"Alright," Liu Li nodded before stepping out.
Bai Juan was known for her capability, her decisiveness, and her leniency toward her employees. As a result, she held great respect within Qingya Pavilion. For many years, her word had been final.
Li Xiaofei couldn’t help but chuckle when he heard the response. After a moment’s thought, he didn’t press the matter. Instead, he made his way to a four-person table by the window. He scanned the QR code and used his light core to order a few small dishes, along with a bottle of wine.
The dishes were all favorites from the days when he and Bai Longfei used to gather for meals. The wine was the same brand they had shared during their last grand celebration together.
The chefs at Qingya Pavilion were impressively efficient. In just a few moments, the food and drink were served in full.
Though Li Xiaofei had long since reached a stage of existence where he could go centuries without food or drink, he had never severed his earthly desires. He followed a path of cultivation grounded in the mortal world. It was immersed in its warmth, its smoke and fire. He did not pursue the path of emotional detachment, nor did he abstain from food.
The familiar flavors spread slowly across his tongue, stirring memories. For a moment, Li Xiaofei found it hard to contain the surge of emotions. He realized that his heart had become more easily stirred since returning to his homeland.
The wine slid down his throat, leaving a sharp burn tinged with nostalgia. He ate and drank slowly as he took in the sunset through the window.
At the same time, Bai Juan put down the phone in the general manager's office upstairs. A faint weariness filled her expression. She rubbed her forehead and let out a soft sigh. To outsiders, her life seemed flawless. To others, someone like her was believed to have no troubles at all.
In truth, every family had its own struggles and difficulties that outsiders seldom saw.
Three years ago, Bai Juan had met a young man she had truly liked. The two fell deeply in love in a short time, with intense mutual feelings. She began to think seriously about marriage, and the young man supported her wholeheartedly. But the problem had not come from him, it came from his parents.
The man Bai Juan loved was named He Ben. A plain and ordinary name, yet it represented the status of the only son of the Sect Master of Profound Heaven Sect, one of the top martial sects in Great Xia.
At first, Bai Juan hadn’t known about He Ben’s true identity. It wasn’t until their relationship reached the stage of marriage discussions that she uncovered the full truth.
To Bai Juan, it hadn’t mattered. This was an era that valued love and freedom. She and He Ben were genuinely in love, what else could matter? But she had never expected that He Ben’s parents, the sect master and mistress, would completely reject her. Even after learning who she was, they had remained unimpressed.
"The Bai family is nothing more than an empty name. The era of the War God Li Xiaofei is long over. A widow’s daughter from a once-faded family, hoping to marry into the He family? She doesn’t measure up. Not even close."
Those were the exact words of He Jiutian, the Sect Master of Profound Heaven Sect.
It was far beyond what Bai Juan had expected. She had always believed that her own background was respectable. Never did she think she would be insulted . She still hadn’t told her parents about any of it. She didn’t want to disturb their peaceful lives with such matters.
In the meantime, she and He Ben had been unable to meet in person. They had only been able to communicate by phone, discussing what little options they had. But they had not been able to come up with a real solution.
He Ben had racked his brain and tried everything he could, but in the end, he had still not been able to convince his parents.
The call just now had been from He Ben. His voice was heavy with frustration and disappointment. By the end, his emotions had surged, and he blurted out that if all else failed, they should just run away together. They should leave Great Xia, find a quiet corner of the world and hide.
Bai Juan was a little moved. But she knew she couldn’t abandon her parents. Even if they didn’t need her by their side to live well, if she truly ran away for love, what would that make them? Would they still be a family?
Having lived through an era of bloodshed, where life and death were constant companions, Bai Juan valued her family above all else. Especially when her parents had sacrificed so much for her, how could she, for her own selfish desires, simply vanish from their lives and forsake her duty to care for them in their later years? Wouldn’t that make her worse than an animal?
She thought of her uncles; they were men of great ability. Perhaps they could help. Perhaps they could come up with a solution. But after contemplating it for a long time, she still didn’t make the call.
While she was steeped in uncertainty, there came the sound of hurried footsteps outside the office.
“You can’t go in! Our manager is in a meeting—” Liu Li’s voice rang out, clearly trying her best to block the intruder.
But her efforts were in vain as the door to the office burst open with a loud bang. Several figures stormed into the room.
They were led by a middle-aged woman who seemed to be in her mid-thirties. Her appearance was refined and elegant, but there was an unmistakable sharpness and authority between her brows. She had the aura of someone who had long stood in a place of power.
At her side were four female martial artists, all of them unusually powerful. They were formidable cultivators by any standard.
When Bai Juan saw the woman, her expression shifted slightly. She immediately recognized her; it was none other than He Ben’s mother, Gu Yu.
She quickly stood up and greeted her. “Auntie Gu, what brings you here?”
Gu Yu’s face curled into a faint, icy smile. Her tone was cold and commanding as she said, “You should know very well why I’m here, girl. I don’t want to resort to cruel words to humiliate you but I must ask you to stay away from He Ben. You two come from completely different worlds.”
Bai Juan’s delicate, graceful face paled in an instant. She had known, of course, that He Ben’s parents disapproved of her. But even so, hearing such blatant disdain delivered so directly from Gu Yu’s mouth extinguished the final ember of hope that had still flickered faintly in her heart.
But Bai Juan wasn’t someone who would bow her head so easily.
She lifted her chin stubbornly and said, “We truly love each other.”
“Oh? Do you?” Gu Yu responded with a faint smile. “Well, I truly intend to stop the two of you from being together.”
“Why?” Bai Juan already knew the answer, bBut she still couldn’t help but ask.
“Why?” Gu Yu smiled lightly and indifferently again, as if the answer were self-evident. “Because He Ben deserves a better girl.”
Without realizing it, Bai Juan clenched her fists.
Gu Yu continued, her voice calm but condescending, “Your so-called family name might sound impressive to some, but it’s meaningless to the He family. You’re nothing more than the manager of a small restaurant. Your cultivation talent is mediocre and your abilities ordinary. What makes you think you deserve to marry the future sect master of Profound Heaven Sect?”
Bai Juan gritted her teeth but said nothing. There were so many things she wanted to say, so many arguments on the tip of her tongue but in the end, none of them came out. But just then—
“A filthy little gutter dares call itself Profound Heaven Sect?” A calm voice rang out.
Everyone froze in surprise before turning. A broad-shouldered man in a simple white tracksuit strode out of the stairwell. He had a faint smirk of amusement as he said, “Why would anyone think that the Bai family’s little princess isn’t worthy of marrying some so-called sect heir?”
It was Li Xiaofei. He had just finished his meal downstairs when he overheard the commotion above. He hadn’t expected that such melodramatic nonsense could still happen in this day and age. To think there were still people going on about family status, and even daring to look down on Qingya Pavilion, on Miao Youwei and Bai Longfei.
“And who are you?” Gu Yu glanced over Li Xiaofei and quickly dismissed him as someone insignificant. She said, “Mind your words, young man. Stay out of things that don’t concern you. Or you’ll come to understand the taste of pain in this world.”
“It’s been a while since anyone’s threatened me like that,” Li Xiaofei said with a faint smile, stepping casually into the office.