The group's beloved wife: She is the phoenix, she is the king

Chapter 701 Taking the Initiative to Admit Mistakes

Making mistakes is normal; what's scary is having someone else recall and elaborate on them for you. —Epigraph

"Is that really true?" Seeing that her hand was in some pain, Fan Nuoxi loosened her grip slightly and instead held her hand.

Feng nodded hurriedly.

Fan Nuoxi persisted, "If you didn't intend to continue, why have you been making a fuss for so long?"

After speaking, Fan Nuoxi couldn't help but look Feng Qingqing up and down, seemingly doubting the truthfulness of what Feng Qingqing had said.

Feng Qingqing's body stiffened slightly, clearly not daring to look directly at Fan Nuoxi.

Fan Nuoxi's gaze swept around before finally landing on Feng Qingqing's face. Her tone was as light as a feather, yet it seemed to strike Feng Qingqing's heart heavily, "I don't like those who follow me and keep things from me."

Feng Qingqing was immediately filled with panic, and her eyes showed obvious struggle.

In the end, under the somewhat chilly atmosphere, Feng Qingqing gave in, "Actually... Long Yue and I discovered that many of those treasures had an aura almost identical to their owners, so we 'borrowed' them to take a closer look. After this period of investigation, Long Yue and I found that those auras were left a long time ago."

“Some of these things even still bear the scents left behind by Long Yue and me…”

"So what?" Fan Nuoxi already understood what was going on when she heard this.

"So, Long Yue and I have always believed that we might have known Tan Ying before, but Qingqing has no memory of her, yet there are some things..."

"Tonight, Long Yue and I originally planned to return those things and then go to Tan Ying to ask her what was going on, but we didn't expect that you, Master... would see us..."

Fan Nuoxi flicked Feng Qingqing's brow with her finger and said with a light reproach, "I've already noticed what you're talking about, so there's no need to hide it from me like this."

“If it weren’t for the fact that I have some connection with her now, you and Long Yue would have been arrested long ago—”

Feng pouted slightly. "No wonder it always goes so smoothly—did she already know all along?"

“Master…did Qingqing do something wrong? The main thing is that Qingqing really wanted to know what was going on with those things, and was afraid that Master would get hurt, so…that’s why she resorted to this desperate measure…”

The more he spoke, the less confident he became.

"Let's go," Fan Nuoxi gently took Feng Qingqing's hand. "Since you've made such a fuss for so long and are so curious, why don't we just ask her directly?"

Feng Qingqing felt a sudden pang in her heart and subconsciously wanted to back down, but her body had already made its choice, allowing Fan Nuoxi to lead her away.

Moon Palace.

Long Yue sat uncomfortably in a chair, with several fairy servants holding pastries standing beside him.

Meanwhile, Tan Ying was not far from Long Yue, taking stock of all the treasures that Long Yue had voluntarily returned.

"The numbers and items are all correct." Tan Ying glanced at Long Yue and instructed the celestial official, "Put everything into the warehouse properly."

"Yes," the celestial official replied and withdrew.

Several celestial attendants who followed the celestial official then left with the treasures.

"Why did you decide to return it today?" Tan Ying laughed at Long Yue's awkward and shy appearance. "I thought you were planning to keep it for yourself!"

Upon hearing this, Long Yue blushed as if someone had stepped on his tail. "No way! You're slandering me!"

"Yes! It's slander!"

"Oh?" Tan Ying deliberately leaned closer, placing her hand on the table next to Long Yue, enjoying Long Yue's embarrassment and panic. "Then tell me, why have you been hogging my treasure all this time?"

"That...that's because..." Long Yue stammered, his face flushed, "You...you...you shameless, why did you get so close...so close?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Long Yue transformed into a stream of light and tried to escape, but Tan Ying easily caught him before he had fully transformed into a stream of light.

Seeing his hand being grabbed, Long Yue's half-light body instantly returned to human form, and he said weakly, "You...you...stay away from me!"

"I'm not afraid of you at all!"

Just then, Fan Nuoxi arrived with Feng Qingqing, who was equally insecure.

Long Yue saw Fan Nuoxi's eyes light up, quickly broke free from Tan Ying's hand, hid behind Fan Nuoxi, and said aggrievedly, "Master, she bullied me!"

After saying that, he showed Fan Nuoxi the section of his wrist where the red mark was disappearing.

Fan Nuoxi, "..."

Tan Ying, “…”

There was a slight pause in the atmosphere before Fan Nuoxi explained her purpose, "Um... I came to..." apologize to you...

Before she could finish speaking, Tan Ying interrupted her with a smile, "It's okay, they love to make a fuss like this, I'm used to it."

"Oh...I see..." Fan Nuoxi stammered.

Immediately afterwards, Long Yue and Feng Qingqing stepped forward to apologize to Tan Ying.

"We were wrong about this, you... don't blame the master..." Feng Qingqing apologized when she saw that Fan Nuoxi was a little embarrassed.

Long Yue clenched his fingers, not daring to look at Tan Ying, "I... I was wrong too, but... why did you have to call us that before..."

Tan Ying chuckled softly, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes, "I was just thinking that the aura you all have is very similar to some of the little ones I know, that's why I did this..."

"Little one?" Long Yue pouted and muttered, "I'm not little one!"

Then, as if remembering something, she said, "Why do some of your treasures have my and Qingqing's scent on them? We've never met before."

“Some of them even have an aura similar to their master’s…” Feng Qingqing added, “What exactly is going on?”

Hearing this, Tan Ying's eyes flashed with pain. "These are all traces left by old friends, and it's been a long time..."

She knew that if she directly said they had been around since then, no one would believe her, so it was better to do it this way...

At least they won't suffer because of it.

The past is long gone, and clinging to it only adds to our sorrow.

"Just... an old friend?" For the first time, Long Yue found the word a bit jarring, and felt a pang of sadness in his heart.

"They are also good family, friends, and even partners who fight side by side..." Tan Ying added when she saw his disappointment.

Upon hearing this, Feng Qingqing and Long Yue's dim expressions visibly brightened.

Fan Nuoxi seemed to have expected this, but her gaze fell on Tan Ying, her eyes filled with a hint of uncertainty.

"So, is your leniency towards us also because of those old friends?" Feng Qingqing sniffed.

Actually, she was more curious to know if they had known each other before.

Tan Ying clearly understood the unspoken meaning: "Whether it is or not is not important. What is important is that you deserve to be favored and indulged."

As she spoke, Tan Ying looked at them tenderly, then her gaze returned to Fan Nuoxi.

Fan Nuoxi met her gaze, seemingly understanding Tan Ying's deeper meaning, and returned a slight smile.

Regardless of whether she is the person Tan Ying remembers, she will still be treated with courtesy by Tan Ying.

Regardless of the past, it's simply because she is who she is...

Afterwards, the group chatted for a while longer at the Moon Palace before getting up and leaving.

Before leaving, Fan Nuoxi slipped Tan Ying several bottles of the top-grade pills she had recently refined.

"Take it three times a day and keep it well."

Tan Ying gripped the medicine bottle tightly, her eyes reddening, and softly thanked her, "Okay."

After the person had gone far away, Tan Ying's tears still fell. "So, she had seen through it all along..."

With a gentle lift of her fingertips, she revealed a section of her forearm.

This area should have been as white as snow, but now the veins are bluish-purple, and the skin has an abnormal dark purple hue. There are also several claw marks that look like they were left by some kind of wild animal, as well as stab wounds caused by some kind of sharp weapon.

"The doctor examined me earlier and said that the medicinal herbs are in short supply and the medicine is ineffective," Tan Ying gently touched the numb wound and sighed softly, "I wonder if Master's medicine... will be effective..."

Looking at the medicine bottle beside her, Tan Ying opened it with difficulty and saw several lines of text above the bottle opening, indicating the name and purpose of the medicine.

Tan Ying couldn't help but shed tears when she saw these, and the same thing happened when she opened the other medicine bottles.

"Master seems to be taking better care of people now... I really don't want to let you go..."

The pill didn't taste bitter at all; on the contrary, it was the kind of taste she liked. The taste was so good that Tan Ying's eyes welled up with tears.

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This chapter was written by: Feng Qingqing

Art Director: Fan Nuoxi

Guest appearance: A bunch of darlings