What Are You Worried About?

Hearing this, Li Guanqi felt a flicker of surprise. What had happened a few years ago had actually traveled so far across the realm. They were separated by an entire domain, after all! Li Guanqi said softly, "Yanluo Sword Intent—I came up with the name myself. "And the state of mind behind it is pretty much what you imagined." Looking at the vermilion wine gourd hanging at his waist, Li Guanqi murmured softly, "I won't be offering you any of the wine in this gourd." He Yuning looked rather puzzled, wondering what was so special about the wine inside it. "Why? Is the wine in that gourd exceptionally precious?" Li Guanqi shook his head. Pointing to the green wine before them, which rivaled an elixir, he said softly, "The wine in my gourd cannot compare to this in the slightest. It's the difference between cloud and mud." "Uh... then why?" Holding the wine gourd in his hand, Li Guanqi stared blankly into space. "Because I'm saving this wine for an old acquaintance." Sensing the subtle shift in Li Guanqi's expression, He Yuning asked gently, "No longer around?" Li Guanqi nodded. "A young woman?" Li Guanqi said nothing. Seeing this, He Yuning gave a soft sigh as well, raising his cup to clink it against Li Guanqi's. Though he did not know what had transpired in the past, he could sense that Li Guanqi was downcast. Suddenly, He Yuning found that the cup of wine was not so hard to swallow anymore. As it turned out, only the sorrow of this world made for the finest dish to accompany wine. The face of Ning Xiu involuntarily surfaced in Li Guanqi's mind. A chance acquaintance, yet she had laid down her life for him. How could he ever fail to engrave such a person upon his heart? The two sat in silence for a long while before He Yuning suddenly gave a self-deprecating chuckle. Li Guanqi looked up at him and asked softly, "What troubles you, Brother He? Why not tell me about it?" He Yuning curled his lip, looking rather morose as if remembering something. He suddenly looked toward Li Guanqi and asked, "Brother Li, do you have a Dao companion?" Li Guanqi shook his head. "Then... do you have someone you like?" Li Guanqi paused for a moment. In his mind, there still surfaced the image of that girl carrying a basin, cursing as she walked. "Someone I like... I suppose you could say there is one. But... sigh, forget it. "Why do you ask? "Could Brother He be trapped by matters of the heart? That shouldn't be, should it?" Looking at He Yuning, who was handsome, dashing, and carried himself like a scholarly gentleman, Li Guanqi was thoroughly puzzled. Leaving his looks aside, simply by virtue of his status as the young sect master of the Taixuan Sword Sect, women throwing themselves at him ought to be as numerous as hairs on an ox. Not to mention that this fellow was someone who played the pig to eat the tiger; his cultivation was likely at the peak of the Soul Formation Realm, practically on the verge of half-step Void Refinement. Would a figure like him truly fret over love and romance? Yet, unexpectedly, He Yuning offered a bitter smile. He threw his head back and gulped down a mouthful of wine, which choked him until tears ran down his face. With a bitter smile, he said, "Brother Li might not know... every household has its own hard scriptures to recite." Li Guanqi was quite interested in hearing what he had to say. Exactly what kind of woman could give someone like him such a headache? He Yuning pointed a finger at himself and teased, "In your eyes, Brother Li, do I look decent?" Li Guanqi nodded. "Is my strength alright?" With a smile playing at the corners of his mouth, Li Guanqi nodded again. "And is my status as young sect master exceedingly noble?" Li Guanqi chuckled. "Of course. With that status, couldn't you walk sideways across the entire Taiqing Domain?" He Yuning let out an awkward laugh. "Walking sideways might be a stretch. After all, aside from clan and sect powers like ours, this world still has many ancient families and diverse sacred grounds that have survived down to this day. "Even so, my status should still be plenty enough, right?" Li Guanqi nodded without speaking. Then, He Yuning smiled wryly. "However... the marriage partner my father arranged for me this time, her status...! "It's simply unimaginably high." Li Guanqi felt a slight jolt of surprise. *Even more noble than his status? Could it be a Saintess from one of those sacred grounds he just mentioned?* At this moment, He Yuning's expression looked worse than if he had swallowed something unspeakable, practically on the verge of tears. "None of that is the main issue. "The main issue is... I haven't even laid eyes on her! How can one speak of liking someone under those circumstances? "From the way my father put it, he practically told me to use my looks to seduce her." Hearing that, Li Guanqi almost spat out his wine. Good grief. Seduce? Li Guanqi could not help transmitting his voice in a low murmur: "Just what kind of status does she have that your father is practically eager to sell you off?" He Yuning hesitated for a moment, ultimately choosing not to say. "That... her identity is truly too sensitive, so I won't tell you." He let out sigh after sigh as he spoke. Li Guanqi chuckled. "Well, you must have seen her portrait, haven't you?" Seeing him nod, Li Guanqi asked again, "Then did your heart flutter?" Clad in his green robe, He Yuning nodded sheepishly. "In terms of appearance, she is stunningly beautiful. It would be a lie to say my heart didn't flutter. "Yet I worry that once we actually meet, she won't think much of me." Li Guanqi pondered for a moment and offered soft counsel: "What are you worried about? Worried that you won't be able to fulfill your father's expectations of forging a marriage alliance? "Or... do you feel that harboring such an ulterior motive is wrong in itself?" He Yuning leaned back against his chair, gazing up at the scattered starlight as he murmured, "A bit of both, I suppose. "To be honest, if we truly could become Dao companions, it really would be quite a climb up the social ladder for me." Li Guanqi smiled, tilted his head back to finish a cup of wine, and felt primal energy surging through his body. He suddenly felt that it would not be long before he stepped into the peak of the Soul Formation Realm. This wine could actually accelerate the transition of his Nascent Soul into an origin spirit. With that realization, he drank a bit faster. "Even if you do interact, my advice is to treat her with sincerity. "No matter what the final outcome is, at least she won't be displeased because of any deliberate posturing on your part. "In any case, you have nothing to lose, so why worry over things that haven't even happened yet?" He Yuning's eyes lit up, his deep gaze brimming with delight. He caught hold of Li Guanqi's hand and exclaimed, "Brother Li speaks the truth! "Indeed, what have I been agonizing over all this for? "Hahahaha! Brother Li has truly been through a lot; otherwise, how could you speak such wise words?" Just then, Pengluo could not help muttering in Li Guanqi's mind. "Women, see? Just pin her down... grab both her arms... both hands..." Li Guanqi simply paid no heed to Pengluo's ramblings. He Yuning suddenly pulled out a jade slip and looked toward Li Guanqi. "Right, I've already arranged everything regarding the search for that fellow. "We should have news within a few days. If we can't find him, it can only mean he has already left."