Qian Renxue's Attention

The news that Prince Xue Beng had knelt and called someone Daddy spread as though it had grown wings, reaching the entire Heaven Dou Royal Academy in less than half a day.

Some were shocked, some curious, and some took pleasure in his misfortune, but everyone asked the same question: who exactly was the young man in white who had made a prince kneel and call him Daddy?

Some said he was the young master of a secluded family, some said he was a Titled Douluo from Spirit Hall, and others said he was an immortal who had fallen from the heavens. The stories grew more outlandish with every telling, but no one knew the truth.

The news also reached one person's ears.

This person was neither a student nor a teacher, but the most unusual presence at Heaven Dou Royal Academy: Xue Qinghe.

Xue Qinghe was the eldest prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Beng's older half brother by the same father.

He was two years older than Xue Beng, gentle and refined in temperament, humble and courteous toward others, and widely acknowledged as the Heaven Dou Empire's most perfect heir.

He lived in a private courtyard in the deepest part of the academy. He seldom went out or socialized, yet he knew everything that happened within the academy like the back of his hand.

At that moment, Xue Qinghe sat in his study, listening to a covert guard report what had happened on the training grounds that day.

Kneeling on the floor, the guard recounted everything in full: the young man in white, the three girls, a follower in a short gray tunic, Prince Xue Beng mocking them as country bumpkins, the young man in white unleashing his oppressive aura, and Prince Xue Beng kneeling and calling him Daddy.

"What was that person's name?" Xue Qinghe's voice was gentle, betraying neither pleasure nor anger.

"Yi Yun."

"Yi Yun..." Xue Qinghe repeated the name, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "Interesting."

After the guard withdrew, Xue Qinghe was alone in the study. He stood, walked to the window, and gazed at the garden filled with autumn colors outside.

The ginkgo leaves had turned yellow and carpeted the ground, rustling whenever the wind blew.

His expression was calm, but an inscrutable light flickered in his eyes.

He was Xue Qinghe, eldest prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, but she was also Qian Renxue, daughter of Spirit Hall's Supreme Pontiff, Bibi Dong. At six years old, she had infiltrated the Heaven Dou Imperial Family on her mother's orders, disguising herself as Prince Xue Qinghe, and had lived as a man for nine full years since then.

In those nine years, she had learned one truth: no one deserved a second glance from her.

The Heaven Dou Empire's nobles were wine sacks and rice bags, its officials corrupt, and its princes each more useless than the last, especially Xue Beng, who could do nothing but throw his weight around.

But this person today was different.

Yi Yun, dressed in white, with long hair and looking not yet twenty, could make a Soul Saint-level gatekeeper kneel on the spot and make Xue Beng call him Daddy with a single look.

Such strength and bearing were not things an ordinary person could possess. In her fifteen years of life, Qian Renxue had seen countless geniuses, but never someone like him.

"This person is no ordinary man," she murmured to herself as she watched the ginkgo leaves outside the window. She decided to go and see for herself.

Early the next morning, Qian Renxue changed into a simple, elegant white outfit. Without a gold crown or jade ornaments, she looked like an ordinary young nobleman. She was going to see the man called Yi Yun and find out just what was so special about him.

Yi Yun's group was staying at the largest inn in Heaven Dou City, and Qian Renxue found them easily, because the entire city was talking about the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's luxurious carriage and its four unicorns.

On the second floor of the teahouse opposite the inn, she chose a seat by the window, ordered a pot of tea, and waited quietly. After about an hour, the inn's door opened.

The first to emerge was a boy in a short gray tunic, holding a carrot and wearing an expressionless face, looking like a dutiful follower. Qian Renxue glanced at him and paid him no mind.

Next came a girl with a scorpion braid, wearing a pink dress and skipping along like a happy little rabbit.

Qian Renxue glanced at her and thought she was cute, but paid her no mind either.

Then came a girl in a pale purple dress, her black hair falling over her shoulders and her expression cool, like a flower on a lofty peak.

Qian Renxue glanced at her and thought she was beautiful, but still paid her no mind.

Last came a young man in white, his ink-black hair secured behind his head with a white jade hairpin, his features as exquisite as a painting, his whole being exuding a languid, unhurried air.

Qian Renxue's gaze settled on him.

He was Yi Yun.

He was just as the covert guard had described: white clothes, long hair, young, composed. But the guard had failed to capture his bearing.

That bearing was no act. It radiated from his very bones.

Unhurried and composed, as light as drifting clouds in a gentle breeze, as though he would not even frown if the sky came crashing down.

Qian Renxue watched Yi Yun for a long time.

She had seen many people with presence, but none like him. His composure was not something he deliberately maintained; it came from simply not caring. He did not care about others' looks, their judgments, or anything in this world, because he was too strong, so strong that nothing was worth his concern.

Qian Renxue lifted her cup and took a sip. The tea had already gone cold, but she paid it no mind. Her gaze followed Yi Yun the entire time.

Yi Yun walked down the street with three girls and a follower.

Qian Renxue left the teahouse and followed at an unhurried pace. She was careful, always keeping more than thirty paces between them, blending into the crowd without leaving a trace.

She was very confident in her tracking skills. Over nine years undercover, she had honed disguise and surveillance until the flames were pure blue.

But Yi Yun still detected her. He neither turned around nor stopped walking, but he knew someone was following him. It was not because he sensed killing intent, but because he sensed no emotion at all. The person behind him was like a falling leaf, without the slightest fluctuation of emotion, which meant they were exceptionally skilled at concealing themselves.

This was no ordinary person, but someone professionally trained.

The corners of Yi Yun's mouth lifted slightly. If his guess was right, it should be that person: Qian Renxue.

The daughter of Spirit Hall's Supreme Pontiff, Bibi Dong, who had disguised herself as Xue Qinghe, eldest prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, and spent nine full years undercover within the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.

In the original story, she was one of Tang San's opponents in the later stages.

Interesting, Yi Yun said inwardly.

Yi Yun led everyone to sit down at a wonton stall.

"Five bowls of wontons, please," Yi Yun said.

"Coming right up!" The stall owner deftly set five bowls of wontons cooking.

Xiao Wu sat to Yi Yun's left, Zhu Zhuqing to his right, Ning Rongrong opposite him, and Tang San at the very end.

Qian Renxue stood beneath a tree nearby, watching the scene from a distance.

She saw Yi Yun chatting and laughing with the three girls, saw the boy in the short gray tunic silently eating wontons, saw Yi Yun pick wontons out of his own bowl for Xiao Wu, and saw Xiao Wu pick the carrots out of her bowl for Yi Yun.

Qian Renxue's brow furrowed slightly. This man was a Titled Douluo? She had met Titled Douluo before: Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo, each more sinister and frightening than the other.

No Titled Douluo would eat wontons on the street, give his girlfriend wontons from his own bowl, or tell a boy in a short gray tunic, "Eat some more."

But this man did. He was a Titled Douluo, but he was also a person, a man of flesh and blood who could laugh and fool around.

Qian Renxue suddenly felt that this man was far more complicated than she had imagined.

After finishing his wontons, Yi Yun stood and suddenly turned his head, casting a glance toward where Qian Renxue stood. Just one glance, and then he withdrew his gaze and continued strolling with the others.

But Qian Renxue's heart skipped a beat. He had noticed her. She had followed him the whole way, concealed her aura, blended into the crowd, and maintained enough distance, but he had still detected her.

That fleeting look had not been a sweep of his surroundings or an appraisal. It had been targeted, precise, and certain.

He was confirming her presence. He knew someone was following him, and he knew who it was.

Qian Renxue's breathing grew a little rapid. In her fifteen years of life, no one had ever seen through her disguise, but Yi Yun had done it with just one glance.

"This man really is no ordinary person," Qian Renxue murmured.

Qian Renxue did not continue following him. She returned to the academy and sat in her study, a blank sheet of paper spread before her and a brush in her hand, yet she did not write a single word. She was thinking about Yi Yun, about his languid manner, his composure, and that glance he had given her.

That glance had been too calm, as still as a pool of dead water. It was not that there were no ripples, but that its depths were unfathomable.

"Chrysanthemum Douluo, Ghost Douluo," Qian Renxue suddenly said.

Two dark figures flashed out of the shadows and knelt before her: Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei, the two Titled Douluo Bibi Dong had sent to protect Qian Renxue.

"What are your orders, my lady?" Chrysanthemum Douluo asked respectfully.

"Investigate someone for me."

"Who?"

"Yi Yun."

Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo exchanged a glance, each seeing a trace of gravity in the other's eyes.

Yi Yun. Of course they had heard that name. Ever since Hu Liena had returned from Nuoding City, it had been constantly on her lips.

"Yes," they answered in unison.

Qian Renxue set down her brush, stood, and walked to the window. Outside, ginkgo leaves were still drifting down, one after another, like golden butterflies.

She thought that perhaps she could go to him, perhaps she could talk with him, perhaps she could... But she shook her head and suppressed the thought.

She was Qian Renxue, the young master of Spirit Hall and a prince of the Heaven Dou Empire. She could not expose her identity or grow too close to anyone.

But her heart had already stopped obeying her.