The lionhorse rapidly galloped through the wide streets of Southwind City. It pulled the carriage behind it in a stable yet fast manner, causing the forest of buildings to rapidly disappear.
The inside of the carriage was quite s.p.a.cious, and the temperature was quite comfortable. Li Luo and Jiang Qing’e were seated facing each other, with a small tea table between them. The two didn’t exchange many words – Li Luo just sat there calmly with his eyes closed, while Jiang Qing’e had opened up a book and was intently reading it.
A ray of sunlight shone into the carriage from a crack in the curtains, falling upon Jiang Qing’e’s exquisite jade features and giving her an almost crystalline, translucent complexion.
After a long period of silence, Jiang Qing’e blinked her long lashes, lifted up her slender face, then stared intently at Li Luo with her golden eyes. “It seems the words I spoke at Southwind Academy all those years ago have caused you some trouble. I’m very sorry about that.”
Li Luo remained silent, but he opened his eyes. He looked back at her, noting her exquisite features as well as her aura of strength and fierceness, then chuckled. “I don’t see any sincerity in this apology. If you are sincere, then let me cancel our engagement.”
Jiang Qing’e flipped through a few more pages. “Is this the legendary ‘annulment request’? But according to the way the script is supposed to play out, I should be the one making this request. Have you perhaps gotten things backwards?”
Li Luo was caught off-guard by her sudden display of deadpan humor. For a moment, he didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.
Jiang Qing’e raised her head and cast him a glance, then said calmly, “What’s the problem? Are you afraid that our engagement will cause you even more problems in the future?”
Li Luo was silent for a moment, then shook his head. “I’m worried that I would be holding you back. There’s no reason for a girl like you to be burdened by an unnecessary engagement. And while we are on this topic – do you know how many times my old man got his a.s.s kicked by my mom because of this engagement? Now, I personally supported her kicking his a.s.s for him coming up with such a stupid idea, but the real problem was – each time, after she finished kicking his a.s.s, I would get my a.s.s kicked as well!”
A resentful look appeared in Li Luo’s eyes as he discussed this. As for Jiang Qing’e, when she thought back to how that normally gentle and refined woman had repeatedly giving drubbings to both Li Luo and his father for her sake, her small red lips couldn’t help but quiver in amus.e.m.e.nt. Afterwards, she calmed back down and shook her head. “I’m not worried.”:
Li Luo felt a headache coming. “Then what if you fall for someone else in the future? This is absolutely ridiculous, you know.”
Jiang Qing’e smiled calmly. “I might not meet such a person. I’m quite picky, you know… and now that the two of us are engaged, there’s no way I’d give my heart to another.”
Li Luo stared hard at Jiang Qing’e. Suddenly, a hint of anger entered his voice. “Jiang Qing’e, what the h.e.l.l are you thinking? I know my parents treated you well, and you are very grateful towards them, but there’s no need for you to express your grat.i.tude this way. What the h.e.l.l do you take me for? A tool for you to show grat.i.tude? You might have agreed to this engagement, but I never did!”
Li Luo’s sudden show of anger startled her. She stared pensively at him with her pure golden eyes for a long, silent moment, then lowered her head slightly. “I apologize. I admit that I didn’t take your feelings into consideration.”
Seeing this, Li Luo pressed the advantage. “If that’s the case, then we should-”
“However!” Jiang Qing’e raised her head again, then stared at Li Luo intently. “You know what the rules of our House are. If two House members are unable to come to an agreement, then the only way to resolve it is through a duel. The winner gets to make the final decision.”
This was a rule which Li Luo’s mother had laid down, and it was applicable to any household disagreements whatsoever. Thus – every time she and Li Luo’s father had gotten into an argument, she would roll up her sleeves and then drag the old man into the training grounds to fight it out.
“If you truly are completely unwilling to be engaged to me, then we can go to the family training grounds and then resolve it in accordance with our House rules,” Jiang Qing’e said.
Li Luo’s face turned comically stiff for a moment, before a variety of expressions flashed through it. Finally, he gritted his teeth, pointed at her, and said furiously, “Jiang Qing’e, you go too far! I’m still in the early stages of the Ten Seals. How the h.e.l.l am I supposed to fight against you, an Earth Fiend?”
Human cultivators, after establis.h.i.+ng their resonant palace, were considered to have entered the most rudimentary stage, the Ten Seals stage. After this came the Resonant Master stage, at which point they could be considered to have truly embarked into the path of cultivation.
There were three primary levels to the Resonant Master stage – General, Duke, and King. Putting aside the latter two stages for now, the ‘General’ level itself also consisted of two sub-levels; the upper level was known as the Heavenly Dipper General, while the lower sub-level was known as the Earth Fiend General. As for Jiang Qing’e? She was already at the Earth Fiend General level. [1]
For someone so young to be able to become an Earth Fiend General was simply stunning. Everyone was truly shocked by Jiang Qing’e and her talent. Some even suspected that she would soon be the one to break the record for being the youngest Duke of the Xia Kingdom.
For an Earth Fiend General like her to battle against Li Luo, who was still in the Ten Seals stage… honestly, Li Luo was rather worried that if she might whack him to death with a palm, just by accident.
Jiang Qing’e put away the book, then said in a regretful manner, “It seems you don’t want to accept my proposal. There’s nothing else I can do.”
Li Luo was so furious, he was shaking. What the h.e.l.l is wrong with the world? Why is it so hard for me to annul my engagement? He then turned to stare lifelessly out the carriage window. From the corner of his eyes, he could still catch a glimpse of Jiang Qing’e – specifically, her dazzlingly exquisite features and her intoxicatingly pure golden eyes.
Li Luo let out a sigh, then said in a much more subdued voice, “Big sister Qing, we’ve known each other for years. I know very well that the feelings you have for me are not romantic in nature. What’s the point of being engaged when love isn’t part of the picture?”