"Esteemed relatives, if we keep this matter to ourselves, no one will know," said an elder of the Nalan family, his implication being that if Zhou Hong and Nalan Yun Zhu broke off their engagement, then they would be the ones to reveal it.
"Heh," Zhou Hong sneered. "Sorry, but I will not be threatened."
"Zhou Hong, how could we possibly threaten you? We are family."
"Don't disgust me," Zhou Hong roared.
Seeing Zhou Hong's appalling attitude, several elders of the Nalan family became angry.
"Zhou Hong, since that's the case, let's make things clear. If you wish to break the engagement, then you must consider whether your affair with Yang Guifei will be exposed," said an elder of the Nalan family, his tone unmistakably rude.
"Heaven forbid!" the Patriarch of the Zhou family shouted urgently.
"Whether it's exposed or not is not up to us to decide; it's up to Zhou Hong. If he's willing to live properly with Yun Zhu, why would we say anything? After all, we'll all be one family. What good would it do us to reveal it?"
"Zhou Hong, at this point, stop being so reckless. Just listen to the Nalan family and be with Nalan Yun Zhu properly. Otherwise, if your affair with Yang Guifei is exposed, our entire family will face disaster," the Zhou Patriarch implored Zhou Hong.
Zhou Hong hesitated, unsure whether to compromise for the time being.
"Brother Jin Wu, give me some advice. Should I compromise? I don't want to escalate things too much right now," Zhou Hong asked in his mind.
"If it were me, I would never be threatened by anyone. You clearly have the strength to walk all over them now. What if the Emperor finds out? Why should you endure the insolence of others?"
"Since that's the case, then fine. I'll listen to you." Zhou Hong decided to go all out. He had initially wanted to keep a low profile, not revealing his trump cards to anyone. However, he had already had enough of this endless posturing on Earth.
Zhou Hong immediately sneered, "If you want to go tell the Emperor, then hurry up and do it."
"Zhou Hong, are you insane?" the Zhou Patriarch roared.
Zhou Hong couldn't be bothered to waste more words and simply turned to leave. While Zhou Hong wouldn't confess, he wasn't afraid of being found out.
Everyone in the grand hall looked at each other, seemingly taken aback by Zhou Hong's reaction.
"Patriarch, what should we do now?" an elder of the Zhou family asked anxiously.
The Zhou Patriarch could only turn his gaze to the members of the Nalan family.
"Esteemed relatives, please bear with us and do not reveal anything. Rest assured, I will do my best to persuade Zhou Hong," the Zhou Patriarch promised the Nalan family members.
"Very well. I will give you three months. If after three months, Zhou Hong's attitude remains the same, and he continues to ignore our Nalan family, then we will have no choice but to expose it."
"Of course, of course."
"Let's go." The members of the Nalan family turned and left.
"Patriarch, if Zhou Hong truly refuses to listen, what should we do? This is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of his family!" one of the Zhou family elders said with deep worry, looking at the Patriarch.
"What else can we do? We can only try our best to persuade Zhou Hong." After speaking, the Patriarch immediately left the grand hall, seemingly to find Zhou Hong.
However, at this moment, just as Zhou Hong stepped out of the family's main gate, a Nascent Soul stage cultivator suddenly blocked his path.
"Zhou Hong, you're back. Come with me. I have something I need to ask you," the cultivator commanded Zhou Hong.