Three days later, a thick cream-colored envelope showed up at Yan Xiao's apartment.
His name was written on the front in elegant calligraphy. No return address. No stamp.
He tore it open.
Inside was an invitation to dinner at the Chu Family's Chengdu estate. Tomorrow evening. Formal dress.
"It's a trap," he muttered.
"Ding. The System concurs. Host should decline."
"I can't. If I'm going to pretend to be engaged to Chu Hanli, I have to meet her family sooner or later."
"Ding. The System suggests Host prepare for multiple outcomes. Including the possibility that this dinner is an ambush."
Yan Xiao stared at the invitation again.
The address was out in the western hills, in one of those rich neighborhoods full of mansions, high gates, and security cameras everywhere.
"I'm going," he said. "But I'm not going in blind."
The next evening Yan Xiao stood outside the Chu Family estate.
The iron gates were tall and fancy, the kind that screamed money. Beyond them, a long driveway wound through perfectly trimmed gardens toward a house that looked more like a small palace than a home. Lights glowed from the windows, and faint music floated out into the night.
He was wearing the best outfit he could scrape together — a dark jacket and trousers from a secondhand shop that didn't quite fit right. Next to the guests pulling up in luxury cars and designer clothes, he looked like the help.
"Ding. Host is underdressed."
"I noticed."
"Ding. The System suggests Host leave now."
"I'm not leaving."
He walked through the gates.
Inside, the place was even more over-the-top.
Marble floors, crystal chandeliers, old paintings on the walls that probably cost more than most people's houses. Servants in crisp uniforms moved quietly, carrying trays of drinks and tiny appetizers.
Yan Xiao followed the sound of voices into a big dining hall.
A long table took up most of the room, set for twenty. Almost every seat was already filled. At the head sat an old man with silver hair and sharp eyes — the family patriarch, Old Man Chu. Next to him were Chu Zhongli, the district governor, and Chu Zhongsan, the second brother who was pushing hard for the Mo family alliance.
Chu Hanli sat somewhere in the middle, her face carefully blank.
When she spotted Yan Xiao, something flickered in her eyes — surprise, maybe relief — but she didn't smile.
"Ah," Chu Zhongli said, standing up. "The young man of the hour. We were starting to think you wouldn't show."
Yan Xiao gave a small nod. "I was invited. Of course I came."
"So formal," Chu Zhongsan said lightly, though his eyes were ice cold. "Sit down. We have a lot to talk about."
Yan Xiao took the empty chair beside Chu Hanli.
The meal started.
The food was fancy — course after course of things Yan Xiao had never eaten before. He barely tasted any of it. The real meal was the conversation, and it tasted like poison.
"So," Chu Zhongli said, setting his chopsticks down, "Hanli tells us you've agreed to… renew the engagement."
"Temporarily," Yan Xiao said.
The table went quiet.
"Temporarily?" Chu Zhongsan repeated.
"We have an arrangement. One year. After that, we go our separate ways."
Chu Zhongli's face stayed neutral, but his eyes hardened.
"An arrangement. Not a marriage."
"A partnership."
Old Man Chu let out a dry, humorless laugh.
"You've got guts, boy. I'll give you that. Walking into this house, knowing who we are, knowing what the Mo family is, and still speaking your mind." He leaned forward. "But guts without power is just stupidity. What exactly do you bring to this partnership?"
Yan Xiao met his stare.
"I can protect her."
"From the Mo family?" Chu Zhongsan snorted. "You? A high school kid with no money, no background, no cultivation worth mentioning?"
"I killed a Crimson Winged Serpent."
The room went dead silent.
Chu Zhongsan's face paled a little. Chu Zhongli's eyes narrowed.
"That was you?"
"The Realm Guard has the body. Check the records if you want."
Silence dragged on.
Then Old Man Chu leaned back and laughed — a real one this time, warm and surprised.
"Well, well. The boy has teeth." He raised his glass. "To the engagement. May it be… interesting."
The others raised their glasses too, though their faces said different things. Chu Zhongli looked thoughtful. Chu Zhongsan looked pissed. Chu Hanli looked relieved.
Yan Xiao didn't drink.
After dinner, Chu Hanli took him out to a small garden behind the house.
The night air was cool and smelled of flowers. Lanterns hung from the trees, throwing soft light across the stone paths.
"You handled that better than I thought you would," she said.
"Your uncle Zhongsan wanted to humiliate me. I wasn't going to let him."
"He's not used to being challenged."
"He'll get used to it."
Chu Hanli stopped walking and turned to face him.
"You really killed the Crimson Winged Serpent?"
"Yeah."
"With a kitchen knife?"
"The knife helped."
She stared at him for a long moment.
"I thought I knew what I was getting into when I asked for your help. I don't think I did."
Yan Xiao shrugged. "You're stuck with me for one year."
"One year." She nodded slowly. "And then you go find your master."
"Yeah."
"What if you find her sooner?"
"Then the engagement ends early. I go to her."
Chu Hanli's lips curved into a small, real smile.
"I hope you find her."
Yan Xiao was surprised by how much he believed her.
He wasn't sure why. Maybe because there was no hesitation in her voice, no hidden angle. Just quiet sincerity. That was rare enough these days to notice.
On the ride home, the System chimed in.
"Ding. Host handled the dinner well. The System is… impressed."
"Don't sound so surprised."
"Ding. The System is always surprised when Host exceeds expectations. It keeps things interesting."
Yan Xiao snorted.
"Did you notice anything weird about the Chu family?"
A pause.
"Ding. The System detected a faint energy signature in the old man Chu's study. Very faint. Similar to the spiral stone, but not the same."
Yan Xiao slowed down.
"Different how?"
"Ding. The System cannot determine from this distance. But the Chu family possesses something connected to cultivation energy. The System is certain of it."
Yan Xiao's mind started racing.
The Chu family already had political and financial power. But cultivation power too? In this dried-up, Dharma Ending Era?
"Keep an eye on it," he said. "If there's something there, I want to know."
"Ding. The System will comply. However, the System reminds Host that the Chu family is not the priority. Kunlun is the priority."
"I know."
He looked up at the night sky.
One year. A fake engagement. A hidden gate. A master still chained somewhere.
It was going to be a long road.
Three weeks passed.
Yan Xiao fell into an uneasy routine. Days were spent buried in research on Kunlun — digging through old texts, studying satellite images, marking coordinates on maps. Evenings were eaten up by the fake engagement charade: dinners with Chu Hanli, meetings with her family, pretending to be in a relationship that only existed on paper.
The System kept track of everything.
"Ding. Host has attended four family dinners, two charity events, and one garden party. Host's social endurance is statistically impressive for a cultivator."
"I hate every second of it."
"Ding. The System is aware. Host's stress levels have increased by thirty-seven percent. The System recommends completing the Kunlun expedition as soon as possible."
"Working on it."
The coordinates from the old sources all pointed to the same remote valley deep in the western Kunlun range. Satellite images showed nothing but rocks and snow. But the energy signature the System picked up grew clearer the more Yan Xiao narrowed it down.
"There's something there," he muttered one night, staring at the map taped to his wall. "I can feel it."
"Ding. Host's spiritual perception is improving. The System notes that prolonged exposure to the spiral stone may be accelerating Host's sensitivity to residual energy."
Yan Xiao glanced at the stone sitting on his desk.
It looked like any other plain river rock — dark, unremarkable. But when he held it, he could still feel that faint warmth. That low vibration. Like an echo of something old and powerful.
"I need to go there."
"Ding. The System agrees. However, Host cannot simply walk into the Kunlun range without preparation. The terrain is dangerous. The altitude is extreme. And the Mo family's agents have been spotted in Chengdu. They are watching."
"Then I'll go without them knowing."
"Ding. Host has a plan?"
Yan Xiao smiled.
"I always have a plan."
Two days later, Yan Xiao told Chu Hanli he had to leave the city for a while.
"Business," he said.
"What kind of business?"
"The kind you don't ask questions about."
She studied him for a long moment, then nodded.
"Be careful."
"Always."
She didn't believe him. He could see it in her eyes. But she didn't push.
That was one of the things he actually liked about her — she knew when to stop asking.