At the Liu family estate.
Liu Yongzhi and Gongsun Wenjin had already had too much to drink.
"Wenjin," Liu Yongzhi said, as if suddenly remembering something. "During today’s battle, I couldn’t help but feel that both Ye Xuan and our Ruoxi harbored a grudge against each other. They don’t seem to get along. They just aren’t a good match."
Gongsun Wenjin laughed. "They’re young; it’s perfectly normal. After all, this isn’t a free-love romance—it’s an arranged marriage from before they were even born. They aren’t familiar with each other yet. Having a sense of distance or even subconsciously rejecting one another is completely expected. But once they interact a bit more, it’ll all be fine, won’t it? Look at your Ruoxi—she’s so beautiful, do you really think any man could dislike her? The key is that they need to interact, to have some in-depth exchanges, if you catch my drift!"
"In-depth exchanges... Yes, in-depth exchanges. Makes sense, makes perfect sense!" Liu Yongzhi immediately broke into a grin. It was a laugh only men would understand.
"How about this? When you head back this time, take Ruoxi with you. They got engaged today anyway, officially becoming fiances. It’s perfectly normal for an engaged couple to live together after the betrothal."
"I have no objections, and I doubt Ye Xuan would either. The only issue is your Ruoxi."
"Her? I call the shots! She’s going to marry into your family sooner or later anyway. Neither you nor I will change our minds about this marriage."
"Of course the marriage won’t change."
"Exactly. It’s for the best if we let the two of them iron out their differences early on."
Meanwhile, at Liu Ruoxi’s table.
Although the table was laden with rare delicacies, she had absolutely no appetite.
"Ruoxi, are you still unwilling to accept it?" Liu Yan’s voice drifted over, as peaceful as ever. She was like a beam of light that could warm people’s hearts.
Prompted by her words, Liu Ruoxi finally spoke. With a hint of bewilderment in her eyes, she said, "Sister, I actually lost to a country bumpkin."
"You really haven’t moved past this, have you?" Liu Yan shook her head, though she could understand how her younger sister felt.
Her younger sister had always been fiercely competitive since childhood. She possessed decent talent and had even awakened an Intermediate-Rank Wild Beast Soul. Coupled with the fact that she was the granddaughter of the City Lord, it was inevitable that her personality was somewhat arrogant.
Since she was a little girl, Liu Ruoxi had believed that the only person worthy of her would be the young master of a city. And not just any ordinary young master—he had to be a young prodigy with equally outstanding talent. Ideally, he would be a young master from a Two-Star City or even a Three-Star City. Liu Ruoxi had never dreamed that she would end up marrying an illegitimate child. The gap between reality and her expectations was simply too vast, which was why she couldn’t accept it.
"Ruoxi, you have a straightforward personality. While that’s a good trait, it sometimes causes you to get stuck in a rut, unable to move on, which makes you a bit extreme," Liu Yan said, her voice unhurried and melodic, like a heavenly tune. "But occasionally, looking at a problem from a different angle might just clear your mind and show you a way out. For instance, why are you so fixated on the fact that you lost to Ye Xuan? Think about it in reverse: doesn’t his ability to defeat you prove that his talent is greater than yours, that he’s even more of a Demon than you are? You are a genius who managed to learn a High-Tier Ghost-Rank Martial Technique ahead of time, yet you still lost to him. Isn’t that enough to prove something? My dear sister, your fiance is also a genius. No, he’s a Demon."
Liu Ruoxi’s pupils shrank slightly, and a faint glimmer returned to her eyes. She felt that her sister’s words made a bit of sense.
However, only a bit.
"Sister, I understand what you mean, but whenever I think about his status as a bastard, I just feel an uncomfortable tightness in my chest."
"You’re still carrying prejudices. If you cast them aside, you’d realize that Ye Xuan is actually quite impressive," Liu Yan said, glancing over to where Ye Xuan was seated. Her eyes were filled with admiration.
Yes, compared to her arrogant younger sister, she actually greatly admired Ye Xuan. This was especially true after hearing what Ye Xuan had said earlier. Perhaps Ye Xuan was just an illegitimate child with a less-than-honorable background, but in that moment, he had shone radiantly.
At least, that was how Liu Yan felt. She believed that Ye Xuan possessed an aura that others lacked. A true man needed exactly this kind of presence.
"Sister, if he’s so impressive, why don’t you marry him? How about we ask Grandpa to rearrange this marriage? I’ll marry into a Three-Star City, and you can marry Ye Xuan. How does that sound?"
Liu Yan couldn’t help but laugh. "Stop being childish. Neither you nor I have a choice in the matter."
"Sister, how can you still laugh!"
"Why shouldn’t I laugh? Since we can’t change anything, why not let ourselves live a little happier?"
"Sister, you’re just resigning yourself to fate."
"Resigning myself to fate? Perhaps. By the way, Ruoxi, I haven’t asked you yet—why were you with Ye Xuan? When you left the Liu family earlier, what were you planning to do?"
"I..." Liu Ruoxi hesitated, unsure if she should speak the truth.
Liu Yan continued, "If my guess is right, you went to kill Ye Xuan, didn’t you?"
"Sister, I’m not that stupid! Ye Xuan was at the Gongsun family’s home. How could I possibly go there to kill him?"
"Then how did you end up with them?"
Liu Ruoxi gritted her teeth. "Sister, there’s no harm in telling you. I dare to take responsibility for my actions. I went to the Ye family."
"You went to the Ye family?" Liu Yan asked, thoroughly surprised before her brows furrowed in concern. Given Liu Ruoxi’s personality, her going to the Ye family was definitely not a good thing! "Could it be that you wanted to..."
"Sister, you really do understand me best. That’s right—I went to the Ye family to kill Ye Xuan’s family. That way, when he arrived in Chasing Moon City, he definitely wouldn’t agree to the marriage. After all, who would marry a woman they shared a deep, blood-stained grudge with?"
"Ruoxi! You!" For the first time, Liu Yan’s tone shifted drastically. "How could you even entertain such a thought! I used to think you were just a bit extreme, but I never expected you to go to such lengths."
"Sister, are you reprimanding me? I know it was wrong, but I just don’t want to marry him. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to stop this marriage, by hook or by crook."
Hearing this, Liu Yan frowned, though even her furrowed brows looked incredibly beautiful. "Ruoxi, I am gravely warning you: you need to control your emotions. Otherwise, it will be incredibly easy for you to stray off the right path and even become a cold-blooded demoness who kills without blinking."
"Sister, you’re overstating it. I know exactly what I’m doing."
"Overstating it? You were about to slaughter an entire clan, and you don’t think that’s serious? My dear sister, actions like that will lead you down the Demon Dao! Thank goodness you didn’t succeed. If you had, none of today’s events would have taken place."
Liu Ruoxi nodded. "Gongsun Yanran stopped me. They just happened to return to the Ye family."
"Did you kill anyone from the Ye family, then?"
"I only killed a few peripheral disciples. I didn’t have time to kill any core members of the Ye family."
"That’s a relief. At least you didn’t commit an irredeemable blunder. Ruoxi, listen to me. If you want to have a good life in the future, treat Ye Xuan and the Ye family a little better. Consider it making amends for the monumental disaster you nearly caused."
Liu Yan regained her composure. Her personality might be somewhat passive and accepting of fate, but she was genuinely kind-hearted. From childhood until now, she couldn’t even bear to trample an ant on the ground. She firmly believed that all life deserved to be respected.