Floating Island City in the Sky was surrounded by swirling clouds and mist, its immortal energy ethereal. Several ancient stars orbited around it, weaving together to form a natural barrier. This was the estate of the Murong family.
The ancestors of the Murong family were founding elders of the Great Qian Dynasty. Relying on this status, coupled with generations of accumulation, they had already become the number one family beneath the royal family.
“Junior Brother, is something troubling you?”
In the courtyard of the guest quarters, the three of them—Leng Ning'an, Wen Sining, and Long Zitian—sat around a stone table, waiting for their master's return.
“Ah, it's nothing. I was just thinking about how to cultivate.”
Long Zitian replied with a faint smile.
He also knew what was about to happen in Yunzhou, but back then, he had only been a minor cultivator and hadn't paid much attention to it.
The only reason he had come this time was because his master had brought everyone along, which provided a layer of security. Besides, this was Mo Yan proposing a marriage—what could possibly go wrong?
At least, that was what Long Zitian had originally thought.
However, ever since he set foot inside the Murong family estate, he had sensed a few wisps of very faint demonic energy lingering within. After that, his master had left together with Murong Fu.
This could not help but arouse Long Zitian's anxiety.
In his past life, Yunzhou could be considered a wealthy land among the Nine Provinces, where the state was prosperous and the people lived in peace. It was a continent that countless mortals and low-level cultivators yearned for.
But ever since the Ancient Immortal Realm ended, everything had changed.
Long Zitian was deeply afraid that their trip this time had coincided with the wave of Yunzhou's destruction.
“Cultivation requires a balance of tension and relaxation; there is no need to rush.”
As a familiar voice rang out, Xiao Hongye pulled their thoughts back. The three of them immediately stood up and bowed, saying, “Master.”
“Sit.”
“Yes.”
“For the time being, do not run around. Try to stay with me as much as possible. If anything unexpected happens, wait for me to return and handle it,” Xiao Hongye instructed.
“Yes, Master.”
Although Leng Ning'an and Wen Sining were puzzled, they still answered respectfully. Only Long Zitian's expression turned solemn.
Xiao Hongye's behavior was as good as telling Long Zitian that the Great Qian Dynasty was no longer peaceful. This was definitely related to the destruction of Yunzhou in his past life.
How could he speak up to warn his master that this muddy water was extremely dangerous?
At the same time.
After leaving the pavilion, Mo Yan headed straight for the Li family's estate. However, when he saw Murong Sheng and the head of the Li family chatting and laughing merrily, his heart instantly turned cold.
“I only have my own uselessness to blame,” Mo Yan muttered to himself, then concealed his aura and sneaked into the Li family's estate. He planned to quietly... meet his beloved face-to-face once more.
Passing through the Li family estate, stepping across a sea of flowers, and crossing a heavenly river, there stood a secluded courtyard surrounded by a bamboo forest.
He was familiar with every corner of the Li family estate, especially this bamboo forest.
In the courtyard, a woman was dressed in simple, greenish-blue robes, her ink-black hair pinned up with a cheap peach-wood hairpin.
Her delicate face was completely free of makeup or powder, and her eyes and brows exuded a natural, ethereal grace, resembling a white lotus blooming in a clear spring, pure and elegant.
Sitting in the courtyard, the woman seemed completely isolated from the outside world, quietly enjoying the tranquility.
She was still the same as before. Time had taken nothing from her; it was as if their separation had only happened yesterday.
“Are you a servant sent by the Murong family? Didn't I tell you that I don't need anyone?!” the woman's soft voice carried a hint of anger.
“It's me, Mo Yan.”
Mo Yan's voice choked up, a mist rising in his eyes.
“Mo Yan?”
“Mo Yan!”
Her tone held a trace of surprise, mixed with doubt.
Hearing that familiar voice from nearly a thousand years ago, Li Yarou walked out of the bamboo forest and saw the youth of her past.
“Ya...”
Before the word 'rou' could leave his mouth, the veins on Li Yarou's forehead bulged. Swinging a fist the size of a sandbag, she punched Mo Yan's handsome cheek, roaring, “You made this old lady wait for eight hundred and forty-three years! You old bastard!”
“I...”
“Let this old lady vent her anger first!”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Giving him absolutely no chance to defend himself, a flurry of iron fists of love rained down upon Mo Yan's cheeks. His originally handsome face was instantly swollen like a pig's head.
Instead of feeling wronged, Mo Yan actually enjoyed it.
She was still exactly the same as she had been eight hundred years ago.
Time flowed by slowly as Mo Yan silently took the beating.
As Li Yarou continued to strike him, her strength waned, and her sobs grew louder.
“You heartless man, you made me wait in misery for over eight hundred years.”
“Why don't you just go die?”
“Why... why did I have to fall in love with you?”
Thud. Thud.
Her fists losing all their strength, Li Yarou collapsed entirely into Mo Yan's embrace, her delicate face covered in tears that soaked into his robes.
Seeing this, Mo Yan wrapped his arms around her and said softly, “I'm sorry. I'm late.”
“Wah!!!”
Li Yarou wailed and wept loudly, all her previous violence vanishing, leaving only pure grievance.
Mo Yan had so much he wanted to say to Li Yarou, but from the moment he saw her, all his words vanished. He only wanted to gently comfort the beauty in his arms.
In the courtyard.
Mo Yan wiped away the tears from Li Yarou's tear-stained face. Sporting his swollen cheeks, he said softly, “Yarou, I won't ever separate from you again.”
“Mm.”
Li Yarou nodded through her sobs. Then, as if remembering something, she said, “It's all thanks to Senior Su Qian. Otherwise, this old lady would never have seen you again.”
“Senior Sister?”
“Mm. Two months ago, after the Ancient Immortal Realm ended, Senior Su Qian came to Yunzhou while you were in closed-door cultivation. She told me that you planned to propose, which was the only thing that gave me the courage to keep living.”
“Yarou, you must never seek death. If you are no longer alive, what's the point of me living?” Mo Yan's expression turned visibly panicked.
So many things had happened during the time he was unaware. Meanwhile, he had behaved like a beast, drinking himself to sleep day and night, bringing so much suffering to his beloved.
“Pfft.”
Li Yarou burst into laughter and explained, “I'm just teasing you. If I couldn't beat you up while alive, I wouldn't even find peace in death. How could I possibly end my own life?”
“Ah? Then what you just said...”
“It's all because Murong Sheng came to propose time and time again. To preserve the family estate, my clan had no choice but to try and persuade me to agree to the political marriage.”
“No matter how powerful the Murong family is, they can't just destroy a major clan at will, can they?” Mo Yan was somewhat puzzled.
Although the Li family's scale was not as grand as the Murong family's, they certainly didn't fear them. Moreover, within the Great Qian Dynasty, besides the Li family, there were other secondary families like the Wenren clan, the Gongsun clan, the Dongfang clan...
If the Murong family really tried to destroy the Li family over Li Yarou, the other families would definitely band together and attack them, leaving the Murong family no room to breathe.
“Are you stupid? Of course the Li family isn't afraid of the Murong family. The Family Head rejected their proposals without reservation the first few times, but we couldn't withstand their threats,” Li Yarou sighed softly.
Then, she explained, “My younger cousin brother and sister were kidnapped by the Murong family. A traitor has also appeared within our clan, having fallen into the demonic path. The Murong family is using this proposal as a pretext to swallow the Li family.”
“If not for the royal family's backing, I'm afraid the Li family would have long since become a vassal of the Murong family.”
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