking about her all the time."

"You must like her very much, right?"

Wu Qingkong smiled.

"Yes, I do like him."

"But not in the way you mean, because he's just the brother I grew up with."

"What we have is brotherly affection, not love."

At that thought, Qian Qinghe's porcelain-doll-like, fair little face could not help appearing in Wu Qingkong's mind.

The smile on his lips grew even warmer than before.

Even Wu Qingkong himself did not notice the tenderness in his smile.

Hu Liena was utterly mesmerized.

Good thing I know he's thinking about his brother. Otherwise, I'd really be jealous of his brother.

Thinking of Xiao He,

Wu Qingkong could not wait to return home.

"The little glutton is still waiting for me."

"Go on. Call the elders over. I'll explain everything clearly to them face-to-face."

Hu Liena nodded after hearing this and hurriedly ran outside.

"Wonderful, I still have a chance!"

"Qingkong, I'll definitely win you over."

In the corridor,

Qian Renxue was walking over with an angry expression.

Not long ago, when she had asked her grandfather how he planned to handle the descendant of Frost Sword, she had heard his answer.

She had been completely stunned.

She truly did not want to marry the descendant of Frost Sword, but that did not mean she wanted to sacrifice someone else's happiness.

Qian Renxue was not that kind of person. She was going to reason things out with the descendant of Frost Sword!