Take him away

Young Master Ma gulped nervously before he dispelled the barrier and kneeled on his knees.

"Jiang Ning of the Fox clan greets my Lady," Young Master Ma almost pissed himself the moment he saw the maidservant of his fiancee reveal her aura.

What is the Lady doing here? Even if the Yin Demons are trying to capture a human, it does not require the highest-ranking demon to personally visit. Jiang Ning felt the Lady's piercing stare and his body trembled a little. He knows the Lady hates being lied to. Not many people have successfully lied to the Lady and all of them had died under her hands the moment they were exposed.

But he cannot reveal his real identity or his master will kill him. Even if the Lady kills him, it would still be better than revealing his real identity. He will protect his lord to his utmost ability, even if it costs his life.

"The Fox clan? What is someone from the Fox clan posing as a human doing here?" Xuan Yi did not allow him to raise and Jiang Ning did not. He maintained his respectful posture and kept his head down as he answered.

"The Fox clan got wind of the Yin Demon's scheme and wanted to send someone to intercept their plans. I volunteered and had been spying on the situation for a few weeks. I noticed that Young Master Ma seems to be infatuated with the Yun family son so I knocked him out and replaced him a few months prior." It was the truth so even if the Lady checks with the clan, there would be nothing wrong. Just that his intentions were not pure when he volunteered but he is not going to tell the Lady that.

Xuan Yi, "so where is the real Young Master Ma?"

"Replying to my Lady, he is currently residing inside my personal space." Xuan Yi raised an eyebrow at his answer. Personal space reflects the strength of the owner and for him to be able to store a living person, it shows how strong this fox demon is. Xuan Yi is even more sure of his identity and she internally smirked a little.

Xuan Yi told Jiang Ning to bring Young Master Ma out and Jiang Ning compiled, immediately bought him out. Poor Young Master Ma was tied up and unconscious as he laid feebly against the charred wood. Xuan Yi waved her hand and the fire that was raging died down quickly.

"So all that show of love is a lie," Xuan Yi muttered disappointingly. The only reason she was interested in helping the water ghost was that she wanted to see a real cut-sleeve couple. She had never seen one before and found it interesting. In the end, it was all for show.

Jiang Ning averted his eyes at the mention of love. To say that he has no affection for Yun Qi was a lie. He was sent here to stop the Yin Demon's plans but while he posed as Young Master Ma, he slowly became fond of Yun Qi. All his feelings were real but Yun Qi is human and he is not.

Xuan Yi seems to be able to read his thoughts and she said, "take him away."

Jiang Ning's head snapped up in shock. "What did you just say, my Lady?" Jiang Ning asked in disbelief.

"Yun Qi has a unique constitution. He needs someone capable enough to protect him from people with bad intentions. Letting him under Lord Ye's personal guard's protection is not that bad of an idea," Xuan Yi said thoughtfully and nodded to herself, pleased with her suggestion.

Giving Jiang Ning a shooing gesture, she told them. "All of you, scram." Xuan Yi raised her hand towards Yun Le and Young Master Ma. Dark spirals extended from her fingers and crawled towards them. Cutting the ropes that tied Young Master Ma, the spirals lifted both of them and placed them at the entrance of the charred house, near Yun Le's personal garden.

Yin Si carried her sister and quickly made her way to the demon palace while Jiang Ning picked Yun Qi up and escaped from the burning house via the backdoor. Using her powers, Xuan Yi reignited the fire and ensured that everything was burnt before her eyes before dispelling her isolation spell and disappeared as well.

A year later, a tall man wearing clean white robes could be seen walking into the Mu Village with a lean masked man. The man who was wearing white is Jiang Ning who has returned with Yun Qi. Afraid that people will recognize him, Jiang Ning told him to wear a mask. Yun Qi also agreed to that idea. After all, the people in the Mu village had all believed that the Young Master of the Yun family had perished in a fire.

Today, Mu Village was in a festive mood. The entire streets were decorated in red. Red lanterns hung on every building along with ribbons. Everyone was chattering happily as they gathered around the main streets. Today, a man and a woman is getting married. It is the most eligible bachelor and the most beautiful maiden of the Mu Village, Young Master Ma, and Young Miss Yun.

Jiang Ning and Yun Qi sat at the second story of a restaurant, their seat by the window so that they could see everything. The restaurant was full of people as well and Yun Qi could hear all the chatter.

"This is a match made in heaven, Young Miss Yun Le is extremely beautiful and kind while Young Master Ma is good at business and is a gentle person. This is a good union for both the Yun and the Ma family."

"That's right, it's just a pity that they had to delay the wedding a few months."

"Delay? Why?"

"Did you not know that the Yun Family had two children? Young Miss Yun Le and Young Master Yun Qi. Young Master Yun was just as kind as his sister is to people but misfortune fell on him and he passed on last year."

"Right, I heard about that incident as well. A fire broke out in Young Miss Yun Le's courtyard and Young Master Yun, Young Master Ma, Young Miss Yun, and her maidservant were stuck inside. Young Master Ma and Young Miss Yun do not remember much but they probably inhaled too much smoke and blacked out. To save them, the maidservant and Young Master Yun died to save them. They were found lying near the entrance of the courtyard and after the servants put out the fire, they discovered a burnt female body lying down."

"Did they not find Young Master Yun's body?"

"They did not but they suspect that the fire most likely had burnt Young Master Yun into ashes because when they found the maidservant's body, it was in such a bad condition that her arm has been burnt off. The fire raged so intensely so that was not surprising."

Jiang Ning furrowed his brow as he listened. The female body they found must have been the Yin Demon's body. He did not know if the Lady planned it out this way or she was just lucky that humans tend to create their truths.

"Poor Young Miss Yun. When Young Master Yun was alive, he had doted on his sister the most."

"Well, that was a year ago. Today is her wedding day, she should be happy so that Young Master Yun won't be worried while in heaven."

Yun Qi smiled when he heard that last sentence and glanced outside the window. Indeed, today his sister should be very happy. He knows just how much his sister loves Young Master Ma just like how much he is in love with the man sitting opposite him.

Seeing Yun Qi's rare smile, Jiang Ning stared at him as if imprinting it to his memory. After Jiang Ning bought him away, Yun Qi seldom smiled anymore. Although sometimes he occasionally would spare a small one for him, Jiang Ning is happy with that.

"I'm glad we came here," Jiang Ning gave him a gentle smile as his hand covered Yun Qi's under the table, away from prying eyes.

Jiang Ning chuckled at the sight of Yun Qi's slight blush and retracted his hand. Even after a year, he is still so shy around him. He wonders when will Yun Qi fully open up to him. He then paid attention to the happenings outside.

Firecrackers lit up and their loud explosions liven up the entire atmosphere. A long row of servants walked along the streets as the people threw flowers as they celebrated together. Yun Qi's heart grew warm at the sight of his dear little sister in beautiful bright red clothes wearing a red veil slowly walked out of her house and towards the sedan where Young Master Ma was waiting. He dismounted his horse and held out his hand towards her which she shyly took.

With the veil, Yun Qi was not able to see his sister's face but he feels that it's alright. He knows that she will be happy and that is enough for him but Jiang Ning noticed Yun Qi's smile seems a little sad and understood. He took out his fan and snap it open lightly. He fanned himself twice lightly and Yun Qi thought nothing of it as he continued to watch his sister.

As Jiang Ning continued to fan himself lightly, a sudden strong breeze came along, sweeping the bridal veil up into the wind. Young Miss Yun's beautiful face came into everyone's view the moment her veil was blown away. Yun Qi sucked in a deep breath.

He had always known that his sister is beautiful and he had envisioned the day that she gets married, he will give her the best dress made by the best fabric, designed by the best designer and crafted by the most skilled masters. Her makeup will be done lightly to show her pale skin and her lips would be bright red with high-quality rouge from the east. Her appearance shook him.

She looks beautiful, even more so than he imagined.

Young Master Ma quickly grabbed the veil before it landed on the ground and went back to his bride. Smiling at her, he slowly draped it over her head gently. Before her face was covered again, Yun Qi saw his sister's bashful but happy expression and felt as if a weight was lifted from his shoulders.

Standing up, he looked at Jiang Ning who was innocently fanning himself. Chuckling softly, he extended his hand towards him and said, "let's go home."

Jiang Ning lit up at his lover's words and smiled brightly. Taking his hand, he nodded. "Alright, let's go home." The two figures vanished after turning a corner and nobody had noticed their presence except for one person.

Young Miss Yun was resting in the sedan as she made her way to her husband's house. She is finally getting married. Her heart seems to be quicker than normal and her palms sweating. Not because she was nervous but because when her veil flew off, she saw someone familiar on the second floor of the restaurant opposite her house. Even though he was wearing a mask, she knew who that person is. That smile of his gave him away.

"I've always known you are alive, dear brother."