I am an incredibly handsome man, and my fiancée refuses to call off the engagement even at the cost

Two months later.

Fufeng County, Tianyang City.

Jujinge in Tianyang City was as lively as ever. After Wen Qing finished hosting two auctions, she came to Ji Hongchang's place to have tea and chat with him.

"Mr. Li Bai once said he would come in a year, and that time is almost here. I wonder if he will come." After saying this, Wen Qing picked up her teacup and took a small sip of the fragrant tea.

When Ji Hongchang heard her mention Li Bai, he looked expectant, but then his expression turned troubled: "The things that Senior Li Bai wants are really hard to find! Even with the strong support of the Second Young Master and the entire Qionghua Merchant Guild, we've only managed to collect less than 30% of them so far."

"If the great Li Bai were here, I wonder if he would blame us for not doing a good job."

Wen Qing listened in silence. Over the past year, she had heard quite a bit about Mr. Li Bai. First, she heard that he had made a name for himself in Changyang City, Baima County. Not only did he reveal his true appearance and amaze everyone, but he was also exposed as a Spirit King Realm expert by the Medicine King Mu Qinghe. Then, he even refined medicine on the spot and passed the assessment of a fifth-grade alchemist.

That was bad enough, but then came the rumor that he single-handedly defeated seven Spirit King Realm experts in the Ronggong Mountains without being at a disadvantage, and then things got even more outrageous.

Because he saw his true face, Tan Shuo, the lord of Changyang City, fell in love with him. Then it was rumored that he had raped and humiliated the wife of the governor of Baima County, the general of An'nan, and the marquis of Pingyuan. It was said that he had ruined the entire Tan family.

Later, he even defeated and kidnapped Tan Yue, who came to demand an explanation, and then sexually exploited him for two months.

Following Tan Yue, stories of Li Bai's alleged lewd and demonic deeds emerged all over the country, making it difficult to distinguish the truth from the falsehoods. It wasn't until Mr. Li Bai ruthlessly executed several imposters as a warning to others that the rumors finally died down.

For the past year, Wen Qing has carried a chessboard with her every day, and she always dreams of a white figure. She absolutely does not believe that Mr. Li Bai is some kind of lecherous demon. Having stayed in this Jujing Pavilion for so long, she considers herself to have some discernment in judging people. Although Mr. Li Bai wore a mask that day, there was not a trace of lechery in his eyes beneath the mask.

She had never seen such clean eyes before.

The accusations of lust and demonism must have been fabricated by those who were jealous or hated him, specifically to ruin his reputation.

However, she really wanted to see what Mr. Li Bai looked like!

Everyone says he's an absolutely handsome man, but I wonder just how handsome he really is? As she thought about it, Wen Qing's cheeks couldn't help but flush.

Wen Qing and Ji Hongchang were talking about Li Bai when they suddenly heard a voice as beautiful as celestial music:

"You've done your best, how could I blame you?"

Mr. Li Bai, my senior?!

Wen Qing and Ji Hongchang were both startled, then turned around with great joy, only to see a white figure that had appeared in the room at some point.

The young man with black hair and white clothes had an extraordinary air about him. He wore a silver mask and dressed exactly the same as he had a year ago.

"Mr. Li Bai!"

"The great Li Bai!"

Seeing the figure she had longed for day and night, Wen Qing's pretty face flushed like peach petals, and her heart pounded wildly. She watched Gu Yan approach step by step, and only when Ji Hongchang beside her bowed did she come back to her senses and hurriedly bow to Gu Yan.

At that time, she thought he was only at the Heavenly Spirit Realm, but she never expected him to be a Spirit King, and at the late stage of the Spirit King Realm at that. Such a man was simply out of her reach.

Thinking about this, Wen Qing felt a little disappointed.

Gu Yan walked over and naturally sat down in a chair. He had been home for two months during the Lunar New Year, staying indoors and not daring to go out. He spent his days playing with his spirit pet, chatting and playing chess with his parents and family, and the rest of his time refining medicine and practicing martial arts.

With the rare and precious materials he obtained from the market and the nourishment of the Soul Jade, although his injuries to his primordial spirit had not fully healed, his cultivation had now recovered to the early stage of the Void Refinement Realm (early stage of the Spirit Emperor Realm). However, he suppressed his strength to the late stage peak of the Divine Transformation Realm (late stage peak of the Spirit King Realm).

Of course, to Wen Qing and Ji Hongchang, it didn't matter whether Gu Yan was a Spirit King or a Spirit Emperor. They were only at the Earth Spirit Realm, and the difference was too great. In any case, they were both terrifying beings in their eyes.

"How much did you collect?" Gu Yan asked.

Ji Hongchang hurriedly took out a mustard seed bag, containing all the things he had collected over the past year. He respectfully presented it, while Wen Qing busied herself pouring tea for Gu Yan.

Gu Yan took the mustard seed bag and scanned it with his divine sense. The contents were only about 30% of the list he had initially made, less than 30%.

"Senior, if you could give us more time, my second son and I would certainly be able to collect even more for you," Ji Hongchang said, bowing deeply.

"It would be good if we could collect 30%." Gu Yan hadn't placed all his hopes on them anyway. He took the mustard seed bag and tossed a bag of spirit stones to Ji Hongchang.

"This is the payment," Gu Yan said casually.

Holding the mustard seed bag, Ji Hongchang scanned it with his divine sense and discovered that it contained a full ten billion spirit stones. This number exceeded the amount of rare and precious materials they had collected, and he couldn't help but show an expression of trepidation: "Senior, this..."

"Half of it is your reward, and the other is a deposit. Continue to help me collect the rest. I'm interested in any rare and precious materials that are beneficial to the soul. By the way, you want me to help you refine the Nascent Soul Pill. Have you prepared the materials?" Gu Yan asked.

Upon hearing this, Ji Hongchang became excited: "Ready!"

"Then I'll make it for you now. Prepare a room for me." Gu Yan picked up the tea set next to her.

"Senior..." Ji Hongchang hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"What's the problem?" Gu Yan asked.

"I have prepared materials for four sets of Nascent Soul Pills. Could you refine a few more?" Ji Hongchang asked cautiously, afraid of displeasing Gu Yan.

"What's so difficult about that?" Gu Yan readily agreed.

Ji Hongchang was overjoyed: "Thank you very much, senior."

While Ji Hongchang was talking to Gu Yan, Wen Qing kept gazing at Gu Yan with deep affection. She really wanted to know just how handsome and unparalleled his appearance was beneath that mask. Various thoughts raced through her mind; she wanted to get closer to him, yet she felt that the person before her was as unattainable as the bright moon in the sky.

Ji Hongchang immediately arranged an alchemy room for Gu Yan and sent a message to Lu Zechuan, the second young master in Tianyang City.

Ever since Lu Zechuan learned that Mr. Li Bai was a near-sixth-grade alchemist with the cultivation of a Spirit King, he had stayed at the Jujing Pavilion, refusing to leave, fearing he would miss the opportunity to curry favor. He happened to be out today, but upon receiving Ji Hongchang's message, he immediately rushed back to the Jujing Pavilion.

"Is Mr. Li Bai really here?" Lu Zechuan asked excitedly.

"They've arrived. They're currently refining the Nascent Soul Pill. I've already mentioned the young master to him, and he said he'll meet with the young master after the Nascent Soul Pill is finished," Ji Hongchang said.

Lu Zechuan paced back and forth with a fan in his hand, quite excited. If he could befriend a quasi-sixth-grade alchemist with the cultivation of the late Spirit King Realm, his future would be limitless.

But he was also a little worried. What if Mr. Li Bai took a fancy to him?