Chapter 48: The Fairy Gifts a Pendant, Rejected Without Hesitation

The very next day, the atmosphere at the market shifted.

When Xiao Yifeng arrived for his shift, a manager approached him, bowing respectfully. “Young friend Xiao, there is no need for you to stand guard here anymore. We have arranged a more suitable task for you.”

Without further explanation, Xiao Yifeng was transferred to the prestigious VIP Pavilion. His new duty was to welcome distinguished guests, a role far more relaxed than patrolling the streets. To his surprise, Ling Sisi and Lin Mi were also stationed there.

It turned out that in Li Lifang’s desperate bid to curry favor with Ling Sisi, he had arranged for her to have the easiest job in the market. By pure luck, Xiao Yifeng had been swept up in the arrangement as a collateral beneficiary.

Ling Sisi was delighted to see him. The work was incredibly light—mostly standing by the door, verifying identities, and ensuring no rabble disturbed the high-ranking visitors.

That evening, during the shift change, the group gathered to exchange news. They discovered that Li Lifang was absent. Rumor had it he had been stripped of his Vice-Leader rank and was currently reflecting on his mistakes in the Enforcement Hall’s confinement cells.

As for his uncle, the arrogant Li Yuanming, his fate was far grimmer.

Because his actions had sparked a diplomatic conflict between the two sects, the Green Mountain Sect had acted ruthlessly to save face. Li Yuanming had his cultivation abolished, was stripped of all titles, and was exiled to a remote wasteland.

Hearing this, Tang Pei and the others looked at Xiao Yifeng with newfound awe. They hadn’t expected this quiet disciple to have such deep ties with the Master of Wuya Hall.

Based on Su Miaoqing’s outburst the previous day, it was clear that Xiao Yifeng didn’t just know them—he lived with them, ate with them, and was treated like family. The rumors Li Lifang had spread about Xiao Yifeng being an outcast were blatant lies.

To these ordinary disciples, a Hall Master of the Wentian Sect was a figure high in the clouds, someone they could never hope to reach. Xiao Yifeng’s proximity to such power made him untouchable in their eyes.

Time flowed by quietly.

Half a month (15 days) passed in a blink. Soon, their rotation at the market would end.

Without Li Lifang’s sabotage, Xiao Yifeng felt like a fish in water. Thanks to Su Miaoqing’s public display of dominance, no one dared to cross him. His days became peaceful and leisurely.

Since the VIP Pavilion rarely saw actual VIPs, their “work” mostly consisted of sitting around and chatting. The disciples assigned here all had some background or connections, so the atmosphere was polite and harmonious.

One afternoon, as Xiao Yifeng was idly chatting with Ling Sisi and the other Enforcement Hall disciples, the calm was broken.

A senior manager rushed in, looking flustered. “Everyone, look sharp! Distinguished guests are arriving today. Do not make any mistakes!”

Xiao Yifeng and Ling Sisi exchanged curious glances. Who could be important enough to make the manager sweat like this?

A few moments later, Xiao Yifeng found out. And he wished he hadn’t.

At noon, the staff lined up neatly at the main entrance, heads bowed in respectful anticipation.

A group of women approached the pavilion. As they entered, it felt as though the entire hall had suddenly brightened. Their grace and beauty were overwhelming, drawing every eye in the vicinity.

Among them, two stood out: the woman in white at the rear of the procession, and the veiled woman leading them.

The leader, despite the veil covering her face, possessed a peerless temperament that demanded worship. The simple grace of her walk and the glimpse of her eyes were enough to make men lose their souls and fall in love at first sight.

The disciples, having been warned strictly by the manager, dared not stare. They hurriedly lowered their heads, terrified of offending a big shot from the sect.

Only Xiao Yifeng stood there, frozen. He stared blankly at the woman in the lead, his expression a chaotic mix of confusion, complexity, and rising indignation.

Liu Hanyan.

I’d recognize you even if you only showed a toe, let alone hiding behind a veil!

It was indeed Liu Hanyan and her entourage, freshly returned from Beidi City. On their way back, they had helped other halls purchase supplies and stopped at the market to hand them over.

Sensing the intense, unblinking gaze, the group of female disciples frowned and looked toward Xiao Yifeng.

The manager’s blood ran cold. He had explicitly warned them that Guanghan Fairy hated being stared at. “Hall Master Guanghan, please forgive him! He is a new disciple and doesn’t know the rules. I will punish him severely later!”

The staff gasped. Hall Master Guanghan? The Ice Fairy of Feixue Hall?

Panic rippled through the line. They began to sweat for Xiao Yifeng, fearing he had just signed his death warrant. Ling Sisi, abandoning protocol, frantically tugged at Xiao Yifeng’s sleeve, trying to get him to bow.

Xiao Yifeng didn’t move.

Liu Hanyan stopped. She looked up at the young disciple who dared to meet her eyes.

He was seventeen or eighteen, tall and handsome with a jade-like bearing. He was pleasing to the eye, certainly. But it was his eyes—bright as stars—that held her attention.

There was no lust in his gaze. Instead, there was a profound complexity… and anger.

Liu Hanyan’s beautiful eyes widened slightly. That gaze was incredibly familiar. It stirred a memory deep within her. The more she looked, the more certain she became.

Xiao Yifeng felt a fire burning in his chest. He didn’t want to be here. He didn’t want to see her. He had imagined their reunion a thousand times, but not like this. Not when he was still stinging from her broken promise.

This woman has no integrity.

Seeing recognition dawn in her eyes, Xiao Yifeng let out a cold snort.

“I am feeling unwell today,” he announced loudly to the terrified manager. “I have urgent matters to attend to. I will take my leave.”

Without waiting for permission, he turned on his heel and walked away, heading for the side corridor.

The crowd stood in stunned silence. They looked at each other in disbelief. Did a mere disciple just publicly snub the Guanghan Fairy?

“Xiao Yifeng!”

Liu Hanyan’s voice rang out, unable to stop herself.

The manager, who had been about to scream at Xiao Yifeng, choked on his words and broke into a fresh layer of cold sweat. Thank the heavens I didn’t speak first.

Hearing that familiar, melodious voice call his name, Xiao Yifeng’s steps faltered for a fraction of a second. But he didn’t stop. He kept walking, faster now.

The tension in the hall was thick enough to cut. No one dared to breathe.

Seeing him ignore her completely, a flash of irritation sparked in Liu Hanyan’s eyes. This brat.

But then she remembered. She was the one who had broken her promise to pick him up. And the cultivation technique he had improved for her had been genuinely useful.

Her figure flickered, vanishing like a ghost.

In an instant, she reappeared directly in front of Xiao Yifeng, blocking his path.

“I wonder what the illustrious Guanghan Fairy wants with a lowly disciple like me?” Xiao Yifeng stopped, knowing he couldn’t outrun a Nascent Soul cultivator. He glared at her, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

Seeing his expression—a mix of anger and helplessness—Liu Hanyan felt a strange urge to laugh.

“You and I are fated,” she said, her voice softening so only he could hear. “This is for you. This Coiling Dragon Jade Pendant should be useful for your cultivation.”

Her hand flashed with white light, and the expensive jade pendant she had bought at the auction appeared in her palm. She held it out to him.

Xiao Yifeng glanced at the pendant. Even with a casual look, he could tell it was a top-grade artifact, incredibly precious.

“What exactly do you want?” Xiao Yifeng asked warily. He felt like a chicken receiving a New Year’s greeting from a weasel—she definitely had ulterior motives.

Seeing his guarded expression, Liu Hanyan sighed internally. He’s grown taller, but he’s still a child at heart.

She took his hand and forced the jade pendant into his palm. Then, acting on an impulse she couldn’t quite explain, she reached out and gently patted his head.

“I just thought it suited you, so I bought it. You’re a big boy now, why are you still holding a grudge?”

She smiled, her eyes curving like crescents, looking at him with the indulgent expression one might use on a pouting toddler.

That broke him.

Xiao Yifeng stiffened. Her touch, meant to be comforting, felt patronizing. Her tone, meant to be kind, was humiliating.

I am your husband! Not your son!

Rage exploded in his heart.

“I don’t need it!”

Smack!

Xiao Yifeng slapped her hand away from his head with a sharp crack.

“Keep your charity!” he snapped. He tossed the Coiling Dragon Jade Pendant back at her, not caring where it landed. Then, with eyes full of fury, he stormed past her, striding away without looking back.

Clatter.

Liu Hanyan was too stunned to react. She didn’t catch the pendant. It hit the stone floor with a crisp, lonely sound.

She stood there, hand suspended in the air where he had slapped it away, staring at his retreating back.

Xiao Yifeng heard the sound of the jade hitting the floor. A pang of regret hit him immediately—Was that too much?—but his pride wouldn’t let him turn around. He kept walking until he disappeared from view.

The entire hall was deathly silent.

The disciples stared at the scene, their brains short-circuiting. They saw the rejected gift. They saw the slap. They saw the Hall Master standing there, frozen.

They didn’t dare look at her face. They feared that if they did, they might die.

After a long moment, Liu Hanyan’s hand moved slightly. The jade pendant on the floor flew back into her palm. She let out a faint, almost inaudible sigh.

Then, she turned around. Her face was once again an expressionless mask of ice, as if nothing had happened.

“If a word of what happened today leaks out,” her voice floated through the hall, light but terrifyingly cold, “I will not forgive any of you.”

A chill ran down everyone’s spine. They bowed hastily, chorusing, “Yes, Hall Master!”

Liu Hanyan led her disciples into the VIP rooms, leaving a bewildered crowd in her wake.

The female disciples were just as confused as the staff. The Hall Master had spent a fortune on that Top Grade Artifact, apparently just to give it to a random duty disciple? And that disciple had rejected it? He had slapped her hand and thrown it on the ground?

And the Hall Master… wasn’t angry?

Their minds buzzed with questions they dared not voice. The relationship between that young disciple and the Ice Fairy was a mystery too dangerous to solve.

Xiao Yifeng flew back to Wuya Hall on his sword, his mind a mess.

He returned to his Star-Gathering Courtyard and tried to meditate, but his heart was in turmoil. He couldn’t calm down.

With a frustrated sigh, he gave up. He lay back on his jade cultivation bed, staring blankly at the Taiji diagram and the star chart on the ceiling.

Liu Hanyan… what exactly are you trying to do?