"Uh, oh..." Ning Xian looked up, but couldn't see the expression on Feng's face. He couldn't see it, and he couldn't understand it. He was still the same, with a cold face, carrying a faint mockery, and icy eyes. This person, he probably would never understand.
Mu Yuan put her arm around Ning Xian's shoulder and turned to leave. She turned back and gave Feng a smile, watching with satisfaction as Feng's brows furrowed even more tightly.
"Hey Duanxian, how did you get involved with Feng? That guy never seems to associate with the people of Youmingtian, right?" Mu Yuan's arm was still on Ning Xian's shoulder, seemingly quite satisfied with the height.
"I originally wanted him to be my lover..."
"Look for him?" He scoffed. "Don't you have any sense? He's nowhere near the type to be a mistress. You already have Du Cisheng by your side, why don't you just go find him? It would be much simpler."
“Hey, don’t talk nonsense,” Ning Xian said seriously. “Ci Sheng is my friend, so don’t talk about him like that. He’s from a good family, and it’s very disrespectful to say such things to him.”
"Huh?" Mu Yuan released her, took a step back, and exaggeratedly sized her up. "When did you start acting like this? A respectable family? If we're talking about respectable families, your husband is the real gentleman from a respectable family, isn't he? Du Cisheng is just a young master from a gang, after all, a member of the martial arts world—"
"Even though he's a member of the martial arts world, Ci Sheng is still different. You can't make jokes about him like that."
Mu Yuan narrowed her eyes slightly, seemingly unhappy to see Ning Xian taking Du Cisheng so seriously... The complexity in that person's eyes was not as gentle and clean as he appeared on the surface.
"Duanxian'er, what is he to you?"
"What is it...?" Ning Xian didn't seem to understand his question immediately. After thinking for a moment, she smiled and said, "It's a treasure I found on the road. It looks like a piece of pure glass. I have to handle it carefully and not get it dirty or break it."
"Is that so..." Mu Yuan smiled. "Don't treasure it too much. Liuli isn't that valuable."
A slight glint appeared in his eyes, then quickly vanished...
...
"Ci Sheng?"
Ning Xian returned to the courtyard and saw Du Cisheng sitting at the stone table, lost in thought. Although she was holding a book, she seemed completely absorbed in something and didn't even notice his return. He called out to her, and only then did he realize what was happening. He looked at her and gave her a faint smile.
For a fleeting moment, Ning Xian felt a faint sense of relief, so subtle that she could barely perceive it herself. She seemed to dislike seeing Ci Sheng's absent-minded expression. She couldn't quite describe the feeling; although all his emotions were hidden behind a thin layer of confusion, it made her feel as if he might smile at her at any moment, or perhaps look at her with resentment.
This time, he smiled at her again. She breathed a sigh of relief, returned his smile, and walked over. "What are you doing?"
"There's nothing much to do, just reading." He put the book he was holding on the table and focused on talking to her.
Ci Sheng had always liked this habit of his; no matter what he was doing, when you came to talk to him, he would put down what he was doing and concentrate on answering. This made you feel valued and respected.
However, she also felt a slight sense of guilt. Regardless of whether there was such a thing as an "attendant," she was the one who invited Ci Sheng here, yet she hadn't had much time to spend with him. In this demonic sect, there wasn't much for Ci Sheng to do, so he must have been somewhat bored, but he had never shown her any of it.
Seemingly able to glean some insight into her thoughts, Ci Sheng smiled faintly, "I haven't seen you much these past few days, you must be very busy." Ci Sheng's smile and words seemed to be telling her that if she had something to do, she should just go about her business and not worry about him. She could only give a perfunctory smile, "Yes..." She was very busy, busy avoiding Young Master Bai. "Has that Bai something-or-other been coming around lately?"
—Bai something? Ci Sheng was slightly taken aback, then smiled faintly. Was that how she addressed her husband?
"Yes, he came twice, but you weren't there. He only stayed for a short while before leaving."
—It really is a persistent ghost!
"Excuse me, let me see—"
"The rumors are actually true... Not only did one of Bai family husbands take Mu Yuan as his lover, seduce Feng, and make advances towards Yu Lin... there's another one hiding here!"
"Not to be underestimated, not to be underestimated..."
"Ning Xian wasn't like this before... How come she's changed after getting married..."
"In my opinion, it must be that 'impotent' Bai Dutang—that's how all the resentful women in their boudoirs are."
"Kinnara, you know a lot about her?"
"He's a scoundrel who takes advantage of women's vulnerability to seduce them. How could he not know that?"
"Hey, hey, you're talking about Mu Yuan! I never seduced a married woman..."
"Shh—keep it down! You're going to get caught!"
Ning Xian's face darkened. These guys are really something, daring to be so arrogant while eavesdropping! How come everyone in the Netherworld is like this? It's truly shameful!
Ci Sheng smiled at her somewhat awkwardly, indicating that she didn't care—but even if you don't care, I do!
Ning Xian suddenly stood up and strode towards the trembling clump of trees. He drew his long whip from his waist and swept it horizontally, sending broken branches and leaves flying, revealing several heads behind them...
"..."
"..."
"See? I told you to be careful, be careful, and stop making such a loud noise..."
"Um... this isn't the time to talk about this..."
Several people secretly glanced up at Ning Xian's increasingly gloomy face. "Duan... Duan Xian'er, what a coincidence to meet you here. We're here for a walk, are you here too?"
"Are you an idiot?! Why are you still bringing up the issue of breaking up or not?!"
"Uh, Ning Xian, calm down...we're leaving now..."
The group scrambled out of Ning Xian's courtyard, letting out a sigh of relief. "Ning Xian can be really scary sometimes... his broken strings are just as terrifying as Long Jue's..."
The others paused abruptly, then slowly revealed strange expressions, questioning, "...Just as terrifying?"
"...This...it seems that Long Jue is still better..."
No, "terrible" is probably not enough to describe it.
Chapter 38 Foreign Enemy Attack