188: Chapter 188 It's good to have formed a core.

The welcoming banquet lasted for three full days.

Over those three days, Luo Yunkai became acquainted with the Li Clan Leader and the group of clan elders.

The Fifth Elder had consumed quite a bit of spiritual wine and was swaying drunkenly. He staggered over to Luo Yunkai, raising his wine cup.

"Luo, Luo... Dao... Drink, drink some wine!"

Luo Yunkai's mouth twitched slightly. 'You call me Luo Luo? Your whole Family is named Luo Luo!'

"Heh heh, Fifth Elder, drink."

He tilted his head back and downed the entire cup.

"Refreshing!" The Fifth Elder roared, tilting his head back to finish his own wine.

Half of the wine sloshed down his chin and onto his lapel.

Luo Yunkai's mouth twitched again. 'He's quite drunk!'

"Luo, Luo..."

Luo Yunkai finally couldn't hold back. "Fifth Elder, you can just call me Yunkai."

The Fifth Elder's eyes immediately lit up. "Yun, Yunkai!"

Luo Yunkai nodded, proactively refilling the Fifth Elder's cup. "Fifth Elder, Yunkai toasts you."

The Fifth Elder chuckled and drank it all in one go, not spilling a single drop this time.

"Good! Yunkai, you are a good man! A straightforward person! I, the Fifth Elder, will stand up for you! Xiang Jun, marry, marry him! No one can stop it!"

"I said it!" The Fifth Elder slapped his chest with a resounding thud.

The banquet instantly fell silent.

The Li Clan Leader's face turned green as he looked toward the other main character at the feast.

"City Lord of Dan City, this... Our Li Family Elder is drunk and speaking nonsense..."

"Yunkai! Ever since you said you were coming, I knew you definitely, definitely still cared about our Xiang Jun... hic..."

The Fifth Elder, flushed with drink, forcefully draped an arm around Luo Yunkai's shoulder. "You have loyalty and righteousness! Even after becoming successful... you haven't forgotten your old flame! Well done!"

Luo Yunkai opened his mouth, momentarily speechless.

"Come, Fifth Ancestor Uncle, let's have another drink, come!" The Fifth Elder abruptly changed his own status to 'Uncle Ancestor'.

Luo Yunkai looked at the wine cup; drinking it felt wrong, but not drinking it felt equally wrong.

Didn't he come here for this purpose?

Sensing the gentle gaze of his future father-in-law, Luo Yunkai felt like crying without tears.

Who comes to propose marriage while bringing their father-in-law along?

"Why aren't you drinking? Do you look down on Fifth Ancestor Uncle?" The Fifth Elder swayed precariously, pointing an accusing finger with wide, tiger-like eyes.

The corner of Luo Yunkai's mouth, hidden beneath his beard, twitched. What was this situation...

"Fifth Ancestor Uncle, you are drunk." A clear, gentle female voice drifted over.

Luo Yunkai turned to look at the sound, and his gaze paused.

Under the moonlight, the woman wore a vibrant green robe. The bright moonlight fell upon her exquisitely beautiful face, which resembled that of a girl in her prime, as if coated in a layer of Holy Light.

Her graceful and slender figure, combined with the maturity in her demeanor, added an indescribable charm to her youthful features.

Luo Yunkai toyed with his wine cup, gazing at the woman's silhouette. It felt as if he had traveled back several decades to the first time he met the Young Miss of the Li Family.

The ambition in his heart!

Luo Yunkai let out a light laugh, raised his head, and downed the cup the Fifth Elder had offered. He spoke with a hint of intoxication.

"Young Miss, long time no see. Are you well?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Li Xiangjun's eyes. She had imagined countless reactions from Luo Yunkai upon seeing her, but never this one.

He still regarded her as the poor boy from the manor back then, calling her 'Young Miss,' yet his tone carried an arrogance that a subordinate would never possess—a presumption!

For a moment, Li Xiangjun felt as if she, too, had returned to those past years.

She was still the high-and-mighty Young Miss of the Li Family, and he was merely a servant fallen into the dust.

That slight awkwardness born from the shift in status and standing instantly vanished without a trace.

"I am very well. How about you? How have you been all these years?"

The Fifth Elder saw how the two were interacting, his eyes darted around, and the drunken demeanor was completely gone.

Before he could speak, the First Elder and Third Elder flanked him and dragged him away.

The Li Clan Leader wiped the sweat from his forehead and signaled the Second Elder and the others.

Immediately, several people surrounded the City Lord of Dan City and Ancestor Hefeng, forcing cup after cup of wine upon them.

Li Xiangjun, seeing the Clan Chief and elders acting this way, being naturally intelligent, guessed their intentions. A girlish blush swept across her delicate face.

Luo Yunkai's heart stirred.

Although he truly hadn't come for a woman.

It wasn't entirely out of the question!

"Young Miss, would you grant me the honor of accompanying me to sober up?"

Li Xiangjun suppressed the heat rising on her face and adopted a commanding posture. "I can!"

She immediately turned away, afraid Luo Yunkai would see her embarrassment.

Luo Yunkai watched her figure, which seemed unchanged or perhaps even more graceful and alluring, and calmly followed.

This sobering up was making him even more intoxicated...

A few days later, Luo Yunkai walked out of the courtyard filled with fragrance, feeling full of confidence.

Being in Core Formation is just great!

It's a pity the opponent wasn't strong enough.

Luo Yunkai's smile abruptly halted when his gaze met the figure standing with her back to him outside the courtyard.

As if sensing the stare, the figure slowly turned, revealing an aged face.

A flash of shock crossed Luo Yunkai's eyes, quickly followed by a surge of anger.

Green Willow, having come from a servant background, was extremely adept at reading expressions. Seeing the change in Luo Yunkai's demeanor, she knew exactly what he was thinking.

She let out a cold snort. "I am not someone with a soft temper like the Young Miss. You bastard ran away for decades, and you expect me to wait on you when you finally return? Dream on!"

Green Willow put her hands on her hips and loudly cursed Luo Yunkai, pointing a finger at his nose. "Let me tell you plainly, I deliberately appeared like this to meet you. Otherwise, you wouldn't even realize how many years you've been gone!"

"How many years have the Young Miss and I raised our son alone!"

"It's bad enough that you come back and try to take the credit, but now you want to dig up the whole tree too? How shameless can you be, Luo Yunkai!"

The hidden onlookers were utterly stunned.

Luo Yunkai was so thoroughly scolded that he lost face. "Cuier..."

"Pah! You're old enough to be seventy or eighty and still calling me with such sickening sweetness. Look at your own gray hair and white beard! You might be shameless, but I still have some self-respect!" Green Willow unleashed her full firepower.

Luo Yunkai didn't even try to argue back, listening obediently.

After all, this was the fiancée who had exchanged betrothal tokens with him, set a date, and met his parents.

This scene truly stunned many people.

Green Willow cursed until her mouth was dry, yet Luo Yunkai still had to fetch her tea and water to moisten her throat.

After drinking the spiritual tea Luo Yunkai provided, Green Willow finally calmed down.

Her aged, cloudy eyes settled on Luo Yunkai's gray hair, and she frowned as if in distaste, though concern couldn't be hidden.

"What happened to you? Didn't you Cultivate just like the Young Miss? Why do you look so much older than her?"

Luo Yunkai sighed. He chose not to share the bad news but selectively told her about his experiences over the years.

"I only recently encountered an Opportunity. Otherwise, I probably would have returned to the grave long ago to reunite with my parents."

Green Willow moved her lips. "Your parents... I'm sorry. Back then, I had no way to take them with me. I was only the Young Miss's personal maid; I couldn't even take my own Family members."

"I thought about staying behind to care for them, but I knew the situation with the Li Family. Even with the Young Miss vouching for me, the Li Family wouldn't feel at ease letting me stay."

Luo Yunkai nodded, gently patting Green Willow's shoulder to comfort her. "I understand. It was all helplessness; I was the same back then."