Third Young Master Has Returned!

Wu Qianhuan's heart was in turmoil. Her silver teeth clenched tight, and even the hand gripping her sword had turned faintly white.

She knew what she should be doing right now... She should have been pursuing Xin Youhen.

There were things Chu Qing did not know, but she did.

In recent years, the clashes between the Valley of Ten Thousand Nights and Heavenly Dance City had grown increasingly frequent. Not long ago, those sent to the Valley of Ten Thousand Nights had even been wiped out to the last man.

No one knew what had happened during that time.

They only knew that the final corpse of those Heavenly Dance Guards had been discovered in a forest roughly a day's journey from Heavenly Dance City.

That news had only reached the City Lord's Mansion this morning.

And during this period, whenever they clashed with the Valley of Ten Thousand Nights, the other side always seemed to know the enemy before the battle began, making preparations in advance and leaving Heavenly Dance City battered at every turn.

Thus, Wu Ganqi suspected there was a problem within Heavenly Dance City.

Chu Yunfei's sudden lavish celebration for Chu Fan at such a critical juncture was meant to use this opportunity to see whether he could draw out a few demons and monsters.

Xin Youhen's disguise and appearance at the Chu Family was one such gain.

What she ought to do now was join Chu Fan and the others in dealing with that man.

But... whenever she thought of that person's eyes, she could not help gritting her teeth.

Aside from when he had pretended to be blasted away by internal force and met her gaze—

When he had secretly peeked at those two girls, she had seen it all perfectly clearly as well.

And that gaze she had sensed in the courtyard at the very beginning had been his!

Who exactly was he?

Though she had a suspicion in her heart, she did not dare be certain.

Therefore, she had to catch that little thief and tear away his true face from beneath the veil.

She had intended to seize him directly while he was unprepared.

Yet she had not expected him to notice her movements and get up to flee before she could act.

If she let him get away, how could that possibly be allowed?

Chase!

She had to catch that bastard.

Xin Youhen had Chu Second Brother, his junior sister, and those two people who had arrived later helping him. He most likely would not encounter any trouble.

But if she did not catch this person, she would most likely never run into him again!

Still... was his lightness skill really this formidable?

Was it the Star Chasing Moon Catching Steps?

Why did that not seem quite right either...

Wu Qianhuan fixed her gaze on the figure ahead. With a turn of his body, he had already vanished from before her eyes.

By the time Wu Qianhuan caught up, she saw a servant approaching head-on. Startled by her sudden appearance, he dropped straight onto his backside.

"E-Eldest Young Lady, please forgive me!"

He hurriedly rose to his feet and bowed.

Wu Qianhuan had not intended to pay him any attention, but after taking one step, she suddenly halted and turned back to ask,

"Did you see anyone run past this way?"

"I-I did. He went that way."

The servant spoke as he pointed toward the end of the path.

Wu Qianhuan immediately nodded. With a tap of her foot, she shot away at a sprint.

But after taking only a few steps, she suddenly realized something was wrong.

At this time, the rear courtyard was quite deserted. Aside from the few main courtyards that needed attendants, all the other servants and maids had gone to the front courtyard to help out.

Why had that servant been here just now?

And when he fell earlier, he had kept his head lowered without looking at her... What was he afraid of?

At that thought, Wu Qianhuan abruptly turned around and saw that the servant was already about to disappear around the corner.

She immediately shouted,

"Stop!!"

It would have been better if she had said nothing. The instant the words left her mouth, the man broke into a run.

Wu Qianhuan nearly jumped up and cursed. It was him!

What gall! Fine, he had run, and she would chase him—but he had actually dared circle back and fool her?

She immediately drew in a breath, circulated her internal force, and gave chase at full speed.

"I want to see whether you can escape the palm of my hand today!"

Yet when she reached the corner, the figure from moments ago had vanished.

Front courtyard.

It was at the height of the festivities when a Chu Family servant approached a swordsman wearing a conical hat and whispered a few words into his ear.

The swordsman froze, then immediately rose and followed the servant, turning through the gate with him.

A short while later, Chu Qing, dressed as a swordsman, pressed down the brim of his conical hat and reappeared with his sword in hand. He swiftly melted back into the crowd.

He quietly let out a breath and secretly cursed twice in his heart.

Is that brat a dog? She just keeps chasing me without letting go. She is dead set on murdering her husband—utterly outrageous.

But on second thought, it was only a marriage contract on paper after all.

Since they had not yet married, calling it murdering her husband was indeed far too early.

He raised his head and surveyed the courtyard. By this hour, everyone who ought to have arrived was already here.

At the seat of honor, Chu Yunfei, whom he had not seen in seven years, sat in a grand armchair, speaking and laughing quietly with Wu Ganqi.

Upon seeing Chu Yunfei, Chu Qing quietly breathed out.

Compared to the man in his memories, he found that Chu Yunfei had aged considerably.

There were more wrinkles on his face, more white in his hair, and he had grown thinner... He looked as though he had lost a great deal of weight.

Yet he also appeared even more kind and benevolent.

Chu Qing shifted his gaze slightly aside and looked toward Wu Ganqi.

Perhaps because of the Forty-Nine Forms of the Xing Tian Axe, Wu Ganqi truly sat like a coiled dragon and crouching tiger.

He was not fat; he was simply enormous, with a broad frame and an astonishingly powerful physique.

When ordinary people sat in a grand armchair, it often seemed exceedingly spacious.

But when he sat there, one could not help worrying that the chair might not bear his weight.

Still, he too appeared to be showing signs of age...

Below these two sat many people of roughly similar age.

Some of them Chu Qing had met in his childhood, while others were unfamiliar faces. Liu Shijie was among them, chatting and laughing with the others as the atmosphere appeared harmonious.

These were the notable figures within Heavenly Dance City's sphere of influence.

Chu Qing examined them one by one when he saw Chu Tian stride over and say something to Chu Yunfei and Wu Ganqi.

The expressions of both men changed at once. Chu Yunfei was about to rise, but Wu Ganqi pressed him back down with one hand.

Wu Ganqi gave him a slight nod, then personally led several people, including Liu Shijie, toward the rear courtyard.

Chu Tian followed behind them as well.

Chu Qing's brows lifted lightly at the sight. As he pondered this, he suddenly heard swift footsteps flying toward him from nearby.

Looking up, he found that Wu Qianhuan had chased her way over.

He could not help baring his teeth. This girl really is persistent...

Her gaze swept through the crowd one person at a time, though fortunately, she only stared at the surrounding servants.

She did not notice Chu Qing, who had already changed his appearance.

After finding nothing, she approached Chu Yunfei with an ugly expression, saluted him, and offered her greetings.

Chu Yunfei smiled and spoke a few words to her, but Chu Qing was too far away to hear what they said.

Just as Wu Qianhuan took her seat, a servant suddenly rushed in from the entrance.

"Master, Master!!"

At an occasion like this, shouting in such a manner was plainly improper, and the guests throughout the courtyard turned to look.

Chu Yunfei frowned.

"Whatever it is, speak slowly."

The servant panted several times before finally speaking with animated delight.

"Master, great joy, great joy!

"Third Young Master, Third Young Master has returned!!"