He did not suggest that Zhao Honglan speak to Zhao Rong. Instead, he approached the matter from the perspective of worrying about Qu Tingquan. After all, this was merely an unfounded suspicion held by him and Lian Li. By speaking to Zhao Honglan and Qu Tingquan, he could frame it as overthinking out of concern for his friends.
However, if he were to suggest that Zhao Honglan speak to Zhao Rong, the nature of the matter would change. Although Zhao Rong was Zhao Honglan’s father and Qu Tingquan’s Master, he was also the Leader of the Martial Arts Alliance and the Sect Leader of the Qinghong Sword Sect.
That said, since Yun Huizhou had already spoken this much, Zhao Honglan certainly knew in his heart whether or not to tell Zhao Rong, and how to go about it.
In fact, when the Flute Player had come the previous night, Zhao Honglan and Qu Tingquan had already sensed that the visitor bore ill intent.
They had originally intended to go out and investigate the situation, but just as they flew out of the courtyard, they saw the East Island Matriarch heading that way from not far away. With a casual wave of her hand, she had sent them both back into the courtyard.
They hadn’t thought much of it at first, assuming it was just the Spirit Cult people returning. They hadn’t expected it to be the Demonic Sect.
Zhao Honglan and Qu Tingquan spoke with solemn expressions, “We understand. Thank you for the warning, Brother Yun.”
After Yun Huizhou finished speaking, he stood up to leave.
Qu Tingquan sat beside Zhao Honglan, watching Yun Huizhou’s retreating back. Only after he had completely disappeared from sight did she speak softly to Zhao Honglan, “I can’t help but feel that Brother Yun has something on his mind.”
Zhao Honglan was currently preoccupied with the matter of the Spirit Cult and the Demonic Sect. Hearing Qu Tingquan’s words, he reflexively replied, “After all, a Transcendent Master from the Demonic Sect has appeared. It’s only natural for Brother Yun to be worried.”
Qu Tingquan, however, did not think so. She rested her chin on her hand and stared at Zhao Honglan until his face began to flush slightly before she spoke. “I don’t think Brother Yun is worried about such things. Looking at him, he seems to be troubled by something else entirely.”
Zhao Honglan gave a light chuckle and said, “If Brother Yun is troubled by something, it’s likely related to his martial arts. Senior East probably intends to train him again now that she’s back, so Brother Yun’s heart is likely heavy.”
Qu Tingquan shook her head. “Brother Yun has been tempered under Senior East’s hand since he was a child. How could he be troubled by that? It must be something else.”
“It couldn’t be that he’s troubled by love, could it?” Zhao Honglan said with a laugh.
Qu Tingquan raised an eyebrow. “You never know. With Brother Yun’s temperament, he either never awakens to it, or once he does, he’s bound to be a devoted lover.”
Zhao Honglan also indulged in a rare joke. “When we met Brother Yun in Linjiu City, he wasn’t like this. We’ve traveled together all this way; while we haven’t seen each other every single hour of the day, we’ve basically never been apart.”
“The people he’s been in contact with during this time are just the two Seniors, you and me, and Junior Brother Lian. None of us seem to fit the criteria for someone who could make Brother Yun lovesick.”
“It couldn’t be that while he was at the Spirit Cult, he fell in love at first sight with some beautiful Spirit Cult girl, could it? If that’s the case, given our relationship with the Spirit Cult and the suspicions Brother Yun and Junior Brother Lian just mentioned, it would certainly fit the description of being troubled by love.”
Qu Tingquan’s eyes flickered as if she had thought of something. She said, “It doesn’t necessarily have to be a girl.”
“Hmm?” These words left Zhao Honglan slightly surprised. But on second thought, it was hard to say; Yun Huizhou had never expressed whether he liked men or women in front of them.
In fact, he rarely treated anyone with special consideration. Zhao Honglan had always felt that Yun Huizhou might spend his entire life with nothing but his blade.
“If it’s a male disciple of the Spirit Cult, then it seems even easier to be troubled by love.” Zhao Honglan sighed softly. After all, a male disciple might not necessarily like men.
Qu Tingquan watched as Zhao Honglan seemed to genuinely begin fretting for Yun Huizhou. She turned her head away, her lips twitching slightly. He could accept the idea that Brother Yun might like men, so why did his mind jump straight to a male disciple of the Spirit Cult?
With the way Brother Yun protected Junior Brother Lian, could he possibly treat any other man better than he treated Junior Brother Lian?
She just didn’t know if Junior Brother Lian was aware of it, or what his thoughts were.
Seeing that Zhao Honglan was still deep in thought, she sighed in her heart. She didn’t know whether to call this man dense or not, as Zhao Honglan was usually quite clever.
However, since Brother Yun himself hadn’t figured it out yet, she didn’t plan to offer any unsolicited advice. After all, Junior Brother Lian had almost been sold to a brothel before. Until she gauged Junior Brother Lian’s views on such matters, she hoped Brother Yun wouldn’t let the secret slip.
Yun Huizhou had originally thought that since Lian Li was at the Matriarch’s courtyard, he would go straight back to their own. But for some reason, his feet uncontrollably led him back to the East Island Matriarch’s courtyard.
Yun Huizhou felt frustrated, yet there was also a trace of joy that he himself failed to notice.
Lian Li was already up. The East Island Matriarch had hauled him into the courtyard and was supervising his martial arts practice.
The moment Yun Huizhou stepped inside, he immediately retracted his foot and turned his back to the courtyard. The sounds of Lian Li’s miserable screams and the Matriarch’s blows landing on him echoed in his ears.
Yun Huizhou covered his chest with one hand and closed his eyes, pretending he couldn’t hear or see anything.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to rescue Lian Li from his Senior Aunt’s clutches, but rather that if he intervened to protect Lian Li, his Senior Aunt would simply bundle the two of them together and beat them both.
And she would beat them even harder.
There was no such thing as drawing the fire to himself to let Lian Li off the hook.
After all, for his Senior Aunt, beating the two of them at once was as easy as child’s play.
Lian Li was being pummeled so hard by the East Island Matriarch that he didn’t even notice Yun Huizhou had returned. He finally understood what Yun Huizhou meant when he said his Senior Aunt was very strict.
When he sparred with Yun Huizhou, although Yun Huizhou also hit him, it was mainly to feed him moves. Unless his decisions or mistakes in combat were glaringly obvious, Yun Huizhou would only then give him a sharp blow to make it hurt so he would remember the lesson.
But the way the East Island Matriarch beat him was entirely different. She was far more powerful than him, so every single one of his moves was full of openings in her eyes.
To call them “openings” was an understatement; the Matriarch felt that Lian Li’s martial arts were simply an eyesore.
In the Matriarch’s view, for every move Lian Li made, she had hundreds of ways to defeat or even kill him without even using internal energy.
Consequently, the Matriarch, whose eyes were practically stinging from the sight, could no longer endure it. Almost every move Lian Li made was ruthlessly struck back by her, hitting the spots that caused the most pain without causing actual injury.
“Wrong. You should have retracted your internal energy for this move.”
“Incorrect. The strength behind that whip strike is wrong.”
“Idiot. Your right side is completely undefended. Are you waiting for someone to give you a blade strike?”
“…It should go upward. Are you handing the whip to my feet for me to step on? Do you want to make me trip? Anyone with even a slightly stable lower body wouldn’t fall for that.”
“…Did you not eat? Can’t you even hold your whip steady?”
