CHAPTER 681: I’M GOING TO LEAVE

Mark walked beside Lan Xia, their pace steady and their auras suppressed as they made their way to meet the Sect Head.

Behind them, Reva, Yuan Feng, and Ryder had already been escorted away by Lan Xia’s personal attendant to be accommodated within the guest wing of the sect.

As they passed through the frosted corridor of the inner sanctum, the disciples they passed bowed low, whispering among themselves.

News of their return had already begun to circulate.

Inside the sect’s throne chamber, Lan Yujian and the other two grand elders were waiting after receiving the message from an attendant of their arrival.

The moment Mark stepped in, he and Lan Xia both lowered themselves into a respectful bow.

"Disciple Lan Xia greets Sect Master."

"Disciple Lan Zhen greets Sect Master," Mark added with calm, raising his head to meet the elder’s sharp gaze.

Lan Yujian’s eyes remained still for a heartbeat... However, Lan Yuxuan leaned forward, her gaze sharp as a blade as she questioned. "Alright, both of you. Where the hell were you all this time?"

Her voice cracked through the hall like a whip.

"Both of you have left without a word. No letter was left behind, and neither of you could be contacted either, meaning both of you have crossed into a different plane of existence. We even sent disciples to look for your whereabouts. Months have passed. We had no clue if you were alive or devoured in some abyss!"

Mark’s eyes didn’t waver, though his shoulders tensed slightly. "It was a personal matter," he said.

Lan Yuxuan’s lips thinned. "You don’t have to say if you don’t want to, Lan Zhen."

Then she turned toward Lan Xia, her gaze narrowing. "But what about you, girl? Are you going to give me the same vague answer?"

Lan Xia blinked innocently, then tilted her head with a plain expression. "Well... my husband doesn’t want to talk about it, so I think I’ll keep it that way too."

"Say what?!"

The shout echoed.

Even Sect Master Lan Yujian’s usually composed demeanor cracked slightly. His eyes widened, and Grand Elder Qiao Fei almost choked on his spirit tea.

Lan Yuxuan pointed a trembling finger at both of them. "You... you... Both of you got married?!"

Mark rubbed his temples with a sigh. "No, we didn’t."

"But she just said..."

Lan Yujian cut in, his voice sharp but curious. "Xiao Zhen, if you aren’t married, why was she addressing you as her husband? How far have you two gone in your relationship? "

He fixed his gaze on Mark as a frown appeared on his face. "Xiao Zhen, it is a sin to establish a physical relationship with a woman before marriage, one that results in an expulsion."

Mark raised a hand. "Before your imaginations grow wild, let me confirm that we haven’t gotten anywhere. And we didn’t establish any physical relationship either."

Lan Xia turned to him, blinking innocently. "But you agreed to marry me."

Mark’s brows lifted. "I didn’t exactly agree. I said—"

She cut him off, eyes sparkling. "You said you don’t have any problem marrying me. That’s as good as a yes, right?"

Mark paused. "Well... that’s true."

She clapped her hands together, spinning on her heel to face the shocked council.

"Then it’s settled!" Lan Xia beamed. "Elders, please make the preparations for our marriage!"

A stunned silence filled the chamber.

Elder Qiao Fei blinked. "That’s not how this works..."

Lan Yuxuan opened her mouth, then closed it again. Her gaze darted between the two. "Since when did this girl know how to be cheeky?"

Mark sighed again, feeling a headache coming on. "Can we... talk about this later?"

Lan Xia just smiled sweetly, hands behind her back. "Why? Are you trying to escape now?"

"Enough. We can speak of marriage later." Lan Yujian interrupted them, gaining their attention. Placing his hands on his knees, he further said. "There’s something more urgent at stake right now."

Mark and Lan Xia both turned serious, their flirtatious tension quickly dropping.

Lan Yujian clasped his hands behind his back and looked over them with a calm yet heavy gaze.

"Two months from now," he announced, "our Sect will take part in the Great Sect Expedition—a joint mission with the top sects of the upper realms. To enter, one must atleast be an ascendant and their age shouldn’t be higher than 50 heavenly years (114 Earth years). And I’ve selected both of you to lead our team."

A slight murmur passed through the elders.

Mark raised a brow. Lan Xia, however, simply crossed her arms with a teasing smile.

"Well, two months is plenty of time," she said brightly. "If we proceed with the marriage, we can go on the expedition as husband and wife."

There was a stunned silence from the elders once again. Elder Qiao Fei looked like he was mentally calculating dowry costs, and Lan Yuxuan let out a faint groan.

’Why is this girl so obsessed with marriage all of a sudden?’ They all seemed to wonder silently.

Mark slowly raised his hand. "I’m sorry... but I won’t be participating in the expedition."

That brought the room to a full stop.

"What did you say?" Lan Yujian’s eyes narrowed, his tone suddenly a touch colder.

"I have to return home," Mark said simply. "There are people waiting for me on my earth. I can’t stay here for too long."

Lan Xia blinked, then gave a soft laugh. "Oh, right! I completely forgot that you had a family back home." She turned toward the council and bowed slightly.

"Sorry, elders. I guess we’ll have to drop out."

Then, with a straight face and absolutely no hesitation, she added: "After marrying, I’ll leave the sect and go to the mortal realm with Lu Zhen. I’ll live the next part of my life there."

The hall erupted.

Lan Yuxuan nearly dropped her chair. "What!"

Elder Qiao Fei gasped as though his old heart had been pierced. "Leave the sect? Leave the realm? You!"

Lan Yujian’s mouth opened slightly. For a moment, even he was speechless. "You... want to marry, retire, and descend—all within two months?!"

Lan Xia nodded cheerfully. "Yup. Isn’t it efficient?"

Mark let out a sigh. "Lan Xia, you don’t have to go that far..."

"I do," she cut in smoothly, raising one brow. "Didn’t you say you didn’t have a problem marrying me? Then why are you hesitating now?"

"That’s not the point—"

"Then what is?" she asked, walking closer, arms behind her back. "You’re returning home, and as a wife, I have to be where my husband is going to live. Isn’t that the whole point?"

The elders were now clutching their chests like victims of a novel, looking at Mark like he’d poisoned their prodigy.

Lan Yuxuan, usually composed and stern, now stood with visible shock and disbelief across her features.

"You’re... seriously just planning to leave the clan?" she stammered, struggling to keep her voice even. "Did you forget—you’re one of the three heir candidates! And if both of you leave... then who the hell will lead the clan in the future?"

Mark let out a casual shrug, as if she’d just asked him if he wanted tea or coffee. "Elder Yuxuan, you’re also an heir candidate," he replied nonchalantly. "You can lead the clan."

Before Yuxuan could combust, Mark added flatly, "Also, I’m taking my sister back with me."

"What!" Lan Yujin’s voice hit a pitch not heard in years, but before he could respond, Mark calmly raised his hand.

"No worries. I’m not abandoning the clan. I’ll visit every now and then."

Lan Xia looped her arm around his affectionately, a bright, girlish smile on her lips, adding. "We will visit every now and then."

The sight of her clinging to him so sweetly sent another wave of heartache through Yuxuan, who let out a long, defeated groan.

Then came the silence. The long, heavy silence carried judgment, shock, and contemplation.

Lan Yujin finally spoke, his voice cold and firm. "Alright. Both of you can go. I won’t chain you here. But—"

His eyes sharpened.

"Shang Jiao stays. She is the inheritor of the Blizzard Pegasus’ will. She will remain in the sect."

Mark’s response was instant.

"I don’t care."

Yujin’s face twisted. "How dare you—!"

Mark turned to face the old Sect Master squarely, his voice like steel.

"If Lan Xia wasn’t clear earlier, I’ll say it again. I have a family waiting for me. I have children. I’ve stayed away from them for far too long already. I’m not going to sit here and play power games when my kids are growing up without me."

He took a breath and added, "And frankly, no one here even likes me."

Lan Xia blinked in surprise, then softly said, "I like you."

Mark glanced sideways at her as he commented sarcastically. "I know that, sweetie but..."

Lan Xia blinked again, cheeks instantly flushing pink. "Sweetie...?" she echoed under her breath, completely dazed. "I’m... sweet...?"

Lan Yuxuan groaned and turned away, rubbing her temple as she muttered, "Oh my god... she’s gone. Completely gone. All those years of emotional discipline—down the drain. She’s completely smitten."

Mark ignored the groans and turned toward his ancestor with calm resolve in his gaze.

"Listen, I’m not ungrateful. The clan helped my sister. I haven’t forgotten that. One day, I’ll return the favor, in full. But for now... You have to let us go."

Yujin stared at Mark for a long, heavy moment. His knuckles whitened at his side.

After a while;

Far away from the sect, in the Ancient Lan Clan’s Main residence;

"Say what!"

Mark stared at his sister, his eyes widened in shock.

"I’m not coming back with you, Brother," Shang Jiao said calmly. "I intend to go on the grand expedition."

Mark: "..."