Silence fell for a moment. After Su Yi finished speaking, Ming Xi continued to gaze at him. In the dim light, those brilliant golden eyes seemed capable of bewitching one’s very soul, yet they carried a touch of displeasure.
“‘Like’?” she asked. “I distinctly recall that you and Murong Yue didn’t get along either.”
“Could a single duel at the Ascendance Gathering truly erase all friction between you two?”
“Why bring that up? What does any of that have to do with me?” Meeting her gaze, Su Yi stated plainly, “I chose Ancient Sword Mountain, not Murong Yue.”
The two locked eyes in a tense stalemate for a moment. Su Yi only felt that this woman’s gaze was far too sharp, and far too... intent, giving him an uncomfortable sensation of being entangled in invisible silk threads.
Conceding first, he looked away in slight exasperation.
“I have nothing more to say. Please see yourself out.”
Yet, the very instant his gaze shifted—
Buzz...
An exceedingly faint hum, like the vibration of spiritual power, resonated in the air.
Without any warning, a soft yet vivid light screen unfolded in the empty space before him, stabilizing like a clear reflection on water.
Within the light screen, a grand and solemn scene came into view.
Carved beams and painted rafters adorned the magnificent palace, wreathed in drifting spiritual mist. The banquet tables were filled with cultivators bearing profound auras and dressed in lavish robes.
Upon the high platform, several elders of unmistakable prominence sat in the seats of honor. Among them was an elegant, noble beauty who bore a striking resemblance to Ming Xi. Yet, at this moment, their faces all carried poorly concealed shock and... suppressed fury!
Everyone’s eyes were focused on the center of the scene.
There stood a youth clad in the attire of a direct lineage disciple of Divine Might Manor. His face still carried a touch of lingering boyish innocence, yet his posture was ramrod straight.
Immediately following that, the youth’s clear and earnest voice rang out through the light screen, echoing vividly in Su Yi’s quiet bedroom:
“Su Yi of Divine Might Manor proposes marriage to Ming Xi of Perching Phoenix Pavilion!”
The words were spoken with resounding conviction, the echoes seemingly lingering around the rafters.
The light screen froze right there, perfectly capturing the elders on the platform whose faces instantly turned ashen, while at the center, the youthful Su Yi held his head high with chest puffed out, his eyes filled with “sincerity,” as though he were doing the most righteous and natural thing in the world.
“Cough! Cough, cough!”
Su Yi jolted in fright at this sudden recap of ultimate social death. The peanut he had just popped into his mouth nearly slid straight down his windpipe, causing him to cough violently until his cheeks flushed red.
“You! Why did you even record this?!”
“Because I like it?” Ming Xi replied matter-of-factly. She lazily brushed her long hair aside and leaned forward, bringing her breathtaking face dangerously close to Su Yi’s. Her warm breath brushed against his cheek, golden eyes glittering with the triumphant delight of a successful prank. “Just like... could I answer you by explaining why I just happen to like eating...”
Her gaze pointedly drifted to the peanut held between Su Yi’s chopsticks. Parting her red lips, she silently mouthed three words: “...pea... nuts... too?”
Staring at her radiant face so close to his, along with her deliberately drawn-out, ambiguously suggestive tone, the expression on Su Yi’s face froze as a flood of near-forgotten memories surged into his mind.
Back then, in order to obtain the Seven-Colored Rainbow Phoenix Stamen that would grant Gongsun Lin immunity to all poisons, he had indeed gone to Perching Phoenix Pavilion. As chance would have it, he happened to arrive just as the Pavilion Master—Ming Xi’s mother—was hosting an engagement banquet between Ming Xi and a prince of the Phoenix clan.
In the original plot, this engagement banquet was supposed to be ruined by Ming Xi herself, for which she had received severe punishment.
Su Yi had initially intended to sit on the sidelines and wait for an opening to secure the Seven-Colored Rainbow Phoenix Stamen.
Yet, unbeknownst to him, Ming Xi was also racking her brain for ways to sabotage the betrothal. Somehow discovering that he desperately needed the Seven-Colored Rainbow Phoenix Stamen, she brought the stamen along with several rare spiritual materials straight to Divine Might Manor’s local outpost at Perching Phoenix Pavilion, proposing a deal with him.
At the time, Su Yi had wanted to refuse. After all, pulling such a stunt right in front of the Pavilion Master of Perching Phoenix Pavilion was far too audacious.
However, the stamen was far too precious. Conferring total poison immunity upon consumption, it had always been kept under strict lock and key by the upper echelons of Perching Phoenix Pavilion. Possessing boundless wealth and with internal demand already exceeding supply, how could they ever part with it for mere money?
And so, braving the risk of severe punishment, Su Yi agreed to Ming Xi’s proposal—he would publicly “propose marriage” to her at the engagement banquet!
And thus came about the earth-shattering scene captured on the light screen.
A youth barely out of boyhood boldly proposing to Perching Phoenix Pavilion’s pearl in full view of everyone—this move had undoubtedly slapped the Phoenix clan right across the face.
Yet, constrained by Su Yi’s identity as the Young Manor Lord of Divine Might Manor, the Phoenix clan could not simply lash out. Instead, they proposed a “fair” duel between Su Yi and the Phoenix clan prince, who had long since achieved Foundation Establishment, under the pretense that “the loser would willingly withdraw.”
To their utter shock, despite being five or six years younger, Su Yi was not only at Foundation Establishment as well, but managed to snatch a narrow victory by a single move.
Disgraced, the Phoenix clan stormed off in outrage.
Only then did Ming Xi take the stage according to their script, declaring that she had no intention of marrying anyone for the time being.
Su Yi played along smoothly, delivering an impassioned speech about how marriage must be based on mutual affection.
In the end, the banquet concluded with the Phoenix clan storming out and Ming Xi “rejecting” Su Yi.
However, certain Elders within Perching Phoenix Pavilion who had pinned high hopes on an alliance with the Phoenix clan were thoroughly incensed. Accusing Su Yi of disregarding the greater good and sabotaging the grand event, they demanded an explanation.
The young, hot-blooded Su Yi knew he was in the wrong and had already prepared himself to face punishment, even stocking up on plenty of healing pills beforehand.
Thus, to settle the matter, he promised to withstand a palm strike from an enraged Elder without dodging.
He knew that the Elder would never dare take his life; as long as he survived, he would merely have to endure some suffering.
Yet, just as that palm strike carrying boundless spiritual power was about to land, Senior Sister Qiu Ning flashed forward without a second thought, shielding him with her own body...
As the past surged back like a tidal wave, Su Yi looked at Ming Xi, who was smiling delightfully before him, a complex swirl of emotions churning in his heart.
Though he had acquired the stamen from that farcical drama, he had also incurred a heavy debt of gratitude to Qiu Ning.
Su Yi understood that he had no one to blame for that incident but himself.
Before the banquet had even dispersed back then, Ming Xi had been forcibly taken away by a trusted Elder close to her mother, so she knew nothing of the subsequent details.
One could say that his failure to properly assess the risks had pushed the Elders into such fury.
He had simply been too reckless, acting with a gamer’s mindset. It was only after that incident that Su Yi truly understood that in this world, worldly wisdom and interpersonal ties were just as crucial.
After all, his strength was still far from the point where he could act with total impunity.
“Did you project this just to watch me make a fool of myself?” Su Yi asked, frowning.
“Mhm?” Ming Xi let out a soft hum.
“I really was annoyed by your excuse about ‘liking’ it, so consider this my little retaliation.” She looked somewhat delighted; she hated seeing anyone act calm and unruffled in front of her the most.
For some reason, seeing Su Yi flustered gave her a sense of accomplishment.
“You...” Looking at the lovely face before him, Su Yi couldn’t help thinking of the words ‘sweet on the outside, wicked on the inside.’
Just as Ming Xi parted her red lips, seemingly about to say something more—
Knock, knock, knock.
A crisp, restrained knocking suddenly came from outside the door, shattering the delicate, tense atmosphere within the room.
Immediately after, a cool, melodious female voice tinged with hesitation softly sounded: “Senior Brother Su, are you there? May Yunzhi come in?”
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