Chapter 182. Marriage partner [3]

Chapter 182: 182. Marriage partner [3]

After walking for a while, Qian Deyu finally could not hold back his curiosity.

"Patriarch Lin, would you mind introducing those two Golden Core children to me?"

Would I mind? Of course I would mind!

Lin Xuan nearly rolled his eyes, but he quickly composed himself.

"Ahem. Elder Qian, I will introduce the children to you at a later time. Elder Hai is an extremely important guest, so let us focus on her first."

"Important guest?" Mo Jian suddenly spoke up. "But I thought you were hosting the Whale Peop—"

His voice abruptly stopped, and his expression froze.

Wei Rong also stopped walking. The two elders exchanged a glance, and in that single moment, they reached the same conclusion.

Lin Xuan, on the other hand, stared at Mo Jian and Wei Rong in disbelief.

How the hell is both these men an official of the royal family? Are you waiting for others to introduce themselves before choosing whether to offend or not? The royal family is fucking doomed.

"Elder Mo, Elder Wei," Qian Deyu suddenly said with a gentle smile, "the young girl we met outside is also likely one of the Whale People."

Lin Xuan watched as Mo Jian and Wei Rong slowly exchanged a dreaded gaze.

Guess what came back to bite you in the ass.

A grin appeared on Lin Xuan’s face, though he still could not figure out what exactly Qian Deyu was trying to accomplish.

Earlier, the old man had gone out of his way to save the two elders from making a fool of themselves, yet now he was casually throwing both of them under the bus.

What is this old fox planning?

Mo Jian’s face turned pale.

"Elder Qian, are you certain?"

Qian Deyu smiled calmly.

"I only said she is likely one of the Whale People. I am not certain either, but I believe this is a sign for the two of you to treat everyone with respect. Wouldn’t you agree?"

Mo Jian’s expression became even more awkward, while Wei Rong coughed lightly and looked away. Neither of them dared to look toward Hai Yun.

After all, they had spent the entire journey thinking about how to defeat Lin Xuan.

Now they suddenly realized that the young woman they had casually ordered around at the entrance might be one of the legendary Whale People, and they had certainly not treated her with much respect.

Hai Yun looked at the two elders and smiled.

"There is no need to look so nervous. We don’t eat land people."

Her words were gentle, but somehow they only made Mo Jian and Wei Rong feel even more uneasy.

Lin Xuan watched the two elders’ expressions with barely concealed amusement.

So much for the mighty royal delegation.

Qian Deyu glanced at Hai Yun before turning his attention back to the two elders and messaged telepathically, "Since you two have already realized her identity, please be more respectful to her. We came here to investigate the matter, not to provoke the Whale People or the Lin family."

Wei Rong and Mo Jian immediately nodded.

In the meantime, Lin Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly.

First, this old man had stopped Mo Jian from arguing with Hai Yue at the gate.

Then he had acted as though he knew nothing about her identity.

Now, after Mo Jian accidentally revealed the royal family’s suspicions, Qian Deyu was openly acknowledging them.

Lin Xuan glanced at Qian Deyu, who immediately noticed his gaze and smiled.

"Patriarch Lin, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing."

Lin Xuan smiled innocently.

"I was merely wondering whether the royal family always sends such interesting people on diplomatic missions."

Qian Deyu laughed.

"Not always."

He glanced at Mo Jian and Wei Rong before adding, "These two are rather special."

Mo Jian’s face twitched, while Wei Rong’s expression also became slightly awkward.

In complete silence, Wei Rong and Mo Jian followed behind Lin Xuan, while Hai Yun walked beside him.

Every now and then, Hai Yun would try to slip her arm around Lin Xuan’s, only for him to casually move away before she could do so. She tried several times, but Lin Xuan avoided her every time without even changing his expression.

Wei Rong and Mo Jian watched the scene with envy and jealousy.

Even after learning Hai Yun’s possible identity, her beauty was still undeniable. Knowing that she might be one of the legendary Whale People did little to change what they saw before them.

Only Qian Deyu was paying attention to something else.

His gaze remained on Hai Yun and Lin Xuan, carefully observing the way she kept approaching him and the way Lin Xuan avoided her without hesitation.

There was something strange about it.

Hai Yun was clearly making advances toward Lin Xuan, yet Lin Xuan did not seem flustered. He simply avoided her each time as though he already knew exactly what she intended to do.

Qian Deyu’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Could I have avoided her advances that easily?

It was not a question of whether he would have been seduced or not. That was not what caught his attention.

Fhe way she approached Lin Xuan was not something an ordinary cultivator could casually evade.

Even Qian Deyu, a tenth rank golden core expert could not confidently claim that he would have avoided her movements so easily.

Yet Lin Xuan had done exactly that.

Not only had he avoided her advances, but he had done so with ease, without even needing to look at her.

That made Qian Deyu genuinely curious.

Just how strong has this young Patriarch become?

The royal family had eyes and ears throughout the kingdom, and a decade ago, they had received some particularly shocking information concerning the Lin Family.

The Lin Family had been ambushed on their way to Violet Log City while passing through the Yew Woods. Their merchants had been massacred, and almost the entire group had been wiped out.

Only Lin Xuan had managed to escape.

More astonishingly, despite being only in the early stage of the Golden Core Realm at the time, he had somehow killed a Tenth Layer Golden Core expert.

That incident had already been enough to make the royal family take notice of him.

But then the young Patriarch disappeared.

He remained missing for an entire year before suddenly returning to Azure Willow City.

And when he returned, he had a child with him.

Qian Deyu’s eyes remained on Lin Xuan’s back.

A decade had passed since that incident, and the Lin Xuan standing before him was clearly no longer the same young man who had once fought for his life in the Yew Woods.