I Was Forced To Marry The Phoenix Empress-Chapter 176: Informing Qin Yao

By the time Yi Chen had arrived outside the residence, it was around six in the evening. He had spent more time than he had anticipated at the Red Velvet Pavilion.

Knock! Knock!

Tapping the door handles two times, he made his way inside the gate and saw Qin Yao’s approaching figure from within.

"Brother Chen, you’re finally here," Qin Yao said with a bright expression on his face.

"Yes," Yi Chen nodded and said while glancing at his perspiring figure, "You were practising your spearmanship?"

"Yes, I just finished a few moments ago and was about to go freshen up," Qin Yao stated while breathing heavily.

"That’s good." Yi Chen nodded in a satisfied manner and stated, "Go and freshen up, then. Meanwhile, I’ll make the preparation for our dinner."

"Alright, Brother Chen," Qin Yao smiled and soon went to the bathing area.

’I was so engrossed in the matches and the following discussion with Madam Gao that I didn’t even notice how hungry I was...’

Yi Chen thought while rubbing his stomach, which was grumbling in protest.

With an amused chuckle, he soon went to the kitchen and, after cleaning his hands, began the dinner preparation.

A while later, Qin Yao came back all freshened up, and together they arranged the dishes on the dining table before finally taking a seat.

"It seems that Master Lei will take a few more days to return..." Qin Yao sighed in disappointment.

"Don’t worry too much. There are still three more days to complete the week. Just like he had stated, he’ll be back by then," Yi Chen consoled with a smile. He had started to miss the old man as well.

"Yeah. I just feel like I’m missing out on so much because I’ve been unable to attend his daily lessons," Qin Yao said in a complaining tone.

"Haha, it’s the same with me." Yi Chen chuckled, hearing this, and the next moment decided to inform Qin Yao about his plans.

"There’s also something which I want to inform you about today."

"Inform me? About what?" Qin Yao asked with an obvious frown on his face.

"You know Madam Gao, right? The Manager of the Red Velvet Pavilion?" Yi Chen asked.

"Of course!" Qin Yao exclaimed the very next instant and continued.

"She was the one who took Brother Chen to the Second Floor today, right? You must not know, but after the two of you had left, a great commotion had started among the clansmen."

"A commotion?" Yi Chen asked with a frown.

"Indeed," Qin Yao nodded and continued, "All of them had started guessing your relationship with Madam Gao, with some going even as far as to describe the two of you as a couple."

"It became such a big deal? Madam Gao is several years older than me and had just come to take me upstairs, though..." Yi Chen said with a weird expression on his face.

"Since Brother Chen has helped our clan ascend to the first position, it’s only natural for every little thing related to you to attract great scrutiny."

Qin Yao paused and continued.

"Particularly when it’s related to someone as important as Madam Gao. When I noticed that they all had started linking the two of you as an emerging couple, I had to step in for both you and my sister-in-law’s sake.

It took an enormous toll on me, but in the end, with Feng Min’s help, I was finally able to clear their misunderstanding." Qin Yao stated with both pride and exhaustion apparent in his eyes.

It was obvious from this how tiring the whole task had been for him.

This naturally brought a wide smile on Yi Chen’s face as he said while ruffling Qin Yao’s head.

"Thanks for your help, Brother Qin," he chuckled the next moment with gratefulness apparent in his tone.

"Hehe, as long as brother Chen remembers it." Qin Yao grinned at this action and accepted his gesture with a pleased expression on his face.

"Right," Yi Chen nodded with a smile and soon came back to the original topic, "What I wanted to tell you is this. Day after tomorrow, I’ll be leaving with Manager Gao for a mission, so you’ll have to be on your own for the next few days."

"Ah..." Qin Yao nodded in understanding and asked the next moment, "Where is Brother Chen going?... And how long will it take for you to return?"

"Well, it’s a bit sensitive, so I can’t tell you for now. As for when I’ll be returning, it should happen within the next two months or before."

Yi Chen paused and glanced at Qin Yao’s contemplative expression before continuing.

"Even if I’m late, you better not slack in your training and keep pushing yourself, you understand? The last thing I want to see is you slacking the whole time while I was away."

Yi Chen glared when he finished those words.

"Haha, Brother Chen jests. With you as my example, how can I even think of slacking?" Qin Yao asked in an obvious tone in his voice.

"So, you’re not planning to go out and meet Feng Min during this period to have fun?" Yi Chen directly asked the next instant.

"This..."

Being caught off guard, the confident expression on Qin Yao’s face faltered the very next moment.

"I-I..." Qin Yao wanted to justify, but Yi Chen rested his hand on his shoulder before he could continue any further.

"It’s alright, you don’t need to justify yourself. Building a relationship is indeed important, but you must make sure it doesn’t hamper your cultivation.

Making the woman you love the reason for your laziness is the most disgusting thing a man can do, you understand?"

"Yes, Brother Chen, I understand. I’ll make sure to continue pushing myself even more," Qin Yao said with fire in his eyes. Yi Chen’s words seemed to have hit him at the right spot.

"Good then." Yi Chen nodded in a satisfied manner at this response and after they were done with the dishes he went to the courtyard on his own to practice.

Before beginning his training, he brought out his system panel to glance at the Cultivation arsenal. He wanted to gauge his progress so far.

======Cultivation Arsenal ======

#Weapon Arts

1) Advanced Swordsmanship [ Progress: 21 / 1000 ]

#Cultivation Arts

1) Crimson Fire Arts [ Comprehension: 70% ]

2) Myriad Fire Swords [ Comprehension: 33% ]

3) Bursting Fire Steps [ Comprehension: 70% -> 79% ]

#System Items

1) 10x Comprehension Speed [Activated: 12 days left]

============ END ===========