Chapter 73: A Forced Marriage Proposal, Grand Commander Chen

After Ye Tianyi and Chen Lou left, Ye Jiarong hurriedly closed the door.

“Senior, you actually know my great-aunt?”

Ye Jiarong had seen everything that had just happened, including Qin Xiao greeting his great-aunt. Apparently they knew each other, so he asked out of curiosity.

“We’ve met a few times. Your great-aunt also suffered a small loss at my hands.”

Qin Xiao spoke casually. Ye Tianyi had indeed come away defeated at that auction.

“Uh, Senior, are you and my great-aunt friends or enemies?”

Ye Jiarong began to panic. If this man had a grudge against his great-aunt, wouldn’t entertaining him amount to deliberately upsetting her? Wouldn’t he be done for?

“I have no quarrel with her. She just failed to outbid me at that auction.”

Qin Xiao looked at Ye Jiarong’s worried expression and explained.

“Oh, that’s good, that’s good.”

After hearing this explanation, Ye Jiarong finally breathed a sigh of relief.

If they were enemies, his great-aunt would surely have said so, and Senior wouldn’t have greeted her so confidently. As long as they weren’t enemies, all was well.

They didn’t chat for long before the dishes Qin Xiao ordered arrived one after another.

“Don’t just talk, let’s eat.”

Seeing quite a few dishes had been served, Qin Xiao picked up his chopsticks and started eating.

Yun Man and Lin Shimeng wasted no words either, picking up their chopsticks to eat.

Only Ye Jiarong remained preoccupied. Even the precious spirit food seemed tasteless, and he could barely swallow it.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in Private Room One was tense.

There were only three people in the private room: Heavenly Clothes Pavilion Master Ye Tianyi, City Lord Chen Lou, and Grand Commander Chen Shunyi.

“Pavilion Master, don’t get angry. My uncle’s proposal is also very good for your Heavenly Clothes Pavilion.”

Chen Lou quickly poured wine for the angry Ye Tianyi while persuading her.

“I have already said that I will not seek a dao companion until I reach the Body Integration stage. Please do not raise this matter again, Grand Commander.”

After a moment’s thought, Ye Tianyi held back her anger.

“Tianyi, I may be a few hundred years older than you, but my feelings are sincere. If you agree to become my dao companion, I promise to serve as a guest Elder of your Heavenly Clothes Pavilion. With an Elder at the Body Integration stage, your pavilion could become a second-tier force. Why not accept?”

Grand Commander Chen Shunyi continued.

Qingzhou was divided geographically into five districts, each with a Grand Commander, as part of the Supreme Heavenly Dynasty’s administration. Chen Shunyi commanded the Eastern District. He had recently broken through to the early Body Integration stage. This chapter is updated first at novelping.com.

That connection had allowed Chen Lou to become City Lord of Tianyi City and rule as its little emperor.

Chen Shunyi had begun pursuing Ye Tianyi over a hundred years ago, but she had always refused him. How could she possibly take someone older than her grandfather as her dao companion?

“Exactly, Pavilion Master Ye. I could understand your refusal before my uncle reached Body Integration. But now he has broken through to the early stage. He can certainly raise your pavilion to greater heights. Don’t let this opportunity slip away.”

Chen Lou also quickly added.

“City Lord, Commander, I appreciate your good intentions, but there is no need to discuss this further.”

Ye Tianyi remained firm in her refusal.

“Ye Tianyi, don’t be ungrateful. Do you really think your pavilion has enjoyed so many peaceful years because it is strong? Those people have left you alone out of respect for me, the Grand Commander. If you remain stubborn, don’t blame me for supporting other forces instead.”

Chen Shunyi had lost patience, and his voice turned angry.

Ye Tianyi could not deny that. She had firmly rejected him, yet he persisted in pursuing her, and the other forces had indeed stopped making trouble for her pavilion. But that did not mean she had to marry him.

“I will naturally remember your care over the years, Grand Commander, and offer generous gifts to thank you shortly. But my answer remains the same: I am not seeking a dao companion, nor do I intend to in the near future.”

Ye Tianyi remained firm. Moreover, she had anticipated this situation before coming, so she had even brought thank-you gifts with her.

“Fine, fine, fine, Ye Tianyi! If you won’t listen to reason, must I use force? Aren’t you afraid I’ll destroy your pavilion? How could it withstand the wrath of a Body Integration cultivator?”

With nothing working, Chen Shunyi flew into a rage, his aura surging violently. It seemed threats were his only remaining option.

“Don’t try to intimidate me, Commander. The Supreme Heavenly Dynasty has rules forbidding its officials from oppressing local forces.”

Ye Tianyi was not afraid. Whether in the cultivation world or the mortal world, the Supreme Heavenly Dynasty had rules; otherwise, it could never have maintained such peace. Those rules kept power in check. Even a Body Integration Grand Commander could not do whatever he pleased.

“The dynasty does have rules. But what if I leave its service? If I destroy your Heavenly Clothes Pavilion as a rogue cultivator, it will be a private feud at most. The worst they can do is confine me for a few hundred years. Neither the cultivation world nor the mortal world punishes Body Integration cultivators too harshly.”

Chen Shunyi was beside himself with rage and no longer cared about the consequences. Perhaps this was what happened when unrequited love turned to hatred.

“Do you really mean to do this, Commander? Destroy my pavilion even at the cost of your own future?”

Looking at the furious Chen Shunyi, Ye Tianyi began to hesitate.

She was not considering marrying him. Rather, if matters truly reached that point, she would have to disband the Heavenly Clothes Pavilion and have the Ye Family disperse, each going their separate way.

Was it selfish to disregard the safety of her own pavilion and family? Ye Tianyi did not know, but she stood by her decision. She would go into hiding too. With her Heavenly Spirit Root and enough time, she could reach Body Integration and take revenge with her own hands.

Knock, knock, knock.

Just as Chen Shunyi was about to answer, someone knocked on the door of Private Room One.

“Who is it?”

Chen Lou asked in annoyance.

“This junior is Qin Xiao, from the next room. I have long admired you seniors and would like to offer a toast.”

Qin Xiao spoke from outside the door.

Of course, he had not really come to offer a toast. The argument in Private Room One was loud, and his hearing was keen. Realizing the situation was getting out of hand, he had come over. This chapter is updated first at novelping dot com.

“Come in.”

Chen Shunyi knew he could not act rashly and needed to calm down. A visitor was welcome now; it would keep the tension from escalating.

“Greetings to you seniors. I’m new here and came to get acquainted.”

Qin Xiao waited a moment, then pushed open the door. He held a wine cup in one hand and a pot of spirit wine in the other.

As Qin Xiao entered, all three resumed their earlier composure, and the tension eased.

Chen Shunyi had no interest in meeting Qin Xiao, but someone needed to break the tension before the talks collapsed altogether. He still hoped to persuade her.

“At least you have some sense. Pavilion Master Ye needs no introduction, since you are friends. This gentleman is someone exceptional: my uncle, Grand Commander of the Eastern District. You are fortunate indeed to meet him.”

Recognizing Qin Xiao, Chen Lou made the introductions, taking the chance to emphasize his own connections.

His intentions were far from kind. He was laying the groundwork to make Qin Xiao hand over the two women later.

“So you are family. No wonder you’re ganging up on Pavilion Master Ye.”

Qin Xiao suddenly changed his tone, speaking to Chen Lou.

“You brat! Do you have a death wish? How dare you speak to us like that!”

Chen Lou froze for a moment, then recovered and struck out with his palm at Qin Xiao.

The strike was extremely fast. A phantom palm brimming with Spiritual Qi shot toward Qin Xiao.

Chen Lou had already examined Qin Xiao and found him to be an ordinary person, so he did not even rise. A casual palm strike would be enough to seriously injure him. After all, it was a strike from a Nascent Soul cultivator.

It happened so quickly that Ye Tianyi had no time to intervene. The phantom palm had already hit Qin Xiao.

Qin Xiao patted his chest after the blow. It had not even triggered the Heart-Protecting Turtle Shell’s shield. Compared with Yun Man’s punches, it barely tickled.

“How are you unharmed?”

Chen Lou looked at Qin Xiao in surprise. Casual though the strike had been, a mortal could not have withstood it.

“You old bastard! Attacking without even a warning—you gave me a fright!”

After straightening his clothes, Qin Xiao cursed at Chen Lou.

“Who exactly are you? What does this matter have to do with you? Why are you getting involved?”

Rather than attacking, Chen Shunyi questioned Qin Xiao in puzzlement.

“Because I have this. I can’t stay out of it.”

With that, Qin Xiao took out the Great Elder Token Ye Qiuyue had given him.