Huangfu Wenqing turned dazedly toward her fiancé.
“Is everything she said true?”
Yan Zhen had gone numb, but he realized this was an opportunity. He nodded with difficulty.
“I’m sorry, Wenqing. The truth is, Meng’er, Cousin Ruyu, and I have already confirmed our relationship.”
Huangfu Wenqing couldn’t accept it. “How could that be? We already have an engagement!”
—What a twist of fate~
Even without Yan Meng’er and Yan Ruyu, Yan Zhen was destined to marry the Myriad Snake Queen and Zi Xunyi. Breaking the news had always been inevitable.
“I know this is unfair to you,” he continued, “so I’m willing to accept any punishment—even if that means… you breaking off the engagement.”
“Breaking off the engagement?”
The two words, familiar yet strangely distant, slipped from Yan Zhen’s lips and reached Huangfu Wenqing’s ears. They sent a shock through her heart, and she shook her head instinctively.
“No! I don’t want to break off the engagement. That’s the one thing I absolutely won’t do!”
—Ah… don’t say it so definitively. You’re scaring me.
Yan Zhen wore a troubled expression.
“But I don’t want to wrong you anymore. You’re the Young Sect Master of Cloud Heaven Palace, the County Princess personally titled by the Garo Country Lord. Your status is exalted, your beauty unmatched, your talent extraordinary. You deserve someone far better.”
“I don’t want to hear that,” Huangfu Wenqing said, biting her lip lightly. Her beautiful eyes stared fixedly at Yan Zhen. “You are my best match. I don’t like anyone else.”
“But—”
“—No buts!” Huangfu Wenqing cut him off. She drew a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “I was just shocked a moment ago and didn’t react right away. But think about it—we still have the Two-Year Battle Pact to fulfill.”
“Battle Pact?”
“That’s right!”
Huangfu Wenqing snorted. “If I win, you’ll join Cloud Heaven Palace as my Dao companion. Naturally, you won’t have to take responsibility for any other women.”
Her words instantly soured the expressions of all five women present, even the mild-tempered Mentor Yu Xuan.
This Huangfu Wenqing was playing the most infuriating card of all!
Yan Meng’er huffed in sarcasm. “With your amateurish skills, you dare claim you’ll beat my cousin? What a pipe dream!”
The equally incensed Mi Xue’er jumped in. “Exactly! Little Bro Yan Zhen’s prowess is way beyond your imagination!”
In his previous life, Yan Zhen had crushed Huangfu Wenqing from start to finish. Only at the very end, when she summoned Cloud Heaven Palace’s Vault-top Sword and unleashed her Sect Mystic Technique, did he fully release his Mystic General power. Gripping his Gold Silver Fire Greatsword, he countered with his superior Extreme Flame Extinction Ashless Slash to claim victory.
He hadn’t even used many of his deadliest techniques—like that horrifying Myriad Phenomena Annihilation, Heaven and Earth Incinerated. Not even a powerhouse like Cloud Heaven Palace’s Second Palace Lord, a Mystic Lord expert, could survive it. She had perished on the spot.
“You won’t know until you try!” Huangfu Wenqing shot back. “And even if I lose, marrying Yan Zhen wouldn’t be so bad. I heard you loud and clear—you two are just his concubines, while I’m lined up for the principal wife position. Hmph, I wouldn’t mind having two little maids to order around!”
Of course, if she married Yan Zhen, it might complicate things for her master.
That was Huangfu Wenqing’s real worry.
Yan Meng’er scoffed. “In your dreams! My cousin’s principal wife spot isn’t yours for the taking!”
—Sister She Ji and Sister Zi Ji’s positions were unshakable. The former was bound by fateful entanglements, the latter by the tide of destiny. Huangfu Wenqing thinking she could claim the top spot? She must be delusional. Her master’s position as National Advisor actually stood a better chance!
That was why Yan Meng’er and Yan Ruyu had decided from the start to settle for being concubines, sparing Yan Zhen any difficulty.
Now that was maturity—unlike a certain flat-chested someone! (Proud face)
“Not me, then you?”
Huangfu Wenqing sneered. She had her own schemes. Yan Zhen fancied her master, while she held the marriage pact arranged by their elders. If master and disciple joined forces, they could claim both his body and heart.
All they needed was the right moment for her to confess to her master and win her over.
And that moment was coming: Yan Zhen fulfilling the Two-Year Battle Pact at Cloud Heaven Palace. When they met again, they would recognize each other.
With her master’s straightforward nature, learning that the man she loved was her disciple’s fiancé would shatter her resolve.
But if Huangfu Wenqing mediated, there was every chance the three of them could live happily ever after~
Yan Meng’er had no patience for more debate. “Say whatever you want. My cousin isn’t staying here with you!”
Huangfu Wenqing crossed her arms over her chest. “I say he is, and you can’t stop me!”
“Can you even take care of him?” Yan Meng’er shot her a sidelong glance full of disdain. “I mean, in the adult sense—oh, right, I forgot. Someone here’s still an innocent little chick!”
Huangfu Wenqing flushed with embarrassment.
The other three innocents present shot Yan Meng’er incredulous looks as well.
—This Meng’er! How does anything that comes out of her mouth sound so dirty?
Seeing Huangfu Wenqing at a loss for words, Yan Meng’er shoved her aside unceremoniously and tugged Yan Zhen over to their side.
“These next few days, Cousin will rotate through our rooms to sleep. You’re done here—bye!”
With that, Yan Meng’er dragged Yan Zhen out of the room. The other four women gave the despondent Huangfu Wenqing a glance but said nothing as they followed, thoughtfully closing the door behind them.
Huangfu Wenqing felt all strength drain from her body. She collapsed limply onto the bed, her mind flooded with images of Yan Meng’er and Yan Ruyu naked, their pale, voluptuous breasts and hips smothering Yan Zhen in a lewd assault.
She had only just learned the simple pleasure of kissing him as lovers, yet they had leaped far ahead in secret, savoring every inch of his skin—culminating in full spiritual and carnal union, their bodies melding like milk and water!
—Oof, that stings right in the engine~
Yet amid the pain lurked a thrill, quickening her breath as she recalled scenes from her previous life: Yan Zhen entwined with her master.
She sometimes used those memories as “side dishes,” imagining herself in her master’s place. But now the menu had expanded—a new “sister sandwich” entrée, starring her and her master instead of Yan Meng’er and Yan Ruyu—
“Yan Zhen… Yan Zhen…”
A shiver ran through her body, and her breathing slowly steadied.
Meanwhile, Yan Zhen was still in a daze.
Why? Why wouldn’t she break off the engagement, even knowing what a philandering scoundrel he was?
Hadn’t he crossed her bottom line?
Evidently not.
With Meng’er and his cousin content as concubines, Huangfu Wenqing had compromised too.
It seemed the only way was to get intimate with Yun Xiu right in front of her. That would crush her completely and force the breakup!
