"Yun Yan, I did not expect to run into you here."
Zhang Yuan stared at Nalan Yanran's face, a guess forming in his heart that left him thoroughly speechless.
"Yes, it has been a long time." Nalan Yanran brushed her hair behind her ear, her beautiful eyes fixed tightly on Zhang Yuan as she asked, "Brother Zhang, why are you here?"
"This is my home. Coming back here is only natural." Zhang Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly.
Those words made Xiao Zhan and the others feel inexplicably at ease.
As expected of a disciple they had invested so many resources into. He carried the Xiao Clan bloodline as well. The only minor regret was that his surname was not Xiao.
Zhang Yuan's father was surnamed Zhang, named Zhang Zhengming, the elder brother of Zhang Ruoshi, Xiao Yan's mother.
Zhang Yuan's mother was surnamed Xiao, named Xiao Shu, the biological younger sister of Xiao Yan's father, Xiao Zhan.
Simply put, Zhang Zhengming and Xiao Zhan had each married the younger sister of the other.
Zhang Yuan could call Xiao Zhan uncle, or uncle by marriage.
Zhang Yuan's maternal grandparents were Xiao Yan's paternal grandparents, and vice versa.
"Home?"
Recalling how Zhang Yuan had just addressed Xiao Zhan, Nalan Yanran's face suddenly turned pale.
Seeing her expression, Zhang Yuan spoke bluntly, "If my guess is correct, your surname is not Yun, and your name is not Yun Yan either. You are Nalan Yanran, right?"
Nalan Yanran subconsciously stepped back, biting her lip as she nodded.
With his suspicion confirmed, Zhang Yuan felt completely at a loss for words.
He never would have imagined that the Yunlan Sect disciple he had coincidentally helped during a subjugation mission against a Magical Beast tide half a year ago, whom he later heard had even followed his battlefield command, was actually Nalan Yanran.
As expected of Yun Yun's disciple. Even using a false name came naturally.
If it happened again, he would still help without hesitation.
After all, she was a beauty, and saving someone had only been a matter of convenience.
It was just that this Yun Yan, who clearly had some feelings toward him, turning out to be Nalan Yanran meant he had to slightly adjust his original plans.
"I heard outside that you came to the Xiao Clan to annul an engagement?" Zhang Yuan asked coldly.
"Yes!" Nalan Yanran nodded, not daring to meet his gaze.
Whether it was because she felt she had done something wrong, or for some other reason, she did not know.
"You even brought out Qi Gathering Powder. What a generous compensation." Zhang Yuan's eyes swept over the pill on the table. With a light wave of his hand, another box appeared on the table beside Xiao Zhan.
Inside lay three pills, identical to the one Ge Ye had produced.
Then Zhang Yuan said mockingly, "My Xiao Clan will provide three Qi Gathering Powders in compensation. Today, my cousin Xiao Yan will annul the engagement with you, granting you the freedom you desire. How does that sound?"
"You want him to annul me!" Nalan Yanran lifted her head in disbelief, staring at Zhang Yuan as her face turned ghostly pale.
In the corner, Xiao Yan watched the scene, feeling an indescribable sense of satisfaction in his heart.
Although two years had passed since they last met, Zhang Yuan was still the same cousin who cared deeply for him, someone just as important to him as Xiao Zhan.
Zhang Yuan was one year older than Xiao Yan. Both of them began cultivating at the age of four, reached 9th Stage Dou Zhi Qi at ten, successfully condensed a Dou Qi vortex at eleven, and became Dou Zhe at twelve. They were hailed as the Twin Prides of the Xiao Clan.
Yet the heavens played a cruel joke on him. After breaking through to Dou Zhe, his cultivation regressed for three consecutive years, stagnating at Dou Zhi Qi 3rd Stage, turning him into a waste. Meanwhile, Zhang Yuan grew ever more dazzling, breaking through to 4-Star Dou Zhe at thirteen and becoming a 6-Star Dou Zhe at fourteen.
With Zhang Yuan's brilliance as a comparison, Xiao Yan, despite being a transmigrator, never grew arrogant. Instead, he cultivated even harder than most. Thus, even after becoming a waste, he was not disliked by the younger generation of the clan.
One year after Xiao Yan became a waste, Zhang Yuan, like Xiao Ding and Xiao Li, left to gain experience and tried to find a cure for him.
Half a year ago, a 2nd Tier alchemist visited the Xiao Clan, claiming to have been entrusted by Zhang Yuan to treat Xiao Yan. Unfortunately, the source of the illness could not be found.
His cousin was still the same good cousin. He would repay him with his life if needed.
"Ridiculous." Zhang Yuan met Nalan Yanran's gaze calmly and said coldly, "You should be well aware of how much humiliation your act of coming here to annul the engagement brings to my cousin, to my uncle, and to the Xiao Clan. Yet you still acted on your own will. Why is it that my Xiao Clan is not allowed to annul you?"
"What choice did I have?" Nalan Yanran's eyes brimmed with tears as she said with a hint of grievance, "I mentioned this to my grandfather, but he refused out of concern for face. Should I really have to marry a stranger I have never met?"
Hearing this, Zhang Yuan frowned. "Was it not because my cousin's talent vanished, and you felt he was no longer worthy of you, the personal disciple of the Yunlan Sect's Sect Master, that you came to annul the engagement?"
Xiao Yan stared at Nalan Yanran, veins bulging on his clenched fists.
He thought the same.
"Is that how you see me?" Nalan Yanran said tearfully. "If I were truly the kind of person who tramples the weak and flatters the strong, would my master have accepted me as a disciple? Do you think the Yunlan Sect would take in someone so shallow?"
"I simply do not want to marry a stranger. Why should a moment of joy from our ancestors decide my entire life?"
This question rang loudly, leaving Xiao Zhan and many of the Xiao Clan juniors speechless.
Setting aside the disparity in status, strength, and position between Nalan Yanran and Xiao Yan, from Nalan Yanran's personal perspective, childhood engagements indeed carried many problems.
But when considering collective clan interests and political marriages, such sacrifices were common.
One could only say that if you enjoyed the benefits of the clan, you had to be prepared to make sacrifices.
But those words were not something Xiao Zhan and the others could say.
"Why?"
Zhang Yuan took a step forward and said seriously, "Because you were born into the Nalan Clan."
"While others struggle desperately just to eat, you live a life of fine clothes and rich food."
"While others struggle desperately for a Low Huang Class Qi Method, your clan prepares High Xuan Class Qi Methods for you."
"You think your talent is good, but if you were not born into the Nalan Clan, if you were born into a small clan or even a commoner family, do you think you would have had the chance to display that talent, or be accepted by Yun Yun as a disciple?"
"Now tell me, why?"
Nalan Yanran stumbled backward several steps until she hit the wall, her face drained of all color.
She was only fifteen. She had never truly considered these issues before.
So, was she wrong?
"Yuan'er…" Xiao Zhan felt deeply gratified.
The child he had raised with his own hands had not turned into an ungrateful wretch.
"Han Feng should really come and listen to these words," a soul body sighed inwardly from within the ring on Xiao Yan's hand.
"So you are saying I should simply accept my fate?" Nalan Yanran gave a bitter smile.
"I did not say that." Zhang Yuan shook his head.
Nalan Yanran: "?"
The Xiao Clan members: "?"
"You are right about one thing. One's life should not be decided by others," Zhang Yuan said earnestly. "Based on my understanding of Brother Yan, he would not want to marry a stranger either, even if she is outstanding and beautiful."
"Is that right, Brother Yan?"
Zhang Yuan turned to look toward the corner.
"That is correct!" Xiao Yan strode over to Zhang Yuan's side and said solemnly. "Regarding the engagement between us, I once discussed it with my father. If possible, we wanted to annul it privately."
"Setting aside the fact that if I remain a waste forever, I would only hold back a heaven-blessed woman like you, I also do not wish to marry someone I know nothing about."
"But my father said that our Xiao Clan cannot compare to the Nalan Clan. If we brought it up ourselves, it would damage the Nalan Clan's reputation. So we pretended it did not exist."
"If the Nalan Clan elders came to annul it, we would agree. If they did not, then once we both came of age, we would silently not mention it, as if nothing had happened."
"But now, you, as a junior, have relied on the Yunlan Sect's authority to annul the engagement. This not only slaps my Xiao Clan in the face, but also slaps your own Nalan Clan in the face."
"I… I…" Nalan Yanran could not find the words.
She finally realized her mistake.
There was nothing wrong with wanting to annul the engagement, but the method she chose was wrong.
She had been self-righteous. She had relied on Yun Yun's favor and tried to be clever.
"I am sorry. I did not mean to…" Nalan Yanran wanted to apologize, but did not know how.
Seeing this, Ge Ye wanted to step in to smooth things over; after all, Nalan Yanran was the Yunlan Sect Master's personal disciple.
However, Zhang Yuan glanced at him, making him feel as if he were being stared at by a 3rd Rank Magical Beast. A chill ran down his spine.
"Saying sorry is useless. A mistake has been made, and a price must be paid," Zhang Yuan said, withdrawing his gaze and turning back to Nalan Yanran. "The things your clan has given you can be repaid through other means, not only by obeying an arranged marriage."
"But you have yet to repay even a fraction of the clan's kindness, and you have already caused both the Xiao Clan and the Nalan Clan to lose face. How you explain things to the Nalan Clan is none of my concern. As for the Xiao Clan."
Zhang Yuan looked at Xiao Yan, signaling that this was his decision.
Xiao Yan blinked, glanced at Nalan Yanran a few more times, and then asked, "How about changing the engagement partner to Cousin instead? We can pretend that Nalan Yanran coming to annul the engagement never happened."
Zhang Yuan: "?"
Nalan Yanran's thoughts: '+ω+.'
That was not impossible. This Xiao Yan was actually a pretty decent person.
Xun'er: "..."
'My Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame wants to burn something.'
(End of Chapter)
---
This Fanfiction Has more then 180 Chapters on Patreon, There is 2 Chapters Ahead of Release for Free Members on my Patreon.
Support me if you like this Fanfiction.
Patreon,com/Fallen_Archangel_
(Remove comma for dot.)
Leave a 5 star Review and a Power Stone.