Breaking off the engagement: you two aren't right for each other (1 / 2)

Sensing Ling Ying's resistance, Chen Yang cast a long, penetrating look in his direction.

Feeling Chen Yang's gaze on him, Ling Ying instinctively met his eyes.

Yet that single meeting of their eyes filled Ling Ying with boundless terror and a chilling dread.

At that moment, he felt as though a demon from the Nine Nether Hells had fixed its sights on him.

The demonic image of Chen Yang in Ling Ying's mind swelled without limit at that instant.

The pressure this man exerted on him was no less than what he felt when the Clan Chief flew into a rage.

Why had he instinctively compared Chen Yang to the Clan Chief?!!

Ling Ying suddenly searched his own heart.

Using the power of his mind, Chen Yang lifted Ling Ying and brought him before the crowd.

The moment Ling Ying appeared before them, his appearance caused a tremendous stir.

Among the crowd, a puzzled child pointed a tiny finger at Ling Ying and spoke with innocent charm.

"That uncle looks so strange!"

"He's masked and dressed in drab gray. He doesn't look like a good person. He must be a thief."

"Right, he must be a thief!

"He must have been stealing while we were worshipping the divine lord, and then the almighty divine lord caught him."

The children's train of thought was remarkably imaginative.

Ling Ying: "...!"

You're the thief! Your whole family are thieves! I'm the Gu Clan young lady's personal bodyguard, an Eight-Star Dou Emperor!

But Ling Ying's entire body was now encased in ice, leaving him unable to voice a rebuttal.

He could only let everyone point and gossip about him, accepting whatever they called him.

"What's your name?" Chen Yang asked, bringing Ling Ying before the crowd despite already knowing the answer.

He wanted Ling Ying exposed to everyone, to fan this fire into a roaring blaze.

That would make it easier for the Soul Clan to trace things back to the Gu Clan.

Of course, Chen Yang had overlooked one thing: he had first married Yun Yun with great fanfare, then hurriedly made Nalan Yanran the Misty Cloud Sect's Tenth-Generation Sect Master. Now he had descended upon Wutan City and granted the people's wish for rain. The Soul Clan was far more likely to trace things back to him than to the Gu Clan.

Seeing Ling Ying remain silent, Chen Yang realized he had forgotten to thaw his mouth.

With a casual swipe of his hand, he removed the ice sealing Ling Ying's mouth.

Ling Ying regained the ability to speak.

However, he showed no intention of opening his mouth.

He would not speak. He would not allow even the slightest chance of exposing the young lady.

Having fallen into Chen Yang's hands, he was already prepared to lose his life.

"You certainly have a stubborn mouth. But a stubborn mouth is utterly useless against me."

Dou Qi swirled around Chen Yang's fingers as he tapped the space between Ling Ying's brows.

"The twenty-ninth technique of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Stems Treasure Art: Memory Manifestation!"

The twenty-ninth Heavenly Stems Treasure Art: Memory Manifestation.

It could transform intangible memories into visible images.

Before this technique, there were no secrets in the world.

As Chen Yang lightly touched a finger between Ling Ying's brows, an image appeared behind him.

The images revealed that he came from a family called the Gu Clan. The Gu Clan was mysterious, ancient, and powerful, one of the Ancient Eight Clans of the Dou Qi Continent. A Dou Di had once arisen among its ancestors, and its current Clan Chief, Gu Yuan, was a mighty expert at the Peak Nine-Star Dou Saint level.

At this point, the images abruptly stopped.

Clearly, some of what followed was not meant to be shown to the public so soon.

"Ling Ying, a Gu Clan guard and the personal bodyguard of the Gu Clan's young lady, Gu Xun'er. Responsible for protecting Gu Xun'er while she gains experience away from home." Chen Yang withdrew the technique and read out each word as though holding Ling Ying's personal file.

Hearing this, Ling Ying, who had already prepared himself for death, underwent a drastic change in expression and stared at Chen Yang in near terror.

Who exactly was he? How did he even know my identity?

At this point, Ling Ying still did not know that Chen Yang had used Memory Manifestation, the twenty-ninth technique of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Stems Treasure Art, to extract his memories and display them on a water mirror for everyone to watch.

Now, not only was he an open book to Chen Yang, but he was nearly one to the entire crowd as well.

His identity had already been completely exposed to the public through Memory Manifestation, the twenty-ninth technique of Chen Yang's Thirty-Six Heavenly Stems Treasure Art.

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Chen Yang thawed the ice around Ling Ying and set him free.

As for Chen Yang, he used Dou Qi to alter his appearance, then took Nalan Yanran with him and, with a flash that shrank the distance beneath their feet, arrived in an open space not far from the Xiao Clan's gates.

Standing there, Chen Yang gestured for Nalan Yanran to go knock on the door.

"Go knock!"

"Remember to be polite."

"Even if you break off the engagement and can't become husband and wife, you can still be friends afterward. It wouldn't be good to sour relations too badly."

Hearing this, Nalan Yanran stepped forward, knocked, and explained her purpose to the person inside.

When the man inside learned why Nalan Yanran had come, he froze for a moment.

Then he invited Nalan Yanran and Chen Yang into the residence, summoned servants to attend to them, and went to report to the head of the family himself.

Coming to their door to break off an engagement was a serious matter!

It might have been fine before, but times had changed.

Young Master Xiao Yan was no longer the favored son of heaven he had once been.

Half a year ago, for some unknown reason, Young Master Xiao Yan had suddenly developed a problem. The Dou Qi in his body began inexplicably draining away at regular intervals, and his cultivation had consequently fallen from Dou Zhe to the Eighth Stage of Dou Qi.

The Eighth Stage of Dou Qi had been last month's level. By now, it might have fallen even lower.

Ah! Who knew what evil had gotten into Young Master Xiao Yan?

The family head and the clan elders had all examined the young master, but none had found the cause.

Young Master Xiao Yan already had enough hardship to bear. Now his fiancée had come to break off their engagement as well. What would become of him?

As guests, Nalan Yanran and Chen Yang were received in the Xiao Clan's main hall.

Tea was served, and Chen Yang accepted his cup and took a small sip.

The tea was slightly bitter, its color faintly golden and red. It was a rare, fine tea.

Still, it fell far short of the Zhuyeqing from Yun Shan's collection that he had tasted last time.

Nalan Yanran did not care for tea. She liked sweet desserts.

Unfortunately, there was only slightly bitter tea and no sweet desserts.

After roughly the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the family head, Xiao Zhan, finally arrived with Xiao Yan in tow.

Xiao Yan followed behind Xiao Zhan. Despite his young age, his temperament had long since matured.

His expression lacked the sunny openness of an ordinary youth.

His gaze, too, differed from other people's, carrying an extra measure of resolve.

As expected of the protagonist. Simply standing there set him apart from all the surrounding NPCs.

Chen Yang set his empty teacup on the table, looked straight at Xiao Yan, and said bluntly, "The steward should have already explained why we're here, so I won't beat around the bush."

"I've come to the Xiao Clan to help Yanran break off her engagement."

"What I have to say won't be pleasant, but it's the truth."

"Nalan Yanran is now the Misty Cloud Sect's Tenth-Generation Sect Master, while you, Xiao Yan, are merely the young master of an ordinary family. An unbridgeable gulf lies between you, and that gulf will only widen with time."

"So forgive my bluntness, but you two aren't right for each other.

"While there are no feelings between you yet, break off the engagement early and give each other back your freedom."