"Young Master..." Seeing this scene, the maid imdiately turned around and stepped forward to comfort Yichuan Ying.
Cheng Ziang, observing the situation, also wanted to step forward, but was imdiately pointed at by Yichuan Ying, who scread sharply, "Get out! You get out!"
"I know you’re very upset, but..."
Before Cheng Ziang could finish his sentence, the maid started shouting loudly, "Soone, co quickly! There’s a bad person intruding!"
"Wait a minute, I’m not a bad person!" Cheng Ziang was sowhat caught off guard and hurriedly explained.
As soon as the maid finished her sentence, two manor guards ard with waist blades instantly jumped over the wall. These guards were indeed impressive, fully armored yet still able to leap over the wall so nimbly.
They held their blades and surrounded Cheng Ziang, glaring at him fiercely, ready to pounce the mont he made any move.
Cheng Ziang didn’t expect such trouble, and as he racked his brain for a solution, the courtyard door suddenly swung open, with Ichuan Fei entering under the escort of two manor guards.
"How can you draw blades against a guest? This deserves punishnt; cut off their hands," Ichuan Fei ordered emotionlessly, with his hands behind his back.
"Understood!"
The two manor guards nodded and approached the two who climbed over the wall. Those two guards looked at each other in disbelief, their eyes wide with fear.
"Wait, I haven’t blad them. Please, Young Mansion, be lenient." Cheng Ziang quickly gestured, pleading.
"Very well," Ichuan Fei unexpectedly spoke, as if he had already anticipated Cheng Ziang’s response, "Take them down and give them ten strokes as punishnt for their unseeing offense."
"Thank you, Manor Lord, for your help." The two guards who had threatened Cheng Ziang breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly bowed to Cheng Ziang in gratitude.
After dismissing the guards, Ichuan Fei walked over to Cheng Ziang with his hands behind his back and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
"No worries." Cheng Ziang shook his head, appearing a bit uneasy.
Hearing his words, Ichuan Fei gave a faint smile, then looked toward Yichuan Ying and said slowly, "Ayin, why are you losing composure just because an old friend is visiting?"
"I’m sorry, brother..." Yichuan Ying wiped her tears, knelt down, and said with her head bowed.
"Being so rude to a guest, haven’t I taught you better?" Ichuan Fei continued, his tone authoritative without anger.
"I’m sorry, Young Master. It was I who called them. If the Young Master wishes to punish, please punish this maid and spare the Young Master." The maid knelt and kowtowed, her voice trembling as she spoke.
"Oh, is that so?" Ichuan Fei said, yet made no statent, instead giving Cheng Ziang a aningful glance.
Cheng Ziang was montarily stunned, seeming to understand his intention, and quickly waved his hand, saying to the maid, "I don’t bla you; you can withdraw."
"Thank you for your forgiveness, sir." The maid kowtowed several tis before rising and hastily retreating with her head lowered.
Now, only Cheng Ziang, Ichuan Fei, and the kneeling Yichuan Ying remained in the entire waterside pavilion.
With no attendants present, Ichuan Fei’s aura visibly dissipated, a fact Cheng Ziang could clearly sense.
He saw Ichuan Fei step forward and extend his hands to lift the kneeling Yichuan Ying, sighing gently, "You’ve been here for so ti, why are you still so grief-stricken? Is it because you can’t forget what’s happened beyond West Outer Heaven?"
Yichuan Ying remained silent, rely lowering her head, sneakily glancing at Cheng Ziang once, then lowering her head again to wipe her tears.
Ichuan Fei imdiately understood her thoughts, then turned to Cheng Ziang, saying, "It is indeed unfortunate about Uncle and A Long, but you should understand. They perished in the war, not through the fault of this guest. He returned you ho safely—how can you not only be ungrateful but also treat him so rudely and vent your anger on him?"
"If she blas , I don’t mind; it was indeed my fault." Cheng Ziang hung his head, speaking with sha.
"Right and wrong, I see clearly," Ichuan Fei said, looking at Yichuan Ying, "I understand your longing for father and brother, but you must not be so dispirited, nor should you bla a benefactor. You are a mber of the Yichuan Clan. Whether you acknowledge as your brother or not, I have always regarded you as my own sister, so I don’t want to see you wasting away like this."
Saying this, Ichuan Fei again turned toward Cheng Ziang, adding, "The Demon Clan used despicable ans to annihilate the Distant Tribe. You should not be so distressed. After all, I know you have chosen to break from the Demon Clan because of this, showing that you do not condone such actions."
"Thank you, Young Mansion, for understanding." Cheng Ziang said gratefully.
Yet at the sa ti, he couldn’t help but be taken aback by another thought: "How did Ichuan Fei, being far away in Yin State, know about what happened beyond West Outer Heaven? If he had real power, it might make sense, but he’s just a re officer in the Emperor’s Sect, an idle position, so how could he know such crucial information?"
Yichuan Ying sniffled, sobbing for quite a while before finally raising her head to look at Cheng Ziang, saying sowhat aggrievedly, "I, I, I’m not really angry at him... It’s just that every ti I see him, I am reminded of the past..."
"It’s all in the past; try to forget. Although I’m not as good as A Long, I will try my best to treat you well." Whenever speaking with Yichuan Ying, Ichuan Fei’s tone beca incredibly gentle.
"I know, you treat very well here. I am so happy, it feels like ho... no, even better than ho..." Yichuan Ying said, shaking her head.
"Then, can you apologize to our guest and reconcile?" Ichuan Fei asked.
"Yes," Yichuan Ying sniffled again, then walked over to Cheng Ziang, sobbing, "I’m sorry. You saved , yet I..."
"Just seeing you safe is enough. It doesn’t matter if you resent ; after all, Yichuan Long asked to take care of you. All along the way, I always thought about your safety," Cheng Ziang said with a bitter smile.
"You’re still the sa..." Yichuan Ying said, her voice choking up again.
"You two take your ti to talk; I will excuse myself first." Ichuan Fei said with a smile.
"Thank you, Young Mansion, for your tily assistance." Cheng Ziang said sincerely.
"No need to be polite," Ichuan Fei smiled faintly, then added, "Knowing Ayin’s nature, I could guess how it might end, so I was extra cautious. It seems quite tily for to have co this ti."
Once again, Ichuan Fei’s words left Cheng Ziang looking at him with newfound respect. Indeed, as the acting eldest son of the Yichuan Clan and substitute Patriarch, he gave a sense of being a genius strategist, as though nothing in the mansion could escape his notice.
Soon, Cheng Ziang and Yichuan Ying were the only ones left in the waterside pavilion, and the atmosphere instantly beca awkward. Cheng Ziang looked around, bent down to pick up the book Yichuan Ying had dropped, and leafed through it before handing it back to her.
"I didn’t expect you to start reading this." Cheng Ziang remarked.
It was a book specifically for learning to write, an entry-level text in Kyushu.
He vividly recalled that when he t Yichuan Ying, she barely recognized a few large characters and was hardly different from being illiterate.
"Brother said that despite the family’s protection, I should have a skill of my own, and so he let study writing." Yichuan Ying took the book, pressing her lips together.
"That’s also good. I rember when I first t you, you couldn’t recognize a single character." Cheng Ziang joked.
"That was such a long ti ago; now I recognize many characters." Yichuan Ying pouted, sounding aggrieved.
"So, I’m delighted to see you making such progress," Cheng Ziang said with a slight smile, genuinely.
Hearing his words, a faint blush spread on Yichuan Ying’s cheeks. She glanced at Cheng Ziang before shifting her gaze away and asked shyly, "Did you co to Yin State specifically to see ?"
"In a way." Cheng Ziang scratched his head.
"Humph, smooth talker, I knew you didn’t co just for ." Yichuan Ying pouted playfully.
Seeing Yichuan Ying’s deanor return to its usual self, Cheng Ziang couldn’t help but smile bitterly yet contentedly. Taking a deep breath, he looked towards the lotus pond and tentatively asked, "Are you doing well here?"
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