157: 4.22 Who Is That?!

4.22 Who Is That?!

Lu Yizhou eyed the two newcomers with veiled annoyance. He knew that, sooner or later, he was going to meet the protagonists for they resided in the same Sect but… why now? Of all time, why should it be now? Furthermore, the two came in tandem as if they knew what Lu Yizhou was doing and intended to stop him at all cost. But judging from their behavior, it didn't seem like a set up. Well, he had to blame the universe then.  2

"Shan-shidi, Ling-shimei." Lu Yizhou nodded in greetings and tried to keep his irritation in check. "What brings the two of you here?"

Ling Chuwei rolled her eyes. "Didn't you hear what Shan-xiong said? Of course we are here because you're not coming home! Father has been looking for you everywhere!"

Lu Yizhou frowned as he felt Heimo stiffening behind him. Tampering down the urge to check up on him, he asked. "What for?"

"How should I know?" Ling Chuwei shrugged. "It's the two of you who often have meetings behind the doors. Right, Shan-xiong?" She bumped her shoulders on the man beside him, her eyes twinkling with delight whereas Shan Duoyin merely gave her an exasperated look.

"Anyway, I told Father that Jingxue-Jun is definitely fine. Who doesn't want to have fun once in a while? He will come home on his own accord. But you know him, he's so overprotective of you. Sheesh, I am his daughter but he doesn't even show an ounce of attention for me like he did for you." Ling Chuwei babbled and linked her arms with Shan Duoyin, pulling him closer with a grin. "So I asked Shan-xiong here to accompany me and here we are! Oh, you have no idea…"

Hmm. Lu Yizhou took note of the two's interaction. It seemed like something was already going on between the two, given that they had known each other since they were children. 

For starters, Ling Chuwei was the kind of woman who wore her heart on her sleeve. Being the Sect Leader's daughter gave her the privilege to do so and she certainly wasn't ashamed to show her interest toward Shan Duoyin. On the other hand, Shan Duoyin only showed mild interest. Well, he played along with Ling Chuwei's whims so it wasn't like he was totally uninterested either. 

Lu Yizhou almost sighed in relief. He didn't want to be tangled with the rumors of arranged marriage with an unnecessary character when he was supposed to focus on Heimo. 

Just as his thoughts drifted to the man, he felt a pair of arms wrapping around his torso from behind followed by Heimo burying his face into his shoulder. Ling Chuwei abruptly stopped speaking and let out a choked sound as her eyes zeroed on the arms around the esteemed Jingxue-Jun whereas Shan Duoyin, noticing her frozen state, also followed her line of sight and his eyes similarly widened. W—W—Who was that? Who dared to put their hands on the pure and untouchable Jingxue-Jun?! He almost lunged forward to yank that person off but Ling Chuwei had a tight grip on him.

"Shan-xiong, who—who is that…?" Ling Chuwei strangled out.

That's also what he wanted to know! Shan Duoyin's eyes burned with irk as he examined the arms around Lu Yizhou as if he could burn it down with his stare.

And most importantly, why didn't Jingxue-Jun push that person off?! 

Heedless of the two's shock, Lu Yizhou grasped Heimo's hand and turned sideways so he could glance at him all the while concealing Heimo's face with his body at the same time. However, it seemed like Heimo didn't want anything like that. He peered up at Lu Yizhou with a pout, deliberately drawing Lu Yizhou's attention to his lips that were still wet and swollen from their brief and heated make out session. Flush tinged his cheeks and he still hadn't smoothened his rumpled collar. Two people alone in a secluded area, with one of them looking like that, it certainly left little to imagination. 

"Yi-gege…" He called out with a loud enough voice to be heard by the other two.

Lu Yizhou felt the corner of his lips curl upward. So Heimo decided to play again? Well, it took two to tango so he responded mildly. "What's wrong, Lan'er?"

Heimo snuggled closer to his back and leaned into his ear to whisper with a voice that was certainly unsuitable to be called a whisper. "I'm hungry. You said you are going to buy me food in the market. Or should I go alone and leave you with your… friends?"

"No." Lu Yizhou answered in a beat. "I will go with you." He turned to the two statues in front of him whose eyes were going back and forth between him and the figure behind him. If their eyes could talk, it might have screamed, "Who the fuck are you and what have you done to our Jingxue-Jun?!"

Ah, Lu Yizhou forgot. It wasn't only those two who had known each other since childhood. There was also him, Jingxue-Jun. He was practically a brother figure for the two, that's why they were so adamant on avenging his death. 

Now, this had become a pain in the ass. 

He cleared his throat. "Shan-shidi, Ling-shimei, I have a few matters I have to personally attend to. Please inform Master that I will return as soon as possible."

He intended to walk away right after this with Heimo when Ling Chuwei snapped out of her reverie and spluttered. "W—Wait a minute, who is this person? What did you say his name is? Lan'er? We have no one by that name in Lingyan. How did you two meet? Should Father know about this?"

He felt Heimo's arms tensed around him before he promptly forced himself to relax. Twice, it had happened twice already and both times Ling Chuwei was talking about Sect Leader Ling. Had something happened between Heimo and Sect Leader Ling? If that was the case, then the reason why Heimo sought to kill Jingxue-Jun in the original plot would be explained. 

"There's no need." Lu Yizhou didn't intend to snap but the thought of Heimo getting hurt somewhere without him knowing sent a wave of irritation in his chest. "I will tell him myself if there's a need to. Now please excuse me." Without waiting for any response, he tugged Heimo along and left, leaving Ling Chuwei flabbergasted with her eyes wide open in shock.

When Lu Yizhou and Heimo disappeared into the crowd, she turned to Shan Duoyin who was still frozen, eyes transfixed on the direction where the two had gone. It might be the lack of lightning but it seemed like Shan Duoyin's face was a bit too pale. Alas, Ling Chuwei didn't realize a thing. She was still reveling in the shock. "Shan-xiong…" She choked out. "Did he just get angry at me…?"

Jingxue-Jun, who had never once lost his patience and composure in all her sixteen years of life she had known him? Just for a… nobody?

The more Ling Chuwei thought about it, the more aggrieved she became. She stomped her foot in frustration. "Who the hell is that man?! How can he get Jingxue-Jun to look at him with such a—gentle look? I have known him for years and not even once have I seen him like that! Shan-xiong, did you have a glimpse of that man's face?!"

In Shan Duoyin's mind, the sentence 'Jingxue-Jun is a cutsleeve Jingxue-Jun is a cutsleeve' kept repeating over and over again. He… He had never known that. But then it wasn't like he and Jingxue-Jun were particularly close or anything. They were only connected to each other through Ling Chuwei. It was just weird and…unsettling. It was like looking through the window at something he had always admired for a long time, not daring to touch and get close, only for someone else with lesser caliber to come and snatch it away with little care. 

Shan Duoyin couldn't even detect that man's presence. He… He must have been a non-cultivator. How could someone like that be fit to stand by Jingxue-Jun's side?!

"Shan-xiong, are you listening to me?!"

"Hmm?" Shan Duoyin snapped out of his thoughts when Ling Chuwei shook his shoulders hard. "Did you say something?"

Ling Chuwei huffed. "I was asking, did you see that person's face or not?"

"No…" Shan Duoyin felt dizzy. He needed to sit down somewhere to register the fact that Jingxue-Jun could sound so gentle and look at someone with such a passionate gaze. His heart twisted uncomfortably at the memory and he felt mildly nauseous. "Jingxue-Jun was shielding that person very tightly."

"Hmph!" Ling Chuwei narrowed her eyes. "Lan'er… Lan'er…" A sharp, predatory glint flashed in her eyes. "Lan'er, I will definitely find out who he is!" 

Who the hell did he think he was to call Jingxue-Jun 'Yi-gege'?! It used to be Ling Chuwei alone who was allowed to call him by 'gege', alright?! Now that she was a proper cultivator and the Sect Leader's daughter, she had to abide by the rules and treat Jingxue-Jun with politeness that befitted his status. Not only that, she also couldn't call him 'gege' like she used to anymore! She fumed angrily. Lan'er… she wouldn't stop until she found out who that man was!

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