Outside, Shangguan Long stared at Yang Kai, her beautiful eyes filled with astonishment.
This kid was actually fine? One should know that the Seven Emotions and Six Desires Wine possessed overwhelmingly potent effects—even those in the Open Heaven realm would struggle to resist its power. How could a mere Emperor Sovereign possibly maintain clarity of mind?
This wine had been crafted using numerous heavenly treasures and rare materials, requiring a hundred years of painstaking refinement. It was originally the exclusive secret aphrodisiac of a notorious rogue named Hua Wuying—a philandering bandit whose crimes were beyond redemption. Hua Wuying had used this Seven Emotions and Six Desires Wine to ruin the virtue of countless women, committing his crimes across realm after realm, leaving behind nothing but infamy.
Three hundred years ago, one of Shangguan Long's personal disciples had her virtue taken by Hua Wuying, her Dao heart clouded with impurity.
That disciple had exceptional talent, and Shangguan Long had cherished her deeply, intending to nurture her potential. She had devoted enormous effort to the girl's training, and the disciple had been expected to ascend to Fourth-Rank Open Heaven. But at the moment of her ascension, inner demons surged one after another because of what had happened. All her previous efforts came to naught, and she perished—her cultivation and life extinguished.
It could be said that the disciple died entirely because of Hua Wuying.
Shangguan Long flew into a rage. For decades afterward, she relentlessly pursued information about Hua Wuying, even going so far as to use other female disciples of the Flying Flower Galleon as bait to lure him in. Her persistence paid off—forty years later, she finally cornered the scoundrel within a small universe.
The final outcome went without saying. Though Hua Wuying was cunning and deceitful, his actual strength was nothing remarkable—only Third-Rank Open Heaven. Shangguan Long killed him on the spot.
This exclusive secret aphrodisiac of Hua Wuying's fell into Shangguan Long's hands.
Such a lewd and wicked item was useless to her. She had originally intended to destroy it, but for reasons she couldn't quite explain, she inexplicably kept it.
As a Fifth-Rank Open Heaven cultivator, tampering with her own daughter's wine and food was child's play. A few casual hints beforehand were more than enough to have Shangguan Yu obediently bring food and wine to Yang Kai's room.
Hua Wuying had used this Seven Emotions and Six Desires Wine to make even Open Heaven cultivators lose all control. So how could Yang Kai, a mere Emperor Sovereign, possibly resist its effects?
Shangguan Long's dark eyebrows furrowed tightly! She vaguely sensed that either Yang Kai's own willpower was extraordinarily strong, or the wine's effects on men were weaker than she had anticipated. After all, this was a secret aphrodisiac that Hua Wuying had created specifically to target women.
This was not the situation she had hoped for. She had been counting on catching Yang Kai and Shangguan Yu in the throes of passion, using that as leverage to force Yang Kai into compliance. But now that her plan had a flaw, things were getting rather difficult.
Her thoughts racing, Shangguan Long's red lips moved, and she sighed as she looked at Yang Kai. "Young Master Yang, what are you doing? Even if you truly have feelings for Yu'er, you can't act so overbearingly, can you? If word of this gets out, how will Yu'er ever face anyone again?"
Yang Kai suppressed the surging desires within him and looked at her through ragged breaths, speaking through gritted teeth: "Lady Long, what remarkable skill, what brilliant scheming, what ruthless cruelty!"
If not for the suspicions already in his heart, combined with Tong Yuquan's furious roar, he might have truly believed Shangguan Long's act.
Shangguan Long's face darkened. "Young Master Yang, what do you mean? I don't quite understand."
Tong Yuquan shouted in a low voice, "Young Master Yang, please release Yu'er!" He was genuinely concerned for his daughter's safety. Though Yang Kai hadn't actually done anything to Shangguan Yu—he had merely knocked her unconscious in passing—having his daughter in someone else's hands naturally left him uneasy.
As the others exchanged words, Lu Xue and Guo Ziyan had already flashed to either side of Yang Kai, assuming defensive stances in case anything went wrong.
Yang Kai turned his head toward Tong Yuquan. "Guardian Tong, please rest assured. I have no ill intentions toward Miss Yu. She hasn't been harmed—she's merely unconscious."
"If that's truly the case, then please release her at once! The Flying Flower Galleon will not pursue this matter today!" Tong Yuquan growled through gritted teeth, fire blazing in his eyes. Regardless of whether they pursued the matter or not, his daughter had clearly suffered a great loss at Yang Kai's hands, and he could no longer muster any good will toward him.
"The affairs of the Flying Flower Galleon are not yours to decide!" Shangguan Long snorted coldly, flicked her sleeve, stepped forward several paces, and pressed aggressively, "Young Master Yang, if word of today's events gets out, it won't be good for either of us. Surely you don't want to blow this out of proportion?"
Yang Kai nodded. "Lady Long speaks reasonably. May I ask what proposal you have?"
Shangguan Long chuckled softly. "It's very simple. You saved Yu'er's life, and it wouldn't be excessive for her to give herself in gratitude. If today's incident hadn't happened, that would have been the end of it. But since it has, I must ask you to... take Yu'er as your wife."
Lu Xue and Guo Ziyan had been watching her with guarded expressions, their energy secretly surging as they prepared for any eventuality—but at this, they couldn't help but gape in stunned disbelief.
What... did she just say?
They had all assumed there was no way today's matter would end well. How could something bad suddenly turn into something good? Lu Xue and Guo Ziyan's expressions grew peculiar.
Yang Kai couldn't believe his ears either. He hesitated. "What did you say, Lady Long? Did you misspeak, or did I mishear?"
Shangguan Long smiled. "I didn't misspeak, and you didn't mishear. Today's incident is, after all, somewhat disgraceful. If word spreads, it will harm your reputation, and Yu'er will likely be unable to face anyone. But if you take Yu'er as your wife and give her a proper title, then naturally there will be no more problems."
Yang Kai glanced at her, then at the helpless yet furious Tong Yuquan beside her, and suddenly understood. He was beginning to grasp Shangguan Long's true intentions.
A slight smile crossed his face. "If I'm not mistaken, your daughter has a marriage engagement with Wei Wushuang, the young lord of the Pillar Heavens Pavilion?"