Whoosh!
As Luo Wuchen’s sword surged forward towards Zhou Donghuang, a thick Golden halo of inner Yuan appeared around his body and easily deflected and resisted the attack.
“A Golden… Golden Essence adept?!”
Seeing this, Luo Wuchen temporarily forgot his anger, and he glanced at the teenager before him with a look of shock on his face.
This young man looked to be around twenty years old and could even be younger than his daughter, Luo Qinghan. How could he be a Golden Essence adept!?
Furthermore, two years ago, when his daughter Luo Qinghan had left the powerful supreme sect of Ziyun, she had already been a Golden Essence adept, but yet the thickness of her inner Yuan was far less dense than that of the young man before him.
Just as Luo Wuchen stared at Zhou Donghuang with a look of utter shock, many thoughts came to mind in his head.
“After Qinghan’s encounter previously, she became extremely talented and known throughout the entire Tianxuan planet. No one could beat her. And yet, this young man before me seems to have greater talent than Qinghan!?
“Something is wrong!
“Qinghan only blossomed a few years ago. If she had gained enlightenment 10 years ago, she would probably be in the Dharma stage now!
“Even so, the talent that this young man possesses far surpasses Qinghan now!”
Within an instant, Luo Wuchen’s facial expression softened slightly as he considered the young man before him. Zhou Donghuang was extremely young, and yet he managed to have such commendable achievements. It was 80% possible that Zhou Donghuang had a powerful force supporting him, which Luo Wuchen did not want to risk offending.
“Father-in-law.”
Zhou Donghuang opened his mouth yet again, and Luo Wuchen’s face darkened in response. Even before Luo Wuchen could speak, though, Zhou Donghuang glanced at the three-foot giant sword Dharma that Luo Wuchen had produced and said, “Your Dharma power has two obvious flaws. I believe you would have identified them before and tried to cover them up but… They can be identified easily even so as the cover-ups are too flimsy.
“A Dharma adept with a good eye would be able to identify these flaws almost immediately.”
Once Zhou Donghuang had uttered these words, Luo Wuchen’s nostrils flared angrily as his situation was fully exposed by the young man.
It was true that his Dharma power had two obvious flaws. These flaws had emerged due to the lacking traditions and methods that had been passed down the Luo family line and had been present for many generations.
One could polish the Dharma but, just as Zhou Donghuang had pointed out, those Dharma adepts with a good eye would be able to see through the facade almost immediately.
It was just that Luo Wuchen would never have imagined that the flaws in his Dharma power would be pointed out by a Golden Essence adept and even exposed in his face!
“If I did not guess incorrectly, this is due to your practice methods. Something is amiss with your methods.”
When Zhou Donghuang spoke, Luo Wuchen was shocked yet again. He suddenly felt that the young man standing before him was somehow privy to all his secrets.
“Who… who exactly are you!?” Luo Wuchen asked extremely suspiciously.
He could not comprehend why such a man would visit him at his home and label him as “father-in-law.”
He had never heard his daughter, Luo Qinghan, speak of any man that she fancied or had an interest in.
“Father-in-law, I already introduced myself earlier… My name is Zhou Donghuang and I am your son-in-law. I am here at your home to seek permission to marry your daughter,” Zhou Donghuang said.
“Ask for my daughter’s hand in marriage?”
Luo Wuchen sighed in relief upon hearing Zhou Donghuang’s words. He then furrowed his brows slightly and said, “Even if you are here to ask for my daughter’s hand in marriage, calling me “father-in-law” before receiving my blessing is jumping the gun a little, is it not?
“Furthermore, this marriage may not even happen if Luo Qinghan does not consent to it.
“I am not aware of your background either. I need to do my own research on you and think about it.”
Due to Zhou Donghuang’s display of talent and astonishing words, Luo Wuchen’s attitude now was at least slightly gentler and more lenient. He was now much more polite than before.
“Father-in-law, I have already had pre-marital relations with your daughter many years ago. I am now here to ask for her hand in marriage as it is the right thing to do.”
This direct and blunt sentence uttered by Zhou Donghuang shocked Luo Wuchen till his entire face changed. With a murderous tone, he yelled out.
“What did you say!?
“You… you had an affair with my daughter before marriage? This happened many years ago?”
The Luo Wuchen now was pale with rage, and the first thought that emerged in his mind was that the young man before him was uttering pure nonsense.
Yet, when his gaze met Zhou Donghuang’s, it was hard to identify whether the latter was telling the truth.
Furthermore, Zhou Donghuang’s gaze was clear and sharp, giving Luo Wuchen the sense that he would regret it if he doubted the young man.
“Yes.”
Zhou Donghuang nodded with an earnest and serious expression.
“When? Where?”
Although Luo Wuchen still found the whole issue ridiculous, he forced himself to calm down and face the issue seriously.
Before Zhou Donghuang could reply, Luo Wuchen’s gaze turned cold, and he added, “If this is not true, I will not care. However, if this turns out to be a made-up story, and I have found out that you involved my daughter in an untrue scandal, I will see it as a sin befitting of death and you will not leave my home alive!”
Luo Wuchen warned Zhou Donghuang.
Following which, as Zhou Donghuang opened his mouth, Luo Wuchen realized that the timing that Zhou Donghuang had spoken of coincided perfectly with the time period that his daughter had set out on her expedition.
Furthermore, his daughter had also undergone a full change overnight after returning from that particular expedition.
“Someone come here now!”
With Luo Wuchen’s sharp command across the living room, a maid quickly rushed in following the call and bowed respectfully, awaiting orders.
“Find Mrs. Li and tell her that I have urgent matters awaiting her. I will meet her in the living room.”
Once Luo Wuchen had given his order, the maid rushed off.
“Father-in-law, this is my betrothal gift.”
After the maid had left, Zhou Donghuang raised his palms and revealed a stack of papers, which was the betrothal gift he had prepared for the Luo family.
Previously, in his other life, although he had never asked for anyone’s hand in marriage, he was still aware of the general customs one should follow when carrying out such tasks.
“This… betrothal gifts?”
Seeing as Zhou Donghuang had presented a stack of papers and labeled them as betrothal gifts, Luo Wuchen furrowed his brows. He had never seen such a strange gesture or stunt.
What kind of betrothal gift was this!?
On the Tianxuan planet, marriages of status and power would include a large amount of spirit stone veins as a betrothal gift as well as several spirit-weapons.
This young man was presenting paper? Was this a joke?
“The betrothal gifts are not important right now. I want to first confirm whether the events you mentioned are true.”
Luo Wuchen waved his hands dismissively and said in a low voice.
“As to whether my words have truth, we could just invite Miss Luo over to confirm them,” Zhou Donghuang said.
“Hmph!”
Luo Wuchen snickered under his breath and glanced lightly at Zhou Donghuang. Originally, he had wanted to claim that his daughter had already left the Tianxuan planet. However, in the end, he did not let these words escape his mouth.
About a second later, an old, frail woman dressed in a flowy green robe breezed into the living room as if she was a gust of wind.
“A late Dharma adept?”
Although the old woman did not showcase her Dharma, Zhou Donghuang was still able to sense that she was a late Dharma adept due to the aura of her inner Yuan.
This old lady was even stronger than the head of the house, Luo Wuchen!
Zhou Donghuang felt confused internally. “Who is she? At this point, shouldn’t my father-in-law invite his daughter to come forth instead!?”
“The maid mentioned that you have urgent matters to discuss with me?”
The old man glanced at Luo Wuchen lightly before speaking.
At the same time, her gaze landed on Zhou Donghuang, who was sitting beside Luo Wuchen, and she nodded to herself furtively.
This young man was clearly talented and could be the most accomplished young man of his age that she had ever met.
“Mother-in-law.”
Luo Wuchen bowed to the old lady, and Zhou Donghuang was able to ascertain her status in the family through this greeting.
“Grandmother.” Zhou Donghuang followed Luo Wuchen’s behavior and similarly bowed to the old lady.
“Grandmother?”
The old lady was shocked. What was happening?
In an instant, an idea appeared in her mind, and the old lady’s face darkened. A murderous gaze filled her eyes, and she barked coldly, “Luo Wuchen! Don’t tell me this is an illegitimate child that you have been fostering!
“I told you a long time ago that unless your powers exceed mine, you will not do anything that goes against the honor of my dead daughter, so long as I am still alive!”
As she spoke, the old lady’s tone turned icier.
“Mother-in-law, you’re mistaken.”
Luo Wuchen smiled bitterly and said, “He… he is here to ask for Qinghan’s hand in marriage and my permission for him to do so.”
“Ask for her hand in marriage? Marry Qinghan?”
The old lady mused to herself before her face softened again. She glanced at Zhou Donghuang and began to evaluate him in earnest. “Young man, you wish to marry my granddaughter?”
“If your granddaughter is Luo Qinghan, then yes, that is correct,” Zhou Donghuang replied.
“Mother-in-law.”
At this point, Luo Wuchen stared suspiciously at the old lady and asked in a low voice, “Previously, when Qinghan had set out on an expedition and had that chance encounter, what exactly happened?
“Although I know about the chance encounter, every time I question her as to how she came across it, she refuses to elaborate.
“Just now, this young man told me that he had an affair with Qinghan while she was out on her expedition… Has Qinghan mentioned this to you before?”
Luo Wuchen could not help but grow more suspicious as time passed.
Now, he realized that his daughter’s reaction in the past had been rather strange, as if it was not convenient for her to share details of her expedition.
“Are you Zhou Donghuang?”
Under Luo Wuchen’s unwavering gaze, the old lady glanced at Zhou Donghuang and a shocked expression appeared on her face.
With such words, Luo Wuchen’s confusion grew, and his heart became even more troubled.
His mother-in-law knew this young man’s name!?
Could it be that this young man had really slept with his pure and innocent Qinghan?
At this point, Luo Wuchen could not help but feel irritated and unsettled as he glanced yet again at Zhou Donghuang.
There was the Chinese saying that daughters were their fathers’ lovers in their previous life.
At this point, Luo Wuchen could not help but feel that his daughter had been snatched away from him.
