In a moment of impulse, I forcibly kissed my brother's best friend.

After an unknown amount of time, when the two stopped again, Zhou Xuan'an was nowhere to be seen outside.

Xie Yige was held tightly in his arms, no longer having the strength to hit anyone. She lay in his arms, panting heavily, her cheek pressed against his chest, clearly feeling his steady and powerful heartbeat.

After a while, she finally calmed down, lifted her head from his embrace, and glared at him—but that glare wasn't very hurtful; instead, her eyes held a hint of coquettishness.

Cui Yutang looked down at her, his lips curving slightly before quickly smoothing out the smile.

When the two emerged from the secluded mountain valley, the sunlight was perfect, casting golden rays across the forest path. Xie Yige bent down to straighten her clothes and hair, making sure everything was in order before letting out a sigh of relief.

"Brother Cui, what brings you here?"

A voice suddenly rang out, and both of them froze.

A young man in yellow robes, carrying a folding fan, was walking towards them with a smile on his face and a leisurely gait—it was Zhang Zhiyi.

"Hey, Yige, what are you doing here?" Zhang Zhiyi's eyes lit up when he saw Xie Yige.

"I... just happened to be passing by." Xie Yige's ears turned slightly red, feeling quite embarrassed. She lowered her eyelashes, not daring to meet Zhang Zhiyi's gaze, afraid that he would notice something amiss.

"That's great! Let's go together. The poetry competition will start soon. I'll take you to find Brother Xuan'an." Zhang Zhiyi was very enthusiastic and gestured to the side.

"By the way, Brother Cui, would you like to come with us?" He turned to look at Cui Yutang.

"Of course I will," Cui Yutang replied through gritted teeth.

He quickly took a step forward, stepping between the two to separate Xie Yige and Zhang Zhiyi.

"Sister Yige, if you have any favorite items during the Flying Flower Game, just tell me, and I'll win them for you." Zhang Zhiyi opened his fan with a "snap" and shook it a few times with great confidence.

Xie Yige was about to say no, when she heard Cui Yutang ask, "Are you two very close?"

He asked Zhang Zhiyi, his voice calm, but Xie Yige sensed a chill in his tone.

"Of course!" Zhang Zhiyi laughed, completely oblivious. "We've been through thick and thin together, and I often visit Brother Xuan'an at the Zhou residence, so I'm naturally quite familiar with Sister Yige."

Cui Yutang's face darkened.

Wait, why is this guy calling her "Sister Yige"?

"Young Master Zhang, there is a difference between men and women, we should not speak carelessly." Xie Yige frowned slightly and couldn't help but interrupt.

"I apologize for my abruptness," Zhang Zhiyi said, bowing repeatedly in apology, appearing quite frank.

After turning three corners, we arrived at the main venue of this poetry gathering—Feihua Pavilion.

Feihua Pavilion is a six-story viewing pavilion with a large area. It is surrounded by water to the north, and its front is a large open space. The space is decorated with low hills and lush vegetation, as well as many stone tables and benches scattered around, making it an ideal place for gatherings. At this moment, several poems with black characters on white paper are already hanging on the second floor of the pavilion, fluttering gently in the wind.

Xie Yige saw Li Zhiwei as soon as she entered. She was standing under a flowering tree, her red dress standing out against the elegant spring scenery.

"I used to go to Zhiwei's place," Xie Yige whispered in Cui Yutang's ear.

"Okay, be careful," Cui Yutang replied in a low voice, but his eyes swept around the surroundings warily.

"Hey, why did Sister Yige run off? Isn't she going to Brother Xuan'an's place?" Zhang Zhiyi looked at Xie Yige's departing figure, somewhat puzzled.

"There are too many men over there, it's not suitable for her to go." Cui Yutang was already somewhat speechless.

"That makes sense! Let's go over there ourselves then." With that, Zhang Zhiyi grabbed Cui Yutang's arm as if they were old friends and squeezed towards Zhou Xuan'an.

As he approached, he overheard a classmate from the Imperial Academy congratulating Zhou Xuan'an: "Brother Zhou, I heard your wife is pregnant! Congratulations!"

Cui Yutang's mind went blank for a moment, and his face turned pale instantly.

wrong.

Two days ago, when he undressed her at the waterside pavilion, he saw that the mark of virginity was still there; there was no mistake. That mark was as red as blood, clearly indicating that she was a virgin.

He suppressed the turmoil in his heart, thought for a moment, and then asked Zhou Xuan'an, "Brother Xuan'an, when did your wife become pregnant? Why didn't you tell me? I could have come to congratulate you."

"Oh, Brother Yutang, you're here too!" Zhou Xuan'an was pleasantly surprised to see Cui Yutang. "My wife is indeed pregnant, but after the exams..."

Just then, a scream came from ahead.

"Yige, watch out!"

It was Li Zhiwei's voice.

Cui Yutang and Zhou Xuan'an were both shocked and quickly ran towards Xie Yige.

A huge log was seen falling from a great height.

That was the horizontal beam that was originally intended to hang the large banner of the final selected poems, but for some reason it came loose and was falling straight down on Xie Yige's head.

Cui Yutang felt his heart freeze.

He used his lightness skill to desperately pounce on Xie Yige, but the distance was too great, and he couldn't make it in time. Just then, a figure flew past and kicked the giant tree away.

It was none other than the young general Li Zhige. The log flipped in the air and crashed heavily to the ground with a dull thud, raising a cloud of dust.

A gasp rippled through the crowd.

Xie Yige was instantly dragged aside by Li Zhiwei, out of the danger zone. Just as everyone was about to breathe a sigh of relief, several men in black suddenly rushed down from the second floor of the pavilion, their swords pointed directly at Xie Yige's head!

Cui Yutang swiftly pulled out a jade pendant from his robes, amplified it with his inner strength, and slammed it against the longsword aimed at Xie Yige's head. The jade pendant struck the blade with a crisp ring, deflecting the sword's trajectory and grazing Xie Yige's shoulder. The next second, Xie Yige was pulled away by a strong hand and landed in a firm embrace; Cui Yutang held her tightly in his arms.

Seeing this, a man in black nearby turned and attacked the two. Zhou Xuan'an quickly stepped forward to block them, but his martial arts skills were clearly insufficient, and he was in grave danger. A sword gleaming with a blue light was slashing towards his arm; the sword was coated with poison!

"Brother, be careful!" Xie Yige exclaimed in Zhou Xuan'an's direction.

It turns out he was her brother!

Cui Yutang's heart trembled violently.

Without a second thought, he quickly channeled his inner strength into the soft sword at his waist and hurled it, aiming it at the assassin's chest. The sword tip pierced the black-clad man's body, saving Zhou Xuan'an from danger.

But then an unexpected scene suddenly appeared.

A gray-clad man appeared behind Cui Yutang without anyone noticing. Before Cui Yutang could retract the force of his thrown sword, the man suddenly drew a dagger and stabbed it into his back—then pulled it out immediately.

Blood splattered.

The man in gray jumped a few times and disappeared into the crowd.

The scene was chaotic.

Xie Yige held Cui Yutang, who was covered in blood, and was on the verge of collapse.

Blood gushed from his back, staining her blue dress red. She quickly tore off the hem of her dress and pressed her hands hard against the bleeding wound, but blood still seeped through her fingers uncontrollably.

She cried out, "Zhou Xuan'an, take off your outer garment and give it to me." After taking it, she immediately added another layer of pressure on top.

"Does anyone have any wound medicine on site?" Xie Yige shouted hoarsely, her voice filled with a mournful sob.