Chapter 0727: Annulment
Jiang Qing"e"s departure was fixed for two days later.
This also meant that she would be unable to return to the City of Southwind together with House Luolan"s convoy. However, everyone knew that this was unavoidable. Time was of the essence for her as the burning Heart of Light was taking a toll on her lifeforce. Each day that pa.s.sed was another day her condition worsened.
Once it was known that the Hallowed Coruscation Ancient College"s Radiance Pool could resolve the tenuous situation, even though Li Luo was unwilling, he had to let Jiang Qing"e leave as soon as possible.
...
On the wide roads, House Luolan"s convoy was like an endless snake that spanned the distance.
As they gradually left the vicinity of Xia City, the atmosphere seemed to regain its sense of peace and tranquility. There was no trace of corruption here, and even the sun seemed to be warmer as it bathed one in its glow.
Although the influence of the corruption had vanished, a hint of gloominess hung over the convoy as everyone knew that the pillar supporting House Luolan, Jiang Qing"e, would leave the Xia Kingdom in a few days for the unfathomable inner divine continents.
Jiang Qing"e"s departure definitely affected the entire mood as her influence within the house was outsized. This was something Li Luo could not compare with.
During House Luolan"s most precarious times, she had stabilized the internal turmoil and chaos with her own strength. At that point in time, she had just entered the Astral Sage College, and her presence had been deeply inscribed in the hearts of the people in the past few years. They seemed to see a future Tan Tailan within her.
It was known that she had paid the ultimate price for the sake of repelling Shen Jinxiao, and if she did not leave, her life would extinguish with the wind. With that being the case, they would much rather see her leave for the Ancient College.
They believed that once she resolved this situation, her talent would bloom resplendently no matter where she was.
Within a carriage in the convoy.
Li Luo and Jiang Qing"e were currently sitting across from each other with the windows drawn open. The dense forest on both sides was gently illuminated by the sun, creating large, shady areas for everyone who pa.s.sed.
Jiang Qing"e had an indolent expression on her face. Such a relaxed att.i.tude was rarely seen coming from her. Perhaps it was a result of the changes happening to her body, but she seemed particularly laid back these days.
Li Luo"s gaze was focused upon the gorgeous G.o.ddess. He might have long become accustomed to this sight over the last ten years, but it was something he never got tired of. There was no choice—her beauty was otherworldly. Her exquisite facial features seemed to have been carved from the finest jade by the G.o.ds with utmost effort. Every single expression she made seemed to exude an ethereal and infinite charm.
Jiang Qing"e fiddled with a teacup as she helplessly said, "The morale of the people seems pretty low... and we haven"t even let them know that you will be leaving as well."
One could only imagine that if news of Li Luo leaving for an extended amount of time were to be released, the entire atmosphere would also worsen.
Additionally, there might even be fears that the house would disband.
With the two supporting pillars leaving, House Luolan would definitely become much more disorganized.
However, Li Luo did not reply. His eyes were focused upon Jiang Qing"e, his gaze constantly flitting across her tender, red lips... seemingly reminiscing something.
When faced with Li Luo"s increasingly unrestrained looks, Jiang Qing"e"s laid back temperament disappeared in a flash and her eyes regained their usual, indifferent, and sharp gaze, giving Li Luo a dire warning.
Only when faced with an existential threat did Li Luo unwillingly peel his gaze away. "I have no choice, I have to go. It will definitely affect morale, but the good thing is that the Xia Kingdom"s situation has changed drastically. House Jinque, House Jiyan, and the Regent have left for the north, so they cannot directly target House Luolan. In the short term, there will not be many external enemies, so things should improve for them. House Luolan may not be able to expand with just Sister Cai Wei and Sister Lingqing, but it can definitely be maintained. Additionally, with Mentor Chi Chan babysitting them, there shouldn"t be any problems." Li Luo then sighed as he said with a hint of resentment, "Just why is it that Dean Ling can only sponsor one individual?"
Seeing this fellow continue to harp over spilt milk caused Jiang Qing"e to smile. "Well, that is because Dean Ling used to be a mentor in the Hallowed Coruscation Ancient College. Thus, only she has the right to do so in the entire Xia Kingdom."
Looking at Li Luo"s depressed att.i.tude, Jiang Qing"e felt a little helpless and stretched her hand out. "I will set off with Dean Ling in the next two days and will not be able to make the journey back to the City of Southwind, thus I will do what I promised now."
"What do you want to do?" Li Luo was still in a daze. The situation with Jiang Qing"e had left a blight upon his heart and he was in no mood to think of anything else.
Jiang Qing"e gradually raised her snow-white chin as she reminded him, "The engagement agreement."
In a blink, Li Luo sat with rapt attention as he focused on Jiang Qing"e for a few seconds. At this point in time, she removed an exquisitely carved box from within her pocket sphere. When she opened the box, a piece of pale, yellow paper was revealed.
On it were words written in delicate and slightly immature handwriting.
Jiang Qing"e smiled as she looked at this piece of paper, and a trace of reminiscence appeared in her eyes. The memories that she had buried deeply resurfaced. As a young girl, she had grasped the pen and attentively written out every word upon this engagement agreement.
To be fair, the agreement had no binding power and no one would take what was written within as fact. To an outsider, this had been drawn by a little girl having fun. However, Jiang Qing"e had always taken it as fact.
"Father was truly hateful. When this happened, Mother beat him up for three days in a row and his bitter cries resounded throughout the entire house..." Li Luo sighed expressively when he saw this.
Tan Tailan was furious when it happened. His father had randomly spewed some words in drunken stupor and Jiang Qing"e was similarly stubborn. Once she agreed to something, she would not back down.
Thus, Tan Tailan wreaked a path of devastation in her anger, and every single individual in the house attempted to placate her. However, none dared to remain near her, with the exception of Li Luo.
Jiang Qing"e had a warm smile on her face. "I really love this family. So I never resisted the idea."
"Sister Qing"e, you not resisting the idea is one thing and loving the family wholeheartedly is another," Li Luo attentively pointed out.
Her eyes fluttered as she replied to Li Luo with a half-smile, "So, do you think I"m acting wholeheartedly now?"
Li Luo paused to think. "Well, it doesn"t matter to me. I wholeheartedly like you."
"When did that start?" Jiang Qing"e"s golden eyes seemed to be shining at this point. At the same time, her words were bold and without shyness.
"I think it started when you gave me my first beating as a kid..." Li Luo grinned.
"So it turns out you"re m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.tic," she replied in surprise.
Li Luo rolled his eyes as he suddenly asked, "Now that we"re talking about it, I have never heard my parents talk about where you came from."
Thinking back, Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan had suddenly brought Jiang Qing"e back one year when she was already four or five years old. However, they had never talked about her origins.
Jiang Qing"e fell silent momentarily. "I don"t have any recollection either."
She frowned. "My memories only start when I met the Master and Mistress. Everything else is just darkness."
Li Luo similarly frowned. Didn"t that seem a little strange? Her origins were a little mysterious, and he also remembered that Tan Tailan"s projection had also mentioned that they owed her a lot. What did that mean?
He continued to mull over these thoughts in his heart, but nothing came to mind, so he shook his head.
Recollecting himself, he removed the engagement agreement and pushed it back towards her.
"Sister Qing"e, I"m going to return the agreement back to you." He looked very solemn, as though he had completed a sacred ceremony.
Jiang Qing"e"s jade-like fingers gently picked up the agreement as she swept her gaze over him with upturned lips. "Li Luo, from this moment on, we no longer have any relationship binding us."
Her tone turned a little indifferent. "Do you remember when I returned to the City of Southwind? That was the first time you raised the idea of annulling this agreement. I had told you that if you backed out, you might never have another chance again. What do you think of this now? Do you regret it?"
The playfulness in her golden eyes became more intense as she stared at Li Luo, who was now clearly unsettled and squirming in his seat.
"Li Luo, tell me... are you feeling the heat yet?"