“You little fool, what…
what did you just say?”
When she met those eyes full of deep emotion, Ye Qingxian’s frail body trembled uncontrollably.
Looking at that familiar, heart-wrenchingly beautiful face, Jiang Hao enunciated every word clearly, “I said, I am willing.
Qingxian, I am willing to marry you.”
BOOM!!!
At those words, a sour ache struck the tragic beauty’s nose.
Tears spilled from her eyes, PATTER PATTER, refusing to stop.
At this moment, the emotions she had suppressed at the bottom of her heart finally erupted completely.
It was as if someone who had waited for an endless eternity had finally received an answer.
Meanwhile, Ye Tiannan was still immersed in his own powerless guilt and sorrow.
He subconsciously said, “Hao’Er, Xian’Er is already on the brink of despair and helplessness.
Don’t add to her—”
Suddenly, Ye Tiannan realized something.
He lifted his gaze, his whole body jolting as he looked toward Jiang Hao in utter astonishment.
On the edge of the hardwood bed, there was no longer a dull-witted, foolish boy, but rather someone who seemed to have truly come alive.
Shock and disbelief surged in Ye Tiannan’s eyes.
“Hao’Er, you…
you…?” he stammered in amazement.
He had wanted to ask if the boy was no longer a fool, but the words died on his lips.
Seeing this, Jiang Hao stood up.
Under Ye Tiannan’s incredulous gaze, he walked over and offered a slight bow.
“Hao’Er greets Uncle Ye.”
“Good, good, good.” Finally recovering his wits, Ye Tiannan impulsively pulled Jiang Hao into a tight embrace, overwhelmed with excitement.
Having watched the boy grow up in his own home, he had long treated him as his own flesh and blood.
Jiang Hao’s “awakening” was a rare and precious cause for celebration for the father and daughter, who had been heavily shrouded in gloom.
“Un…
Uncle Ye?” Caught off guard by the sudden hug, Jiang Hao was a bit flustered, but a warm feeling quickly spread through his chest.
Ever since his own father went missing, it had been a long time since he felt enveloped by a father’s love.
Fortunately, Uncle Ye was still here.
Over all these years, though Ye Tiannan wasn’t Jiang Hao’s real father, he had constantly fulfilled that role, taking care of his sworn brother’s orphaned son.
“Hao’Er, these past three years…?” After his initial burst of emotion, Ye Tiannan released Jiang Hao and asked subconsciously.
Hearing this, Jiang Hao gave a helpless smile.
“Uncle Ye, I will explain it to you later.
Qingxian, you have suffered so much these past few years.”
With that, Jiang Hao looked at Ye Qingxian, his eyes brimming with heartache.
His chest tightened with pain as he reached out and carefully removed the poison she had been clutching deathly tight in her palm.
Ye Qingxian stared at the vibrant Jiang Hao standing right in front of her, her face already covered in tears.
They were childhood sweethearts.
Even though there was no arranged betrothal between them, they had long harbored secret feelings for one another.
It was just that everything had been put on hold three years ago.
After taking the poison from his beloved’s hand, Jiang Hao gently pulled her fragile, tragic figure into his arms.
With eyes full of tenderness, he murmured, “It’s alright now, it’s alright.
I am awake.
Qingxian, from this day forward, I will never let anyone hurt you again.”
Hearing Jiang Hao’s words, Ye Qingxian finally couldn’t hold back anymore; she threw her arms around him and sobbed.
Three years of guarding him in sheer helplessness had pushed her to the very brink of a breakdown.
Feeling Ye Qingxian’s emotional release, Jiang Hao slowly looked up at Ye Tiannan.
“Uncle Ye, I know everything that has happened over the past three years.
Is it true that as long as Qingxian and I consummate our marriage, Qi Tianyang will abandon this engagement?”
Ye Tiannan’s body trembled slightly at those words, but he nodded.
The number one genius of the Qi Family possessed truly terrifying talent, but he also had a peculiar obsession—he utterly despised women who were no longer virgins.
“But Hao’Er, although this could save Qingxian from marrying him, the Qi Family is still the Qi Family.
Let alone me, even the old master and the entire Ye Family wouldn’t be able to withstand their fury.
Not to mention, Qi Tianyang is about to awaken a second Martial Soul.
His status in Cyan Moon City is already on a completely different level than before.
If he finds out about you and Qingxian…” Ye Tiannan hesitated, leaving the thought unfinished.
Given Qi Tianyang’s personality, he definitely wouldn’t leave Jiang Hao a way out alive.
Jiang Hao merely smiled calmly.
“If Qingxian isn’t even afraid of dying for me, what do I have to fear?”
Only after Jiang Hao spoke did Ye Tiannan finally notice the poison that Ye Qingxian had been gripping so tightly.
Understanding dawned on him, followed immediately by a sharp ache in his heart.
However, before Ye Tiannan could say anything else…
BOOM!!!
Jiang Hao mobilized a sliver of Soul Power from within his body and released it.
Suddenly, an incredibly terrifying aura of Soul Power filled the air.
Its intensity was absolutely dreadful.
The moment Ye Tiannan sensed that Soul Power, it was as if he had been struck by lightning.
He stared blankly at Jiang Hao.
“Hao’Er, you…?”
For a moment, Ye Tiannan’s breathing grew rapid, and he gasped for air.
Even though he didn’t know what grade of Martial Soul Jiang Hao had awakened, one thing was certain: the boy possessed a Martial Soul.
And it was an incredibly terrifying one at that.
As a fairly competent Cultivator himself, he was absolutely certain his senses weren’t deceiving him.
Jiang Hao declared firmly, “Uncle Ye, I have the power to protect Qingxian for the rest of her life.
But until I rise to full strength, I need you to keep this a secret for us.”
Although he had suppressed his Martial Souls and wiped out their consciousnesses, he was, at the end of the day, still just a young man who hadn’t yet properly begun his cultivation journey.
It was impossible for him to shake the foundation of the Qi Family just yet.
The only thing he could do right now was to continue playing the fool.
Hearing this, Ye Tiannan looked troubled and began pacing back and forth across the room.
It was obvious that if they truly followed Jiang Hao’s plan, it meant that until Jiang Hao rose to power, Ye Tiannan would have to stand at the forefront and block all the incoming trouble.
“Uncle Ye, if Qi Tianyang of the Qi Family awakens a second Martial Soul, how long will it take him to adapt after fusing with it?” Jiang Hao asked.
Ye Tiannan pondered for a moment.
“At least a month or so.”
“A month is plenty.
Uncle Ye, hold the line for Hao’Er for this one month.
Leave the rest to me,” Jiang Hao reassured him.
Qi Tianyang was going to awaken his second Martial Soul within a day or two.
After a new Martial Soul awakened and fused, a Cultivator would need at least a month in secluded meditation to adapt to it.
But Jiang Hao didn’t need that.
He had been battling against two great Martial Souls for three years.
They knew each other inside and out; all that remained was the final step of fusing into one.
“Alright.
For Xian’Er’s sake, I’ll risk it all.” In the end, after a long moment of deep thought, Ye Tiannan made his final decision.
Even if this ended in disaster, he would put everything on the line this one last time for his daughter.
Just as the three of them reached their decision, the sound of approaching footsteps rang out.
“Tiannan, the people from the Qi Family are growing impatient.
What is going on with you?
Why haven’t you brought Xian’Er to the main hall yet?” An elderly but majestic voice echoed from afar, full of vigor.
The current Patriarch of the Ye Family personally led dozens of figures, marching over in a grand procession.
Hearing Ye Canghai’s voice, Jiang Hao and the other two exchanged a glance, a mutual understanding passing between them.
And so, when Ye Canghai and the others pushed open the door, they were greeted by quite the scene.
Ye Tiannan stood off to the side, while Jiang Hao sat on the edge of the bed in a daze, his clothes completely disheveled.
Ye Qingxian sat nearby, her eyes slightly red and her hair a mess.
Seeing this, everyone from the Ye Family blanked slightly.
Ye Canghai’s pupils narrowed, his face instantly turning gloomy.
“Tiannan, what is the meaning of this?”
Hearing the faint anger in Ye Canghai’s voice, Ye Tiannan trembled in subconscious fear.
The very next moment, however, this lowly father found his resolve.
He immediately puffed out his chest, raised his head, and looked Ye Canghai squarely in the eye.
“Patriarch, Qingxian has already given herself to Hao’Er.
I am afraid…
she can no longer go to the Qi Family.”
BOOM!
These words struck everyone like a bolt of lightning from a clear blue sky.
Ye Canghai’s expression twisted drastically, his gaze turning chillingly cold.
“What did you just say?”