w.a.n.g Yun

Feng and Han Yi Fan were not familiar with each other, one of them was an

official of the Zhao imperial court, the other was an elder of the Zhao

paternal grandmother’s family.

However,

one in bureaucracy, one in the Jianghu, the people do not fight the officials

does not fit them at all, in contrast, Han Yi Fan’s impact in the imperial

court was clearly greater than an imperial censor, and he personally looked

down upon w.a.n.g Yun Feng considerably. To w.a.n.g Yun Feng, a wife is his beloved,

Han Yi Fan believed a wife is a chess piece on his chessboard, he would only

control her, he would not lose his rationality for unreal love.

These two

people’s approach to the nature of affections were different, making their

conversations quite unpleasant.

After the

two had gone through the motions, w.a.n.g Yun Feng got straight to the point: 

“Excuse me Lord Han, is my wife self-cultivating at your home?”

Han Yi Fan

coldly said: “Shouldn’t the wife of a senior official Imperial Censor be socialising

in the rear court of bureaucracy, rus.h.i.+ng about for the future of her husband?

If you ask me if my wife is here, I actually would reply, as to your wife, what

business is that of mine.”

“I have

information, after she fell off a cliff she came to Xian Yun manor. She is a

daughter of the Xia family, as the Zhao paternal grandmother’s family, you

would naturally provide her a place to stay in your home. Please Lord Han

invite her out, I need to take her home.” An unyielding tone, and an

overbearing att.i.tude with undeniable evidence, making people feel entirely

unwell. Han Yi Fan suddenly took two drags of his pipe, smiling yet not smiling

he said: “You apparently am very confident with yourself, you think from a few

words, I will let you take away my guest?” This could be considered as

indirectly answering the question just now.

w.a.n.g Yun

Feng expression was cold, beckoning Juan Shu to offer a list of gifts: “My

family’s mistress has been harmed by villains, it has caused Lord Han a lot of

trouble, please kindly accept this very small gift.

Han Yi Fan

laughed, not looking at the gift lift at all, softly: “Lord w.a.n.g apparently

you’ve misunderstood, I really do not want to stop you from seeing each other.

Only, as the former owner of Xian Yun manor, I feel Lady Xia is much more

useful at the manor than returning with you to w.a.n.g residence.”

w.a.n.g Yun

Feng did not bat an eyelid.

Han Yi Fan

continued: “Lord w.a.n.g does not seem to be aware of the changes in Lady Xia over

these years. She has already turned over a new leaf long ago, she is no longer

a woman of an influential family who stays in the bedroom and looks at men as

the sky, rather than locking her up at home every day worrying about what this

should be given to who, how much to give, how much she should smile, watch a

few plays, trifle things like what tea to drink, why not let her spread her

wings and travel, exert a bit of effort on behalf of Dayan’s landscape. Lord

w.a.n.g doesn’t know, these several years, the glorious achievements of Lady Xia

abroad, she really is a hero amongst women, a match for men. 

Occasionally

coming ash.o.r.e, when she travelled around the Jianghu she would also help me

with many things behind the scene, apart from being a hero amongst women, she

is also a very rare great general.”

Apparently

w.a.n.g Yun Feng had never seriously pondered over why Xia Ling Mei was truly

willing to drift about at sea for these seven years than come home. He knew she

was outstanding in martial arts, and knew she was brave and scheming, what more

he knew of her daring and compet.i.tive temper, but, even if she was more

outstanding in martial arts, even greater abilities and wisdom, in the end she

was still a woman, how could she gain the sincere admiration of that group of

bloodthirsty men on the battlefield?

He had

always thought, she was avoiding his infatuation, by no means blaming herself

treating the sailors as brothers, shed blood not tear.

Smoke

rising, Han Yi Fan expression was somewhat secretive, like a bloodthirsty

devil’s b.l.o.o.d.y mouth wide open like a sacrificial bowl: “Right, she also has a

nickname that has been spread around for a long time, when she was abroad it

could strike terror in the pirates, children would weep.” He leaned closer, looking

w.a.n.g Yun Feng in the face: “the pirates call her the sea witch.”

w.a.n.g Yun

Feng only felt a cold air rise from the soles of his feet, sliding along the

calf of his legs directly rising up, making him s.h.i.+ver coldly by surprise.

“This sort

of girl, how can she follow you back to the depths of the home and act

sentimental with you, what’s more let’s not talk about those treacherous minded

and offering false friends.h.i.+ps upper-cla.s.s women pretending to be polite and

compliant.”

w.a.n.g Yun

Feng’s fist tightened under his sleeve: “Xia Ling Mei is very good at things

she does, she has also received the teachings of the influential families since

she was young, she never does anything wrong, even if the pirates are scared of

her, when she returns to Beiding City, her temper will naturally dissipate,

properly take on the traditional role of a good wife.”

“Stubborn.”

Han Yi Fan criticised him, “you can even speak of ignorantly burying a precious

pearl.”

w.a.n.g Yun

Feng was angrier. As the other person was a relative in a roundabout way, he

had originally decided to have a nice discussion, in the end the other person

had approached with severity. An outsider, how can he interfere with the

personal matters of a husband and wife!

“She’s a

precious pearl, but she’s still a pearl which is enclosed in my w.a.n.g Yun Feng’s

mouth and drawn in my heart, what business is it of yours!”

Han Yi Fan

blinked blankly, he could have never imagined the majestic and grim faced

imperial censor Lord w.a.n.g would actually blurt out such words of love, he had

thought of him still as an immature boy. Again thinking of that crying like a

child Zhuang Sheng, having a second thought he seemed to have thought of

something, profoundly he said: “Lady Xia is in the rear courtyard, if you really

can persuade her to go with you, I will naturally send people to accompany you

two on your journey back.” Having spoken, he called for a guard to take w.a.n.g

Yun Feng to Xia Ling Mei’s courtyard.

Xia Ling

Mei had been bothered by Zhuang Sheng for half the night, she was sleepy and

tired, she went to take a bath. The small leopard Xia Fen became the emissary

protecting the flower, guarding in the middle of the courtyard, his pair of big

eyes looking everywhere with great attention. He grew up on a s.h.i.+p, all year

round the sea was misty at night, howling winds and torrential rain rolling up

ocean waves, everywhere there were submerged rocks and sharks emerging from the

sea, over time, Xia Fen had also learned the ability to look for things at

night with the sailors, furthermore taking the place of guarding Xia Ling Mei

was something he did every day, not thinking it was troublesome but rather

believing it was right.

When w.a.n.g

Yun Feng was only five or six li away,

Xia Fen had already climbed up the courtyard wall, from above watching

attentively that shadow which was coming closer and closer.

He

naturally knew who it was. He still didn’t make a noise, only waiting for the

other person to enter, suddenly jumping down onto the other person’s shoulders,

clutching w.a.n.g Yun Feng’s ear wanting to bite down. The guard who had lead w.a.n.g

Yun Feng here was exceptional in martial arts, with extremely quick skills he

grabbed one of his arms wanting to pull him off.

Xia Fen was

short and small, turning around under the guard’s armpit he struggled free, rumbling

around the back and rolling to the front. Crouching on both legs, one hand

touching the ground, the other hand secretly touching the back of his waist

where he unexpectedly held the handle of a knife.

w.a.n.g Yun

Feng returned to his senses, borrowing the weak light of the lantern he saw

clearly the child in front of him, momentarily not knowing what expression to

use to face him.

Quite a

while after, he only hoa.r.s.ely asked a sentence: “Is your mother here?”

Xia Fen

wrinkled his nose, not hesitating at all in replying: “She’s not here.”

w.a.n.g Yun

Feng looked towards the door of the courtyard, probably only seeing the little

ray 

of light through the crack in the door.

Xia Fen saw

his expression, standing up to block the other person’s line of sight.

w.a.n.g Yun

Feng stepped to the left and he jumped to the left, w.a.n.g Yun Feng stepped to

the right and he jumped to the right, looking exactly like a small leopard

pouncing on a b.u.t.terfly, only missing the swinging of his tail twice to reveal

his childishness. w.a.n.g Yun Feng was interest rose, complex feelings within his

heart, a bit of pain and tenderness 

showing in his eyes.

The small

leopard was extremely sensitive, feeling something wrong with the atmosphere,

immediately he stopped, his whole body bending forward prepared to rip apart

the other person at any moment.

The adult

and child stood together, anyone could see the little similarities of facial

features. For example those pairs of pitch-black eyes, when confronting others,

the pupils were a little bit lighter than the darkness of the underworld,

resembling the white membrane of a black pearl, less mysterious and more cold

and alienating; again for example their broad forehead, when their eyebrows

locked together, the same serious expression carved deeply into the bones,

extremely looking like the w.a.n.g family.

w.a.n.g Yun

Feng with interest compared Xia Fen’s appearance with his own as a child,

looking more and more he felt that apart from the other’s somewhat untameable

wildness, extremely different from his own cultured and refined, their

appearance was sixty, seventy percent the same, guessing in the dark it was

eighty, ninety percent.

Xia Fen,

maybe he really was his w.a.n.g Yun Feng’s child!

This news,

when Xia Ling Mei had fallen off the cliff, at the alarmed cry of Xia Fen

`mother`, it had always lingered in his mind. Happy, nervous, hesitant,

restless, anxious, afraid and so such emotions nearly drowned him entirely as

he was looking for her, this made his plans to win back Xia Ling Mei even more

resolute.

Their

child, this was simply the greatest gift the heavens have given w.a.n.g Yun Feng.

The small

leopard on high alert became aware of the changes in the other person’s

expression, subconsciously taking two steps back, again thinking it was wrong,

he bared his teeth once more snarling twice towards the other person.

“Fen Er.”

Unknowingly, Xia Ling Mei had already walked out of the house, long wet hair

loosely draping over her shoulders, lazily leaning on the side of the door,

beckoning Xia Fen over: “Return to your room, you should rest.”

Xia Fen

like a wild animal scuttled in front of Xia Ling Mei, her hand patting him on

his back: “Apart from when you’re practicing martial arts, normally don’t make

yourself into a wild leopard.”

Xia Fen

simply didn’t care about that, holding onto Xia Ling Mei’s clothes and swinging

it to and fro: “I don’t like him.” Finger pointing at w.a.n.g Yun Feng.

Xia Ling

Mei nodded indifferently: “I also don’t like him.”

“Ling Mei!”

w.a.n.g Yun Feng approached the mother and son, he couldn’t help sweeping over the

other person from top to bottom with his eyes once: “Are you injured?”

Xia Ling

Mei gently said: “No, gentleman Zhuang Sheng saved me, I’m not injured in the

slightest.”

w.a.n.g Yun

Feng frowned, the thought in his head was unpleasant: “You blame me?”

Xia Ling

Mei smiling: “What can I blame you for? You are a scholar, I am a martial

artist, is it possible for me to still count on you to save me when I was

falling off the cliff? I’m not demanding of people, further my temper is no

longer rude and unreasonable, not understanding logic as before, I don’t blame

you.” She lowered her head half way, lightly saying: “I’m used to it already,

when I needed you the most, you’re not by my side.”

“Ling Mei.”

w.a.n.g Yun Feng found it painful to understand, he couldn’t help holding onto her

wrist, hesitating as he said: “Sorry.”

Xia Ling

Mei let him hold her, the two people, Xia Ling Mei having just bathed was

entirely from head to toe nice and warm, w.a.n.g Yun Feng had arrived looking for

her after making a long and difficult journey worried for her safety, his body

emitted the heavy night air, the ice-cold had long ago seeped into his bones.

One fierily

warm, the other cold as ice.

“You don’t

need to blame yourself, really.” Xia Ling Mei eased his anxiety, “that instant

as I fell off the cliff I suddenly thought it through, I lead a wandering

existence, it’s hard to be sincere with people, even more it’s difficult to

have complete faith in any man. I always encounter danger easily, and I’m also

used to the days of wandering at the edge of blades, I like being free and at

leisure with no care.” She looked down, “You’re different, you’re formidable in

the imperial court, your family is at Beiding city, your responsibility is the

common people of Dayan. Your life shouldn’t be wasted on only me alone, I can’t

bear the responsibility, I also cannot give up my days of leisure and follow

you to socialise amongst the large and influential families…”

“Ling Mei,”

w.a.n.g Yun Feng was terrified, undoubtedly a few days ago she had with great

difficulty started to believe in him, they definitely already started to try

and open their hearts, how has the heaven and earth changed in a split second?

Xia Ling

Mei struggled to get her hand free, w.a.n.g Yun Feng panicked, he couldn’t help

using both hands to firmly grab her.

“Let go!”

She said.