Chapter 4

At the Ming Mansion by Mirror Lake, in the study.

Having practiced swordsmanship all day, although he was mentally excited, his true qi was exhausted, and his body was tired, so he had to rest. Meng Chuan also came to the study and began his daily routine—painting.

A paperweight held down the paper, and a beautiful palette was placed beside it, containing various high-quality pigments.

Meng Chuan was painting with great care.

Since childhood, Meng Chuan had loved painting.

Perhaps it was because his mother was skilled at painting and taught her son. This was his favorite thing to do when he was young. A child of three or four could paint for three or four hours continuously, forgetting to eat, not feeling tired at all, and even getting paint all over his body, but still smiling happily. His mother once said, "My son has extraordinary talent and will surely become the best painter in the world, with each painting worth a thousand gold pieces."

Born into the Meng family, with loving parents, he had no worries.

However, when he was six years old...

That great disaster claimed over ten thousand lives, and his mother also passed away.

He escaped back to Dongning Mansion under the desperate protection of his parents. Since then, he practiced diligently, but he still painted for an hour every day. When he painted, he forgot the fatigue from his practice, and it even felt like he was back to his childhood, with his mother guiding him. His heart was incredibly peaceful.

He was fifteen years old now.

He had been painting for over ten years and had studied under several painting masters, surpassing them long ago. His mother was right; his talent was indeed exceptional, at least more so than his talent for practicing swordsmanship.

But what was the use?

No matter how great a painter, could they kill monsters?

"Knock, knock, knock." There was a slightly urgent knock on the study door.

"Hmm?"

Meng Chuan looked out in confusion, "Usually, no one disturbs me when I'm painting. What's going on?"

He put down his brush and opened the door. His father, Meng Dajiang, was standing outside. He was usually smiling, but today his face was serious.

"Chuan, come with me to the ancestral home quickly," Meng Dajiang said.

"Okay."

Meng Chuan didn't hesitate and immediately followed his father out. "Father, why have you been going to the ancestral home frequently these past few days?"

"It's nothing," Meng Dajiang didn't elaborate.

"Then why am I going to the ancestral home now? Is there something going on?" Meng Chuan asked again. As a junior, he only went to the ancestral home three or five times a year.

Meng Dajiang glanced at his son and said, "It's about your engagement to Yun Qingping. The Yun family and the Meng family have decided to dissolve the engagement."

"Dissolve the engagement?" Meng Chuan was very surprised. "Father, why dissolve the engagement suddenly?"

"Do you feel attached?" Meng Dajiang looked at his son.

"No," Meng Chuan shook his head. "I only see Yun Qingping once every few months, and our personalities don't match. Dissolving the engagement is actually a good thing for me."

At just fifteen years old, Meng Chuan didn't understand love.

To him, Yun Qingping was just a somewhat spoiled little sister he knew well, and that was all.

"That's good. This time, both the Yun family and the Meng family have agreed to dissolve the engagement," Meng Dajiang said. "When we get to the ancestral home, just listen and speak less."

"Understood," Meng Chuan nodded in response.

...

The Meng family's ancestral home was in the western part of Dongning City, covering a vast area. Over two thousand clan members lived inside, and it took a mile to walk from south to north along the central axis.

Of course, the Meng family's roots were in the countryside. Due to the threat of the monster race, people in the countryside formed fortresses for self-protection. Each fortress had thousands of people, and it was common for members of the same clan to gather in one fortress. After a thousand years of proliferation, the Meng family had three large fortresses, totaling over ten thousand clan members. In Dongning Mansion, there were many such large families.

What made the Meng family special was the existence of a divine being.

Naturally, they immediately became one of the five highest-ranking divine families in Dongning Mansion.

"Elder."

"Elder."

The ancestral home was orderly. Some patrolling clan members saw Meng Dajiang and his son and respectfully greeted Meng Dajiang as "Elder."

Meng Dajiang, ranking third in the Meng family in terms of strength, was still relatively young and had a chance to become a divine being. He was the designated next clan leader.

"Hmm?"

Meng Chuan followed his father into the reception hall.

The hall was already filled with people on both sides, one side being the Meng family and the other the Yun family. The atmosphere was clearly tense. Meng Chuan could see that most of his elders did not look good.

"Brother Dajiang has arrived," Yun Fuan stood up and smiled. "Did you bring the marriage contract?"

"I did," Meng Dajiang nodded slightly.

Yun Fuan smiled and said, "The other elders have no objections to dissolving the engagement. Brother Dajiang, you should have no objections either, right?"

Meng Dajiang stood there and said with a smile, "If both families are willing, a marriage is a good thing. Since there is no willingness, it's better to dissolve the engagement early. Here is the marriage contract."

He took out the marriage contract from his chest and handed it to Yun Fuan with both hands.

Yun Fuan took it, unfolded it, and carefully examined it. Seeing the names and handwriting, he nodded slightly; it was indeed the original marriage contract. The handwriting of the two ancestors could not be imitated.

"Yun Fuan, please tear up the marriage contract here," a bald, thin old man from the Meng family said.

"Haha, are you worried I'll keep it and use it in the future to force Meng Chuan to marry my daughter?" Yun Fuan laughed. "Rest assured, I won't do such a despicable thing!"

Saying this, "Tear," Yun Fuan tore up the marriage contract in his hand.

"I've torn up the marriage contract, and everyone can see clearly. Now you can rest assured," Yun Fuan smiled and scanned the Meng family elders present. "I won't stay longer."

Saying this, he walked out, and the other Yun family members followed.

When he reached Meng Chuan, Yun Fuan stopped and smiled at him, "Nephew Meng, remember, from now on, you and my daughter Qingping have no connection."

"Yes, no connection," Meng Chuan responded.

Yun Fuan nodded and led the group away.

Meng Dajiang watched Yun Fuan leave, his brows slightly furrowed, and calmly instructed, "Chuan, the engagement is dissolved. You can go back now. I still have some matters to attend to here."

"Understood," Meng Chuan glanced at the elders and obediently left.

Boom~~~

The hall door closed, and the hall remained bright under the thick candlelight.

"Too much, too much!" The bald, thin old man was so angry that he slammed his cane on the ground, the sound piercing.

"表面上说和我们商量，实际上我们根本没得选。难道厚着脸皮要去联姻？" A dark-skinned old man sneered, "If we dared to cause a commotion at the Yun family, we would be slapped to death by the Yun family's ancestor!"

"Dissolving the engagement is a good thing. If we really used the engagement to force the Yun family to make the two young people marry, would it be useful? It would only make the Yun family resent us. Marriages are meant to be mutual support. If it leads to enmity, it's not necessary. For the Meng family, the engagement is a minor matter. The real issue is the injury to Third Sister!" A refined old man looked at the fat old man at the top, "Clan Leader, can Third Sister's injury really not be treated?"

The fat old man frowned, "In the next couple of days, Third Sister will return to Dongning. We'll see then."

Meng Dajiang listened, his brows tightly furrowed.

The Meng family's pillar was wobbling, and the elders were all worried.

The Meng family kept the news confidential, known only to the elders. If it spread, the tens of thousands of clan members would be anxious, causing many problems.

Now...

The other four major divine families' high-ranking members mostly knew the news, but they didn't spread it, fearing that some blind young members might anger the Meng family. After all, "Meng Fairy" was not dead yet! Even if Meng Fairy really died, she had some divine friends. As long as they didn't overstep, those divine friends wouldn't intervene.

Without a divine being, the Meng family couldn't shoulder many responsibilities. If they couldn't shoulder the responsibilities, they couldn't enjoy the many privileges.

Responsibility and power are equal.

In the current world, from the mundane to the divine, no one can escape responsibility.

As long as a person reaches the Bone Washing Realm, regardless of gender, they must serve in the military for five years at the age of twenty! Only about half survive. But people still want to reach the Bone Washing Realm because if they are too weak, they have no value in serving in the military. According to the government rules, many professions are not allowed without military service. They can only live at the bottom, leading a miserable life.

And the divine beings are the backbone of humanity. Each divine being spends their life in battles and protection. Even when they return home to rest, they must guard their hometown.

Thus, the divine beings are brilliant and noble, and their families can also be prosperous. If a divine being dies and cannot shoulder the responsibilities, the family must step down from important positions.

******

Meng Chuan returned home, and it was almost dark.

"Ah Chuan, sit down and eat. I heard you and Uncle Meng went to the ancestral home. I thought you wouldn't be back for dinner today," Liu July was sitting there drinking porridge and eating flatbread. Meng Chuan sat down opposite her, and a maid brought a bowl of porridge. Meng Chuan drank the porridge but was somewhat distracted.

"Why are you so quiet? What happened?" Liu July asked.

"Oh."

Meng Chuan snapped back to reality and casually said, "The Yun family and our Meng family have decided to dissolve my engagement to Yun Qingping."

"Dissolve the engagement?" Liu July's eyes lit up.

"Yes, just now, the marriage contract was torn up on the spot," Meng Chuan nodded.

Liu July carefully observed Meng Chuan and asked, "Why are you so sad? You're even spacing out while drinking porridge?"

"No," Meng Chuan shook his head, "Yun Qingping and I don't get along, and you know that. Dissolving the engagement makes her happy and me relaxed. It's good for both of us, so why would I be sad?"

"Then why are you spacing out?" Liu July pressed.

"I feel something is off," Meng Chuan frowned, "The engagement was personally set by the two ancestors. Even if they came to dissolve it, the Yun family should at least send their 'Yun Family Three Heroes.' This is the minimum respect for our Meng family. But this time, only the fifth-ranked, least useful Yun Fuan came alone. It seems they look down on our Meng family, which is the first suspicious point."

"Secondly, in the hall, the Clan Leader and the elders looked very unhappy. But they held back from start to finish. When have the Clan Leader and the elders ever been so tolerant?"

"Thirdly, Yun Fuan is usually very humble and subservient in front of my father and the others. Today, he was much more brazen. Where did he get the nerve?"

"Most importantly, there must be a reason behind dissolving the engagement. What reason could make the two ancestors dissolve the engagement?"

Meng Chuan looked at Liu July, "I guess either the Yun family has found a powerful backer, or there's a reason on our Meng family's side."

Liu July was somewhat surprised, "Ah Chuan, I didn't realize you could think so much."

"Just some wild guesses. Since Father didn't tell me, there must be a reason," Meng Chuan smiled.

"Being the one whose engagement was dissolved and still smiling, hurry up and eat your flatbread," Liu July laughed and urged.

"Eat, eat," Meng Chuan immediately picked up the flatbread and took a big bite.