"But..." At that moment, a trace of difficulty appeared on Lord Shuangyu's face.
"Young Master Jiezhou, I'll be honest with you. If it were before, and you wanted to deal with that Chu Feng, I naturally could have helped you."
"But now, he's actually entered that kind of place and possesses that level of combat strength — it proves his talent is extraordinary, and I'm afraid his background is no simple matter either."
"Moreover, he was brought here by Lord Kuangzun's recommendation. If we were to truly harm him, I worry that Lord Kuangzun would not let the matter rest," Lord Shuangyu said.
"Lord Shuangyu, Lord Kuangzun left the Seven Realms Sacred Temple long ago. Why should we fear him?" Jiezhou said.
"Lord Kuangzun himself, I'm not afraid of — but it's mainly the relationship between Lord Nianqing and Lord Kuangzun..."
"If Lord Nianqing were to learn that we harmed Chu Feng, we would certainly not escape punishment," Lord Shuangyu said.
"That's exactly why my grandmother must not find out that we wronged that Chu Feng. Everyone must believe that Chu Feng brought it upon himself — that's why I came up with this plan."
"Lord Shuangyu, as long we all firmly insist it was Chu Feng's fault, how would my grandmother ever blame us?" Jiezhou said.
"But would that Chu Feng really endure such a grievance for the sake of Bai Yunqing?" Lord Shuangyu said.
"If he's willing to confess and follow my plan, then that would naturally be for the best."
"If he values his life too much and refuses, then he'll simply have to die. After all, only the dead cannot argue back." A flash of ruthlessness appeared on Jiezhou's face.
Yet seeing that Jiezhou had actually harbored killing intent, the hesitation on Lord Shuangyu's face deepened.
"Lord Shuangyu, you watched me grow up."
"You know that my grandmother placed great hopes on me."
"No one understands better than you how much she dotes on me — otherwise, she wouldn't have acknowledged me as her grandson."
"True, I'm not her biological grandson, but over the years, she has treated me better than she would her own flesh and blood."
"Do you think my grandmother would want to see me reduced to this? Would she want to see me trampled underfoot by an outsider?" Jiezhou asked one question after another.
Hearing these words, Lord Shuangyu's expression grew complicated.
This was precisely what she was worried about.
She knew the truth and the inside story — something even Jiezhou was unaware of.
The reason Lord Nianqing had acknowledged Jiezhou as her grandson was not simply because he was the Child of Prophecy.
The main reason was that during his childhood, Jiezhou bore a certain resemblance to Lord Nianqing's daughter, Jie Ranqing, during her own childhood.
Back then, Jie Ranqing had committed a grave error, and Lord Nianqing had been unable to save her own daughter, nor her own grandson.
This had left her wracked with guilt.
Driven by her longing for her lost child, she had transferred her affection onto Jiezhou.
On the surface, she called him her adopted grandson — but in truth, she treated him as her own grandchild.
After all, if she were to openly acknowledge him as her grandson, everyone would know her intentions, and that would be tantamount to opposing the Seven Realms Sacred Temple — something the Sacred Temple would never permit.
But regardless of what he was called, Lord Nianqing's kindness toward Jiezhou was entirely an attempt to make up for the grandchild she had lost.
And precisely because of that past event, Lord Nianqing had long since given up on the Seven Realms Sacred Temple. She was now nothing more than a sinner, trapped here.
Compared to the old acquaintances and former friends of the Seven Realms Sacred Temple, in Lord Shuangyu's eyes, Jiezhou might actually matter more.
After all, Lord Nianqing had placed a portion of her unfulfilled longing onto Jiezhou's shoulders.
So she too was thinking — while Lord Nianqing was indeed a rather upright person who drew clear lines between gratitude and grudges, when it came to this matter, she would likely harbor her own selfishness. After all, Lord Shuangyu had witnessed the depth of Lord Nianqing's favoritism toward Jiezhou all these years.
And just at that moment, Jiezhou's eyes welled with tears, his face full of grievance — a grown man, actually crying.