Yun Lan naturally knew about this affair; the proclamation had made waves in the capital in the days directly following the flower-viewing party.

But after so long, when neither Li Mo nor the emperor had made any further gestures with regards to the betrothal, the court had begun treating it as though it were just a joke that the Slaughtering King had played on Yun Ruoyan.

From the very beginning, Yun Lan hadn’t believed that Li Mo was truly interested in Yun Ruoyan. However, the day of the Yun matriarch’s anniversary, the Slaughtering King had arrived out of nowhere in order to save Yun Ruoyan from the Daoist priest.

Only then did Yun Lan detect traces of their unusual relationship. Not long after Li Mo began chasing after the Daoist priest, his guards arrived: Li Mo had dropped everything in order to rush after her. How many people in the capital could command that sort of response from the Slaughtering King himself?

Based on his many years of experience at court, Yun Lan became certain that Yun Ruoyan wasn’t a common existence to Li Mo. However, he couldn’t identify why such a man would be so attracted to his daughter. 

After all, Li Mo was famed for not being interested in women. Even if Yun Ruoyan looked a little like Lin Yuemei when she hid her birthmark, it wouldn’t have been enough to attract such a man. So what exactly did Li Mo find so appealing about her?!

This question would frequently pop into Yun Lan’s mind, leaving him perplexed.

As a result, he had decided on his current plan of action: to betroth Yun Ruoyan to Yun Moyuan. If Li Mo truly cared about Yun Ruoyan, he would certainly appear to disrupt the proceedings. At that time, Yun Lan would be able to make use of his daughter to deepen his relationship with the Slaughtering King.

On the other hand, if Li Mo didn’t show up, then he would be able to pair up his uncontrollable daughter with Yun Moyuan, a man he most certainly was able to control. Then, he would slowly reel Yun Ruoyan back into his grasp!

“Father, surely it would appear awkward to betroth me to someone else despite my pre-existing betrothal to the Slaughtering King?” A faint smile hung on Yun Ruoyan’s lips, as though she clearly knew of his plan.

Yun Lan couldn’t help frowning.

“When did you end up with a marriage betrothal with the Slaughtering King?!” Yun Moxiao and Yun Moyuan asked almost at the same time.

Neither of them were in the capital during the flower-viewing party, and the event had long passed by the time they returned. As a result, this was the first time either of them had heard about the incident.

“Sister,” Yun Ruoyao suddenly spoke up. “If I’m not remembering incorrectly, you refused the emperor’s betrothal publicly during the banquet. Given that the Slaughtering King hasn’t made any overt gestures to you recently, it’s likely that he’s since lost interest. Sister, I’m afraid it’s a little late to be regretting your rash decision.”

“Sister Ruoyan…” Yun Moyuan was standing up, supported by Yun Feng. “How could someone like the Slaughtering King be interested in you?”

Yun Moxiao turned and glared at his brother. “What’s wrong with my sister? Why wouldn’t the Slaughtering King be interested in her?!”

Scared of his fists, Yun Moyuan closed his mouth and prudently decided to stop talking.

“Ruoyan, don’t worry. I won’t let Father betroth you to just anyone,” Yun Moxiao continued lightly. “We don’t have to implicate the Slaughtering King in this affair.”

Although Yun Moxiao hadn’t met Li Mo before, numerous rumors of his conquests continued to travel through the army. The bloodbath against the beastkin was still fresh in everyone’s minds, and Li Mo was truly a legendary figure to be feared.

It was hardly likely that such a figure would display any interest in his young sister—at the very least, this wasn’t something Yun Moxiao could believe without further proof. 

Yun Ruoyan stood silently as she listened to her family speak, a faint smile still lingering on her face. In truth, Yun Ruoyan also didn’t expect that Li Mo would be interested in her. The only reason she’d brought him up was as a temporary measure.

She’d always thought that Li Mo’s behavior toward her was just a simple form of teasing, the same way a bored tiger might play with a little kitty. If the kitty were obedient enough, then the tiger would be gentle; but as soon as the kitty looked as though it might annoy the tiger, the tiger would immediately reveal its sharp teeth and claws.

She could still remember clearly how Li Mo had slowly strangled her that night.

Yun Lan continued to look at Yun Ruoyan. Despite her siblings’ misgivings, she was silent, calm, and unperturbed. 

Finding his second daughter more and more inscrutable, Yun Lan decided to probe her further. “Ruoyan, that marriage betrothal during the flower-viewing banquet was just a joke.”

Yun Lan slowly stood up from his seat. “I know a little about how the Slaughtering King behaves. If he’s truly serious, then he wouldn’t have waited all this time without saying anything about the betrothal. It’s likely that he was simply drunk that night at the banquet, so you can forget about the affair and marry Moyuan instead.”

“Father,” Yun Ruoyan finally turned to her father and murmured, “the reason Li Mo hasn’t made any further gestures to me is because I’m not yet an adult. If you don’t believe me, I’ll head to the Slaughtering King’s manor and have him explain everything to you.”

Yun Ruoyan actually addressed the Slaughtering King as Li Mo, in front of her entire family!

On the Chenyuan continent, and especially within the Li kingdom famed for its decorum, the birth names of the royalty and the truly strong couldn’t be invoked lightly. But not only had Yun Ruoyan said his name out loud, she had done so in such a natural fashion that it made her familiarity with the Slaughtering King obvious.

Yun Ruoyan’s family began to believe some of her seemingly ludicrous claims.

Could she really have a relationship with the Slaughtering King? That’s right—didn’t she spend two days and two nights with him during her abduction?

“Wonderful!” Yun Lan finally began to smile.

“Uncle, I—” Yun Moyuan quickly tried to persuade Yun Lan, who was on the verge of changing his mind.

“Moyuan, while I do want to marry Ruoyan off to you, if she truly has a betrothal with the Slaughtering King, then I can’t do anything about it either.”

When Yun Moyuan heard his words, his legs turned to jelly and he fell once more to the ground. Yun Feng helped him up again.

“Sister Ruoyan, no one in this world will treat you better than I would!” Yun Moyuan called out, not yet resigned to his defeat. “I must witness the betrothal between you and the Slaughtering King, or I won’t be satisfied!”

Yun Ruoyan finally turned to Yun Moyuan. “Cousin, I suggest you give up. Regardless of whether you’re from the Yun family or not, I never had, have, or will have any interest in being together with you.”

“Sister Ruoyan—”

“Moyuan, relationships can’t be forced!” Yun Feng broke his son off. Yun Ruoyan had never looked at his son since entering the great hall, and it was quite apparent that she loathed his son. 

Yun Feng loved his son, and he knew that nothing could come out of forcibly binding him to Yun Ruoyan via marriage.

“Tomorrow, I’m heading to the Chen kingdom. You’ll accompany me there.” This was one of the few times that anyone had heard Yun Feng commanding his son.

“Father—”

“Brother, there’s been some problem with our stores in the Chen kingdom. I’ll be heading over immediately in the morning, so I won’t have time to bid you farewell.”

Yun Lan inclined his head in understanding, and Yun Feng began pulling Yun Moyuan from the hall.

“Father, I won’t leave!” Yun Moyuan continued to call out. “I won’t give up! Sister Ruoyan, I won’t stop chasing after you until I see you married to the Slaughtering King with my own eyes!”

“Ruoyan, I plan on having your marriage settled before your fifteenth birthday, be it to Moyuan, the Slaughtering King, or even someone else entirely.”

This was a naked threat from her father.

“I understand, Father.”

“In that case, I’ll await the Slaughtering King’s arrival tomorrow.” Yun Lan marched off towards the exit. “Alright, it’s getting rather late. Everyone’s dismissed.”

Only after Yun Lan’s back had completely vanished from sight did Yun Ruoyan and Yun Moxiao turn to leave as well.

“Mother, is the Slaughtering King serious?” Yun Ruoyao asked.

“No, it can’t be. It’s just a matter of how large a prank the Slaughtering King’s trying to pull.”

As a gust of cold wind chilled her body, Yun Ruoyan hugged herself tightly.

Yun Moxiao pulled off his outer robes and draped it over Yun Ruoyan’s shoulders. “Ruoyan, are you and the Slaughtering King really…”

“No, it’s fake.” Yun Ruoyan drew her brother’s robes closer to herself.

“Then what’ll you do tomorrow?”

“He’ll help me out, I’m sure,” Yun Ruoyan affirmed. After all, he’d done her quite a number of favors already, and she was sure that Li Mo wouldn’t mind such a trivial thing.

He wouldn’t, would he? 

Thinking further, Yun Ruoyan couldn’t be sure. After all, Li Mo had also helped her out quite a number of times, and they didn’t have any favors to barter between them.

Li Mo was a gigantic mystery to Yun Ruoyan. Honestly, even now, she still wasn’t sure whether he was man or beast.

Li Mo’s unusually familiar gestures were also far more than she could stand. In her words, he was crazy. Would such a mysterious, crazy man help her out?

Achoo! 

In the Slaughtering King’s manor, Li Mo suddenly sneezed while drinking with Li Qianhan.

“Uncle, what’s gotten into you?” Li Qianhan was a little surprised; this was the first time he’d ever seen his uncle sneeze!

Li Mo frowned, glancing at his right arm. Ever since he’d dripped a few drops of his own blood on the 

qilin 

beads, he had been able to feel a few of the stronger feelings emanated by the person wearing the beads, Yun Ruoyan.

Li Mo had just felt a gust of cold wind snake up his nostrils, the direct cause of the sneeze. He touched his nose and muttered faintly to himself, 

What’s that brat doing, running outside this late at night?

The next day, just as usual, Yun Ruoyan woke up, painted a birthmark on her face, and began to cultivate. After finishing breakfast, she headed outside. A carriage was already waiting for her. Yun Ruoyan got in, and the driver whipped his horses and steered the carriage in the direction of the Slaughtering King’s manor.

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