The thoughts of elders under the sky are always the same.
In the past, Qingcang only regarded Yaohua as an innocent and carefree young girl. He wished he could keep her by his side for a few more years.
Now that Yaohua has her own thoughts, as her father and elder brothers are not as powerful as her in cultivation, their words don't carry as much weight as before. If she gets married, her heart might settle down a bit, and she would be more cautious about her own safety when doing things, so as to avoid greater dangers.
He probed tentatively, "It was a bit excessive of Chongming to put you together with the Heavenly Demon. But you're at the age for marriage. Do you have someone you like?"
"What someone I like? I don't have anyone!" Yaohua replied huffily.
The person she liked probably didn't like her at all, and there was no hope for them in this lifetime. There was no point in talking about it.
Qingcang then asked, "Well, is there anyone courting you?"
"No, either!" Yaohua's first thought was Zhao Wu, but then she got goosebumps all over and quickly shook off this terrible thought.
Zhao Wu's so - called love, which was like forced buying and selling, couldn't be counted as courtship at all. It was clearly abduction.
If it weren't for her own strength and the protection of her powerful clan, she might have been devoured by those Heavenly Demons long ago, bones and all.
Moreover, that Heavenly Demon was only attracted to her because of her beauty. The subsequent help he gave her was also because she lured him with benefits. It couldn't be counted as true love.
Qingcang was a bit puzzled, "My precious daughter is so smart and beautiful. How could there be no suitors? It's really strange."
"Maybe it's because I have a bad temper and no one wants me." Yaohua said, and suddenly a wave of sadness welled up in her heart.
Thinking about it, the main reason why she hadn't had any feelings for anyone all these years was probably that her heart had been placed on someone unattainable since she was young.
Therefore, her eyes always followed that person, and her actions always revolved around that person. How could she ever pay attention to others?
"How can you, the current clan leader of our Phoenix Clan, have such self - deprecating thoughts?" Qingcang blew his beard in annoyance.
Yaohua was not the kind of weak woman who liked to feel sorry for herself. Hearing this, she put away her little thoughts and nodded vigorously, "Father is right. It's not that no one wants me. It's just that they have no taste!"
"Him?" Qingcang sensed something was wrong. "Who is he?"
"Ah?" Yaohua just realized that she had accidentally let it slip and quickly pretended to be stupid.
Qingcang pressed on, "Do you have someone you like but are too shy to tell your father? Tell me his name. If he despises you, I'll even kidnap him and force him to marry you."
"Father misheard." Yaohua said with an embarrassed smile. "I didn't say 'him'. I said 'them', referring to all the men in the world who have no taste."
This explanation made some sense, but Qingcang still felt something was off.
"Well then," he thought for a while. "You're beautiful and smart. Maybe the reason you don't have any suitors is that your social circle is too narrow. How about I go and ask around for you?"
Now all the clans are very enthusiastic about the Phoenix Clan. If they know that the Phoenix Clan is looking for a son - in - law, they'll probably rush to send their young and outstanding men here.
Then Yaohua just needs to pick one from them.
He thought his idea was wonderful, but Yaohua quickly shook her head when she heard it. "At this time, it's really unnecessary to make a big fuss about my marriage. And I'm not in the mood to get married now. If we make such a big deal but don't choose anyone in the end, it will make the clan leaders of other clans think that our Phoenix Clan looks down on them."
"You're right." Qingcang pondered. "Those old monsters are mostly sending their young and outstanding men here for the seeds of our Phoenix Clan. Their motives are impure. We can't have them."
Yaohua was no longer in the mood to talk about this. "Father is still injured. Go and recuperate quickly. Don't worry about me anymore."
There was still a Heavenly Demon living on the mountain behind. If Zhao Wu knew that her contract seal hadn't been lifted yet and they were going to look for someone else for her, he might be so angry that he would come out and fight them to the death!
But Qingcang refused to leave. "I've got it. How about asking your elder brothers to take you out to play with young men more often? This way, there's no utilitarianism involved, and fate will just come naturally."
Yaohua felt a shiver run down her spine. "Please don't!"
All seven of her elder brothers were very capable. If her father let out the news, they would spare no effort to find someone for her, and then there would be endless troubles...
But Qingcang had become very interested in this topic. At first, he just wanted to find a considerate person who was complementary to Yaohua's personality, someone who could take care of her on a daily basis and stop her when something happened.
But now, he had a new idea.
If Yaohua indulged in love and romance, it would be better than taking on the responsibility of the clan leader and being in danger every day!
Seeing the interest in his eyes, Yaohua knew trouble was coming. She said very firmly, "If father insists on bothering me with this, then I'll never talk to you again, just like you and the elder brothers did to me before."
"This..." Qingcang was in a dilemma. "No, why are you so resistant? Could it be that you already have someone you like?"
They had come back to this topic again. Yaohua was already a bit impatient. "So what if I do, and so what if I don't? Anyway, the person I like has no chance with me in this lifetime. Father, just give up this idea."
Qingcang was greatly shocked. "Who is the one who seduced and then abandoned my precious daughter?!"
"There's no such thing as seducing and abandoning." Yaohua waved her hand. "Father, don't guess randomly. Just think that the person I like is a stubborn rock in the Yaochi of the Immortal Realm."
Qingcang's eyes gradually became strange. "Could it be that you like Chongming?"
Yaohua instinctively wanted to cover his mouth but missed. This embarrassing reaction made Qingcang even more certain of his conjecture. His beard trembled slightly with anger, but he couldn't say a word.
Finally, he just sighed and left with a worried face. "It's so difficult... What should I do?"
There were so many people in the world who admired God Chongming. So he just guessed randomly and hit on Yaohua's feelings. Usually, even though he didn't like Chongming, he would be willing to fight for his daughter.
After all, Chongming was extremely powerful in cultivation, had a good character, and most importantly, he was very good to Yaohua and was willing to accept all kinds of punishments for her.
But there was an insurmountable gap of the master - disciple relationship between them. There was absolutely no possibility in this lifetime.
Wasn't Yaohua just asking for trouble by falling in love with such a person?
He just hoped that his daughter would wake up soon.
Yaohua stood there, annoyed, but her anger gradually subsided. She carefully recalled what had just happened and decided to go to Cangling Hall again.
At least she had to ask about the matter of lifting the contract seal.
Who would have thought that as soon as she reached the entrance of Cangling Hall, she heard Xilan's voice coming from inside.