Of course, the most striking feature was that pair of golden eyes, as brilliant and pure as the midday sun.
Could that be Jiang Qing'e?!
A commotion and wave of excitement rippled through the area outside the academy as countless students gazed with burning eyes at that slender, graceful figure. They never expected to catch a glimpse today of this legendary figure who had walked out of Nanfeng Academy.
Amidst the boiling, passionate gazes, Li Luo walked down the stone steps and came to a stop before Jiang Qing'e. With a hint of surprise, he asked, "Sister Qing'e, when did you get back to Nanfeng City?"
Although Luolan Manor had its roots in Nanfeng City, after rising to become one of the four great manors of the Great Xia Kingdom, its center of gravity had shifted to the capital of Great Xia, Daxia City.
After entering Saint Xuanxing Academy—the most prestigious academy in the Great Xia Kingdom—Jiang Qing'e had also moved to Daxia City. Moreover, over the past two years, she had been shouldering the management of Luolan Manor, making her return to Nanfeng City a rare occurrence. It had been quite a long time since Li Luo last saw her.
Jiang Qing'e glanced at Li Luo and said calmly, "Tomorrow is your seventeenth birthday. Besides, Luolan Manor has some important matters that need to be discussed here tomorrow."
"I just arrived in Nanfeng City today and dropped by to take you home."
Her voice was exceptionally pleasing to the ear—cold, clear, and crisp, like a secluded spring in the deep mountains striking against jade.
Li Luo nodded. He was not at all surprised by Jiang Qing'e's attitude; having known her for many years, he was well aware of her personality.
"Let's go, then," he said. Jiang Qing'e was simply too popular at Nanfeng Academy, and standing here felt like being surrounded by blade-like gazes from all directions.
Jiang Qing'e gave a slight nod. However, instead of turning away immediately, she shifted her gaze past Li Luo to Difa Qing, who was standing behind him with an excited expression. "You must be Difa Qing, right?"
Difa Qing nodded hurriedly, her face flushed with excitement as she said, "Senior Jiang, you actually remember me?"Jiang Qing'e said calmly, "I hope you won't bother Li Luo anymore from now on. Otherwise, I might start paying some special 'attention' to your brother over at Saint Xuanxing Academy."
The excitement on Difa Qing's face instantly froze. After a long moment, under the gaze of Jiang Qing'e's pure golden eyes, she could only nod timidly, completely devoid of the arrogance and overbearing attitude she had shown Li Luo earlier.
Having said her piece, Jiang Qing'e turned around, her azure cloak lifting slightly, and got into the carriage with Li Luo. Then, with a long roar from the lion-horses, they stepped on the mist and steadily departed.
Difa Qing watched the carriage leave. After a long while, she rubbed her little face, completely infatuated.
"Senior Jiang is seriously so cool, I'm totally in love!"
Four lion-horses pulled the carriage as it smoothly galloped along the wide streets of Nanfeng City, the forest-like buildings lining the streets flashing backward in a blur.The interior of the carriage was quite spacious, warm, and comfortable. Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e sat on opposite sides of a small tea table.
The two didn't have much to say to each other. As soon as they got into the carriage, Li Luo closed his eyes to rest, while Jiang Qing'e opened a book and read it intently. A ray of sunlight streamed through the crack in the carriage window, illuminating her jade-like, delicate face and making her skin look even more crystal clear.
The silence lasted for a long time. Jiang Qing'e's long, thick eyelashes suddenly fluttered. She raised her pretty face, her golden eyes gazing at Li Luo in front of her, and said, "It seems what I said back at Nanfeng Academy all those years ago has brought you some trouble."
"I'm sorry."
Hearing this, Li Luo opened his eyes. He looked at the pretty and exquisite face before him, which carried an irrepressible sharpness and strength, and smiled. "There's not a shred of sincerity in that apology."
"If you're really sincere, allow me to break off this engagement."
Jiang Qing'e turned a page casually and said, "Is this the legendary annulment of an engagement? But in storybooks and plays, shouldn't I be the one taking the initiative here? Aren't you getting the order backward?"
Faced with her sudden dry humor, Li Luo couldn't help but laugh bitterly.
Jiang Qing'e raised her head, glanced at Li Luo, and said calmly, "What? Are you afraid this engagement will bring you even more trouble?"
Li Luo fell silent for a moment, shook his head, and said, "I'm afraid it will hold you back. You're a young woman, why burden yourself with an unnecessary engagement? You know how this engagement came about—how many beatings has my old man taken from my mom over the years because of it?"
"My old man acted absurdly, and I actually agree with him getting beaten, but the crucial point is: why does my mom always drag me into getting beaten too every time she hits my old man?!"
By the end, a trace of resentment was evident in Li Luo's expression.
Thinking of the scene where that elegant woman, usually so gentle toward him, would put her hands on her hips, arch her willow-like eyebrows in anger, and send the two men of the household—one big, one small—scrambling in chaos, even Jiang Qing'e couldn't help the corners of her rosy lips curving upward slightly before she smoothed them out again.
"I'm not afraid," she shook her head and said.
Li Luo said with a headache, "Then what are you going to do if you meet someone you like in the future? This is simply a mess."
Jiang Qing'e smiled faintly. "I might not meet anyone. My standards are quite high, after all. Besides, since you and I already have an engagement, it's impossible for me to have any feelings for anyone else."
Li Luo stared at Jiang Qing'e, a sudden surge of anger in his voice. "Jiang Qing'e, what on earth are you thinking? I know my parents were very good to you and that you're grateful to them, but you don't need to express your gratitude this way. What do you take me for? A tool for you to express your gratitude?"
"You agreed to this engagement, but did I ever agree?"
Li Luo's sudden outburst stunned Jiang Qing'e. Her pure golden eyes gazed at his face in silence for a moment, and then she lowered her head slightly and said, "I'm sorry. I really didn't consider your feelings in this matter."
Seeing this, Li Luo said, "Since that's the case, then this engagement—"
"However—"
Jiang Qing'e raised her pretty face and looked earnestly at Li Luo. "You also know how the rules work in our family. If there's a disagreement between both parties, we just have a fight first, and the winner gets the final say."
This rule had been set by Li Luo's mother. Over the years, it had been applied to everything in the household, which was why every time she and Li Luo's father had a disagreement, she would roll up her sleeves and drag the old man straight into the training room.
"So if you have strong objections to the engagement, we can go to the training room when we get home and settle it according to the rules," Jiang Qing'e said.Li Luo's expression instantly froze, and his face flickered with shifting emotions. Finally, gritting his teeth, he pointed at Jiang Qing'e with a look of grief and indignation. "Jiang Qing'e, aren't you going too far? I'm just a beginner at the Tenth Seal Stage right now, how the hell am I supposed to fight someone at the Earth-Fiend General Stage?!"
In human cultivation, opening the Resonance Palace marked the foundation-building Tenth Seal Stage. Beyond the Tenth Seal Stage lay the Adept Stage, but it was only after the Adept Stage that cultivation truly began to enter the proper realm.
Following the Adept Stage were three major realms:
General-Appointing, Duke Stage, and King Stage.
The Duke Stage and King Stage were far too distant, while the General-Appointing stage was divided into two tiers: the upper tier was the Heavenly Dipper General Stage, and the lower tier was the Earth-Fiend General Stage. Jiang Qing'e was currently at the level of the Earth-Fiend General Stage.
To reach the General-Appointing Stage at such an age, Jiang Qing'e's cultivation talent was bound to shock countless people. Some had even speculated that she would likely break the record for the youngest person in the Great Xia Kingdom to reach the Duke Stage.
Yet right now, Jiang Qing'e, who was at the Earth-Fiend General Stage, actually wanted to fight Li Luo, who was merely at the Tenth Seal Stage.
Li Luo was genuinely worried that if she failed to hold back her strength, she might accidentally slap him to death.
Jiang Qing'e put away the book on the table and said with a hint of regret, "It seems you don't agree with this method, so there's nothing more to be said."
Li Luo trembled with anger. Could this world get any more hopeless? Was it really this difficult just to call off an engagement?
He leaned weakly against the carriage window, his gaze falling upon Jiang Qing'e's flawless and exquisite face, particularly her pair of golden pupils that were so pure they were almost intoxicating.
He sighed, his voice dropping significantly. "Sister Qing'e, we've spent many years together, but I know that you don't really have that kind of romantic feeling for me."
"Without feelings as a foundation, what meaning is there to this engagement?"
Jiang Qing'e fell silent for a moment before speaking. "Though I'd like to say you're only turning seventeen tomorrow, why are you putting on such an old-fashioned act—"
"What you said does make some sense, though. I have no interest in anyone else, but as for you, I at least don't feel repulsed."
Li Luo gave a bitter smile. "Sister Qing'e, that engagement exists mostly because of your gratitude toward my parents. I'm sure your affection for them far outweighs whatever you feel for me, but I don't really need that kind of gratitude."
With that, Li Luo lowered his head and slowly said, "I know it might be unrealistic to ask you to call off the engagement, but..."
He raised his head to meet Jiang Qing'e's eyes directly. "I hope you can give yourself, and give me, a chance."
Li Luo paused for a moment before continuing. "We can make a deal. Until I have sufficient ability, you help me hold down Luolan Manor. If, by the time I take over Luolan Manor, you can keep its losses to a minimum, then as a token of my gratitude, I will return the engagement to you. How about it?"
Jiang Qing'e did not speak. Her slender, jade-like fingers merely tapped rhythmically against the tabletop. After a quiet moment that lasted quite a while, she finally spoke softly, "Li Luo, do you really dislike me?"
Li Luo faltered. Then, taking a deep breath, he said, "Sister Qing'e, you might be underestimating your own appeal and excellence. To someone our age, your charm is devastatingly effective. If I said I didn't like you, I'd really be going against my own heart and being hypocritical."
"However, I don't need this kind of engagement."
Jiang Qing'e's delicate brows lifted slightly, and her small hand suddenly slapped down onto the tea table.
*Bang!*
Startled, Li Luo hurriedly scrambled backward and said, "Let's talk this out properly, there's no need to resort to violence."
Jiang Qing'e gave him a sidelong glance and said indomitably, "Li Luo, I haven't seen you for a while, and your eloquence has certainly improved. Still, what you said makes some sense. I can treat this matter as a deal; when the time comes for you to take over Luolan Manor, I will hand it over to you intact, and at that time, you will return the engagement to me."
Hearing this, Li Luo let out a heavy sigh of relief, yet deep within his heart, a strange and uncontrollable sense of loss welled up, causing him to inwardly curse himself for being such a hopeless wretch.
"Your rhetoric today has made me look at you in a new light. It seems you're no longer just a little kid."
Annoyed, Li Luo retorted, "A little kid? Where am I little?"
Ignoring his remark, Jiang Qing'e just stared at him with a half-smile. "However, Li Luo, I still need to remind you one last time: are you truly determined to go through with this deal? Once this engagement is returned, I'm afraid you really won't have a single shred of hope left for the rest of your life."
Li Luo narrowed his eyes. Pressing his arms against the tea table, he straightened up and looked straight down at Jiang Qing'e. The distance between their faces was barely half a foot.
"Jiang Qing'e, I truly don't care about this engagement at all, because in the future, I want you to be the one who hands the engagement back to me with your own hands, rather than giving it to my parents."
Jiang Qing'e's golden pupils reflected Li Luo's handsome face, and the half-smile on her lips deepened. Of course she understood what Li Luo meant. The reason the engagement was being returned to her now was because she currently lacked any romantic feelings for him; but in the future, if she were to hand the engagement back to Li Luo herself, it would mean she had fallen in love with him.
"Sit down," she said, her red lips parting slightly.
An inexplicable force materialized out of thin air, pressing Li Luo firmly back down and causing him to land heavily on the carriage floorboards. The impact made him wince, instantly shattering his previous imposing momentum.
Resting her chin in her hand, Jiang Qing'e looked at Li Luo with a somewhat lazy expression. "You may not have much skill, but your tone certainly isn't small. I've seen plenty of proud prodigies over the years, but none of them dared to speak to me like that."
"Li Luo, don't aim too high. Your goal is completely impractical, but if you really want to try, I don't mind giving you a chance."
Her golden pupils gleamed with a mysterious and profound luster.
"I will wait for you at Saint Xuanxing Academy—that is the first step. If you can't even achieve that much, then you can just consider everything you said today as the rebellious whim of youth and forget all about it."
This time, Li Luo did not say anything more. He simply leaned back against the carriage window, slowly closing his eyes as he said calmly, "Then just wait and see."
Jiang Qing'e's gaze swept past the streets and buildings flashing outside the crack in the carriage window, sunlight scattering into her eyes. A micro-imperceptible smile touched her lips, her gaze carrying a rare gentleness.
The carriage sped along. After a long while, Li Luo suddenly opened his eyes and asked with some confusion, "This isn't the way home?"
Jiang Qing'e gave a slight nod of her head and said softly, "We're making a trip to the Golden Dragon Bank to pick something up."
Her golden pupils shifted toward Li Luo.