#6: The Phoenix Tribe (6)

Outside Patriarch Bai Rong’s house, there was utter pandemonium. Led by Ling Yu, about twenty Sparrow Tribe women surrounded Feng Yuan and Bai Rong, chattering and squawking incessantly.

Except for Ling Que, who spotted Zi Chen walking over hand-in-hand with Yao Yin, no one else noticed their arrival.

“You’ve wasted my sister’s ten thousand years, and the final result is to call off the engagement?” Ling Yu scolded, hands on her hips. “You want to break off the engagement? You’ll have to pay with Zi Chen’s life!”

Feng Yuan was cornered by her, looking helpless: “I know your sister is wronged, but we can’t make decisions for Zi Chen.”

“Let’s not talk about the marriage for now. How about my sister’s injury?” Ling Yu supported Ling Que, pointing to the lump on her forehead. “Is this how you treat a benefactor? This is simply too much bullying!”

“Ling Que’s injury was indeed not caused by the Phoenix Tribe,” Feng Yuan looked at Ling Que, his face filled with distress. “Who injured you like this?”

Ling Que tremblingly raised her hand and pointed at Zi Chen not far away.

Feng Yuan was startled: “Que’er, you must not point wrongly!”

“He’s the one who injured me!” Ling Que said, full of resentment. She was about to continue speaking when she heard a crisp “slap,” and a slap landed on Ling Que’s face from a distance. No one saw how she was injured, nor who threw the blow. The next moment, a clear five-finger mark appeared on her face.

Ling Que was dumbfounded, unable to recover for a long time.

“Who!” Ling Yu was furious. Seeing her own sister hit, she could no longer contain her rage and roared in the dim morning light, “Who was it! Do you dare not admit what you’ve done?”

Yao Yin nudged Zi Chen and whispered, “Was that you?”

Zi Chen gently shook his head: “She isn’t worthy of my hand.”

Yao Yin eyed him suspiciously: “You’re getting more and more mysterious.”

Zi Chen smiled, gripped her hand tighter, and pulled her two steps closer to his side.

Feng Yuan witnessed their actions and felt increasingly powerless in the face of Ling Que’s accusations. He sighed deeply, spread his palm, revealing layers of shimmering white light, and said with heartbroken regret, “I hit her.”

“Grandpa Yuan?” Ling Que’s face was filled with disbelief. “You... why did you hit me? Weren’t you the one who loved me the most?”

“Precisely because I love you, I couldn’t let you continue speaking.” Feng Yuan finished, glanced at Zi Chen, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw no emotion on his face.

“It was for your own good,” Feng Yuan said painfully. “One day, you will understand my earnest efforts.”

“For my good? For my good, you should have used your elder’s authority to uphold justice!” Ling Que already knew about their intimacy and thought Zi Chen refused to marry her because of Yao Yin. She turned around, looked coldly at Yao Yin, and said word by word, “I’ve waited for Zi Chen for ten thousand years. Only I am qualified to be Zi Chen’s wife. What right do you have?”

“I...” Yao Yin felt a little uneasy under her gaze. She looked at Zi Chen, wanting to pull her hand away, but Zi Chen gripped it even tighter.

Ling Que’s brows furrowed deeply, her expression deeply hurt.

Ling Yu, seeing this, angrily grabbed Bai Rong’s collar and questioned him, “I ask you, does the marriage contract between the Peacock Tribe and the Phoenix Tribe still count or not?”

Bai Rong, in his confused state, had no idea what Ling Yu was saying.

“Of course it doesn’t count.” Before Bai Rong could answer, Zi Chen, holding Yao Yin’s hand, stepped forward and said, “I already have a wife now. I ask both Princesses to no longer bother the Phoenix Tribe.”

“Already has a wife?” Ling Yu pointed at Yao Yin and sneered, “Is it her?”

“No...” Yao Yin was about to deny it, but Zi Chen interrupted her, nodding slightly with a touch of pride: “Precisely.”

“What if you already have a wife? Just divorce her.”

“No,” Zi Chen’s words were few, his tone utterly self-assured.

“Heh, I don’t mind getting my hands dirty and getting rid of this hussy for you!” Ling Yu pointed to a distant red mountain range and said, “Once I dismember her and burn her to ashes in that illusory mountain, you’ll have no more attachments.”

Upon hearing this, Zi Chen took a small step forward, shielding Yao Yin with his body. Simultaneously, faint layers of radiant light emanated from him, and his black hair danced without wind. With just this small movement, everyone around felt an intense pressure.

At this moment, everyone clearly knew that no one here was Zi Chen’s match. If he wanted to protect Yao Yin, then no one could touch her in the slightest.

Ling Yu grew even angrier, questioning him loudly, “You would forsake a dignified Peacock Princess and protect an obscure little immortal so fiercely?”

“Yes.”

“You, like the mad and foolish Bai Rong, are both people who can’t hold their own. It’s only fitting that your tribe should become extinct!” Ling Yu sneered, “I’d like to see if she can help you propagate your lineage later!”

“This is a matter for my Phoenix Tribe; the princess need not concern herself.”

“You!” Ling Yu was rendered speechless by his retort, yet restrained from venting her anger due to his identity.

Seeing the two clash, with a war between the Peacock Tribe and Phoenix Tribe on the verge of breaking out, Ling Que, on the other hand, calmed down. Her face was solemn as she said coldly, “Since that is the case, the marriage alliance between our two tribes is hereby nullified. From now on, my Peacock Tribe and the Phoenix Tribe shall be irreconcilable enemies! Let’s go!” Ling Que gave Yao Yin a fierce look, then cast a glance at the composed Zi Chen, and finally left in a huff. Ling Yu, however, was unwilling to let it go.

“Sister, can you just let this go?” Ling Yu chased after her, asking anxiously, “Who will you complain to about your ten thousand years of waiting?”

“He’s clearly drawing a line in the sand with us. Are you planning to continue making a fool of yourself here?” Ling Que said, then dragged Ling Yu away. Once they were further, she whispered to her, “We are no match for Zi Chen. For now, let them be. It won’t be too late to settle accounts with the Phoenix Tribe after Father deals with the marriage of the Glorious Saint God!”

Upon hearing this, Ling Yu finally put aside her dissatisfaction and left calmly with her group of sisters.

After the Sparrow Tribe left, Yao Yin wiggled her wrist, trying to break free, but Zi Chen had no intention of letting go.

“Let go, they’ve all left,” Yao Yin couldn’t help but remind him.

“Why?” Zi Chen asked, confused.

“Because...” Yao Yin paused, then said, “Because there’s no need to keep up the act anymore.”

Yao Yin lowered her head, not daring to look at him again.

His radiance now was truly too dazzling, and his status too unapproachable... Standing next to him, she really felt a sense of inferiority.

After a while, Zi Chen finally spoke, saying, “You think I was acting?”

“Otherwise?”

Zi Chen caressed her hair and said, “I wasn’t joking.”

“Hmm??” Yao Yin suddenly looked up, her eyes wide with surprise: “What do you mean?”

“You’ll understand later,” Zi Chen said, then took her hand and walked forward.

Bai Rong and Feng Yuan, seeing this, dared not step forward to stop them, nor even breathe heavily.

Yao Yin was pulled along by Zi Chen, her face bewildered, her heart still pounding, seemingly still pondering the meaning of Zi Chen’s words. By the time she came to her senses, they had already returned to the thatched hut.

The oil in the lamp was almost depleted, its flame tiny and faint, but fortunately, the morning light was gradually brightening, so the room wasn’t too dim.

Zi Chen lightly brushed his sleeve, and the documents on the table vanished without a trace. Only then did he turn back and slowly say to Yao Yin, “Let’s go.”

“Where to?” Yao Yin asked, confused.

“Back to the Celestial Realm.”

Yao Yin froze, the light in her eyes shifting unpredictably. From initial excitement, to sadness, then to grievance, finally settling into a stagnant pool.

“What’s wrong?” Zi Chen saw all this and asked her, “What happened?”

Yao Yin sighed deeply, spread her hands, revealing the Phoenix Tribe mark on her palm, and said, “I made an oath with Elder Feng Yuan that I would never leave Fenghua in this life.”

Zi Chen’s face hardened, his expression stern: “Why?”

“To... save you.”

“They really did make things difficult for you.” Zi Chen’s index finger traced the mark on Yao Yin’s palm inch by inch, caressing it, and asked, “Does it hurt?”

“No, it doesn’t,” Yao Yin shook her head. “At that time, all I could think about was your safety; I couldn’t care about anything else.”

Zi Chen sighed deeply and said, “I’ll take you; they wouldn’t dare stop me.”

Yao Yin shook her head repeatedly, refusing: “Although your body is much better, and your power surpasses theirs, for me, I cannot go back on my word. I...”

At this moment, Zi Chen, ignoring her incessant chatter, suddenly swept her up into his arms.

“Ahhh—You, you quickly put me down! It’s not good if others see us!” Yao Yin forcefully pounded his shoulder, but her strength was no match for Zi Chen’s, barely even tickling him.

The quiet morning of Fenghua Village was broken by her continuous screams. Zi Chen, pretending not to hear, carried her towards Bai Rong’s house.