The sun was already high in the eastern sky, a rooster crowed from atop a roof, and the cloudless heavens were a brilliant azure.
Ding Nan felt a slight itch on the tip of his nose.
He opened his eyes hazily only to see a small lock of hair.
“Whoa!”
Ding Nan was startled at first, but he quickly realized what was happening.
He turned his head and saw a beautiful, kind-hearted girl leaning over the side of his bed.
Her slender, snow-white arms were exposed as she held a lock of her own hair between her fingers, using it to tease the tip of his nose.
When she saw Ding Nan wake up, her eyes crinkled into crescent moons.
“Happy birthday!” Luo Yao said in a low voice.
Ding Nan was only the distance of one head away from her.
That voice drifted softly into his ear as if she were whispering against his skin, making him feel rather embarrassed.
“Good… good morning, Luo Yao,” Ding Nan said, sitting up straight and rubbing his face to hide his flushing cheeks.
“You can sleep a while longer if you want,” Luo Yao said softly.
“No, no need. I’ve already woken up too late today.”
Ding Nan looked at the sunlight streaming through the window.
At this hour, the sun was practically scorching his backside.
“Alright then.”
Luo Yao stood up and pulled Ding Nan’s clothes out from the nearby wardrobe.
Ding Nan rose, intending to wash his face, but he suddenly felt as if his left leg had no sensation at all.
He nearly stumbled and fell.
Hearing the commotion, Luo Yao turned around and hurried over to support him.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m… I’m fine.”
Ding Nan shook his left leg, and feeling gradually returned to it.
“Should you rest a bit more?”
Luo Yao asked with concern, her hand resting on his waist.
“No need.”
Ding Nan slowly pulled away from Luo Yao’s soft hand as his footing became stable.
This sensation of his body being out of his control was very familiar to him.
Every time he used the Jade Tablet, he felt like this upon waking up.
Occasionally, he would even feel a slight stinging sensation, like nerve pain.
“Are you truly alright?”
“I’m fine. I just haven’t fully woken up yet.”
Luo Yao looked at Ding Nan’s calm expression and chose to believe him.
She returned to the wardrobe to finish gathering his clothes.
“By the way, the people from the Shangguan Family have already settled into an inn in Qingquan City. Uncle Ding Wen told me to come and fetch you.”
“What! Why didn’t you say so earlier!”
Ding Nan was shocked and began to dress himself in a frantic rush.
Fifteen minutes later, he was running, eventually arriving breathlessly at the clan’s Council Hall.
“The Third Young Master of the Ding Clan certainly puts on grand airs. To think he’d make the Patriarch and the others wait so long?”
A group of younger clan members had gathered outside the entrance of the Council Hall to watch the spectacle.
As Ding Nan arrived, waves of righteous dissatisfaction rose from the crowd.
These peers did not hold back their tongues even as they moved aside to make a path for him.
Ding Nan did not argue because he was, indeed, in the wrong.
Biting the bullet, he stepped over the threshold and entered the Council Hall.
The interior of the hall was arranged in a traditional style.
The Patriarch, Ding Nan’s father Ding Wen, sat in the primary seat of honor.
Beside him was an empty armchair.
That seat should have belonged to Ding Nan’s mother in this life, but unfortunately, she had passed away years ago.
To the right of the main entrance sat three middle-aged men of similar age to his father.
To the left of the entrance sat two people.
One was an older man with graying hair but a very smooth, well-kept beard.
He appeared to be the oldest person in the room.
The other was a young woman dressed in white with a longsword hanging from her waist.
She had a graceful figure, a slender waist, and a cute face that radiated a purity like the bright moon.
The moment Ding Nan stepped into the room, every eye in the Council Hall fell upon him.
Ding Nan immediately felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.
He could sense that the atmosphere was exceptionally heavy.
This heaviness stemmed from the fact that no one was talking, and the tea sets placed on the tables remained untouched.
Usually, if relations were harmonious, the lids would be off and people would be chatting merrily, but there was none of that here.
“Little Nan, come. Take your seat,” the Patriarch, Ding Nan’s father Ding Wen, spoke.
“Huh?”
Ding Nan was stunned.
He looked toward the middle-aged man sitting at the far end of the right side.
This man had a prominent potbelly and a fierce expression.
He was Ding Nan’s Third Uncle, Ding Wen’s youngest brother, and usually the person most annoyed by Ding Nan’s presence.
Ding Nan expected him to speak up and mock his father, but today the man didn’t explode.
He simply let out a cold snort.
“How long do you plan on standing there?”
Hearing this, Ding Nan looked at his other two uncles.
They said nothing; one tall and one thin, they both smiled and gestured for Ding Nan to sit down.
Ding Nan grew even more confused.
According to seniority, there was no reason he should be sitting with these uncles.
Shouldn’t he be standing beside them “awaiting his sentence”?
Despite his confusion, Ding Nan took his seat in the armchair next to his Third Uncle.
As soon as he sat down, he caught a faint, elegant scent.
Noticing a woman standing beside him, he looked up to see Luo Yao beaming at him.
“Luo… Luo Yao! Why are you here?”
“I am your servant. Of course I follow you!”
Luo Yao said playfully.
She then looked toward everyone in the room and asked, “Isn’t that right?”
“Quite right,” everyone replied.
Everyone in the room nodded, including the young lady and the elder from the Shangguan Family.
‘Wait, what are you two nodding for?’
Ding Nan couldn’t help but complain internally.
Looking at the jolly expressions on his father’s and uncles’ faces, he was suddenly reminded of his school days in his previous life.
He felt that familiar distinction between being a “good student” and a “bad student” all over again.
Ding Nan felt helpless.
He regained his composure and looked at the girl sitting across from him.
He had to admit, this girl from the Shangguan Family looked as if she were naturally wearing a fine skin cream.
She was truly beautiful. Judging by her polite sitting posture, she seemed to be a very quiet and composed person.
“Now that everyone is here, let us begin.”
The gray-haired old man spoke up and looked at Ding Nan.
“First, an introduction. My name is Shangguan Qiu. I am Shangguan Zheng’s younger brother. By seniority, I should call your father my nephew.”
Ding Nan nodded.
That would make him the man’s grand-nephew.
“The one sitting beside me is my grand-niece, Shangguan Qingya.”
As he spoke, over a dozen men carried heavy chests into the Council Hall from a side door.
The sound of clattering metal and wood echoed through the hall.
The presence of these large chests suddenly made the Council Hall feel cramped.
“Years ago, my elder brother made two marriage pacts with your grandfather. One of those was the engagement between Qingya and yourself,” Shangguan Qiu said slowly, gesturing with his hand.
The men immediately threw open the large chests.
In an instant, the Council Hall was flooded with Spiritual Qi.
The elders of the clan all widened their eyes.
Inside those chests, which were large enough to hide an adult, Spirit Stones and Jade Bottles glittered brilliantly.
The scent of medicinal pills wafting from the Jade Bottles even gave Ding Nan a vague sensation of being on the verge of a cultivation breakthrough.
Judging by the quality of the Spirit Stones alone, there were three chests of high-grade Spirit Stones, excluding the mid-grade ones.
There was even one small chest filled with Spirit Crystals.
Spirit Crystals were purified forms of Spirit Stones; the Spiritual Qi within them was more abundant and pure, making their value significantly higher.
In the face of this dazzling display of wealth, Shangguan Qiu spoke slowly.
“We have come to break the engagement.”