Ling Xi felt something was still wrong and immediately added, a hint of embarrassment and irritation in her voice.
"Don't even think about it! I have the body of a Dou Di. There's no filth like that inside me!"
But Xiao Baichuan's attention was somewhere else entirely.
He stopped in his tracks and frowned.
"Wait, how did you know what I was just thinking?"
"Can you read minds?"
Ling Xi paused, then explained.
"As soon as I arrived, I discovered that our minds were connected."
"Perhaps it's because we share a body. As long as you don't deliberately shut me out, I can tell what you're thinking."
Xiao Baichuan's expression changed.
Wouldn't that mean she'd know everything I thought from now on?
How could I allow that?
He hurriedly asked.
"Then can I shut you out?"
Ling Xi's tone was indifferent.
"Yes. Try building a wall in your mind to keep me outside."
Xiao Baichuan gave it a try, then recalled the contents of the sweet dreams he had had about Ling Xi over the past few years.
He found that Ling Xi really showed no reaction.
Thank goodness. If she learned what I really thought, she might get so scared she'd run away overnight.
She was his stunningly beautiful pillar of support. He had to cling tightly to her!
Xiao Baichuan sighed in relief, crossed the corridor, and headed toward the Xiao Clan's front hall.
Neither of them had noticed that the Twin Fish Jade Pendant had lost its luster at some point...
As soon as he reached the entrance, he discovered that many clan elders and disciples had already gathered inside.
The hall was brightly lit and packed with people. Even Xiao Yan and his father, Xiao Zhan, were there.
Xiao Baichuan had just reached the doorway when Ling Xi's voice sounded in his mind, her tone carrying a hint of teasing.
"That old man in white is a Seven-Star Great Dou Master."
"The man beside him is a five-star Dou Zhe. The woman is a Three-Star Dou Zhe."
Then unmistakable bewilderment crept into Ling Xi's voice.
"Have all the young people on the Dou Qi Continent become such trash after ten thousand years?"
Xiao Baichuan's lips twitched. He had no idea how to respond.
He fell silent for two seconds, then asked quietly.
"What cultivation level were you at their age?"
Ling Xi answered quite naturally.
"Peak Nine-Star Dou Saint."
Then she added.
"I was a Four-Star Dou Sheng when I was born."
Xiao Baichuan: "..."
Xiao Baichuan was speechless.
Seriously, could we even have a normal conversation?
He felt offended.
Unable to think of an answer for the moment, he simply stopped talking.
Seeing Xiao Baichuan's dejected expression, Ling Xi offered a rare word of comfort.
"I was personally raised by the Ancient Heavenly Snake Clan's previous Dou Di. It's perfectly normal for my cultivation to be a little higher."
"As long as you work hard at cultivating, you can do it in a few years too."
Xiao Baichuan withdrew into himself even further.
This was what it meant for some people to be born in Rome, while others were born beasts of burden.
He took a deep breath and decided to change the subject, taking the opportunity to explain the relationship between the three people in the hall and the Xiao Clan to Ling Xi.
"The old man in white is an elder of the Misty Cloud Sect. His name is Ge Ye."
"The man is Liu Ling, a disciple of Pill King Gu He. Gu He is the Jia Ma Empire's only Six-Rank Alchemist."
"The woman is Nalan Yanran, the future junior sect leader of the Misty Cloud Sect. She has a marriage agreement with the Xiao Clan."
"They came to the Xiao Clan today to break off the engagement."
After hearing this, Ling Xi narrowed her phoenix eyes slightly, a note of curiosity in her voice.
She normally did nothing but cultivate, and this was her first time seeing a woman come to a man's home to break off an engagement in public.
She found it quite novel.
"Then who is this woman breaking off her engagement with?"
Without even turning his head, Xiao Baichuan casually tossed out a reply.
"Guess."
Ling Xi was not annoyed. She carefully surveyed everyone in the hall through Xiao Baichuan's eyes.
Then she said to Xiao Baichuan.
"Don't tell me it's you."
Xiao Baichuan's expression turned strange when he heard that, and he replied in his mind.
"How could it be? This is the Xiao Clan's marriage agreement. How could an adopted son like me get a turn?"
No sooner had he spoken than the conversation in the hall ahead suddenly grew louder.
Ge Ye stepped forward and cupped his hands. His voice was not loud, but it carried clearly throughout the front hall.
"Clan Leader Xiao, I have come today in the hope that you will dissolve the marriage agreement."
The moment Xiao Baichuan heard this, he knew the main event had arrived!
He would soon hear that classic line: "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Do not bully a young man because he is poor!"
He immediately pricked up his ears and watched the hall with rapt attention.
Then he noticed that Xiao Zhan's face showed none of the fury described in the original text.
Xiao Zhan sat in the seat of honor, his brows slightly furrowed and his expression hesitant, lightly tapping his fingers against the armrest a few times.
Only then did he slowly speak, looking somewhat troubled.
"Elder Ge, this matter... isn't entirely mine to decide."
"We must also see what the two young people themselves think."
Xiao Baichuan was pondering why Xiao Zhan's reaction differed from the original novel.
Shouldn't he be furious? Then try to attack Ge Ye in front of everyone? How had things turned out like this?
Then he discovered that everyone around him had suddenly turned to look at him in unison.
Even Xiao Zhan and his son, along with Gu Xun'er, who was sitting in her seat, looked over.
Xiao Baichuan froze on the spot.
They're here to break off Xiao Yan's engagement. Why is everyone looking at me?
Sure, I'm handsome, but I'm not Xiao Yan.
At that moment, Nalan Yanran followed everyone's gazes and looked toward the exceptionally handsome youth standing in the doorway.
She paused slightly, her gaze firmly caught.
Under the lamplight, the youth's features were like a painting. His nose was straight and high, his lips sharply defined, and his face was exquisitely handsome beyond reason.
For a moment, Nalan Yanran forgot to look away.
Xiao Zhan spoke, calling softly.
"Bai Chuan, come here."
Before Xiao Baichuan could recover, the steward beside him had already stepped forward, grabbed his arm, and pulled him toward the center of the front hall.
Dragged all the way before Xiao Zhan and the others by the steward, Xiao Baichuan was still completely bewildered.
Once his feet were planted, he looked up at Xiao Zhan, then at Ge Ye, then at Nalan Yanran, his brain seemingly filled with paste.
Xiao Zhan looked at him, his tone carrying a measure of significance.
"Bai Chuan, Elder Ge of the Misty Cloud Sect has come today about your engagement to Miss Nalan."
"Whatever you think, speak freely."
As Xiao Zhan spoke, he deliberately stressed the words "speak freely," a hint in his eyes.
His meaning was plain-show some backbone. Don't disgrace the Xiao Clan.
Xiao Baichuan stood there, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.
He had just sworn to Ling Xi that it could not possibly be him.
Why did it now feel like his nose had turned clown-red?
Ten thousand grass-mud horses galloped through his heart.
Wasn't it obvious what was happening? He'd been set up!
The person engaged to Nalan Yanran wasn't Xiao Yan at all.
It was him!
He was holding the Flame Emperor's script now!
Fuck!
Where was that swindler who sold pirated books? I'm going to kill him!
Xiao Baichuan cursed up a storm inwardly, but still had to keep his expression composed.
Everyone in the hall had their eyes on him.
Even Xiao Yan stood to one side, arms folded, watching him with bright, intent eyes.
Xiao Baichuan felt as though he had been put over a fire to roast.
Just as he gritted his teeth, wondering whether to steel himself and shout that classic line, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Do not bully a young man because he is poor!"-
Ling Xi's voice suddenly rang out in his mind.
"Let me handle this."
Before you continue