"Mother, it is precisely because Jun Ye carries no resentment or regret over past affections that I love him all the more!"

Miao Xiaomiao's beautiful eyes shone with light, filled with yearning and expectation. "Because I love him, I must stay by his side. I won't mind being a substitute, as long as I can soothe the scars in his heart. Even if it means being a substitute, so what? I don't want to see him forced to smile through the pain with a furrowed brow... If that's the case, even if I'm not near him, my heart will ache." Madam Miao stared blankly at her daughter, her heart a tangled mess. If only she had possessed her daughter's fortitude back then. Sigh! What use is thinking about that now? Her current life was blissful—a considerate and gentle husband, a clever and sweet daughter. As a woman, what more could she ask for in this life? "Even if I have to suffer alongside him, I will do so willingly!"

Miao Xiaomiao rested her chin on her hand, gazing out at the full moon already high in the night sky, murmuring as if in a dream, "As long as I can be with him, that is enough for me!"

Miao Xiaomiao’s voice was firm, sounding as if she had reached some unshakeable resolution. Jun Ye, those scars in your heart... let me use my entire life, my tenderness... to heal you, to soothe you.

Madam Miao swayed slightly, looking at the dreams and aspirations shining in her daughter's eyes, suddenly feeling utterly powerless. Her daughter was right before her, yet felt so incredibly distant. Mo Jun Ye, you... you have completely stolen my daughter's heart! What kind of possessor of an Ethereal Constitution truly are you?

"Mother," Miao Xiaomiao said with a shy smile, "you yourself said that regardless of gender, people never forget the first person they deeply fell for. And Jun Ye is the very first one who strode into my heart. Mother, I truly cannot forget him. I fear I never will, in this life or the next. The moment I lifted my veil before him... I suddenly felt that in this life, I finally had an anchor, a solid reliance..."

"Mother, that feeling was so wonderfully blissful!"

Miao Xiaomiao lifted her head, her eyes blazing as she looked at her mother. "Although Jun Ye’s appearance is not overwhelmingly handsome or dashing... in my eyes, he is ten thousand times, a million times better than those outwardly handsome young masters of noble houses! There is simply no comparison!"

Madam Miao was left completely speechless. With a low sigh, she turned and walked toward the door...

Suddenly, she seemed to realize something and stopped abruptly at the threshold, asking, "You just said... that you took off the veil yourself last night? That he didn't..."

Miao Xiaomiao immediately froze, her face flushing scarlet. She knew what her mother had inferred from her earlier words. She immediately switched to pouting and playful bargaining: "Mother, whether I took it off or he took it off—it doesn't matter! He is still the only man since I came of age who has seen my true face... and the veil over my heart... was already opened for him! Does this make any difference from him personally lifting my veil?"

Madam Miao stood there stunned for a moment, unsure of what to say. The difference between someone taking it off oneself versus being acted upon—the implications were vast! Yet, after hesitating repeatedly, the Madam finally sighed again, saying nothing more, and quietly departed. She felt that the sighs she had let out today seemed to total more than all the sighs she had breathed in her entire life before this.

Mo Jun Ye... my daughter holds such deep affection for you. I pray you must never let down her sincere feelings. Madam Miao faced the bright moon and sincerely pledged the only wish of the remainder of her life...

Young Master Jun had absolutely no idea that his refusal and that fleeting moment of abnormality had spawned so many lingering, entangled stories surrounding him...

Furthermore, the name he had casually scrambled by mixing up the order of characters turned out to be steeped in the elegance of a gentleman—so poetic and picturesque. One had to admit, a woman's imagination was truly boundless. Although one couldn't say Madam Miao's judgment was entirely wrong—in fact, she had guessed most of it correctly, including the fact that Young Master Jun refused Miao Xiaomiao primarily for the sake of another woman, and even deduced the origin of the sentiment behind the Dirge of the Funeral Flower—when these elements were synthesized, the result seemed vastly different from the original truth. One might call it worlds apart, or perhaps running in opposite directions.

After sending Miao Xiaomiao away, Young Master Jun prepared to go to bed.

The Young Master was human, and humans tire. It seemed that for quite some time now, the Young Master hadn't had a proper rest. After all, the coming days—whether dealing with the Zhan family, confronting Cao Guofeng and the others, celebrating Miao Jingyun’s birthday, or entering the Spirit Herb Garden—all demanded significant expenditure of mental energy...

Resting early now would also serve as a convenient excuse to avoid the cross-examinations of Cao Shenghuang and the others. Killing two birds with one stone—why not?

So, Young Master Jun blew out the oil lamp in one puff, swiftly stripped down until he was completely naked, and dove into the covers, red fruit and all...

Well, Mo Jun Xie didn't originally have the habit of sleeping nude. As an assassin, an excellent one at that, one naturally needed to be prepared to react at any moment!

Every person possesses a sense of shame. Fighting while stark naked—well, that was suitable only between a man and a woman in private. If one were fighting a man wielding a sword while bare-bottomed, the pressure would be immense; it would surely be the ultimate test...

But since the Young Master acquired the divine ability of Yin-Yang Evasion, especially since he could slip into the Hongjun Tower space at will, Young Master Jun had gradually changed his habits...

He had stored quite a few sets of clothes in the Hongjun Tower, everything from the innermost layer outward... always ready to enter the space, emerging perfectly dressed after being completely naked inside! And it even offered the tactical advantage of a surprise attack!

That feeling was truly exhilarating...

Thus, Young Master Jun gradually grew fond of sleeping nude—that primary form of sleep that best relaxes human muscles and nerves...

Tonight was no exception. However, there are no absolutes in life; not everything may go as planned. Take tonight, for instance; tonight, Young Master Jun encountered the unexpected...

The night was deep and still, the full moon hung high, illuminating ten thousand miles.

A clear and bright night—this was generally not an ideal time for nocturnal travelers!

But there are always exceptions! As the saying goes, nothing is absolute in this world!

From some direction down the mountain, a bizarre shadow was soaring upward at incredible speed, as if riding the clouds and mist!

This person's speed of approach was astonishing, yet there was no sound of clothes flapping against the wind...

The figure was masked in black cloth, covering even the entire head, leaving exposed only a pair of exceptionally calm eyes.

But the calmness in these eyes was certainly not the detachment of one who had seen through the vanities of the world. It was the profound indifference of one who regarded the lives of all sentient beings as mere straw, utterly uncaring. It seemed that the life or death of anyone held no weight in his mind...

His speed was truly frightening; it was as if a patch of black cloud had just appeared in the distance, and the next moment, his figure arrived before the small courtyard where Cao Shenghuang and the others resided!

This person’s cultivation level was definitely higher than Cao Guofeng and the others! And higher by a considerable margin!

Because even as he reached the courtyard gate, the four Saint Emperors on night watch had still not noticed him... Remember, even if a Saint Emperor of equal rank approached, they would detect them from thirty zhang away! Yet this man was now within touching distance, and they remained utterly oblivious...

The next moment, this black-clad figure leaped upward without hesitation! Like a great black bird suddenly folding its wings, he shot down with the peculiar posture of an arrow, directly toward the sky!

The speed was terrifyingly swift! But the entire process remained utterly silent...

Mid-air, there was no need for further maneuvering; the entire body plunged down abruptly! Only when he was about to strike the rooftop did a whooshing sound of displaced air—loud enough to shake heaven and earth—erupt!

All the Profound Qi in his body was merged into this single strike!

The air between heaven and earth seemed to freeze instantaneously! At this moment, even the slanting moonlight seemed to be displaced by the force!

Space Locked Down!

And the scope of this spatial confinement covered the entire small courtyard!

Such a wide-ranging confinement—even if Cao Guofeng, at the peak of Third Level Saint Emperor, were to cast it himself, he absolutely could not achieve this range!

A master reveals their might with their first move! This black-clad figure’s power had reached this terrifying level!

The target of this strike was the row of buildings in the very center of Cao Guofeng’s courtyard! Anyone looking would agree that this was the most heavily guarded area of the entire small compound! The possessor of the Ethereal Constitution must surely reside there!

This attack might not be enough to obliterate a Saint Emperor, but causing them injury was certainly within its capability! Especially when they were completely caught off guard...

But the primary objective of this strike was focused on the person possessing the Ethereal Constitution! This attack, in addition to possessing destructive power capable of wounding Saint Emperor experts, was also an indiscriminate assault! As long as that possessor of the Ethereal Constitution remained in that row of buildings, certain death was assured! Even brushing against the edge of the attack would leave no chance of survival!

The supreme expert who did not hesitate to resort to such viciousness, bullying the weak with superior strength to ambush Young Master Jun and the Seven Great Saint Emperors, was none other than Zhan Xiaoxiao, the Earth-Shattering Hand, a Saint Venerable-level expert of the Zhan family!

Zhan Lunhui had truly made a grand gesture this time, deploying one of the peak figures of the era right from the start!

Given the sudden upheaval and turmoil within the Zhan family, Zhan Lunhui hadn't originally intended to eliminate Mo Dashao, the possessor of the Ethereal Constitution, as the first order of business. Even though Mo Jun Ye possessed the Ethereal Constitution and astonishing potential, he would remain unable to reach the ranks of truly top-tier experts for a considerable time. As long as his strength was insufficient, he posed no threat to the Zhan family!

But the deaths of brothers Zhan Qingfeng and Zhan Yushu served as a critical reminder to this Zhan family ancestor!

The Zhan family, always smooth sailing and limitless glory, why had they fallen to this state? Why was the Zhan family’s thousand-year scheme only now suffering sabotage? Was it truly a matter of time, destiny, or fortune?

Perhaps, or perhaps not. For the catalyst pulling everything into motion was a variable! Everything, if traced back to the origin, was entirely due to Mo Jun Ye, this unexpectedly arrived, enormous variable!