"Thank you, City Lord, for coming to You Su's aid today." You Su bowed.
"Hoho, it was only right. Before your master went wandering, he entrusted you to my care. Over all these years, I saw that you neither fought nor sought anything, living a quiet, unassuming life, so I paid you less attention. It was only when I returned from Qiong Mountain just now and saw Wu Cheng charging toward you with my token in hand that I realized something was wrong. You know your master has always been blunt and made enemies with quite a few people. Now that he's gone, they can only find a way to vent their anger on you. I thought they would be too concerned about their reputation to make things too difficult for you. I never expected them to dare come straight to your door and cause trouble. This was my oversight. Don't go complaining to your master, all right?"
City Lord Liu wore a kindly expression and smiled as he stroked his beard.
"You're joking, City Lord. I can barely thank you enough—how could I possibly complain? Besides, since this was trouble my master brought upon himself, it's only right that his disciple bear it. How could I rely on someone else's help?"
"You're a sensible child. If you run into any difficulties in the future, you can always come to City Lord's Mansion to find me." City Lord Liu patted You Su's shoulder, then leaned close and lowered his voice. "Wu Cheng is a clever man. The fact that I deliberately appeared here today will be enough for him to understand my meaning. However, he's the beloved disciple of the Sky Guard Sect's master and the eldest son of the Wu Household. You'd still do well to avoid making an enemy of him if possible."
"You Su thanks you, City Lord Liu." You Su was about to bow again, but City Lord Liu stopped him.
"He said you once encountered He Qimiao?"
"Yes."
You Su did not hide anything. He recounted to City Lord Liu the same experience he had previously told Wu Cheng.
After listening, a strange glimmer flashed through City Lord Liu's eyes. Suddenly, an invisible pressure radiated from his body and enveloped You Su. Staring into You Su's eyes, he asked, "You truly encountered He Qimiao?"
You Su naturally felt the pressure. Unlike the imposing might that had suppressed everyone just now, this pressure seemed to act directly upon his Sea of Consciousness. It felt as though his brain had been submerged in water so deep he could not see the bottom.
"Truly."
The pressure seemed to ease somewhat.
"You weren't the one who harmed He Qimiao?"
"No."
The pressure seemed to dissipate by more than half, at least no longer making him uncomfortable.
"Besides He Qimiao, was there anyone else with him that day?"
"I didn't see a second person."
As soon as he finished speaking, the pressure vanished completely. City Lord Liu rubbed his chin, put away the solemn look he had shown earlier, and calmly said:
"Although this still gives us no leads, any clue is better than none. Poor Uncle-Master He went berserk when he broke through seven years ago, leaving him foolish to this day. And now he has met with misfortune as well. It's truly heartbreaking."
"Uncle-Master He had a hard life and couldn't even meet a good end. It is indeed pitiful."
"Yes... They didn't even spare a fool. Truly vicious. All right, I won't disturb you any longer. Comfort your junior sister and Mistress properly. If you encounter any difficulties, remember to come to me."
City Lord Liu smiled faintly and walked straight out the door. In the blink of an eye, You Su could no longer sense his presence.
You Su let out a long breath. This absurd farce had finally come to an end.
A peaceful life was like a secluded pool. Once shattered by a falling stone, it sent out ripples without end.
Fortunately, his junior sister and Mistress had not been exposed, and everything was still under control. Recalling the strange pressure City Lord Liu had released while questioning him, You Su could not help but break out in a cold sweat.
Every word he had spoken then had seemed to leap straight out of his mind, leaving him no time to formulate a lie. You Su still felt shaken. Such a strange technique was far more dangerous than mere wind, fire, or lightning. Fortunately, he truly had not lied—he really had not been able to see True Man Ling at the time.
You Su wiped the bloodstains from the Ink Pine Sword and put it away. He walked to the door of the main hall, hesitating over whether to ask Mistress if she was all right. But facing the deathly silent door, he ultimately could not bring himself to ask.
Even he would not dare disturb Mistress carelessly, yet that fat man had dared to insult her. If he dared reach out and push the door, You Su would cripple his hand. It was only a pity he had not managed to leave him without a tongue.
You Su picked up the items scattered across the floor and returned them to their original places. The old residence was dilapidated, and all kinds of odds and ends lay strewn across the ground.
Just then, Ji Lingruo opened the door and walked out. Her head hung low, her lips pursed, and she looked thoroughly dejected. Without saying a word, she silently began tidying the mess covering the floor.
"Junior Sister, I'll take care of it. Go rest."
"I didn't chop off anyone's hand, and I wasn't beaten half to death after arranging a fight with someone else. Why should I rest?" Ji Lingruo forcefully righted an overturned chair, deliberately making it crash loudly, as though proclaiming the discontent in her heart.
Ji Lingruo did not even know what she was angry about. She should have been most furious with those unreasonable outsiders, yet she was also angry that You Su had refused to let her help him. What saddened her even more was that she truly might not have been able to help. This helpless feeling had followed her from the age of five until now. She hated this powerless version of herself with all her heart, yet she should not have been like this...
At that thought, several crystalline tears struggled out of the girl's eyes. She was strong and immediately wiped away the tears spilling over. She lifted her head and drew in deep breaths, trying to force these signs of weakness back into her body.
You Su could not see what was happening, but he sensed that something was wrong with his junior sister's emotions and hurriedly said, "It's my fault. I shouldn't have provoked those people and frightened you, Junior Sister. Your senior brother promises you—they won't dare come again."
"Why are you rushing to admit fault? Hmph, yesterday you said they wouldn't dare provoke you for a while, yet they came knocking today." Ji Lingruo forcibly held back her tears, her voice trembling slightly.
"I... I fought a different group of people. Wu Ping only used the City Lord's token to seek revenge on their behalf." You Su felt somewhat guilty. If he had not been forced into it, he truly did not want to deceive his junior sister again and again.
"Didn't I tell you before? People like that can't be beaten into submission. They're like insects in a filthy ditch—annoying and impossible to get rid of."
"Junior Sister is right. Junior Sister is absolutely right." You Su repeatedly agreed, unwilling to contradict her in the slightest. In his heart, he wanted to chop today's uninvited guests into a thousand pieces.
"Come here!" Ji Lingruo ordered.
You Su hurriedly kicked aside the clutter at his feet and ran over. He stood obediently beside the girl, afraid of being even a second too slow.
But unexpectedly, his continual appeasement did not soothe the girl's fragile emotions. Instead, it gave her a reason to vent. The more consideration You Su showed her, the more useless she felt. Why was her fate so full of hardship? She had no answer. At last, she could no longer hold herself back. She buried her head against You Su's chest and began to sob, her tears flooding like a breached dam and soaking the front of his robe.
No one knew how long she cried before the girl's broken voice finally drifted out.
"Senior Brother, am I really so useless..."
You Su gently wrapped an arm around the girl and pressed her head more deeply against his chest.
"You're the most amazing junior sister in the world."
"You only know how to lie to me..." Still sobbing, the girl lightly pounded You Su's chest once.
"Do you really want to control your Mystic Qi properly?"
"Mm..."
"It's all right. Your senior brother has thought of a way."
"Really?" The girl lifted her head. Her tear-filled eyes were hazy, bright as stars.
"I never lie to my junior sister." You Su smiled with firm, gentle warmth.
At that moment, inside the ancient, elegant City Lord's Mansion, the old man sat upright in deep thought. Suddenly, a frightening gleam flashed through his eyes as he muttered:
"A blind man who never saw..."
Don't rush, everyone. After a few chapters of buildup, a new main plotline will begin soon!
Before you continue