'Free, I am fucking free!!!'
Shen Yuan walked calmly, but he felt his legs were too tall compared to his previous small legs. He wanted to check out the system, but now was not the time. He was still on top of the lake. He could hear his heartbeat, which was very different; his heart sounded like it was a sword that was sheathing and unsheathing itself.
"Young Master."
The free man didn't notice a maid in front of him. She was holding a wooden tray; the smell coming from these teapots smelled bewitching. She was in an awkward position, as with liquid in her hand she could not bow, but she was desperate to.
"Well, you are dismissed or do whatever you want."
"Tomorrow, Young Miss is going to Dark Forest."
He was about to pass her when Shen Yuan heard the maid talk. She blabbered something which took him a few seconds to process. Tilting his head with a smile, he just waved his hand and left.
This was what Shen Yuan used to do: bribe the maids to access information about Yan Qingcheng—where she goes—and he would follow and pester her. Now he could care less.
"Strange…"
The maid was hoping for some spirit stones as usual, but all she got was a dashing smile on that cold face and his back view. With a frown on her face, she walked to the gazebo where her Young Miss was.
Yan Qingcheng's mind was in pure chaos. She wanted to calm her heart, but the cultivation technique was somewhat failing her. She wanted to ask too many questions, but the man was gone; she missed every opportunity.
"H… How was he so polite? No rude remarks about my breasts? What happened? How can a dog's tail become straight?"
"Young Miss, should I serve you peach blossom tea?"
"Ah? Xiao Mei, yes, I need tea."
"You seem troubled, Young Miss. Should I inform Matriarch Yan?"
Warm steam rose to the air when Xiao Mei poured the peach blossom tea. Smelling the tea, Yan Qingcheng felt her bouncing nerves being soothed, so she shook her head and took a sip.
As her heart was calming down by sipping warm tea slowly, small ripples from the middle of the lake began going out. As she observed the ripples, instead of calming down, they were getting bigger and larger.
Shen Yuan, who was walking towards a white marble castle, also stopped in his steps and looked back towards the lake. Although he was fairly new or barely knew cultivation, he could still sense something was rising from the lake, and it was big.
"Is this what they call cultivation Qi?"
His sword heart was going crazy. Instinctively, he wanted to run. His first thought was to get shelter in the white marble castle. As he took a step towards that castle, he only saw a blur, and in that blur, hundreds of people were walking by his side, maintaining a single-step distance from him out of respect.
"Young Master, are you alright?"
A blue-haired old man with a kind smile walked just beside him as if to calm his urgencies. Shen Yuan, seeing the blue-haired person, instantly recognized him. This was his protector and dies in the main character's hand while protecting Shen Yuan later in the story. This man was such a memorable person to read.
"I am alright. You don't feel the Qi fluctuations?"
"That is why everyone is here actually, but don't worry. It's Shen Long, the guardian deity of the Yan Clan. He was appointed by the Clan Head upon your engagement with Young Miss Yan to protect their clan."
Gao Tao reassured Shen Yuan while slowing his pace. He wanted to see what Shen Long was up to. The hundreds of people who were surrounding them were all from the Shen Clan, serving under Shen Long's command; that is why they also gathered here.
Shen Yuan stopped in his tracks. He forgot about this. Shen Long was a great cultivator of the Shen Clan, and if we go by blood, he was his grandfather's brother, who protected the Yan Clan because he was forced to by Shen Yuan's father.
The whole Yan Clan was in an uproar as important personnel suddenly ran towards the lake. Shen Yuan stood in the middle of hundreds of people who were radiating immense cultivation.
"Y… Young Master Shen."
A middle-aged man ran to the lake. Seeing the family's trusted aides beside Shen Yuan, he smiled bitterly. Ordinary cultivators might not see it, but they stood in an orderly formation, wearing green robes of the Shen Clan to defend Shen Yuan, even if he was not aware of it.
"Patriarch Yan, please maintain a distance until Shen Long shows himself."
Before Shen Yuan could even ask who the fuck this was, Gao Tao's cold voice resonated far. His eyes were void of any emotion, as if he wouldn't tolerate another step towards his Young Master.
"Father."
Yan Qingcheng ran to her father's side. Seeing her arrival, Gao Tao's eyes twitched a little, because whenever his Young Master looked at this girl, he allowed everything for her. He was waiting for that same pat on his shoulder where Shen Yuan would ask him to step aside, but surprisingly, that pat didn't come.
Shen Yuan, standing in the middle of hundreds of bodyguards, felt secure. He felt like this was how it should be. He was not getting bullied by a fucking idiot with a rod.
A huge shadow rose from the lake. It directly flew into the clouds, piercing them with ease. The sheer Qi this thing was emanating made the air chokeable.
The momentum didn't last long; it slowly came down. Shen Yuan could see a green Eastern dragon which looked fearsome. He had never seen a beast of this size, and the novel didn't do justice to how massive this thing was. With its shiny green scales, it made Shen Yuan gulp three times.
'It's like standing in a small boat while a herd of blue whales passes by. Scary and dangerous experience.'
The dragon slowly descended to the ground. In the blink of an eye, it transformed from a gigantic beast to an old man wearing the same color as Shen Yuan. He also looked somewhat similar to him but had long white hair instead of black.
"Yan Tianlong greets Dao Protector Shen."
"Yan Qingcheng greets Dao Protector."
"Tch!!"
Both father and daughter cupped their fists with a bow to show respect towards this old monster, but all they got was a reaction worse than being ignored. Shen Long felt annoyed by them.
"Shen Yuan!! Brat, come here."
As he walked towards Shen Yuan, after a single nod at Gao Tao, he commanded. Gao Tao, seeing the nod, took a small breath and took a step to the side so that Shen Yuan could go to his ancestor.
'Are you kidding me? You are supposed to protect me from things like this.'
Shaking his head with immense disappointment, he prepared himself once again to meet Confucius. Taking a big breath, he walked towards the monster. All this time, although he felt his sword heart was like music, it was annoying him now.
"You broke the engagement?"
Shen Long's calm tone made Shen Yuan relax a bit. He was doubting it, but it felt like this old monster was smiling somewhat. He was still several steps away from him.
"Y… Yes."
"T… That's very good! Ahahaha, Shen Long Division can finally go home! Ahahaha! Everyone, we are going home!"
The reactions felt different for each person present. The bodyguards or important personnel of the Yan Clan who arrived hundreds in number, were instantly overjoyed, while Gao Tao was surprised but happy.
Yan Tianlong was still processing what the hell just happened, and Yan Qingcheng smirked. After this spectacle, Shen Yuan wouldn't be able to back down from this even if he wanted to.
'I won't let him forget it. I will break the engagement, no matter what.'