A fleeting stir of affection

When Yun Yun received word that she had been removed from her position, she was happily enjoying a delicious meal.

She was utterly dumbfounded. The chopsticks holding her food trembled, and her appetite vanished in an instant.

She shot to her feet.

But the sudden movement aggravated that tearing pain, making her face twitch.

Pointing her chopsticks at the maid, she asked with a trembling hand, "What did you say? I've been removed?!"

In the time it took to eat a meal, she had lost her position as the ninth Misty Cloud Sect Master.

The most outrageous part was that this had been Chen Yang's idea.

She had never seen a man screw over his own wife like this.

No longer caring about the tearing pain, Yun Yun wanted to rush to the main hall and demand an explanation from Chen Yang, to see whether there was still time to stop it.

If she could have beaten Chen Yang, she would have run over and twisted his ears clean off.

Although she rarely concerned herself with sect affairs as the Misty Cloud Sect Master, the position was a symbol of status and standing.

One of the Ten Great Experts of the Jia Ma Empire, the Misty Cloud Sect Master—how prestigious was that?

That wastrel of a husband.

If my body could take it, I'd teach him a lesson tonight.

Supporting her aching waist, Yun Yun formed wings of Dou Qi and swooped down from the Sect Master Peak, flying toward the main hall at full speed.

Inside the main hall, Nalan Yanran had already received the sect master's seal from Yun Shan.

She had also gained permission to enter the Gate of Life and Death, and could study all the Misty Cloud Sect's Dou Techniques and cultivation methods.

Yun Yun arrived late outside the main hall, retracting her Dou Qi wings as she landed before its doors.

Then she stormed inside.

Just as she was about to say, "I object," she felt Chen Yang's gaze turn toward her.

Their eyes met, and Yun Yun swallowed her objection.

Her steps involuntarily slowed as she gradually came to her senses.

I really shouldn't have acted on impulse.

Given her lowly standing in the household, what could she change by coming here once Chen Yang had made his decision?

In a fight, she could not beat Chen Yang.

In bed, she was even less of a match for him.

Before Chen Yang, Yun Yun was so powerless that she wanted to hide her face.

"Teacher, you're here." Nalan Yanran rose and approached, intending to take Yun Yun's arm and lead her forward.

She did just that, successfully.

Yun Yun had always doted on Nalan Yanran, but she had not expected her to suddenly pick up the pace after taking her hand.

The tug made her brow furrow, and she instinctively wanted to shake off Nalan Yanran's hand.

But that was only a thought. She would not actually do it.

After a couple of steps, Nalan Yanran quickly noticed something unusual about Yun Yun.

Her teacher's walking posture seemed very strange.

There was something distinctly ducklike about it.

Nalan Yanran was still young and had never experienced the transition from girl to woman, so she did not understand why her teacher was walking like that.

Yun Shan, seated at the head of the hall, and First Elder Yun Leng, however, noticed the telltale signs.

Though they had never tasted pork themselves, at their age, they had enough experience to have seen pigs running.

Remembering that last night had been the wedding night, and that Yun Yun was a great beauty, they immediately understood.

First Elder Yun Leng stroked his beard and smiled.

As for Yun Shan, he felt as though his family's prized cabbage had been utterly ravaged by a pig, with nothing left.

Considering the awkwardness of Yun Yun's current status, Chen Yang lightly patted his thigh, beckoning her over.

"Yun'er, come here!"

His lap would always be hers.

Yun Yun: "...!"

Thanks a lot!

She understood his gesture.

But she did not want to do it.

If she really walked over and sat on Chen Yang's lap in front of all these people, how could she show her face afterward?

Yun Yun wanted to find any seat and sit down.

But after looking around, she found none suitable for her. With Chen Yang urging her on, she could only steel herself and walk over.

Yun Yun walked very, very slowly. It was only a few steps, yet she managed to make it feel like several hundred meters.

The closer she came to Chen Yang, the more fiercely she wrestled with whether she should really sit down.

Maybe I should just find an excuse to go back.

I could say I'm feeling unwell. After all, I was worn out all night.

That excuse would work!

Before she knew it, Yun Yun had come within arm's reach of Chen Yang.

Seeing this, Chen Yang took charge, pulling her straight into his arms and settling her on his lap.

Though he was domineering, he also doted on his wife.

And his domineering approach had been forced on him by the circumstances.

A woman as worldly as Yun Yun was difficult to woo to begin with.

Moreover, the higher her cultivation, the less she needed romantic attachment. With Gu He, that bootlicker, having pursued her for so many years, winning her over without some forceful measures would have been nearly impossible.

The only reason Xiao Yan had managed to find his way into her heart was the boost to her affection from his protagonist halo, along with the growing fondness brought about by several days of living together.

Chen Yang had considered modifying Yun Yun's affection for him, raising it until she loved him to her very bones.

But modifying affection required unlocking higher-level access, which cost a full hundred thousand modification points.

With her warm, fragrant softness in his arms, Chen Yang wrapped an arm around her waist, pressing his palm against it and feeling its tender warmth.

Her delicate fragrance drifted into his nostrils, sending a faint ripple through his heart.

Yun Yun's mind froze for several seconds. Feeling the elders' gazes on her, she wished she could find a crack in the ground and crawl inside.

Chen Yang gently stroked Yun Yun's belly with his large hand, using Dou Qi to relieve her discomfort.

"The thirty-fourth art of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Stems Treasure Art: Complete Erasure!"

White light flashed between Chen Yang's fingers and swept over Yun Yun's belly.

In an instant, all her discomfort disappeared.

At the same time, a warm current flowed through her, curing the chill in her body as well.

With her physical discomfort gone, Yun Yun looked in surprise at Chen Yang's warm expression.

How did he do that?

Dou Qi with healing properties?!

Was this still the Dou Qi she knew?

For some reason, an unfamiliar emotion flickered through the depths of her heart.

By the time she tried to grasp it, it was already too late.

"Yun'er, there's something your husband needs to tell you."

"I simply couldn't bear watching you wear yourself out. So, after thinking it over carefully, I decided to have you resign as the Misty Cloud Sect Master and pass the position to Nalan Yanran."

Ignoring everyone else, Chen Yang held Yun Yun's slender waist firmly and stared straight into her eyes, speaking each word distinctly.

At his words, Yun Yun's eyes shifted. She met his gaze with a hint of pleading, her long, straight black lashes fluttering as she parted her lips to voice her concerns.

"But Yanran is still young. She lacks experience, and her cultivation isn't sufficient. Isn't handing the Misty Cloud Sect over to her a little reckless?"

Besides, she had her own pride. She had not married Chen Yang just to become an ornament, nor had she ever considered merely tending to her husband and raising his children.