105: Chapter 105 Nangong Ziyi followed suit and broke off the engagement, Jiang Yifei cried himself unconscious in the outhouse.

The front courtyard of the Jiang Family's main peak.

Nangong Waner and Jiang Yi argued for half the day before finally stopping to touch up their makeup.

The scraps of red silk in the courtyard hadn't been swept clean yet when a figure walked in through the side gate.

Dressed in a purple martial outfit with a cinched waist, her long hair was tied high in a ponytail, revealing a section of her fair neck.

Her eyes held three parts heroism and seven parts charm; she walked with a breeze, and the Fire Spirit Jade Pendant on her chest swayed with every step.

An old acquaintance, Nangong Ziyi, Nangong Waner's niece.

Her Half-step Xiantai cultivation was nothing special in the Jiang Family, but she walked in with her back straight and eyes forward, as if inspecting her own territory.

She had been brought along by her aunt on the way.

Before Nangong Ziyi could figure out the situation, she was dropped off in Jiang Yifei's courtyard.

While she was casually drinking tea in the courtyard, a young man in a white robe rushed over excitedly.

Jiang Yifei.

Young Lord of the Jiang Family, Saint of the Taichu Holy Land, first level of the Xiantai Realm.

"Ziyi! Why didn't you tell me you were coming? I would have gone to meet you!"

Jiang Yifei rushed to Nangong Ziyi in a few strides, being overly attentive.

Nangong Ziyi set down her teacup without responding.

Jiang Yifei didn't mind and sat down on his own, starting to pour out his grievances.

"Did you know? That Emperor Yun, Lu Chen, came and said he wanted to break off the engagement with my aunt!"

He shook his head, unable to hide the schadenfreude on his Face.

"It's a good thing that Emperor Yun didn't marry my aunt. I never liked him; he's always slacking off and doesn't act like an Emperor at all. It's good that it's broken off, very good!"

Nangong Ziyi held her teacup, watching Jiang Yifei's non-stop chatter, while her mind was on something else.

Breaking the engagement.

These words circled in her mind and suddenly took root.

She set down her teacup.

"Jiang Yifei."

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Jiang Yifei looked up with a smile.

"I want to break our engagement too."

Jiang Yifei's smile froze on his Face.

He thought he had misheard and tilted his head.

"What did you say?"

Nangong Ziyi stood up and looked down at him, her tone calm.

"I said, I want to break off the engagement with you."

Jiang Yifei's Face went from red to white, then from white to green, finally settling on an indescribable shade of gray.

"Why?"

It was a good thing Lu Chen wasn't here; if he were, there would definitely be a very vivid BGM playing.

"[Holy crap, Yuanhua, why are you here!]"

Nangong Ziyi didn't avoid his gaze.

"You're very good, Jiang Yifei. You've always been good—your talent isn't bad, your Family background is top-tier, and you're even quite considerate toward me."

"But I don't like you."

Six words, short and crisp.

Jiang Yifei's lips moved, his voice raspy.

"We were betrothed since childhood, we're childhood friends, how could you..."

"Being childhood friends doesn't mean love grows over time."

Nangong Ziyi interrupted him; her voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear.

"So-called 'love growing over time' is nothing more than mutual constraints leading to eventual compromise and accommodation. Liking is liking, and not liking is not liking. I can't lie to myself, and I don't want to lie to you."

"But the marriage alliance between our families..."

"The alliance won't change," Nangong Ziyi said indifferently.

"The cooperation between the Nangong Family and the Jiang Family won't dissolve just because of my marriage. It's just a matter of choosing someone else. Has this kind of thing been rare for great families with million-year legacies?"

She was telling the truth.

Marriage alliances between Ancient Desolate Families are essentially a binding of interests.

If one Nangong Ziyi backs out, the Nangong Family will naturally put forward another suitable direct descendant.

The relationship between the two families won't break; it's just swapping out a game piece.

In a world that has turned for millions of years, such examples are common enough to be routine.

"Ziyi!"

Jiang Yifei stood up abruptly, his chair toppling backward.

His voice rose, and his eyes turned red.

"What's wrong with me! Tell me! I'll change!"

Nangong Ziyi looked at him and was silent for two breaths.

"You're too weak. Your talent is clearly so much stronger than mine, yet compared to other prodigies with similar talent, you're considered a weak one."

"The Desolate Ancient Sacred Body has been wasted in your hands. You clearly have the talent and resources, yet you don't love to Cultivate and prefer to play."

"In the future, I only want to focus on cultivation and don't want to be tied down by these things."

Jiang Yifei's body swayed.

Just then, a purple figure descended from the air.

Nangong Waner.

She had been taking a break from her confrontation with Jiang Yi and wanted to see what her niece was up to; a sweep of her Quasi-Emperor level Divine Sense had allowed her to hear everything.

With an Emperor-level Divine Ability, Shifting Shapes and Shadows, the two of them were moved to a different small courtyard!

The two of them were in the middle of arguing and pulling at each other, which was seen directly by others.

She landed beside Nangong Ziyi, placing a hand on her niece's shoulder, her peach-blossom eyes sweeping over Jiang Yifei.

"Well broken."

Nangong Waner's voice wasn't loud, but everyone present heard it clearly.

"This marriage—my Nangong Family no longer recognizes it."

Jiang Yifei's Face completely collapsed.

Inside the soundproof barrier on the back mountain, Jiang Taixu's beard puffed up and then fell back down.

It puffed up and fell back down again.

Within a single day, one engagement was broken off, and another was broken by the other party.

Although Lu Chen's side didn't end in a breakup and had a good result, Jiang Yifei's side was broken off thoroughly.

Jiang Taixu spoke: "The Jiang Family's Face has been completely lost today."

Ji Rushuang glanced at him: "Jiang Yifei is your grand-nephew, not your own son. It's your brother's Face that's being lost."

Jiang Taixu was silent for two breaths and picked up his teacup.

That made sense.

Back then, when the Nangong and Jiang families allied through marriage, it was supposed to be his turn, but he chose the Ji Family's Ji Rushuang, so the marriage fell to his elder brother's lineage.

Now that Jiang Yifei's engagement was broken, it was ultimately a matter for his brother's line.

But Face, after all, belonged to the Jiang Family as a whole.

He took a sip of tea and stopped talking.

---

In the courtyard.

Jiang Yifei stood there, completely petrified for three breaths.

Then, he cried, with tears only at the corners of his eyes.

"My fiancée is gone!"

Lu Chen leaned against the courtyard gate, watching this scene, his lips twitching.

Lu Chen pulled up a chair, sat down, and patted him on the back.

"Young man, there are plenty of fish in the sea; why pine over a single flower?"

Jiang Yifei looked up, and Lu Chen raised a finger, speaking earnestly.

"You must remember: the first sword after reaching the shore strikes down the beloved. Only by severing emotions and desires can one become an Emperor."

He patted his own chest.

"Just like me."

Jiang Yifei glanced at him.

"I understand the logic," he said in a muffled voice.

"But I don't want you to comfort me."

He stood up, took a deep breath, and a sudden look of reckless determination appeared in his eyes.

"I'm going to the Qingyue Pavilion to find my Fengyue Fairy and let her comfort me!"

Lu Chen was stunned for a moment.

He looked back outside the gate; Nangong Ziyi and Ye Qingxian were squatting in a corner gossiping, two pairs of eyes peeking at him in unison.

"Fengyue Fairy? Which Family's junior is that?" Lu Chen pointed at Nangong Ziyi.

Ye Qingxian blurted out, "Revered Master, she's not a junior!"

Nangong Ziyi stood up gracefully and bowed to Lu Chen, her eyes never leaving his Face.

"It's from the Qingyue Pavilion. It's not a junior; it's a brothel."

Lu Chen's expression turned subtle for a moment.

He turned to look at Jiang Yifei.

This kid was crying his heart out just a moment ago, and now he was already straightening his clothes, his movements so nimble he didn't look like someone who had just been dumped.

Lu Chen thought of his Senior Brother Mo Wentian, that fellow who also liked taking him to brothels. His heart stirred, and he spoke subconsciously.

"Nothing to do today..."

Jiang Yifei slammed the table and finished the sentence.

"Go to the theater to hear some tunes!"

He walked toward the gate with firm steps.

"Brokenhearted today, off to the theater to hear some tunes!"

Lu Chen watched his back, his eyes narrowing.

"And here I thought you were a simp, but you're a damn wolf."

Without looking back, Jiang Yifei's voice drifted from ahead, full of vigor.

"Senior Emperor Yun, are you coming? The Hundred Flowers Immortal Dance performed by the Qingyue Pavilion's top courtesan is the best in the Central State!"

Lu Chen stood in place, his fingers tapping twice inside his sleeve.

Behind him, the four eyes of Nangong Ziyi and Ye Qingxian were staring fixedly at the back of his head.

Further back, the auras of Nangong Waner and Jiang Yi locked onto him from two directions simultaneously.

Jiang Yi's phoenix eyes swept down from mid-air; her voice wasn't loud, but every word carried shards of ice.

"Lu Chen, what did you say? Where are you going?"

Nangong Waner's peach-blossom eyes also narrowed.

"I dare you."

Lu Chen's back stiffened.

Ye Qingxian squatted at the foot of the wall, chewing on candied fruit, gloating.

"Revered Master, if you go, you're finished."

Lu Chen took a step forward.

"How bold! Little Qingxian, what nonsense are you talking? As long as I want to go, the path is beneath my feet!"

"Do you really think an Emperor's cultivation is just for show? I am Emperor Yun, Lu Chen!"

"I, Lu Chen, do things my way—why should I explain myself to the likes of you!"