"Ming Yan, you take Sister Lu He down the mountain slowly first. There are two guards following behind, so there’s no need to worry. I need to go take care of something urgent and might not make it for a while. I’ll use Qinggong to catch up with you later."

Not waiting for the maidservant’s reply, she hastily walked along the winding corridor. As she turned at the bend by the banyan tree, she vanished.

Ming Yan watched in surprise as the young lady ran off. Turning with a smile, she said, "Let’s leave first. The young lady must be in a hurry to be running so fast."

"Alright."

The two women slowly departed, followed by two guards from the Ye Mansion, vigilantly watching for any suspicious dangers around them.

The Grand Steward had ordered that the person must be protected well.

Along the way, the two were diligent in their execution.

By coincidence, just as they were about to reach the temple gate, Ming Yan saw the monk she had been thinking about.

The man was tall and slender, standing with grace, his brows naturally arched, his visage thin and clear, with a stern aura between his brows. Who else could it be but Master Zhi Chen?

It had been many years since they last met; he had grown more mature...

Upon seeing him, Ming Yan found herself unable to move, her gaze unwavering, resembling a young girl in love for the first time, with three parts shyness, as if drawn like a painting, tender and watery.

Zhi Chen clearly felt the gaze and stopped in front of the two of them, greeting, "Miss Ming, it’s been a long time."

Ming Yan was stunned on the spot. He actually remembered her?

It wasn’t until her sleeve was tugged that she snapped back to reality.

She hadn’t forgotten his choice back then and his unfeeling rejection of her.

Suppressing the excitement in her heart, Ming Yan’s face remained calm as she responded lightly, "Oh, does the master need anything?"

If she could score herself, she would give herself a ten. Very good, keep the expression stiff, and don’t show any mercy towards him.

Zhi Chen’s lips moved slightly, as if wanting to say something, but in the end, he didn’t, and he spoke softly, "Nothing."

"Then we shall be on our way."

Ming Yan and Lu He walked shoulder to shoulder out of the Longhua Temple gates.

The two guards behind them, facing Master Zhi Chen, whose brows were as naturally arched as if sculpted, held him in awe. As they passed by him, they nodded politely before catching up with the two young women.

Zhi Chen watched Ming Yan leave with light steps, a complex expression crossing his eyes. He had a deep-seated vendetta to avenge, with the future uncertain and fraught with life-or-death matters; he couldn’t drag her into widowhood. He only wished for her to be safe and sound.

Six winters ago, he had business that required him to cross mountains discreetly. In the mountains, he encountered her, charming and graceful, yet lost and helpless—her expression as innocent and naive as a little white rabbit.

He sheltered her from the wind and snow in a cave and led her out.

Since that day, she often came to find him, her admiration plainly visible in her eyes.

What she didn’t know was that each time he rejected her, beneath his indifferent demeanor, Zhi Chen’s inner turmoil was like raging waves.

He walked into Shengyi Hall, closing the carved, gold-patterned doors behind him.

Reaching into his robe, he took out a brocade bag, and opening it, he took out a bloodstained Jade-colored Cloud Pattern Jade Pendant, clutching it tightly, his expression pained, as if seeing the massacre of his household, flames everywhere, and the endless cries of anguish.

In the end, he chose to close his eyes, put away the jade pendant, and stopped thinking about it.

Elsewhere.

Ye Zhi clandestinely followed Liu Qingxi to a secluded area of Longhua Temple, hiding by the wall, not daring to follow too closely, and watched her enter a courtyard.