Nie Chenyuan went back to Nie’s house with a black grey head and went straight upstairs through the living room.

The old housekeeper standing beside him looked at his trousers, which had been burned with holes, and his shoes were stained with ashes. He reminded him kindly, “Young Master, it’s better not to look for Mr. Qing in your current appearance.”

Qingyun had a serious case of mysophobia. Seeing Nie Chenyuan like this, He was afraid that he’d be kicked out without saying a word.

Nie Chenyuan paused for a moment, but couldn’t resist it, and walked up the stairs in big steps.

Upstairs, Qingyun’s door was open.

Then a few bodyguards came out carrying several people.

The leading bodyguard saw Nie Chenyuan and immediately went over to him, saying in his ear, “These men are very good, they’re all five-tier warriors of Last Heaven. However, after Mr. Qing came in, they were handled by him before they even made a move.”

Speaking of this, the bodyguard couldn’t help but display a hint of fanaticism in his eyes.

In just a few moments, he defeated the siege of several fifth level Last Heaven warriors. As expected of a person at the level of Central Heaven.

Nie Chenyuan’s face grew even darker. It was Nie family’s negligence that let these people enter Qing Yun’s room.

“Who were they from?”

The bodyguard shook his head, “There were no marks on his body, even his fingerprints have been removed. It seems that he is one of the Death Soldiers¹ in the family’s custody.”

A speculation arose in Nie Chenyuan’s heart. Who else would want to kill Qingyun as badly as Lin Yuhao? Lin Yuhao seems to be in close contact with the Guwu Association. The intruders were probably from them.

He nodded and walked to Qingyun’s room but was stunned when he walked through the door.

It was obvious that Qingyun had just returned from going outside and was still wearing his school uniform.

Yet the man was spotless from head to toe with only red blood dripping off his hands, leaving no trace behind on those fair hands.

Pure and clean, but stained with blood.

Nie Chenyuan’s gulped twice, his adam’s apple slipped up and down each time. He loosened his collar and went into the room. Indeed, he had been thinking too much. Qingyun would never be too weak to bear Mother Lin’s words.

“Get out.”

The minute Qingyun saw his visage, he knitted his brows at once and curtly sent off this guest.

A trace of helplessness appeared on his face. Nie Chenyuan didn’t care about his coldness. He approached him and said, “The Qing family’s old house was on fire. I thought you were in it.”

Qingyun frowned. The ownership of the Qing family’s old house was in Mother Lin’s hands. It’s basically Lin Yuhao’s warehouse. Lin Yuhao was also quick and sly. While burning down the old house, he sent a killer to deal with him. Even if he can’t kill him, he will cause trouble to the Nie family.

He was afraid that he was saved by the Nie family before he escaped. So he gave the Nie family some trouble to make them hate Qingyun.

Unfortunately, he has found what he was looking for. Glancing at the old-fashioned videotape on the table, Qingyun stood up and walked into the bathroom with a plain face, not paying attention to Nie Chenyuan’s words.

“I remember you going in that direction today though? ” mentioning this, Nie Chenyuan unconsciously spoke in a soft tone.

“It’s none of your business.” It took less than a second before that cold voice penetrated through the bathroom’s frosted glass door.

Nie Chenyuan took in a breath of air. He couldn’t help but feel that this man’s whole body emitted a “stay-away-from-me” aura.

Thinking about the situation from this afternoon, Nie Chenyuan put on a wry smile and opened the bathroom door with some urgency. He started to explain to Qingyun, “I’m sorry, what happened today was my fault but Lin Yuhao and I aren’t…”

The second half of his speech was stuck in his throat, unable to get out.

He was rooted on the spot, stunned to see Qingyun’s white shirt half off and hanging loosely on his thin arm.

“Get. The. Hell. Out!”

Qingyun didn’t expect this man to suddenly break in. He glared at him while gnashing his teeth, looking like a cat with  its hair bristled.

“Sorry.” Nie Chenyuan felt as if he’s been burned and immediately looked away, walked out, and closed the door. He thought that Qingyun was just washing his hands. Unexpectedly…

With the sound of the water, the heat arose, adding a layer of water vapor cover to the frosted glass.

Nie Chenyuan pulled at his hair slightly with an annoyed expression. The sound of the water was like a pair of cat’s paws², scratching at his heart, making him feel uneasy. Suddenly, he felt a bit restless and reached out to unbutton the top two buttons of his shirt.

He’s taking a bath. You should leave.

No, no, I have to explain it to him clearly.

(T/N: I will italicize the character’s thoughts from now on, but it’s usually just narrated and the author doesn’t italicize.)

Nie Chenyuan was at war with heaven and man in his heart. The soft light of the bathroom in front of him and the startling glimpse of that image from before kept flashing in his mind. He subconsciously reached for a cigarette but then, he thought about Qingyun’s cleanliness and how he couldn’t tolerate the smell of smoke and put it down.

As he listened to the sound of the water in the bathroom, he was walking around like a trapped animal in front of the bathroom door. His dark footprints were superimposed on the soft wool carpet again and again.

“Well, Qingyun… Today, I went to school because I was worried about you. It was an accident that I was with Lin Yuhao…”

“Your relationship with Lin Yuhao does not affect the deal between me and the Nie family leader.” Qingyun’s words were accompanied by the sound of the water, interrupting Nie Chenyuan’s talking.

It would be weirder if he wasn’t influenced. Qingyun looked at his dark eyes in the mirror. If Nie Chenyuan dared to run to become Lin Yuhao’s younger brother³ again, then he will block his meridians like how he cleared them.

“Deal?” Nie Chenyuan did not understand.

“I will strengthen your meridians on the basis of healing your wounds. The Nie family will provide me with resources for cultivation until the Guwu Conference in three years. I will leave then.” Defeat Lin Yuhao in one stroke. Qingyun will also get what he needs in order to leave this world.

“Leave? You’re leaving?” Nie Chenyuan’s heart trembled, and he could not help but raise his voice. But then he realized that his words were ridiculous. It was unnecessary for Qingyun to live in the Nie family’s house all the time with his ability.

“It’s time you went out.” Qingyun saw his guest off again, and finally added, “Let the housekeeper change the carpet in my room.”

Nie Chenyuan walked out the door, not knowing whether to smile or cry, with his heart heavy due to Qingyun’s words.

After Nie Chenyuan left the room, Qingyun came out in his bathrobe. He raised his eyebrows, looking at the footprints in front of the bathroom. He couldn’t help but hum and laugh.

*** 

(T/N: I found it confusing that the author would change perspectives abruptly so I’ll add asterisks to separate each perspective if necessary. Do tell if this is unneeded, I will remove them.)

“So many people yet none survived?” Lin Yuhao frowned, it seemed like he had underestimated the Nie family.

“Although the heir of the Nie family, Nie Chenyuan, has become trash, the old family’s bottom line is still there and Nie Chenyuan was a genius ten years ago.” Zhang Jingguo, the president of the Guwu Association, sat at the back of his desk and held up his tea cup leisurely.

Suddenly, he was reminded of something and told Lin Yuhao, “That kid named Qingyun signed up for the Guwu Conference.”

“How dare he sign up for the Guwu Conference?!” Lin Yuhao kicked over the chair beside him while wearing a gloomy expression, and walked around the room like a man-eating beast.

“He’s using Nie family’s back door⁴.” Zhang Jingguo added.

Lin Yuhao said angrily, “No wonder why that kid Nie Chenyuan asked me about Qingyun today. All my hard work these days were wasted!”

“Qingyun’s dantian was completely ruined by you? Did he really become a waste man?” Zhang Jingguo knitted his brows and suddenly questioned.

“I’m positive that he didn’t have a chance to survive. I guess he escaped death when he encountered the Nie family. Even if when we meet today, his steps were uneven and his cultivation was completely destroyed. ” He said this, but he forgot that if cultivated to a certain extent, he could return back to his perfect state.

Lin Yuhao finally sat down, his face gloomy, “Him having the courage to sign up is good. This is just waiting for me to kill him!”

“No, you can’t kill him.” Zhang Jingguo shook his head at him, “after Qing Haolin, if Qingyun dies after fighting you too then many people will grow suspicious of you.”

“This waste, even if he attends the Guwu Conference, he is not good enough for me. Forget it, you should just kick him out. Don’t let this kid make a mess and speak nonsense at the conference.” A trace of impatience flashed through Lin Yuhao’s eyes.

“Speaking of this, about your mother…” Zhang Jingguo put down his tea cup.

When talking about this topic, Lin Yuhao’s face sank slowly: “I said she was forced so she was forced. There is no other possibility.”

***

Three years passed in a flash.

Nie Chenyuan closed the car door and walked into the house while on the phone.

After three years of treatment by Qingyun, Nie Chenyuan’s blocked meridians were basically all unblocked, and Qingyun didn’t act like Lin Yuhao who had absorbed his innate Qi in the original plot, so they accumulated and integrated into Nie Chenyuan’s dantain to upgrade his already powerful body to a higher level.⁵

The person he is now is not the same as the one he was three years ago. His aura is more mellow and profound accompanied with some dangerous vibes.

“Have you arranged the seats? The environment should be quiet and the room must be cleaned, make sure it’s spotless. “

Nie Chenyuan took his time to question everything one by one before he hung up the phone, making the people at the other end of the phone confused. Today’s Nie head seems to have changed sex.⁶

“Young master, the master asked you to go to the study.”

Nie Chenyuan nodded to show that he knew. He glanced at Qingyun’s room on the second floor and turned to his study. Qingyun is probably at a University meeting right now. If he runs over later, he might make it in time just as the meeting ends.

“Grandpa, what did you call me for?”

Right when he opened the door of the study, Nie Chenyuan did not finish his last word before Nie Songping threw a pile of shit⁷ in his face.

“Look at what the hell you’ve done!” Nie Songping was obviously so angry that he nearly smashed his crutches.

When Nie Chenyuan saw what was thrown at him he immediately caught it in a hurry. What came over was a stack of photos. Although Nie Chenyuan cautiously grabbed all of them, one scattered on the ground in the end.

This photo is very delicate, made with a special process. The quality of the picture is clear and not easy to damage. It perfectly presents the white and thin ankle in the photo.

He painstakingly picked up the photo. Nie Chenyuan’s face was not embarrassed at all when he was caught. Instead, he even had the nerve to ask him in a displeased tone, “Grandpa, what were you doing in my room? And you even touched my things without permission.”

These photos were taken by him when Qingyun wasn’t not paying attention. Sometimes they were pictures of a white ankle, sometimes they were pictures of his delicate clavicles on the open neckline.

Of course, the most precious thing for him is the round shoulder on the side he secretly photographed when he changed clothes. When he photographed this one, Qingyun found it. Nie Chenyuan racked his brains to come up with a way to keep it.

For this reason, Nie Chenyuan also opened a hidden chamber in the room which was filled with Qingyun’s photos.⁸

Each one shows the ** hidden by the photographer.⁹

Unfortunately, in the recent years, Qingyun has become more and more sensitive to these types of electronic products. Nie Chenyuan has not been able to get any photos for a long time. Therefore, each one of these existing photos were precious in his eyes. How could he have the heart to let his grandfather throw them so carelessly?

“If I didn’t feel like checking on our Nie disciples’ training, I wouldn’t have known your dirty thoughts, you little bastard!” Nie Songping was absolutely infuriated by his grandson’s upright attitude.

In the Guwu world, each first-class family will train some disciples to inherit their martial arts and consolidate their position in the Guwu world. The head of Nie’s family is Nie Songping, but in fact, Nie Chenyuan is the one who deals with this business, so the secret road to the training ground is opened in Nie Chenyuan’s room.

As a result, in order to hide these photos, Nie Chenyuan moved the secret paths under his bed somewhere else. So today, Nie Songping couldn’t find the entrance to the training ground!