Despite the faint hint of melancholy and sorrow in her heart, she was not the type to give up easily. Even if the person
Could it be that Ye Ziyun's father — the City Lord himself — wouldn't try to stop Nie Li? No matter how hard Xiao Ning'er thought, she couldn't figure it out.
Sensing the subtle resentment in Xiao Ning'er's eyes, Nie Li rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. He naturally knew how she felt about him. It was never easy to deal with the affection of a beautiful girl, especially since he and Ye Ziyun shared a bond forged across two lifetimes — a life-and-death connection that Xiao Ning'er couldn't yet understand.
"Heh heh, Ning'er, is there something you need?" Nie Li asked with a smile.
"I just made some osmanthus cakes and wanted to bring them over for you." Xiao Ning'er stood there quietly, looking utterly delicate and lovely. In front of others, she always wore an expression of icy aloofness, keeping everyone at arm's length. Only when facing Nie Li did she reveal that rare warmth.
Any other boy seeing her like this would have had a hard time keeping his heart from fluttering.
It was only now that Nie Li noticed the small basket she was carrying.
Right at that moment, Ye Ziyun appeared on the nearby path as well. Seeing Nie Li looking her way, she pursed her lips and turned her head away.
The atmosphere instantly became awkward.
Nie Li felt a splitting headache coming on. Two girls, both here together — he had no idea what might happen. This was a situation he'd never encountered before, and he had absolutely no idea how to handle it.
"Let's go inside and talk," Nie Li said, taking a step forward. Immediately, a searing pain shot through his rear, and he sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth.
"Nie Li, what's wrong?" Xiao Ning'er noticed his odd behavior and hurried over to support him.
"I just got beaten up — my backside is in shreds." Thinking of the shameless
Ye Ziyun had also noticed something was off with Nie Li and had been about to show some concern, but seeing Xiao Ning'er already holding him up, she turned her face away and let out a soft hmph. That two-timing jerk Nie Li — she wasn't going to pay him any attention!
"Who hit you?" Xiao Ning'er's fair cheeks flushed slightly at the words "backside in shreds," and she asked softly.
"Who else but Ye Zong? In this entire
"The City Lord… he hit your — your backside?" Xiao Ning'er's mind was completely in a fog. She couldn't understand why the City Lord would hit Nie Li. And even if he did, why would he hit him there? She couldn't even picture it.
Hearing Nie Li's words, Ye Ziyun looked at him with sudden concern. "My father hit you again? Are you alright?"
She remembered the last time — in his rage, her father had nearly killed Nie Li. What was it about this time? Could it be that her father still wasn't going to let Nie Li go?
"Nie Li, you should leave quickly! My father definitely won't let you off!" Ye Ziyun said urgently. She was genuinely worried that her father might do something terrible to him.
Nie Li shook his head. "Don't worry. If your father really wanted to kill me, he wouldn't have just hit my backside — it's much simpler than that. He still needs something from me. This time, when he couldn't outplay me, he just threw a tantrum like a sore loser. I didn't expect your father to be so shameless — I miscalculated. I underestimated that old rogue!"
At these words, Ye Ziyun's expression turned odd. She had no idea what had actually happened between Nie Li and her father.
"Nie Li, I won't let you call my father shameless!" Ye Ziyun immediately leapt to Ye Zong's defense. In her eyes, Ye Zong had always been a man of his word, someone who would never go back on a promise, who devoted himself wholeheartedly to the safety of the
"Fine, fine, I was wrong," Nie Li quickly apologized. After all, Ye Zong was Ye Ziyun's father — of course she wouldn't tolerate Nie Li badmouthing him. But even as he said this, Nie Li mentally cursed Ye Zong dozens of times over.
"Nie Li, how badly are you hurt?" Though Xiao Ning'er standing nearby had no idea what had happened, all she knew was that Nie Li was injured, and it was the City Lord Ye Zong who had done it. Ye Zong was a Black Gold Demon Spirit Master — how serious must the injury be?
Could it be that ever since Nie Li came to the City Lord's Mansion, he'd been abused? At the thought, Xiao Ning'er's eyes glistened with tears.
"Ning'er, I'm fine. It's just a little hard to walk," Nie Li said with a bitter smile.
"Nie Li, do you have any medicine that could treat the injury?" Ye Ziyun asked softly. The fact that Nie Li had been beaten by her father left her feeling deeply guilty.
"I don't have any pills, but I do have some healing ointment. Which one of you will help me apply it?" Nie Li glanced at Ye Ziyun and grinned cheekily.
At the thought of where exactly Nie Li's injury was, both girls' faces turned crimson in an instant. His backside! They had never done anything like this in their entire lives!