The newcomer was dressed in splendid attire, clad in embroidered silk and satin, with ornaments befitting imperial nobility on his head and a Heaven Dou Imperial Family jade pendant at his waist. His face was as handsome as polished jade, and being around him felt like basking in a spring breeze, as though one had entered a room filled with fragrant grass and fine trees.
He walked with steady strides, a smile on his face.
He brought the group back and looked down from above, meeting Chen Xin's gaze without yielding an inch.
Xue Qinghe!
The eldest prince of the Heaven Dou Empire's Imperial Family!
He could be said to stand beneath one man and above tens of millions!
"Why have you come here!?" Cang Lin cupped his hands, his surprise mixed with respect.
"I just happened to be passing by. I couldn't stand what I saw, so I came in to judge the matter. After all, you two are pillars of our empire, aren't you? My imperial father often teaches me to show consideration for those under me and make friends with worthy and capable people," Xue Qinghe said with a smile.
He patted Yu Tianming on the shoulder, picked up the pearl from Yu Xin's hand, and gave it a brief look before curling his lip.
"Offering this piece of junk in exchange!? You might not even get a beggar to bow for it."
"You!"
Ning Rongrong was displeased. She snorted coldly and stared at Xue He, ready to curse him.
Chen Xin raised a hand slightly and stopped her.
Xue Qinghe paid them no further attention.
"You must be Sister Yu Xin, I presume!? My younger brother Xue Can often mentioned you." Xue Qinghe stood over 1.8 meters tall and looked down at Yu Xin, his voice gentle.
Yu Xin nodded, a hint of gloom at the corners of her eyes.
There was even a trace of fear in her eyes.
"Such a pity. Xue Can died in the prime of his life," Xue Qinghe sighed softly.
He looked at Yu Xin and smiled. "Don't worry. Although Xue Can passed away early, that doesn't mean you have to suffer being bullied for nothing."
"As Xue Can's older brother, I'll stand up for you today." Xue Qinghe smiled, making people feel as though they were basking in a spring breeze, warm and completely safe.
Yu Tianming's eyes flickered. He had picked up a great deal from those words.
Xue Can was actually his grandson-in-law!?
That prince who had been dead for years
"This person is in disguise," Yao Lao warned gravely from the still sea of Xiao Yan's heart. He had noticed something different about the Heaven Dou Empire's eldest prince.
Xiao Yan's expression remained unchanged, but waves surged in his heart.
Had the empire's eldest prince actually been replaced?
By an impostor.
And this impostor was going to stand up for Yu Xin!?
At the thought, Xiao Yan's scalp tingled again. Without realizing it, he had been drawn into another stormy vortex, and this time it was in the political arena he disliked most.
A vortex involving the Heaven Dou Empire, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and an unknown third party!
In a clash between such behemoths, before he had grown strong, he would be nothing more than a chess piece, no matter what.
In that instant, Xiao Yan's regard for Xue Qinghe reached its peak.
"You must be Sword Douluo, one of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's two grand elders, I presume!?" Xue Qinghe smiled faintly, casually found a seat, and sat down, continuing to speak of his own accord.
His voice was even. "In our Heaven Dou Empire, the state has its laws and merchants have their rules. Once a purchase changes hands, the matter is closed. So how can anyone speak of forcibly taking something another person loves!?"
His gaze seemed to wander, yet it remained fixed on the two of them.
Frightened by his gaze, Ning Rongrong took a small step back and hid behind Chen Xin.
"I said I would compensate her," Chen Xin said mildly. He then stroked Ning Rongrong's long hair and glanced at Xue Qinghe, his eyes showing some displeasure. "Don't frighten my Rongrong."
Xue Qinghe smiled, looked at Ning Rongrong, and pulled a face. "Little sister, do I look like a bad person!?"
Ning Rongrong drew in her neck and nodded like a chick pecking at grain.
Chen Xin moved to block Xue Qinghe from view, his voice still even. "Our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will send that young lady suitable compensation in due course. Twice or three times the value will do."
Xue Qinghe narrowed his eyes. "What if I insist on having that blue crystal!?"
"You know I'm not lying. Although that thing has divinity, in any of your hands it would be nothing but a broken fragment. It was born to be the wick of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Cup!" Chen Xin said. His sword-like brows rose slightly, making him look like a sharp blade about to leave its sheath, enough to easily inspire fear and the urge to retreat.
But Xue Qinghe acted as though he saw nothing and smiled. "An exchange is possible!"
"But the price must befit the wick of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Cup! It must be exchanged for the price of a quasi-divine object!"
Chen Xin said softly, "Don't push too far."
Xue Qinghe gave no indication either way. "Then there's no exchange!?"
"Do you think I'm that easy to talk to!?" The Seven Kill Sword rang out in his hand, and a wisp of sword Qi carrying killing intent circled the roof beams. Chen Xin stared coldly at Xue Qinghe, but the latter did not give an inch.
After a long while,
Chen Xin backed down.
On this battlefield, where the Heaven Dou Empire and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect were the pieces on the board, the contest ended with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect backing down.
Chen Xin left at once with Ning Rongrong.
"Compensation at the price of the wick will be delivered to your residence within three days!"
Watching the two leave, Xue Qinghe curled his lip.
A trace of unwillingness that was hard to detect even surfaced in his eyes.
Xiao Yan was astonished.
Could this fellow have been hoping for a conflict between the Imperial Family and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!?
Just then, Xue Qinghe looked at Xiao Yan and studied him closely, clicking his tongue in wonder. "Little brother, you're eight!?"
"You can tell?"
"Everyone has something a little different about them. You do, and naturally, so do I."
Xiao Yan had changed so much that he now looked every bit like a teenager.
Yet the fellow before him had seen through him at a glance!
Xiao Yan sighed softly.
The fellow disguised as Xue Qinghe is no simple character.
"Thank you, Your Highness," Yu Tianming said with a bow.
If Xue Qinghe had not stepped in today, they would have lost all face.
"No need. It was no trouble," Xue Qinghe said with a nod. "The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has been too unbridled lately. The empire already intended to rein it in."
Cang Lin smiled. "Ever since the Clear Sky Sect disappeared, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has shown signs of becoming the foremost of the Upper Three Sects. It's grown more and more unbridled."
With the disturbance settled, the group left one after another and began making their way back to Cang Lin's Spirit Hall residence.
As the vice hall master of Spirit Hall in the Heaven Dou Imperial City, Cang Lin possessed strength and status beyond measure.
Cang Lin had a private estate in the western part of the city, and the group landed there.
Xue Qinghe left at once, but not before extending an olive branch to Xiao Yan.
"With a vast ocean of blood in your body, you must surely have had a great fortuitous encounter. You may come to the eldest prince's residence to find me at any time."
"Climb onto the eldest prince's branch, and your future prospects will be limitless!" Cang Lin told Xiao Yan.
Yu Tianming was happy for Xiao Yan too.
But Xiao Yan felt no joy at all.
This eldest prince doesn't seem like a good person!
The eldest prince of an empire had already been replaced.
One could imagine just how grave the crisis facing the Heaven Dou Empire had become.
If I tried to get close to him at a time like this,
wouldn't I be a complete sucker?
(Second chapter. I've been so busy over the New Year, everyone, sorry that not only is this late, there are no extra chapters either. Once I have some free time, I'll gradually catch up.)
(End of chapter)