At the banquet in Tianshui Palace, Ayao stood in a corner watching Xu Fengzhi, who was surrounded by people and seemed to be the center of attention.
Xu Fengzhi was still dressed in white, his robes spotless. His long black hair was tied up with a hair crown, his eyebrows were relaxed, his smile was gentle, and his handsome face was like a piece of jade. Many young female cultivators looked at him and cast admiring glances at him.
"Although our eldest son is on par with Young Master Xu, the patriarch has six sons. Young Master Xu is different; he's the only heir of the Divine Dream Sect, and all the resources of the sect will belong to him in the future. I'm so envious! He's really lucky to have been born into such a family."
"I wonder what kind of woman could be worthy of a genius as brilliant as Young Master Xu?"
"If I could be with Young Master Xu, I would be willing to be his concubine."
"Come on, you think you're a concubine? How could Young Master Xu possibly be interested in you?"
"If you don't like me, do you think you'd like me?"
Ayao stood in the corner, watching the female disciples of the Lu family beside her whispering amongst themselves, oblivious to everyone else. She glanced at the Lu family disciples beside her, then at Xu Fengzhi. He was surrounded by so many people. She remembered the scene of him saving her at Zhaoyao Mountain, and the way he spoke to her so gently. She hadn't thanked him yet. Even if she couldn't repay him now, at least, she should say thank you.
This is what Ayao was thinking.
There were just too many people around Xu Fengzhi, and A Yao couldn't get in at all, so she just waited and waited.
She waited a long time for her opportunity.
A bright moon hung in the night sky, and beneath it, peach trees bloomed silently in the moonlight. Before the white jade railing stood a man dressed in snow-white robes, gazing intently at the moon. Seeing that Xu Fengzhi was finally alone, Ayao excitedly flew towards him. Xu Fengzhi turned around and looked at her.
Ayao blushed when she met his gaze, and stammered, "Young Master Xu, thank you for saving my life."
Xu Fengzhi looked at A Yao with a puzzled expression. Help? Had he ever saved the life of the girl in front of him?
He sized up the girl before him. She was dressed in a white gauze dress, her figure thin and frail. Her small face was delicate but lacked vitality, as if she had just recovered from a serious illness. The girl's expression was timid and wary, like a little hedgehog in danger, its nerves taut, easily frightened by the slightest disturbance.
Xu Fengzhi smiled, her smile as clear and bright as the moonlight: "Which family's female disciple are you? Did I save you?"
Xu Fengzhi racked his brains, but he really couldn't recall when he had saved the girl in front of him. He had saved too many people to remember.
Ayao's cheeks flushed even more. She was embarrassed, but then she thought about it and realized that he was the young master of the Divine Dream Sect, while she was just a lowly girl like a blade of grass. It was normal that he wouldn't remember her. She said awkwardly with a red face, "Five years ago, on Zhaoyao Mountain, when I was almost killed by a demon beast, it was Young Master Xu who saved me."
"Mount Zhaoyao, five years ago..."
Xu Fengzhi fell into deep thought. A Yao looked at his face and found that he was really handsome. His light golden eyes looked like beautiful gems. This thought made A Yao's heart skip a beat, and her face turned even redder.
"It's you!"
Xu Fengzhi's eyes lit up; he had finally remembered A Yao. He looked down at A Yao's waist and, sure enough, saw the Xuanling Ancient Jade hanging there.
“You’re from the Lu family…” Xu Fengzhi paused for a moment.
"Lu Xueyao of the Lu family, the head of the Lu family is my father." Ayao said, and as she said "the head of the Lu family is my father," she felt a pang of guilt. She was clearly the daughter of the Lu family head, but... but they...
Ayao lowered her head and bit her lip.
Xu Fengzhi recalled what he had heard not long ago: the Lu family's lost seventh young lady seemed to have been found. Although this news hadn't spread widely, he had heard about it. It was said that the seventh young lady hadn't been doing well in the Lu family because the family favored their adopted eighth young lady.
Xu Fengzhi recalled the thin, frail little girl from five years ago. She had been found back then, but only now had anyone heard of her. At that time, she had almost died at the hands of a demonic beast on Zhaoyao Mountain; if she had even brought a guard, he wouldn't have had to come to her rescue. Wait a minute, could it be that she didn't have any guards at all?
Xu Fengzhi could not believe it.
The wind blew, ruffling A Yao's hair. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Xu Fengzhi was stunned when he saw her raise her hand and her sleeve slip down, revealing shocking scars on her slender arm.
When Ayao saw that Xu Fengzhi remembered her, she bowed to him and said solemnly, "Young Master Xu, I will never forget your life-saving grace. If I have the opportunity in the future, I will definitely repay you."
After Ayao finished speaking, her face turned very red, not from embarrassment, but because she felt she had spoken too boldly. In her heart, she knew perfectly well that she would never have the chance to repay him.
Xu Fengzhi looked at A Yao, and his usual chivalrous nature stirred a pang of pity in him. Just as he was about to speak, A Yao spotted her eldest brother, Lu Yunli, and second brother, Lu Yunchuan. Seeing Lu Yunli coldly staring at her, A Yao shivered.
"Young Master Xu, I'll be leaving now!"
A frightened A Yao hurriedly left on her sword.
"etc--"
Xu Feng called out, but A Yao had already flown away. He turned around and saw Lu Yunli and Lu Yunchuan. Recalling A Yao's terrified eyes and the wounds on her arms, he could easily guess what Lu Yunli and Lu Yunchuan had done to her. This seventh young lady of the Lu family must have had a very difficult time in the Lu family.
Lu Yunli and Lu Yunchuan left without speaking to Xu Fengzhi. Although Xu Fengzhi felt sorry for A Yao, he was an outsider. What could he do with his pity?
————
On the Lu family's floating ship.
As soon as A Yao boarded the floating ship, Lu Yunli called her to the hall. Besides Lu Yunli, Lu Yunchuan and Lu Yunlin were also in the hall.
When Ayao entered, she bowed to Lu Yunli and called out timidly, "Big brother."
Lu Yunli sat in the chair, looking at her coldly: "What were you saying to Xu Fengzhi just now?"
“I…I didn’t say anything, I just…I just thanked him for saving me before,” Ayao stammered.
When did he save you?
"Five years ago at Zhaoyao Mountain."
Ayao recounted what happened five years ago, after which Lu Yunli sneered, "Why didn't you stay in the Lu family and cultivate properly? What were you doing running off to Zhaoyao Mountain? He saved you, why didn't you tell us? We would have helped you repay him. It's been five years, what are you saying to him now? Do you want to repay him with your body?"
"Offer herself to him? She? Doesn't she even know if she's worthy?" Lu Yunlin sneered from the side.
Lu Yunli looked at A Yao with increasingly cold eyes. He raised his hand and slapped A Yao across the face. A Yao's cheek swelled up from the slap and she fell to the ground. He said coldly, "You don't learn good things, but instead learn those shameful and vixen tricks. You went and tried to seduce Xu Fengzhi. You have truly disgraced the Lu family."
"I...I didn't, I just thanked him," Ayao said, crying with grievance.
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