The Nine Provinces Land, the Great Xia Dynasty.
Jiangling County, Yu Yi City.
Snow Moon Pavilion.
As the foremost of Yu Yi City's four great pleasure houses, it had always been famous for its captivating songstresses and their graceful dances, attracting countless scholars, artists, and disciples of powerful families.
But today, Snow Moon Pavilion was unusually quiet.
Its entrance, usually bustling with visitors, was now utterly deserted.
Passing merchants and pedestrians saw the group of fierce, menacing guards at the door—each with a Token bearing the surname Jiang hanging from their waists—and fell silent. They lowered their heads and quickened their pace, afraid that even a single glance might bring disaster upon them.
In the entire Great Xia Dynasty, there was only one surname you could not afford to provoke.
Even the many relatives of the Royal Family would pale and fall silent upon seeing this Token.
"Why are people from the Prime Minister's Mansion here in Yu Yi City?"
Far in the distance, many pedestrians only dared to ask in hushed tones after they had moved a safe way away.
"I don't know. Don't ask so many questions. It's best to stay out of the Prime Minister's Mansion's business. Do you have a death wish?"
The person next to him paled and quickly tugged on their companion's sleeve, urging them to shut up.
...
Meanwhile, in Snow Moon Pavilion, on a balcony overlooking a pavilion.
Jiang Lan stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze distant as he stared at the pool before him.
He wore wide-sleeved white robes with an Ancient Jade pendant at his waist. His features were handsome and his figure tall, though somewhat gaunt. Perhaps from constant overwork, his skin had a sickly pallor, as if a strong gust of wind could carry him away.
Anyone who saw him would think him an ethereally handsome young nobleman, and then sigh internally at the pity of him being so frail at such a young age.
'This shouldn't be happening...'
'It's already so late. Why isn't the female lead here yet?'
Suddenly, Jiang Lan sighed softly and rubbed his temples as if troubled by a headache. He then returned to his seat and took a sip of tea.
"Jiang Lan, hand over my sister."
"If you don't, then don't blame me for what happens next."
Suddenly, a cry as cold as snow rang out, startling the birds perched on the trees and eaves into a flurry of motion.
Jiang Lan's expression flickered, but his face remained impassive. 'The female lead has finally arrived,' he thought. 'She certainly kept me waiting.'
The next moment, a graceful figure soared into view, stepping across the surface of the pool and gliding over the pavilion eaves to land in an instant.
With a SHRING, a Long Sword was unsheathed, its hazy gleam splashing forward like a fine mist of rain.
A frigid killing intent seemed to make the very air stagnate.
However, as the Long Sword fell and its light dissipated, it stopped half an inch from Jiang Lan's throat, unable to advance any further.
The jade-like hand holding the sword was slender and elegant, its nails painted a crystalline red, as if reflecting the light of mountains and lakes—a breathtaking sight.
But right now, it was trembling slightly, betraying its owner's fury.
She stared death at the white-robed man before her.
On the balcony, he continued to sip his tea with lowered eyes, his expression placid and unmoved, as if deaf to the voice and the threat at his ear.
The glacial Sword Qi hung at his throat, carrying a breath of ice and snow, ready to pierce through it at any moment and leave behind a spray of blood.
"Jiang Lan, all of your guards are outside. There's no one here to save you..."
"Hand over my sister now," the woman in the white dress demanded again through gritted teeth.
Her features were picturesque and exquisitely beautiful. With her cloud-like coiffure and misty hair, her figure was tall, slender, and graceful.
She wore a simple white dress, its hem tucked up to reveal long, straight legs. Her willowy waist seemed too slender to grasp. Her entire being was pristine, like a lotus flower from a snow-capped mountain.
At this moment, her picturesque, delicate face was colder than ever, and the jade-like hand holding the sword trembled as she suppressed the rage in her heart.
"Is Miss Qinghan thinking of killing me?"
But in the face of her fury, the only response she received was a slow, deliberate question.
Jiang Lan looked up at her, his expression one of utter surprise.
"Hurry up and release my sister..." the woman in white said through gritted teeth.
"And what if I don't?"
At this, Jiang Lan seemed to chuckle. He unhurriedly reached out and adjusted the Long Sword in the woman's hand, repositioning its tip so that it was aimed squarely at his own throat.
"You..."
A trace of paleness appeared on the woman's flawless, picturesque face, and the jade-like hand gripping the Long Sword trembled slightly.
Jiang Lan let out a soft chuckle. He stood up and took half a step forward, as if mocking her cowardice and bluff.
"Too scared to do it here? Then what about here?"
As he spoke, he reached out, pinched the tip of the blade, and moved it down to his chest.
"Miss Qinghan, care to try pushing it another half-inch?" His voice was calm and even, betraying no emotion.
Watching this unfold, the woman's jade-like hand trembled even more.
Caught in an untenable position, she felt not only anger but also a profound sense of humiliation.
She had never expected that even without a single guard by his side, Jiang Lan could remain so calm and composed, not showing the slightest bit of panic.
It was as if he hadn't taken her threat seriously at all.
This arrogance and disdain, it was as if he was certain she wouldn't dare to follow through.
This stung her pride, filling her heart with endless indignation and embarrassment.
'He's clearly just an ordinary person with no cultivation.'
'On what grounds does he dare to be so composed before me, a Fourth Realm cultivator? How can he be so dismissive, so unafraid that I might actually kill him?'
'Is it just because his father is the current Prime Minister?'
Time seemed to freeze in that moment.
The corners of Jiang Lan's mouth seemed to curl into a mocking smile. He then said slowly, "Since you don't dare, then perhaps Miss Qinghan shouldn't attempt such dangerous acts. The Su Family has, what, several thousand members here in Yu Yi City, correct?"
"Your father, the Patriarch of the Su Family, is a contender for the position of Yu Yi City's next City Lord, isn't he? I don't think he'd want to see you do anything so reckless."
"You..."
The woman in white clenched her teeth, her delicate body trembling, clearly enraged to her very limits.
SPURT!
The next moment, a spot of crimson suddenly spread across Jiang Lan's chest, blooming like a small plum blossom on his pristine white robes.
The woman's beautiful eyes widened, and she froze in a daze.
'This has nothing to do with me.'
'The man in white before me... he was the one who pinched the tip of the blade and pushed it into his own chest.'
"Guards! An assassin!"
Jiang Lan suddenly shouted, his hand gripping the blade's tip as if trying to stop it from going in any deeper.
"An assassin!"
"Protect the Young Master!"
Hearing the cries, furious shouts erupted in the distance.
At the same time, a large group of accomplished cultivator-guards rushed over, their iron armor creating a great CLATTER.
Watching this scene, the woman in white's face grew pale. Her jade-like hand went limp, and with a CLANG, the Long Sword slipped from her grasp and crashed onto the stone floor.