The Gap Between People Is Greater Than the Gap Between People and Dogs

"Then why did you let him go? He was just an idle Marquis. Did the Brocade Guard really need to fear someone like that?"

Shi Sheng's anger had yet to subside, and he continued questioning him.

Yet upon hearing this, Ye Liuyun looked at Shi Sheng with surprise, sizing him up from head to toe.

Until Shi Sheng himself began to feel uncomfortable under that gaze.

"Y-you, why are you looking at me like that?"

"I thought you were the sort who charged ahead without thinking once your head got hot. I didn't expect you to at least know who you'd arrested."

Shi Sheng rolled his eyes at Ye Liuyun's words. He might look rough and uncouth, but he was not actually stupid. There was no way he would not know who he had arrested.

"You'd better explain this clearly. Otherwise, I'll make you regret it."

As he spoke, Shi Sheng raised his fist and swung it twice at Ye Liuyun in a threatening gesture.

They were both Second-Rate Martial Artists, so Ye Liuyun naturally had no reason to fear Shi Sheng.

Still, Ye Liuyun merely smiled lightly and said,

"What is there to explain? Wan Shun Marquis truly was nothing remarkable, but why do you think no one but you had ever arrested him?"

"Obviously because everyone in the Brocade Guard is as vain and glory-hungry as you."

Shi Sheng's face was full of disdain.

It was clear that he was truly pure at heart, but what was too rigid was easily broken. People like him were instead the easiest to target.

"Not everyone is as simple-minded as you."

Ye Liuyun shook his head with a smile.

"That was because they knew that arresting him would be useless. He would be released in the end anyway. Whether I released him or someone else did, there was not much difference."

"What do you mean?"

Shi Sheng frowned at those words.

His emotions gradually calmed down.

"Wan Shun Marquis may not have been capable, but he was still a Marquis. Everyone understood the truth that when the lips were gone, the teeth grew cold. Today, Wan Shun Marquis's son could be arrested; tomorrow, the sons of other Marquises and Princes could be arrested as well."

"So, to prevent that possibility and protect their own interests, if the Brocade Guard truly punished Wan Shun Marquis's son, the other royalty would definitely be unable to sit still."

Arresting him was fine, but nothing else could be done.

Those royalty were not helping Wan Shun Marquis. They were merely protecting their own interests.

"This!"

Shi Sheng was only somewhat reckless, not truly brainless.

Ye Liuyun had made it so clear that Shi Sheng obviously understood. He simply found it hard to accept for the moment.

"Does that mean that whenever I encounter something like this in the future, I should just ignore it?"

How could Shi Sheng watch those spoiled young masters bully men and tyrannize women with his eyes wide open? Just thinking about it made him feel that he could not do it.

"You still have to deal with it, but you can use other methods. Like today—I didn't stop you from arresting him, did I?"

At those words, Shi Sheng gradually calmed down.

No matter what, being able to arrest people was enough.

At the very least, it was better than standing off to the side and being unable to do anything.

Thinking of that, Shi Sheng raised his head again and looked Ye Liuyun over with a strange gaze. The anger from before had mostly dissipated.

"What is it?" Ye Liuyun grew curious under that stare.

"I just think you're strange. Did someone replace you?"

Straightforward as ever, Shi Sheng voiced what was on his mind without the slightest hesitation.

Yet after saying it, he felt that such a thing was simply impossible. He figured he must have been so angry just now that it had scrambled his brain, or else how could he have said something like that?

"I'm leaving!"

With that, Shi Sheng turned around and prepared to leave.

"Get the door fixed before tomorrow!"

"Got it!" Shi Sheng replied in a muffled voice.

In other words, he had come here this time and had not even done anything, yet he now had to fix someone's door. What exactly had he come here for?

"This fellow who seemed so rash was unexpectedly pure-hearted."

Ye Liuyun watched Shi Sheng leave for a while, then smiled for no particular reason.

Perhaps Shi Sheng himself had not realized that one blunt remark had directly guessed the truth. Unfortunately, the current Ye Liuyun would not become jumpy and uneasy because of such words.

After Shi Sheng left, Si Nan hurriedly ran inside.

"Is my lord all right?"

Seeing Ye Liuyun safe and sound, Si Nan relaxed considerably.

"What could possibly happen inside the Brocade Guard?"

Ye Liuyun waved it off indifferently. Not only was he now a Second-Rate Martial Artist and completely unafraid of Shi Sheng, but no matter how reckless Shi Sheng was, he could not possibly start a fight directly inside the Brocade Guard.

"Ah! As expected of my lord!"

Seeing how calm and unruffled Ye Liuyun was, Si Nan spoke with some admiration.

After all, Si Nan had personally seen an enraged Shi Sheng beat someone in the Brocade Guard right in front of so many people—and even several people working together had failed to stop him.

Ye Liuyun knew nothing of Si Nan's little thoughts.

He waved his hand and said directly,

"It's about time. I'll head back first. You can leave on your own later."

"Yes, my lord!"

Si Nan quickly gathered his thoughts and bowed as he saw Ye Liuyun off.

"Comfortable!"

Night had fallen.

Ye Liuyun lay in the bath barrel, his face full of contentment.

Xing'er stood outside the bath barrel, massaging Ye Liuyun's arm.

He had still been worn down in the end. He had originally refused, but seeing Xing'er insist, Ye Liuyun did not continue declining.

His arms were rather sore from practicing Martial Arts anyway, and Xing'er's strength was just right—not too light, not too heavy.

"You've got quite the touch. Did you train for this specifically?"

Seeing Xing'er lower her head and work so earnestly, Ye Liuyun could not help asking.

He had assumed that a delicate woman like Xing'er would not have much strength in her hands, but that clearly was not the case.

"Xing'er has been by Madam's side since childhood and learned quite a few things. If Master needs it, Xing'er can massage Master every day from now on."

"No need."

Ye Liuyun waved a hand indifferently.

"You serve me and your Madam all day long. You're tired enough as it is. Rest more when you have the time. It's enough to have a massage once in a while."

"Besides, if you do this too often, your hands will grow rough. A young woman's hands are better off soft."

Ye Liuyun did not want his Martial Arts will to be worn away.

Yet those words made Xing'er's movements stop.

"What is it?"

"Nothing."

Coming back to herself, Xing'er immediately shook her head.

"It's just that Master seems to have changed a great deal."

"Have I?"

Changed? No, it would be more accurate to say that he had been replaced.

Leaning back against the bath barrel and looking toward the rafters, Ye Liuyun said in a sighing tone,

"Born into times like these, everyone changes."

The higher one stood and the more one came into contact with, the more one could feel the gap between people in this era.

People said that the gap between any two people could sometimes be greater than the gap between a person and a dog. But in an age like this, some people truly existed like dogs, to be beaten or killed at will.

Having officially stepped onto the path of Martial Arts, Ye Liuyun finally had some confidence in his heart.

At the very least, he no longer had to be as jumpy as he had been in the beginning, barely daring to speak for fear that someone might notice something.

"That's enough. You should go back and rest too."