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A few pics of some of our heroes (for those who haven't seen them yet :) ) https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1tgxXmXgkCDyLRZPC4ue36FsFen5OUsDR?usp=sharing
The night was silent, with bursts of insects chirping from the corners.
After changing his clothes, Ye Anping, led by Huang Quan, walked along the Cloud Mansion corridors toward Yun Yiyi's master bedroom while Xiao Tian lay on his head, looking from side to side in bewilderment.
"Anping, when you came back from sword training, there were many maids and servants here. Why can't I see anyone now?"
Naturally, Ye Anping had noticed it too.
It was only a few minutes after the eleventh hour; usually, the servants should still be busy cleaning, but after following Huang Quan through two long corridors, he didn't see a single person.
"Huang Quan, where are the people in the mansion? Why don't I see any of them?"
"Master, when the Eldest Lady came back, she gave all the servants in the house a holiday, saying that they were tired during this time. She let them go back to the houses below the hillside earlier today to rest."
"Is that so..."
"Master, when you finish chatting with Young Miss, I will help you prepare the medicine." Huang Quan pursed her lips shyly as she sneaked a sideways glance at Ye Anping's pants. "Do you think the medicine I gave you is effective?"
Xiao Tian tilted her head at this, and after thinking for a while, she reckoned that this was most likely Ye Anping deliberately pretending to be a sick boy to gain sympathy or something.
"Anping, you're so bad! How dare you pretend to be sick and weak to deceive people?"
Ye Anping glanced at Xiao Tian and replied to Huang Quan's words with a helpless sigh. "It has some effect, but nothing obvious yet."
"As long as it works, it should be fine if you take it for a while. Then, you can get married to the Young Lady."
"Anping, you can't marry that Yun girl~" Xiao Tian interjected from the side. "That Yun girl is so much older than you, how can you marry her, huh~ Isn't that right?"
"..."
Ye Anping chatted absentmindedly with Huang Quan, but the deserted Cloud Mansion made him feel like "knowing that there are tigers in the mountains, but still taking the hike".
He could guess that Yun Yiyi was now aware of the role he played in this incident.
Naturally, she must be angry.
Yun Yiyi looked different from Yun Jiujiu and Yun Xi. She was well-behaved, educated, and gentle. But if she got angry, she would be as terrifying as a dragon fighting a tiger. He wouldn't be able to coax her with just a few sweet words.
"Sigh--"
With his mind spinning, Ye Anping, led by Huang Quan, arrived at Yun Yiyi's bedroom.
The bedroom windows and doors were closed tightly, a dim light reflecting in the windows. A zither sound could be heard playing in the room, giving a feeling of cold, immortal purity.
Huang Quan turned and cupped her hands. "Master, you can go in. I will go and prepare your medicine."
"Alright."
After that, she left back along the corridor.
When Huang Quan's figure disappeared at the end of the corridor, Ye Anping turned and knocked on the door twice.
"Please come in."
Yun Yiyi's voice was gentle and sounded very calm, but to Ye Anping, this felt more like the calm before the storm.
Creak---
Ye Anping pushed the door and entered. He saw Yun Yiyi, wearing a semi-transparent white silk dress, sitting cross-legged on a sofa in the middle of the room with a blooming smile on her face. She seemed to have put on some light makeup, and the air was filled with a faint floral fragrance of high quality.
Yun Yiyi stopped playing the zither, looked up at him with narrowed eyes, and smiled.
She was calm on the surface, but in her heart, there was a raging wave: I've sent away everyone in the Cloud Mansion tonight. Even if you scream at the top of your lungs, no one will come to rescue you.
Ye Anping nodded in greeting and approached slowly.
Although he looked careless, he was actually on high alert: Are we going to exchange pleasantries before you attack, or will you whack me when I approach?
Xiao Tian, lying on Ye Anping's head, cleverly read the room. She shrank her neck slightly and looked between the two people doubtfully.
"The smell of gunpowder is so strong!" She patted Ye Anping's head and said, "Anping, Anping, this person is bad news!"
No shit...
Ye Anping answered in his mind. He gingerly walked to the cushion next to Yun Yiyi, knelt down, and said, "I heard from some disciples about yesterday's incident in the Sword Sect's forbidden area. Why aren't you resting? Why did you ask me to come here so late?"
Yun Yiyi exhaled lightly, moved toward him, and suddenly leaned against his shoulder. "It's precisely because I'm tired that I wanted you to come and comfort me. What can be more relaxing and reassuring than leaning on my fiancé's shoulder?"
A breeze blew on Yun Yiyi's face, and she looked around strangely. The doors and windows were obviously closed, so how could it blow the wind inside?
Ye Anping looked at Xiao Tian, who was now fiercely pushing Yun Yiyi's face and cursing, "You golden-haired vixen! Don't seduce my Anping!!"
Too bad she couldn't really push anything.
Ye Anping was slightly speechless. Seeing a jade teapot and two porcelain cups on the table next to him, he used his spiritual power to pick up the teapot, fill the two teacups, and hand one of them to Yun Yiyi.
After a moment of deliberation, he lowered his eyes and said, "Miss Yun, you'd better ask directly what you want to know. You're tired of doing this, aren't you?"
Yun Yiyi took the teacup and put it on the table. "No more pretending? Are you showing off your cards?"
"No more pretending. Let's show our cards."
"Well, then..." Yun Yiyi straightened up with a slight exhale. "I only have one question. What are you trying to do by helping the Sword Sect and reconciling me with my sisters?"
"By chance, I once obtained two sets of sword techniques left behind by the Immortal Yun Jian, the Interrogation Sword and the Leaf Shadow Sword. I did this just to repay the kindness of this opportunity I've been given."
"The kindness... heh---"
Yun Yiyi narrowed her eyes and didn't seem convinced, but instead of asking aggressively about it, she took out a stack of papers from her storage bag and put them on the table.
"Eh? This is..."
"I'm grateful for helping me and the Sword Sect, so I will also repay your kindness." Yun Yiyi explained. "The Elders want to investigate the two people who blew up Zhuang Yan's alchemy furnace. I will help you with this matter. We found two criminal cultivators to act as scapegoats, and the case will be closed in a few days. Here are the documents. You can see if there are any problems. If there aren't, I will put them on file and hand them over."
Ye Anping was a little surprised. He had thought that Yun Yiyi would be very angry, but he didn't expect that she was still worrying about this matter for him.
He didn't leave any evidence anywhere, so Yun Yiyi was overly concerned, but it was still her heartfelt intention.
"Thank you, Miss Yun."
"You're welcome." Yun Yiyi looked away and said, "You should be leaving after that, right?"
Ye Anping narrowed his eyes warily and was silent for a while before answering, "Yes..."
"Later, I will send a letter to the Hundred Lotus Sect to announce breaking off the engagement. This way, our engagement will be canceled. What do you think?"
"Well... I have no objection."
"As for that sister of yours, she has the Snow Jade Spirit Sword. Even if I let you guys go, the Elders won't."
Yun Yiyi thought for a while before continuing, "I will go to the Sword Pavilion later, get an ancient sword to be reconditioned, and give it to the Elders as a replacement. I think it should work."
Yun Yiyi not only didn't make things difficult for him, but she even thought of every aspect, including a way to escape.
The more Ye Anping listened, the more he frowned. "Eldest Miss Yun, why are you helping me? And even allowing me to take your grandfather's spirit sword away?"
Yun Yiyi closed her left eye and replied, "To repay your favor, you did help me and the Sword Sect. Could it be that in your mind, Young Master Ye, I am such a ruthless and cold-blooded person?"
Ye Anping was inexplicably afraid. He had always adhered to the principle of "if you get benefits, you must pay a price". What Yun Yiyi was doing now, to put it mildly, was helping him count money after being sold by him.
When something is unusual, there must be something fishy behind it.
However, he couldn't figure out what that could be.
Seeing that Ye Anping was still wary, Yun Yiyi covered her chest. "Don't worry, Young Master Ye, I don't have any malicious intent. You may feel that my actions are silly and naive, but... who let me fall in love with you?"
"Miss Yun, we've only been friends for a few months. Isn't your love too rushed? You don't even understand what kind of person I am."
"Love is unreasonable like that." Yun Yiyi tilted her head and smiled, then rested her head on his shoulder. "It's a pity that I can't get it when I want it. I know that I can't keep you, and since I can't keep you, I won't force it anymore."
"..."
Looking at Yun Yiyi's face, Ye Anping thought this was probably caused by his too-high favorability, right?
He felt a little guilty and was really sorry for Yun Yiyi.
Unfortunately, he couldn't marry her. Not to mention his sister, he now owned the Heavenly Dao Scroll. If he married Yun Yiyi, she would inevitably be entangled in his destiny.
He wasn't confident that he could protect her in the future with this kind of destiny.
"I'm sorry."
Yun Yiyi shook her head slightly, and two tears squeezed out from her closed eyes.
Although she had expected to get this answer from him and was mentally prepared, she still felt upset when she actually heard it coming out of his mouth.
"It's okay."
Xiao Tian, who was still pushing Yun Yiyi's face, looked at her despondent state and suddenly felt a little moved. She consoled her, "Okay, I shouldn't have called you a golden-haired vixen. You're pretty good."
She reached out and stroked Yun Yiyi's head. "Be good, don't cry, don't cry~"
A breeze blew on the golden hair on Yun Yiyi's head, and somehow it calmed her down, seeming to loosen the knot in her heart.
She raised her hand to wipe the two large tears from the corner of her eyes, sat up, and picked up the cup of tea on the table before facing Ye Anping. "A cup of tea to bid farewell, Young Master Ye."
"Fine..."
Ye Anping nodded, picked up the other cup of tea, and slightly raised it in salute.
The two brought the teacups to their lips at the same time, raised their heads at the same time, and drank the tea.
The tea was not bitter and felt smooth on the throat.
However, Yun Yiyi did not swallow it.
She stared at Ye Anping's Adam's apple bobbing up and down twice, and after confirming that he had swallowed, she immediately turned her head to the side.
"Pfft..."
She spat out the tea she drank on the fox fur carpet at her feet.
?
?
One big and one small question mark instantly appeared above Ye Anping and Xiao Tian's heads.
After a moment of stupefaction, they took a deep breath in unison, turned to look at the jade teapot on the table, and thought the same thing: Could it be that she poisoned it?!
Ye Anping gulped and glanced at the remaining drops of tea at the bottom of the teacup. He felt a little depressed, but after all, his hard practice made him immune to all poisons.
He didn't even fear demonic cultivators, and this was just the amount of poison in a cup of tea...
"Miss Yun, so everything you said was just to deceive me?"
"No, what I said was true." Yun Yiyi smiled slightly, then raised her hand to grab her belt buckle. "But I didn't say that you could walk away from me without leaving anything behind."
?
Seeing her action, Ye Anping was slightly startled. Could it be that it was not poison, but an aphrodisiac...
Anyway, it didn't matter. Aphrodisiac drugs were also a kind of poison, and it shouldn't affect him...
Oh, wait... it did!
A wave of heat spread from his abdomen to his limbs.
"Hiss---" Ye Anping frowned and asked, "What kind of medicine is this?"
"A kind of spiritual flower called the Seven-Element Flower. It is considered a tonic that is harmful to a woman's body but is extremely beneficial to men." Yun Yiyi narrowed her eyes. "Didn't you say you can't get it up? I'll help you treat it."
Xiao Tian hurriedly took out the Heavenly Dao Scroll and flipped through it. Finding the flower name that Yun Yiyi had mentioned, she flew over to Ye Anping and said, "Anping, this is a spiritual flower that stimulates men's potential and is very precious. Just slowly collect your spirit and empty your mind..."
Ye Anping frowned, feeling as if his whole body was full of energy and had no place to use it. Even without spiritual energy, he could run around a mountain for ten days and nights without feeling tired.
This was not good.
"Miss Yun..."
"There are only tired oxen, but no damaged fields."
Yun Yiyi stood up and dropped her clothes to the ground, then walked up to Ye Anping, placed her cold hands on his shoulders, and pushed him down on the bed.
Then, with a wave, she locked the doors and windows of the entire main house.
"Young Master Ye, don't even think about escaping tonight. No one will come to save you even if you scream your head off."
Xiao Tian flew to Yun Yiyi at this moment and started punching and kicking her head. "Stay far away from my Anping!! You bad woman!! I shouldn't have said nice things to you!! Snake-hearted poisonous woman!!!"
"Miss Yun, actually I want to say..."
"What?"
"You're playing with fire."
"Oh? Then, show me what kind of fire you have, Young Master Ye..."
Ye Anping took a deep breath and forcefully stood up from the bed. In an instant, he and Yun Yiyi exchanged places. Yun Yiyi pushed his chest hard but found that his body was now like a huge stone and could not be pushed at all.
For a moment, she froze, still wearing a smile on her face. "Young Master Ye, don't worry. Tomorrow, I will pretend that nothing has ever happened."
Ye Anping said blankly, "I can pretend that nothing happened, but you... you can't say the same."
"Huh?"
The spear rose like a dragon, rolling up a stormy wave and turning into a tsunami that swept over the green mountains and blue waters.
Within a quarter of an hour, Yun Yiyi understood how fierce the fire she had lit was. No matter how many times she poured water on it, the fire still showed no sign of dying down.
Finally, she understood that it wasn't Ye Anping who was locked in the house, but her.
The servants she sent away were not Ye Anping's saviors, but hers.
"Woo-woo...help... Whoo-hoo-- Young Master Ye... I..."
"Miss Yun, you started this. You can't blame me."
"Woo--"
The tender sobs were endless.
It wasn't until the moon set and the sun rose that it finally stopped.
The sun came out.
The wind calmed down, the rain stopped, and the waves stilled.
The fire consumed every inch of combustible material on the land.
---The field was thoroughly plowed by the oxen.