Breaking the Engagement!

Lu Yang began to ponder whether he should tell Eldest Senior Sister about Master's fabricated tales. If he told her, Master would undoubtedly get a beating; but if he didn't, Eldest Senior Sister might suspect that he was in cahoots with Master. "Master on one side, Eldest Senior Sister on the other—what a tough choice." Lu Yang let out a long sigh, feeling caught in the middle, trapped between a rock and a hard place. He pulled out a copper coin, deciding to leave the choice to fate. With a gentle flick, the copper coin gave a crisp ring, spinning rapidly in the air like a little sphere. The trio's eyes stayed locked on the coin, tilting their heads up and then down. *Clatter.* Heads. "Looks like the heavens want Master dead." "Senior Brother Lu, try one more time," Li Haoran advised. When he was soaking in the magma, he had heard Elder Zhou Xin complain about how unreliable Daoist Buyu was. Still, no matter what, the Sect Master was the Sect Master. Lu Yang nodded. Truthfully, he didn't want to be a snitch either, so he flicked the coin into the air once more. The coin landed—tails. Li Haoran sighed in relief. The Sect Master had dodged a bullet. Only to hear Lu Yang sigh beside him, "Looks like the heavens want Master dead." "Wait, Senior Brother Lu, hold on a second! How come heads means telling Eldest Senior Sister, and tails also means telling Eldest Senior Sister? What on earth does it take for you not to tell her?" "When the coin lands on its edge, of course." Seeing Li Haoran stare blankly, Meng Jingzhou explained to him, "Think about it. When a coin lands, there are two possibilities: landing flat or landing on its edge, right?" "Right." "So Lu Yang has a fifty-fifty chance of not telling Eldest Senior Sister. Those odds are already pretty high." Lu Yang wore an expression that said Meng Jingzhou truly understood his heart. The corner of Li Haoran's eye twitched. "Senior Brother Lu, if you want Master dead, just say so. Why bother going through the motions?" Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou felt a twinge of nostalgia for Man Gu. If that had been Man Gu just now, he would have believed it instantly. As the three chatted, they arrived at Li Haoran's old family residence. The old horse came to a halt. Li Haoran was the first to dismount, gesturing toward the house. "Senior Brothers, take a look. This is my home. Though it's a bit run-down, it holds my childhood memories. I still remember how I used to climb the tree in front of the gate when I was little." "...Junior Brother Li, I don't think 'a bit run-down' quite describes your home." Li Haoran turned his head and saw the old Li family residence being demolished. "Where's my house?!" He had only been away from home for a little over a year—how had his entire home vanished? "Hey, isn't this the Li family boy? I heard you made something of yourself and went to the Dao Seeking Sect?" An old man recognized Li Haoran. "Old Man Zhang, where is my house?" Li Haoran asked hurriedly upon seeing a familiar face. "Hmm? Didn't your parents tell you? To celebrate you becoming a disciple of the Dao Seeking Sect, your family sold the old house and moved. They moved to Chunyuan Street." "...Was it really to celebrate me becoming a Dao Seeking Sect disciple?" Li Haoran covered his face with one hand, feeling utterly helpless. Following Old Man Zhang's directions, the trio finally found Li Haoran's real home. Before entering, Lu Yang secretly sent a voice transmission to Meng Jingzhou: "Did you prepare a greeting gift for Uncle and Auntie?" "Prepared it long ago. I've got plenty of good stuff in my identity jade pendant. What about you?" "Before leaving, I stopped by the Mission Hall and exchanged for some medicinal pills and natural treasures." Finished conferring, the two finally stepped down from the carriage with peace of mind. Before Li Haoran could even knock, an unfamiliar woman's voice came from inside. "I will never agree to this marriage!" "A prenatal betrothal? Did anyone get my consent?" "You want me to acknowledge this marriage? Don't even dream about it!" Then came the voice of Li Haoran's father: "This marriage was all agreed upon..." Hearing the commotion, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou exchanged a glance. Things didn't seem to be going very smoothly. Frowning, Li Haoran pushed the courtyard gates open and called out loudly on purpose, "Mom, Dad, I'm back!" As the gates swung open, a husband and wife stood in the courtyard looking flustered and helpless, as though the situation had spun far beyond their expectations—these were Li Haoran's parents. The one arguing was a pretty young woman who looked around the same age as Li Haoran. Behind the girl stood a stunningly beautiful female cultivator, sharing some facial resemblance with her. It was hard to tell whether she was the girl's older sister or mother. "Haoran, you're back?" Seeing Li Haoran return home, Father and Mother Li were overjoyed. "Mom, Dad, let me introduce them. These are two of my senior brothers from the Dao Seeking Sect, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou." "Greetings, Uncle, Auntie." Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou smiled warmly, bringing out their pre-prepared gifts. "You're guests, why bring gifts?" "Just a few things we picked up along the way, nothing expensive." After a round of polite refusals, Father and Mother Li accepted the greeting gifts. "You are Li Haoran?" The girl frowned, looking him up and down. In all fairness, Li Haoran was handsome and carried himself well, but right now, the more she looked at him, the more displeasing she found him. "Who are you?" Li Haoran didn't use a pleasant tone with the girl either. Fearing the tension would escalate, Father and Mother Li hastily introduced, "She is Qin Yanyan, and this is her mother, Su Yiren—the expert who saved us back then." Within the spiritual space, the Immortal Fairy let out a soft murmur of surprise. "This Su Yiren has some skill. She's a Body Integration stage cultivator." There was no shortage of remarkable talents and eccentrics across the Central Continent, and there were many Body Integration cultivators Lu Yang had never heard of. Never mind Lu Yang—even Meng Jingzhou, born into the Meng Family, couldn't identify every Body Integration cultivator out there. *Body Integration stage?* Lu Yang was astonished. Was Junior Brother Li really that valuable? A Body Integration cultivator had not only saved his parents, but even arranged a prenatal betrothal. Aside from his Fire Spiritual Root, Lu Yang couldn't see anything particularly remarkable about Li Haoran. He hadn't suddenly plummeted from a genius to a cripple, nor did he make bizarre gestures or recite weird catchphrases. The Immortal Fairy teased, "You're quite valuable too, you know! That little girl Yun Zhi personally tried to set up a marriage betrothal between you and Lan Ting. If it really worked out, you'd have a whole crowd of Body Integration cultivators standing behind you." Lu Yang rolled his eyes, choosing not to take the bait. Qin Yanyan sized Li Haoran up. "I heard you're from the Dao Seeking Sect, and in your cohort, your strength only ranks fifth. How embarrassing. An esteemed Fire Spiritual Root can only rank fifth?" Li Haoran thought about the top four: one had a Sword Spiritual Root, was personally tutored by Eldest Senior Sister, and possessed spellcasting talent on par with Eldest Senior Sister; one had a Bachelor Spiritual Root and hailed from the greatest clan, the Meng Family; one possessed the Feathering Immortal Physique, which was rarer than a single spiritual root; and one was the last descendant of the Ancient Barbarian race, gathering the entire Barbarian clan's providence. Ranking fifth didn't seem embarrassing at all. Man Gu was the last surviving member of the Ancient Barbarian race, and legend had it that the last person of a race would concentrate the entire race's providence. If anything, it would be strange if he could surpass those four! "A word of advice: annul the marriage contract. Then everyone can be at peace, and we can still face each other courteously down the road. If you refuse..." Qin Yanyan sneered coldly, the consequences of refusal left hanging in the air. "And what if I refuse?" Qin Yanyan continued to sneer, having not yet thought of how to threaten Li Haoran if he actually refused.