Lucia Lu smiled, "May I ask how you prefer to be addressed?"
Talk about arrogant!
"My humble name isn't worth mentioning," the black-robed man replied. "However, in Hundred Blossoms Paradise, without a Teleport Talisman, no matter who you are—even a High God—you can't get in or out. I hope you can understand that."
"Are you threatening us?" Ryan Lu stepped forward, unleashing his pressure.
The black-robed man's expression changed. He released the woman and drew his sword.
Just then, Henry Xiao arrived and saw what was happening. He hurried over and asked, "What is going on here?"
The black-robed man relaxed when he saw him and bowed, "Your Highness."
"They're my invited guests, and you dare draw your sword against them?!" Henry Xiao was furious.
"Forgive me, Your Highness! I failed to recognize Mount Tai!" the black-robed man exclaimed. "But... there seems to be some misunderstanding here."
He turned and bowed to Lucia, Ryan, and Luna. "Lana He is my concubine, originally a Peony Flower Fairy. This time, she insisted on entering the Flower Queen Contest. But I felt, now that she's married, it's not proper for her to show herself on stage. So I forbade her from participating. She threw a tantrum and said she wanted to return to her maiden home..."
He gave an embarrassed smile. "Honestly, last time she went back to her maiden home, it took me ages to bring her back, so I really don't want her storming off again."
She probably saw that you three weren't hiding your identities or faces, so she figured you must be trustworthy gods. That's why she wanted you to take her Clarity Charm out of here, so her brother would come pick her up."
"If that's all it was, why didn't you just say so earlier?" Henry Xiao frowned. "A marital spat and you make it look like a battlefield!"
The black-robed man looked thoroughly embarrassed. "Forgive me for making a spectacle, Your Highness!"
Henry Xiao walked over to Lucia and said, "Lucia, he's my relative—Marcus Xuanchen of the Xuanchen Clan. By seniority, I should call him Uncle. He's one of our own, so just give the Clarity Charm back to him."
The Xuanchen Clan is considered the imperial family's external kin.
The Celestial Empress's birth mother—now the principal lady of the Azure Dragon Lord's manor—comes from the Xuanchen Clan.
Lucia glanced at the woman again.
The woman couldn't move or speak, but her eyes were wide open, holding a thousand unspoken words.
"Lucia, a strong dragon doesn't crush a local serpent—just give it back. The talisman paper's ruined anyway," Henry Xiao sent her a sound transmission. "Do me a favor, will you?"
The talisman paper really was ruined—keeping it was pointless.
Lucia handed the talisman paper back to Marcus Xuanchen.
Marcus Xuanchen smiled and bowed. "Thank you, Divine Lady."
"Release Lana He," Lucia said.
Marcus glanced at Lana He and smiled, "Alright!"
He cast a spell on Lana He, and she could move again.
She suddenly turned her head in a stiff, awkward way and blurted out to Marcus, "With my looks, I should be the Flower Queen! I missed the last Flower Queen Contest, so this time I have to compete!"
"You're already married to me," Marcus coaxed her gently. "There are so many men watching here—I'd get jealous! Sweetheart, in my heart, you'll always be the most beautiful. You don't need to enter any contest!"
She threw a tantrum, "Then I want to go home! Let me leave!"
"Oh, come on—stop fussing!" He took her hand and started to leave, bowing to Henry Xiao and the others as he walked. "Forgive us for the spectacle! I'll take my wife home and calm her down—please, make yourselves comfortable. Pardon my absence!"
"Go on!" Henry Xiao waved them off, then turned to Lucia and her friends. "Why aren't you guys sitting inside anymore? Are you leaving already?"