Ye Qifeng and Qian Renxue

Ye Qifeng stared wide-eyed at the girl, guessing her identity. A moment later, his mouth fell open involuntarily.

"When did you get here?"

Qian Renxue flashed forward, and the golden Long Sword in her hand landed against Ye Qifeng's shoulder as she demanded, "Explain yourself."

With a sword suddenly pressed near his neck, Ye Qifeng's lips twitched.

But he was not panicked in the slightest, nor did he show even a trace of fear. Instead, he remained remarkably calm, looking at her as though she were an idiot. "I've been here the whole time."

Qian Renxue clearly did not believe him. Her sword moved a little closer to his neck. "Impossible! Then why didn't I sense your presence?"

In that moment, Ye Qifeng suddenly recalled a classic line: "At that time, the sword was only 0.01 centimeters from my throat..."

Ah, spit. This wasn't the time to think about that... Shaking his head to clear the association from his mind, Ye Qifeng glanced at Qian Renxue and rolled his eyes. "How would I know?!"

You're the Spirit Master, and you're asking me?

"Hmph!" Qian Renxue snorted. "Prove it to me."

Ye Qifeng looked speechless. He could only extend one little finger and point in the direction Qian Renxue had come from. "Just now, I saw a young lady run over from that direction. She was crying as she ran, and eventually she reached the lakeside..."

"Stop, stop, stop! No need to say any more. I believe you." Qian Renxue's pretty face instantly flushed crimson. She quickly interrupted Ye Qifeng, refusing to let him continue.

She was embarrassed and annoyed, and she turned her blame on Ye Qifeng.

"Since you were here the whole time, why didn't you say anything? Were you up to something?"

Ye Qifeng could not help rolling his eyes again.

"I saw that the young lady was crying so sadly and thought she needed to vent. Besides, what could a four-year-old kid like me possibly be up to? I was here all along. You're the one who suddenly barged in, okay?"

"Fine." After thinking it over, Qian Renxue realized that was indeed true and finally withdrew her sword.

Feeling a little awkward, she changed the subject.

"What's your name?"

"Before asking someone else's name, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" Although Ye Qifeng had already guessed the girl's identity, he still could not resist teasing her and deliberately said this.

He wanted to see whether Qian Renxue would give her real name.

"That's true."

Qian Renxue thought for a moment and recalled Grandfather's warning not to reveal her identity casually. Deciding to tell a lie, she gave a false name. "My name is Qian... Xue. What about you, little brat?"

Sure enough, Qian Renxue had given a false name.

He could more or less guess why.

When Qian Renxue called him a little brat, Ye Qifeng's face darkened. The corners of his mouth twitched, and he was thoroughly speechless.

Still.

It did not matter.

He would not hold it against her.

"I have a name. I'm not called little brat." Ye Qifeng spoke irritably before giving his name. "My name is Ye Qifeng. You can call me Qifeng."

After introducing himself, Ye Qifeng glanced at Qian Renxue. "Your surname is Qian. Are you from the Angel Clan of the Qian Family?"

"How did you know?" Qian Renxue was surprised.

"I'm not an idiot. In all of Spirit City, who besides the Angel Clan would have the surname Qian?" Ye Qifeng replied casually with a smile.

Hmm? Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu, hidden in the shadows, both revealed surprised looks. This kid has quite a brain!

"Fine, Qifeng, is it? Why are you here alone? Where are your father and mother?" Qian Renxue asked.

"Oh, I'm an orphan from the Orphanage nearby."

Ye Qifeng smiled and extended a small finger, pointing toward Apricot Blossom Village—no, toward the Orphanage not far from the lakeside.

Hearing that, Qian Renxue froze. She had not expected this adorable little fellow to be an orphan. Moreover, judging from his demeanor, he did not seem the least bit sad about being an orphan.

"Why aren't you sad?" she asked curiously.

"What's there to be sad about? Since I'm here, I might as well make the best of it. There's no need for so much sentimentality in life. What matters is being happy and following your heart." Ye Qifeng glanced at her and replied blandly.

Qian Renxue burst into laughter. "You little brat, why do you always talk like some old man? What great truths could you possibly understand? Honestly."

For some reason, her mood instantly improved greatly, and she suddenly became even more interested in the little fellow before her.

Looking up, she suddenly realized that Ye Qifeng seemed almost too adorable. For a moment, she felt an extraordinary sense of closeness toward him.

Ye Qifeng looked at Qian Renxue.

"What? Do you have something upsetting you? You were crying your eyes out just now. Did something sad happen?"

Qian Renxue's expression immediately fell. She did not know why, but she seemed quite willing to open her heart to him. "Why would someone cruelly abandon their own child, even want to kill their own child?"

Ye Qifeng pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Hmm... That's hard to say. Even a vicious tiger does not eat its cubs. No parent would abandon their child without reason."

"If they did, there would be only two possible reasons. First, they were cold-blooded by nature and regarded life as worthless, not even caring about their own flesh and blood. Second, they had encountered difficulties, perhaps something they could not bring themselves to say."

After hearing this, Qian Renxue thought for a while. She was certain that woman was not cold-blooded by nature. It was obvious from how well she treated Hu Liena, raising her entirely as though she were her own daughter.

After turning the matter over in her mind, Qian Renxue asked faintly, "If she has something she cannot bring herself to say, why won't she say it?"

Ye Qifeng looked up at Qian Renxue and said,

"If it is something she cannot bring herself to say, then naturally she won't tell you."

"Some things can only be discovered by yourself. Or you can find a way to open her heart and let her tell you willingly."

"You could try learning about her past. Maybe you'll find the answer you want."

"Learn about her past?" Qian Renxue lowered her head in thought.

As Bibi Dong listened to Ye Qifeng's words from the shadows, turmoil rose in her heart. It seemed he had struck a sore spot.

Qian Daoliu, meanwhile, was filled with astonishment. This little boy seemed far too clever. At such a young age, he already understood so many principles, and his analysis was so organized and accurate.

Ye Qifeng knew nothing of Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu's thoughts.

At that moment, seeing Qian Renxue frowning in thought, he could not resist teasing her. "So the abandoned child you're talking about is you?"

At those words, Qian Renxue's face instantly flushed red. She immediately protested, "I never said it was me. It's someone else."

She was flustered.

"Uh... your friend?" Ye Qifeng smiled and offered her a way out. Making up a friend out of nowhere was easy enough.

"Yes, yes, yes, it's my friend." Qian Renxue's blue eyes shifted as she eagerly went along with it, smiling as she nodded.

Suddenly, Qian Renxue swept her delicate, beautiful phoenix eyes around and noticed several books lying beside Ye Qifeng.

Huh, those are... books from the Spirit Hall Archives?! Where did they come from?

Qian Renxue recognized them.

She was very curious about how Ye Qifeng had obtained those books.