Chapter Eighteen: Feng Yu’s Jealousy—Part One

Watching her retainer stand frozen in place for a long while without moving, Su Yanran grew somewhat puzzled. She stepped forward and patted his shoulder, but to her surprise, Bai Yu staggered and nearly fell to the ground from the gentle smack.

“Surely not. You used to have good stamina. How come you’re so weak after just one sword dance? Look at Young Master Xu—he’s perfectly still, showing such composure.”

Bai Yu stood there, tongue-tied and unsure what to say, managing only a couple of awkward chuckles to ease his embarrassment.

Xu Feng remained motionless because of his formidable strength. Without Xu Feng’s power, how could Bai Yu maintain such grace?

Feeling a bit ashamed, Su Yanran ceased paying attention to him and left Bai Yu alone in place.

Bai Yu could only stumble back on his own.

He knew that due to his impulsiveness, his standing in the Su family would likely plummet, but he had no one to blame but himself.

After the banquet ended, Xu Feng and Feng Yimian did not linger. They needed to return quickly to tend to Feng Yimian’s injured arm, or it might become infected.

“Can’t we hurry up? Don’t waste time on the road,” Feng Yimian said with her usual carefree, easygoing demeanor.

Xu Feng, however, was worried. He knew that if infection took hold, Feng Yimian’s arm could be permanently disabled—and this was no trivial matter.

Though Feng Yimian greatly appreciated Xu Feng’s concern, she pretended not to care.

“What’s there to worry about? I’ve wandered the martial world for years. This is just a minor scratch—I've had worse wounds before.”

Xu Feng didn’t bother to argue further. As soon as the carriage stopped, he pulled her back to the courtyard. He intended to apply the medicine himself.

“Sit on the bed and don’t move. I’m going to prepare the ointment.”

Since inheriting the Swordwind Mountain legacy, Xu Feng had kept various medicinal herbs in the courtyard and personally mixed all the ointments.

After all, travel through the martial world meant inevitable injuries; having medicine ready was insurance against panic.

Unexpectedly, he hadn’t had the chance to use it on himself yet, but Feng Yimian was the first recipient. This girl was really a handful.

“This medicine doesn’t look very appealing. Does it really work?”

“Stop talking nonsense. It won’t cure you instantly, but it will ease your pain. Also, if you don’t want an unsightly scar on your arm, you’d better cooperate.”

Sure enough, this method worked well on women. Feng Yimian didn’t want her skin covered with scars that looked like a tangle of earthworms.

“Ow, be gentle! It hurts.”

Though she hadn’t felt pain while traveling, she couldn’t help but cry out when the medicine was applied—perhaps because she was being cared for, making the sensation sharper.

The young Feng Yimian couldn’t yet understand.

“Be more careful in the future. Don’t take such dangerous risks again.”

“At least don’t stand in front of me. I’m not as fragile as you think. His sword wouldn’t have hurt me.”

Fortunately, this injury wasn’t serious; it only grazed the skin on her arm without hitting any vital points.

“Mind your own business. I’m happy this way.”

“Who do you think deserves me protecting them from a sword? If not for the fact that you uphold my reputation at Tianxiang Tower, I wouldn’t care about you at all.”

Her tsundere nature was hard to change.

Xu Feng didn’t argue but applied the ointment with a bit more pressure, causing Feng Yimian to grimace and swiftly slap him on the waist.

Unconsciously, their relationship had drawn closer, though neither seemed aware of it, their bond strengthening subtly.

Dong’er watched the two with a smile.

“When the Master and the Second Miss are together like this, it finally feels like they’re part of the Feng family, not outsiders.”

“But as for the Eldest Miss... sigh...”

Speaking of the Eldest Miss, Feng Yuzhi and Zuo Jincheng arrived at the courtyard one after the other, just returning home and immediately hearing the sounds of laughter and playfulness inside.

Both Feng Yuzhi and Zuo Jincheng’s expressions darkened.

Especially Zuo Jincheng, who recently had been acting like he’d swallowed a bullet—quick-tempered and even speaking harshly to Feng Yuzhi.

He had lost the calm and composed aura of a noble gentleman.

This shattered Feng Yuzhi’s image of him considerably.

“How old is your little sister? Doesn’t she know that men and women shouldn’t have physical contact at this hour? Hanging out with that good-for-nothing—aren’t you worried about damaging your reputation?”

“If you ask me, you should teach her a lesson so she knows how a proper lady should behave.”

Zuo Jincheng’s tone was teasing, but Feng Yuzhi was unusually impatient.

“Yimian is young—she must have been coaxed by someone. She wasn’t like this before. Take me to lecture her.”

Without waiting further, the two pushed open the door and entered.

Inside, there was no impropriety. After the ointment was applied, Feng Yimian got dressed, though she insisted on chasing Xu Feng to give his waist a playful slap again.

“Sis, when did you come back? Why don’t you knock before entering someone’s room?”

“This is Feng family territory. I go wherever I want without needing anyone’s permission.”

Seeing her sister’s attitude, Feng Yuzhi was infuriated. She had once stood on the same side as her but recently had been siding with Xu Feng, even showing obvious jealousy in her tone—something Feng Yuzhi hadn’t noticed.

“Xu Feng, you’re becoming more and more unruly. Who allowed you to hang out with Yimian every day? You should behave, focus on doing something meaningful, and stop dragging others down.”

Xu Feng’s smile vanished at the sight of Feng Yuzhi, the so-called rightful lady. He didn’t even want to face her.

“What you say is true. I’ll keep my distance from her from now on.”

Hearing this, Feng Yuzhi was even angrier. Xu Feng spoke to her with impatience, a tone completely different from how he treated Feng Yimian.

Before entering, she had overheard their brainwashing words—an obvious double standard. Xu Feng did have tenderness, but it was not extended to her.

“How dare you talk back? That deserves punishment.”

Zuo Jincheng chimed in.

“Well, if it isn’t Young Master Zuo. Why aren’t you out catching the Ghost Mask? What are you doing here? Did you lose again to the Ghost Mask? How many rounds did you fight this time?”

Feng Yimian was never one to let things go when justified. She easily silenced Zuo Jincheng with a few sharp retorts.

“Yimian, go back to your own courtyard. You’re no longer allowed here. Stay away from Xu Feng.”

“Don’t end up like him—sluggish and useless.”

In Feng Yuzhi’s mouth, Xu Feng never received praise, only belittlement.

Feng Yimian opened her mouth to defend Xu Feng but ultimately did not defy her sister. She gave Xu Feng a secret wink before slipping out of the courtyard.