"Nalan Yanran…?"
The moment Xiao Zhan heard her name, he first looked enlightened—
Then his expression crumbled completely.
He finally understood why Ge Ye wanted to speak privately.
It was to preserve his dignity.
There was no way Nalan Yanran came all this way just to "visit her Uncle Xiao."
There was only one reason: the engagement annulment.
"Hehe… so you're Old Master Nalan's granddaughter. I didn't expect you to grow so much after all these years. I heard Sect Master Yun Yun accepted you as her disciple, and you became a Dou Zhe at thirteen—how remarkable."
"Uncle Xiao praises me too much. Compared to true geniuses, I am merely ordinary."
Nalan Yanran smiled calmly, without a trace of pride.
Ever since meeting Xiao Huohuo, breaking through to Dou Zhe at thirteen wasn't anything she felt like bragging about anymore.
"Uncle Xiao, I came today with an important matter. If possible… may we step aside to discuss it?"
"As expected…"
Xiao Zhan sighed inwardly.
What must happen would eventually happen.
Ignoring the three Elders' cold glares, he stood, ready to escort Ge Ye and Nalan Yanran out.
But in the corner—
Xiao Yan's heart was already boiling.
To Xiao Zhan, they asked for privacy to give him face.
But to Xiao Yan—who was only two years into his "three-year baptism," still emotionally immature—
their request meant only one thing:
They wanted to secretly bully his father into agreeing to dissolve the engagement!
After Xun'er's "spoiler," he was already sure of Nalan Yanran's purpose.
The more he thought, the angrier he became. Before Xiao Zhan could even respond, Xiao Yan sprang to his feet, face twisted with rage.
"Nalan Yanran! Elder Ge! There's no need for private conversation! Whatever you plan to ask—we will NOT agree!"
Instant silence.
Every gaze in the hall turned toward Xiao Yan, their lips twitching with ridicule.
"Xiao Yan, step down. This is not your place to speak."
The Second Elder snapped sharply.
"Xiao Yan, mind your status,"
the Great Elder added, his tone dripping with disdain.
"You three agreed awfully quickly," Xiao Yan sneered. "But do you even know what Nalan Yanran intends to request?"
The Elders paused.
Annoyed as they were, curiosity won.
"What is it then?" they asked.
Xiao Yan turned toward Nalan Yanran, dark eyes filled with uncontrollable fury.
"Yan'er, enough."
Xiao Zhan's stern voice cracked through the air before Xiao Yan could launch into his verbal attack.
"Father, you can't seriously not know what they intend?"
Xiao Zhan sighed wearily.
"I know. But Yan'er… the fact they wished to speak privately already shows they care about the Xiao family's reputation. Do not cause trouble."
"No, Father!" Xiao Yan argued. "They want to protect THEIR name! They want to force you behind closed doors to avoid being accused of bullying the weak. Today, I'll expose their ugly intentions before everyone!"
He knelt abruptly, kowtowed three times, then stood and pointed at Nalan Yanran.
"You are Nalan Yanran?"
"And what of it?"
Her brows knitted lightly.
She had originally intended to follow her grandfather's instructions—settle the annulment quietly, without humiliating either side.
But now, out of nowhere, this buffoon jumped out like a mad dog.
And he happened to be the fiancé she intended to annul with.
Her irritation spiked.
"What did you intend to say to my father privately?"
Xiao Yan forced himself to remain calm.
"It has nothing to do with you."
Nalan Yanran turned her head away, her voice indifferent.
Compared to "Xiao Huohuo," this Xiao Yan wasn't even worth glancing at.
He wasn't worthy of comparison at all—
he was like a croaking toad dreaming of swan meat.
"Nothing to do with me?" Xiao Yan laughed coldly. "You want to force my father into annulling the engagement, don't you!"
The hall fell silent again.
People exchanged looks—this time filled with ridicule toward Xiao Zhan.
Nalan Yanran blinked in mild disbelief.
Was this guy brain-damaged?
After a moment, she sighed softly.
"I originally planned to resolve everything quietly, so the Xiao family wouldn't lose face. But since you insist on saying it publicly… then I will speak openly."
She looked at Xiao Zhan.
"Uncle Xiao, I believe you already know."
Xiao Zhan nodded weakly.
If she had been rude from the beginning, he might have been angry.
But now—his own son had shouted everything before she even said a word.
He felt ten years older in an instant.
"Father, now you see their ugly faces!"
Xiao Yan pointed at her triumphantly.
But deep inside, panic had begun to spread.
The righteous fury he expected from the crowd never came.
Instead, they looked down on his father.
"Yan'er, ENOUGH!"
For the first time in his life, Xiao Zhan shouted at him.
"Father, I—"
"Shut up! Haven't you embarrassed us enough!?"
Xiao Zhan's glare was filled with bitter disappointment.
Even if she truly came to break the engagement—
you were NOT supposed to expose it yourself!
"Yes…"
Xiao Yan lowered his head miserably, but his heart was cursing Nalan Yanran's ancestors back eighteen generations.
—
Nalan Yanran looked at Xiao Zhan again.
"Uncle Xiao, I did not wish for things to become so ugly.
At this point… let us end the engagement."
As she spoke, she waved her hand.
Ge Ye nodded and tapped his spatial ring.
A jade-green box the size of two palms appeared in his hand.
"Patriarch Xiao, the Nalan family knows this matter may be difficult for you. Thus, we entrusted Elder Ge to bring two items as compensation."
Ge Ye forced a polite smile as he carefully opened the jade box.
Instantly—
two distinct fragrances of high-grade pills filled the hall.
"This is…!"
The three Elders leaned forward, eyes widening.
Inside lay two pills—each the size of a dragon's eye.
One jade green. One glossy black.
Both bore faint pill patterns.
The green pill was easy to recognize:
a fourth-tier Qi Gathering Powder of extremely high quality.
Though they couldn't name the black pill, the fragrance alone showed it was no ordinary item.
Seeing their reactions, Ge Ye smiled smugly.
"This green pill is, as you all know, a fourth-tier Qi Gathering Powder. It guarantees that a 9th-stage practitioner will break through to Dou Zhe."
"As for the black pill—it is slightly inferior in grade, but superior in effect. A peak-tier third-grade pill: the Bone Mending Pill. It is exceptionally effective for repairing bone and ligament injuries. Old Master Nalan learned the young master's Dou Qi vanished, suspected meridian or ligament damage, and sent this specifically."
Silence again.
Everyone present stared at the pills with burning desire.
Even Xiao Zhan—who usually held himself above worldly temptations—had to swallow.
The Qi Gathering Powder he didn't care for.
But the Bone Mending Pill…
This might restore Xiao Yan's lost cultivation talent.
His wife's death.
His son's shattered future.
These were his greatest lifelong regrets.
And now—hope sat right before him.
"Hehe, both pills were refined by Master Xiao Huohuo. Their quality is near-perfect, with pill patterns. The Nalan family bought them from the Mittel Auction House for nearly a million gold coins."
The hall exploded with gasps.
Even Xun'er's expression flickered.
Xiao Huohuo's fame had spread like wildfire after the Alchemist Tournament.
A seventeen-year-old who could refine fifth-tier pills—
no one doubted he would one day refine the legendary sixth-tier Po Zong Pill.
And once he did, countless Dou Huang experts would line up to curry favor.
At this moment, Xiao Zhan's regret surged.
If only he had agreed to speak privately the first time Ge Ye asked.
Then the engagement could have been dissolved quietly.
His son could have received the Bone Mending Pill.
Everyone would leave satisfied.
Instead, thanks to Xiao Yan—
Everything was now a mess.
And just as Xiao Zhan wallowed in regret, Xiao Yan…
opened his mouth again.
"Elder Ge, take the pills back. I already said—we will NOT agree!"
"Yan'er, you—"
Xiao Zhan didn't even know what to say anymore.
A mutually beneficial solution had been brutally destroyed.
"Then what DO you want? Are the pills not enough?"
Nalan Yanran massaged her temple, exasperated.
If she weren't more mature now, thanks to witnessing true prodigies…
she might have beaten him herself.
Xiao Yan bowed to Xiao Zhan respectfully—
then turned and glared at Nalan Yanran.
"Nalan Yanran! Don't think you're so amazing! Becoming a Dou Zhe at thirteen? I was already a Dou Zhe at ELEVEN! What were YOU then? Let me tell you—thirty years east of the river, thirty years west! Don't bully the young and poor!"
"Even if I starve to death—
even if I beg on the streets—
I will NEVER accept a single thing from your Nalan family!
Get lost!"
"Do you have brain damage,"
Nalan Yanran muttered, rubbing her forehead.
She looked helplessly at him.
"From the moment Uncle Xiao recognized me, he already guessed why we came."
"Your father and I wanted to handle everything quietly. He would gain a pill that might restore your talent. I would get my annulment. Everyone wins. No one loses face."
"But YOU—
you made a scene.
You shouted out the very thing neither of us wanted to say publicly.
For a pathetic shred of pride, you made everything worse."
"Do I really need to spell it out for you?"
"You—"
Xiao Yan stared at Xiao Zhan in shock.
Xiao Zhan sighed and nodded helplessly.
Nalan Yanran no longer looked at Xiao Yan.
She turned to Xiao Zhan and said calmly:
"Uncle Xiao, let us leave things here today.
When I have time, I will visit again."
Then she walked out without looking back.
Ge Ye followed behind her.
As they left, everyone in the hall exchanged knowing looks—
then turned to stare at Xiao Yan.
And silently—
at Xiao Zhan, whose face had been utterly ruined today.
(End of Chapter)
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