I Was Forced To Marry The Phoenix Empress-Chapter 161: Making way to the Clan Plaza

After a soul-enriching nap which lasted for a little more than two hours, Yi Chen freshened up and soon changed into the only set of decent clothes which he possessed.

"If not for Zhou Mei, I would have no choice but to wear my regular dull clothes to the banquet tonight," Yi Chen chuckled to himself as he adjusted his robes in the mirror.

After ensuring that it was properly worn and the creases were minimal, he finally left his room to call Qin Yao.

"Brother Qin, are you ready yet?" Yi Chen asked as he slid open the door to his room.

Qin Yao, who had been too engrossed in applying cosmetic products on his face, was taken by surprise.

"A-Ah, Brother Chen...you’re already ready?" he asked with surprise as his other hand was holding onto a cylindrical case containing powder. He had been applying it to his face a second ago.

"..."

When Yi Chen saw this scene, he froze in his place.

’What the hell is going on in here...’

"Mhm? Is something wrong?"

Qin Yao asked with an expression of doubt.

"T-This...since when did you start applying all these on your face? I never saw you do this before."

Yi Chen asked while glancing at the several cosmetic products placed on the table right below the mirror, which looked like different kinds of paste and powder.

"Oh, this?" The moment Qin Yao heard this, a wide smile formed on his face as he said, "I started it today. Feng Min had previously mentioned all these products, so I decided to get them from the clan market a while ago. They are fantastic and also smell nice. Does Brother Chen also want to try them?"

Qin Yao asked in the end with an inquisitive smile.

"...No, I’m fine." Yi Chen answered uncomfortably and said the next instant, "I-I’ll wait outside...take your time,"

"Alright," Qin Yao nodded and busied himself with doing his hair now. He wanted to try something new today in order to impress Feng Min.

"Love sure can change people drastically..."

Yi Chen lightly muttered to himself as he made his way to the courtyard.

’To think that the Qin Yao who rarely washed his face more than twice a day and needed to be reminded to wipe away the food left on the side of his mouth...would become so concerned about his appearance...’

Yi Chen shook his head at the irony of things as he arrived at the courtyard and gazed at the dimming sky to pass the time.

After waiting ten or so minutes, Qin Yao finally arrived outside.

His face appeared moist and spotless, while his hair was smartly styled such that his side bangs were visible and partially covered the sides of his face just enough to raise a few eyebrows. A clean ponytail with a red ribbon on his crown added the final finishing touches and made his appearance look much sharper as a whole.

"..."

"So, how do I look?" Qin Yao asked, seeing Yi Chen’s scrutinising gaze.

"Tell me honestly...you are planning to confess your feelings to Feng Min tonight, aren’t you?" Yi Chen asked with narrowed eyes.

This was the conclusion he had come to after putting together all the dots.

"A-ah that..." being busted so easily by Yi Chen, Qin Yao tried to avoid his eyes with a hesitant expression before finally admitting.

"...well she’s...I mean we bond well together ...so I-I thought that..."

Seeing him struggling to complete his words all of a sudden, Yi Chen smiled in an amused manner and helped him complete the rest of his sentence.

"So, you thought that the two of you would look good together, right?"

He asked with a knowing smile.

"Y-yes," Qin Yao accepted while looking down at the floor with embarrassment. Although he was mentally prepared to do it, admitting it so openly had really made his heart race.

"Haha, that’s great." Yi Chen patted him on his shoulder, seeing the worried expression on his face and continued, "I also think the same, so you better not chicken out at the end, you understand?"

"Really? Does Brother Chen really think so?"

The next moment, Qin Yao asked with a bright expression on his face.

"Of course, just be bold and confess your feelings to her outright. That’s how I won the heart of your sister-in-law as well," Yi Chen said confidently while pointing towards himself.

"So amazing!" Qin Yao exclaimed with a glimmering expression and, with a hopeful and determined expression, stated, "Then, I’ll do exactly as Brother Chen suggested."

"Yeah, do that." Yi Chen nodded with a calm, confident smile on his face. However, internally, he was feeling a prickly sensation in his heart.

’It’s best that he doesn’t know that despite being married, I’ve still not said ’I love you’ to her face even once...’ he thought bitterly while glancing towards the confident expression on Qin Yao’s face.

Shaking the thoughts away, Yi Chen further praised Qin Yao. Pointing out good points about his robes and hairstyle, and a lot more, all with the intention of boosting his self-esteem as high as possible.

Finally, the two locked the residence and left towards the Clan Plaza, where the banquet was to be held tonight.

The Clan Plaza was located near the central area of the clan, so being located in one of the far-reaching corners of the clan, the two had to walk for quite a long time.

Along the way, they met with several other clan members as well, many of whom immediately recognised him.

"Wait...isn’t that Brother Chen?"

"What? Brother Chen!"

As a result of this, before he had even arrived at the plaza, he was surrounded by several of his fellow clansmen who had turned into his diehard fans after today’s matches.

’Looks like we’re going to be a little delayed...’

He thought to himself while making his way towards the plaza, while being surrounded by tens of clansmen who kept poking him with all kinds of questions.

"Brother Chen, how can I become as strong as you?"

"Brother Chen, what is your favourite food?"

"I’ve heard Brother Chen is not from the Jade City. Is this true?"

.

.

.

All kinds of questions kept bombarding him one after the other, and in an effort to not be outright rude to these fans who just wanted to know more about him, Yi Chen patiently answered them one at a time.

By the time he had arrived at the Plaza, his mouth had turned completely dry. However, it seemed there was not going to be any quick end to his plight.

The Clan Plaza had already gathered quite a few clansmen who had arrived much earlier and had been waiting for him.

When they saw Yi Chen’s arrival, they all rushed towards the entrance to surround him and add to the already high number of fans who were still sticking close to him.

’A-Am I going to be crushed...’

Yi Chen thought worriedly. The next second, he was on the verge of circulating his Qi and utilising the Bursting Fire Steps, but luckily, he didn’t need to.

Just when the crowd was about to drown Yi Chen, an elder’s figure appeared, following which a huge wall of fire was conjured out of thin air and blocked their forward momentum.

It was only then that they all stopped in their footsteps. The next moment, Feng Di waved his hand, and the enormous wall of fire instantly disappeared just the way it had appeared.

However, that wasn’t the end. Glaring towards the young cultivators, who included both inner and external disciples of the clan, he roared.

"Look at all of you rushing towards Yi Chen like rabid beasts! Is this the highest threshold of your self-restraint? Your discipline? If yes, then the lot of you should just give up on your dreams of becoming strong cultivators!"

Hearing Feng Di’s scoldings, all of them quietened down and looked towards the ground with a guilty conscience.

With a snort, Feng Di instructed the next moment.

"Go and stand at the back! Yi Chen will first interact with the Elders. Your turns will come later, so wait patiently as any self-respecting cultivator would. You understand?!"

"Y-Yes...Fourth Elder..."

They answered and soon went inside to wait for their turn.

Seeing this, Feng Di finally sighed to remove his irritation and only then did he turn towards Yi Chen.

"Greetings, Fourth Elder," Yi Chen bowed the next moment with a grateful expression apparent on his face and continued, "Thank you for your help...without your help, I might have almost gotten crushed by them all."

With an amused snort, Feng Di said, "I doubt with your abilities you’ll let that happen."

"Moreover," Feng Di added the next moment, "There’s no need for you to thank me, I only fulfilled my obligation as the clan’s elder."

"Still, the Fourth Elder has my thanks," Yi Chen bowed once again with a smile.

Unlike bowing to the corrupted elders from before, bowing and expressing gratitude to someone like Feng Di made his heart feel lighter, so he didn’t mind doing it as many times as possible.

Seeing this, the Fourth Elder was at a loss for words and just coughed when Yi Chen was finished with the bow.

"Alright, come. I’ll take you to the patriarch now," Feng Duli said, and soon turned around.

’Yes," Yi Chen nodded and turned towards his side only to find Qin Yao wasn’t there anymore.

’Huh? Where did he disappear?’ Yi Chen thought all of a sudden.

However, linking it to the time when all the cultivators around him were flocking away, he figured that he must have left along with them.

’...he even forgot to inform me before separating.’ 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Yi Chen shook his head in amusement, the next moment and soon followed after the Fourth Elder.