Chapter 4 (1/2)

Translator: CKtalon Editor: CKtalon

A study within Mirror Lake Meng Manor.

After practicing for an entire day, even though Meng Chuan remained energetic and excited, he still had to rest due to the exhaustion of his Quintessential Energy. He came to the study room to begin what he did every day—painting.

There was a piece of paper lying on the tabletop, and beside it, a beautiful color palette. All the paint was of high quality.

Meng Chuan put his heart into painting. He had fallen in love with painting since he was young.

Perhaps it was because his mother was good at painting and had taught him how to draw. This was what he loved the most when he was young. Imagine a three-year-old child painting for nearly eight hours straight, to the point he forewent his meals without complaining about fatigue. He would still laugh happily despite his paint-covered body. His mother had said, “My son is extremely talented. He will definitely become the number one artist in the world. Every painting will be worth its weight in gold.”

He was born in the Meng family; his parents doted on him, so he was carefree.

However, when he was six, over a hundred thousand people had died in a great catastrophe. His mother was no exception.

After his parents protected him with all their might and retreated to Eastcalm Prefecture, he focused on cultivating. However, he would still draw for two hours every day. Whenever he drew, he would forget about his fatigue from cultivation. He felt as though he had returned to a time when he was young. His mother would give him pointers, and his mind would be incomparably peaceful.

Now, he was fifteen years old.

After painting for over a decade, and being taught by several accomplished artists, he had long surpa.s.sed his teachers. His mother had been right. His talent was indeed outstanding—at least higher than his talent towards saber arts.

But what use was that? Could the best artist slay demons?

Knock. Knock. Knock.

There was an urgent knock on the door outside the study.

Huh? Meng Chuan looked outside curiously. No one disturbs me when I’m usually painting. What’s going on?

He put down the brush, then opened the door. His father, Meng Dajiang, was standing outside. His normal jovial smile was gone; his current expression was rather solemn.

“Chuan’er, quickly follow me to the ancestral mansion,” said Meng Dajiang.

“Okay.” He immediately followed his father without hesitating. “Dad, why have you been frequently visiting the ancestral mansion recently?”

“It’s nothing.” Meng Dajiang didn’t elaborate.

“Then why are we heading to the ancestral mansion now?” Meng Chuan asked again. As a junior, he paid a small handful of visits to the ancestral mansion annually.

Meng Dajiang glanced at his son and said, “It’s about your engagement with Yun Qingping. We decided to annul the engagement after a discussion between our families.”

“Annul the engagement?” Meng Chuan was shocked. “Dad, why is it suddenly being annulled?”

“You can’t bear to have it annulled?” Meng Dajiang looked at his son.

“Not at all.” Meng Chuan immediately shook his head. “I only meet Yun Qingping once every few months. Our personalities don’t match, so annulling the engagement is a good thing for me.”

He was only fifteen this year; he didn’t know anything about love. He saw Yun Qingping as a familiar and willful younger sister. Nothing more.

“It’s good that you think that way. Our families have already agreed to annul the engagement,” said Meng Dajiang. “When we reach the ancestral mansion, you just have to listen. Don’t speak too much.”

Meng Chuan nodded. “Yes.”

…

The Meng family’s ancestral mansion was situated in Eastcalm’s western district. It occupied a very large area—more than two thousand clansmen resided there. From the center of their occupied land, over half a kilometer could be traversed from south to north.

The Meng family’s foundation was in the countryside. Due to the threat of demons, people in the countryside combined forts to protect themselves. Each fort had thousands of people inside; it was very common for the same clan to gather in one fort. After a millennium of reproduction, the Meng family had three large forts and numbered over ten thousand people. There were few clans this large in Eastcalm Prefecture.

The special thing about the Meng family was that they had a G.o.dfiend. They immediately became one of the five major G.o.dfiend family clans with the highest status in Eastcalm Prefecture.

“Elder.”

“Elder.”

The ancestral mansion was very orderly. Some of the patrolling clan members bowed and greeted Meng Dajiang respectfully when they saw the duo.

Meng Dajiang was one of the three strongest members of the Meng family. He was still considered young and had a sliver of hope of becoming a G.o.dfiend. He was to be the family’s next clan leader.

“Mmm?”

Meng Chuan followed his father into the guest hall.

Several people were already seated on both sides of the hall. On one side were those from the Meng family and the other—the Yun family. However, the atmosphere was clearly not quite right. At a glance, Meng Chuan could tell that the elders from his family didn’t look too good.

“Brother Dajiang is here.” Yun Fu’an stood up and smiled. “Have you brought the marriage agreement?”

“Yes.” Meng Dajiang nodded slightly.

Yun Fu’an smiled and said, “The other Elders have no objections to the annulment of the engagement. I believe it’s the same for you, am I right, Brother Dajiang?”

Meng Dajiang stood there and laughed. “If both families have the intention of building close ties through marriage, that will be nice. However, since there’s no intent, it’s better to annul the engagement early. This is the marriage agreement.”

He took out a scroll and handed it to Yun Fu’an with both hands.

After Yun Fu’an received the scroll, he unfurled it and took a closer look. He nodded slightly after seeing the names signed on it. It was indeed the marriage agreement from before. The two ancestors’ handwriting couldn’t be forged.

“Yun Fu’an, please tear the marriage agreement apart right here,” said a bald, thin elder from the Meng family.

“Haha! Are you worried that I’ll bring it back, and await a critical moment before using it to force Meng Chuan to marry my daughter?” Yun Fu’an laughed. “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything that shameless!”