"If you don't recognize them, just throw them out."
"Grandpa, take Mother upstairs first. I'll go and have a look. I'll be back soon."
Before anyone could react, Zhao Shuning had disappeared from everyone's sight.
Ye Qingluan asked in a low voice, "Who's here?"
Ye Feng shook his head. "I don't know either."
"Even Yan'er didn't run this fast when she saw me."
Suddenly, Ye Feng seemed to think of something and said meaningfully, "The person who's come should be the one she's been talking about all day long, the one she wants to see but can't."
"Who?"
"Nobody. Let's go. Let's go upstairs."
Ye Qingluan was full of doubts but didn't press further. She obediently followed Ye Feng up to the high pavilion.
As for Zhao Shuning, she was running extremely fast at this moment. When she reached outside the main hall, she waved her sleeve gently and got out of the Qianji Killing Formation.
Outside, there was a beautiful scenery of green waters and mountains. The man had his back to her, facing a curved lake, as if deep in thought.
Zhao Shuning stopped in her tracks. She looked at her attire, tidied up her clothes and hair, and then walked forward slowly.
Just from the back, she could tell it was him.
"Master—"
Yan Ruyu turned around. The woman had become even more beautiful with the passage of time. She walked towards him like that, with a smile on her lips, just like the first warm sunshine in spring.
Yan Ruyu was in a daze for a moment.
"Master, how did you know I was here?"
Yan Ruyu came back to his senses. "I need to talk to you about something."
"What is it?"
Yan Ruyu flicked his sleeve gently, and a bloody scene appeared in front of Zhao Shuning.
There were corpses everywhere. There were the corpses of female mermaids and many corpses of monsters. Their death was extremely tragic. The scales of the female mermaids had all been peeled off, revealing the blurry flesh and blood. As for those monsters, there was a big hole in the center of their chests. Inside the hole, there was no longer a heart. That was where the Yuan Core was.
Zhao Shuning stared at the scene in disbelief. Involuntarily, she reached out her hand and stroked the corpses of those monsters again and again.
When the scene disappeared, Zhao Shuning took a step forward and almost fell to the ground. Yan Ruyu grabbed her sleeve and quickly pulled her up.
She looked back at Yan Ruyu, her voice full of grief.
"Who did this?"
Yan Ruyu frowned slightly.
"Don't you know?"
Zhao Shuning was quite shocked and looked at Yan Ruyu.
"Master, what do you mean by this? Why would I know?"
"Before a monster dies, it will leave the last picture it saw in its pupils."
"Master, do you mean...?"
"I went to the scene. Before those monsters died, they all saw a person. That person is you."
Zhao Shuning took a step back.
"Master, it wasn't me."
"If it wasn't you, then who could it be?"
Zhao Shuning looked at Yan Ruyu. At this moment, she felt extremely uncomfortable.
"Master, do you think I would do such a thing?"
"But your ability has indeed improved extremely fast. Even in the past five hundred years, there has never been a gifted person like you."
"So, you suspect me. You suspect that I've reached this stage by hunting monsters, obtaining their Yuan Cores, and absorbing their spiritual power, right?"
"I don't mean that. I'm willing to believe you, so I've come to find you. What I hope is that you can produce evidence to prove your innocence. Do you—understand?"
Zhao Shuning took a deep breath, steadied her mind, and then looked at Yan Ruyu seriously. She said word by word, "Master, I don't have evidence now. But I want to tell you that I didn't do this. Will you believe me?"
"Luo Qiu—"
"I'm not Luo Qiu!"
Zhao Shuning suddenly roared. She hugged her head and squatted down.
Yan Ruyu was stunned by Zhao Shuning's sudden outburst. Seeing her in such pain, a hint of bitterness welled up in his heart.
"Don't be like this."
"Master, do you believe me?"
Yan Ruyu didn't say a word. His silence was the greatest torture for Zhao Shuning.
"Master, I've said it wasn't me who did it."
"I'll clear your name."
"Master—"
Yan Ruyu stood up and suddenly said, "Why did you come to the Qianji Killing Formation? Didn't you get along well with the new lord of the Cangwu Kingdom?"
"Master?"
"Did he let you down?"
Zhao Shuning also stood up. Earlier, for some reason, when she saw that picture, her heart suddenly ached, so she couldn't control her emotions. She originally wanted to explain it to her master properly, but her master had changed the topic to the matter of the Cangwu Kingdom.
"Didn't he let you down?"
Zhao Shuning shook her head.
"I only met the lord of the Cangwu Kingdom by chance. After we separated, we have nothing to do with each other."
"I guess you must have been heartbroken by Gu Hanxun of the Cangwu Kingdom. Otherwise, with your personality, you wouldn't have said such a thing."
Zhao Shuning was full of questions in her mind.
"Master, in your eyes, what kind of person am I?"
"Generally speaking, if you're bullied, you'll definitely find a way to get back at them. Even if it means hurting yourself by a thousand just to injure the enemy by eight hundred, you'll do it without hesitation."
"Ah?" Am I really that impulsive?
Quibbling over every detail? Seeking revenge for every grievance?
"But seeing you like this, it seems that you've really fallen in love with that person and then lost hope. That's why you've let go and don't want to mention that person anymore."
Zhao Shuning couldn't figure out the logic in this. All she knew was that her master still misunderstood. She wanted to explain the matter of the Cangwu Kingdom to him.
"I really have nothing to do with Gu Hanxun of the Cangwu Kingdom."
"Gu Hanxun is the second prince of the Cangwu Kingdom. Before that, the people of the Cangwu Kingdom called you the second princess consort."
Zhao Shuning looked up happily.
"Master, how do you know?"
Could it be that the person who danced with her to the sound of the flute at the Hundred Flowers Festival was really her master?
"Your reaction means you're admitting it?"
"Who admits it!"
"So, you're denying it?"
Zhao Shuning thought for a while. No matter how she answered, it wouldn't be right. Her master was elegant and never bothered about such small things. But now he not only bothered but also bothered so much. Did this mean that her seduction plan had succeeded halfway?
Thinking of this, Zhao Shuning couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Seeing you so happy means you're admitting it."
Zhao Shuning looked at Yan Ruyu with a smile and took a step forward.
"Admit what?"
"Admit that I like you?"
She took another step forward.
"Admit that I've fallen for you?"
She took one more step forward.
"Or admit that in this life, the next life, and the life after that, I'll only marry you and no one else?"
Zhao Shuning pressed on step by step. Her charming appearance made Yan Ruyu's heart beat faster.
"You're talking nonsense again."
"What nonsense am I talking?"
Zhao Shuning became even more bold. She even put her arm around Yan Ruyu's waist. Her hand was so soft.