“…?”
“Master, what are you doing?”
Looking at the distressed An Daosheng, An Lingran slightly raised her willow-like eyebrows.
Her frost-cold, beautiful eyes were filled with confusion.
Having just returned to the Primordial Saint Pavilion, she did not understand the pain in An Daosheng’s heart.
On the other side, An Daosheng, who had already lost all hope, had long since vented the anger pent up in his heart.
He had mostly calmed down now, which was why he sat staring blankly out the window, looking much like a salted fish that had lost its dreams.
“Sigh, Ling Ran.”
An Daosheng patted the cushion next to him, gesturing for his daughter to sit down and have a proper talk.
After a moment of hesitation, An Lingran finally sat down beside him, looking out at the snowy scenery from his perspective.
Taking a sip of tea to moisten his throat, An Daosheng’s expression darkened as he said in a low voice, “Ling Ran, why did you give that *Fine Snow Sword Manual* to your Junior Brother, He Qiu? You should know that you are striking at and mocking the confidence of a new cultivator! Ling Ran, you are the Saintess, his Senior Sister, and one of my most prized disciples… Is it truly appropriate for you to do this?”
An Daosheng turned his head and stared into An Lingran’s eyes with great gravity.
Suddenly, An Lingran trembled all over, as if recalling the fear she felt when she first met her father as a child.
How long had it been since she had seen her father this angry, indifferent, and cold?
For a moment, An Lingran, who originally wanted to explain herself, found the words stuck in her throat.
This matter was indeed her fault.
Under An Daosheng’s icy gaze, she didn’t dare talk back.
Ever since she was young, An Lingran had never been good at lying, let alone while being glared at by her Master.
“Master…”
Lowering her head, An Lingran pursed her lips with a hint of reluctance.
“I just… didn’t want to be married off so carelessly. I didn’t want to end up with a lifetime of regret and remorse, so…”
“So?”
An Daosheng rubbed his forehead and asked back helplessly.
“So, I wanted to use this method to tactfully discourage Junior Brother He Qiu.”
As she said this, An Lingran’s delicate body trembled slightly.
Like a well-behaved girl who had made a mistake, she didn’t dare meet her strict father’s gaze.
Although she didn’t understand what kind of background He Qiu had that could make An Daosheng, the Xueyin Grand Elder, so furious, An Lingran felt she had already been very tactful and polite.
‘Yes, as the Saintess and his Senior Sister, it was wrong and unscrupulous of me to make things difficult for a rookie junior brother. But this mistake shouldn’t have warranted such a scolding from Master, especially since I was acting out of helplessness and what I thought was a kind strategy.’
Thus, An Lingran felt very aggrieved now, but she didn’t dare pour out her heart to the angry An Daosheng.
“…”
Staring at An Lingran’s fearful expression as she pursed her lips, An Daosheng’s vision blurred slightly.
He realized that his spiritual energy had gone out of control just now, frightening his daughter.
But since things had already reached this point, he was in no mood to apologize.
Instead, he suppressed his anger and looked out at the snowy landscape of the Xueyin Mountain Range again, sighing leisurely.
“Stand up, Ling Ran. It is enough that you recognize your mistake and correct it.”
“Yes…”
An Lingran looked up, biting her lip with a sense of grievance and reluctance.
She replied softly, “I have realized my mistake. Tomorrow, I will personally visit Junior Brother He Qiu to apologize. Then… according to the marriage contract between you and his elder, I will marry him within the specified time limit.”
As she spoke, two lines of tears flowed down her fair face, creating a scene of breathtaking, desolate beauty.
Her grievance wasn’t necessarily because she was unwilling to marry a man like He Qiu, but rather because she was unwilling to have her freedom stripped away for the rest of her life.
Even if she were to marry her junior brother, she wanted it to be by her own will, not by command.
At the same time, she felt wronged for being scolded.
She truly hadn’t intended to provoke her father or make her Master angry.
She didn’t want to see An Daosheng distressed because of her rebellion, nor did she want him to be completely disappointed in her.
She simply wanted some buffer time.
Marrying a junior brother so inexplicably was too abrupt.
She hadn’t even had the chance to understand his personality, temperament, cultivation, or state of mind.
But no matter.
At this point, An Lingran had essentially given up her resistance.
After making that promise, she even felt a strange, small sense of relief.
‘At least the partner in the marriage contract is an elegant and refined junior brother who made a good first impression, not some crude old man or a shifty-eyed villain. Perhaps after adapting to his temperament, the two of us can slowly get along and spend the rest of our lives together.’
Thinking of it in such a positive light, An Lingran gave a bitter smile and rose to leave.
But just then, An Daosheng, who had been silent, cleared his throat.
“Hey! Sit down, sit down. Did I give you permission to leave?”
“?”
—
After a brief moment of confusion, An Lingran sat back down.
“Ling Ran, this matter isn’t actually that serious. There’s no rush. I will find a way to delay this for now. As for you, there’s no need to feel so aggrieved about visiting him to apologize. Just pretend nothing happened today.”
“But…”
“There are no ‘buts.’ It was my fault for not explaining the inside story of that marriage contract to you beforehand.”
“Inside story? Master… what do you mean?”
An Lingran blinked, gradually sensing something suspicious.
An Daosheng cleared his throat again, feigning composure while turning his head away to avoid eye contact.
“There is a master from beyond our borders involved in this. With your current cultivation, you don’t have the qualifications to know the inside story… so there are some things I cannot easily tell you.”
‘I cannot exactly tell her that the marriage contract was forged and that my goal was to have her marry the Immortal Venerable’s child to repay a debt of gratitude. If I did, our lineage would become relatives with an Immortal Venerable, and the whole family would enjoy fortune and ascend. If such a thing were exposed, where would I, a Grand Elder of the Sect, hide my face? I would look like a completely opportunistic villain!’
Therefore, the best solution was to minimize the issue.
Thinking this, An Daosheng repeated his instructions with a stern gaze.
“Ling Ran, you have grown up in the Sect with me since you were a child. You should be well aware of the unspoken rules of the cultivation world: the more you know, the easier it is to be targeted, which eventually leads to fatal trouble. I am withholding the truth to protect you.”
Suddenly struck by An Daosheng’s profound and mysterious air, An Lingran froze for a moment.
Then, her eyes widened, and she nodded in agreement.
“Yes, your disciple will not speak of it.”
“Good, it’s good that you understand.”
An Daosheng finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Putting his hands behind his back, he continued casually, “Ling Ran, when you go back, you must not make things difficult for your Junior Brother again. A Mortal Cultivator scholar like him hasn’t provoked you or done anything wrong. You are his Senior Sister; can’t you be a bit more broad-minded? Look at you. Bullying your junior brother because you feel wronged? What kind of behavior is that?”
“Yes, I was wrong.”
An Lingran lowered her head in shame.
In truth, she had been feeling uneasy for the past few days.
Just this morning, the Celestial Spirit, Yunying, had even sung a song to mock her.
She was already drowning in guilt.
After being scolded today, her heart finally cleared, and she recognized her mistake.
“And about that marriage contract—don’t mention it again in the future, especially not to your Junior Brother’s face. I will find a way to resolve it.”
“Yes.”
“Ling Ran, try spending more time with him for a while. If in the future you truly don’t like him even one bit, then I won’t force you to do anything. Do you understand?”
“I understand.”
Pacing back and forth while pondering how to handle the situation, An Daosheng suddenly remembered something important.
He slapped his forehead and continued his instructions.
“Right, right! And that *Fine Snow Sword Manual*. Take some time to personally guide your Junior Brother. Remember, you must teach him personally! Teach him as much as you can. We can’t have him struggling for three months, failing to achieve any results, and then giving up on himself to pack his bags and leave. If things truly reach that point, even I won’t be able to salvage the situation.”
“Yes, I understand.”
At this point, An Lingran seemed to recall something.
Clutching her dress with her jade-like hands, she took the initiative to suggest, “Actually, I have already considered this. If Junior Brother He Qiu fails to show any results after three months and falls into despair, then, in my capacity as his Senior Sister, I will personally accompany him in his cultivation and guide him for six months as compensation for my previous offense. I wonder if this is acceptable?”
Pushing her lips together shyly and slightly raising her eyebrows, An Lingran’s voice sounded somewhat lacking in confidence.
Accompanying him in cultivation was merely for guidance and not some form of dual cultivation, but it was still a first for An Lingran.
She was unsure about this proposal for compensation.
Hearing this, An Daosheng immediately understood and let out a couple of chuckles.
“Good, very good! With your title as the Primordial Saintess, accompanying someone’s cultivation for six months is an invaluable compensation. Who knows how many disciples from the Inner and Outer Gates dream of such a thing! Excellent. It’s settled, then. If Junior Brother He Qiu’s spirit truly breaks after three months, Ling Ran, you must use those six months of guidance to find a way to soothe his wounded soul. You must! You must soothe him for me!”
With a wave of his hand, An Daosheng added, “If you can’t do it, then just marry him as an apology. It’s not a big deal!”
Her body trembled as a faint flush spread from the base of her neck.
The hands clutching her dress became slightly sweaty.
The young woman bowed one last time and made a serious promise.
“Yes. I understand.”