Chapter 22: The First Meeting

  Qin Li sat in the luxurious carriage with an unchanged expression, the coachman raised his whip and set off, the carriage ran quickly and smoothly, without any bumps or jolts. Qin Li's heart was also as calm and stable as the spacious and smooth carriage, not worried at all about what he would face soon.

  This carriage should be a man's vehicle, simple and atmospheric inside, and there is even a small bookcase on the wall, apparently prepared for long-distance travel.

  Qin Li casually pulled out a book from inside, and was stunned to see that it was actually an advanced martial skill manual! He pulled out another one, which turned out to be an advanced yuan energy cultivation method!

  Qin Li let out a disbelieving breath as he pulled out six or seven books, each with different titles, but surprisingly they were all about mental cultivation and combat techniques. Moreover, not a single one was trash, they were all high-level!

  The Yuan Force Heart Method and combat skills of the Tianyuan Continent are mostly passed down from ancient times, divided into three levels: primary, intermediate, and advanced. Generally, even the best martial arts schools or academies only have intermediate-level techniques. It's rare for anyone outside of a large clan to possess an advanced technique. Occasionally, at auctions, someone might sell an advanced technique, and any one of them can be easily sold for tens of thousands of silver coins!

  And the small courtyard that Qin Li bought only cost ten taels of silver! For an ordinary family, five taels of silver can be used for a year if they are frugal.

  So, the value of these mental methods and martial arts is self-evident. Qin Li furrowed his brow slightly, putting these things back in their original place. He wasn't clear what the master of the Upper Palace meant by this move, or perhaps there was no malicious intent. However, for Qin Li, he would never accept such a gift! Not to mention that the other party had simply placed the book there and hadn't said they wanted to give it to him. Maybe...the old fool from the Upper Palace had so much money that he was burning with anxiety, and just liked to show off his hundred-million-silver- taels worth of martial arts methods!

  Qin Li thought to himself, feeling the carriage come to a stop, and someone outside said: "Young Master Qin, we've arrived."

  Qin got off the car and in front of him was a tea house, a three-story wooden building with carved beams and painted rafters, giving off an ancient charm. Standing outside, it already gave people a sense of serenity.

  "Sir Qin, please come in. The young lady is waiting for you inside." The knight bowed slightly and led Qin Li into the teahouse, then stood guard outside.

  Some people who passed by couldn't help but wonder in their hearts, thinking that another big shot had arrived, and actually used the official vehicle and guards of the prefectural governor's mansion, definitely not a small background!

  When they saw Qin Li's somewhat thin figure get off the horse carriage and walk into the teahouse wearing clothes that still had some dust on them, everyone's mouths were wide open in shock, their eyes filled with incredulous expressions, thinking to themselves that this young man must be a prince who liked to disguise himself.

  No wonder others would make such guesses, the Shangguan family is a royal relative after all. Apart from members of the imperial family, who else has the qualifications to let Shangguan Tie, the number one powerful figure in Huangsha City, lend out his own carriage?

  Inside the teahouse, all was quiet, a faint fragrance wafted over, refreshing the lungs and heart. A beautiful young girl stood inside, slightly bowing to Qin Li, stretching out her hand towards the upstairs, softly saying: "Young Master Qin, please go up!"

  Qin Li smiled secretly in his heart, not disappointing the young lady's reputation, the momentum was indeed grand. However, Qin Li had no desires or demands, so he naturally felt at ease and walked up to the second floor with a swagger. When he reached the second floor, another beautiful girl led him to the third floor.

  Qin Li took a deep breath and went up to the third floor. Right in front of him was an open window, behind which lay a vast lake! In the middle of the lake was a small island with pavilions and waterside pavilions casting shadows among the trees, giving people a sense of openness and clarity at first sight. If you're feeling down, come here for a short while and you'll definitely feel much more relaxed.

  What a luxury! Qin Li had never thought that in the heart of the desert city, there was still such a place hidden, and the strength of the Shangguan family could be seen from this.

  Qin Li had not expected that the three-story building, surprisingly, did not have any partitions. About twenty-odd meters away from him, near the corner window, a slender girl was standing with her back to him, leaning against the window.

  The entire third floor, apart from those two people, was devoid of anyone else!

  When she heard someone coming upstairs, the girl turned around. A thick layer of white gauze covered her face, revealing only two bright eyes that looked up and down at Qin Li. After seeing some obvious dust on Qin Li's clothes, the girl's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and a hint of displeasure appeared in her eyes.

  If it wasn't for hearing that the illegitimate son of the Qin family dared to kill with his own hands the slave who humiliated his mother, Shangguan Shi Yu would not have come to meet him. In her heart, under this sky, only Grandfather was truly good to her, and when facing others, she didn't even bother to say a word.

  She didn't speak, and Qin Li also didn't speak. The two of them just stared at each other silently for over ten seconds. In the end, Shangguan Shi Yu was still a girl after all, and she couldn't withstand Qin Li's gaze first. Although she didn't see anything unusual in Qin Li's eyes, this young man, apart from his clothes being a bit dirty, looked quite handsome, especially those clear eyes of his. However, who knows if he's secretly laughing at me? Shangguan Shi Yu thought to herself.

  "What's wrong with you? Don't you know it's impolite to stare at a girl like that?" The voice was crisp and clear, like the song of an oriole, with a hint of sweetness that was extremely pleasant to listen to.

  Qin Li smiled slightly and walked to the window, gazing into the distance. She said softly, "If you don't look at me, how would you know I'm looking at you?"

  Shangguan Shi Yu was taken aback, she didn't expect this person would speak to her like that, it seemed... quite refreshing!

  "Aren't you afraid of me? People say I'm a jinx, an unlucky person, and that being close to me will bring bad luck!" Shangguan Shi Yu's voice was very calm, her eyes didn't show any emotions, quietly looking at Qin Li.

  Even Shangguan Shi Yu herself didn't understand why she would actively say these things to a stranger.

  "That's their nonsense." Qin Li smiled slightly and said calmly without looking at Shangguan Shi Yu.

  "You're such a coarse and vulgar person!" Shangguan Shi Yu said with a slight frown, but in her heart, she felt somewhat unusual, as if she wasn't as repelled by this kind of vulgarity as she had imagined.

  "What kind of agreement did my grandfather reach with your Qin family?"

  Shangguan Shi Yu and Qin Li, who were about ten meters apart, looked out the window and said in unison: "Actually, I don't want to get married. I know you guys seem indifferent on the surface, but deep down, you must be terrified!"

  "To be honest, I never thought of getting married, and I was also forced to. Of course, you don't have an obligation to help me, so don't worry, you can live the life you like, you can directly refuse!"

  Qin Li turned his head, looking at Shangguan Shi Yu's bright eyes, and said seriously: "However, I came to see you today just to tell you that you are not a monster or a freak, nor are you an unlucky person. This world is not only for the yellow race, there are also black people, white people, and even many other races you have never seen before, they all live well. Whether you want to agree to this engagement or not is unimportant, actually I don't care either. Of course, I won't deny that if we get engaged, my mother's and my life will be much better, but it's not about material things, it's just that we will be much safer, I believe you understand this."

  Qin Li said with a self-deprecating smile, waiting for Shangguan Shi Yu's rejection, and then he could leave Huangsha City directly. He believed that the Qin family would not dare to do anything to Qin Han Yue either.

  In Qin Li's view, the transaction between Shangguan Tie and Qin Hongyuan was far less important than this girl's attitude. If she didn't want to, within three days, the Qin family would come knocking on their door for revenge. But he really had no reason to force a 13-year-old girl to nod and agree to be engaged to him.

  What does your danger have to do with others? Qin Li's mind has never had the idea of relying on others.

  "Are you telling the truth? There are black people in this world? With black skin?" Shangguan Shi Yu's eyes were wide with incredulity as she stared at Qin Li, then said: "You're kidding me... I've never heard of such a thing!"

  Qin Li smiled and said: "Why would I cheat a little girl like you? The world is so big, what can you know?"

  You seem so big! Shangguan Shi Yu found the smile of this guy in front of her to be quite hateful, actually saying that she was a little girl! However, she was indeed attracted by Qin Li's words and thought to herself: Are all the things he said true? Is there really someone with black skin in this world? Could it be that there is still someone like me? Shangguan Shi Yu stared at Qin Li, suddenly thinking of an idea - would this guy just be talking big but have other thoughts in his heart? Shangguan Shi Yu decided to test Qin Li and so she opened her mouth to speak.

  "Hey, Qin Li, do you want to see what I look like?"