Chapter 677 494: Breakdown_2

He laughed, revealing his white teeth, and spoke in a low voice,

"How could the Chi Family's dogs get cozy with the Xiao Family's? We simply had no choice but to follow Chi Family's orders, to make alliances known to the world, yet afraid of truly offending my family, they even push Yuan Huyuan to mediate and ease the situation. What smart calculations! What smart calculations!"

Li Xuanxuan could not help but understand, pondering for a moment before speaking softly,

"Your meaning is… the Yuan Family had no thoughts of resistance from the start, they had already sided with the Chi Family, merely putting on a show to win trust. Yuan Huyuan and Yuan Hudu had colluded all along, while Yuan Chengdun had good intentions, Yuan Huyuan intended to use this situation to embarrass our family and curry favor with those above?"

Li Xijun squinted his eyes and said,

"Not too far off. My family aligned with the Ning and Xiao, and the Yuan Family, having become a dog, naturally could no longer remain impartial as in the past."

"One aspect is whether they can find Yuan Tuan, another is whether my family can be implicated. If these two matters can both be ensured clearly, the Yuan Family would of course wish to be independent…"

"Should my family refuse to get involved in this matter, this inexplicable marriage can still be publicly used as a means to break with us. Whether or not we agree, as long as it gets out that Yuan Fuyao called off the marriage and eloped, it would cleanly separate the two families."

He quickly made his conjectures clear and spoke softly,

"I fear that when he came that day to inquire if my grandfather could lend a hand, and after receiving a negative response, Yuan Huyuan decided to side with Chi. The letter from Yuan Chengdun was never going to reach Yuan Fuyao. In any case, this person has become the spark that ignited the split between the two families."

Li Xuanxuan felt a surge of anger and sorrow from within and said,

"Yuan Huyuan has met with my family's elder; I had thought he would maintain a good relationship with our family for generations to come. How has it come to such an end? Even if under pressure, there was no need for such tactics!"

As he attempted to get up and leave, Li Xijun calmed him down and said to the youth,

"I will deal with him."

…

When Yuan Huyuan came in, he looked quite disheveled, with a languid spirit. However, he was greeted by a strikingly handsome young man dressed in white, purer than snow, with Li Yuexiang following by his side. He was taken aback and inquired tentatively,

"I don't know if Taoist Fellow Xuanxuan…"

"Senior comes at an inopportune time, the elder is in secluded cultivation... I am Li Xijun, Yuexiang is my younger sister, I have seen Senior Huyuan."

Yuan Huyuan took a quick glance at the youth's expression, feeling that he was even harder to deal with than Li Xuanxuan, and said hoarsely,

"Another Foundation Establishment Cultivator, truly a noble family brimming with talent, admirable indeed."

Li Xijun shook his head and said softly,

"Senior flatters me. May I ask the purpose of Senior's visit this time?"

Yuan Huyuan's face fell, and he said sadly,

"I am helpless on my own… the Yuan Family has already fallen into my brother's hands, his heart set on serving the Chi Family, becoming their vassal… I fear he will disregard the friendship between our two families and make some foolish moves!"

"Oh?"

Li Xijun expressed surprise,

"Maybe you wish to take back that betrothal gift? That's a trivial matter."

He put on an uninformed air, called over a Jade Courtyard Guard, and said in a soft voice,

"Bring Yuan Gongzi here."

Yuan Huyuan felt a numbness in his legs, just as he was about to speak, Li Xijun kindly took his hand and said softly,

"Senior Yuan, our families have had dealings for several generations, Senior has even met our ancestor! The gift of the Jiao Carved Pillar is still worn by our family head! Who would ever let down whom..."

"Senior Huyuan's goodwill is here; my younger sister can spend some more time chatting with him..."

Those words caused beads of sweat to form on Yuan Huyuan's forehead as he said hoarsely,

"Actually... I fear..."

But just then, a Jade Courtyard Guard hurried forward, knelt down, and declared,

"Reporting to the great sir! Yuan Gongzi has run away!"

"Run away?"

Li Xijun exclaimed in surprise, feigning disbelief, and simply said,

"How could that be… go check the farmland again..."

Yuan Huyuan meanwhile stood there, his face covered in cold sweat, lamenting softly,

"Xijun... Xijun, there's no need to search anymore! My brother has already been called back! Let's just drop this matter here! I am only sorry to Miss Yuexiang!"

Li Xijun's expression suddenly changed, and it took him several moments before he quietly asked:

"If the senior did not wish the marriage, you could have said so directly. Why cause such embarrassment for my family!"

Yuan Huyuan's heart was in torment as he struggled to look up at him, then glanced at Li Xizhi and seemed to catch a glimpse of that middle-aged man in grey from years past, suddenly feeling too restless to stay seated on the wooden chair.

He had met several generations of the Li Family, and although none of them gave him the same unfathomable and towering presence as Li Tongya, Li Xijun, like a blade hidden in the snow, seemed to see through all his calculations. With sadness, he said:

"I have already lost control over my family; how could I control my brother? He will likely spread rumors to destroy the affinity between our two families, Yuexiang... Yuexiang... I never expected such an outcome!"

The spreading of rumors implied in his words was clear—Yuan Family wanted to sever all ties with the Li Family, which meant portraying the situation as a broken engagement. He lifted his tired face to look at Li Yuexiang, only to be met with her smiling, pretty countenance.

He had thought Li Yuexiang would be angry or embarrassed, but instead, she blinked her phoenix eyes gently, her voice soft:

"It's okay, I'm fine, senior."

Even though her voice sounded calm, Yuan Huyuan felt a chill rise within him as if he heard the cold sound of a sword cutting through the air and the unspoken words in those eyes:

'But your family may not be.'

Unable to say anything more, Yuan Huyuan silently stepped back and left the hall only to see a woman in jade armor holding a spear, standing outside as if she had been listening for a while. With a lift of her almond eyes, she said softly:

"I will escort the senior out."

Yuan Huyuan felt his scalp tingle; he was just a Foundation Establishment Cultivator who depended on elixirs to maintain his level, inferior to Li Qinghong. If it came to a fight, he had no idea how many moves he would last, so he muttered:

"So it's Qinghong."

As Li Qinghong took to the air with him, she spoke softly:

"It's understandable that your nobility aligned with the Chi Family out of necessity, but these measures are too dirty. Years of goodwill between our families... didn't have to end this way."

Yuan Huyuan sighed deeply, and Li Qinghong paused before continuing:

"Your family has implicated mine, Yuan Chengdun, and Qing Sui Peak all at once, costing my family its credibility with Yuan Chengdun, severing ties between two families... But if the senior still holds some regard for my family, I would ask that you spare Yuan Fuyao's life."

At this point, Yuan Huyuan realized that his family's calculations had been thoroughly exposed. He whispered back:

"Yuan Fuyao will be alright; we're keeping a close eye on him, please be at ease."

After a fist salute, Li Qinghong returned on a streak of thunder, leaving Yuan Huyuan to fly off alone. Recalling the decades of friendship with Li Yuanjiao and Li Xuanxuan, he felt a deep sense of desolation and murmured:

"It's just that... the Sword Immortal defeated Chi Zhiyun with a single stroke back then, and the Li Family has been flirting with the Xiao Family. The Chi Family has never been at ease, how could they allow me to maintain old affections! If not dealt with harshly, how to silence the Chi Family's cold words and sneers!"

Looking at the horizon, feeling empty inside, and thinking back to Li Yuexiang's words and smile, he began to feel frightened:

"Li Yuanjiao is as venomous as a viper; his daughter likely isn't much different... why did it have to be the Li Family!"

If Yuan Huyuan had to choose, out of all the kindred and allied families, the Li Family was the one he wished least to offend. But caught in the torrents, he found himself without options, only able to fly off in silence.

...

Li Qinghong returned to the courtyard with the wind. The group was sitting together, and Li Xijun nodded slightly. The uncle and niece had not discussed anything in advance yet their cooperation was tacit.

Li Xuanxuan began to speak:

"We don't know what has become of Yuan Chengdun and Yuan Tuan by now. They likely have no power to turn the situation around... but I did promise Yuan Chengdun..."

"If Yuan Fuyao wants to leave, are we supposed to send someone to capture him and bring him back?"

Li Xijun waved his hand and replied:

"Moreover, Yuexiang agreed under the condition that Yuan Fuyao was willing to stay. Who could have predicted Yuan Huyuan would act this way? Even Yuan Chengdun himself couldn't anticipate it... he might be one of the top in cultivation, but in matters of strategy, how can he compete with such a cunning old fox."

He spoke softly:

"This man has no further connection with our family, let's not mention him again!"

Li Xijun then turned to his sister and sighed:

"You've been wronged... Yuan Family is going to cut ties with us, and they are bound to bring up this matter, leading to some idle gossip..."

Li Yuexiang smiled faintly, sitting serenely by the desk, shaking her head:

"What's there to worry about? Others will only laugh at the Yuan Family for being indecisive, and how Yuan Fuyao missed out on a good chance,"