It was not scary falling for someone. What was scary was falling for someone that one once hated.

At present, Miss Sakura was struggling with this particular quandary. She was unable to hate Xia Fei despite him having bullied her before, but she was instead worrying over just where Xia Fei had gone off to, when he would be back, and other such things.

​​

Sakura was still very young, so she could not make sense of her own feelings, but Poria, the girl's mother, easily figured it out from the anxiety that her daughter was showing. The young girl had yet to learn how to hide her own feelings.

Hyacinth frowned as he said gravely, "Sakura's only fourteen!"

His voice was somewhat hoarse, and it even betrayed a bit of his frustration over the idea.

Poria was unfazed. "Hyacinth, I'm only suggesting a possible solution. Whether you accept it or not is up to you and your father to think about. It's not like you can't tell that Sakura has had something on her mind lately. Besides, wasn't I about the same age myself when I married you?"

In the Law Realm, age was a very abstruse issue. People would clearly look like they were in their middle-age when, in reality, they were already old in terms of years that they had lived in the world. Poria was actually a whole thirty years younger than Hyacinth and was only fifteen when she was married off.

The old man Otter, who was a lot calmer, laughed. "Poria, just tell us your thoughts. We're all family here, and we can still discuss it further whether that's the final decision or not."

Poria was the daughter of a big chieftain of the Rockies and was highly regarded. Had it not been for Hyacinth renown those years back, he would surely have been unable to marry the maiden daughter of the chieftain. After Poria entered the household, she kept to the traditional roles the wife played, never once overpowering others with her stature. Otter and Hyacinth both of course witnessed this and remembered it in their hearts. It was just that even Hyacinth's closest kin and most trusted underlings had no idea that Hyacinth was actually henpecked at home, deferring most matters to his spouse.

Poria had her hands on her waist as she said, "From what I've observed so far, Ah Fei is someone who discriminates between retribution and reciprocity, returning respect with respect, but if anyone offends him, his revenge is terrifying to behold, and against such a person, we first must give a show of our attitude toward him."

"Attitude? Carry on." The elderly Otter mulled over her words. His daughter-in-law sure lived up to her name as someone from a major tribe, speaking with propriety and sense that the old man could feel her words warming his heart.

"That's right. We need to demonstrate an attitude of gratefulness. Ah Fei has had prior altercations with us, but it hasn't been on purpose; after all, he still has need of us, so as long as we show him gratitude this time, treating him with great respect, I'm certain that we can easily tide things over.

"Speaking of gratitude, there's no greater demonstration than offering Sakura's hand in marriage. Ever since Sakura turned twelve, how many suitors have come to ask her hand in marriage and how many of them did our daughter fancy? Forget those from afar, even Sambo, who's been smittened to the point of delirium by our daughter, failed. Why is that? Isn't it because not one of these young men can even be accepted by Sakura's discerning eyes?

"Ah Fei is different. He has the cultivation and the smarts, and our daughter is very fond of him. I've been in her shoes once, so I know that there's nothing more important to a girl than marrying the right person."

"But—" Hyacinth was hesitant and wanted to refute her words, but he had no idea just where to start.

"No buts," Poria said firmly. "I was many years younger than you back in the day; why did I marry into your family? Wasn't it because you're such an outstanding man. You can see for yourself: Did I make the wrong choice?"

The moment she used Hyacinth as an example, the man no longer had any words to say. Reality had proven that it did not matter whether someone married early or late. What mattered was with whom.

At the end of the day, they were a nomadic tribe, and there were plenty of cases within the Rockies of pairs tying the knot as early as when they were twelve years old. Poria had been carefully considering this important event in Sakura's life even when the girl was still very young, and she was determined to find her an excellent mate.

Hyacinth was somewhat peeved, stating, "We can suggest her hand in marriage, but if Ah Fei says no, won't we have disgraced ourselves, instead?"

Poria did not think much of it. "At the very least, our attitude has shown our sincerity, and even if Ah Fei refuses this arrangement, he at least won't continue making things difficult for us, and we'll surely be able to bury the hatchet from there onward."

"And if he agrees?" Hyacinth pressed.

"We'll set a date for the wedding and wait for Sakura to become older before they officially wed. With such a powerful son-in-law whom our daughter is fond of as well, what's the downside?"

Poria was not a simple woman. Just as she said, as long as marriage was on the cards, the relationship between Xia Fei and Hyacinth would be greatly relieved, and no matter the outcome, the favor they owed Xia Fei would be considered repaid.

Actually, the wedding itself was never an important event to the Rockies. What mattered was making connections with the strong and subsequently strengthening their own tribes. After all, this was a very complex world, and the lack of strength would only serve to make progress difficult. Had Hyacinth not married Poria and gotten the full support of their people, no matter how powerful Hyacinth was, it would have been very hard for him to have achieved the accomplishments he had today.

The three were in the middle of discussion when suddenly they heard the sound of urgent footsteps and labored breathing. It turned out that Sakura had been eavesdropping on their conversation before, and her heart had been beating so wildly with her face flushed when she ran off in her fluster.

Poria wrinkled her brows and got up to chase after her daughter, leaving Otter sighing in the study. "It's unlike Sakura not to raise any objections despite having heard what we're talking about."

Hyacinth was startled. Everyone knew that his daughter was rather obnoxious, and the fact that Sakura did not object even after knowing what her mother meant could only signify one thing: She was not against the idea!

"Guess this will be how we're going to do this. Let's wait for Ah Fei to return and you can raise this to him. Whether we succeed or otherwise, we won't be at a loss here. There's really no other more suitable solution aside from that," Otter drawled reluctantly.

...

It was around dusk when Xia Fei arrived at Hyacinth's abode.

"Master, where have you been? I've been waiting for you this whole time!" Seth was the first to dash out and said this, and the expression he showed only substantiated this claim.

Xia Fei gave a slight nod. "I'm fine. Don't worry."

By now, Hyacinth, Otter, Poria, and Sakura had exited from their house, beaming at Xia Fei. However, their smiles were a little strange. Sakura was pouting, taking furtive glimpses at him, even as she felt her heart thump heavily in her chest.

Seth swiftly retreated to his place behind Xia Fei. He needed to fight for his pride, and after that turmoil with the Shepherdians, Seth had been utterly cowed by Xia Fei's extraordinary combat strength, and the respect he showed toward the young man deepened further.

After some polite small talk, Xia Fei was invited into their guest hall.

Poria herself prepared a table of dishes for everyone to dine on, even inviting several of the elders of the tribe to join in the meal as well.

This meal was quite an awkward affair, and Xia Fei's suspicions grew, for the eyes of everyone on the table while looking at him was like that of a family evaluating a prospective relative. Otter even asked several questions about Xia Fei's background while they ate, and Xia Fei warded them off one after another, not at all offering even a bit of personal information.

Sakura was eating her food with a lowered head, and from time to time, her eyes would drift over to Xia Fei. Ever since his arrival, this lady's cheeks had been a few shades of pink, which had not once subsided. She looked as if she had something on her mind, barely speaking much, which was a far cry from her bubbly self when they first met.

Seeing that Xia Fei was being very unforthcoming with his personal information until the end, Poria felt somewhat nervous deep down. She raised a toast to Xia Fei; because the Rockies were traditionally a nomadic tribe, there were not too many rules and women and children were allowed to dine on the same table.

Setting his cup down, Poria casually asked, "Brother Ah Fei is a man of talent and with such a profound cultivation, so I suppose that you are already married, right?"

Xia Fei's forehead creased, wondering to himself 'Just what is up with these people today? Why would they be specifically asking such questions?'

"Nope," Xia Fei gave a simple answer, causing Lady Poria's eyes to sparkle, a twinge of glee visible in her pupils. Hyacinth and Otter were equally elated, while Sakura's head was lowered even more, as if she was trying to bury it deeper into her bowl.

However, Xia Fei's following words caused the atmosphere to turn awkward.

"My girlfriend and I have discussed it already; we'll focus on our respective work first and talk about marriage in a year or two's time," Xia Fei took a swig of his wine as he said this.

The clatter of cutlery sounded immediately after he said that line. The small porcelain bowl Sakura had been holding shattered into pieces when she involuntarily dropped it to the ground, and the expression of the people on the table all turned very peculiar, as if they were somewhat disappointed over something.

"Sakura, how could you be so careless? I'll go get someone to get a new bowl for you," Poria's heart ached for her daughter as she said with concern.

Sakura shook her head, pouting. "I'm full. I'll be heading back to my room to rest."

With that said, she turned away and left in a huff. She looked at Xia Fei with a resentful gaze.

Both Otter and Hyacinth looked like they had lost their mood after Sakura left, while the lady Poria kept sighing. It was a good thing that none of the elders at the table was privy to the matter and was cajoling Xia Fei to drink more even as they offered their thanks profusely, so at least the meal did not end on an awkward tone.

...

Deep in the night, after all the guests left, Xia Fei was not in a rush to leave because he knew that Hyacinth would surely take the initiative to discuss some matters with him. Now that Xia Fei was the one holding all the cards in the negotiation table, Hyacinth no longer had any capital on hand for him to haggle as the loser.

As he expected, in less than five minutes, Hyacinth and Otter both invited Xia Fei to the study for a late night chat.

They drank two rounds of tea, chatting casually for a bit, and the atmosphere became a lot less tense than what it had been during dinner.

"Brother Ah Fei, we have no words that can express our sincerest gratitude. I rejected the matter that you had asked of us before because of how stretched out our organization had with the tasks on hand, so I hope that Brother Ah Fei didn't mind," Hyacinth explained, "but the situation has since changed. I took the time to discuss this with my fellow tribesmen and most of us decided to put the needs of Brother Ah Fei as priority. No matter what it is that you need us to do, even if we are to risk our very lives for the success of the job, none of us will have any qualms doing it. We'll definitely do a good job for Brother Ah Fei!"

Hyacinth remembered what his wife said, so he expressed his utmost sincerity in his words, doing his best to give off the sense that he was showing deference toward Xia Fei.

"The job I have is fairly urgent, so I'm afraid you may not have a lot of time to work with," Xia Fei softly cautioned.

"That's no issue. We already rejected all the work that we were tasked with two days ago, and so we'll be working in accordance with brother's sole instruction. Plus, the old chieftain also sent word that we must do a good job of it, even if we have to send the strongest Purple Guardians of our people. We only await Brother Ah Fei's orders."

Actually, Hyacinth did not really have any current assignment that needed work, and as for the Purple Guardians, they were no more than just the men who had been sent to protect Hyacinth, a precaution to avoid them being assaulted by the Shepherdians again. None of this had anything to do with Xia Fei.

Xia Fei had no intention of making things difficult for Hyacinth, either. All he wanted was for the organization to lend him a hand and make a trip to the Law Realm willingly. Now that he was able to get just that, troubling this group even further would only just show his intolerance.

Xia Fei pushed a plan that he had already drawn up over to Hyacinth.

"The Yu family?" Hyacinth read it before wondering out loud. "Will this work?"