Chapter 337: Taking the Opportunity to Approach Li Haiqin

“Li Haiqin, I know you’re in there! Get out here!”

The newcomer was a young man of seventeen or eighteen. He wore a padded tiger-skin jacket, but his legs were bare from the knees down. The man had an aquiline nose, a high bridge, prominent cheekbones, and deep-set eyes. His hair was done up in nine braids.

This was none other than a direct lineage descendant of the Hanmo Clan, the one Li Haiqin was arranged to marry.

Some of the direct lineage disciples of the Eight Golden Families were called Princes and Princesses, while some of the more low-key ones were addressed as Young Master or Young Miss.

After all, to the Dahar Khan Kingdom, the Eight Golden Families were equivalent to royalty with the rank of Prince.

“Young Prince Jisierk, this is Han City! If you keep shouting like this, aren’t you afraid the Khan King will punish you?” The courtyard’s chief steward hurried to the gate to placate him.

“Who the hell do you think you are? What gives you the right to speak to a Prince? Go get Li Haiqin for me, now! If you don’t, I’ll be back here screaming every day.”

“Young Prince, please go back. The Little Princess said she will not see you.”

CRACK!

Jisierk lashed his whip straight at the chief steward’s head and face. The steward could have clearly dodged, but he didn’t dare to.

“Either you go get Li Haiqin, or you get the hell out of my sight.”

The chief steward turned and walked back into the courtyard.

A short while later, Li Haiqin stormed out, fuming.

The moment Jisierk saw Li Haiqin, his expression immediately changed to a smile.

“Li Haiqin, I heard you’d come to Han City, so I rushed over without a moment’s rest.”

“Jisierk, give up. It’s impossible between us,” Li Haiqin said angrily.

Chu Fan, who was in a side courtyard, heard Li Haiqin come out and rushed over as well, positioning himself protectively by her side.

‘This girl is only fourteen or fifteen, but she’s already half a head taller than Yun Xi. The only thing is, her chest is completely flat. She probably hasn’t finished developing yet.’

“Li Haiqin, we have a marriage contract. Is your Lindi Clan going to go back on its word?”

Li Haiqin grew even more furious. “Go find whoever made that engagement with you! I’m not the one who agreed to it. Let me tell you, the only man who can marry me, Li Haiqin, is a hawk of the Grassland. You, Jisierk, are nothing but a weak, useless sheep. I could never like you.”

Now Jisierk was angry too. “Bullshit! You dare call me a weak, useless sheep? Li Haiqin, I challenge you to a duel!”

“Tch. How impressive. A man challenging a woman to a duel. If you’re not a sheep, what are you? I’ve already convinced my grandfather. He has agreed to dissolve our engagement,” Li Haiqin said, rolling her eyes in disdain.

“Impossible! Li Haiqin, you’re lying to me!” Jisierk said, angrily grabbing Li Haiqin’s hand.

“Let go of me!” Li Haiqin struggled.

“I won’t! I’m taking you back with me right now and making you my wife today.” Jisierk was so furious he had dropped his princely affectations, his self-address shifting to a simple “I.”

In that instant, Chu Fan made his move.

He flashed forward and lightly tapped Jisierk on the wrist. Jisierk’s entire arm flew back as if he’d been electrocuted.

Chu Fan then pulled Li Haiqin behind him. “Little Princess, are you all right?”

“Insolence!”

The guards behind Jisierk immediately drew their blades.

“Kill him for me!” Jisierk pointed at Chu Fan, absolutely livid.

“Jisierk, you dare?” Li Haiqin snapped furiously.

“A mere servant dared to strike a Prince! He deserves to die! No one can protect him. Kill him!”

As soon as his words fell, the four guards charged at Chu Fan with their blades.

They completely ignored Li Haiqin’s reprimand.

However, Chu Fan dodged, sent out a few palm strikes, and sent all four men flying. They couldn’t even get back on their feet.

“Young Prince, I am the Little Princess’s Guard. I don’t care what your status is. Anyone who dares to harm the Little Princess in the slightest is my enemy.”

“You… Good. Very good. I’ll remember you,” Jisierk said, pointing at Chu Fan from a distance and grinding his teeth.

Then he turned his gaze to Li Haiqin and said, “I will go to the Khan King and request a decree right now. I’d like to see if the Lindi Clan truly dares to defy a royal command.”

Furious with shame and humiliation, Jisierk stormed away.

Chu Fan watched them leave before turning back to Li Haiqin. “Little Princess, are you all right?”

Li Haiqin leisurely looked Chu Fan up and down and asked, “What’s your name?”

“To answer the Little Princess, my name is Huo Er.”

“Huo Er, you performed very well today. Starting now, you can be my personal guard. Come with me into the inner courtyard in a moment.”

“Little Princess, I’m not sure that’s appropriate. I am just a Guard. How can I enter the inner courtyard?” Chu Fan said, feigning a mix of joy and hesitation.

“In this courtyard, besides my grandfather, who would dare disobey my word?” Li Haiqin said arrogantly.

“Thank you, Little Princess,” Chu Fan said, clasping his fist.

Seeing that he had agreed, Li Haiqin turned and walked inside, with Chu Fan following close behind.

The two maids who had come out with her also trailed after them.

“Weren’t you afraid at all when you struck Jisierk just now?” Li Haiqin asked without turning her head.

“Afraid? I am the Little Princess’s Guard. As long as the Little Princess’s safety is threatened, I will protect her completely, even if it means death.”

Li Haiqin smiled faintly and said, “I saw your moves just now. They were very clean. What is your current Realm?”

“I just had a breakthrough not long ago. I’m now at the Nascent Soul Realm,” Chu Fan said.

“Mm, very good!”

After saying these few words, Li Haiqin fell silent.

They walked all the way into the inner courtyard. Outside a Moon Gate, the two maids instructed Chu Fan to stand guard.

“This gate is off-limits to you. There is a bedroom over there. You can stay in that room when you have nothing to do. If the Little Princess is going out or needs something, we will call you.”

“Thank you,” Chu Fan said with a nod.

It was called a bedroom, but it was really just a small side room next to the Moon Gate.

‘After all, only the women of the household lived behind the Moon Gate, so it was perfectly normal that a man like me wasn’t allowed in. It also showed that while Li Haiqin was grateful for my intervention, my status was still what it was.’

The class hierarchy in the Dahar Khan Kingdom was deeply entrenched.

‘Still, for me, this was already significant progress.’

‘Guarding here gave me more opportunities to get close to Li Haiqin, and maybe even a chance to meet the Clan Leader of the Lindi Clan.’

Watching them disappear into the small courtyard, Chu Fan stood outside the Moon Gate as straight as a spear.

‘The Profound Iron Order must be extremely important to the Eight Golden Families. The Clan Leader probably wouldn’t carry it on his person. The most likely scenario is that it’s at their clan’s main encampment, under heavy guard.’

Chu Fan stood there for the entire day without moving a muscle, constantly running his plan through his mind.

However, his actions were also being observed by Li Haiqin.

At dusk, a gaunt old man arrived, accompanied by the chief steward.

The old man frowned when he saw Chu Fan standing there.

The chief steward explained from the side, “This is the Little Princess’s Guard. The Little Princess ordered him to stand watch here.”

“Oh? Is he the one who dared to strike Jisierk this morning?”

“He is.”

The old man’s gaze pierced into Chu Fan’s eyes as he said coldly, “Lad, you’ve got some nerve. Do you know what crime it is to strike a direct lineage descendant of a Golden Clan?”

“Reporting to the Patriarch, I am first and foremost the Little Princess’s Guard, and second, a citizen of Dahar Khan. I do not care who the other person is; if anyone dares to bring harm to the Little Princess, I will protect her with my life. If that is a crime, then I ask the Patriarch to mete out my punishment.”

“Punishment? Of course there will be punishment!” the old man said coldly.