"Lu Qiu agreed to the matter, and I had no intention of delaying further, so I planned to complete the wedding within a month. Unfortunately, man proposes and Heaven disposes. Half a month later, Lu Qiu sent word that San Niang had vanished. I was naturally furious and went to the Ruyi Sect to throw my weight around, injuring quite a few people. But it was later confirmed that San Niang had truly disappeared without any provocation — it wasn't the Ruyi Sect's doing. In the years that followed, the Leaving Dragon Palace and the Ruyi Sect searched for San Niang's whereabouts without cease, yet never found a single clue."
Li Jiao let out a bitter laugh: "No trace of her when alive, no body when dead. This whole affair reeks of strangeness. Back then, the matter was known to everyone in the Northern Region, and I lost a great deal of face."
After all, as the dignified Palace Master of the Leaving Dragon Palace, a Third-Order Emperor Realm powerhouse, taking a concubine only for the whole thing to go sideways — it was bound to make people laugh. Yang Kai could almost imagine how Li Jiao must have felt at the time, and it was no wonder he had flown into a rage and gone to the Ruyi Sect to make a scene.
If it had been Yang Kai in his shoes, he wouldn't have been able to hold back either.
"Until today…" Li Jiao finished speaking, then turned his head to look at Lü Sanniang. He fell silent for a moment, then sighed once more.
There was nothing else to it — the woman he had once shared mutual feelings of love with now had a daughter. Li Jiao felt a lump forming in his chest. Even though more than three hundred years had passed, some things couldn't be smoothed over by time.
He didn't know how Lü Sanniang had disappeared all those years ago.
He didn't know how she had ended up in this small world.
And he didn't know whose child that young girl was.
When he had first heard Lü Sanniang's voice in the teahouse, he had merely found it somewhat familiar. It was only when that sinister-looking man had kicked Lü Sanniang to the ground that Li Jiao had gotten a clear look at her face, and he had erupted in fury and intervened.
At the time, his only thought had been to stand up for Lü Sanniang, but now his feelings were extremely complicated — "a tangled mix of five flavors" wouldn't even begin to describe it.
A woman who had been his betrothed, missing for three hundred years, and she had borne another man's child. No man alive could keep his composure over that.
He could tell this to Yang Kai, but if anyone else were here, Li Jiao would never have let these things slip.
Besides, it wasn't the first time he had lost face in front of Yang Kai. He was used to it by now.
"Brother Li…"
A soft voice called out from beside him. Lü Sanniang had finally stopped sobbing, wiping the corners of her eyes as she spoke.
Yang Kai let out a muffled snort, barely suppressing a laugh.
Brother Li.
He simply couldn't believe that there was anyone in this world who would address Li Jiao that way — and that it was a stunning beauty, no less.
Li Jiao certainly had his share of romantic fortune! But now was obviously not the time to laugh, so he quickly raised his teacup to his lips and took a sip.
Li Jiao, however, looked visibly moved. He turned to face Lü Sanniang, emotions surging within him, yet he still let out a cold snort: "Done pretending?"
Lü Sanniang didn't lift her head. In a quiet voice she said: "San Niang has no face to meet you. That's why I didn't dare acknowledge you."
"Oh, so you know you have no face to meet me!" Li Jiao huffed coldly, frustration building inside him. He had wanted to deliver some cutting remarks to vent the anger that had festered in his heart for all these years, but the moment he saw her wretched appearance, the words died on his lips, and his expression twisted awkwardly.
Lü Sanniang rubbed her eyes hard once more and looked up, forcing a smile: "San Niang truly never expected to see Brother Li again in this lifetime."
Seeing her like this, Li Jiao's heart softened even further, and he found himself even less willing to lay any blame on her.
"The person San Niang has wronged most in this life is you, Brother Li. If you want to hit me, scold me, or even kill me, San Niang will have no complaints. It's just…" She turned to glance at her daughter, her eyes full of tenderness and longing.
The young girl's face went pale with alarm the moment she heard this. All her goodwill and gratitude toward Li Jiao vanished in an instant. She spread her arms wide and planted herself in front of Lü Sanniang, crying out in a high voice: "Don't you dare bully my mother!"
Li Jiao was so exasperated he almost laughed. He slammed the table and roared: "When have I ever bullied her?!"
The girl flinched at the shout, blinking rapidly before large tears suddenly began rolling down her cheeks. Her whole body trembled, yet she stubbornly kept her arms spread wide.
"Why is this little girl just like you…" Li Jiao was rendered speechless, realizing his tone had been a bit too harsh, yet feeling too embarrassed to apologize. His expression looked painfully awkward.
Lü Sanniang reached out and gently pulled her daughter's arms back, saying softly: "Qin'er, don't fuss. Uncle Li won't hurt your mother."
The girl remained half-suspicious, but after Li Jiao's shout she didn't dare challenge him again.
Lü Sanniang said: "Brother Li, you should leave quickly. You hit that man, and he won't let it go. If you stay, you'll have serious trouble on your hands."
Li Jiao let out a cold laugh: "Trash like him? If he dares keep pestering, I won't show him any mercy."
In truth, he was just putting on a brave face. He was actually still somewhat uneasy. Half-Dragon City was a deeply eerie place, and if he hadn't happened to run into Lü Sanniang by chance, he would never have gone out of his way to stir up trouble like this.
Lü Sanniang shook her head: "Brother Li, I know your strength is formidable, but in this place, no matter how powerful you are, it won't help. The opponent you'd be facing isn't an ordinary one."
Li Jiao had been feeling on edge, but the moment Lü Sanniang said this, he immediately snorted: "Then I'd very much like to see what kind of help he can find."
Lü Sanniang was about to say more when Yang Kai suddenly chimed in with a smile: "San Niang, don't worry about our affairs. I'm actually quite curious — why did you disappear so suddenly all those years ago?"