Xuanqing Guard

"I’m furious! Absolutely furious!"

The whole courtyard was startled—they’d never seen the usually quiet Miss Zi Yi fly into such a rage, face dark as iron.

Xiaorong and Xiaoqin were so scared they didn’t dare come over, only peeking from the window, puzzled: What happened?

It was already midnight. When Ning Ziye returned, she made no attempt to hide her movements—in fact, she made even more noise, slammed the door, lit the lamp, and plopped down in the chair huffing with anger.

How is anyone supposed to sleep with all this racket? Lian Xiang, who shared the room, sat up on the bed in shock and asked, "Ms. Zi Yi, what’s wrong?"

"..." Still silence. She just glanced up, eyes full of grievance.

Huh?! Now that’s odd!

Lian Xiang couldn’t make sense of why Ning Ziye looked at her with such an aggrieved expression, as if she’d suffered some great injustice. She hurriedly threw on a robe and got down from the bed, then sat by her side.

"Ms. Zi Yi, didn’t you say you were going out to visit a friend and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow? What happened? Did someone bully you?" As Lian Xiang comforted her, she poured a cup of cool water and set it in front of Ning Ziye.

"I don’t want it! I’m already mad enough to burst."

"Hehe, who is it? Who’s got the guts to piss off our Ice Beauty, Ning Ziye? Come on, tell me. I’d like to see for myself."

"Who else? That guy named Shen."

"Shen? Who?" Lian Xiang didn’t take it to heart, and didn’t think of Shen Hao at all. In her opinion, this Ms. Zi Yi and Shen Hao were worlds apart—a complete mismatch. She figured Ning Ziye was talking about the friend she was supposed to see today.

"Shen Hao."

"Shen... huh? Ms. Zi Yi, you went to see him today? You..." At first she froze, but quickly Lian Xiang understood. Ning Ziye’s supposed visit to a friend was just a cover; she went to see Shen Hao. She could even guess what Ning Ziye went there for. Suddenly, her mood soured.

"Hmph, why couldn’t I go see him? If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have known there are such uncouth people in this world! Let me see carefully—exactly what’s wrong with your eyes that you’d fall for someone like that? Did your brain get soaked and stop working?"

"Ms. Zi Yi! What are you saying!" This was the first time Lian Xiang had seen Ning Ziye like this—truly livid and a little out of control. But her curiosity was piqued.

So Lian Xiang pressed, "Ms. Zi Yi, what did he say to you? How could he make you this angry?"

In Lian Xiang’s impression, Shen Hao, although not exactly a refined gentleman, at least wasn’t a crude boor. His words and actions could be brash but knew their limits, and he was often better at controlling his emotions than most people. That’s what Lian Xiang had discovered through her interactions with him.

As for Ning Ziye, Lian Xiang knew her well too—always mild, a bit lazy, cold in speech, never talking more than necessary.

How could these two clash, and how could Ning Ziye end up this angry?

"I went to see him, honestly to help you vet him a bit—and by the way, tell him about your situation so he wouldn’t push you so hard and risk getting you into trouble. As for what happens between you two, at least wait until you finish your task and leave this place to discuss further. Who would’ve thought that that Shen guy could be so rude..."

Even though Ning Ziye wasn’t good at socializing, she wasn’t dumb enough to tell Lian Xiang that she wanted to break her and Shen Hao up single-handedly. She worded it gently, then started describing Shen Hao’s rude behavior.

Lian Xiang listened carefully, lips slowly twitching upward.

"Ms. Zi Yi, so basically he said two sentences to you then left? Didn’t give you any face, didn’t even finish hearing you out?"

"Yeah, and he asked me ’who the hell am I’! Is that how you talk to people?"

Lian Xiang couldn’t hold it anymore—she burst out laughing and couldn’t stop, clutching her belly, before finally managing to calm down.

"What are you laughing at?" Ning Ziye was completely baffled by her laughter, even annoyed.

"Sorry, Ms. Zi Yi, I really couldn’t help it. Hehe... you used a sound technique to lure someone out in the middle of the night—anyone would instinctively keep their guard up! Then you immediately told him to stay away from me—doesn’t matter if you had more to say, Shen Hao was never going to play along. I told you before, he’s not like those other men you know. Don’t expect him to give you special treatment or be overly patient with you just because.

Honestly, the only reason he let you off is because you’re my senior sister. Otherwise, believe it or not, he really could’ve taken out a Summoning Talisman, called in Xuanqing Guard Soldiers, and had you thrown in jail."

Ning Ziye frowned at this—her junior sister didn’t seem to think Shen Hao was uncouth at all; instead, she seemed to think Ning Ziye was in the wrong? She even thought that Shen Hao letting her go was showing mercy?

After some more bickering, Lian Xiang finally said sincerely: "Ms. Zi Yi, you really don’t need to worry about me. Shen Hao knows his limits, and so do I. I won’t get involved with him until our mission is over. As for after that, like you said, we can discuss it then."

"But you’ll eventually return to the Sect, and even if Shen Hao is exceptional, he’s still just a mortal. He can’t keep up with you."

"So what? I’m not even that talented—I’m always getting scolded by Master. If I ruin things, it doesn’t matter."

"You... ah..." Ning Ziye sighed, and after a moment’s silence added, "I just worry you won’t have a choice when the time comes!"

"We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Ning Ziye draped an arm around Lian Xiang’s shoulder, falling silent. But inside, her mind didn’t change—she still thought Shen Hao and Lian Xiang were completely mismatched; Shen Hao would probably only hold Lian Xiang back. But how to break them up? She had no idea for now.

The next morning, Ning Ziye told Lian Xiang she would be staying in Fengri City for a while longer. Lian Xiang was, of course, delighted, knowing her senior sister likely wanted more chances to persuade her. Not that Lian Xiang ever intended to change.

As it turned out, that very night, Shen Hao showed up again. Lian Xiang was thrilled, but noticed he brought someone she didn’t recognize. After a careful look, a face from her memory overlapped with the newcomer: Gui Mountain Cultivation Institute, Nie Yun?!

Ning Ziye had never mentioned Nie Yun before. Lian Xiang had only heard Shen Hao was acquainted with Nie Yun, but didn’t expect Shen Hao to bring Nie Yun here.

Unexpectedly, the first thing Shen Hao asked was, "Where’s your senior sister? She hasn’t left, has she?"

"What for?"

"She came to see me last night, told me to stay away from you, looking like someone owed her money—I ignored her." Shen Hao grinned, wrapping his arm around Lian Xiang’s waist and whispering, "But my friend here has some questions for her. Is it convenient now?"

Lian Xiang was surprised. The friend Shen Hao mentioned was obviously Nie Yun, who was sitting off to the side, drinking tea. Why would this stormy figure from the Jingxi Sect want to see Ms. Zi Yi?