Ya Fei Was, After All, Only an Eighteen-Year-Old Girl

Lu Heng looked at Ya Fei.

Those peach-blossom eyes, usually holding thirty percent amusement and seventy percent shrewdness, were now veiled in a mist of tears that made his heart ache.

Sister Ya Fei neither made a fuss nor questioned him. She simply looked at him quietly, her fingers gripping the spoon so tightly that her knuckles had turned pale.

She clearly thought he was leaving for good.

Lu Heng sighed inwardly and swallowed the joke that had reached his lips.

He had wanted to tease Ya Fei with something like, "Yeah, the world is so big—I want to see it." But when he saw that tear trembling stubbornly in her eyes, refusing to fall, all desire to tease her vanished.

"Mm, I am leaving."

Lu Heng nodded slowly.

Clang.

The spoon slipped from Ya Fei's hand and fell into the bowl, splashing a few drops of thick rice porridge onto her expensive red dress.

She did not wipe it away. She merely lowered her head, her voice slightly choked. "When?"

"In the next day or two." Lu Heng rose to his feet.

Ya Fei's body trembled slightly. She did not look up, seemingly struggling to contain her emotions. Her shoulders slumped as though all the spirit had suddenly been drained from her.

The next moment, a pair of arms that were neither broad nor strong—indeed, still somewhat childish—wrapped forcefully around her waist.

Though Lu Heng was not yet eleven and only reached Ya Fei's chin in height, that did not stop him from displaying his aggressiveness at this moment.

He stepped forward, buried his face in Ya Fei's fragrant embrace, and held her tightly.

"Sister Ya Fei, what exactly goes through that little head of yours all day?"

Lu Heng's muffled voice came from her chest, carrying a helpless hint of amusement.

"I just think my actual combat abilities are too poor right now. I have all this Dou Qi and all these pills, but if I really got into a fight, I'd probably suffer for it.

"So I'm planning to head to the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range near Green Mountain Town and find a few clueless First-Rank Magical Beasts to practice on."

Ya Fei's body stiffened for a moment before slowly relaxing.

"Just... training?"

Ya Fei asked uncertainly, one hand instinctively moving to Lu Heng's back, feeling his warmth through his clothes.

"What else would it be? Where did you think I was going?"

Lu Heng raised his head, resting his chin against her soft chest as he looked up at her pretty face so close to his own.

"My life was saved by Sister Ya Fei. Even if it's just so I can live off you better in the future, I should toughen myself up, shouldn't I?"

At the words "live off you," much of Ya Fei's despair immediately dissipated.

"Really?"

"Truer than gold."

Lu Heng said seriously, "At the shortest, two months. At the longest, half a year. Once I've honed my Dou Techniques, I'll crawl back if I have to. After all..."

Lu Heng leaned closer, his warm breath brushing against Ya Fei's slender neck as he grinned mischievously.

"I can't bear to leave Sister Ya Fei alone in an empty room. What if some blind fool stole you away? Who would I cry to then?"

Smack.

Ya Fei slapped his back irritably, though the force was as light as brushing away dust.

"Such a smooth talker! You're barely even grown, yet you already know how to sweet-talk people."

Though she scolded him, Ya Fei did not withdraw her hand after that slap. Instead, she tightly clutched the fabric on Lu Heng's back.

The tears she had held back for so long finally slid down her charming, beautiful cheeks and fell onto Lu Heng's forehead, scorching hot.

"Go if you want to go. It's not like I've tied you up with a rope."

Ya Fei sniffed, her voice thick with tears.

"But remember this, Lu Heng. If you dare come back missing even a single hair, I'll... I'll..."

Ya Fei fell silent for a moment, unable to think of what to say.

The corners of Lu Heng's lips rose as he hugged Ya Fei even tighter.

Something unusual happened at the Miteer Auction House that day.

Ya Fei, the chief auctioneer who practically wished she could live at the auction house all three hundred and sixty-five days of the year, had actually taken a day off for the first time ever.

In the appraisal room, Gu Ni looked at the mountain of files awaiting review on the table, then at the "leave request" Ya Fei had sent over—which was really just a note saying, "I have something to do today. Do not disturb"—and his old face scrunched into a frown.

"What kind of nonsense is this..."

Gu Ni slapped the note onto the table.

But there was nothing he could do. After all, Lu Heng, that little monster, had given him far too many surprises.

"These two had better be handling something important."

Gu Ni sighed, fiddling with his abacus as he muttered.

"Young people these days don't even care about the occasion when they fall in love.

"Fine, they don't care about the occasion. But that boy Lu Heng, at such a young age, already knows how to coax a young lady. And he treats this old man like cheap labor..."

Meanwhile, on Green Screen Mountain outside Wutan City.

The sunlight was perfect, and the breeze was gentle.

There was none of the auction house's clamor here, none of the scheming between clans—only wildflowers carpeting the hills and crisp birdsong.

With a foxtail grass stem between his lips, Lu Heng lay on the grass with his hands behind his head, squinting up at the deep blue sky.

Ya Fei sat beside him. She was not wearing her signature red brocade robe, having changed instead into a simple pale blue dress. It made her a little less glamorous and seductive, but gave her more of the gentle warmth of a girl next door.

"Open up."

Ya Fei peeled a purple grape in her hand and held its translucent flesh to Lu Heng's lips.

Lu Heng obediently opened his mouth, catching Ya Fei's fingers along with the grape as his tongue lightly curled around it and took the fruit away.

"Are you a dog?"

Ya Fei pulled back her hand as if shocked by lightning. Her pretty face reddened slightly as she glared at him.

"These grapes are sweet."

Lu Heng chewed the grape and spoke indistinctly.

"But they're not as sweet as Sister Ya Fei."

"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll cut out your tongue and serve it with wine."

Ya Fei snorted, but she could not suppress the upward curve of her lips.

Neither of them mentioned cultivation that entire day. Nor did they mention the auction house business, much less their parting the next day.

They were like the most ordinary brother and sister—or perhaps like a young couple still in the innocent, uncertain stage—chasing wild rabbits through the mountains, catching crabs by the stream, and leaning against each other to watch the changing clouds when they grew tired.

Lu Heng watched Ya Fei run across the grass without caring about her appearance, chasing a butterfly with her skirt fluttering and her laughter bright and clear.

At that moment, he felt that the Queen of Gold, who had always maneuvered so expertly through circles of fame and profit, had disappeared. In her place was simply an eighteen-year-old girl named Ya Fei.

Yes...

When all was said and done, Sister Ya Fei was only an eighteen-year-old girl.

It was not until the sun began to set, stretching their shadows long and longer still.

On the way down the mountain, Ya Fei walked very slowly.

"Little brother."

"Mm?"

"Tell me, is the world outside really that wonderful?"

Ya Fei looked toward Wutan City, where lights were gradually beginning to glow in the distance. Her tone was somewhat distant.

"It's wonderful, but it's dangerous too."

Lu Heng took Ya Fei's hand. It was a little cold.

"But no matter how wonderful the outside world is, I'll always come home. Because Sister Ya Fei is at home."

Ya Fei's fingers trembled, then she clasped Lu Heng's hand tightly in return.

"Little brother..."

"Sister Ya Fei..."