Qingzhou, Luoyan City.
"Have you heard? The He Family went over to break off the engagement."
"No way, didn't the He Family used to constantly brag about Ling Chen being their future son-in-law? Why would they suddenly call off the wedding?"
"What's so strange about that? I heard Ling Chen has been missing for half a month without a trace, he's probably dead by now. He Qinglan is the number one beauty in Luoyan City, she can't just waste her youth living as a widow."
"People climb to higher places, water flows to lower places. I heard even a young master from a prominent Qingzhou clan fell in love with He Qinglan at first sight. If she doesn't call off the engagement, is she supposed to keep him around for the New Year?"
Break off the engagement?
How could that be!
Qinglan and I have known each other for years, and we are deeply in love. There must be some misunderstanding here.
Returning to Luoyan City, Ling Chen furrowed his brow slightly. Listening to the gossip swirling around him, he spat in disdain. As long as he returned home and asked for the reason, Qinglan would surely change her mind.
Just as he was thinking this, he saw a graceful woman with pleasing features walking toward him in a leisurely manner, accompanied by an arrogant young man in brocade robes.
Their eyes met.
Ling Chen's expression instantly lit up, and he beamed as he called out.
"Qinglan."
Hearing that familiar voice, He Qinglan froze abruptly. Her dark eyebrows knitted together, and she stood rooted to the spot in disbelief.
How could this be.
How could he possibly still be alive? She had clearly given explicit instructions.
Seeing that Ling Chen had already reached them, He Qinglan hurriedly suppressed the shock in her eyes, stiffly twitching the corners of her mouth. Her tone was distinctly cold and distant.
"He Qinglan greets Young Master Ling."
Young Master Ling?
Hearing this unfamiliar form of address, Ling Chen's brows gradually knit together.
She used to always call him Brother Chen. How could things have reached this point after merely half a month apart?
"Qinglan, my sister, why are you being so formal with me?"
Ling Chen reached out to take He Qinglan's hand, but she sidestepped and dodged him. A look of revulsion and disgust even crossed her eyes as she said coldly.
"Young Master Ling, please show some self-respect. The engagement between the two of us has already been annulled, and from this life onward we shall have nothing more to do with each other."
The engagement is real!
And judging by He Qinglan's expression, she clearly had not the slightest reluctance.
A surge of anger flared up in Ling Chen's heart. To think he had spent all that time worrying that He Qinglan might be implicated because of him, only to find out that she didn't care about him at all.
Yet, after all these years of affection, Ling Chen was still unwilling to give up just like that.
"Qinglan, is there some misunderstanding? I..."
"Enough!"
Before he could finish, he was rudely interrupted by the brocade-robed youth beside He Qinglan, who let out a sarcastic "bah."
"Ling Chen, don't you know the situation yet? Right now you're just good-for-nothing trash whose cultivation has been completely destroyed, while my sister has already reached Foundation Establishment. Stop daydreaming about a swan tasting toad meat. If you dare to pester my sister again, this young master will beat you every single time I see you."
Wait!
His dantian was shattered and his cultivation destroyed—how would the He Family know about that?
Could it be...
He looked at He Qinglan in disbelief, his pupils dilating violently as he bit out every word.
"It was you, you did this, didn't you!"
"What do you mean it was her? What on earth is Ling Chen talking about?"
"It must have something to do with Ling Chen's disappearance. The little master of the He Family just said Ling Chen's cultivation is completely gone and he's a useless cripple. Could it actually be true?"
"If He Qinglan really did this, this woman is truly viper-hearted and utterly venomous."
The murmurs rose and fell around them, but He Qinglan didn't care in the least. They were nothing more than a bunch of ants.
What could they do besides bark like dogs?
When the time came for her to marry into the Qin Family, these lowly crawling bugs would still have to obediently kneel on the ground and kowtow.
As for Ling Chen...
Hah!
He was nothing more than trash.
However, she couldn't completely provoke the Ling Family just yet, so He Qinglan maintained a placid expression and said, "Young Master Ling, I don't know what you are talking about. But the ties between us are broken, so please do not pester me."
"I'm pestering you?"
Ling Chen was almost angry enough to laugh. Although He Qinglan refused to admit it, this matter was definitely connected to her. He clapped his hands and declared loudly, "Breaking off the engagement is fine, but shouldn't the betrothal gifts I sent to the He Family also be returned completely intact?"
"Pfft, it's just some spirit stones and medicinal pills, as if anyone cares about them."
The brocade-robed youth sneered disdainfully, casting a pitying look at Ling Chen.
"Ling Chen, you're nothing but a cripple now. Spirit stones and pills are completely useless to you anyway. What, are you hoping to keep them to be buried with you when you die?"
"So noisy!"
Ling Chen couldn't be bothered to waste words with a dissolute wastrel, fixing his gaze directly on He Qinglan.
"The Canglan Pearl in your hand was a gift from me, the Meditation Spirit Jade at your waist was a gift from me, and that Qingzhi magical robe you're wearing was also a gift from me."
"Since we are breaking off the engagement, return every single one of them to me."
"Ling Chen, have you no shame left at all?"
In broad daylight and full view of the public, how could He Qinglan possibly undress right here? Besides, the Canglan Pearl could ward off water and fire, and the Meditation Spirit Jade aided in calming the mind, both being of immense benefit to her cultivation. How could she bear to return them so easily?
"Ling Chen, you gave me all of these things willingly in the past, what right do you have to ask for them back? And what about the solemn vows of eternal love we made back then, as steadfast as gold?"
As she spoke, He Qinglan's eyes reddened, welling up with tears as she put on a pitiful and heart-wrenching display.
She refused to believe it. Ling Chen had always been entirely submissive to her; there was no way he could bear to make her this heartbroken.
"What about them?"
Ling Chen gave a playful smile.
"They count as me being blind."
"They count as you aiming too high."
"They count as the heavens having eyes, allowing me to escape this sea of misery sooner!"
"Ling Chen, you..."
He Qinglan was momentarily at a loss for words. The Ling Chen before her felt utterly unfamiliar.
Fake.
He was definitely doing this on purpose. Just because he was resentful about the engagement being broken, he was deliberately making things difficult in an attempt to make her change her mind.
How naive and pathetic.
"Ling Chen, I know you're angry, but you should also know that we have no future together. I can return half of the betrothal gifts you gave, and you can consider the rest as compensation for the years I spent accompanying you."
"Oh my, Eldest Miss He, are you made of gold? Why don't you just not return any of it, and consider it my treat for everyone in the city to come and taste what Eldest Miss He is like."
As soon as these words were spoken, many of the onlookers gave thumbs-up.
"Young Master Ling is generous! I've never tried anything so precious before."
"Haha, trying to be a whore while setting up a memorial archway—the He Family really is a nest of rats. But I wouldn't dare touch a woman like that, she's too filthy!"
"This woman looks like she can never be satisfied. This old man really would be afraid of dying on top of her belly."
"Shut up, all of you, shut up!"
He Qinglan was overwhelmed with shame and anger. Her face turned pale and flushed by turns, her willow eyebrows raised in fury as she bared her teeth and glared at Ling Chen.
"I have no desire to waste any more breath on a useless cripple like you! The engagement is annulled, so if you continue to pester me, don't blame me for showing no mercy and teaching you a lesson myself!"