As Li Yun silently raised his head to study the invisible domain of fire surrounding White Ox Mountain, hoofbeats suddenly sounded behind him.
Li Yun made no attempt to dodge. He merely turned around.
Several horses came galloping toward him.
At their head rode a fat young man in his twenties, dressed in fine brocade despite his bulky frame.
Four men in fitted fighting clothes followed on fast horses. They looked like the fat man's guards.
"Whoa..."
The riders soon reached the foot of White Ox Mountain. They were about to race past Li Yun when the fat man suddenly hauled on his reins and stopped sharply beside him.
The four guards close behind him had no choice but to pull hard on their reins and stop their horses too.
The fat man turned his head and looked down at Li Yun, then gave a soft chuckle.
"Heh—"
"Another admirer of my Crossblade Manor?"
"But why does it have to be a pretty boy?"
His tone was flippant and disdainful. He seemed to harbor a deep-seated malice toward pretty boys.
The four guards behind him burst out laughing.
"Hey, pretty boy... Don't you fucking know our Fifth Young Master has always hated pretty boys? You dare come to Crossblade Manor looking like that? Who the fuck gave you the nerve?"
"Get lost, now. Keep hanging around here and we'll take your legs off!"
"Heh... Wu San, what the hell are you talking about?"
"Who the fuck said I, Zhuang Haitian, hate pretty boys? What a load of bullshit. You make it sound like this young master is jealous of someone else's looks..."
The fat man deliberately barked a reprimand at his guard.
The guard apologized at once. "Ah, I was wrong, I was wrong... Fifth Young Master, your heart is