That was because he, Heartless Gongzi, was never merciful to or felt heartache for anyone other than his mother, his motherâs family, his Shifu, martial brothers, and a few confidant subordinates.
Thinking of this, Shangguan LingRan couldnât help but softly advise, âDonât care too much about your father. You have your grandfather, uncle, aunt, and me. We will take good care of you in the future.â
âWhy do I need you to take care of me?â Zi You thought of Zhao HongXiang and turned cold again.
It was as if the person who was emotionally moved just now wasnât her.
Shangguan LingRan did not expect that in a moment, she, once again, turned ice-cold.
So he anxiously grabbed her shoulder and asked, âYou clearly donât hate me, so why donât you let down your guard so I can get close to you?â
Zi You smiled coldly, âLet you get close? Who are you to me? Why should I let you get close to me?â
Shangguan LingRan was most afraid to see a Zi You who was exuding coldness from deep within her bones.
She was like an iceberg that separated herself from him. That impenetrable, marrow-chilling expanse of ice could really drive him mad!
âYouâer.â Shangguan LingRan did not exhibit any roguish behavior or get angry this time.
That was because the last time he got angry, he didnât see her for ten days. As a result, she became engaged to that hypocritical fake gentleman Zhao HongXiang.
If he acted like a rogue, the little yatou might think that he really was a skirt-chaser and would never open her heart to him.
Shangguan LingRan looked at Zi You and very solemnly said, âDo you know why I havenât come to look for you these days? I was practicing to recover my martial arts as soon as possible so that I can take care of Shangguan Lingluo and avenge you and me. Youâer, I am not a dandy or some kindhearted person. I really am the Heartless Gongzi in Jianghu [the pugilistic world]......â
âDonât lie to me.â Shangguan LingRan had not finished speaking, but Zi You mockingly interrupted him. âYou think that I donât leave the house so I wonât know Jianghuâs matters? Heartless Gongzi is Xuanyuan Sectâs Xuanyuan Daozhangâs direct disciple and the disciple with the best martial arts. He is legendary for being callous and unfeeling and never leaving a person alive. His usual weapon is a curved blade thatâs as thin as cicada wings. When he kills people, he has one move: waist-cutting. He will cleave a person in half from the waist. He is also cultivating a masterpiece of martial arts: Fire Cloud Palm. One palm strike will burn your internal organs and......â
Zi You said to here and remembered the strange ring of fire that surrounded her spirit pets. She looked at Shangguan LingRan and did not speak anymore.
Shangguan LingRan lifted his palm and slowly generated energy. Soon, a bright red and glistening droplet like a cloud appeared in his palm.
Zi You instantly felt the heat rolling from his palm. She felt a burning sensation on her exposed skin.
She quickly retreated, but Shangguan LingRan had already retracted his energy. The red cloud in his palm gradually turned pink.
At this time, he saw Zi You lifting her leg to kick him like a small leopard. âBastard! How dare you lie to me? Since you are Heartless Gongzi, why didnât you use your legendary martial arts to burn those assassins to death? What were you doing with your sorry figure? You wanted to get close to the Generalâs Manor? What do you really want to do?â
She was really angry. She didnât believe him at all when Shangguan LingRan told her that he was Heartless Gongzi last time because she didnât see him use any of Heartless Gongziâs moves.
She thought, âWho are you kidding? If you are really Heartless Gongzi, you were injured to that state and you still didnât use your ultimate move?â
But today, she personally witnessed him displaying Fire Cloud Palm. She couldnât not believe it anymore.
Thinking that he had an ultimate move, but did not use it and let himself be injured to that state, she didnât know why, but she was angry enough to go crazy.
Since Shangguan LingRanâs martial arts recovered, Zi You was naturally not his opponent. Soon, Zi You was imprisoned by him in his arms again.
But this time, Shangguan LingRan did not tease her or called her stupid. Instead, he angrily retorted, âAre you a wild cat? You change faces as you wish. If I used Fire Cloud Palm or Silver Moon Hook and it was found out by my suspicious Emperor uncle, he will think that the Generalâs Manor and Xuanyuan Sect are in collusion. Do you know how much trouble that will bring to the Generalâs Manor? I said that you are stupid and you still donât admit it.â
Zi You was struggling with all her might in the beginning. She gradually quieted down when she heard the last part. It was clear that she heard and understood Shangguan LingRanâs words.
He was right. In Great Yan, Xuanyuan Sect was a special existence.
It was a righteous and prominent sect in Jianghu. Xuanyuan Daozhang was a person with virtue and prestige. He was as famous as Shaolin Sectâs Grandmaster Mingyuan.
At this time, Shaolin martial arts werenât very famous. Wudang Sect was not yet established. It could be imagined how powerful the living immortal Xuanyuan Daozhang who practiced to the tenth stage of Xuantian Jue was.
The current Emperor and the previous two Emperors had invited Xuanyuan Daozhang to be the countryâs National Protector. However, Xuanyuan Daozhang unexpectedly refused.
He was already a peerless entity who appeared and disappeared at will. He frequently traveled outside the country. Why would he want to be a whatever National Protector?
The imperial government had always been afraid of Xuanyuan Sect, but Xuanyuan Sect stayed in Emei Mountain without making trouble. Moreover, soldiers had been to the mountain twice. They couldnât even see his shadow. Thus, they rid the notion of wanting to eliminate him.
The result was that neither side bothered the other. River water did not interfere with well water. But the current Xuanwu Emperor never let down his guard against Xuanyuan Daozhang and was always wary of him. This was understandable, however.
If such a big sect, that made the imperial government afraid, had relations with the Generalâs Manor, Xuanwu Emperor would probably be too afraid to sleep.
Zi You understood Shangguan LingRanâs intentions. If she said that she wasnât moved even a little bit, she would be lying.
The situation that day was very dangerous. But to protect her and the Generalâs Manor from being suspected and targeted by the Emperor, he used his own flesh and blood as shields rather than use his ultimate moves.
Zi You was clearly grateful in her heart, but she faintly asked, âSince youâre Xuanyuan Sectâs Heartless Gongzi, that little bit of flesh wounds must be nothing to do. Then why did you stay in the Generalâs Manor and make me treat you?â
âFlesh wounds?â Shangguan LingRan exclaimed in a low voice. âI didnât dare to use my internal energy, so it was all external force. Didnât you see how heavily injured I was? I was unconscious and didnât know anything. If I didnât stay at the Generalâs Manor, then where would I go?â
Zi You turned her face in anger, frustration, and bashfulness. âIf you were unconscious, how did you know what happened when I treated you? You scoundrel!â
âHehe......â Shangguan LingRan suppressed his laugh. âThatâs because I was reluctant to part with you and wanted to stay with you longer. Youâer, donât scold me, okay? I swear to you that Iâm only a scoundrel to you. Even if other women are given to me, I wonât even look once at them.â
âYou still dare to speak nonsense? I hate it the most when men swears. Itâs never the truth.â Zi You thought of that oath that Zhao HongXiang swore in her previous life and was immediately angry. Shangguan LingRan rushed to seriously say, âOkay, I will prove it to you with my actions and never easily swear again.â
âWho wants you to prove it with your actions? You call me stupid, but I think youâre stupid. Those assassins were all thrown into the waterfall by me. Even if you used your ultimate moves, they wouldnât notice. Otherwise, wouldnât Weishali be exposed too?â Zi You pushed Shangguan LingRan away and looked at him. Her luminous eyes were more beautiful than flowers and expressed many amorous feelings.
It was obviously a humiliated and angry expression, but it was so enchanting that Shangguan LingRanâs soul was almost sucked out.
âYouâer......â Shangguan LingRan gazed dazedly at Zi You, as if he was intoxicated.
Although Zi You was as calm as water, she had a fiery gaze and two red cheeks. That faint bit of red on her blooming white jade-like smooth skin added a lovely enchanting peach color to her face. It was very moving, like lovely winter scenery.
She angrily moved her smoky and delicate eyebrows. Her thick, butterfly eyelashes fluttered. A pair of luminous fiery eyes glared at him.
That beautiful face that was imprinted in Shangguan LingRanâs mind suddenly became vivid.
He felt that that blush on her white skin was white like Emei Mountainâs winter snow. When it was sunset, it was so beautiful that it would confuse peopleâs minds.
He moved forwards in infatuation. Zi You was afraid that she would return to the embarrassing position from before and hurried to say, âYou said that you wanted to find Shangguan Lingluo to take revenge. What do you want to do? Can you take me with you? After all, her target is me. You were dragged down by me. This vengeance should be sought by me. She seems to be more reserved now. She doesnât even leave the Palace recently. We canât go to the Palace to kill her, right?â
Shangguan LingRan heard that Zi You used âweâ to refer to him and her. He was very happy. His tone of voice was gentle and domineering. âShe dared to touch my woman. How can I let her off? Even if she runs to the ends of the earth, I will still drag her out. Youâer, I donât want you to make a move. Itâs better if you donât know certain things.â
The imperial family had some very dirty matters. He didnât want Zi You to glimpse the darkness at such a young age.
However, Zi You was more anxious to understand after hearing his words.
Especially that âHe is Taiziâs personâ made the sensitive Zi You feel something unusual.
If Zhao HongXiang was secretly colluding with Taizi, did Duke Yongnan know? Was Duke Yongnan also on Taiziâs side?
Then Zhao HongXiang and Duke Yongnan were so desperate to marry Zi You because they wanted to pull her grandfather into Taiziâs camp?
Did her grandfather and uncle dying in her previous life have anything to with them?