Phoenix's Requiem

Chapter 128: Romance Unbidden

The mysterious person that Yun Moxiao revealed was… Yun Feng’s sole son, Yun Moyuan!

“Second Young Master, what are you doing here?” Peony and Xi Lan exclaimed in surprise, shock evident in their features.

The last time they’d seen him was a few months ago, when Yun Moyuan followed Yun Ruoyao and a few others to Yun Ruoyan’s residence to start a fight. If Yun Ruoyan hadn’t shielded the two of them from harm, Xi Lan and Peony would likely have been severely injured by Yun Moyuan.

His bossy, domineering personality left a strong impression on the two servants.

Ling Lan was assigned menial labor along with Peony, and Yun Moyuan was often out on business trips with his father, so she wasn’t familiar with him.

As a result, when she heard Peony and Xi Lan call him Young Master, she was very confused. Why would a young master of the Yun family be skulking near their quarters late at night? It wasn’t as if they had anything valuable for him to steal!

Yun Moyuan didn’t say a word and continued to hide his face.

Yun Moxiao grabbed his hands and forced him to look the girls in the eye. He frowned and yelled out, “You brat, what’re you doing in a tree in the middle of the night?!”

Yun Moxiao didn’t grow up in the Yun family, and he wasn’t very familiar with his brothers. However, he did have some impression of Yun Moyuan, because they’d had a conflict four years ago.

At that time, Yun Moyuan was bullying Yun Ruoyan. When he found out, he severely punished him. But now, four years later, a similar situation seemed to be happening. Yun Ruoyan was also very suspicious. When had Yun Moyuan become one of Madam An’s lackeys?

Although Yun Moyuan was on good terms with Yun Ruoyao, Yun Ruoyu, and Yi Qianying, and although he hated her almost as they did, surely he wouldn’t agree to keep watch over her all night long?

“What did Madam An promise you to have you spy on me?” Yun Ruoyan’s expression and tone were as cold as frost.

Yun Moyuan immediately looked away when he met Yun Ruoyan’s gaze.

His face was flushed red and white, but he gritted his teeth and refused to say a word.

“Speak!” Yun Moxiao lost his patience and raised a fist. “If you don’t start talking, I’ll beat you until you’re bedridden for half a year!”

Yun Moyuan was intimately familiar with Yun Moxiao’s fist. As a fourth-rank blademaster, Yun Moyuan had lost handily to Yun Ruoyan a few months ago. How could he stand up to the eighth-rank Yun Moxiao?

Just his explosive aura left Yun Moyuan’s heart thumping and his teeth chattering. If he truly were to start a fight, Yun Moyuan would be left crippled within seconds! But if he were to reveal his true intentions, he’d likely also be crippled. As a result, Yun Moyuan could only clench his teeth and hope to last through the upcoming beating.

“Heh,” Yun Moxiao smirked. “Let me reacquaint you with my fist.”

He slammed his fist down right on the bridge of Yun Moyuan’s nose, causing him to cry out in shock. Yun Moyuan felt an indescribable pain rush into his brain, and his vision flashed white.

Although Yun Moxiao’s punches were heavy, his finesse allowed him to target locations on Yun Moyuan’s body that would result in the most pain and disorientation, but have the least permanent impact. As a result, even though Yun Moyuan felt as though he were about to pass out, he quickly came back to his senses.

“M-my nose!” he exclaimed with a nasally tone, feeling warm, hot liquid bubble out of his nostrils. When he wiped it away with his palm, he found a dark-red smear on it.

“Oh, your nose’s still perfectly fine now. As for later, well, who knows?” Yun Moxiao readied another punch. Even if Yun Moyuan’s nose didn’t break, it would be badly bent out of shape.

“Stop, stop, I’ll reveal everything!” Yun Moyuan hurriedly shouted.

Yun Moxiao’s fist hovered over his nose.

“Well? Why’re you spying on my sister? Did Madam An send you here?”

Yun Moyuan glanced once more at Yun Ruoyan. In a pale yellow dress, with her birthmark covered by a sakura-blossom gauze patch, she presented a stunning figure. Her bright eyes, her sharp gaze, even the slight frown marring her face…!

“Madam An wasn’t the one who sent me here,” Yun Moyuan continued. “I came of my own accord.”

“Of your own accord?” Yun Ruoyan could feel his ardent gaze roaming her body in a particularly uncomfortable fashion. “What’re you trying to do in the middle of the night?!”

“Ruoyan, don’t get mad! I’m not trying to do anything,” Yun Moyuan anxiously defended himself. “I, I just want to look at you.”

Not trying to do anything except to look at you?!

Yun Moyuan, a seventeen-year-old youth, already an adult by the standards of the Chenyuan continent, hiding in a tree by his sister’s quarters and spying on her, then saying something like this when he was caught?!

The girls glanced at each other. Crazy sicko!

Yun Moyuan was indeed ill with a near-fatal case of lovesickness. Ever since the Yun matriarch’s eightieth anniversary, when Yun Moyuan had caught a glance of Yun Ruoyan, he had actually become besotted with her. He had travelled the world with his father and seen countless beauties. Although he’d been stupefied by incredible beauties before, he had never, ever felt so lovesick.

After Yun Ruoyan was abducted by the Daoist master, he had been extremely anxious. When he learned that she had been retrieved safely, he immediately wanted to head over to her rooms to see how she was doing.

But when he remembered how he’d called her an ugly wench and had even picked a fight with her, he chickened out. It had only been a few months, and any contact between him and her would likely be misunderstood.

In his indecision, he ended up roaming around Yun Ruoyan’s yard, unconsciously getting closer by the day. After he was spotted a few times during the day, Yun Moyuan decided to roam around in the night instead.

Even though he could only hear Yun Ruoyan’s bell-like, tinkling laughter, it would stick in his brain and lull him to sleep late at night. As a result, he’d become a frequent, unwelcome guest near Yun Ruoyan’s quarters. Tonight, he was finally caught.

“Sister Ruoyan, I truly have no intention of harming you. I was just unable to control myself,” Yun Moyuan said in agitation.

Yun Ruoyan’s past experience made it very clear what Yun Moyuan’s tone and ardent gaze signified. Disgust roiled her heart, and she turned her back on him to avoid looking at him any further.

Although Yun Moxiao grew up in the army and had no experience with romantic dealings of any sort, there were often loudmouthed army riffraffs who would brag about their illicit encounters. After a moment’s shocked silence, he too picked up on Yun Moyuan’s intentions.

Instantly, a burst of fury emerged from Yun Moxiao’s chest, and a punch to Yun Moyuan’s left eye sent him reeling back.

“Ouch! Brother, stop, stop!” Yun Moyuan howled in mercy. “I’m just telling the truth! I just wanted to have a look—I don’t mean to do anything malicious!”

But those words only stoked his anger. Grabbing Yun Moyuan by the collar, Yun Moxiao dragged him up until he was dangling in mid-air, his feet scrabbling for purchase.

“You disgusting filth, you think you can spy on my sister just because you want to?!” He punched him again, this time on his right eye. “Was that shadow I saw a few days ago you? Tell me!”

As Yun Moxiao’s blows only grew harsher and harsher, Peony tried to stop him. “Eldest Young Master, you have to stop! After all, he’s still a member of the Yun family and the only heir of the second master. If he dies…”

Although Peony was very upset, she was still quite rational.

“That’s right, Young Master, you can’t kill him,” Xi Lan added. “At most dig out his eyeballs.”

Xi Lan wasn’t familiar with romance, so she didn’t quite understand why everyone else appeared to be so upset. But it surely couldn’t be a good thing for him to be spying on them in the middle of the night, so digging out his eyes seemed like an acceptable punishment.

“Good idea.” Yun Moxiao released his grip on Yun Moyuan, causing him to fall onto the ground in a heap. “I’ll pull out your eyes so you can’t continue with your heinous acts!”

He stretched out two fingers, apparently intending to do exactly that.

“Brother, stop!” Yun Ruoyan immediately stopped him. Although Yun Moyuan disgusted her, he was still the only son of their uncle, Yun Feng.

Yun Feng’s wife, Fang Hua, had died young. He could only remember her by their only child, and Yun Feng doted on Yun Moyuan the way he would a priceless jewel. Despite Yun Moyuan’s lack of talent and middling cultivation, he nevertheless held a significant position in the family.

Yun Feng would frequently keep him by his side while teaching him all he needed to know to take over the Yun family businesses. If Yun Moxiao were to dig out his eyes, it would be the start of a family feud.

“How dare this brat ogle his own sister? If I can’t even protect you from someone like him, Ruoyan, what sort of brother am I?!” Yun Moxiao knew full well how Yun Feng treated his only son, but he still couldn’t bear letting Yun Moyuan’s disgusting behavior go. “I don’t believe Uncle won’t relent when I tell him about his son’s behavior!”

“Brother, even then…!” Yun Ruoyan immediately grabbed hold of her hotheaded brother’s hands. They were in the right for the moment, but if Yun Moxiao were to punish Yun Moyuan of his own accord, things would be different. Furthermore, Yun Ruoyan didn’t want to make a big fuss about all this.

She didn’t have a good reputation to begin with, and all sorts of rumors flying around the capital had already tarnished her name beyond repair. There really was no need to associate another scarlet letter with her face.

When Yun Moyuan saw Yun Ruoyan begging for mercy on his behalf, he thought that she simply couldn’t bear to see him being hurt further.

“Sister Ruoyan, I know I’ve treated you badly in the past. Not only did I scold you, I even hit you! I regret my actions, Ruoyan. Ever since I saw you that day in Grandmother’s room, I’ve missed you so much that I lost my appetite until the next time I saw you!”

“You dare speak more nonsense?!” Yun Moxiao raised a leg and stomped down hard on Yun Moyuan’s thigh.

This time, however, Yun Moyuan only grunted before continuing, “Ruoyan, may the heavens witness my devotion to you!”

His passionate delivery and sincere tone left everyone present stupefied.

Slowly, Yun Ruoyan raised her face to the night sky, closed her eyes, and dragged her hands down her face. Never had she ever expected to hear such a bewildering confession!