The Hehuan Sect cultivates alchemy; my senior sister helps me refine alchemy throughout the world.

The next morning, Shen Yifei was still asleep when he was woken up by a knock on the door.

"Junior Brother Shen! Junior Brother Shen! Get up quickly!"

It was Zhao Qingshan's voice, sounding anxious, as if someone had stepped on his tail.

Shen Yifei opened his eyes, but Liu Mengli was gone. He rubbed his eyes, put on his clothes, and opened the door.

Zhao Qingshan stood outside, his face pale and his forehead covered in sweat.

"What's wrong?"

"Sect Master... the Sect Master wants you to go to Qingyun Hall. The Hehuan Sect Master has also arrived."

Shen Yifei was taken aback: "Su Wuwang? Didn't she leave yesterday?"

"They didn't leave. They stayed in the guest quarters last night. The two sect leaders started arguing early this morning, and it was a huge fight. Elder Gu sent me to call you, saying that you've caused this trouble and you need to clean it up yourself."

Shen Yifei cursed inwardly and quickly followed Zhao Qingshan towards Qingyun Palace.

Upon arriving outside the Qingyun Palace, they heard Xie Liaochen's voice coming from inside. It was so powerful that it made the stone lions outside the palace tremble.

"Sect Leader Su, what do you mean by this? My daughter was just married yesterday, and you're here today demanding her back? What do you take the Qingyun Sect for?"

"Sect Master Xie, what you said is incorrect." Su Wuwang's voice was unhurried, but every word was like a nail piercing the air. "Shen Yifei is a disciple of my Hehuan Sect. I didn't say anything when you lent him to us for your wedding yesterday. But today I want to take him back, and that's my right. If you don't release him, that's forcibly detaining a disciple from another sect, and that won't sound good to others."

"Forcibly detain him? What do you mean by forcibly detain him? He's my son-in-law now, it's only natural for him to live in my Qingyun Sect. If you want to take him away, did you even ask my son-in-law's consent?"

"Son-in-law?" Su Wuwang sneered. "A son-in-law in name only, who doesn't even consummate the marriage, dares to call himself a son-in-law?"

"How...how do you know they didn't consummate their marriage?"

"Hmph, I heard it last night!"

"You...you, as the sect leader, actually went to eavesdrop?"

Su Wuwang snorted coldly: "Eavesdropping? I, the dignified leader of a sect, need to eavesdrop? Last night, I was meditating in the guest courtyard when I heard noises coming from the next courtyard. It wasn't the sound of dual cultivation; it was Luo Qinghe calling out alone in her room for two whole hours. Sect Leader Xie, what's wrong with your daughter?"

When Shen Yifei, who was outside the hall, heard this, his mind went blank.

It’s over.

Luo Qinghe had a reaction in reality to Liu Mengli's dream last night. He thought it was just between the two of them, but he didn't expect Su Wuwang to have such sharp ears, hearing it from several courtyards away.

"Sect Leader Su, what business is it of yours what my daughter has to do with her?" Xie Liaochen's voice was clearly lacking in confidence. "She's happy on her wedding night, what's wrong with her shouting a couple of times?"

"Happy?" Su Wuwang sneered. "You've been shouting for two hours straight, your voice is hoarse. You call that happiness? Sect Leader Xie, if your daughter is truly happy, why isn't the groom in the room? Shen Yifei slept next door last night, how do you explain that?"

Outside the hall, Zhao Qingshan whispered to Shen Yifei, "Junior Brother Shen, good luck to you. I'm leaving now." Then he ran off in a flash.

Shen Yifei stood at the palace gate, caught in a dilemma. Should he go in? The two sect leaders were furious; going in would make him a sitting duck. Should he not go in? Zhao Qingshan had already betrayed him; if he didn't go in, Xie Lechen would send someone to drag him in anyway.

Just as he was hesitating, Xie Liaochen's voice came from inside the hall: "Shen Yifei, get your ass in here!"

Shen Yifei took a deep breath and stepped into the Qingyun Palace.

Inside the hall, Xie Liaochen sat in the main seat, his face ashen, as if he had swallowed a pound of flies. Su Wuwang sat in the guest seat, slowly sipping a cup of tea.

Elder Gu stood behind Su Wuwang and gave Shen Yifei a wink, the meaning of which was clearly "Good luck to you, kid."

"Sect Master, you wanted to see me?" Shen Yifei stood in the center of the hall and cupped his hands in greeting.

Xie Liaochen stared at him for a long while, then squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: "What happened last night?"

"Last night...on our wedding night, I drank a little, and I was a bit tipsy, so..."

"What?"

"Well..." Shen Yifei scratched his head, "he just fell asleep."

"Fell asleep?" Xie Liaochen slammed his hand on the armrest. "You fell asleep on your wedding night? You left my daughter alone in the bridal chamber for two hours?"

Shen Yifei cursed Liu Mengli in his heart, but he still had to make up a lie: "Sect Master, I didn't want to fall asleep either, but I just can't hold my liquor. Elder Wang's Flaming Wine had too much of an aftereffect. I drank two jars and immediately blacked out. I don't know anything about what happened after that."

Xie Liaochen was so angry that his beard stood on end. He turned to Su Wuwang and said, "Sect Leader Su, you heard it too. This kid can't hold his liquor. He blacked out on his wedding night. It was an accident, not that he deliberately neglected my daughter."

Su Wuwang put down his teacup and said slowly, "Sect Leader Xie, what you say makes sense. Blacking out on your wedding night was indeed an accident. But let me ask you, what did your daughter shout for two hours last night? Did you hear her clearly?"

Xie Liaochen was stunned for a moment, then his expression turned even uglier.

Just as the stalemate was reaching its conclusion, footsteps sounded outside the hall.

Luo Qinghe walked in.

She changed into a light blue long dress, her hair was tied up with a jade hairpin, and her face was expressionless, still with that cold look. But Shen Yifei noticed that her steps were a little unsteady, as if she hadn't slept well.

"Father." Luo Qinghe nodded to Xie Liaochen, then looked at Su Wuwang, "Sect Master Su."

Su Wuwang glanced at her, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment: "Qinghe, you don't look well. Didn't you sleep well last night?"

"I slept very well." Luo Qinghe said without changing his expression. "Thank you for your concern, Sect Leader Su."

"You slept well?" Su Wuwang's lips curled up slightly. "Then why is your voice hoarse?"

A crack finally appeared in Luo Qinghe's expression. She subconsciously touched her throat, then quickly regained her composure: "I probably had a little to drink at the wedding banquet; my throat is a bit sore."

Su Wuwang smiled and didn't press the matter further. She turned and returned to her seat as a guest, picked up her teacup, and watched the family as if it were a show.

Xie Liaochen coughed to break the awkward silence: "Alright, let's not talk about the wedding night anymore. Shen Yifei, from today onwards, you stay in my Qingyun Sect. Refine pills and cultivate as you should. Don't meddle in anything else."

Shen Yifei nodded: "Yes, Sect Master."

"Sect Leader Su," Xie Liaochen looked at Su Wuwang, "you've seen it yourself, my son-in-law is perfectly fine, without missing an arm or a leg. If you want to take him back to Huan Sect, you have to get his consent. If he doesn't want to, you can't force him."

Su Wuwang put down his teacup and looked at Shen Yifei: "Shen Yifei, do you want to stay at the Qingyun Sect, or come back with me?"

Shen Yifei considered the options in his mind. Should he return to Huan Sect? He had Qin Wan, Sun Yiran, Liu'er, and Su Yao there, living a comfortable life. Should he stay in Qingyun Sect? He had Luo Qinghe, a pill business, and the status of a son-in-law of the Holy Maiden—not bad either.

He coughed and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect: "Sect Masters, this disciple has a suggestion that may be immature."

"Speak," the two sect leaders said in unison.

"It was agreed long ago that I would stay in the Qingyun Sect for half a year and in the Hehuan Sect for half a year. Now that we've just gotten married, I can't just abandon my bride and run away the next day, can I? So I'm thinking of staying in the Qingyun Sect for a month first, and then returning to the Hehuan Sect after that. That way, it's acceptable to both sides."

Xie Chen's expression softened somewhat. A month wasn't a long time, nor was it a short time; it was a good choice for both sides.

Su Wuwang put down his teacup and stood up: "Alright, one month. I'll send someone to pick you up in a month."

She walked up to Shen Yifei and patted him on the shoulder. The pat seemed light, but Shen Yifei felt as if he had been crushed by a mountain; his knees buckled, and he almost knelt on the ground.

Su Wuwang left with Gu Qianqiu, and the hall fell silent.

Xie Liaochen leaned back in his chair and stared at Shen Yifei for a long while.

"You brat, what kind of bewitching potion did you give Su Wuwang? She's a Nascent Soul stage expert, and she came all this way to demand his return."

"Perhaps it's because my alchemy skills are so good that the sect leader can't bear to part with me."

Xie Liaochen snorted and waved his hand: "Alright, go back to refining pills. Refine twenty batches of Foundation Establishment Pills for me within a month."