Yan Ruyu

Ye Yu? Ye Qingshuang did not understand how this matter had gotten tangled up with that good-for-nothing.

But seeing that Cangyun had no intention of saying more, she did not press him further. She would only wait until dawn to go to Liu Manor and find Ye Yu to get to the bottom of it.

The night passed without incident. It was not until the rising sun of the next day that Ye Yu slowly awakened from meditation.

Situ Guang was currently keeping watch in the hall downstairs. He was in no hurry to take the Life Profound Origin Pill; it was not yet the time. He planned to return to Great Qin before entering seclusion to consume it.

Qin Ruoxian had also awakened. Sitting beside Situ Guang, she seemed absentminded, a trace of worry occasionally surfacing in her eyes.

What if Ye Yu saw Liu Ruyan and changed his mind?

Just as she was thinking this, the upstairs door opened. Ye Yu appeared and looked down, his gaze meeting Qin Ruoxian's. He immediately revealed a warm smile.

"Heading to Liu Manor already?" Qin Ruoxian asked softly.

"Yes. The two days are up. Since she will not return it, I'll retrieve it myself." Ye Yu smiled calmly.

"I'll go with you." After thinking for a moment, Qin Ruoxian spoke. Situ Guang beside her said nothing. With age came wisdom, and he could naturally see that only a thin layer of window paper remained between the two of them, waiting to be pierced.

Yet Ye Yu shook his head. "I'll go alone. The matter has not been resolved yet. If you come with me, it may damage the reputation of Great Qin's Ninth Princess and give others something to gossip about."

"I don't care!" Qin Ruoxian curled her lips.

"But I do." Ye Yu reached out and rubbed Qin Ruoxian's head before speaking again. "If you want to go, come later with Mister Situ."

With that, Ye Yu turned and left the inn, heading alone for Liu Manor.

Seeing this, Qin Ruoxian was about to follow, but Situ Guang stopped her. "Princess, listen to Mister Ye. Don't worry. What is yours cannot run away."

Hearing the teasing in Situ Guang's words, Qin Ruoxian could not help blushing. She turned her head away and said nothing more.

Liu Manor was especially bustling at this moment, having been lively since the first rays of dawn.

Over the past two days, Liu Ruyan had not remained at Liu Manor. Instead, she had visited the great aristocratic families of Great Flame and even nearby sects, inviting many prominent figures.

She intended to make this matter huge, to make it known by every household, so that all of Great Flame—even all of Azure Prefecture—would know that it was she, Liu Ruyan, who had cast Ye Yu aside.

That way, Ye Yu would not be able to use her status to swagger about and deceive people in the future.

Those who had accepted the invitation naturally understood Liu Ruyan's intentions. But what they wanted even more was to see what state the former Crown Prince of Great Flame had fallen into.

Great Flame was currently basking in the limelight, and the status of the Great Yan Royal Family had risen like a rocket. They did not mind kicking a man when he was down to win some favor from the Great Yan Royal Family.

Liu Tiannan sat in the center of the hall, looking at the powerful figures from every side below. He nodded in satisfaction. In just a few short years, the Liu Family had risen from an unknown minor clan to this point! He was immensely pleased.

"Thank you all for accepting my invitation today. It brings honor to this old face of mine!" Liu Tiannan rose and said courteously.

The people below responded with equal politeness, yet inwardly they were all belittling this ungrateful wretch.

The Liu Family had only developed to this extent by relying on Ye Yu. Now that Ye Yu had lost power, Liu Tiannan was hurriedly severing ties and making such a grand spectacle of it. If that was not the behavior of an ungrateful wretch, what was?

"The Crown Prince of Great Flame, Ye Xuan; Great Flame *** Ye Qingwan; and the Third Princess of Great Flame, Ye Qingshuang, have arrived!"

Suddenly, a loud announcement rang out. Three figures slowly entered from outside the hall.

Everyone present, including Liu Tiannan, rose to greet the three. With the Great Yan Emperor Ye Fan absent, these three represented the Great Yan Royal Family.

Hearing the greetings around him, Ye Xuan revealed a confident smile. He stepped forward and said to Liu Tiannan, "Uncle Liu, where is Sister Ruyan?"

Seeing Ye Xuan speak this way, Liu Tiannan was overjoyed. The Crown Prince's attitude truly gave him plenty of face. He immediately laughed. "Ruyan is in the rear hall, speaking with disciples from the Qingyun Sect."

At the mention of the Qingyun Sect, Liu Tiannan's back straightened even further.

The Qingyun Sect was a force no weaker than the Great Yan Dynasty. Experts filled the sect like clouds, and it was said that there were no fewer than ten great cultivators in the Nascent Soul Realm. Unlike the Great Yan Dynasty, however, they generally did not concern themselves with worldly affairs.

Yet disciples of the Qingyun Sect had now appeared at Liu Manor. The meaning behind it spoke for itself.

The Liu Family was about to soar into the sky in a single bound!

Ye Xuan's eyes lit up even more brightly. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he headed straight for the rear hall. Those were disciples of the Qingyun Sect—befriending them would bring nothing but benefits.

Upon reaching the rear hall, Ye Xuan indeed saw Liu Ruyan conversing with a woman in white within a pavilion. He immediately stepped forward impatiently. "Sister Ruyan, I'm here."

The moment she saw Ye Xuan, Liu Ruyan's face blossomed with a happy smile. She quickly pulled him over and introduced him. "Xiao Xuan, let me introduce you. This is Yan Ruyu, the Qingyun Sect's Senior Disciple."

"Senior Sister Yan, this is the Crown Prince of Great Flame, Ye Xuan."

Yan Ruyu glanced up at Ye Xuan and gave a slight nod, considering that a greeting.

After just one look at Yan Ruyu, Ye Xuan was utterly stunned by her beauty. The five princesses of Great Flame, including Liu Ruyan, could all be called beauties capable of toppling a kingdom, yet compared to Yan Ruyu, they seemed to pale into insignificance. The other women lacked the ethereal, otherworldly aura Yan Ruyu possessed.

But Ye Xuan quickly came back to his senses. He caught the key point in Liu Ruyan's words and said with delighted surprise, "Sister Ruyan, you called Sister Ruyu Senior Sister just now. Does that mean you joined the Qingyun Sect?!"

Liu Ruyan smiled and nodded, her brows filled with pride.

Yan Ruyu felt a flash of displeasure at Ye Xuan's form of address, but she did not pay much attention to it. Her trip to Great Flame had two purposes: one was to stand up for this junior sister of hers, who had yet to formally take a master; the other was to find someone.

She had once been ambushed by members of the Blood Demon Clan and poisoned with blood toxin, nearly dying with her beauty fading away. Fortunately, she had passed through Great Flame's border at the time and received treatment from a young man.

But he had not completely cured her. During the entire year after returning to the Qingyun Sect, no solution had been found. Now, sensing faint signs that the blood toxin within her was about to flare up, she had come to the Great Yan Dynasty.

The rear courtyard was filled with pleasant conversation.

Yet the front hall had fallen into an eerie silence.

Aside from Ye Qingwan and Ye Qingshuang seated in the places of honor, the imperial princes and princesses of several great dynasties had also all arrived.

Just as everyone was marveling at the Liu Family's immense influence, they suddenly sensed that something was wrong. Ye Qingwan seemed to be at odds with them.

The entire hall was charged with drawn swords and bent bows.

Just as the atmosphere grew still, a slender figure slowly approached from outside Liu Manor's gates. Under everyone's watchful eyes, he gradually stepped into Liu Manor's main hall. It was Ye Yu.

Seeing such a lineup, Ye Yu was not surprised. He then looked at Liu Tiannan and said indifferently, "Please hand over the Autumn Water Sword."