Chapter Four: An Engagement?

"Uh... How about I wrap up a pound for you to take home later?" Zhou Tian scratched his head, wondering why his own forehead never shone when he drank.

Tianling opened her eyes, her gaze bright and mysterious as she looked at Zhou Tian. After a moment, she said,
"You're not quite like the rumors say."

Zhou Tian paused, his curiosity piqued.
"Not quite the same? What do the rumors say about me?"

"They say you're decadent, wasting your days in indulgence and drunken revelry," Tianling replied slowly, cradling her teacup.

"Haha, that does sound like me," Zhou Tian laughed. He went on,
"Actually, it's all an act now. I can't very well appear slovenly in front of such a beautiful girl, can I?"

A soft laugh escaped Tianling, a blush rising on her luminous, jade-like cheeks.

"Do you know why I've come this time?" she asked gently, the smile lingering on her face.

"I really have no idea," Zhou Tian admitted honestly, puzzled.

"I've come to see what sort of person my future... husband will be."

She turned her head to the side, her delicate, fair ear gradually turning red.

What the hell?

"Are you talking about... me?"

Zhou Tian's face was a picture of disbelief. This was just too melodramatic—an arranged betrothal from childhood, a promise made before birth... Well, they were about the same thing.

"You didn't know?" Tianling asked, her expression once again calm.

"My father hasn't told me yet. So, does your visit mean you're here to break off the engagement?" Zhou Tian fell silent for a moment before asking. Wasn't this the usual script for the protagonist? Was he supposed to shout, 'Thirty years the river flows east, thirty years the river flows west, never underestimate a poor youth!'

"Break off the engagement?" Tianling's tone was odd.
"Our Haotian Sect has no wish to be annihilated. This is a marriage bestowed by the Emperor of Qin—no one can defy it."

Zhou Tian was at a loss for words. He had no idea what to say—this wasn't exactly the time to lighten things with a joke. The atmosphere grew awkward once more...

"Then you..." Zhou Tian began, but Tianling interrupted him before he could finish.

"I have no objections. I was raised by the sect leader since childhood. The Haotian Sect has taken care of me for so many years. Now, they're not asking me to face fire and blades, merely to get married."

Standing beside her, Zhou Tian looked at Tianling's refined profile, her subtle fragrance drifting into his nose. So this is my future wife?

He had no objections himself. As long as she was beautiful, lack of emotional foundation could always be cultivated over time—that wasn't a problem at all.

"Hahaha..." A hearty laugh rang out from outside the door—it was Zhou Yi's voice. Zhou Mu wore a look of helpless resignation; now he understood. It was just like arranged matchmaking in his previous life: the elders would first give the young ones time to talk alone.

"Hope I didn't interrupt you two?" Zhou Yi pushed the door open, smiling as he entered, with Uncle Zhou following behind. Only the Elder Li was absent.

"Not at all. My conversation with Brother Zhou has been most pleasant," Tianling replied. Zhou Tian couldn't be bothered to speak—he hadn't even known about the engagement until now. Though his fiancée was stunning, he still had to keep up appearances.

"Tianling, Elder Li has already chosen a place for you. In a bit, Uncle Zhou will take you over," Zhou Yi said, making it clear that Tianling should leave for now.

Tianling, perceptive as she was, understood his meaning and nodded.
"Then I'll go and get acquainted with the place. Goodbye, Uncle Qin, goodbye, Brother Zhou."

Zhou Tian smiled and nodded. Tianling followed Uncle Zhou out.

As soon as Tianling left, Zhou Tian's face darkened. Zhou Yi, noticing, chided him,
"What's with that face? Smiling so happily with a pretty girl, but as soon as you see your father, you put on a long face."

"You still remember that I'm your son?" Zhou Tian shot him a glare and continued,
"I'm the last to know about my own engagement!"

"Uh..." Zhou Yi was momentarily speechless; it was indeed his oversight.
"It's just that you were in such a daze these past few days—I couldn't find the right time to tell you."

Then, with a teasing look, Zhou Yi added,
"What, now that you have such a beautiful wife-to-be, you're not lost in a daze anymore?"

This time, it was Zhou Tian's turn to be at a loss for words. He couldn't very well say that he'd just transmigrated and been at a loss.
"I was just thinking about what my future would be like," he replied. Which wasn't untrue—after all, he'd just arrived in this dangerous world, powerless and unable to cultivate. Zhou Tian was genuinely uncertain about his future.

But in Zhou Yi's ears, it sounded quite different. Zhou Tian was his third son, and because of his birth, Zhou Tian's mother—Zhou Yi's beloved wife—had been murdered. Zhou Tian had survived only because she sacrificed her own life, using the source of her being to save him. Zhou Yi blamed himself deeply, feeling responsible for it all.

So his love for Zhou Tian was even greater. When Zhou Tian was discovered to have blocked meridians, unable to cultivate, the one who suffered most wasn't Zhou Tian, but his father, who believed it was all due to complications from his birth.

Now, seeing Zhou Tian troubled yet again over his inability to cultivate, Zhou Yi felt all the more pained.

After a moment's silence, Zhou Yi said firmly,
"Tian'er, don't worry. Even if you can't cultivate, I will let you live a life of luxury and honor. If you want the stars in the sky, your father will pluck them down for you!"

When Zhou Yi said this, his tone was resolute, without a hint of hesitation. As a royal prince of the Heavenly Qin Empire, he had both the status and the means to make such a promise.

As for Zhou Tian, hearing these words was, well... a little awkward. With a mental age of over twenty, he was no longer a child. If the original owner of this body had heard that, he might have been deeply moved, but now it just made Zhou Tian feel uncomfortable.

"Let's talk about Tianling instead," Zhou Tian changed the subject. He had no idea what to do next—should he cry out 'Father!' and throw himself into an embrace? The mere thought made his skin crawl—it was just too awkward.

Zhou Yi didn't mind. He was glad for any chance to move on from the topic of cultivation. He began,
"It was all quite a coincidence. The Haotian Sect is the mightiest force among the vassals of our Heavenly Qin Empire. But recently, under the instigation of other provinces, they began to entertain certain dangerous ambitions."

A cold light flashed in Zhou Yi's eyes as he spoke. The Haotian Sect had been a vassal of the Heavenly Qin Empire for many years, shielded and treated well, never regarded as mere servants or cannon fodder. For them to dare such dangerous thoughts was tantamount to courting death!

"But everything was under our control. We were just waiting for them to rebel so we could make an example of them and intimidate the other powers. In the end, the sect master of Haotian realized his limits and, at the last moment, abandoned his plans, came to confess his guilt, and earnestly begged for the Emperor of Qin's forgiveness."