Outside, the courtyard was alive with noise and excitent.
Disciples, servants and the youngest children of the Fang Clan had gathered, their faces bright with curiosity and relief.
At the center stood Fang Yuan, their ex clan head, answering the flood of questions with a calm smile and easy laughter.
"Clan Head, Clan Head! How did you survive those big monsters?" one boy shouted, nearly bouncing on his toes.
"Was the monster really strong?" another piped up, wide-eyed, his voice trembling between awe and fear.
"Who’s stronger, sister i or that monster?"
The little ones crowded closest, eyes gleaming with unfiltered excitent, while the older disciples lingered at the back, anxious, reserved, waiting to hear the truth in his reply.
Fang Yuan let out a laugh that carried across the courtyard.
"Your clan head here turned out to be very unappetizing for those monsters. The Saberfang took one bite and promptly vomited out."
The children shrieked in unison, "Ewwww!" Their disgust only made his grin widen.
But behind their laughter, the adults exchanged glances, unsatisfied with such a flippant tale.
Still, none dared press further. Their silence was respect, and also relief, he was alive, and that was more than enough.
Fang Yuan crouched slightly, reaching out to ruffle the hair of two boys nearest to him.
"Listen well," he said, his voice steady.
"Those Saberfangs are terrifyingly strong. If you ever encounter one, don’t be a hero, just run. Even I ran. And only then did I co back here."
"Woaahhh! That’s so cool!" the children cheered, their admiration unshaken by the truth of retreat.
To them, even running away sounded glorious if it was their clan head who had done it.
And then—
"Brother!"
The voice cut through the chatter like a sharp bell. Fang Yuan turned, just as the crowd parted.
A youth ca sprinting forward, breathless and sweating, as though he had abandoned his training midway to rush here.
His resemblance to Fang Yuan was unmistakable, from the lines of his face to the way his eyes burned with unrestrained emotion.
The gathered crowd instinctively stepped aside, clearing a path for the reunion of the two brothers.
Fang Tian didn’t hesitate. The mont the path cleared, he rushed forward and swept Fang Yuan into a fierce embrace.
His chest heaved, his arms trembling as though he feared his brother might vanish again if he let go.
"I knew you’d be alive," he said, voice rough with emotion.
Then, forcing a crooked grin, he added, "If not you, who else would punish for my wrongdoings?"
Fang Yuan’s lips parted, a wry response ready to form but before he could speak, another voice drifted over the crowd.
"Husband," ca the gentle call, carrying warmth and teasing grace in equal asure. "He speaks nothing but the truth. Ever since he returned, we’ve faced nothing but misfortune."
Lin Zhaoyue stepped into view, her smile light and effortless, yet her words pierced with playful precision.
The mont Fang Yuan’s gaze fell on Lin Zhaoyue, his heart sank. Ah... I forgot about returning those Saberfangs.
He swallowed hard, forced a calm face, and, very wisely, pretended nothing was wrong.
Instead, he turned on his brother.
"You," Fang Yuan said, voice firm, "need to learn to behave."
He gave Fang Tian a pointed look, his tone carrying the weight of an elder scolding a junior.
"Do you realize the ss you caused? The whole Fang Clan was thrown into chaos the mont word spread that you’d kidnapped the Third Princess."
Gasps rippled faintly through those nearby, but Fang Yuan pressed on, his expression brightening into a proud smile.
"Luckily, I received word it wasn’t true. Otherwise, I’d have had to defend you with my life. Good thing it was all a lie, no brother of mine would be a kidnapper!"
Fang Yuan clapped his brother’s shoulder, the gesture warm and proud.
But Fang Tian’s face... stiffened.
His lips twitched as though caught between laughter and dread.
Lin Zhaoyue, standing to the side, chuckled softly behind her hand, but her other hand was anything but gentle, it tightened firmly on Fang Lian’s shoulder, making the girl sit straighter, tense.
Fang Yuan noticed. His smile thinned.
His eyes fixed on his brother, sharp and commanding. "Speak."
Fang Tian swallowed, then muttered, "...We may... or may not have the Third Princess, Qin Yuyan, with us."
Fang Yuan blinked. His composure cracked. "What do you an, may or may not?"
Fang Tian’s confession hung in the air, a leaden weight that seed to silence the very birds in the trees.
Fang Yuan’s eyes flicked from his brother’s guilty face to his wife.
Lin Zhaoyue, sensing the shift, glided forward with a smile that was all cultivated grace.
But Fang Yuan’s keen eyes noticed the subtle, telling details: the way her knuckles were white where she held onto Fang Lian, and how the girl herself was straining slightly against the unyielding grip, her young face a mix of excitent at seeing her master and frustration at being held back.
Since when were his disciple and this witch so inseparable? The thought was an abrupt one that ca and went.
"Master!" Fang Lian finally managed to chirp, her voice a pouty mixture of greeting and complaint, pulling against the hand on her shoulder.
Fang Yuan, his mind reeling from his brother’s revelation, forced his attention to her.
He offered a distracted but warm smile, a feeble attempt at normalcy.
"Hello there, my disciple. I saw what you did out there. That was spectacular."
His praise was genuine, but his voice lacked its usual full warmth.
"Ahem."
The sound, light and deliberate, ca from Lin Zhaoyue.
Fang Yuan’s gaze lifted to et hers. Her expression was serene, but the storm was in her eyes.
"Husband," she began, her voice a silken cord wrapped around steel.
"The excitent has been overwhelming for everyone. How about we head inside and... talk together first?"
She extended her free hand toward him in a gesture of invitation.
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