Compared to Zhi Can’s exaggerated reaction, Ling Ye seemed much calmer.
However, his brows were tightly furrowed, his posture was a bit stiff, and his mind seemed distracted.
His favorite herbal tea was left cold, and he hadn’t even thought to take a sip.
“… Why aren’t you answering my question?” Zhi Can, seeing that he remained silent, couldn’t help but urge.
Ling Ye glanced at him.
“You have so many questions, which one should I answer?”
“Alright, let’s go one by one,” Zhi Can cleared his throat.
“First, are you sure she likes you?”
“Mm.”
“How did you determine that?”
Zhi Can asked humbly.
Ling Ye replied, “At that time, the seal was right in front of us.
She could have left the barrier, but she chose to stay and face death with me.
That alone is enough to confirm.”
“Not necessarily,” Zhi Can gently countered.
“Maybe she was just afraid of angering the Lord of the Underworld, so she didn’t dare to leave you.”
Ling Ye disagreed, meeting his gaze.
“When I told her to leave, I already explained that my father wouldn’t pursue it, but she still chose to stay.”
“So, you’re saying, even though she knew she wouldn’t be punished for leaving, she still decided to stay and face it with you?”
Zhi Can pondered.
Ling Ye nodded, adding, “At that point, we had already been walking through the snowstorm for nearly five hours. Our bodies were severely hypothermic, so staying meant almost certain death.”
“Did she understand how dangerous the situation was?” Zhi Can asked, surprised.
“Very clearly.”
Zhi Can fell into deep thought.
The room grew quieter.
Ling Ye finally remembered his herbal tea and took a small sip.
It was cold.
He furrowed his brows but didn’t ask anyone to bring him a new cup.
Instead, he finished the tea in one go.
Hot tea was nice, but occasionally drinking it cold seemed fine too.
Ling Ye placed the cup back on the table and then looked at Zhi Can, who was lying on the bed.
“I always thought she didn’t want to call off the engagement because she was afraid of losing the protection of the Underworld, but now it seems that’s not the case.”
“So, you mean she liked you a long time ago?”
Zhi Can asked in surprise.
Ling Ye nodded.
“Yes.”
Zhi Can: “Don’t believe me?”
Ling Ye noticed his hesitation.
“… It’s not that I don’t believe you,” Zhi Can responded, “it’s just that this situation is a bit beyond my understanding.”
“Well, when I pressured her like that, she still refused to cancel the engagement. And not only did she refuse, she even took the chance to kiss you… Wait, no, that wasn’t just a kiss, it was a kiss on the lips! She likes you, so she took the opportunity to steal a kiss!”
As Zhi Can spoke, he figured it out himself.
Ling Ye’s mind flashed back to the stubborn expression Nan Shan had when she kissed him.
He instinctively touched his lips.
Unfortunately, after coming out of the barrier, he had used a lot of healing herbs, and that small wound had already healed without leaving a trace.
“She likes you.”
Zhi Can said with certainty.
Ling Ye nodded.
“Yes, she likes me.”
“Uncle Immortal, what’s with that expression? You don’t really think I went back to find him because I like him, do you?”
Nan Shan, holding her blanket, looked at Yan Yue in disbelief.
“That’s absolutely impossible! Only a fool would think that!”
Yan Yue’s expectations were shattered by her firm tone.
He cleared his throat and frowned.
“I was just asking. Why are you so worked up… Also, were you indirectly scolding me just now?”
Nan Shan had indeed been a bit too impulsive with her words earlier.
Now, when Yan Yue questioned her, she immediately softened.
“I was just a little too excited. Please don’t be mad at me, Uncle Immortal.”
She sighed. “Uncle Immortal, to be honest, the only reason I went back to find him was because of you.”
“Because of me?” Yan Yue was surprised.
Nan Shan nodded eagerly.
“Yes, yes! You saved my life and gave me twenty years of peaceful life. During that time, you treated me so well, protecting my parents, letting me stay in such a big house, and providing me with food. I’m really so grateful to you! So, I couldn’t just leave you with nothing. I couldn’t let you suffer the pain of losing your only son.”
Yan Yue, having never raised a daughter and not having anyone dare to be so sweet and clever around him for thousands of years, was momentarily flattered by her praise.
He chuckled, “Ah, everything I did was for selfish reasons. It’s not as great as you say.”
“Uncle Immortal, you’re really that great.” Nan Shan said with conviction, then sighed with a hint of melancholy, “Actually, I understand. You want your son and future daughter-in-law to get along, which is why you asked earlier. But, as things stand, Ling Ye and I aren’t at that point yet.”
Yan Yue frowned.
“So, you don’t feel any affection for him?”
“No, absolutely none.”
“This is troublesome.”
Zhi Can, who had been lying on the bed, suddenly sighed.
Ling Ye raised his eyes.
“What’s troublesome?”
“Of course, the engagement matter,” Zhi Can tugged at his lips.
“If she’s only insisting on the marriage because of her parents’ safety, then as long as we find a way to protect her family, she’ll voluntarily cancel the engagement. But if she’s doing it for you…”
Zhi Can didn’t finish his sentence but cast a sympathetic look at Ling Ye.
“And now she’s also your lifesaver. We can’t pressure her anymore. We must treat her with respect.”
As his best friend, Zhi Can knew Ling Ye’s true strength and that the Seven-Legged Serpent wasn’t killed by Nan Shan, but… others didn’t know that!
Moreover, the fact that Nan Shan had given up an imminent escape to return and help Ling Ye, using her own body heat to buy him some time, was undeniable.
“… If it really doesn’t work, you might have to defy the Lord of the Underworld and cancel the engagement yourself,” Zhi Can thought for a moment and still felt that they were at an impasse.
“Actually, that mortal was right. If you want to cancel the engagement, there’s no reason for her to be the bad person.”
Ling Ye’s eyes flickered slightly, and he fell into deep thought.
The room suddenly became quiet. When the maid came in with the medicine, she saw that everyone was lost in their own thoughts, not talking to each other.
“Young master, sir,” the maid said, bowing her head respectfully.
“It’s time for the medicine.”
Zhi Can snapped out of his thoughts. “Put it down.”
“Yes.”
The maid placed the medicinal bottle down and turned to leave. Ling Ye raised his eyes to watch her until she closed the door, and then he picked up the fist-sized bottle of medicine.
“Come on, young master, help me out.”
Zhi Can snapped his fingers, and his shirt instantly tore open, revealing a back covered in cuts and bruises.
Ling Ye calmly opened the medicine and scooped a small amount to apply it to Zhi Can’s wounds.
Zhi Can grimaced from the pain, taking a few sharp breaths before quietly complaining, “My dad is too ruthless, he really hit me as though he meant to kill me.”
Ling Ye said, “Don’t move.”
Zhi Can grumbled in agreement, staying quiet for a moment before asking,
“What about you? Did the Lord of the Underworld show you any mercy?”
Ling Ye rolled up his sleeve, revealing whip marks on his arm.
“… This move is from my father, right?”
Ling Ye poked one of his wounds, and Zhi Can immediately winced and bared his teeth.
“We only had that mortal take a little dip in water, it wasn’t like we purposely threw her to the seven-legged snake. Why hit so hard?”
Ling Ye applied the last bit of medicine, then took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands carefully, saying, “I’ve made up my mind.”
Still grumbling about his father, Zhi Can casually asked, “Made up your mind about what?”
“About the marriage.”
Ling Ye spoke with a calm expression, “If she doesn’t want to cancel it, then she won’t.”
Zhi Can froze for a moment, and after a while, he finally understood what Ling Ye meant:
“You want to marry her?”
“She saved my life.” Ling Ye answered vaguely.
“If she hadn’t come back in time, using her body to warm me, my father would have arrived too late, and I’d probably already be dead.”
“No, she saved your life. You could repay her in another way, why do you have to marry her?”
Zhi Can didn’t understand.
Ling Ye looked at him:
“She likes me so much, I’m afraid she doesn’t want anything else.”
“But…” Zhi Can started to protest.
“There’s no but.”
Ling Ye’s gaze was clear, his expression firm, “What she wants is what I’ll give her.”
***
“Let me confirm again, are you really not the slightest bit moved by Ling Ye? Not even a little?”
Yan Yue couldn’t help but ask again.
Nan Shan didn’t understand why he kept asking this:
“I’m not going to regret the marriage, so what’s the point of being bothered by this?”
“Of course it’s important!”
Yan Yue glared at her, “I already know about those two punks bullying you. I thought about it a lot while you were unconscious these past two days, and I still think that we can’t just worry about Ling Ye’s future and sacrifice your whole life for that. If you really don’t like him…”
He trailed off with a sigh.
Nan Shan could hear the unfinished words, and her heart raced.
“Master Immortal, do you want to annul the engagement?”
Seeing the anticipation on her face, Yan Yue asked, “What about you? If there were no other factors, would you be willing to marry Ling Ye?”
“Of course I wouldn’t want to,” Nan Shan blurted out, then immediately thought of the fact that she was refusing the son of Master Immortal himself.
After a bit of hesitation, she added, “Well, Ling Ye is the prince of the Underworld, with a high and noble status, and I’m just a wild, unruly country girl who can’t even read, can’t work, and can’t do women’s embroidery. To put it bluntly, I’m good for nothing, I’m really not worthy of him.”
Hearing her implication, Yan Yue sighed:
“Alright, since you two aren’t fated, then I won’t be the bad guy anymore.”
Nan Shan’s eyes lit up, then her worry returned:
“But without the engagement, what about the safety of my parents…”
“If you’re willing, let me become your adoptive father. With the Lord of the Underworld’s daughter as protection and my secret agents in the mortal world, it will be enough to safeguard your parents for the rest of their lives.” Yan Yue said, then deliberately frowned. “You can dislike my son, but you won’t dislike me…”
“Master Immortal Father!”
Nan Shan was quite skilled at choosing the right moment to flatter her elders.
Yan Yue paused, then couldn’t help but laugh.
“Hey!”
“Master Immortal Father!”
“Hey!”
“…”
“Lord of the Underworld, the young master requests an audience, saying he has something to discuss with you.”
A voice came from outside the door.
“He came just in time, I have good news to tell him.”
Yan Yue smiled.
Nan Shan also smiled:
“This is truly the best news for him.”