"Why doesn't any of you believe me? Why is it always my fault no matter what happens to Lu Xuening? If you don't like me, why did you bring me back?"
"If you hate me so much, why did you bring me back? Why didn't you just pretend I was dead?"
He recalled A Yao's emotional breakdown, when she shouted that she wanted to leave the Lu family and was slapped by her mother. Her cheek was swollen and she fell to the ground. Her mother told her to admit her mistake, but she refused. Her mother was so angry that she whipped her several times. Although she had withdrawn her magic power, each lash still left her skin torn and bleeding. He couldn't bear it, but he didn't stand up for her.
Finally, she watched helplessly as her fourth brother, covered in blood, roughly dragged her by the hair into the water dungeon.
Why didn't he stand up back then?
Because he, like everyone else, didn't believe that Xiaoqi had made a mistake, but even if Xiaoqi harbored resentment, wasn't that normal? Nobody cared about her feelings.
Lu Yunshen's heart was in turmoil, and the regret was so overwhelming that he felt like he was about to collapse.
He looked at the palace with its doors tightly shut and wanted to say to A Yao: Xiao Qi won't do it again. I will never ignore your feelings again, and I will never only care about Xiao Ba again.
But his steps were incredibly heavy; after repeated disappointments, one's heart dies.
Xiaoqi no longer trusts him.
Lu Yunshen stood in front of the herb garden for a very long time before finally leaving dejectedly.
Not long after Lu Yunshen left, new guests arrived at Yingxiu Peak.
Xu Fengzhi arrived this time.
Xu Fengzhi, accompanied by his guards, stood on the sea of clouds in front of Yingxiu Peak, gazing at the protective array on the peak, and transmitted his voice into it: "Seventh Miss, I, Xu Fengzhi, would like to pay you a visit."
After a while, the protective formation opened a gap.
————
Inside the main hall, the bamboo curtains were half-rolled up.
By the window, a young woman in purple and a man in blue sat facing each other. The young woman was quietly making tea, her movements incredibly elegant. The man in blue stared at her beautiful face without blinking, until a cup of tea was placed in front of him, at which point he snapped out of his reverie.
"My tea here is simple, I hope Young Master Xu will not take offense!" said A Yao.
Xu Fengzhi held the cup of tea, took a sip, and exclaimed, "Excellent tea! I've never tasted this tea before. Could it be that Miss Qi grew it herself?"
Ayao said, "No, it was by chance that I saw an old tea tree on a mountain peak during an outing. The tea leaves had a refreshing fragrance that could be smelled from dozens of miles away, so I picked some."
Xu Fengzhi nodded: "I see."
After saying this, he looked around. While the furnishings weren't as sparse as they had been three years ago, they were still too plain for the seventh young lady of the Lu family of Kunshan. And…
"Seventh Miss, where is your maid?" Xu Fengzhi asked.
Ayao said, "I have no maids."
Upon hearing this, Xu Fengzhi's expression became very strange. He then asked, "Where are your guards?"
Ayao said, "I have no guards."
Xu Fengzhi was stunned.
He had suspected that A Yao was not valued, and seeing that her cave dwelling was not on the main spiritual vein of Kunshan, he became even more convinced that the Lu family treated her badly. But he did not expect that the Lu family would not even provide her with maids and guards. What... what is this?
Treating one's own daughter like this? Is this even human?
"How could they do this? You are the real eldest daughter of the Lu family!" Xu Fengzhi felt indignant for A Yao.
Ayao said calmly, "I'm quite fine here on my own."
Looking at her exquisitely beautiful face, Xu Fengzhi felt a pang of heartache. She had endured so much hardship outside, and now, upon returning home, her family only cared about their adopted daughter; she must be feeling incredibly distressed. Suddenly, Ayao became Xu Fengzhi's pitiful little darling.
He looked at Ayao and said with heartache, "If I had a younger sister who had been separated from her family since childhood, I would never let her suffer the slightest grievance again after I found her."
With a wave of his hand, streaks of red light flew out of his storage bag. The moment these lights landed, they transformed into beautiful young women, some charming, some gorgeous, and some adorable. Each of these young women held a musical instrument in their hands; some held a pipa, some a flute, and some had a small drum hanging from their waist...
They played their instruments and began to dance.
"These sixteen alchemical puppets are all only at the Foundation Establishment stage, so they are not good at fighting. However, they are good at playing musical instruments, singing, and serving tea. I am giving them to Miss Seven, and I hope Miss Seven will not find them unworthy," Xu Fengzhi said in a gentle and refined manner.
Looking at the sixteen alchemical puppets, each one graceful and elegant, Ayao chuckled and said, "I just received so many gifts from Young Master Xu, it would be impolite to take your things again."
Xu Fengzhi immediately said, "Seventh Miss saved my life. This small gift is hardly enough to repay this life-saving grace."
Upon hearing this, Ayao sighed inwardly: If that's how you put it, how can I ever repay the kindness you showed me in my past life?
She saved him to settle the karmic debt from her past life. She left after saving him, not intending to have any further involvement with him. Who knew he would actually come looking for her?
Ayao looked at Xu Fengzhi and said, "Sect Master Xu only has one son, you. I don't believe he didn't give you something to protect your life. Even without me that day, Young Master Xu would have been safe and sound."
At most, it'll just be a bit of a mess.
Xu Fengzhi did not deny it. He cupped his hands to A Yao and said, "I will never forget the life-saving grace of Miss Qi. If Miss Qi does not like these puppets, I will go and find another batch for you."
Seeing how serious he was, Ayao said, "Okay, then I'll accept it."
When Xu Fengzhi released these sixteen alchemical puppets, he had already erased the divine sense imprints on them. A Yao only needed to imprint her own divine sense on these puppets to control them.
After she waved her hand and imprinted her divine sense on these puppets, they walked out one by one and scattered to various parts of Yingxiu Peak.
Xu Fengzhi looked at A Yao's serene profile. His voice was gentle, and his eyes were warm like the sun. He said, "Seventh Miss, could you take me for a walk around?"
Ayao nodded.
She stood up, and Xu Fengzhi followed her out. The guards Xu Fengzhi had brought saw them come out and followed behind him and A Yao. A Yao said to Xu Fengzhi, "There's really nothing much to see at Yingxiu Peak. Shall I take you somewhere else?"
As he spoke, he flew towards the sky, with Xu Fengzhi and the others from the Divine Dream Sect following behind.
Those cultivators from the Divine Dream Sect weren't blind or stupid; they could all see that their young master had taken a liking to the seventh young lady of the Lu family. This seventh young lady was as beautiful as a fairy, and her talent was even more extraordinary. She was a perfect match for their young master, and the two of them standing together were truly a handsome man and a beautiful woman.
They followed at a distance with keen insight, exchanging glances or whispers with those around them from time to time, each revealing a meaningful smile.
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