## AST 1701 - She Was Betrothed to Others, Watermoon Cavern

“Senior, please say it. As long as it is within my ability, I will never decline.” Qing Shui said promptly.

“Ye`er is an unfortunate child. I hope you can treat her well,” The old woman looked at Qing Shui seriously. That statement was solemn but also did not contain any sense of strictness, so it wouldn’t cause unease.

Qing Shui felt conflicted today about kissing Qing Hanye muddle-headedly. As he arrived here, he unexpectedly decided things with Qing Hanye. Everything seemed to have been prepared well beforehand.

Qing Shui definitely knew that it wasn’t a deliberate plan with everything being such a coincidence. Most importantly, the old lady was strong enough to see his constitution in one glance. As she said, Qing Hanye and he were perfectly made for together. Under normal circumstances, any obstacles could hardly prevent it once they met. The constitution itself for both of them was the greatest temptation towards one another.

This was something unexplainable!

“Rest assured, senior. As long as I’m alive, I won’t let anything hurt Ye`er.” Qing Shui said with a straight face.

“I trust you. Although I’m already an old lady, I am still confident in my judgments. Plus, Ye`er, this girl has been thinking about you…”

“Master, what are you saying? Aren’t you afraid of me getting teased? Please don’t say that.” Qing Hanye interrupted the old lady shyly. After all, girls were sensitive.

“Alright, I’ll stop talking,” The old woman was apparently over the moon. It was pleasing to look at Qing Hanye’s dainty manner. It was rare to see her acting like this. She would only behave in this way in front of the man she liked.

“Qing Shui, can you see anything peculiar about my flowers and plants?” The old lady shifted her topic, pointing at a garden nearby.

Qing Shui smiled after looking around. In fact, he noticed the situation the moment he stepped into this place. The old lady should have been a master of formations. The display here was a formation. Furthermore, it was a layered formation.

“Eight Trigrams Orientation in all directions, blossoms towards the South. There are Gates of Life and Death. Old lady, this courtyard is a Gate of Death. Yet, there’s another unique formation inside.” Qing Shui said slowly, observing the surroundings.

“Any method to decode it?” Old lady kept smiling at Qing Shui.

“Is this supposed to be difficult?” Qing Shui’s shadow flashed at once. In a glimpse, he destroyed several plants. He moved swiftly and naturally and soon, he returned to his former position in a methodical order.

Qing Shui knew that the old lady had a slightly different thought previously. Perhaps because of him or the Nine Yang Body, or else, there would have been a battle at the moment.

Qing Shui felt that the old lady wasn’t easy to confront with his current strength. He wasn’t certain but he believed he could escape unscathed. That was only an assumption.

“Not bad. It’s surprising that you’re also a great master of formations,” Old lady was astonished.

Not many knew that Qing Shui mastered formations here. Qing Shui had never seen anyone with greater attainment in formations to date. Even the old lady’s attainments before him were child’s play in formations compared to Qing Shui’s.

“It’s not that great. I have a combination of Maze Formation and Killing Formation here. We can study it if you’re interested. It’s not bad.” Qing Shui took out a picture scroll.

“Sure, I like formations the most. Unfortunately, I’m not gifted.”

The Three of them headed towards a room close-by while talking. Qing Hanye didn’t talk much. Most of the times, it was Qing Shui and the old lady speaking.

The old lady seemed doddering and feeble as if a blow of wind could make her fall. However, only those who were familiar knew how intimidating and powerful her strength was.

It wasn’t really spacious yet there was a slight void in the living room due to the scarcity of furniture pieces displayed. The old lady was hardly visited by any guests. Not because they didn’t want to, but the old lady didn’t welcome any interruptions. Hence, there wasn’t even a single servant. Only Qing Hanye could have free access in this place.

Qing Hanye boiled a pot of tea and filled cups for three of them. The old lady became more satisfied as she observed Qing Shui. She was happy for Qing Hanye.

“Qing Shui, now that I don’t take you as an outsider, I wish you can make yourself at home. Ye`er is just like my child, she is my heir in my heart. The Dragonwolf Palace is nothing compared to Ye`er.”

Qing Shui understood her words’ meaning. He, too, felt the sincerity in her words. Most importantly, Qing Shui realized that she valued family bonds very much. To be able to prioritize family love at this age, Qing Shui admired it the most and respected this old lady for that reason.

“You’re the master of Ye`er, so you’re my senior,” Qing Shui smiled at the old lady.

“Hoho. Well, it’s finally quiet in Dragonwolf Palace now. Qing Shui, I have to inform you something. I have already betrothed Ye`er to someone.”

“Master……”

Qing Shui was taken aback and stared at the old lady as she gave a hand sign to stop Qing Hanye from talking. She continued, “Ye`er didn’t know this. I was desperate and forced to do so. It was only a delaying move and unfortunately, there weren’t any solutions all these while. I promised to be ready in ten years and it has already been more than eight years now.”

“Senior, which force made you compromise?” Qing Shui asked curiously.

“The Watermoon Cavern.”

“It’s the Watermoon Cavern?!” Qing Hanye yelled out of astonishment, gazing at the old lady.

Qing Shui frowned as he looked at the old lady, then at Qing Hanye, “The Watermoon Cavern must be very powerful then?”

“Not only they are powerful, we are way behind them and the gap is huge.” Old lady sighed.

“Senior, I don’t understand. If they are so powerful, why would they wait for ten years?” Qing Shui thought it was uncommon to have a ten-year promise if the force was formidable and admired Qing Hanye at the same time.

“They knew of Ye`er’s constitution and could do nothing. However, if their inherited technique ‘Wavemoon Yang Movement’ is practiced up to the Lower Eighth Layer, it would be considered the greatest and the most unbending. If I’m not mistaken, the Watermoon Cavern Lord could practice up to the Eighth Layer in ten years. That was why he could wait.” Said the old lady after pondering.

Qing Hanye appeared upset. She knew the strength of the Watermoon Cavern could not be deterred by the Dragonwolf Palace. The discrepancy was simply too wide. Putting her head up, she noticed Qing Shui was watching her too. He didn’t seem too worried as he gently smiled. This pacified her heart substantially.

“Senior, I would like to know the strengths of the Watermoon Cavern in detail.” Replied Qing Shui after a while.

“I have some news here but it’s not completed.”