In the moonlit hall, the Moon God Clan's upper ranks frowned, their eyes filled with hostility.
Several of the female elders in particular looked at Lin Xuan with unmistakable warning.
Lin Xuan bared his teeth as waves of sharp pain shot through his waist. Xu Yan's jade hand was tightening its grip.
A layer of frost crept across Yue Qinglian's lovely face, the cool pride in her eyes turning stern as she stared at Lin Xuan.
"Boy!"
In a flicker of moonlight, the Moon God drew close again, floating slightly above the ground as she met Lin Xuan's gaze at eye level.
"You've got some nerve! You've come to my Moon God Clan to take in a maidservant—and she's even my disciple. Heh..."
Lin Xuan was under immense pressure. With that one sentence, he had plainly become the target of everyone's ire.
Enduring the pain in his waist, Lin Xuan's expression hardened. "What are you saying, Senior? Senior Sister Yue was about to fight Yan'er over a supreme treasure. Am I not allowed to stand up for her?"
"Mmm..."
At the end of his words, Lin Xuan could not help letting out a comfortable hum.
There was no other reason—Xu Yan's jade hand had withdrawn, and she was rubbing the hem of her clothes with a guilty expression.
"Husband... I-I'm sorry. Yan'er misunderstood."
She hurriedly apologized, looking pitiful and delicate.
The pressure-filled gazes throughout the hall vanished at that instant. Several female elders who had been filled with righteous indignation moments ago now showed embarrassment, and their gazes toward Lin Xuan became much friendlier.
Yue Qinglian froze, then turned to look at Xu Yan. A faint glimmer of envy unexpectedly rose in her eyes.
"Oh?"
"You're quite protective of your own!"
The dangerous gleam in the Moon God's eyes had