By the time Yan Xiu returned to the gates of Sweetwood Estate, dusk was drawing near.
He looked up and caught sight of that cool, aloof figure in the hall.
Yan Ling sat by the window in a plain white dress, her gaze lowered as she brewed tea. In the twilight, her profile resembled a jade carving, serene and untouched by worldly dust.
That single glance was all it took.
Yan Xiu felt the wicked fire in his chest, which had burned ever fiercer since he descended the mountain, flare up again, scorching his innards until they ached.
His breathing unconsciously grew heavy, his throat bobbing. The gaze he fixed on his younger sister had lost every trace of the clarity an elder brother ought to possess, leaving only a clinging, greedy heat.
Forcing down his surging emotions, he slowly drew a talisman from his robes and turned to Qi Ye and the others behind him. "My sister and I have some important confidential matters to discuss. All of you, keep your distance. No one is to approach without my orders."
Although Qi Ye sensed something strange in his young master's expression, he dared not ask. He immediately bowed. "Yes." Then he led the others outside the courtyard gates.
Yan Xiu released his true qi, pouring it into the talisman.
In an instant, an invisible barrier rippled outward from the talisman like water, swiftly enveloping the entire hall and sealing it off. The moment the barrier opened, Yan Xiu's figure vanished from sight.
Inside the hall.
Yan Ling was concentrating on brewing tea when she suddenly felt a barrier unfold, cutting off the interior from the outside. Her delicate brows creased almost imperceptibly.
When she turned and saw that it was Yan Xiu, her faint wariness relaxed. Assuming her brother