34 Not to be underestimated

The silence in the room was too heavy. Yi Lan looked at the old man sitting in front of her, with an expressionless face. The old man glared at her, a vein bulging from his forehead.

"It's been three hours." He spoke gruffly.

"So?" Yi Lan asked lazily.

"You still haven't told me."

"Told you what?"

"Told me how the hell did you manage to seduce my granddaughter!" He growled.

"I haven't done such a thing." Yi Lan replied munching on the buns she had been served. The buns were golden and soft, the butter on it slightly salty but creamy. Served with those buns, was a slightly sour and sweet fruit jam. Along with some mint tea, the prepared food was simply a delight to Yi Lan's stomach, that growled and wailed in anguish, on seeing the food. It only settled down when she started eating.

Seeing the person in front of him, eating like a beast, made Li Wei irritated.

"Hey."

"Mm.."

"Hey."

"Mm.."

"Hey!"

Now, Lan was pissed off. Setting down the bun, she looked up with a glare. "What? Can't you see I'm eating? Or does your family just treat all the guests this way? Seriously, do I even have to lecture some old geezers now?!"

Li Wei puffed up and sat up in a fit. "Who are you calling an old geezer?"

"Can you see anyone else with wrinkles and white hair here?" She snorted.

"You! Is this the sort of manners your parents taught you?! With this, you want to marry my granddaughter?!" He growled.

Cold, steely eyes fixed themselves on Li Wei. Yi Lan, giving an untouchable feeling, said "I have no parents."

Li Wei gulped, uneasy because of the guilt. Reluctantly, he apologised, which Yi Lan waved away.

"It's fine if you eat, but atleast offer me some of those buns!"

Yi Lan looked at him, then at the buns and back at him again. "You want a bun?"

He nodded.

Yi Lan nodded back and said "Alright." She then licked all the buns there and continued eating. "Take whichever ones you want. It's all yours." Her hand held out a bun that was still covered with a thread of her saliva.

Li Wei was astounded and disgusted. Never had he ever met such a man in his entire leaf. He lay back defeated.

Only when Yi Lan had finished eating half of the buns, did he rise back up again.

"Never! Never am I going to give my precious granddaughter to you!" He said, spit flying out of his mouth.

Yi Lan dodged the spit, and mumbled in a low voice "Who even wants that little vixen?"

"What did you say?" He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Nothing."

Back when the little girl had claimed Yi Lan was her fiancé, she had whispered a warning in Yi Lan's ears. "If you dare deny, I'll tell them you tried to take advantage of me. And mind you, my family's not one to be underestimated."

Feeling too lazy to do anything, Yi Lan decided to accompany her.

The old man in front of her, was none other than Li Wei, the little vixen's grandfather.

"Master Li! What's this I'm hearing?" A man came bursting in, clad in silk robes.

Li Wei got up hastily and let out a cough, indicating Yi Lan to stand, but she ignored him.

"Master Shen! Please take a seat." Li Wei said, pointing at the seat beside Yi Lan. Shen Yun glared at the mannerless kid in front of him, but begrudgingly took a seat.

"Bring Master Shen something to eat." Li Wei ordered a servant.

"There's no need. Isn't there enough here?" He spoke coolly, glancing at Yi Lan's pile of buns. He waited for Yi Lan to offer him one. A minute passed. Another minute passed. Yi Lan simply kept on munching the buns, not caring for anyone else.

An annoyed Shen Yun looked at Li Wei, who looked back helpless. Even he didn't know what to do with him.

Shen Yun finally snapped, "Kid! Don't you see an elder in front of you? Where's your respect?!"

Yi Lan only mumbled, "I show my respect only to those who deserve it. Anyone can call themselves an elder, but only a few live upto that title. Can you do that too?" She gave a glance at him, making him take a sharp breath.

Shen Yun was taken aback. The kid's response was short, but it reminded him of his past self.

Slightly miffed, he took a bun from the kid's plate without asking and ate it. He nodded, "Delicious."

Li Wei stood there frozen. How could he say that the bun had been defiled by Yi Lan's spit already? He chose to stay silent.

"Regardless of his words, Master Li, why have you chosen such a person for your granddaughter instead of my Sheng'er?" Shen Yun asked, wiping his mouth.

An awkward Li Wei cleared his throat and spoke "Don't be mistaken Master Shen. The one who chose this man was my granddaughter and not me. She's just going through a rebellious stage. She'll calm down soon, you'll see. The engagement is still on, so do not worry about it."

Hearing this, Shen Yun calmed down. After all, this engagement had been arranged years ago their ancestors.

Yi Lan's eyes narrowed. 'So this is the reason, why I was dragged into this mess. These old foggies don't know the meaning of girl power.'

"So you mean that your granddaughter has no choice?" She spoke, setting down her cup of tea.

Li Wei nodded, as if proud of the fact. "In this family, only my decision matters."

"That is, you don't care about her decision?"

"No-not-ne, you're confusing me!" He exclaimed.

"Marrying off your granddaughter like she's some game you're playing with. What if this man's son turns out to be crippled later? Do you still want your only granddaughter to spend a life with a cripple whom she doesn't even care about?" She spoke sternly, her gaze shifting towards Shen Yun.

Shen Yun banged the table in anger. "How dare you call my son crippled?"

"I was talking about a possibility, not reality." She stated clearly.

The little girl who had brought her here- Li Luo, had been eavesdropping on their conversation from the start. Hearing Yi Lan's words, her eyes filled up with crystal like tears. Even as a small girl, she had to undergo the problems and tension that came with an arranged marriage. After all, no one liked to be restrained.

Li Wei fell silent on hearing Yi Lan's words. Her words had struck a guilty chord inside him, making him reconsider his choice. Even, Shen Yun mused on her words.

Just then, a boy no younger than Yi Lan, came running towards Shen Yun. "Father? Who's the person who stole my Luo'er?!"

Shen Yun scratched the back of his neck as he glanced at Yi Lan as an answer to his son's question.

His son- Shen Sheng'er glared furiously at Yi Lan. He grabbed her by her collar and growled, "How dare you steal my woman?! Come to the training grounds, I'll teach you a lesson!"

Li Wei quickly separated them. He had no problems with Sheng'er beating Yi Lan up, but currently Yi Lan was their guest. He couldn't ignore that fact.

From the looks of it, Shen Yun understood and said to Sheng'er "Calm down son. You can't do that. This brat doesn't even have Qi. He's not worth it!"

"I don't care! I want to beat this ba*tard up!" He roared.

"You can't, he had saved this master's granddaughter. With me here, you aren't allowed t-" Li Wei was interrupted by Yi Lan.

"What did you just call me?" She asked Sheng'er in a steely manner.

He swallowed and said, "I called you a bastard! So what?!"

She stepped on his toe, making him yelp in pain. "Training grounds. Now."

Li Wei and Shen Yun exchanged nervous looks. Even though the brat had no Qi, they had a feeling that he was not as simple as he seemed.

"Very well. I look forward to beating you up." Sheng'er sneered.

"Wait!" A voice cried out in alarm. "It's not his fault! You don't have to fight. I'll marry Master Sheng'er." In front of Yi Lan stood Li Luo, her eyes red rimmed.

Sheng'er looked hurt as he said, "Luo'er, for him you would-??!"

"I just don't want unnecessary problems." She spoke back, not looking at him in the eye.

At this, Yi Lan pushed Luo away from her. "Get out. This is my problem not yours. Being sacrificing won't help you live life."

Li Luo looked at Yi Lan with wide eyes.

Seeing Luo act familar with Yi Lan, made Sheng'er angry and he immediately dragged Yi Lan to the training grounds.

A weeping Luo clung to her grandfather, begging him to save Yi Lan, but he could only shake his head in dismay.

Shen Yun simply kept watching the both of them.

None of them noticed the figure of a woman, who had slid in while the others looked at the training grounds. "Yi Lan? What's that brat doing here?" The figure spoke softly in surprise.

Meanwhile, in the training grounds, Sheng'er's aura turned blue and the air around him sizzled.

"Good god! He's actually a blue level! That too at such a young age! He's certainly your son Master Shen." Li Wei laughed heartily.

Shen Yun smiled, pleased.

A smirk spread across Sheng'er's face as he dashed towards Yi Lan fast. She hadn't even put up any defenses.

Yi Lan quickly took out the spiritual fruits she had bought and ate five of them at one. A warmth spread across her body and an unimaginable pressure developed her right hand.

Just as Sheng'er reached Yi Lan, she punched out reflexively.

*Bam*

With a thud, Sheng'er fell to the ground, blood oozing from his mouth, a small hole on his stomach. He vomited blood out, his eyes tearing up.

"....." Li Wei and the others were shocked. Sheng'er had been defeated with just a punch? No way!

Yi Lan simply gazed at her hand and walked towards Sheng'er. With a glint in her eye, she stomped on his stomach saying "Next time, think a hundred times before you dare insult my parents."

Sheng'er trembled in fear and nodded quickly.

Yi Lan took away her foot and walked out of the grounds.

A shocked Li Wei said, "Master! When should I arrange yours and Luo'er's marriage?"

"Shameless. Li Wei, you brat, you dare make my disciple your grandson-in-law?" A voice rang out from behind them.

Li Wei looked back in shock, and fell down on his knees, "This disciple begs your pardon, Master."

Chun Jie smiled, satisfied.

"Disciple?" Yi Lan mumbled.

So this old foggy was her senior disciple?