Jian Yi truly wanted to run a sword through this fellow.

He kept going on and on about how Jiu’er was his wife — yet had she not been forced into that marriage?

What was more, this fellow clearly harbored no romantic feelings for Jiu’er whatsoever. No one could fathom why he was so stubbornly fixated on insisting that Jiu’er was his wife.

Feng Jiu’er herself could only feel helpless. The way Zhao Yusheng looked at her genuinely held none of the feelings one would have between a man and a woman.

She pulled Yanu aside and asked him in a low voice: “If you had gone through the wedding rites with a woman — even if you had been compelled into it — would you still regard her as your wife?”

Yanu froze. He found that he could not answer this question.

In the end, he gave a nod, then shook his head.

Perhaps it depended on the person.

See — even Yanu was a man of this era, and yet he was not nearly so rigid.

This Zhao Yusheng was as stubborn as a mule!

“Release him then.” She gave a wave of her hand.

Jian Yi bent down, and with a long finger pressed once at the back of Zhao Yusheng’s neck.

Zhao Yusheng rolled his joints free and immediately sprang up from the floor.

He looked back at Jian Yi, then instinctively took a step away. Very quickly, he had retreated to Jiu’er’s side.

“Why are you ganging up on me with another man?” Looking down at Feng Jiu’er seated in the chair, his fury nearly burst out of him.

But a man of character does not vent his anger on his wife at will — that would be abuse.

He drew a deep breath, and with great effort pressed his anger back down.

“No one was ganging up on you. Everyone was simply too excited and was having a bit of fun with you.”

Everyone’s spirits truly were very high. The Heavenly Dragon Soaring Phoenix — not the Black Dragon Weeping Phoenix. The crisis had been averted, all things considered.

Qiao Mu also smiled and said: “We were all just blowing off steam and having a laugh. Young Master, please do not take it to heart.”

She added as a final remark: “And if you do take it to heart, that would be awfully petty of you. Not very manly at all, is it?”

Zhao Yusheng shot her a glare, then turned and walked away.

Reaching the doorway, he could not resist stopping and looking back at Feng Jiu’er.

“You are my wife — you are!”

With those words thrown down, he stormed off in a huff.

Everyone was left speechless. This fellow, when he dug his heels in, was truly like a child.

“Hey — this matter, you need to resolve it soon.” Qiao Mu nudged Feng Jiu’er’s arm.

Jiu’er looked up at her and pouted slightly: “And how do you expect me to resolve it?”

Everything that needed to be said had been said. Everything that could be done had been done — or rather, many things simply could not be done.

The fellow was just that stubborn. What could anyone do?

Qiao Mu could not think of a solution either. It seemed there really was no solution.

“If you find it troublesome, I will cut him down with a single sword stroke.” Jian Yi said coldly.

He was not joking. This man simply did not know what the word “joke” meant.

Feng Jiu’er and Qiao Mu immediately said in unison: “You must not kill him!”

“Why not?” Jian Yi raised an eyebrow. If the fellow was causing Jiu’er such trouble, would killing him not solve the problem?

“You explain to him why he cannot be killed.” Qiao Mu had no words, and promptly slipped away.

Feng Jiu’er rubbed her temples, feeling somewhat helpless: “Killing a person is not like chopping a head of cabbage. That is a living, breathing life.”

“Moreover, he is a good man. He saved the lives of our brothers. You cannot bully him — do you understand?”

Reasoning with an assassin was no easy task, though Jian Yi had genuinely shed much of his murderous air since joining her side.

That much was visibly apparent.

“Going forward, no matter what happens — do not be so quick to think of cutting people down. All right?”

Jian Yi appeared to mull it over.

It was not as though he killed people indiscriminately. Ever since Feng Jiu’er had told him that once he entered her Tianji Hall he could no longer unleash his killing intent so freely, he had along the way — even when encountering enemies — been able to wound rather than kill, and had not lightly taken lives.

But this person was causing Jiu’er trouble…

“Jian Yi!” Feng Jiu’er took one look at his eyes and knew her words had not yet persuaded him.

No wonder Zhao Yusheng was so frightened of him. In all likelihood, even Zhao Yusheng could sense the very real and palpable killing intent Jian Yi directed at him.

“In any case, Zhao Yusheng is a good man. You cannot touch him. If you were to harm him, I would feel guilty and ill at ease for the rest of my life.”

Jian Yi glanced at her and said nothing.

“You must promise me.” Feng Jiu’er looked at him earnestly.

Jian Yi exhaled slowly, and after a long moment, conceded reluctantly: “As long as he does not provoke me, I will not touch him.”

“On that you can rest assured. He is so frightened of you he could die — he will not take the initiative to provoke you.”

“Then I will attend to my duties.” There were only the two of them left in the room. Realizing this, Jian Yi felt a slight warmth rise in his face.

Men and women ought not be alone together without propriety. With only the two of them present, it seemed… somewhat improper.

“Rest well.”

He turned and walked out, almost as though fleeing.

Feng Jiu’er had no idea what had gotten into him — he had gone red in the face again, just like that.

Was her clothing not properly fastened?

But her clothing was perfectly in order.

Jiu’er had no mind to puzzle over it. She rummaged through her bag for quite some time, and finally retrieved the terrain map that the white-robed, veiled palace lady had given her.

The Heavenly Dragon Soaring Phoenix — the more she looked at it, the more she felt that this formation had some inexplicable connection to her terrain map.

Xue Gu had said that the map was a rubbing taken from the phoenix birthmark on her lower back. Originally, everyone had assumed it was simply a phoenix.

A phoenix…

Jiu’er’s heart gave a start. She leapt up from the chair and rushed out of the ship’s cabin at once.

“Jiu’er, where are you going?” Qiao Mu, who had been helping Xue Gu prepare the midday meal, watched her rush out with an expression of surprise.

Why was she moving so fast? It looked as though she had discovered something remarkable.

Jiu’er paid her no attention and went straight to the bow of the ship.

Ahead, the dragon and phoenix continued to glide ceaselessly through the white mist.

But Jiu’er now understood — that dragon and phoenix were most likely nothing more than the formation gathering the mist and projecting its image through the light.

These ancient esoteric arts and formation arrays were truly vast and profound. What seemed to have no foundation in reality could, in truth, genuinely exist.

This phoenix…

Jiu’er took out the terrain map and studied it for a long while. Though she felt a connection, she still could not make out where the link actually lay.

Or rather — where exactly was the mystery hidden? Why did she keep feeling that this terrain map and the Heavenly Dragon Soaring Phoenix simply had to be connected?

Not far away, Zhao Yusheng passed by carrying two wooden buckets.

Spotting Feng Jiu’er standing at the bow, he gave a humph and turned to leave.

“Hey, you.” Jiu’er suddenly thought of something and beckoned to him: “Come here!”

Zhao Yusheng looked left and right. She seemed to be looking at him.

But — hey, you? Who was she calling you?

“Come here. There is something I would like to ask your opinion on.” Jiu’er beckoned to him once more.

Zhao Yusheng finally confirmed that this woman was calling for him.

He gave another cold hump, raising his chin haughtily: “Humph. Not unless you admit you are my wife. Otherwise, I will not—”

Jiu’er turned away and returned to studying the terrain map, not sparing him so much as another glance.

Zhao Yusheng’s face fell with utter stupefaction. When the realization hit, he was so furious he nearly stamped his feet!

All she had to do was admit she was his wife — was that truly so difficult?

And she had actually, genuinely, stopped paying him any attention! How outrageous!