“Hold on!” Shen Yang clenched his fist, his cold glance sweeping across Lin Liuchun’s face. “Young Sect Master Ren, it’s possible for us to not pursue the matter regarding Shen Changgeng, but you have established a contract with the Shen family to return the Hepta-Brilliant Sacred Fire to its original owner. With your current status, you can’t be thinking of reneging, right?”

　　Ren Fuyao’s head hurt a little; he hadn’t known that things would develop like this either.

　　When he was engaging in the business regarding the Pill Limit Mysterious Land, the Shen family had vowed that they would search for the Hepta-Brilliant Sacred Fire by themselves and that nothing would go wrong. He didn’t expect that the heavens’ plans would supersede their own.

　　Ren Fuyao calmly replied, “There was indeed a prior contract, but the Hepta-Brilliant Sacred Fire is already in Little Friend Yan’s body. Little Friend Yan probably doesn’t plan on exchanging it for anything either, right?”

　　Lin Xuanzhi lightly agreed, “We would not agree to the exchange even if the Sect Master position of Sky Peak Sect was offered.”

　　No one could do anything against such a firm attitude.

　　“He.” Shen Yang laughed oddly, “Then from now on, Young Sect Master Ren will have to suffer from a pain equivalent to having your heart pierced with an awl every day then.”

　　“That’s my business with the Shen family.”

　　Shen Yang stared coldly at Ren Fuyao. “In that case, I’ll come another day to take the fire.”

　　Shen Yang said to the other people from the Shen family behind him, “Let’s go.”

　　A wise man submits to circumstances. The Shen family had already lost a crucial opportunity, so they certainly could not offend the Yuan, Qi, and Lin families at the same time. Additionally, considering how they had a blood debt to settle with the Qi family, they naturally had to focus on that pressing matter first.

　　As for the Hepta-Brilliant Sacred Fire, it’s not too late to get it back another day.

　　In any case, Yan Tianhen may be able to run, but Ren Fuyao couldn’t.

　　Bai Yichen rolled his wheelchair over to where Lin Xuanzhi and the others were after the Shen Family left.

　　Bai Yichen smiled slightly, looking as mild as a lotus.

　　“I just came here to ask about what that bird looked like.” Bai Yichen dove straight to the point.

　　Yan Tianhen couldn’t feel like repelling Bai Yichen at all when faced with him, so he said, “That bird was gray all over and didn’t look like anything special. There were three strands of hair on its head and a few strands on its tail. It wasn’t too big, was rather fluffy with fine hair, and looked really cute.”

　　Bai Yichen gently knocked with his finger. “Were its eyes reddish-gold?”

　　Yan Tianhen was stunned. “How did you know? Have you seen such a bird before?”

　　Bai Yichen was incredibly surprised, but his expression remained unchanged. “Birds that can spew fire are mostly gold and red.”

　　Yan Tianhen uttered an “Oh“, then said pensively, “So that’s why.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi stared at Bai Yichen rather meaningfully. Bai Yichen raised his head, and the two of them looked at each other, then he revealed a rather meaningful expression.

　　Bai Yichen came from one of the lands in the Nine Lands, Lin Xuanzhi knows that. From the looks of it now, Bai Yichen knows that phoenix too.

　　So it was possible to get some information from him, but…it was also possible for Bai Yichen to ask him for some information as well. The curtains were drawn on this farce. After sending off the people in the hall, Ren Fuyao supported himself with an armrest and sat down, massaging the space between his eyebrows out of fatigue.

　　One needed to be vigilant and careful at all times when dealing with Bai Yichen, and it was exhausting.

　　The child dressed in a red garment, called Si Ling, walked over and said worriedly, “Master, the Hepta-Brilliant Sacred Fire didn’t land in the Shen family’s hands, so it won’t be long before the contract comes into effect. What should Master do then?”

　　Once a contract was violated, one would be punished by the Dao of Heaven, suffer from a pain equivalent to having one’s heart pierced with an awl, experience a drop in their realm, or lose their mind…in any case, they wouldn’t come to a good end.

　　Yet Ren Fuyao’s expression didn’t change as he chuckled, “Don’t worry too much. In any case, I won’t die.”

　　Si Li pouted, tears pooling in his eyes. “Young Master worked so hard for the sect, yet no one talks about how good Young Master is and even made you suffer.”

　　“I am the Young Sect Master after all.” Ren Fuyao said lightly.

　　As the Young Master of Sky Peak Sect, he naturally had to bear the burden that others couldn’t.

　　After leaving the mountain gate, Su Mo and Lin Liuchun bid farewell.

　　Su Mo said, “There are some matters I must attend to in the family. I’ve left for too long, so I’ll have to head back home tomorrow.”

　　Lin Liuchun nodded. “When we leave depends on Xuanzhi’s arrangements.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi had arranged for it long ago. “I’m afraid that I still have to do some business with a few families these days. If Fourth Elder has other plans, then you need not bother with us.”

　　Lin Liuchun rolled his eyes and sneered, “Between you and Yan Tianhen, one just gets more worrisome than the other, and you’ve offended god knows how many powerful figures. Within a few days, the news of the abnormal fire in Ah Hen’s body will spread throughout the Five Continents’ mainlands, so it’s hard to say if he’ll even be able to return alive. Kid, don’t pretend to be something you’re not, I’ll leave with you guys.”

　　Yan Tianhen grinned. “Much thanks to Fourth Elder, I just knew that Fourth Elder wouldn’t leave us alone.”

　　“Then, what plans does Yuyang have?” Su Mo asked.

　　“I’ll return with the Duan family.” Duan Yuyang said.

　　Yuan Tianwen stared unblinkingly at Duan Yuyang. “When are you going back? I’ll leave with you.”

　　Duan Yuyang wanted to make a few sarcastic remarks, but he suddenly recalled that Su Mo was still around, so he changed his words, “It’s not on the way. Young Master Yuan has to attend to a lot of important affairs every day, so I won’t hold you back.”

　　Yuan Tianwen did have a lot of affairs to attend to; not only did Profound Sky Sect have a ton of matters that hadn’t been dealt with yet, but the Yuan family had a lot of things that they needed him to do as well.

　　He shouldn’t have come to Sky Peak City in the first place, but he didn’t know why he had thought that he had to see Duan Yuyang, which was why he asked to follow along. Coupled with the time spent in the Pill Limit Mysterious Land, he had tarried for quite a long time and naturally couldn’t stay any longer.

　　Su Mo smiled, “Yuyang is still as considerate as ever. In that case, Tianwen, go back with me ba. It just so happens that your father has a few old friends who are coming over for a visit, so he needs you to go with him to greet your uncles.”

　　Yuan Tianwen was incredibly unwilling, but his wife was ignoring him and his dad wasn’t helping him. He was detested by both humans and dogs alike now, so he naturally didn’t dare hang around in front of Duan Yuyang to force him to look at himself. Nervousness arose in his heart.

　　But Yuan Tianwen wouldn’t give up just like that.

　　He pondered for a bit, then walked over to grab Duan Yuyang’s shoulders. Before Duan Yuyang could react, he leaned down and kissed his forehead, then whispered, “After I’m done being busy for this period, I’ll go look for you to have a proper chat. I already know how you feel about me. No matter what has happened to you, you can talk about it with me; I’ll shoulder it with you. I will never give up.”

　　Duan Yuyang’s face flushed red. Has Yuan Tianwen gone nuts? It’s fine if he was just this shameless in private, but he actually dared to take advantage of him like this in front of his dad and an elder from the Lin family.

　　Duan Yuyang resisted the urge to kick him and maintained his image in front of Su Mo. While cursing inwardly, he smiled. “Let’s talk about such matters at a later date ba. It’s getting late, so I’ll take my leave first.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi and the rest chimed in, “We’ll be taking our leave as well.”

　　Yuan Tianwen sighed after Duan Yuyang left with Lin Xuanzhi and the others. He looked at Duan Yuyang’s receding back figure, disheartened, “Dad, he’s not giving me any face in front of you either. You were wrong.”

　　Su Mo kicked him. “What the hell do you know? If it wasn’t because of me, he would’ve berated you from head to toe long ago.”

　　“Alright, your father has been urging me to return long ago. We must set out tomorrow morning.”

　　Yuan Tianwen said, “My father’s already so old and yet he’s still so clingy, he wouldn’t even let you stay away for a few more days.”

　　What ‘a lot of family affairs to attend to’? It was all just because Yuan Zheng missed his wife.

　　Su Mo said, “You have no right to say that. Every generation of the Yuan family has been the infatuated type.”

　　Yuan Tianwen thought about it, then nodded and said rather proudly, “That’s true.”

　　Su Mo had brought Yuan Tianwen to kill their way over in order to ensure Duan Yuyang’s safety. As for the conflict between the Lin and Shen families, he had no intention of intervening at all.

　　Elite families would seldom take action for anything aside from being in-laws or having common interests with the family in question.

　　After they returned to the inn, Lin Liuchun closed the door with a “pa“, then turned around to scrutinise Lin Xuanzhi and Yan Tianhen.

　　“Talk ba, what’s the deal with that abnormal bird?” Lin Liuchun asked.

　　Yan Tianhen blinked and played the fool. “That abnormal bird left with a pretty handsome man whom I didn’t recognise.”

　　Lin Liuchun uttered a hng with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “One day in the Pill Limit Mysterious Land is equivalent to three days outside. Do you know how many people have been trying to inquire about that abnormal bird in secret these days? Well, it’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it, but you should think of an excuse lest someone knocks on your door to ask you for the abnormal bird.”

　　Yan Tianhen rubbed his nose a little guiltily and sneaked a glance at Lin Xuanzhi.

　　Lin Xuanzhi shook his head slightly, signaling that he needed not say anything more.

　　So Yan Tianhen felt relieved.

　　Lin Liuchun glanced at the small movements they were making right before his eyes and thought to himself that these two brats were really good at causing trouble for him.

　　However, Lin Liuchun wasn’t very concerned about the bird. If Yan Tianhen really managed to tame it, then that would be good. After all, Shen Changgeng had told them that that bird had just spewed out one mouthful of fire and turned several cultivators to ashes, so one could tell just how terrifying its cultivation level must be.

　　Lin Liuchun sat on a wide chair and poured a cup of tea for himself. “Describe in detail how you managed to get the Hepta-Brilliant Sacred Fire and what kind of relationship there is between the Pill Limit Mysterious Land and the Shen family.”

　　Yan Tianhen looked at Lin Xuanzhi again.

　　Lin Liuchun was so angry he laughed. He slammed the teacup on the table. “Will he eat you up or cook you? Why do you need to report everything to him first? Make the decision yourself, stop clinging to him all the time, it’s not cute at all!”

　　Yan Tianhen didn’t think there was any problem, in front of an elder from the Lin family, his gift of the gab wouldn’t work, so he could only stick his tongue out in embarrassment.

　　Lin Xuanzhi couldn’t help but laugh. He rubbed Yan Tianhen’s head and said to Lin Liuchun, “Fourth Elder, you can just ask me whatever questions you have. It’s unlikely for him to know more than me.”

　　Lin Liuchun rolled his eyes. “Ah Hen, tell me this: what’s the difference between raising a younger brother and raising a dog?”

　　Yan Tianhen pondered for a while, then hesitated as he answered, “…woof?”

　　Lin Liuchun, “…”

　　Lin Xuanzhi, “…”

　　Lin Xuanzhi was unable to restrain a smile and he pinched Yan Tianhen’s cheek. Yan Tianhen grinned, his eyes turning into crescent shapes as he and Lin Xuanzhi looked at each other. There was nothing else that needed to be said.

　　Lin Liuchun was also amused, but when he saw the inexplicable sentiments between these two young ones, an idea instantly flashed through his mind. He was abruptly stunned and thought that this was truly ridiculous.

　　—