Three days later---
Snowflakes fluttered in the air, and the sky and earth were all one color.
By the lotus pond behind the *Cloud Mansion* on the **Flowing Water Peak**, a series of soothing and intoxicating sounds from an ancient zither sounded, harmonizing with the winter snowscape. It resonated in the vastness of solitude, pure and ethereal.
In the bamboo pavilion next to the lotus pond, Yun Yiyi was sitting with the ancient zither, gently plucking its strings. From time to time, she stole glances at the young man beside her who had his eyes closed, focusing on cultivating his qi.
Although she appeared calm and exuded an aura of purity and beauty in her body, deep down inside this ethereal vessel, there were screams:
*--- Why does he have to be so good-looking?!*
*--- I like this man so much!!*
*--- Damn it! I'm going to bear his children in the future!!*
However, after realizing that she had such thoughts in her heart, Yun Yiyi hastily reflected on herself.
She couldn't become like her two sisters, they were too vulgar. Especially Yun Jiujiu, a girl who knew nothing about music, chess, calligraphy, and painting but only drank and fought all day long. What kind of woman is that?
Be elegant! Be delicate!
A noble lady must be gentle and polite...
Yun Yiyi played the zither while suppressing her urge to rush up, press Ye Anping to the ground, and kiss him.
She appeared calm and serene on the surface but was restless inside.
And Ye Anping was actually the same.
On the surface, he seemed quite at ease, but inwardly, he was extremely troubled.
It had been three days since he settled here.
During these three days, except for sleeping at night, he tried his best to stay by Yun Yiyi's side. They drank tea and read together. He listened to her play the zither and show off his skills with the sword. He helped her with some non-essential matters...
Theoretically, he should have raised Yun Yiyi's goodwill and trust level to seventy or eighty percent.
However, because Yun Yiyi never showed her emotions on her face and always put on a fake business-like smile, he couldn't accurately determine the specific value now.
If the value was high enough, then he wouldn't need to be too cautious in his actions afterward; he could be a little bolder.
Thinking about it, the first plot event was not far away now. If he couldn't determine Yun Yiyi's goodwill toward him, then he could only act by presuming the "low favorability" situation.
With this in mind, Ye Anping opened his eyes and looked at Yun Yiyi, who was playing the zither with her head down. He decided to test her behavior to determine her level of affection toward him.
As for how to test it?
--- Although expressions could lie, heartbeat and spiritual energy fluctuation never do.
Ye Anping perked up his ears, listening to the sound of the zither and looking for an opportunity. He suddenly caught a glimpse of a disciple outside the courtyard wall of the lotus pond who seemed to be anxiously reporting something to the maid.
After hesitating for a split second, he stood up, moving toward Yun Yiyi.
Yun Yiyi noticed that he stood up and stopped plucking the strings, then asked in a serene voice, "Young Master Ye, what's wrong?"
"Well..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Ye Anping deliberately tripped over his ankle and fell forward. Instinctively, he grabbed Yun Yiyi's wrist and brought her down onto the blanket underneath.
Yun Yiyi was startled, and when she regained her senses, she looked at Ye Anping, who was now holding her wrists and leaning over her body on the blanket. A small deer almost burst out of her heart.
However, she still maintained composure on the outside. Only a hint of surprise showed in her eyes.
"..."
Ye Anping's mind focused, quickly scanning Yun Yiyi's body with his spiritual sense -- the flow speed of spiritual energy in her meridians had increased significantly, her heart rate had also accelerated, and she did not show any resistance. Instead, she instinctively relaxed her body...
Although there was no obvious expression on her face, based on these reactions alone, he could determine that Yun Yiyi's fondness for him should have reached eighty percent or higher.
Ye Anping calmly moved away from her, stood up, and apologized. "Sorry, I seem to have accidentally tripped over something just now."
Yun Yiyi slowly sat up, gently adjusted the shoulder strap that had come loose, and replied, "It doesn't matter. We are already engaged anyway, and it's okay to have some intimate actions even if we're not married yet. If you want something more intimate, I won't refuse, and..."
Saying this, Yun Yiyi also stood up and took a step toward Ye Anping until the toe of her embroidered shoes touched Ye Anping's. She then half-squinted her eyes, looking up at him, and lightly touched her own lips. "Hmm?"
"..."
Ye Anping knew that someone would interrupt soon anyway, so he didn't answer.
And just as he had expected, the disciple he had glimpsed earlier rushed into the pavilion from the entrance, shouting loudly, "Eldest Miss! Something big has happened!!!"
Yun Yiyi felt a little embarrassed as she took a step back and turned to look at the disciple at the door, cursing in her heart: *'It had better be something big! Otherwise, I'll give you something big to deal with.'*
"What's wrong?"
"There has been a major murder case in the Sword Sect market."
"Murder case?" Yun Yiyi frowned slightly. "Be more detailed."
"Twenty-seven corpses were found in the *Sword Pavilion* in the marketplace, all disciples of the ***Moon Shadow Sword*** Sect, with cultivation levels ranging from early to late Foundation Building, and all of them were inner disciples."
A hint of astonishment flashed in Yun Yiyi's eyes, but her tone remained calm as she asked, "All twenty-seven people who died were inner disciples?"
"Yes, all twenty-seven corpses had golden hair."
"..."
Twenty-seven inner disciples died suddenly, and the place was not in the wilderness, but in the Sword Sect marketplace?
How was that possible?!
Yun Yiyi couldn't keep the smile on her face anymore. She bit her lip slightly and looked at the disciple who came to tell her this with a strange expression. She even wanted to say: Are you kidding me again?
But in the end, she took a deep breath to suppress her emotions. "How long ago did it happen?"
"It should have been early last night. We are still investigating other clues."
After a moment of silence, Yun Yiyi turned to look at Ye Anping. "Young Master Ye, what do you think?"
Ye Anping frowned, pretending to think, then whispered, "This matter will bring you and your two sisters back to the same starting line. In a few months, Master Yun Tianchong will come out of seclusion, so I'm afraid it's not a coincidence that this has happened now."
After hearing it mentioned by Ye Anping, she also understood.
The list that determined the position of the Sect Master had been a foregone conclusion since after she and Ye Anping got married, her **Flowing Water Peak** would rise to the top of the list. However, after this incident happened, nothing was certain anymore.
The gap between the three peaks was still small. However, this sudden murder case was too significant.
In other words, whoever of the three of them solved this case, their peak would jump to the top of the list.
Realizing this, Yun Yiyi quickly gave another order to the **Flowing Water Peak** disciple. "Take the people from our peak to seal off the scene. No one is allowed to enter that market before I arrive. Remember, everyone, including Yun Jiujiu and Yun Xi, must be stopped."
"Yes, Eldest Miss!"
