Chapter 43: Ye Qingyi Draws Blade on Lu Xuan

The three of them ate while chatting occasionally.

"Your medicine... works very well," Ye Qingyi suddenly said.

Shen Yuyan looked up.

"What medicine?"

"For detoxification. On the escort route, Lu Xuan used the medicine you gave him to save everyone."

Shen Yuyan glanced at Lu Xuan, but Lu Xuan didn't speak.

"Do you understand pharmacology?" Ye Qingyi asked.

Shen Yuyan nodded.

"A little... I've had red spots on my face since I was a child, so I tried some herbs myself. I didn't cure my face, but I did learn a bit."

Ye Qingyi looked at her, "The red spots on your face... were you born with them?"

Shen Yuyan lowered her head, "Yes... the doctor said they can't be cured."

Shen Yuyan didn't mention the matter of the Heavenly Snow Lotus or the words of the Great Grandmaster. Saying such things would be the same as saying nothing at all.

Ye Qingyi didn't ask further, while Lu Xuan drank his soup from the bowl, saying nothing. He wanted to say something to ease the atmosphere, but Shen Yuyan's lowered eyes made him swallow the words.

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The meal was almost finished when Shen Yuyan stood up to serve more soup. Her sleeve slid up, revealing her forearm.

Ye Qingyi's gaze suddenly froze.

Shen Yuyan's arm was covered in black and blue bruises. Some were already turning green, while others were fresh pinches, still swollen. They spread from her wrist all the way to her elbow, densely packed.

Lu Xuan noticed Ye Qingyi's expression and followed her gaze. The moment he saw the bruises, his hand tightened around his bowl. He had seen them before, but seeing Ye Qingyi's reaction made the anger he had suppressed rise again.

Ye Qingyi's brow furrowed, and a cold light flashed in her eyes.

Clang—

The long blade was unsheathed and placed directly on Lu Xuan's neck.

"Did you do this?"

Lu Xuan's body stiffened, caught off guard. The blade's cold edge pressed against his skin, but what unsettled him more was the accusation in Ye Qingyi's eyes.

"I'm asking you, who caused her injuries?"

Her voice was as cold as ice, as if she were ready to stab Lu Xuan to death at any moment.

Shen Yuyan returned with the soup and saw Ye Qingyi's hand on the hilt of her blade, causing her expression to change.

"Miss Ye! It wasn't my husband!"

Ye Qingyi looked at her.

"Don't be afraid, I'll seek justice for you."

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Shen Yuyan quickly set down the soup bowl and pulled down her sleeve to cover the injuries.

"It wasn't my husband. It was... it was Shen Wanqing and Shen Wanrong."

"Hmm??? People from the Shen Family?"

Ye Qingyi stared intently at Shen Yuyan, afraid she was lying.

"Yes, they came to the house the day before yesterday while my husband was away. There was some unpleasantness."

Shen Yuyan's voice was very soft.

"They just bullied me a little, It didn't hurt now."

Ye Qingyi stared at Shen Yuyan for a moment, then at Lu Xuan, who was sitting as steady as a mountain while blowing on his soup.

Ye Qingyi slowly withdrew her blade, silence fell for a while.

"Why didn't you report it to the authorities?"

Shen Yuyan lowered her head.

"It wouldn't have been useful... The Shen Family in Azure Sun City..."

Ye Qingyi didn't speak. Instead, she picked up her bowl and finished the rest of the soup.

"Did you know that something happened to the Shen Family last night?"

Shen Yuyan nodded.

"I heard a bit about it on the street."

"Shen Wanqing and Shen Wanrong had their heads shaved bald, and their wrists were ruined."

"Ah? Have they found out who did it?"

"I don't know."

Ye Qingyi glanced at Lu Xuan.

"The Shen Family is going crazy now, searching the whole city for the culprit."

Lu Xuan drank his soup from the bowl, not even looking up. He kept his expression calm.

"Where were you last night?"

Ye Qingyi asked.

"At home. Sleeping."

Ye Qingyi stared at him for a long time.

Lu Xuan looked up with a bewildered expression. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing."

Ye Qingyi withdrew her gaze, then she stood up.

"Thank you for the hospitality. I'm leaving."

"Miss Ye, stay a bit longer..." Shen Yuyan stood up to see her off.

"No."

Ye Qingyi reached the door and suddenly stopped. She glanced at Lu Xuan and said, "You'd better be careful!"

Shen Yuyan quickly explained.

"Miss Ye, my injuries really weren't caused by my husband. Really, I'm not lying to you!"

Ye Qingyi nodded.

"Mm! Miss Shen, I'll come to see you again another day..."

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After Ye Qingyi left, Shen Yuyan served Lu Xuan a bit more rice and said,

"This Miss Ye is truly good-looking..."

Lu Xuan looked at Shen Yuyan with a smile. He glanced toward the closed door, then shook his head.

"I don't know if she's good-looking, but I know my wife is...also she's a bit of a trouble."

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The Shen Family main hall was brightly illuminated by candlelight, making the entire hall seem as bright as day, but the expression of the person sitting in the main seat was darker than the night outside.

Shen Zhenghai, the Shen Family Head, was at the Middle Stage of the Spirit Gathering Realm.

He was in his fifties, with a square face, thick eyebrows, and tiger-like eyes; he had been a ruthless character in his youth, although having lived in comfort for years, his temper had mellowed considerably.

But tonight, the Shen Zhenghai who had been restrained for over a decade had returned.

Smash!

The teacup shattered on the floor, and porcelain shards splashed everywhere.

"Useless! You're all useless!"

Shen Zhenghai's voice wasn't loud, but every word sounded as if it were squeezed through his teeth.

"In Azure Sun City, I told you to investigate, and you couldn't even find a trace. What good are you?"

Seven or eight people were kneeling in the hall, and leading them was the Shen Family steward, Shen Fu, whose forehead was pressed against the floor as he didn't dare to look up.

Shen Zhenghai stood up, walked over to Shen Fu, and looked down at him.

"Did you search the whole city?"

"We searched... we searched everywhere..."

"What about outside the city?"

"We searched there too..."

"What about unfamiliar faces?"

Shen Fu looked up and said cautiously, "Family Head, we rounded up every unfamiliar face in the city ...men, women, old, and young ...and interrogated them all, but no one confessed."

Shen Zhenghai's brows knitted together.

"Not a single one?"

"Not a single one. We checked their backgrounds; they're all legitimate merchants. Some have been in Azure Sun City for a few months, while others have been here for years, but none of them match the culprit's methods or style."

Shen Zhenghai paced the hall with his hands behind his back, and his boots crunched on the porcelain shards, making a grating sound.

"And so?"

Shen Fu swallowed hard.

"Therefore... your subordinate suspects that the culprit... is very likely a local of Azure Sun City. Only a local would be so familiar with the city's terrain and know how to hide and escape."

Shen Zhenghai stopped in his tracks.

A local?

He remained silent for a long time.

"A local... who could have such guts? To break into the Shen Family at night, injure two people, and retreat unscathed?"

Shen Fu didn't dare to respond.

Shen Zhenghai turned around and looked at him.

"Where are Wanrong and Wanqing?"

"The Eldest Young Miss and Second Young Miss... are still in their rooms."

Shen Zhenghai said nothing and strode toward the backyard.