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"What reason can't you give me?" Shao Yang's face appeared somewhat pale in the night, quite different from his usual dashing appearance. "I asked my master, but she wouldn't tell me either. What exactly did you go about? Ru Zheng, you haven't fallen for Tang Yanchu, have you?!"

"Stop talking!" Yue Ruzheng, who was already feeling frustrated, raised her voice and shouted angrily when she heard him say this.

Shao Yang flinched, seemingly startled by her sudden outburst of anger. Yue Ruzheng took a few deep breaths to calm herself before saying, "Senior brother, I'm back now, and I won't see him again... Can you please stop asking about this?"

Shao Yang hesitated for a long time, then said, "I'm just worried about you. I'm afraid you're too naive and might develop feelings for him without thinking... Ruzheng, he doesn't have hands, how can you be with someone like that?!"

"I told you I didn't want to talk about it anymore, Senior Brother! Why are you still saying these things?" Yue Ruzheng said, forcing back the bitterness in her heart.

"Alright, since you put it that way, I won't talk about him anymore." Shao Yang sighed softly and stepped forward, saying, "Ru Zheng, in these ten years, we've almost never been apart, but now I feel like you're drifting further and further away from me... I don't know if it's just my imagination, or if you've grown up and changed..."

Yue Ruzheng frowned slightly, then smiled and said, "Senior brother, don't overthink it. I think you're becoming more and more sentimental!"

Shao Yang chuckled self-deprecatingly. Seeing that it was getting late and Ru Zheng was unwilling to tell the truth, he had no choice but to say goodbye and leave the small building.

Yue Ruzheng watched Shao Yang disappear from sight, then stood alone under the moonlight. The swing in front of the small building swayed gently in the breeze. As a child, she had sat there, begging Shao Yang to swing with her. But Shao Yang's pleasure lay only in practicing swordsmanship. Only when he had a rare moment of leisure would he push the swing rope with great force, making her swing high, almost over the wall, and into the sky.

In her mind, Shao Yang had always been calm and gentle, but now, Yue Ruzheng couldn't help but ask herself, had she changed, or had he changed? She had always resisted the change in herself or others, hoping that everyone could remain as clear and pure as when they first met, untouched by the dust of the world.

Perhaps because she had lost a piece of her past, she was more easily caught in a jumble of thoughts, unable to easily extricate herself. Often, even she herself couldn't clearly recall what her childhood had been like. Apart from her aunt, she had no memory of anyone else, not even her parents. She walked to the swing, slowly sat down, leaning against the ropes. Thinking of the sea-blue necklace, she took it off and held it in her palm. Under the pale moonlight, the pearls shimmered with a soft glow, like teardrops in the deep sea.

Suddenly, she recalled that same serene and tranquil moonlit night, when she and Tang Yanchu sat in the courtyard, surrounded by the delicate fragrance of pear blossoms, gazing at these pearls together. He should have lived on an island with azure waves and silver sands, yet he chose to live in seclusion in the vast mountains. And she, who always wore pearls from the sea, had never seen the ocean.

Yue Ruzheng felt that the two of them had many similarities, yet also many differences. Like two shooting stars that happened to cross paths in the night sky, they were originally thousands of miles apart, but only because they brushed past each other did they marvel at the fact that the other contained the same light. But in just a moment, they flew off to their destined directions.

In the days that followed, Jiang Shuying didn't ask about it again. After a few days of silence, Shao Yang seemed to gradually return to his old self, enjoying going to Merlin with Ruzheng to practice swordsmanship. Yue Ruzheng sometimes still thought about the time in Nan Yandang, but she quickly reminded herself that it was all in the past.

But there was one thing she dared not and did not want to think about: whether Xiao Tang was still alone in that faraway place, sitting on the cold mountain rocks, waiting for her return...

Just when Yue Ruzheng thought the matter would fade away with time, the arrival of someone pushed her back into the spotlight. That day, she and Shao Yang were returning from Merlin when they saw Qian'er guarding the door as soon as they entered.

"Miss, please be careful..." Qian'er hurriedly pulled her aside and whispered as soon as she saw her return.

"What?" Yue Ruzheng asked, confused. Before Qian'er could answer, a deep voice came from not far away, "Ruzheng, come here!"

Yue Ruzheng was startled by the sound and slowly turned around. She saw Yu Hezhi had arrived at Yinxi Xiaozhu at some point, standing beneath the flower-covered corridor with an expression as cold as frost. Shao Yang was also taken aback upon seeing him and stepped forward, saying, "Uncle-Master, why are you back again?"

Yu Hezhi said coldly, "Ruzheng and I have some things to discuss. You may leave now."

Shao Yang was startled by his unusual attitude, glanced back at Yue Ruzheng, and left helplessly. Knowing she was in the wrong, Yue Ruzheng didn't wait for He Zhi to speak, so she walked up to him and said, "Uncle-Master, I'm sorry, I ran back to Luzhou on my own and didn't even go to Yueqing to tell you."

Yu Hezhi snorted coldly, said only "Come with me," and strode towards the backyard.

Yue Ruzheng followed him anxiously, and the two arrived at the small building where Jiang Shuying lived. Yue Ruzheng hesitated, and Yu Hezhi frowned, saying, "Doesn't your master already know? What are you still afraid of?"

Yue Ruzheng had no choice but to follow him up to the small building. Jiang Shuying had already heard their voices. Standing by the window, she turned to look at Yue Ruzheng and said, "Ruzheng, your senior uncle came specifically for that matter."

Yue Ruzheng lowered her head and remained silent. Yu Hezhi then erupted, "I went through all the trouble of rushing to Nan Yandang just to persuade you, but not only did you refuse to do as I said, you also fled back to Luzhou without a word! If I hadn't gone to Pingyang to investigate again, fearing things might get complicated, I wouldn't have known you were gone!"

"You went to ask Xiao Tang?!" Yue Ruzheng blurted out.

"Do you take me for a naive young boy who doesn't know the ways of the world?" Yu Hezhi said, flicking his sleeve. "Of course I won't alert them." He then turned to Jiang Shuying and said, "Junior Sister, I see that Ruzheng is still very concerned about Tang Yanchu. How do you plan to resolve this matter?"

Jiang Shuying also said with a stern face, "I warned her long ago not to get close to the Lian family. But Senior Brother, wasn't it you who encouraged her to return to Nan Yandang and get close to Tang Yanchu? Now you seem to be blaming me for failing to guide her properly?"

Yu Hezhi scrutinized her for a moment, chuckled coldly, and sat down in a chair. He said, "Junior Sister, I told you before that I had ulterior motives in sending Ruzheng back to approach Tang Yanchu. It wasn't to let her actually be intimate with that young man. Seven Star Island is always heavily guarded. Without someone from the island to guide you, even if you get on the island, you won't be able to find the Divine Pearl and will just lose your life. I know Ruzheng and that young man have a good relationship, so of course I couldn't let go of this advantageous opportunity. Who would have thought that your precious disciple would act so presumptuously!"

Yue Ruzheng couldn't help but say, "Senior Uncle, I already told you that day that I didn't want to do such a thing! Although the divine pearl originally belonged to Yinxi Xiaozhu, I still believe in accepting defeat. Since I lost the duel, I should just accept my bad luck. Wouldn't it be illegitimate to try and take it back like this? Besides, even if I did take the divine pearl back, how could Lian Haichao let us off the hook? Wouldn't that just bring even more trouble to Yinxi Xiaozhu?"

Yu Hezhi said solemnly, "How could I not have considered that? Shao Yang's father changed the terms of the duel himself, and we only lost the Divine Pearl under unfavorable circumstances. Although Lian Haichao was very fond of the Divine Pearl and unwilling to give it up, it was precisely because of his unruly nature that he told us personally that if Yinxi Xiaozhu had the ability, they could try to snatch it, and as long as we found the Divine Pearl, he would not bother us again."

Yue Ruzheng hadn't expected this to happen and couldn't think of any rebuttal. She stood to the side, sullen and unhappy. Suddenly, she thought of her master and hurriedly asked, "Master, do you also agree with Uncle-Master's plan?"

Jiang Shuying pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "I don't want you to do such a thing, and I especially don't want you to get close to Lian Haichao's son. Even if it's just acting, it's not what I want."

Yue Ruzheng's heart had just calmed down a little when Yu Hezhi sighed, "Junior Sister, your temperament has always been so stubborn... Don't you want to avenge Senior Brother? Don't you want to wash away the shame of Yinxi Xiaozhu?"

Jiang Shuying gazed into the distance, looking at the rippling pond outside the window, and said softly, "How could I not want to? If it weren't for Lian Haichao's words, how could Jing Shu have abandoned everything and committed suicide?"

Yue Ruzheng was taken aback, but just then, she heard hurried footsteps coming from the stairs. The three of them turned around and saw Shao Yang standing at the door with a look of astonishment on his face.

Chapter Twenty-Six: How Long Will the Journey to Luling Be?

Jiang Shuying's face paled, and she said, "Shao Yang, how could you come here without permission?"

Shao Yang walked straight up to her, knelt down without a word, and said in a trembling voice, "Master, why did I hear you talking about my father just now, and even mention Lian Haichao?! Didn't my father die of illness?"

Jiang Shuying closed her eyes and whispered, "Get up and talk to me first..."

"I just want your answer!" Shao Yang suddenly raised his voice, then turned to look at Yue Ruzheng and Yu Hezhi, saying with immense grief and indignation, "So, so you all knew the truth, except for me! I am the last surviving member of the Shao family, yet I was kept in the dark!"

Seeing Jiang Shuying's furrowed brows and obvious pain, Yu Hezhi stood up and helped Shao Yang up, saying, "Your master was also thinking of you, not wanting you to carry too much burden from a young age... Back then, your father lost his duel with Lian Haichao due to underestimating his opponent, and we had no choice but to hand over the Divine Pearl of Yinxi Xiaozhu. But when Lian Haichao accepted it, he arrogantly said, 'An ant trying to shake a tree,' overestimating his own strength. Your father was filled with shame and indignation, and went to argue with him, only to be mocked in return... That very night, your father couldn't bear it and committed suicide by poison..."

Shao Yang's face was deathly pale, and beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead. He suddenly pushed away Yu Hezhi's support, staggered back a few steps, and stared at him with an incredulous look. After a long while, he said in a hoarse voice, "You...you think you should keep this from me for the rest of your life?!" After saying that, he didn't even say goodbye to Jiang Shuying and stumbled downstairs.

"Senior brother!" Seeing his deep sorrow and dejection, Yue Ruzheng was deeply worried and hurriedly said to Jiang Shuying, "Master, I'm going to see him!"

Jiang Shuying nodded silently, and Yue Ruzheng rushed out of the room, chasing after Shao Yang.

Yue Ruzheng chased after Merlin until Shao Yang stopped, abruptly turning around and asking, "Why did you follow me?"

Looking into Shao Yang's eyes, filled with grief and indignation, she frowned and said, "Senior brother, I know you can't take it right now... but please don't blame Master and Uncle-Master for this."

"I'm such a fool! I know nothing. I'm over twenty years old and I don't even know how my father died!" Shao Yang was furious. He suddenly drew his sword and cut off the plum branch behind him.

Yue Ruzheng stood silently before the broken branch. Suddenly, as if remembering something, Shao Yang looked up, stared at Yue Ruzheng, and sneered, "Tang Yanchu is Lian Haichao's son, isn't he? I only regret that I only found out now that Lian Haichao forced my father to his death!"

"What do you want...?" Yue Ruzheng's face turned pale as she looked at him, feeling a chill run down her spine.