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In the reception hall, sandalwood smoke curled gently upward.

The Holy Son of the Bloodfiend Holy Land sat in the seat of honor, legs crossed, idly toying with a string of blood-red prayer beads in his hand.

He appeared to be around twenty years old, with fairly decent features.

But his brow carried an air of spoiled arrogance, and the corner of his mouth was cocked in a smirk he clearly thought made him look dashing and debonair.

Behind him stood two attendants, both at the Taiyi Golden Immortal level of cultivation.

They flanked him left and right like a pair of guardian statues.

Zhao Qinghe led Zhao Jinglan into the hall, and the Holy Son of the Bloodfiend Holy Land slowly lowered his legs.

His gaze swept over Zhao Jinglan twice without any attempt at subtlety.

The look in his eyes was so sticky and lingering it felt like he was trying to strip her bare from head to toe and examine every inch.

“Tsk tsk, the princess is truly radiant and exquisite.” Sun Bin flashed a grin, revealing a row of teeth, his tone carrying a certain presumptuous entitlement.

“Ever since I caught a distant glimpse of you last time, I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind. Seeing you today really cures this holy son's lovesickness.”

Zhao Jinglan’s expression remained calm, though her hand hidden within her sleeve clenched slightly. She said nothing, only giving a slight nod as a token of greeting.

Sun Bin didn’t seem to mind her coldness. He casually sat back down.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said to Zhao Qinghe in a relaxed tone:

“Father-in-law, the reason I came this time is to discuss the wedding arrangements with you.”

“I can tell the princess is quite taken with me as well. Since we’re clearly in love, why not just get the wedding done early?”

Right as Zhao Qinghe’s face turned iron-gray, unsure how to respond, a voice drifted in from the doorway at a leisurely pace.

“Holy Son, it’s been a while—your temper seems to have grown. But tell me, how exactly did you figure out that this young lady is so smitten with you?”

Qin Hao’s figure stepped through the door.

He had his arms crossed over his chest, his stride relaxed, and that trademark lazy smile still hung on his face.

As if this place were nothing more than his own backyard.

Hearing that voice, Zhao Qinghe shuddered and immediately wanted to stop Qin Hao from being rude in front of the Holy Son.

Sun Bin also frowned at the words, his hand pausing as he held the teacup, glancing toward the door with some impatience.

The moment he was about to start cursing—and then laid eyes on Qin Hao’s face—he froze solid on the spot.

“Smack—!”

The teacup in Sun Bin’s hand hit the floor with a sharp crack, splashing tea across his pant leg. His whole body was as if struck by a paralysis spell, rigid in place.

The color drained from his face at a visible pace.

That smug, high-and-mighty expression from moments ago instantly twisted into a pale, almost terrified pallor.

Of course he recognized Qin Hao. He had even gone with Qin Hao to the Yaochi Secret Realm before, except Qin Hao had worn a mask at the time.

But as the Holy Son of a sacred land and now a steward of the Immortal Court, how could he not recognize the man who belonged to the Celestial Emperor of the Immortal Court?

“Q-Q-Q—” Sun Bin stared at Qin Hao, unable to get a single word out for a long while.

A bad feeling suddenly crept over him.

There were rumors floating around that any woman who was beautiful and talented couldn’t escape Qin Hao’s clutches.

He had previously assumed those were just baseless gossip, that people were simply jealous of Qin Hao.

After all, the women around Qin Hao were each stunning and extraordinarily gifted.

But seeing things today, it was clear the rumors were true.

He had come all the way to this godforsaken backwater of the Middle Three Heavens to flirt with girls—how could he end up flirting with one of Qin Hao’s?

Qin Hao walked up to Sun Bin with a beaming smile and said,

“We’re all friends here—no need to get so worked up.”

Hearing this, Sun Bin’s expression turned wary. He glanced at Zhao Jinglan, then at Qin Hao, as if a light bulb had gone off. This kind of scene—he’d read about it in storybooks.

Sun Bin took a deep breath and replied with a smile,

“Right, right, we’re all friends. Brother Qin, what a coincidence running into you here?”

Zhao Pojun and Zhao Jinglan were completely stunned. This guy really did know the Holy Son of the Bloodfiend Holy Land! And more than that—they couldn’t shake the feeling that the Holy Son of the Bloodfiend Holy Land was acting almost sycophantic in front of Qin Hao.

Qin Hao gestured for Sun Bin to rise.

Sun Bin quickly got to his feet and even scooted his chair closer to Qin Hao.

Qin Hao sat down as if it were the most natural thing in the world, then pointed at Zhao Jinglan and said to Sun Bin,

“Brother Sun, I’ve been hearing some unsavory rumors about you.”

“Something about you forcing a girl to marry you when she doesn’t want to?”

At those words, beads of sweat immediately broke out on Sun Bin’s forehead. He waved his hands frantically, his voice rising in panic:

“Misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding! Brother Qin, let me explain—”

“I have never forced anyone to marry me. I, Sun Bin, would never stoop to something so disgraceful!”

“I came here only because I felt a connection with the princess. I just wanted to make a friend—nothing more.”

“Ah, it’s all just rumors spread by my underlings. I only expressed a bit of admiration, and somehow the story got twisted out of shape.”

The more Sun Bin spoke, the more flustered he sounded. He stole a glance at Qin Hao, and only when he saw that Qin Hao wasn’t angry did he breathe a quiet sigh of relief.

Qin Hao waved a hand dismissively.

“Enough. You can feed those lines to other people, and I’ll just smile and let them go. But don’t fool yourself into believing them—otherwise, you’ll end up trapped by your own lies.”

“As for the engagement—I’ll make the call. It’s over. How about that?”

Sun Bin nodded eagerly.

“An honor! Having Brother Qin personally come to break off the engagement is the greatest honor I could ask for!”

“Break it! Not just break it—we’ll end it cleanly and properly, with no loose ends.”

Sun Bin’s fawning attitude genuinely amused Qin Hao.

Qin Hao took a bottle of pills out of his storage pouch.

“This is a batch of pills refined by an Immortal Venerable from my clan. They won’t boost your cultivation, but they can improve your innate bone quality. Consider it a gift.”

At that, Sun Bin’s eyes lit up. Pills that could improve one’s bone quality—that was a priceless treasure!

Sun Bin didn’t stand on ceremony. He took the pills straight from Qin Hao’s hand.

“Many thanks, Brother Qin! If there’s nothing else, I’ll be on my way!”

Qin Hao gave a slight nod.

Sun Bin felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders. Him letting me go means he’s not planning to hold this against me. I can relax now.

He gave Qin Hao a respectful bow, then left with his men.

Inside the reception hall, only Qin Hao and the Zhao father-and-daughter trio remained.

Qin Hao shrugged with a grin.

“See? I told you—I’m acquainted with the Holy Son of the Bloodfiend Holy Land. With me stepping in, I was definitely able to get that marriage called off.”

He then turned to Zhao Pojun and reminded him sternly,

“Listen here, you rascal—when this job is done, you’d better leave me a ten-star review!”