Chapter 435: Wiping Out Your Romantic Fortunes

This time, both players made their moves at lightning speed. After nearly 300 moves and well into the endgame, the Seventh Elder finally conceded defeat by the narrowest of margins.

“One more game!” The Seventh Elder growled through clenched teeth and returned the board to its original state with a sweep of his sleeve.

Wei Yuan once again placed a stone on the 3-3 point.

This time, Wei Yuan’s play was much smoother. By this point, the mortals had already identified some of the Seventh Elder’s common patterns, so the number of moves they needed to calculate was greatly reduced, allowing Wei Yuan to barely hold his own.

Wei Yuan placed a stone here in the east, another stone there in the west. It seemed like he was playing completely randomly, but this time, after just seventy or so moves, the Seventh Elder’s position had already collapsed.

When the game ended, the Seventh Elder stared intently at the board, remaining silent for a long time.

What he couldn’t accept wasn’t the loss itself, but the fact that he didn’t even understand how he had lost.

Meanwhile, Wei Yuan felt a bit uneasy. He had no idea if he had played well or poorly. He had simply followed the moves suggested by the mortals, and before he knew it, he had won.

The Seventh Elder suddenly said, “This old man must review the games. You may handle matters here as you see fit.” With that, he grabbed the Go board and vanished in an instant.

After the Seventh Elder left, Bao Manshan scrutinized Wei Yuan from head to toe. It was such a look that Wei Yuan couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Bao Manshan clicked his tongue and said, “I never would have guessed that you’ve reached the grandmaster in the Dao of Go! I’ve never seen the Seventh Elder lose so thoroughly without complaint, and to be honest, I couldn’t figure out how you won either.”

“Did I offend the Seventh Elder?” Wei Yuan asked a bit uneasily.

For this game, Wei Yuan had originally planned to put up a strong fight before losing by a narrow margin to win the Seventh Elder’s favor. However, his skill in Go was truly limited, so he dared not play without following the instructions of the Fire of Humanity. He didn’t want the Seventh Elder to realize who he really was—a complete novice.

What actually happened was that he had just begun to go all-out when he crushed the Seventh Elder.

Upon hearing this, Bao Manshan laughed heartily and said, “That last remark he made just now meant that I have the final say regarding Little Yun. In other words, you’ve managed to win over another elder. Now, you’re only one short.”

Wei Yuan was pleasantly surprised. He had actually managed to win the support of an elder just by playing a game of Go with the help of the mortals in his Avatar! One might say that this was the easiest support he had secured so far.

Bao Manshan was also quite pleased, but not because Wei Yuan had won the Seventh Elder’s support.

He patted Wei Yuan’s shoulder heartily while venting, “Well done! Old Seven brags about his Go skills all the time, and I’ve had it with him for a very long time. Unfortunately, I could never beat him. But not only did you beat him, he didn’t even know how he lost. This is going to keep him up at night and make him lose his appetite for at least a few months!”

Bao Manshan’s smile suddenly faded, and his expression turned serious. “Fun’s over, so let’s get down to business. Why are you taking Little Yun with you this time?”

Wei Yuan replied, “I want to entrust her with a city and make her the city lord.”

Bao Manshan looked thoughtful. “Do you intend to repair her damaged Dao Foundation with human fortune?”

“Yes. Qingming was built from scratch and is just beginning to flourish. This is precisely when its flow of human fortune is at its peak. She must not miss this opportunity.”

Bao Manshan nodded. “This is indeed one approach. Anything else?”

Wei Yuan hesitated for a moment, his thick face reddening slightly, and said, “I feel that Senior Sister is still young and has a long future ahead of her. She shouldn’t be betrothed at this stage. So, I plan to derail this current engagement first.”

But Bao Manshan repeated himself, “Anything else?”

“... That depends on Senior Sister’s wishes.”

Bao Manshan laughed and called him a sly fox. Then, he sighed and said, “Even without you, my stance on this engagement would’ve been a firm no from the start until the end. Has the Bao Clan really fallen so low that we have to sell our daughters to survive? Hmph. They’re always going on and on about breaking the deadlock, never stopping to consider why we haven’t been able to do so for hundreds of years. Isn’t it simply because we old fools aren’t good enough?

“Anyway, if you take Little Yun away this time and end up letting her down in the future, don’t blame this old man for being harsh!”

“I won’t!” This time, Wei Yuan’s reply was decisive and immediate.

After Bao Manshan left, Wei Yuan waited for a bit but saw no sign of Bao Yun arriving. So, he left the house and headed to her residence to look for her.

At the moment, in Bao Yun’s residence, an obviously agitated and restless Zhao Fusheng was standing in the courtyard.

He casually plucked up a white-gold leaf, crumpled it into a ball in his palm, and said angrily, “Don’t you get it? From the start until the end, that guy has been avoiding one crucial issue: legitimacy!”

Bao Yun held out her hand, and a small pale-red flower fluttered into her palm before gradually vanishing. She looked at the bay laurel tree before her and answered calmly, “I don’t mind.”

A ball of dragon fire flared above Zhao Fusheng’s head as he yelled, “How can you not? If you don’t mind this, is there anything in this world that is worth minding?”

Bao Yun sighed quietly and said, “Young Master Zhao, you’re a good person—”

“I am not a good person!” Zhao Fusheng declared categorically. He punched his fists together, producing a clanging metallic sound that sent sparks flying, then said, “But I still won’t let anyone treat you that way!”

Wei Yuan had just stepped through the courtyard gate when he noticed Zhao Fusheng and locked eyes with him. Dragon flames flared above Zhao Fusheng’s head again as he brought a fist right down on Wei Yuan’s face.

Wei Yuan raised his hand to block, but just as their fist and palm were about to collide, Zhao Fusheng suddenly stopped and said, “My cultivation level is higher than yours; it wouldn’t be honorable to win this way.”

Wei Yuan hurriedly replied, “It’s just a small gap—nothing to worry about!” He certainly wasn’t going to pass up on the chance to give Zhao Fusheng a good beating. Although he knew there was nothing between the two, just seeing Zhao Fusheng standing in Bao Yun’s courtyard was enough to set him off for no apparent reason.

Zhao Fusheng frowned, his dragon flames flickering on and off around him, unsure whether he should fight Wei Yuan or not. Although he desperately wanted to beat this flippant, licentious scoundrel senseless, getting into a fight right here on the Bao Clan’s grounds would look terrible. More importantly, it would only cause Bao Yun to look down on him.

Wei Yuan remained calm and composed, clutching a stone in his hand.

Once the fight began, he planned to flick the stone into a corner of the courtyard and activate it at the right moment. When Zhao Fusheng suddenly witnessed his iconic scene from the secret realm, his Dao heart would surely be thrown into chaos. At that point, he could easily give him a thorough beating without having to resort to Yin Yang.

They weren’t friends, and Wei Yuan had no intention of befriending him. Once this fight was over, it would depend on how much the young island lord was willing to pay for these stones. Given Zhao Fusheng’s status, the price certainly couldn’t be cheap—otherwise, it would be a slap in the face to Qiongshan Immortal Island.

But to Wei Yuan’s surprise, after much deliberation, Zhao Fusheng actually suppressed his fiery temper and said, “Miss Bao wouldn’t be pleased if I beat you up in front of her....”

Wei Yuan hurriedly replied, “She won’t mind.”

Zhao Fusheng glared at him. “You shameless scoundrel—do you really think I’d fall for your trick? Hmph! Earlier, you intentionally used our fight to alert all the elders. Only then can you persuade them to listen to your ‘reason’, isn’t that right?”

Seeing that the fight wasn’t going to happen after all, Wei Yuan reluctantly put the stone away. It was too conspicuous otherwise.

Glaring at Wei Yuan with eyes blazing with murderous intent, Zhao Fusheng roared, “Answer this question, you shameless lecher! Do you intend to legitimize your relationship with Miss Bao or not?”

This question struck right at Wei Yuan’s weakness. He simply couldn’t give an answer[1] no matter what.

Bao Yun suddenly turned to Wei Yuan and asked, “If one day I were to fall in love with you, would you ever betray me!”

“I will never betray you!”

Bao Yun smiled softly and said, “That’s enough! I’m still young, and it’s too early to talk about status and legitimacy. For cultivators like us, it’s common to be searching for a partner even at the age of three or four hundred. I’m not like those mortal women who would have to marry at fifteen or sixteen.”

Zhao Fusheng said seriously, “I, son of Zhao, am not merely seeking someone to bear me nine children. I just want to... um....” Flames began to shoot from the top of his head again, and his whole body turned bright red. However, with Wei Yuan watching nearby, he couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence even if his life depended on it.

Bao Yun replied, “I understand your feelings, Young Island Lord, but I’m still young. To me, everything is still too early right now. Perhaps it will take a few more years before I can understand my true feelings. Please return, Young Island Lord. I have matters to discuss with my junior brother.”

Zhao Fusheng was silent for a moment, then said, “Very well, then. I shall wait for you for ten years!”

Watching Zhao Fusheng’s tall figure recede into the distance, a thought suddenly crossed Wei Yuan’s mind, but he immediately shook his head.

However, Bao Yun knew him well. She knew at a glance that Wei Yuan was hatching another mischievous scheme, so she asked, “What mischief are you up to now?”

Wei Yuan answered, “I was thinking that the young island lord’s Floating World Dragon Diagram is a rare manual under Heaven. It would be a waste to leave it unused. If I were to find him a woman with whom he could practice dual cultivation, I wonder if I could claim some of the nine children they’ll have in the future? I’m not greedy—four would be sufficient for me. If that’s really not possible, I’d settle for three.”

Bao Yun could not control herself and burst out giggling. She chided him, “You, you really are....”

As this topic came up, Wei Yuan suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He wondered why, but he suddenly thought of the Xu Clan youngsters in the new city.

Bao Yun pulled Wei Yuan into her study, closed the door, and set up a mystic array that blocked perception. Only then did she settle down beside him and ask, “So? Why can’t you legitimize our relationship?”

Wei Yuan immediately felt a headache coming on. “Weren’t you just saying you’re still young?”

Bao Yun replied, “Whether I agree to accept this situation or not is one thing, whether you’ll bring it up or not is another!”

Wei Yuan suddenly recalled the memory of Bao Yun pointing a finger at the heavens and rebuking an immortal that day, and he sighed inwardly. “Right now, there is one person who comes first be it in terms of love or debt. There is simply no way I can go around her in this regard, which is why I can’t bring it up.”

As Bao Yun listened, her eyes suddenly widened. She covered her mouth with both hands and stared at Wei Yuan in utter shock[2].

Wei Yuan could only stay exactly where he was and resist the urge to squirm.

“You... you actually... with....”

Bao Yun patted her own chest again and again. When she finally calmed down, she said, “... No wonder. I’ve always felt there was something odd about the way you two acted; as if you were ready to live and die together at any moment. Hmph!”

“No, it’s not like that.” Wei Yuan wanted to explain that his master had always been deeply compassionate, and her attitude toward him stemmed more from the Skyblue Hall’s customary tendency to protect its own. However, this kind of truth was difficult to explain and would only sound worse the more one tried to explain it.

“Fine. Let’s move onto the next question then.” Seeing that Bao Yun wasn’t going to dwell on the issue, Wei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

She said, “If you can’t give me legitimacy, then why did you still come to take me away? Am I a fling to you?”

What kind of outrageous insinuation is that....

Wei Yuan hadn’t expected her second question to cut even deeper to the heart of the matter. Fortunately, he had been mulling it over for a long time, so he replied, “I have no improper intentions. I simply want to do everything in my power to pull you out of this predicament first and let you live as you please. Once you’ve become an Avatar, you’ll naturally be free from all constraints.”

“So when you said you will never betray me, it was just a lie?”

“Of course not! If we....” Wei Yuan trailed off. He simply couldn’t bring himself to say the rest. It was truly difficult to voice.

But Bao Yun refused to let it go and moved her chair so close to Wei Yuan that their knees touched. She locked eyes with him and asked, “If I really fell for you, would you betray my love?”

“I won’t!”

“That’s good enough for me. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure of my own feelings even now. Let’s just spend a few years together first and see how things go. Maybe one day, I won’t care about the legitimacy of our relationship anymore.”

Hearing this, Wei Yuan felt an indescribable mix of emotions. There was both joy and anxiety. Before coming here, he truly hadn’t thought about the future because the future held no answers. He had thought that as long as he could pull Bao Yun out of the quagmire she was in, that would be enough.

But now, judging by the hidden meaning in her words....

His mind was still a jumble of confusion when Bao Yun suddenly asked, “Is there anyone else besides her?”

“No.” Wei Yuan instantly recalled the promise he’d made to the First Consort.

Bao Yun gasped audibly and blurted out, “There is!?”

Suddenly, she grabbed Wei Yuan’s hand and began pulling him toward the exit, exclaiming, “We’re eloping!”

Wei Yuan was dragged all the way out of the house before he managed to squeeze out a response, “It’s not really necessary, is it? We’re only one elder short now....”

Bao Yun continued dragging him toward the flying vessel ground, gritting her teeth as she replied, “I may not be able to control what happened in the past, but from now on—at least during the few years we’ll be spending together—you will leave those romantic fortunes of yours to rot! Every single one!”

1. For those who still don’t understand, Zhao Fusheng is asking if Wei Yuan will make Bao Yun his first wife, and the answer is he cannot because that position is solely reserved for Zhang Sheng. That’s why he’s furious; this guy wants Bao Yun but will only take her as a second. ☜

2. It is at this moment she realizes Zhao Sheng has not only changed the course of her romantic history with one push... but also cucked her. AHAHAHAHAHAHA ( ?° ?? ?°) ☜