Chapter 10: The gap between people is even greater than the gap between a person and a dog.

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“Then why did you let him go? He is merely an idle marquis. Surely the Embroidered Uniform Guard has no reason to fear someone like that?”

Shi Sheng’s anger had not yet subsided, and he continued pressing Ye Liuyun.

Yet upon hearing this, Ye Liuyun looked at him with surprise, sizing him up from head to toe.

He kept staring until Shi Sheng began to feel distinctly uncomfortable.

“W-why are you looking at me like that?”

“I thought you were the sort of person who acted recklessly whenever your blood was up. I didn’t expect you to know what kind of person you had arrested.”

Shi Sheng rolled his eyes at Ye Liuyun in irritation. He might look somewhat rough and uncouth, but he was not truly stupid. Surely he knew whom he had arrested.

“You’d better explain yourself clearly. Otherwise, I’ll make you regret it.”

As he spoke, Shi Sheng raised his fist and waved it twice at Ye Liuyun in a threatening manner.

They were both second-rate martial artists, so Ye Liuyun naturally felt no fear before Shi Sheng.

Still, he merely chuckled.

“What is there to explain? The Marquis of Wanshun is indeed nothing special. But why is it that, aside from you, no one has ever arrested him?”

“That’s because everyone in the Embroidered Uniform Guard is as vain as you are.”

Shi Sheng’s face was filled with disdain.

Clearly, he was a pure-hearted man. Yet people who were too unyielding were easily targeted.

“Not everyone is as simple-minded as you.”

Ye Liuyun shook his head with a smile.

“They know that even if they make the arrest, it will be useless. The man will only be released in the end. Whether I release him or someone else does makes little difference.”

“What do you mean?”

Shi Sheng frowned, though his temper was gradually calming.

“Although the Marquis of Wanshun is incompetent, he is still a marquis. Everyone understands the principle that when one’s lips are gone, one’s teeth will suffer. If the Marquis of Wanshun’s son can be arrested today, then tomorrow the sons of other marquises and princes may be arrested as well.”

“So, to prevent such a possibility and safeguard their own interests, if the Embroidered Uniform Guard were truly to punish the Marquis of Wanshun’s son, the other nobles would certainly refuse to sit by and do nothing.”

An arrest was permissible, but nothing more could be done.

Those nobles were not acting to protect the Marquis of Wanshun. They were merely defending their own interests.

“This…”

Shi Sheng was reckless, but he was not brainless. Ye Liuyun had made the matter so clear that he plainly understood, though he found it difficult to accept.

“Does that mean I’m supposed to ignore such things from now on?”

The thought of standing by while those spoiled young masters bullied men and preyed upon women was unbearable. He knew he could never do that.

“You still have to intervene, but you can use other methods. Just like today—I didn’t stop you from making the arrest, did I?”

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At those words, Shi Sheng gradually calmed down.

Whatever the case, being able to arrest them was enough.

At the very least, it was better than merely standing aside, watching helplessly as he did nothing.

With that thought, Shi Sheng raised his head and looked at Ye Liuyun, studying him with a strange expression. Most of his initial anger had already dissipated.

“What is it?” Ye Liuyun asked curiously under his gaze.

“I just think you’re acting strange. Have you been replaced?”

Shi Sheng was blunt by nature and voiced his thoughts without the slightest hesitation.

But as soon as the words left his mouth, he felt that such a thing was impossible. He must have been so enraged that his mind had gone muddled. Otherwise, how could he have said something so absurd?

“I’m leaving!”

With that, Shi Sheng turned and prepared to leave.

“Have the door repaired by tomorrow.”

“Got it!” Shi Sheng replied gruffly.

So he had come all this way, accomplished nothing, and now had to repair the other man’s door. What had he even come for?

“This fellow looks reckless, but he’s unexpectedly simple-hearted.”

Ye Liuyun watched Shi Sheng disappear into the distance for a while before breaking into an inexplicable smile.

Shi Sheng probably never imagined that his straightforward remark had hit upon the truth. Fortunately, the current Ye Liuyun was no longer the sort to grow restless and uneasy over such a thing.

After Shi Sheng left, Sinan hurried in.

“My lord, are you all right?”

Seeing Ye Liuyun safe and sound, Sinan felt greatly relieved.

“What could possibly happen here in the Embroidered Uniform Guard?”

Ye Liuyun waved his hand dismissively. Not only was he now a second-rate martial artist and entirely unafraid of Shi Sheng, but no matter how reckless Shi Sheng might be, he would never dare start a fight inside the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

“Ah! As expected of you, my lord!”

Seeing how calm and unconcerned Ye Liuyun was, Sinan could not help but sigh in admiration.

After all, Sinan had personally witnessed Shi Sheng, driven into a rage, beat someone in front of an entire crowd inside the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Several people had tried to restrain him, yet none had managed to stop him.

Ye Liuyun had no idea what was going on in Sinan’s mind.

He waved his hand and said, “It’s getting late. I’ll head back first. You can leave on your own later.”

“Yes, my lord!”

Sinan hurriedly gathered his thoughts and bowed as he saw Ye Liuyun off.

* * *

“How comfortable.”

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Night had fallen.

Lying in the bath, Ye Liuyun wore an expression of utter contentment.

Outside the tub, Xing’er was massaging his arms.

His resolve had been worn down after all. At first, he had refused, but Xing’er had insisted, and Ye Liuyun had eventually stopped resisting.

His arms happened to be slightly sore from practicing martial arts, and Xing’er’s strength was just right—not too light, not too heavy.

“You have quite a good touch. Did you study this specially?”

Seeing Xing’er’s serious expression as she lowered her head, Ye Liuyun could not help asking.

He had assumed that a delicate young woman like Xing’er would have little strength in her hands, but apparently that was not the case.

“Xing’er has served Madam since childhood and learned many things. If Master needs it, Xing’er can massage you every day.”

“There’s no need.”

Ye Liuyun waved his hand indifferently.

“You spend all day serving me and your mistress. It must be tiring. Rest whenever you have the time. An occasional massage is enough.”

“Besides, if you keep doing this for too long, your hands will become rough. A young woman’s hands ought to remain soft.”

Ye Liuyun did not want his martial resolve to be worn away.

Yet his words caused Xing’er’s hands to stop.

“What is it?”

“Nothing.”

Xing’er came back to herself and immediately shook her head.

“I just feel that Master has changed a great deal.”

“Is that so?”

Had he changed? No. It would be more accurate to say that he had become someone else entirely.

Leaning against the edge of the tub and gazing toward the rafters, Ye Liuyun spoke with a trace of emotion in his voice.

“People change when they are born into an age like this.”

The higher one’s position and the more one came into contact with the world, the more clearly one perceived the vast differences between people in this era.

It was often said that the gap between any two people could sometimes be greater than that between a person and a dog. But in an age like this, some people truly were no different from dogs—liable to be beaten or killed at another’s whim.

Now that he had formally set foot on the path of martial cultivation, Ye Liuyun finally possessed some confidence.

At the very least, he no longer had to live in constant apprehension as he had at the beginning, barely daring to speak for fear that someone might see through him.

“That should be enough. You should go back and rest as well.”