Chapter 79: Husband?

  As he walked out of Tian Nan Fang, Qin Hao felt a weight lift off his shoulders, and his entire body exuded a relaxed aura.

  Holding the jade stone in his hand, Qin Hao's mouth twitched... He didn't expect Wang Wu and Wang Hun to give him this thing. With this jade stone, if the Qin family encounters a real crisis in the future, he can rush back as soon as possible.

  As for the crisis faced by the Qin family, whether he can solve it alone with his current strength is not the key point.

  What's truly important is that when something happens in the Qin family, he stands with them. This is a conviction he has always held in his heart. Although he has traveled extensively outside for many years, the ideas instilled in him since childhood by his clan's education have never changed.

  He found a less crowded place, threw away the clothes on his body, and Qin Hao walked leisurely on the main road in the city. Now, as long as he waited for his father to return and informed him, he could leave. Before leaving, he still wanted to take a stroll around Tianlang City, where he had lived for over ten years.

  Qin Hao strolled around the city, until the sun was low in the west, before he slowly made his way towards the Qin family's residence.

  As soon as Qin Hao saw the signboard of "Qin's Mansion" from afar, he noticed a familiar figure pacing back and forth in front of the main gate of the Qin family, like an ant on a hot pot, muttering to himself.

  Qin Hao quickened his pace and gradually made out the outline of the person.

  "Big brother?" Qin Hao furrowed his brow. The flustered person in front of the door was surprisingly his usually composed big brother, Qin Shan.

  "Qin Hao, you've finally come back." Qin Shan hastily welcomed him and grabbed Qin Hao's sleeve, rushing towards the Qin family mansion with a fierce momentum.

  "I was wondering why I couldn't find you anywhere. Qin Hao, you've been out for several hours, and there are guests at the mansion who need to be entertained." Qin Shan quickened his pace, almost jogging, while still instructing Qin Hao.

  "Has the guest arrived?" Qin Hao was slightly surprised, and only then did he remember that his father and two clan elders had gone to Yicheng. At this time, the visitor came, and in terms of etiquette, it should be him who went to entertain them. But it wasn't necessarily him either.

  "Are the three elders still here? Besides, brother, you can handle it too."

  "The three elders are in seclusion and cannot be disturbed. Moreover, that person is not someone I can deal with." Qin Shan stopped in front of the main hall, turned around and said to Qin Hao seriously: "The one who has come is Chu Shaobai, the young master of Yicheng Chu's family."

  "Chu Shaobai?" Qin Hao shook his head: "Never heard of it." This name was very unfamiliar to him.

  Qin Shan rolled his eyes and said, "Have you heard of the largest Jiuxuan Fang in Yicheng?"

  Qin Hao nodded and smiled: "This is indeed something I've heard of."

  Jiuxuan Alley is also the largest alley market in the city, and under its name, many other commercial alleys and shops are spread throughout the city, with considerable strength. To be honest, the Chu family's status in Yicheng is similar to that of the Qin family in Tianlang City, and strictly speaking, it may even be stronger. Because the lord of Yicheng absolutely cannot be as overbearing as Old Man Chen.

  "And besides, this Chu Shaobai might be even more talented than you, Qin Hao." Qin Shan's face was extremely serious.

  "Oh?" Qin Hao smiled slightly, his heart stirred.

  "It's possible that in terms of martial arts skills, he may not be as good as you, but at the age of 24, he probably has a cultivation level of around three or four layers of Ling Xuan. Moreover, the master of Jiuxuan Fang is an array master, a second-level primary array master, and under his influence, Chu Shaobai is also quite outstanding in terms of array refinement. It's said that this year, he can already practice a first-level advanced Fengxuan Array on his own."

  Qin Hao was slightly shocked in his heart. The cultivation of each formation master was extremely difficult. When the formation masters practiced, the number of demon beast crystals consumed was enough to bankrupt a medium-sized family. It seemed that Jiuxuanfang's financial resources were extremely strong.

  While Chu Shaobai was able to refine a high-level Fengxuan formation at this age, it's also considered extraordinary talent. As thoughts turned in his mind, Qin Hao's expression also became serious.

  The two stopped talking, Qin Hao pulled out some wrinkles on his robe and tidied up his hair, trying to make himself look more dignified. Then he walked in with a smile on his face.

  Qin Shan walked on his left side, with a serious expression on his face as well.

  As soon as he stepped into the hall, Qin Hao's eyes quickly scanned around. Taking in everything in the room at a glance.

  In the spacious hall, a man in a dark long gown sat upright, holding a cup of tea with a refined smile on his face. Behind him stood an ordinary-looking middle-aged man with a slender build, his hands hanging down and his head slightly lowered. The middle-aged man looked unremarkable, the type that would get lost in a crowd and never be found again.

  However, Qin Hao still had some guard against this middle-aged man in his heart. The momentum of this middle-aged man was too steady, giving Qin Hao a feeling similar to Lin Zhanbei's.

  Across from the man sat a beautiful woman, Qin Yuxian. She wore a pink dress and her hair cascaded down her shoulders like clouds. Her hand held a scroll of martial techniques, her slender fingers moving across it as her delicate eyebrows furrowed and relaxed, seemingly completely absorbed in the contents of the scroll.

  Three people remained silent. What really surprised Qin Hao was Chu Shaobai. Qin Hao had always been clear about Qin Yuxian's abilities.

  It's really cold, and it can make people within a radius of ten feet feel the chill. To say nothing of others, Mu Chen Dong is a representative. On that day, how much time did Qin Yu Xian take to make Mu Chen Dong go from being enthusiastic to feeling like he was dead?

  "Sorry", "Busy", "No need", just six words, directly knocked a passionate young man to death. Now she is even more direct, without saying a word, the momentum is like completely ignoring Chu Shaobai.

  But Chu Shaobai, however, was able to maintain a smile on his face in such a situation, looking as if he wasn't pretending at all. The whole scene looked like there wasn't even a hint of awkwardness, natural and harmonious, as if this was how the three of them should have been interacting all along. This level of skill was truly impressive.

  However, Chu Shaobai's gaze towards Qin Yuxian seemed somewhat off, which made Qin Hao feel a bit strange.

  Qin Hao's footsteps drew near, and the three people simultaneously sensed it. Qin Yuxian slightly raised her head, glanced over, and then lowered it again. The middle-aged man kept his head down, faithfully serving as a background like a mud sculpture or wooden statue. As for Chu Shaobai, his gaze directly swept over, without deviating for a moment.

  Qin Hao walked over with a smile and stood in front of Chu Shaobai, cupping his hands to ask: "Is this the young master Chu?"

  Chu Shaobai also stood up and bowed his hands to Qin Hao: "You are Rain Fairy's brother, Qin Hao?"

  The two of them exchanged some polite phrases, full of courtesy and with a respectful tone, without any hint of insincerity. This left Qin Shan quite surprised.

  Both parties finished the superficial things and sat down. Qin Hao sat in the main seat, Qin Shan sat on his left side, and Qin Yuxian sat on the right side, still flipping through that volume of martial arts, completely unaware of external objects.

  "Do you know what Young Master Chu has come to the Qin family for this time?" Qin Hao asked with a light smile.

  Chu Shaobai smiled brightly: "Nothing much, just passing by Tianlang City to visit the master of the Qin family and coincidentally, come see Yu Xian."

  The two words "Yu Xian" sounded extremely intimate, and it seemed like they were very familiar with each other. Qin Hao's eyes narrowed slightly, his smile unwavering as he said, "Father has something to attend to in Yi City, and Mr. Chu's arrival is not at a good time."

  "It's a pity." Chu Shaobai chuckled and said: "But being able to see Yu Xian, it's not a wasted trip after all."

  Qin Hao's hands grasped the armrests, and he sat up straight, his eyes darting back and forth between Qin Yuxian and Chu Shaobai. Chu Shaobai spoke with an air of naturalness, while Qin Yuxian, given her usual temperament, should have already spoken up to bridge the distance, but at this moment, she had a listening-but-not-commenting expression on her face.

  "By the way, I heard that the Qin family won this year's competition in our city." Chu Shaobai suddenly woke up: "The strength of the Qin family is indeed extraordinary."

  Chu Shaobai said, and from his bosom he took out a white jade box. When the white jade box was opened, hundreds of crystal clear Xuanjing quietly lay inside. On the surface of the Xuanjing, intricate lines were carved, the lines came and went, forming beautiful patterns into an array diagram.

  "Feng Xuan Array?" Qin Shan sat up, exclaiming in surprise. On that day, Qin Hao had also taken out the Feng Xuan Array, but the number was far less than this. The impact force formed by hundreds of Feng Xuan Arrays can be imagined.

  "This is the Xuanyuan Formation that I spent several months to personally refine, it can be considered as a congratulatory gift for the master of the Qin family. Qin Hao, please trouble yourself to pass it on to the master of the Qin family."

  Qin Shan was shocked once again, alone in refining? This gave him an even greater shock. The Xuanxuan formation that Qin Hao had said was purchased in Tiannanfang, but this Chu Shaobai could actually refine so many Xuanxuan formations by himself? The strength of his refining skills can be imagined.

  Qin Hao's eyes converged, and he smiled as he stood up straight. He walked a few steps to Chu Shaobai's side and took the white jade box, saying: "Thank you, I will pass it on to my father."

  "These Sealing Mysteries Arrays are mostly of the first rank, and my strength is not enough to refine anything higher. I hope it won't make the master of the Qin family laugh." Chu Shaobai laughed loudly, with a hint of pride on his face.

  Qin Hao's expression didn't change as he took over the white jade box and sat back in his original position. He casually placed it to one side.

  Chu Shaobai stood up again, walked to Qin Yuxian's front, took out a string of purple wrist chain, and smiled: "Yuxian, this string of wrist chain was bought by me in the market just now, I think it should be very suitable for you."

  Qin Yuxian furrowed her brow, looked up and was about to say something when she caught a glimpse of Qin Hao's tense posture out of the corner of her eye. A mischievous smile suddenly appeared on his lips. She stretched out her hand, linking it with his, and smiled brightly: "Thanks."

  Chu Shaobai's smile on his face became even more radiant, he stepped back to his original position, and his eyes didn't leave Qin Yuxian.

  "Right." Chu Shaobai patted his head and laughed, "I had almost forgotten. Since he won the Tianlang City competition with overwhelming strength, Qin's family heir must be incredibly powerful. I wonder if I can take a look at how he practices? When I get back, I'll also teach those useless kids a lesson."

  "It's fine." Qin Hao stood up and said with great enthusiasm: "What's wrong with that? Let me lead the way."

  "I'll go. The martial arts arena is still more familiar to me." Qin Yuxian smiled lightly, her lotus steps moving gently as she led the way forward.

  Chu Shaobai hurriedly followed up. The middle-aged man kept close to his back, and when he passed by Qin Hao's side, he cast a glance at him with an air of uncertainty. That gaze was sharp as a knife edge, completely unlike the dull appearance on the surface.

  Qin Hao's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at the two people's backs, and then followed them.

  "This guy is quite familiar with Yu Xian?" Qin Hao asked Qin Shan beside him.

  "Very familiar. Almost became Yu Xian's husband, what do you think?" Qin Shan replied in a low voice.

  Qin Hao was startled and almost jumped up from where he was standing, this shock was several times stronger than when he saw the Dark Phantom Wolf that day.

  "What's going on?"

  "In Yicheng, our family has some small shops and markets operating, you know. Seeing Qin Hao nodding, Qin Shan continued: "Last year, in order to break the deadlock, my uncle and several elders went there many times to visit many families. Once they took Yu Xian with them. At that time, the idea was that with Yu Xian's strength, she would eventually face off against many families' geniuses head-on, just let her get a glimpse first."

  "As a result, this has led to some trouble. That girl." Qin Shan looked at the back of Qin Yu Xian and sighed: "No one expected her to cause such a big commotion. Since returning from Yi City, many families have come to the Qin family to propose marriage."

  "Propose a marriage?" Qin Hao furrowed his brow, something that happened last year, how come he had never heard of it?

  "Uh-huh." Qin Shan nodded: "Actually, thinking about it now, it's also normal. Not to mention others, how many people in the clan secretly admire her? If she weren't so talented and normally had that aloof personality, making people not dare to get close, there would be even more of these things. After returning from Yi City, seven or eight families from Yi City sent people to propose marriage, almost trampling down the doorstep. On one hand, it's naturally because of the Qin family's power, wanting to unite with the Qin family, and that girl is also a reason. Of course, those low-powered families were all rejected, and those not-outstanding young men were also excluded. In the end, only this Chu Shaobai was left."

  Qin Hao asked in confusion: "What's next?"

  "Next, humph." Qin Shan seemed to be lost in thought: "This Chu Shaobai is indeed not ordinary, the family's power is the strongest in Yicheng, and he has been extremely polite every time he came to the Qin family. His martial arts talent is not low, and his ability to refine the Fengxuan Array is also a personal talent. Even Grandfather was very satisfied with him. Some people in the clan had ideas about that girl, such as Qin Ze and Qin Xing, who reacted most violently earlier, but they couldn't find anything to say. At the time, several elders discussed it and decided to arrange their engagement first."

  Qin Hao's heart skipped a beat, and he didn't know why his throat felt slightly dry: "Then what?"

  "Then?" Qin Shan let out another sigh of frustration and said helplessly: "Then that girl just went crazy. At the time, the head of the Chu family, Chu Shaobai, was present, as well as my uncle and three elders who were sitting in the hall. She burst into the hall and blurted out three words 'I don't want to', which caused a huge commotion at the time. The head of the Chu family's face turned dark, and my uncle's face turned completely black. Who would have thought that the usually well-behaved and obedient little girl would suddenly say something like that? At the time, my uncle had to repeatedly apologize before he could finally send the Chu family away."

  Later, several elders also severely reprimanded her, saying that she did not understand etiquette. Who knew Yu Xian would come and go, repeating the same sentence: I don't want to. At that time, my uncle was so angry that he overturned the table on the spot, knocking over more than a dozen chairs. She was locked up for a month. The engagement also came to nothing.

  Qin Hao was stunned, his eyes wide with surprise. He pursed his lips and said in a somewhat heavy tone, "Why didn't I know about this at all? Not even heard of it?"

  Qin Shan rolled his eyes repeatedly, with a extremely helpless expression: "Qin Hao, you were either locked in a closed room all day or drunk to the point of unconsciousness. When did you ever care about other things? That girl was also impulsive back then. If she had informed Uncle beforehand, it wouldn't have ended up so awkwardly."

  Qin Hao nodded in agreement, deeply approving of this matter. In the Qin family, there had never been a case where a woman was forced to marry someone for the sake of family interests, no matter how powerful the other party was. This was the Qin family's steadfast principle.

  It can be said that this persistence is sometimes extremely unwise. However, no matter how stupid this principle is, the Qin family has never given up on it.

  So, Qin Hao absolutely believed that his father, Qin Feng, made that decision at the time, mainly because he was thinking of finding a good husband for Yu Xian, and forming an alliance with the Chu family would be of great help to the Qin family, but this was not the real reason.

  It's a pity, if Qin Yuxian had discussed her thoughts with Qin Feng beforehand, he should have taken it seriously. Who knew that this girl would solve the matter in such a direct way.

  "Right." Qin Shan looked puzzled: "It's strange to say, this Chu Shaobai comes ten times a year, and Yu Xian's attitude towards him is always like that of a stranger. Usually, adding up the ten times, they wouldn't even exchange one sentence, so why was she so friendly to him this time?"

  "Who knows?" Qin Hao sighed repeatedly: "That girl, who can really see what she's thinking?"

  The two of them were chatting away without stopping in their tracks. It wasn't until Qin Yuxian's figure came to a halt up ahead that the conversation between the two finally ceased.

  The scene of the martial arts arena also appeared before everyone.

  "This is where the Qin family's children practice, Young Master Chu, take a look for yourself." Qin Yuxian stretched out her hand and pointed towards the direction of the martial arts arena.

  Qin Hao also stepped forward at this time and stood shoulder to shoulder with Chu Shaobai.

  "This is the Qin family's way of practicing?" Chu Shaobai's expression turned solemn, his smile retracted.

  At this moment, in the Qin family's martial arts arena, a long wooden array was set up in the middle. Fifty or sixty people were moving within the array, and when the long wood moved, its speed and power were extremely frightening. Hundreds of giant woods flew back and forth, colliding with each other, and the intensity of the attack made one's heart tremble.

  However, from his gradual approach just now to the present, no one has been attacked, not even a corner of their clothes was touched.

  Chu Shaobai's eyebrows furrowed tighter, but soon he broke into a smile. He turned to Qin Yuxian and asked, "This training method is really special. I've heard that in the Qin family, the instructors are usually outstanding young people from the younger generation. Who's in charge here? Is it you, Yuxian?"

  He pondered for a moment, then turned to Qin Shan and smiled: "You are Qin Shan, the elder brother of Yu Xian, right? I've met you a few times, your cultivation seems to be at the tenth level of Condensing Mystery. By rights, training them should be enough. The one in charge, is it you?"

  Qin Yuxian and Qin Shan did not speak, their eyes simultaneously turned towards Qin Hao.

  At this moment, in Qin Hao's hands, two streams of mysterious energy were jumping on his fingertips, and then, like two spiritual snakes, they wrapped around his arm and crawled up to the other side. Finally, they even shot straight into the air, suddenly bursting open like fireworks.

  "I'm afraid I've made Mr. Chu laugh."

  At this moment, Qin Hao was smiling lightly, with a harmless look on his face.

  The middle-aged man behind Chu Shaobai spoke for the first time, his tone cold and hard with a hint of metallic quality: "Xuan Qi external release. Ling Xuan Wu Zhe."

  Chu Shaobai's pupils involuntarily constricted...