Chapter 0821: Rejection

All of a sudden, the lively atmosphere on the platform by the lake turned silent.

Everyone was taken aback by this series of events, and they were all staring blankly at Li Luo.

At the same time, some of Qin Yi's admirers were disgruntled at how this guy had handled such a precious opportunity. The audacity!

Li Fengyi and Li Lanyin, who were standing beside Li Luo, were also staring at him with strange expressions. It might seem like Li Luo had simply swatted away a pest, but in reality, it was actually a rude slap towards Qin Yi!

Surely, such a stunning and well known beauty in the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent had never tasted such rudeness, right?

As they thought about this, there was a little sense of joy in their hearts.

It all stemmed from jealousy.

On the other hand, Li Luo remained nonchalant over it despite the many gazes. He had not even cast a single glance at Qin Yi all this while as he believed that the butterfly had not landed on him purely due to luck.

Qin Yi must have done something to it.

Due to the enmity from their previous generations, Li Luo felt that Qin Yi was well aware of who he was. In fact, she must have seen his portrait before or even knew what he looked like.

As such, it was not a coincidence for the butterfly to land here. Yet it was baffling to understand her motives for doing so.

Was Qin Yi trying to figure him out?

Regardless of her reasons, Li Luo did not want to follow her wishes. To fight for her and claim the Jade Heart Lotus, in spite of all the enmity between them? She had to be dreaming.

If it were any other ordinary guy, they might have fallen head over heels for her charm. However, if she expected this to work on Li Luo... he could only say that she thought too highly of herself.

The silence continued for a while longer before some of the youths from various factions stood up and criticized Li Luo for his rude behavior.

Even Li Qingfeng frowned a little after witnessing this. "Banner Leader Li Luo, you can just speak up if you're not willing to participate. Why did you have to be so rude about it?" he said.

Li Luo raised his eyes a little as he replied with an apologetic smile, "Sorry, I've had too much to drink. I thought there was some dirty thing flying around in front of me and casually smacked it away."

Li Qingfeng glared at him. Naturally, he understood that this was simply an excuse. He also knew about the grievances between the two's families in the previous generation, so Li Luo's reaction was not too difficult to understand.

Besides, why had Qin Yi picked Li Luo? What was she trying to do?

Thinking about this, Li Qingfeng turned towards Qin Yi and noticed that she had yet to recover from Li Luo's rude act. This must have been a first for her. After all, every man she had ever met had treated her warmly and politely thanks to her enchanting beauty.

Nonetheless, Qin Yi was not any ordinary girl, so she soon recovered from it. Without paying any attention to the greasy-faced, plump boy, she stared directly at Li Luo with her pale blue eyes that were clear as a lake. She revealed a smile that would send the hearts of most men fluttering and simply asked softly, "How should I address you, my friend?"

Li Luo glanced at her and replied with a slight smile, "I am the Banner Leader of the Green Nether Banner from the Dragon's Fang Lineage, Li Luo."

"So you’re Banner Leader Li Luo." Qin Yi nodded politely before she continued apologetically, "The spirit butterfly flies to people randomly, so I am sorry for the inconvenience it has caused you. However, I do need a friend to help me fight for the lotus. Fate has led the spirit butterfly to choose you. Banner Leader Li Luo, will you please help me out? I will be grateful to you regardless of the result."

Her beautiful eyes looked at Li Luo sincerely as she requested his help. This scene would have made many guys present heartbroken and dying to stand in for Li Luo.

However, Li Luo shook his head with a laugh. "Sorry, I have had too many drinks tonight and am not in my best condition right now. I am afraid I can't help Lady Qin Yi fight for the Lotus," he said. Once again, he rejected her plea.

This time, a commotion arose from the crowd. Some of the youths from the Heavenly Dragon's Five Lineages could not hold back any longer and shouted back angrily, "Li Luo, Lady Qin Yi is a distinguished guest. This is just a small request, so can you please help her? Why do you have to keep on rejecting her?"

"If others see this, they will surely say that the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Li is unable to be a gracious host."

"Exactly."

"Is it because you know you can't win against Zhao Fengyang, and so you’d rather hide and escape? If that's the case, just say so."

Despite all these complaints from the crowd, Li Luo did not say anything. Instead, Li Fengyi, who was standing beside him, raised her brows as she glared at everyone and shouted back, "He already said that he's not interested, why are you still forcing him? Do you all think that everyone is like you, saying yes to everything as soon as you see a pretty girl?"

"Exactly. If you want to win the heart of beauty, do it yourself. Don't attract attention by looking down on others," Li Lanyin shouted in support. Although they were bickering moments ago, she supported her best friend during important times.

The bystanders felt a little resentful and were speechless for a while.

At this moment, Qin Yi lifted her charming face slightly. Her skin was delicate like the ripples of water atop the lake. It was as if water would flow out of her elegant skin if one pinched it even slightly. Gently biting her red lips, she replied with a soft voice, "I always believe in fate, and fate must have played a part when the spirit butterfly chose Banner Leader Li Luo. If Banner Leader Li Luo is unable to help, then fate does not want me to obtain the Jade Heart Lotus. In that case, I will not participate in the Battle for the Lotus."

As soon as she said this, there were many faces of disappointment in the crowd. After all, this battle was the highlight of today's banquet. The atmosphere had been spoiled by Li Luo.

This made many of the people present resentful towards him.

At this point, Li Qingfeng also frowned. He was the main host for today's celebration. If it ended like this, he would naturally be dissatisfied with it.

On the other hand, Li Luo merely stared at Qin Yi’s enchanting, white-jade face under the dazzling moonlight. It was truly mesmerizing. However, he still felt that Qin Yi had intentionally chosen him.

In fact, she might have agreed to the banquet's invitation only because of him.

Of course, this was not due to his good looks. It probably arose from the enmity and complex history between their families.

Nonetheless, it was merely a gut feel. Li Luo had no proof.

With a smile, he replied, "It seems like Lady Qin Yi really wishes for me to act."

Qin Yi smiled sweetly and replied, "I'm just respecting the decision of the spirit butterfly."

Li Luo rubbed his chin and slowly said, "Since you are our guest, I have no reason to reject if you need my help. However, I already have a fiancee. Although she is slight prettier than you, it will still be hard for me to explain to her if I help you out for no reason."

As soon as he ended his sentence, many amongst the crowd burst out in frustrated laughter.

Can't you find a better reason, Li Luo? A fiancee? And even saying she was slightly prettier than Fairy Qin?

Wasn't this guy from an outer divine continent? Where would he find an enchanting beauty like Fairy Qin out in the sticks? As everyone was laughing in the background, Qin Yi remained calm and simply smiled lightly as she gracefully responded, "I see. In that case, it was too reckless of me."

At this moment, Li Luo continued, "However, if Lady Qin Yi really needs my help, it's not impossible."

This left everyone in the crowd dumbfounded. So, Li Luo was just playing hard to get all this while, hoping to leave an impression on the heart of Fairy Qin?

Hearing this, Fairy Qin's eyes lit up and she asked delightfully, "Really?"

Li Luo nodded. Under everyone's gazes, he extended out his hand to show one finger and smiled brightly.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"Ten million."

Once again, everyone was stunned by him. Even with her personality, Qin Yi's jewel-like, beautiful cheeks froze upon hearing him.

The same question popped up in everyone's minds.

“What the heck? Is he really charging for his services?!”