Never Bully a Poor Girl? A Three-Year Agreement?

Xiao Yan's hand suddenly stopped as he put away his sword. Looking at the girl before him, her eyes red yet her head still stubbornly raised, his expression grew stranger by the moment.

Thirty years east of the river.

Thirty years west of the river.

Never bully a poor girl?

Wait...

How did she end up saying that line?

Xiao Yan opened his mouth, but for a moment, he could not find a reply.

Before coming, he had considered that the Misty Cloud Sect might be displeased, and that Nalan Yanran might be angry. What he had never imagined was that one day, he would be the one standing there hearing those words.

Well, damn!

All I did was come to break off the engagement at a different time. How did I end up handing her the iconic line, too?

Nalan Yanran had no idea what was going through his mind.

Seeing his silence, she only assumed he found what she had just said laughable.

The girl slowly clenched her hands, her fingertips pressing her palms white. "Do you think I'm saying this because I refuse to admit defeat? I couldn't withstand that strike today. That's a fact."

Her voice still trembled slightly, but she did not avoid the gazes around her.

"But how many years have we even been cultivating? You're stronger than me now, but does that mean you can be certain you'll always be stronger than me?"

Xiao Yan looked at her without interrupting.

"You have a teacher to guide you, and so do I. You can work hard at cultivation, and so can I!"

Nalan Yanran raised a hand and wiped away the moisture at the corner of her eyes.

"Losing to you today doesn't mean I'll spend the rest of my life looking up at you. You have your path, and I have mine!"

Several disciples who had been about to step forward to comfort her gradually stopped in their tracks.

As Yun Yun watched her, the worry in her eyes slowly gave way to a trace of relief.

Suffering a setback, facing the gap between them, and still retaining her fighting spirit was better than never recovering from the blow. It was just that this first defeat had been a particularly painful one.

Xiao Yan finally gathered his thoughts, sheathed the Taiji Liangyi Sword, and said solemnly:

"It's certainly a good thing that you're willing to keep cultivating. I never said you could only lose to me from now on."

Nalan Yanran's expression did not soften at those words. She looked toward the hall, her voice turning cold:

"Bring me the document dissolving the engagement."

Ge Ye glanced at Yun Yun.

After a brief pause, she nodded gently.

Before long, the document, brush, and ink were brought out and placed on the stone table beneath the veranda.

Nalan Yanran walked over and unfolded the paper.

The document set out the old agreement between the ancestors of the two families, and stated that Xiao Yan had taken the initiative to dissolve the engagement. The reason was not any misconduct on the woman's part, and thereafter, each would be free to marry as they wished.

Xiao Yan's name was already signed at the bottom.

The girl looked at it for a moment, her grip on the brush tightening slightly.

"I don't want to keep this engagement, either."

"What I'm fighting for today isn't you as my fiancé. It's the pride you trampled on!"

The brush touched down, and ink quickly spread across the paper.

Nalan Yanran.

Once the final stroke was complete, she set the brush beside the table and looked up at Xiao Yan.

"I'll explain things to the Nalan Family myself. After today, there will be no engagement between us."

Xiao Yan picked up the document, checked it, and nodded.

"All right. If anyone outside asks, I'll tell them the truth as well: I was the one who first proposed breaking off the engagement."

He left the original marriage agreement on the table. Ge Ye made a copy of the dissolution document, and the two each put their own copy away.

Only then did several disciples nearby realize that the duel had actually arisen over a broken engagement.

Quiet gasps spread, only to be hastily hushed by their companions.

Nalan Yanran heard them, but did not turn around.

"The engagement is dissolved, but I'll remember today's defeat."

Nalan Yanran tucked the document into her robes and looked at Xiao Yan again.

"Give me three years."

Xiao Yan's movements paused.

Wait.

Why does that sound so familiar, too?

The girl took a step forward, her voice carrying clearly across the grounds.

"On this day three years from now, I'll go to Wutan City myself and challenge you at the Xiao Clan!"

"Right before your Xiao Clan members, I'll fight you again, fair and square!"

Their surroundings instantly fell silent.

Xiao Yan stared at her, his expression freezing completely.

Well, there we go!

Even the three-year agreement has arrived!

I was supposed to cultivate bitterly for three years, then climb up to the Misty Cloud Sect to settle the score with her. Now the one issuing the challenge has changed, and even the destination has become my own home!

Am I going to have to prepare an old man in a ring for her next?

"You don't dare agree?"

When Nalan Yanran saw that he still had not answered, her grip on her sleeve tightened.

Xiao Yan came back to himself and shook his head.

"I was just a little surprised. If you want another duel in three years, I can agree to that."

"But let's be clear first. Our engagement is dissolved today. It won't be used as a wager for the duel."

"I don't need it!" Nalan Yanran lifted her chin and said angrily, "If I win, you'll take back the contempt you showed me today before everyone in the Xiao Clan, and formally apologize to me!"

"If I still lose, then I simply wasn't as capable as you. From that point on, I'll never bring up what happened today again!"

Xiao Yan looked at her for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"All right."

"On this day three years from now, I'll wait for you at the Xiao Clan."

Only then did Nalan Yanran's tense shoulders relax a little.

She turned to retrieve her sword and wiped the dust from it bit by bit, her movements much steadier than before.

Three years.

She would remember the strike she had failed to withstand today, and she would remember the fellow disciples behind her who dared not make a sound.

Next time, I'll win it back through my own strength!

Yun Yun looked at the two of them and slowly spoke:

"I can bear witness to this three-year agreement. When the time comes, you will compete using your own cultivation, and bear the outcome yourselves."

"I understand."

Nalan Yanran answered quietly.

Xiao Yan also cupped his hands, then put the document into his Storage Ring.

He had accepted the agreement, but he would not stand still and wait for someone else to catch up.

Even he felt some anticipation at how far he would progress after cultivating under the Grandmaster for three years.

As for his travels to gain experience, he would have to keep the date in mind when arranging them. He could hardly agree to the appointment himself, only to leave her making the trip in vain.

He turned toward Yun Yun and cupped his hands.

"Sorry for the trouble today. Now that the engagement has been settled, I'll take my leave."

Yun Yun nodded slightly and was just about to ask Ge Ye to see him off when a low voice sounded beside her.

"Wait."

Yun Leng descended the stone steps, his gaze settling on Xiao Yan.

"You intend to leave just like that?"

Xiao Yan stopped.

"Does the Grand Elder have further advice?"

Yun Leng glanced at the disciples outside the grounds, his expression growing uglier.

They had merely invited someone up the mountain to assess his talent and discuss his teacher.

Instead, the sect leader's personal disciple had her engagement broken off in public, then was defeated by a single sword strike. Even the engagement itself had been dissolved under everyone's eyes.

Once word of this spread, what would others think of the Misty Cloud Sect?

They had sent the invitation, and they had offered gifts first.

And in the end, they were to let a junior stroll down the mountain with a document dissolving his engagement?

"The engagement and the three-year agreement are matters between the two of you."

Yun Leng said in a heavy voice:

"But you humiliated her like this in public at our Misty Cloud Sect today. Surely you owe us an accounting."

Xiao Yan frowned.

"I've already explained why I broke off the engagement. I also admitted that presenting compensation earlier was inappropriate. What further accounting does the Grand Elder want?"

"Formally apologize to Yanran, then invite your teacher up the mountain to explain what happened today."

At that last sentence, the courtesy on Xiao Yan's face slowly faded.

"Why should my teacher have to come answer for my decision?"

"So you refuse?"

"You agreed to the duel. Now that you've lost, whose fault is it supposed to be?"

His voice was not loud, but Yun Leng's expression instantly darkened.

"Insolence!"

Xiao Yan did not retreat. Instead, he looked at him and said coldly:

"If the Grand Elder simply wants me to bow my head, then say so outright. Whether it's the engagement or the duel, you can't change your tune whenever something doesn't go your way."

As his words fell, Yun Lei and Yun Sheng rose almost simultaneously.

The former stepped to the side of the stairs, placing himself directly in the path leading to the mountain trail.

Yun Leng's sleeve shook, and Dou Qi was already gathering in his palm.

Even if this brat really has a Dou Wang backing him, that gives him no right to act so insolently here. The sect leader is right beside me, and this is the Misty Cloud Sect!

I'll detain him first, then have that teacher of his come negotiate!

The instant his aura changed, Yun Yun's eyes turned icy. Just as she was about to speak, Xiao Yan's hand had already reached the sword hilt on his back.

Yun Leng raised his palm, all courtesy gone from his voice.

"Junior, you may break off the engagement, but I won't let you trample the Misty Cloud Sect's dignity like this!"