Shen Xian tilted his head, put Gu An down, then turned to the man in black and asked, "Why are you here too?" He unfastened the immobilization spell on Gu An with his hands behind his back.
"I..." The man peeked at Gu An standing behind Shen Xian, then smiled, "I am also a cultivator."
Gu An, hearing the man's words and looking at Shen Xian's back, quickly stepped forward and asked, "You are also a cultivator?"
Hearing this, the man looked at Gu An with great interest and smiled, "Yes, young lady, what is your name?"
Gu An: "..." She glanced at Shen Xian and said, "My name is Gu An."
"Gu An," the man repeated, walking leisurely in front of Gu An, "That name sounds rather gloomy."
Gu An: "..."
Following this, Shen Xian took Gu An's arm. "If there's nothing else, you should leave quickly." As he spoke, he pulled Gu An behind him.
The man looked at Shen Xian and smiled, "Brother Shen, this woman is not a suitable celestial maiden. If you fancy her, your master will surely be displeased."
"..." Gu An frowned slightly, worried the man was causing a deeper misunderstanding about her relationship with Shen Xian. She quickly said, "I have no relation to him, I am merely a matchmaker."
"What is a matchmaker?"
"A matchmaker..." Gu An felt it was inconvenient to speak with the man this way and nudged Shen Xian's arm. "Can you move aside?"
Shen Xian turned to look at Gu An, his brow furrowed. "Don't talk to him."
"Oh, it's fine," Gu An said, tugging at Shen Xian's sleeve.
Shen Xian: "..." He lowered his gaze to Gu An's hand and still moved aside.
Next, Gu An leaned forward and said, "A matchmaker is someone who introduces celestial maidens to you..."
"I don't need a celestial maiden."
"Huh?" Gu An's eyes flickered. "Aren't you also a cultivator?"
"Our celestial duties are different, so I don't need to find a celestial maiden."
"Oh, I see." Gu An nodded, relieved, and stepped back two paces, moving behind Shen Xian.
Seeing this, the man asked with a hint of doubt, "Why are you going behind him?"
Gu An said, "You don't need a matchmaker, and I can't help you. Naturally, we don't need any relationship."
"I don't need your help, but... can we be friends?" xxs壹贰
"I only make friends with cultivators who need my help. You should leave."
The man's expression stiffened. "You're too mercenary."
However, Shen Xian appreciated this side of Gu An and chuckled rather ungenerously.
Seeing Shen Xian laugh, the man asked angrily, "What are you laughing at?"
"Nothing," Shen Xian replied, shaking his head slightly.
The man said, "Nothing? I think you're mocking me."
"Mm," Shen Xian nodded.
The man let out a soft scoff. "Move aside."
"Why should I move aside?"
"I'm telling you to move aside," the man emphasized.
"..." Shen Xian looked at the man's annoyed face and had no desire to tease him further. "My personal matchmaker dislikes speaking with strangers. You'd best not scare her."
Gu An added, "Yes, I'm shy around strangers."
From the moment he started speaking with Gu An, the man had not perceived her as a shy woman. On the contrary, he found Gu An easier to deal with than the celestial maidens he knew.
Therefore, he didn't believe them and broke into a peculiar, inexplicable smile.
"..." Shen Xian and Gu An were both puzzled by his smile.
Shen Xian asked, "What are you laughing at?"
Gu An also asked, "Exactly, what are you laughing at?"
"I'm laughing because you two think I'm an idiot." The man pointed to himself and continued to smile.
As he said, Gu An and Shen Xian indeed had that thought, but now with his smile, they were completely bewildered.
Then, Gu An gently patted Shen Xian's shoulder. "How about we leave?"
"Let's go." Shen Xian and Gu An reached an agreement and began to move their feet together.
At the same time, the man, observing their furtive movements, asked, "What are you two doing?"
"..." Both of them stopped in their tracks.
Immediately after, the man began to introduce himself once again, inexplicably, "Gu An, my name is Xu Lan."
Gu An: "..." She raised her eyes to look at Shen Xian. "I didn't ask his name, isn't he a bit too narcissistic?"
Shen Xian glanced at Gu An behind him and then at Xu Lan before him. "Your name, it probably has nothing to do with her, right?"
"I'm going with you," Xu Lan stated, arranging things for himself.
Gu An: "..."
Shen Xian: "....."
Xu Lan was such a self-assured immortal; he always saw things through to the end once he made a decision.
Now, he had decided to be friends with Gu An.
Seeing Shen Xian remain silent, Gu An said, "Why are you following us? Don't you have anything else to do?"
"I want to be friends with you."
"Friends?" Gu An's lips twitched. "I've already explained so clearly, don't you understand what I'm saying?"
"It's fine, I already consider you my friend."
After Xu Lan's declaration, Gu An's path to finding a celestial maiden for Shen Xian became even more arduous.
In the days that followed, Gu An's heart clearly grew more weary.
However, such days continued for three full years, and Gu An and Xu Lan had clearly become… arch-rivals.
There was only one reason: their perspectives differed. Gu An was a matchmaker who earnestly tried to help Shen Xian find a celestial maiden, while Xu Lan was the opposite. He cared not for anything else, only that if he disliked someone, he wouldn't let Shen Xian meet them.
Therefore, because of his presence, Shen Xian's journey to find a wife became even more difficult.
Gu An also experienced a complete exhaustion of her spirit.
Of course, many things happened between them during this period. Gu An also suffered injuries for Xu Lan numerous times. Each time, Xu Lan would feel guilty and even promise to cooperate with Gu An in the future and stop causing trouble.
But reality was different; Xu Lan continued to cause trouble.
However, because of these incidents, Gu An's focus gradually shifted away from Shen Yan.
Instead, her attention was now entirely centered on Shen Xian, who, despite saying he wouldn't protect her, always did.
After spending a full three years with him, she had changed her mind from three years ago. Now, she only wanted to sincerely find a suitable celestial maiden for Shen Xian who could take good care of him.
Then, she would quietly leave!
Because she knew in her heart that she and he, like her and Shen Yan, were impossible.
Over these three years, they had traveled to every place imaginable.
This time, they arrived at a village where there were many celestial maidens!
"This time, I will definitely find you a celestial maiden," Gu An said, patting Shen Xian's shoulder.
Shen Xian's eyes darkened. "..."
Xu Lan sniffed the air and said, "I think you'll fail again this time."
"Stop your bad mouthing," Gu An said, glaring at Xu Lan with a warning gaze.
Xu Lan smiled and said, "Brother Shen, you don't look happy."