"You. Take off your hood!"
At his words, I felt as if lightning had struck me from head to toe. Si Nan Yuan had indeed told me that the second young master was fond of women, but I hadn't realized his eye was so sharp! What should I do, what should I do? They outnumbered me, and it wouldn't be hard for them to abduct me. Damn it... I'd been careful in every way, only to run into this menace here!
"...I'm only the Second Young Miss's attendant. Please, Lord Feng..."
"Enough talk! Gray Tiger, get her!"
A gray-haired young man—Gray Tiger—stepped forward and flicked both hands. A whirlwind roared up, and before I could resist, it tore my hood to shreds.
It was over. "Hss—"
The people beside Si Nan Feng let out a comical chorus of gasps. Their faces all wore three parts shock and seven parts rapture. A few even forgot to breathe. Even Rui Feng and Rui Xin couldn't help sneaking a few glances at me.
Si Nan Feng's eyes blazed. In the entire Si Nan Family, there had never been a beauty like this! He swept her with his probing field, and the enchanting curves of the stunning beauty immediately appeared in his mind. Even he, a man who had seen countless beauties, could barely control himself. His mouth went dry, heat surged in his lower belly, and his mighty member had already risen high. Only one person had ever made him react like this at first sight: Haoyue Tartaglia! The young woman before him was every bit as beautiful as Haoyue, and her figure was even better!
Having the good fortune to meet such a beauty, how could he possibly let her go?
I'm in deep trouble, I thought. Si Nan Feng's eyes were practically glued to my face, the lust in them almost piercing through me. And his crotch... Holy crap, that thing was huge! If I got... by something like that... Just imagining it made me want to die!
As I desperately tried to think of a way to escape, Si Nan Feng had already rushed impatiently toward me. "Beautiful lady, meeting is fate—and meeting me is the greatest fortune you could ever have! Come with me. I guarantee I'll give you everything you want!"
"Thank you for your kindness... but I serve Miss Si Nan Ying..."
"You serve her? She should be serving you! Don't waste your time with a loser like her. Join me!"
...That bastard. Was his head full of shit? How had someone like him become the most powerful of them all?
I was about to refuse again when—
"Second Brother, long time no see."
A steady male voice rang out. A man with purple hair and purple eyes walked over, accompanied by just two attendants, a man and a woman. He looked to be in his late twenties, tall and slender, his steps unhurried. He wasn't as handsome as Si Nan Feng, but he had an intellectual air about him. His gray-black robe was perfectly smooth, without a single wrinkle.
"...Hmph, so it's you. What, did you suddenly have some free time to wander around here today?"
"I heard Little Sister had returned, so of course I came to greet her as her elder brother. Unfortunately..." Si Nan Xing glanced around, his gaze lingering on me a little longer than the rest. "It seems I arrived at an inconvenient time."
"If you know it's inconvenient, then leave. I have important business to attend to!"
"If you consider chasing women important business, I have nothing to say. But I still have to remind you: don't bring shame upon our Lineage. You know what the women of high society think of you."
"And who are you to lecture me!?"
"It's not a question of who I am. Behaving like this in front of our guests—what kind of conduct is that?"
"You..."
"What's going on here!?"
A familiar, furious roar rang out. The voice was old but full of strength. Who else could it be but Elder Hong?
"Si Nan Feng, watch yourself! She's Little Ying's honored guest. Don't even think about laying a finger on her!"
"Tch... Old Hong, you think you can act so high and mighty just because the old man favors you?" Si Nan Feng ground his teeth and spat out one threat after another, but still turned and left obediently. It seemed Elder Hong had plenty of clout in the family.
Elder Hong sighed and said to me, "That boy, Si Nan Feng... He's always been like this with women. He's got his eye on you now, so you'll have to be extremely careful from here on. He'll do absolutely anything to get what he wants."
"...Thank you for the warning, Elder Hong. I'll be careful from now on."
Si Nan Xing stepped forward too. "You're Liu Ye, right? I'm sorry my younger brother caused you trouble."
As he spoke, he extended his hand. I shook it politely. "Thank you for coming to my rescue, Lord Xing. I look forward to your guidance."
"Well, since Little Sister isn't here, I won't stay any longer. Until we meet again, everyone." Si Nan Xing bowed, then promptly left with his two attendants.
The eldest young master seemed like a decent person. No wonder the current Patriarch thought so highly of him. And of everyone who had seen my face, his reaction had been the mildest—he'd only looked at me for a moment longer. Even Elder Hong had been full of praise when he saw me.
Rui Xin seemed to guess what I was thinking and whispered, "Don't read too much into it. The young master was born with severe sexual frigidity, so he didn't react to you. Almost everyone knows that about him."
Uh...
"How is it, Chang Xia? What did you observe?" Si Nan Xing asked his female attendant, Chang Xia.
"Her strength is above average, and her body is quite robust. Her ability is... blood manipulation," Chang Xia replied slowly.
This was her ability, the True Sight Eye. It could see through someone's ability and roughly gauge their strength. Evolved to its limit, it could even reveal what moves the target knew at a glance. It was an extremely useful and rare ability.
"Blood manipulation? I've never heard of that."
"Neither have I. It's probably a new ability that's never appeared before."
"Do you think she's worth recruiting?"
"Hard to say. We'll need to observe her further before reaching a conclusion. But her beauty really is unparalleled. Elder Hong and the others probably want to use her to build up the Second Young Miss's reputation. Once she makes a formal appearance in public, she'll definitely cause a sensation."
"...Heh, a sensation? What a pity I can't feel anything for women, no matter what."
The next day—
I opened my eyes to the first rays of morning sunlight and looked around. Rui Xin's room came into view. I'd shared a room with her last night and stayed up chatting until late, so all I wanted now was to go back to sleep...
"Xiao Ye~~~ Time to get up~"
I couldn't hear anything about Si Nan Ying. I pulled the blanket over my head.
"Xiao Ye~~~~ Can you hear me? The sun's already high in the sky~~~"
I buried my face deep in the pillow. It wasn't morning, and nobody was calling me. I couldn't hear a thing.
"Xiao~~~ Ye~~~ (shake)~~~ Xiao~~~ Ye~~~ (shake)~~~"
"Okay, okay, I'm up! Stop shaking me!"
"Your room's ready. It's right next to mine! Sister Yuan wants you to go see it!"
A room?
"So come on~"
"Don't pull... I'm not dressed yet..."
"Here it is!"
I looked around the room. It was oval-shaped and very spacious, with a bathroom, a toilet, and even a small kitchen. The furnishings were simple but tasteful, exactly to my liking. In the center was a stone-floored area, where stone pillars of various sizes stood beside a meditation cushion. It seemed the room came with its own small training space.
"What do you think?"
"Can't find a fault with it. It's beautiful and practical, but... is that a wardrobe? Why is it so huge?" The wardrobe before me was ten meters long and nearly three meters tall, far beyond anything I'd ever thought a wardrobe could be.
"Because it's filled with clothes prepared just for you~"
A chill ran down my spine.
"Um... I'll just go to the bathroom first."
"Denied! It's about time you changed out of that ugly outfit! And from now on, no covering your face when you go out."
...Give me a break.
Before you continue