Sending Dai Mubai Flying

A few days after Zhu Zhuqing arrived in Nuoding City, trouble came knocking.

Yi Yun was catching up on sleep on the grass on the back hill. Xiao Wu lay beside him, munching on a carrot, Zhu Zhuqing sat cultivating Soul Power under a nearby tree, and Tang San was hard at work practicing his pole vault on the training ground.

Everything was peaceful, as peaceful as the calm before a storm.

Then the storm arrived.

A large procession swept into Nuoding City.

Leading it was a tall, powerfully built young man with short brown hair, sharply defined features, and mismatched eyes, his left red and his right blue. He looked both devilishly charming and arrogant.

He wore luxurious brocade robes with a sword at his waist and rode a tall horse. More than a dozen fully armed guards followed him, each at least a Soul Ancestor in strength.

Pedestrians along the road hurried out of the way. No one dared block his path.

Seated on his horse, the young man looked down at the drab little city, a disdainful smile tugging at his lips.

"Nuoding City? This dump?"

His name was Dai Mubai.

The third prince of the Star Luo Imperial Family, and Zhu Zhuqing's fiancé.

Three days earlier, he had received word that Zhu Zhuqing had fled their marriage, and he had been furious.

Zhu Zhuqing fleeing their marriage was not just a slap in his face, but a slap in the face of the Star Luo Imperial Family.

After all his years of throwing his weight around in the Star Luo Empire, no one had ever dared treat him like this.

"Search! Find her for me!" At Dai Mubai's command, the guards scattered and began searching Nuoding City.

Dai Mubai rode up to the entrance of Nuoding Academy, looked at its peeling sign, and sneered.

"Zhu Zhuqing is hiding in a place like this?"

He jumped off his horse and strode into the academy.

The old gatekeeper tried to stop him, only to be slapped aside.

"Get lost! Stay out of my way!"

The old man fell to the ground and clutched his face, angry but afraid to speak.

Dai Mubai and his guards barged through the academy, questioning everyone they saw.

"Have you seen a black-haired girl? Pretty, dressed in black, about this tall." Dai Mubai gestured.

The student he questioned trembled and pointed toward the back hill.

"On... on the back hill..."

Dai Mubai sneered and led his men toward the back hill.

Tang San was practicing his pole vault when he suddenly heard a clamor of footsteps.

He turned and saw a brown-haired young man approaching menacingly with more than a dozen guards.

Tang San frowned, instinctively sensing that they meant trouble.

"Who are you?" Tang San blocked the path.

Dai Mubai sized Tang San up, noticed the green pole in his hands, and scoffed. "Who the hell are you? What are you playing at, standing here with a stick?"

"I asked who you were." Tang San's voice grew cold.

"Me? Dai Mubai, third prince of the Star Luo Empire." Dai Mubai raised his head, his tone dripping with arrogance. "I'm here for my fiancée, Zhu Zhuqing. Get out of the way if you know what's good for you."

Tang San's heart sank.

Zhu Zhuqing's fiancé had come looking for her this soon?

"She isn't here," Tang San said.

"Isn't here? Who are you trying to fool?" Dai Mubai sneered. "My men saw her enter this academy. Move, or don't blame me for getting rough."

Tang San tightened his grip on the Pole Vault and stood his ground.

He knew he was no match for Dai Mubai and the dozen or so guards behind him, but he could not move aside.

Because Zhu Zhuqing was now one of Yi Yun's people.

And he was Yi Yun's underling.

Even if he had never admitted it.

"I told you, she isn't here." Tang San's voice was calm, but his gaze was firm.

Dai Mubai's expression darkened.

"You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit." He waved a hand. "Throw him aside!"

Two guards stepped forward and reached for Tang San.

Tang San swung the Pole Vault in his hands, sweeping it across with a whistle through the air.

The two guards had not expected this kid with a stick to dare attack. Caught off guard, they were struck in the chest by the Pole Vault and staggered back several steps.

"Oh, you dare fight back?" Dai Mubai's gaze turned dangerous. "Kid, do you know who I am?"

"Yes. The Star Luo Empire's playboy."

Dai Mubai's face darkened completely.

"You're courting death!" His figure flashed as he lunged straight at Tang San.

Tang San planted the Pole Vault against the ground and launched himself into the air, dodging Dai Mubai's first strike.

But Dai Mubai was much faster, and his second strike followed immediately.

His fist slammed into Tang San's Pole Vault, sending both Tang San and the pole flying before he crashed heavily to the ground.

"That's it?" Dai Mubai scoffed. "And you dared stand in my way?"

Tang San climbed to his feet, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

But his gaze remained firm.

"I told you, she isn't here."

"You!"

Dai Mubai was about to lash out when a languid voice came from the side.

"What's all the racket? Can't a guy get some sleep?"

Everyone turned to look.

Yi Yun sat up on the grass, rubbed his eyes, and yawned, looking as though he had only just woken up.

His hair was a mess, his clothes were rumpled, and a few blades of grass still clung to his face.

But Dai Mubai's pupils abruptly contracted.

He sensed it.

This seemingly unkempt young man gave off an aura that made even his soul tremble.

He had only ever felt an aura like that from his imperial father.

No, it was stronger than his imperial father's.

Much stronger.

"Who are you?" Dai Mubai's voice unconsciously dropped a little.

"Me?" Yi Yun stood and brushed the grass off himself. "I'm the... gatekeeper here."

Dai Mubai: "..."

A gatekeeper? How could a gatekeeper have such a powerful aura?

"I'm looking for Zhu Zhuqing," Dai Mubai said, struggling to maintain his imposing air. "She's my fiancée. I'm here to take her back."

"Fiancée?" Yi Yun tilted his head. "How come I didn't know Zhu Zhuqing had a fiancé?"

"She didn't tell you?"

"No."

"Well, now I'm telling you." Dai Mubai puffed out his chest. "I am Dai Mubai, third prince of the Star Luo Empire. Zhu Zhuqing is my fiancée. This is an imperial marriage alliance, bound by a marriage agreement. You'd better stay out of it."

Yi Yun looked at him in silence for two seconds.

Then he smiled.

"Third prince of the Star Luo Empire? Sounds pretty impressive."

"Good that you know."

"But," Yi Yun said, his smile unchanged, "you just hit one of my people. How are we settling that account?"

Dai Mubai froze. "Your people?"

Yi Yun pointed at Tang San, who had climbed up from the ground.

"Him. My underling. Hitting him is a slap in my face."

Tang San opened his mouth, wanting to say that he was not his underling, but as he looked at Yi Yun's back, he swallowed the words.

Dai Mubai's expression shifted.

"What do you want?"

"Simple." Yi Yun held up three fingers. "First, apologize to my underling. Second, leave Nuoding City and never come back. Third, dissolve your engagement to Zhu Zhuqing."

Dai Mubai's face turned livid as he listened.

"You're dreaming!"

"Oh?" Yi Yun raised his eyebrows. "You won't agree?"

"I won't!" Dai Mubai ground his teeth. "Do you know who you're talking to? The Star Luo Empire-"

He never finished.

Because Yi Yun moved.

All Dai Mubai saw was a white afterimage flashing past, and then his body went flying.

He had not flown up himself. He had been thrown.

Yi Yun seized the back of his neck with one hand, lifted him like a chick, and casually flung him away.

Dai Mubai shot out like a cannonball, sailing over the entire Nuoding Academy, over the walls, over the streets, and over the city gates before landing in a river outside Nuoding City.

The whole thing took less than two seconds.

Yi Yun dusted off his hands, looked in the direction Dai Mubai had disappeared, and spoke with breezy indifference.

"My Zhu Zhuqing isn't someone you get to covet."

The back hill fell silent.

So silent that the wind rustling through the leaves could be heard.

The dozen or so guards Dai Mubai had brought stood with mouths agape and eyes as wide as bronze bells, their expressions shifting from shock to terror.

Their third prince, a powerful young fighter of the Star Luo Empire.

Had been thrown out of the city like garbage.

"And you lot." Yi Yun turned toward the guards with a gentle smile. "Are you leaving on your own, or shall I give you a send-off?"

The guards exchanged glances, then turned as one and ran.

Faster than rabbits.

In the blink of an eye, peace returned to the back hill.

Zhu Zhuqing had stood beneath the tree from beginning to end, witnessing everything.

From Dai Mubai's arrogant intrusion, to Tang San being sent flying, to Yi Yun stepping in, to Dai Mubai being thrown out of the city.

Her expression had gone from tense to surprised, from surprised to shocked, and from shocked to...

A blush.

Because Yi Yun had said, "My Zhu Zhuqing."

"Who says I'm yours!" Zhu Zhuqing shouted, blushing. Her voice was much louder than usual, as though she were trying to hide something.

Yi Yun turned to her and smiled.

"What did you just call me?"

"Brother Yun..."

"Then what's wrong with Brother Yun's Zhu Zhuqing?"

"Of course there's something wrong! I'm not yours!"

"Then what are you to me?"

"I'm... I'm your..." Zhu Zhuqing opened her mouth, only to find she could not say the words "little sister."

Because that was even more embarrassing than "mine."

"All right, all right, I'll stop teasing you." Yi Yun waved a hand. "That Dai fellow probably won't dare come back. Stay here without worrying."

Zhu Zhuqing lowered her head, her voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

"Thank you, Brother Yun."

"You're welcome. It's only right."

Xiao Wu ran over and tugged on Yi Yun's sleeve, her eyes sparkling.

"Brother Yun, that throw was so cool!"

"Nothing special."

"Could you teach me?"

"You want to learn to throw people?"

"Yes!"

"Sure. Next time, I'll grab someone for you to practice on."

Tang San climbed up from the ground, rubbed his aching waist where he had landed, and walked over to Yi Yun.

"Brother Yun." The name came naturally, without his earlier reluctance.

Yi Yun was a little surprised. "What is it?"

"Thank you," Tang San said earnestly.

Yi Yun paused, then smiled.

"What are you thanking me for? You're my underling. Of course I have to watch your back."

Dai Mubai crawled out of the river, soaked through, with weeds dangling from his hair and mud smeared over his face.

He stood on the riverbank, trembling all over.

Not from cold, but from anger.

When had he, Dai Mubai, third prince of the Star Luo Empire, ever suffered such humiliation?

He had been thrown out of the city like garbage. If word got out, how could he ever show his face again?

"Yi Yun..." Dai Mubai gritted his teeth. "Just you wait!"

But he did not dare go back.

That man was too strong, so strong that he could not even muster the thought of fighting back.

Dai Mubai clenched his teeth, turned, and headed toward the Star Luo Empire.

He was going back for reinforcements.

He would tell his father, the emperor, about this and have him send stronger men.

He refused to believe that a mere Nuoding City could withstand the iron hooves of the Star Luo Empire.

Dai Mubai's figure disappeared at the end of the road.

What he did not know was that no matter how many reinforcements he brought, they would only be serving themselves up on a platter before Yi Yun.

At dinner, the atmosphere in the dining hall was a little peculiar.

Yi Yun still sat in the middle, with Xiao Wu on his left, Zhu Zhuqing on his right, and Tang San across from him.

But this time, Zhu Zhuqing did not keep her distance as she had before.

She sat a little closer to Yi Yun and stole glances at him from time to time.

Whenever Yi Yun caught her looking, she quickly turned away, her face flushing slightly.

Xiao Wu noticed Zhu Zhuqing's little gestures, and jealousy soured her heart.

"Sister Zhu Zhuqing, what are you looking at?" Xiao Wu asked deliberately.

"N-nothing." Zhu Zhuqing lowered her head and focused on shoveling rice into her mouth.

"Were you sneaking looks at Brother Yun?"

"I wasn't!"

"You're blushing."

"I... I'm hot!"

"Body heat again?" Xiao Wu pursed her lips. "That's what I said last time, too."

Zhu Zhuqing: "..."

As Yi Yun listened to the two girls bicker, he could not suppress the smile tugging at his lips.

Tang San sat across from them, silently counting the grains of rice in his bowl one by one.

He had now learned to make himself invisible at the appropriate moments.

"Little San," Yi Yun suddenly called to him, "you did well today."

Tang San raised his head. "What?"

"When you stopped Dai Mubai, you didn't back down. Even though you got sent flying, you showed some backbone."

Tang San froze for a moment, then lowered his head.

"It was what I should have done."

"But don't push yourself next time. If you can't beat them, run and call me over to handle it."

"...Okay."

Tang San lowered his head and went back to counting his rice.

But the corners of his mouth lifted slightly without his realizing it.