Ting Bai glanced at the smiling Emperor Venerable beside him.
Then he looked at the handsome young master who was fuming with rage.
Next, he turned to look at Mu Wan, who was kneeling beside him with a puzzled look on her face just like him.
Feng Zhan pointed at himself and then at Yan Ruyu, saying to the two of them, "Look, do you think I look like that kind of couple with your Emperor Venerable?"
Yan Ruyu gave a charming smile.
His elder brother was really an interesting person.
Just a moment ago, he was teasing himself, but in the next instant, he lost his cool and became furious.
"Sir, you do look quite a bit like a married couple with our Emperor Venerable."
"Yes, sir and our Emperor Venerable, their looks are at least three - tenths similar. It's just their personalities, well—slightly different."
Feng Zhan said, "Nonsense. We look alike because your Emperor Venerable is my Buran. What on earth are you guys thinking?"
"Your Buran? Xiaowan, is this their pet name for each other?"
Mu Wan didn't answer and lowered her head.
Yan Ruyu said, "Ting Bai, Mu Wan, this young master is Feng Zhan, a member of the Feng Royal Family."
The two of them looked up in surprise.
Yan Ruyu continued, "He is my elder brother, and my real name is Feng Buran."
Ting Bai and Mu Wan's eyes widened.
What was going on?
They did find the name "Buran" extremely familiar, but they never thought that the young master opposite them was also from the Feng Royal Family.
Everyone in the Feng Family was extraordinary.
Was this young master named Feng Zhan actually the Emperor Venerable's own elder brother?
No wonder. No wonder they looked so alike.
"Did you hear that, you two ignorant fellows?"
Mu Wan said, "Emperor Venerable, you never used to explain such things to us before. You never cared about what others thought."
Feng Zhan said, "Nonsense. If your words were to reach his nine - year - old little daughter - in - law's ears, wouldn't your Emperor Venerable have to spend time explaining again?"
Yan Ruyu said, "You two can go down first. Don't talk nonsense like this in the future."
"Yes, Emperor Venerable."
As they were leaving, Mu Wan's voice could still be heard.
"I said the Emperor Venerable is interested in that little Miss Zhao. You just had to distort the facts. Well, now look what happened."
After Ting Bai and Mu Wan left, Yan Ruyu was silent for a while.
Then he looked up at Feng Zhan without blinking.
Feng Zhan had been leisurely eating fruits. After being stared at by Yan Ruyu for a while, he started to feel creepy.
"Buran, why are you staring at me like this?"
"I might have to trouble elder brother to pack your luggage."
"Why?"
"I want to go find Xiaoning'er."
"Then go. Come on, you? You want me to go with you?"
"Or elder brother can choose to stay here."
"No, no, no. I'll go with you."
Staying on Qingyun Peak with no one around all day was okay for a month or two, but if he stayed for too long, Feng Zhan would get bored.
"Buran is so considerate. He's afraid elder brother will be bored, so he specifically asks me to go with him."
Yan Ruyu smiled.
Xiaoning'er should get to know Feng Zhan properly. Feng Zhan was his elder brother, sharing the same blood with him. If he could overcome the fate of the thousand - year lonely evil, their relationship in the future would be more than just friends.
Zhao Shuning was preparing for the competition at this time.
In another hour, it would be her turn to take the stage.
At this moment, as if someone was talking about her, she suddenly sneezed two or three times.
At this time, after the round of the competition on the stage ended, Lan Anran from the sect and Fu Nian, the great disciple of the sect, took the stage.
Fu Nian's hands trembled slightly.
There was also a look of nervousness on Lan Anran's face.
It seemed that a big shot was coming to the sect.
Sure enough, Fu Nian spoke up.
"Dear colleagues, our sect is honored to have a heavy - weight venerable today. He will serve as a judge in this alchemist competition."
Lan Anran added, "Yes, with his judgment in this disciple selection competition, it is a dream come true for all alchemists."
Zhao Shuning was just staring blankly at the people in front of her moving around.
She didn't listen to a single word of what was being said on the stage.
She just found it strange. There was nothing important, so why were these people cheering one after another?
Moreover, for a simple disciple selection competition, did these people really need to be so excited?
It was as if they had never seen a big occasion before.
Back then, when she was the female emperor Ye Ling, and she paraded in a flower - carriage in full regalia, it wasn't this grand.
It seemed that as time passed, the influence of the sect was getting greater and greater.
Zhao Shuning lowered her head.
She recited the mental method that Yan Ruyu had taught her again and silently thought about the process for later.
Finally, after the crowd quieted down, she had the mind to look up at the stage.
"Strange. It hasn't been long, but why is there a layer of curtain on the stage? Is someone going to preside over it?"
Zhao Shuning's voice of doubt hadn't faded for long.
Someone soon confirmed her guess.
Since the curtain was a semi - transparent veil, although one couldn't clearly see who was behind it, one could make out the general outline.
Only two people were on the stage, yet these people were so nervous that they didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
And that young man named Lan Anran. Before, when Zhao Shuning saw him, he always had a disdainful look on his face, as if he didn't care about anything.
But now, his two hands were tightly clenched.
There were even tiny beads of sweat faintly visible in Lan Anran's hair.
Zhao Shuning was just about to ask the person beside her what was going on.
Then she saw some movement behind the stage.
Judging from the outline, it should be a man with disabled legs. He was sitting in a wheelchair, with someone pushing the wheelchair for him, and two others standing on either side of the stage.
Zhao Shuning couldn't see clearly through the curtain.
But she felt that the people behind the curtain always gave her an extremely familiar feeling.
After the two of them were seated, Lan Anran announced the list of the next round of the competition.
"Zhao Shuning, Qing Man, Qing Luan, Lin Qing, He Zhen, Hong Ye, alchemists, please come on stage to collect your alchemy materials."
Hearing the familiar name, a hint of a smile appeared on Yan Ruyu's face.
Feng Zhan whispered, "How about it? We just made it in time, right? You were so impatient that you just took this identity and went on stage."
"What's the harm in that?"
Yan Ruyu smiled slightly, and Feng Zhan just shook his head.
His Buran, this unfeeling person, was finally going to bloom.
Apart from Yan Ruyu, another white - robed man in the arena also felt a jolt in his heart when he heard the name Zhao Shuning. Then, he even stood up from his seat.
It was this name, the name engraved in his heart. No matter how absent - minded he was, this name could immediately bring him back to reality.
He looked in the direction of the stage.
Was it her? Could it be her?