Deep within the courtyard, in the dense shade of an old locust tree.
A figure dressed in black stood silently on a branch.
Chu Yunfei looked down at the mature, beautiful woman who was curled up by the doorstep, crying her heart out, and a complex emotion flashed in his eyes.
He had only wanted to test the woman's reaction and, incidentally, curb her stubbornness.
But I never expected this.
This usually proud and aloof Flowing Cloud Peak has actually developed such deep feelings for me.
Chu Yunfei sighed softly, moved his feet, and floated down from the treetop.
He took a step forward and deliberately let out a soft cough.
"Cough..."
" Aunt Lin, your crying is way too loud. I can hear it clearly from several streets away."
Chu Yunfei stood at the bottom of the steps, his hands tucked into his sleeves, looking at her with a half-smile.
"So heartbroken, could it be... that you don't want me to leave?"
The crying stopped abruptly.
Lin Wanyin's body stiffened abruptly, and she raised her tear-filled face in astonishment.
Under the night sky, Chu Yunfei stood with his arms crossed, gazing at her with a half-smile.
He never left.
He had seen everything that had just happened.
Lin Wanyin's mind went blank, filled with shame and indignation, wishing she could disappear into the ground on the spot.
"You... bastard!"
Lin Wanyin was both crying and angry. She grabbed a pebble from the ground and threw it at the pebble, yelling, "Didn't you leave? Get out! Get the hell out of here!"
Chu Yunfei stepped aside, a smirk playing on his lips. "Oh? You really want me to get lost? Then I'm really leaving this time."
Before he finished speaking, he made a move to leap onto the courtyard wall.
"Don't want!!"
A piercing scream tore through the night sky.
All of Lin Wanyin's self-respect, dignity, and reserve were utterly crushed at this moment.
She rushed forward without hesitation, like a swallow returning to its nest, and buried herself firmly in Chu Yunfei's arms.
She wrapped her arms tightly around the man's waist, with such force that it seemed she wanted to crush herself into his flesh and blood.
"Don't go... please... don't go..."
She tilted her head back, her pretty face already a mess of tears, her voice hoarse and heart-wrenching.
Chu Yunfei's chest ached from the impact, and he was stunned.
He had assumed that Lin Wanyin would fly into a rage after being exposed.
Unexpectedly, the usually aloof and high- Flowing Cloud Peak Master Liuyun would now set aside all his dignity and beg him to stay in such a humble manner.
The delicate body in his arms trembled violently, she cried her heart out, and her eyes were filled with the panic of losing and then regaining it.
Chu Yunfei's heart softened, and the flippancy in his eyes completely disappeared, replaced by an intense and unyielding tenderness.
He stretched out his strong arms, scooped Lin Wanyin up in his arms, strode back to the room, and slammed the door shut behind him.
The door was closed, shutting out the chilly night wind from outside.
Chu Yunfei held her as he sat on the edge of the bed, without putting her down.
Lin Wanyin was like a frightened fawn, her hands still tightly wrapped around the back of his neck, her tear-streaked face pressed against his neck, refusing to let go.
Warm tears soaked through Chu Yunfei's robes.
Chu Yunfei gently patted her slender, trembling back, and chuckled helplessly, " Aunt Lin, why are you binding me so tightly? Are you really afraid I'll sprout wings and fly away?"
Lin Wanyin suddenly raised her head.
Those swollen yet bright eyes, as clear as autumn water, pierced straight into the depths of Chu Yunfei's pupils without flinching.
" Chu Yunfei, I've fallen for you."
Her voice was choked with sobs, yet every word was clear and resounding.
Chu Yunfei's breath hitched.
Lin Wanyin sniffed her reddened nose, stared at him intently, and almost resigned herself to her fate, poured out all her feelings.
"You forcibly took my virginity from the broken courtyard behind the Azure Mystic Sect..."
"And then there were those times at Flowing Cloud Peak and Drunken Moon Tower... my mind was filled with your image."
Large tears slid down her cheeks and dripped down her pale chin.
"After arriving in the capital, I couldn't contact you. Later, I learned that the royal family had abandoned you... I couldn't sleep day or night. Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was your image covered in blood."
"I'm afraid you'll be captured and tortured by those powerful sects, afraid you'll die at their hands, and even more afraid I'll never see you again in this lifetime..."
Lin Wanyin pressed her burning cheeks against Chu Yunfei's chest, sobbing uncontrollably.
"In this life... I've chosen you."
In the empty room, only the woman's resolute yet passionate voice echoed.
Chu Yunfei froze on the spot.
He never imagined that this arrogant woman, who had previously regarded him as a good-for-nothing and was nominally his former fiancée's mother, would open her heart to him in such a desperate way.
Looking at the extremely haggard face in his arms, streaked with tears, Chu Yunfei felt a strong tremor and pity.
Seeing that he remained silent, the light in Lin Wanyin's eyes gradually sank into an abyss.
She gave a self-deprecating laugh, curled up slightly, and said in a voice barely audible, "You... don't need to feel burdened."
"I am much older than you, and nominally Shuang'er's mother. I once humiliated you and wanted to kill you... It was all wishful thinking on my part..."
Before he could finish speaking...
Chu Yunfei suddenly cupped the back of her head with his hand and lowered his head to kiss her fiercely.
Hmm!
Lin Wanyin's beautiful eyes suddenly widened, and all her inferiority and self-pity were instantly choked up.
The man's kiss was extremely domineering, yet it carried an unprecedented tenderness and affection.
Lin Wanyin's tears flowed even more fiercely, but this time, she did not struggle. Instead, she closed her eyes, raised her hands to wrap around his neck, and clumsily and passionately responded to him.
After a long while, their lips parted.
Chu Yunfei cupped her burning cheeks and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with his fingertips.
He gazed into her misty autumn eyes and said softly:
" Aunt Lin, from the day the Azure Mystic Sect broke off the engagement, you have been my woman, Chu Yunfei's woman. Whether you like it or not, from that day on, I had no intention of letting you go."
Chu Yunfei's lips curved slightly, his eyes filled with undisguised tenderness. "Of course I also like Aunt Lin."
Lin Wanyin as if she had been struck by lightning; her entire heart trembled violently.
"Really... really?"
She gripped Chu Yunfei's collar in disbelief, her voice trembling uncontrollably. "You don't mind that I'm older? You don't hate me for wanting to kill you back then?"
Why would I hate you?
Chu Yunfei chuckled and pinched her pert nose, "Speaking of which, if Aunt Lin hadn't been so determined to kill me back then, I wouldn't have been so determined to push you down, and I wouldn't have achieved what I have today."
"In a way, Aunt Lin did me a huge favor."
Lin Wanyin was taken aback.
"I... helped you a lot?"
"That's right." Chu Yunfei nodded with a smile. "If it weren't for Aunt Lin, I'd probably still be struggling in the mire of the Body Tempering Realm. The key to it is a bit complicated and can't be explained in a short time. Anyway, you don't need to take the past to heart."
Lin Wanyin let out a long sigh of relief; the mountain that had been weighing on her heart for so long finally crumbled completely.
As long as he doesn't hate her, as long as she's in his heart, everything is worth it.
Suddenly remembering something, she asked urgently, "By the way, where have you been these past few days? I heard from Shuang'er that Cangyun Sect and the Puppet Sect are secretly offering bounties for your head."
Chu Yunfei suppressed his smile and, without hiding anything, briefly recounted all his experiences and encounters after leaving Qingyang City.
Although his tone was calm, Lin Wanyin was terrified, her pretty face turning ashen.
The emperor, at the Divine Sea Realm Ninth Level, personally intercepted and killed him!
He narrowly escaped death several times!
"That Emperor of the Great Qian... is so ungrateful, despicable, and vile."
Lin Wanyin hugged his waist tightly, her heart aching with unbearable pain. Then, her expression darkened slightly, and she whispered, "Princess Xueyao and that Miss Wen Jiao... both risked their lives to save you at the most dangerous moment, didn't they?"
Chu Yunfei raised an eyebrow, looking at her with a half-smile, "What, Aunt Lin, are you jealous?"
Lin Wanyin up and shook her head seriously.
"No."
She pressed her cheek against Chu Yunfei's heart and whispered, "They all did this to save you, and they've been so good to you. How could I be so ungrateful as to be jealous?"
At this point, a deep sense of self-reproach and inferiority appeared in Lin Wanyin's eyes.
"I just... I just blame myself for being so useless."
"When you were in the most danger and most desperate moment, there was nothing I could do but hide in the capital and cry."
"I'm only at the Heavenly Origin Realm Ninth Layer right now, and I haven't even broken through to the Divine Sea Realm yet. I can't help you at all... I feel completely useless."
Chu Yunfei's expression became somewhat strange.
Utterly useless?
Daughter of Heavenly Mandate, a being destined to dominate both realms, was actually cowering in his arms, lamenting her utter worthlessness?
If the powerful figures of those ancient lineages in the Upper Realm heard this, their eyes would probably pop out of their sockets with envy.