Calling Off the Engagement

He paused, as if swallowing his words only to let them resurface. “If I had spoken up, you would have likely thought me frivolous, or that I was using my favor to demand a reward. The political marriage was the sect's decision, and I didn't object. Back then, I thought... it is only natural in life that one cannot marry the person they truly desire.”

The wind swept past the stone pavilion, swirling a few bamboo leaves onto the ground.

Liu Fengyao sniffled, her voice thick and carrying a tremor she couldn't suppress. “Then why are you telling me now...?”

Song Mu did not answer immediately. After a long silence, his voice rang out again, a few tones lower than before. “Because I confirmed your feelings, and that gave me courage.”

Liu Fengyao fell silent for a long time. Lin Zhiyue could easily picture her expression right now—wanting to smile but not quite daring to, with tears probably still clinging to her eyelashes.

Then, she heard Liu Fengyao's voice, thick with unshed tears but on the verge of breaking into a smile, muffled as it drifted over. “You idiot...”

Song Mu gave a soft murmur of agreement, a hint of relief in his voice that even he didn't seem to notice.

Afterward, Song Mu departed first. Before leaving, he told her that he would handle everything and that she didn't need to worry about a thing.

Cui Yu'er and Tang Yiran were waiting in the pavilion halfway down the mountain, and the three of them walked along the mountain path toward the main hall.

Liu Fengyao remained standing where she was, her light red dress gently fluttering in the mountain breeze. She stood with her head lowered for a while, wiped her face with the back of her hand, and then raised her head to turn toward Lin Zhiyue.

Lin Zhiyue walked over and stood before her, and the two of them exchanged a look.

Liu Fengyao's eyes and the tip of her nose were red, but the upward curve of her lips was impossible to suppress. With tears still clinging to her lashes, she looked like a sunflower that had been thoroughly drenched by rain and then dried in the sun.

Lin Zhiyue reached out and gently squeezed her shoulder without saying a word. Liu Fengyao leaned against her for a moment, sniffled, and then stood up straight. Though her voice was still raspy, her usual lively energy had already returned. “Let's go. We'll talk when we get back.”

Liu Fengyao walked at the very front, her steps much lighter than when they had arrived. Her light red dress swayed amidst the green foliage as she occasionally reached out to brush aside a low-hanging branch.

Lin Zhiyue and Cen Xi'er trailed behind, watching her back. They couldn't help but sigh in unison. This was hardly the look of someone who had given up; if anything, she was more energized than ever.

They could only hope that Song Mu would truly be able to handle everything.

It was during a break from sword practice that Lin Zhiyue heard the news from Cen Xi'er.

That afternoon, right after she finished practicing her sword qi, she was resting on a blue stone at the edge of the martial arts field when Cen Xi'er walked over, sat down beside her, and spoke as if making casual conversation. “Did you know? Song Mu and Lin Tangxi's engagement has actually been called off.”

Lin Zhiyue's hand paused as she was unscrewing her water skin. “Called off? So quickly?”

Cen Xi'er nodded and relayed the rumors she had heard in full detail.

Song Mu had taken the initiative to ask Lin Tangxi to meet. They sat down and talked for less than half an hour before reaching a consensus—their personalities clashed, and their fates were incompatible. Clean and simple, they parted ways on good terms.

Word had it that after hearing Song Mu's intentions, Lin Tangxi fell silent for a brief moment before cleanly replying with a simple, “Alright,” without asking a single unnecessary question.

The two parted ways just like that, returning to report to their respective sect elders.

The public's reaction was much calmer than expected.

Both Song Mu and Lin Tangxi possessed cold, aloof temperaments. Ever since their marriage was arranged, people had whispered behind their backs, wondering how two icebergs could ever live together. Now that the engagement was called off, most people actually found it to be perfectly natural. Some even murmured in private, “They should have called it off sooner. Forced love never lasts.”

While eating in the dining hall, Lin Zhiyue had overheard two inner sect disciples at the neighboring table gossiping. One said, “That Senior Sister Lin from the Biluo Immortal Sect was never the type to take a companion anyway,” to which the other replied, “Senior Brother Song is indeed a good man, but when he stood next to Senior Sister Lin, neither of them ever smiled. Just looking at them felt freezing.”

Later on, the details of the news became even more specific.

Song Mu had personally brought lavish gifts to the Biluo Immortal Sect to call off the engagement. He took the initiative to return the horoscope card and left all the betrothal gifts behind without taking a single cent. On top of that, he added gold, silver, fine silks, and several sets of jewelry as an apology.

The Sect Master of the Qingling Sect had even visited in person to apologize. Under the witness of the elders from both sides, he drew up an annulment document. The wording of the document was absolutely flawless—the reason for calling off the engagement lay entirely with the male party, with the female party bearing absolutely no fault. Should anyone use this matter to gossip about Lin Tangxi in the future, the Qingling Sect would be the first to object.

As if that were not enough, the Sect Master of the Qingling Sect had even publicly praised Lin Tangxi several times during gatherings of the various sects, calling her “noble of character,” “dignified of appearance,” and “a rare, excellent young lady,” lamenting only that the Qingling Sect was not fortunate enough to be worthy of her.

With things put this way, the entire Sanglan Realm knew that the engagement had been dissolved completely and cleanly. Lin Tangxi was not affected in the slightest from beginning to end; if anything, her reputation became even more illustrious than before.

After listening to Cen Xi'er, Lin Zhiyue leaned against the blue stone, holding her water skin as she silently processed the whole sequence of events.

Song Mu truly did things with meticulous order. He called off the engagement cleanly and decisively, smoothing out every possible escape route for Lin Tangxi before backing away, and even arranging for his Sect Master to step forward and praise her publicly.

It did not seem like a sudden whim, but rather like he had calculated every single step perfectly before taking action.

She recalled Song Mu's usual dignified and proper demeanor, and then thought back to the words he had spoken to Liu Fengyao by the stone pavilion a few days ago. She couldn't help but think that once this man fell in love, he was incredibly decisive—breaking off the engagement cleanly and confessing his feelings just as cleanly, without the slightest hesitation.

She turned her head to look at Cen Xi'er, who happened to be turning to look at her at the same time. Their eyes met, and they both smiled faintly, saying nothing.

From the end of the mountain path came a flurry of light footsteps. Liu Fengyao's figure appeared around the corner of the stone steps, holding a plate of freshly made osmanthus cakes, waving it toward them. “I brought you some snacks! Fresh out of the kitchen!”

Lin Zhiyue took a bite of the osmanthus cake, its sweetness slowly melting across her tongue.

She watched Liu Fengyao swinging her legs as she ate her cake on the stone steps, her light red dress shining like a freshly bloomed flower in the afternoon sun. Then she thought of Song Mu, whose face was usually so stoic and proper, and how the warmth had melted the space between his brows as he stood by the stone pavilion, looking down to speak to her. Suddenly, she couldn't help but sigh with heartfelt admiration.

As expected of the tropes passed down by the ancestors. The classic pairing of a stoic character and a little sunshine really was a timeless trope for a reason.

She swallowed the osmanthus cake and reached out to take another piece.

Beside her, Liu Fengyao chattered away about how she had almost added too much sugar while making the cakes in the kitchen.

Lin Zhiyue nodded as she listened, but out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Cen Xi'er leaning against the blue stone. She was staring blankly at the distant mountains, the melancholy in her eyes so thick it could not be dispelled.

She sighed in her heart. Why did romantic troubles seem to come one after another?