In the main hall of the Luo family residence, Luo Xuan looked at her father and remained silent.
In just a few short months, he seemed to have aged considerably.
The entire future of the Luo residence rested in his hands, and they had now reached the edge of a precipice. She understood her father's stress, but regrettably, she could not help bear it directly. External pressures, internal pressures—together they formed a tempest that was difficult to withstand.
Especially regarding the sect.
Second Uncle's disappearance was the truly fatal blow.
Looking at Luo Xuan, who had just returned, Luo Huaili said softly, "You're back?"
Luo Xuan bowed slightly. "Father."
"Have a seat," Luo Huaili said gently.
Once she sat down, he continued, "Have you thought over what we discussed before?"
Whether to arrange a political marriage, or to recruit a son-in-law.
Luo Xuan was in no hurry to voice her thoughts and instead asked, "What do you think, Father?"
"Recruiting a son-in-law is the best course. Moreover, a promising prospect has emerged in the Six Pavilions. He has a clean background, making him our best choice at present." Luo Huaili looked at her and said softly, "You should be very familiar with him. He is also a student cultivator in Qingyun Pavilion's Sixth Courtyard.
"A fellow disciple of yours."
"Jiang Man?" Luo Xuan asked.
"Yes." Luo Huaili was not surprised, merely remarking with emotion, "I truly never expected someone like him to emerge from Qingyun Pavilion. Why haven't I heard you mention him before?"
Luo Xuan pondered for a moment before saying, "Because he only burst onto the scene recently. Before this, he was quite ordinary."
"No wonder, then. He hasn't agreed to sponsorship from any family, so our chances are very good." With that, Luo Huaili looked at Luo Xuan. "What is his impression of you?"
Luo Xuan reflected briefly, then replied, "No different from anyone else. Neither good nor bad. When it comes to romantic feelings, there isn't a trace."
"To such an extent?" Luo Huaili was astonished. His daughter's bearing and beauty were far beyond ordinary, yet she was treated just like anyone else.
He found it hard to believe, but even if it were true, that was no reason to lose heart. He spoke again: "Setting that aside, if you were to become husband and wife with him, would you be willing?"
Luo Xuan looked at her father, entirely unsurprised by his words.
She had already guessed as much before returning.
First in Qingyun and second across the Six Pavilions—no clan would ever overlook someone like that. And the Luo family would certainly focus their attention on him.
No matter whom the Luo family chose, she had no right to say no.
Even so, there were things she needed to disclose beforehand: "Father might not know this, but Jiang Man is already married."
Upon hearing this, Luo Huaili froze in surprise. "He's married?"
Luo Xuan nodded. "He is."
Luo Huaili fell silent for a moment. "What if that can be resolved?"
Luo Xuan lapsed into a brief silence, but soon nodded. "Then I will heed Father's every arrangement."
She did not believe Jiang Man would agree. Her most direct impression of him was that he was confident and treated everyone equally; in his eyes, everyone was essentially the same.
Such a person would never agree to marry into another family.
If the Luo family tried to recruit him using her, the end result would be rejection, leaving her utterly humiliated. If outsiders caught wind of it, they would mock her endlessly as well.
Yet
she could not refuse, nor could she remain silent for too long or try to deflect. Doing so would only pile more pressure onto her father.
And so, she agreed.
Ever since the day she suffered defeat, she had already chosen to accept whatever came her way.
Afterward, Luo Xuan rose and took her leave.
Luo Huaili sat in the hall for a long time. Jiang Man was too suitable for the Luo family, and he was unwilling to simply give up. He decided to try again.
Once March passed, things would only become more difficult.
The Li family would likely be their greatest competitor this time, because someone surnamed Li was on Jiang Man's team.
That was a latent threat.
***
Evening arrived.
Jiang Man had been listening to Teacher Fu's explanations the entire time.
Just a simple walkthrough took a great deal of time. On top of that, she needed to demonstrate for him to learn.
Jiang Man studied well into the night before he roughly understood how to cultivate the Nine Clouds Dragon Suppressing Seal.
Nine layers, nine seals.
Combining three seals formed the tenth layer.
Combining six seals formed the eleventh layer.
Combining nine seals formed the twelfth layer.
According to Teacher Fu, an ordinary superior-grade spell should have thirteen layers. Because this one had flaws, it had only twelve layers. However, since it surpassed the eleventh layer of the middle grade, it still counted as superior grade.
Afterward, Jiang Man practiced briefly. After spending a long time, he finally completed his first circulation, and his spell innate qi stirred in response.
Regrettably, he had not yet entered the first layer of the Nine Clouds Dragon Suppressing Seal. Another two attempts should be enough.
Because it had grown so late, Teacher Fu did not intend to continue her instruction. Instead, she told Jiang Man to go back and ponder it on his own; if he had questions, he could ask her again on April first.
Jiang Man thanked her and went to see Teacher Zhao.
Seeing this, Fu Yidan did not dwell on it and left first.
As second across the Six Pavilions, he was bound to have many matters to deal with.
"Finished learning?" Zhao Leming asked calmly in his room.
In truth, Zhao Leming had not yet made up his mind, but there was hardly anything left to ponder. Teacher Fu's attitude had been very clear—this was the first time he had ever seen anyone keep her teaching until late into the night.
Jiang Man nodded and said respectfully, "Teacher Zhao, do you think I'll face trouble for rejecting those families?"
"A certain amount of trouble, yes," Zhao Leming speculated. "They will definitely seek you out privately, especially the Li and Luo families.
"The other families might reach out as well, but their desire won't be nearly as strong.
"Second across the Six Pavilions is commendable, but second is ultimately suppressed by first.
"Furthermore, compared to the Three Towers, the gap remains fairly wide."
Hearing this, Jiang Man grew curious. "Why are the Li and Luo families the most eager?"
"Because there is someone surnamed Li on your team. Relatively speaking, they control whether you can participate in the third qualification competition." Zhao Leming raised his brows and looked at Jiang Man, reminding him, "You should have read the rules. To contend for a spell, all three members must go together.
"If even a single person is absent, you cannot claim the spell.
"If the Li family's member refuses to go, or outright boycotts the spell competition that day, what will you do?"
Jiang Man froze.
He had genuinely never considered that.
Could they really be that shameless and despicable?
It seemed having high talent and being willing to work hard still wasn't quite enough.
Jiang Man pondered for a moment and concluded that his talent simply wasn't high enough, nor was he working hard enough.
Having sorted out his thoughts, Jiang Man asked, "Aside from this, are there any other problems?"
Zhao Leming was silent for a moment. In the end, as if arriving at an important decision, he spoke slowly: "There are, but as the head of this courtyard, I will help deflect the vast majority of them for you. You don't need to worry about pressure from within the Yunqian Division; no one can use the division to make trouble for you.
"I can promise you that much.
"However, there is a chance you will run into all sorts of people and all kinds of schemes.
"If it's simple framing, I can handle it.
"If it's overly complex, a certain price will have to be paid.
"All I can tell you for now is to be careful.
"My capabilities are limited, but I will do whatever is within my power."
Jiang Man was somewhat surprised by this. Zhao Leming was actually willing to help, and he hadn't taken the initiative to demand benefits.
That meant Jiang Man would have to repay him later.
Pausing briefly, Jiang Man asked curiously, "The Li family shouldn't value me that much. Why are they so insistent on having me join?"
Zhao Leming paused, then gave Jiang Man an inscrutable look. "Perhaps it's merely convenient for them."
Chapter 69