In the hall of He family.

On this day, there were lights ablaze everywhere in He family"s mansion with a great many high-end vehicles parked near the front gate, guests coming and going continually, since this day was the birthday of He Changchun, the patriarch of He family.

The hall was an uproarious sight. A lot of respected figures were present.

Standing behind He Changchun, He Qin and He Jin greeted a couple of honored guests who had just arrived. Though He Qin and He Jin had been given birth to by the second wife of He Changchun, their father had a very high opinion of them. And the reason for it was manifest - He Zheng, son of He Changchun"s first wife, had no apt.i.tude whatsoever for cultivating, while He Qin was a powerful cultivator standing out from his peers.

In a family of cultivators, power meant everything. The most powerful one gained the most favor.

However, though He Zheng"s father didn"t think much of him, his absence from an occasion like this would still be deemed somewhat unseemly.

With a smile on his face, He Changchun exchanged toasts with a couple of high-rank officials of the Supernaturalism Management Bureau (SMB). Noticing He Zheng"s absence, he slightly knitted his eyebrows and asked in a low voice, "Where"s He Zheng?"

A handsome, tall man behind He Changchun hurriedly smiled, "I"ll go and find him."

He was the firstborn of Qiao Peiyu and He Changchun, seeming to be in his late twenties. Though a couple of years older than He Zheng, He Qin had to address He Zheng as elder brother, because He Zheng"s mother was He Changchun"s first wife.

Upon saying this, He Qin walked away, a wine gla.s.s in his hand. Before he left, He Jin, who had been standing by him all along, unnoticeably handed something to him.

In fact, He Zheng had just arrived a moment ago. A lot of guests knew his ident.i.ty and was aware of his presence, but except for those who were not members of any sect of cultivators, n.o.body greeted him.

Bitterly annoyed, He Zheng was pondering how to ruin the good mood of others.

Somebody softly patted his shoulder and with that something flashed across that person"s hand before entering He Zheng"s shoulder.

Oblivious to this, He Zheng quickly twisted his head aside and abruptly poured the gla.s.s of wine in his hand at that person.

However, He Zheng was no match for He Qin. He cast a small-radius immobilization spell at the wine gla.s.s which was instantly immobilized in mid-air. Then he gracefully took the wine gla.s.s and let all the wine drop back into it.

This scene sent a ripple of gasp through those who saw it.

"That was amazing."

"Incredible."

He Qin nodded at those who were complimenting him, a smile on his face. Then, in a mild tone of voice, he said to He Zheng whose countenance was extremely sullen, "Father requires your presence."

Upon saying this, he returned the gla.s.s wine to He Zheng.

He Zheng watched He Qin with an expression of utmost disgust. Of all three children of Qiao Peiyu, he hated He Qin the most.

He Zheng immediately took the wine gla.s.s and heavily hurled it down to the ground. The silvery smash caught attention of a lot of guests.

Heedless of the disapproving gaze of people around him, He Zheng stopped a waiter in front of He Qin, took a towel to wipe his shoulder which He Qin had just touched, crumpled it into a ball and threw it back onto the tray. Then he slid a provocative, sideways glance at He Qin.

Without casting another look at He Qin, He Zheng turned around and left.

Some people around the scene began to discuss He Zheng"s behavior in a low voice. Hearing the whispering of guests and watching He Zheng"s figure, He Qin smiled and shook his head, the look in his eyes so deep that it gave little away.

After a few steps forward, He Zheng felt that something was not right, sleepiness flooding him in waves. He shook his head and suddenly felt that his soul had walked out of his body, and with that he saw "himself" heading straight in the direction of He Changchun.

Probably because He Zheng was acting a little strangely, He Changchun called in an unhappy tone of voice, "He Zheng, what are you doing? Come here and greet Uncle Lin."

Beside him stood a middle-aged man whom He Zheng had met a few times before. He vaguely remembered that the man was some big wig in SMB.

Watching "himself" halt, He Zheng widened his eyes in astonishment. Then he saw that "He Zheng" walked up to He Changchun and, with a sweet smile, knelt down before a well-dressed man and said, "I like you. Will you marry me?"

The real He Zheng was suffering from dizziness and could barely think straight. All guests around "He Zheng" heard him and instantly fell silent. Faces of He Changchun and the man beside him exhibited extreme embarra.s.sment and anger.

Someone snickered, "Is Childe He openly confessing his love to a man?"

That person"s soft voice was heard by everybody present. Furious, He Changchun slapped He Zheng hard on the face.

"You shameless b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

He Zheng watched that slap send "himself" flying.

Guests in the hall instantly fell into discussion with each other. Most of them were laughing at He Zheng.

He Changchun"s fingers were trembling with rage. "Get him out of here! Find a way to sober him up!"

A couple of men immediately showed up and took He Zheng away. He could tell a mile off that somebody had had this planned out.

He Zheng floating in mid-air was consumed with fury. As he watched himself being dragged away powerless to resist, it instantly dawned on him that he was under someone"s spell!

Such was He Zheng"s rage that his mind was a total mess. Abruptly, he noticed that He Jin gave a grim smile in his direction.

It was him!