Chapter 1014: Graceful Young Man

"Don’t think too much about it. You won’t be able to keep him here, and neither will I." Ye Lanfeng said calmly.

Upon hearing this, Huayue and the others reluctantly retracted their longswords, but their hearts remained secretly worried. They couldn’t fathom the man’s purpose in taking away Gui Yu Mie’s corpse and whether any repercussions would remain.

"Don’t worry, I think he means no harm." Noticing their concern, Ye Lanfeng reassured them.

Mu Hanyan didn’t doubt his words. Although this man had first rescued Zhao Lingxian from her, and then seized Gui Yu Ye, he clearly held no malice toward her. If he intended harm, she knew she had little chance of surviving.

"Do you know him?" Mu Hanyan inquired.

"Perhaps, I’m not quite sure myself." Ye Lanfeng shook his head, his gaze complex, as if recalling some unwilling memories, his expression somewhat wistful.

It was the first time Mu Hanyan saw Ye Lanfeng with such a heavy heart. An inexplicable tension rose within her, and unwilling to disturb his thoughts, she refrained from further questioning.

Huayue and the others also sensed Ye Lanfeng’s rare anomaly and said nothing more. They burned the corpses of all Guiyu Clan members, searched the valley thoroughly, and finding no survivors, finally left the valley.

"Strange, besides these black-clothed swordsmen, why haven’t we seen any old, young, women, or children?" Zirong asked in confusion as they exited the valley.

Upon hearing his words, Huayue and Jiang Yuzhe also showed signs of confusion. Though they wouldn’t call themselves entirely ruthless, towards a clan like Guiyu, they wouldn’t mind destruction. Yet it was strange that, despite searching the entire valley, they hadn’t seen any old, young, women, or children. This seemed illogical, as if Guiyu Clan members were born from rocks, fully grown.

"It’s not that strange, Guiyu Clan has survived up to now, completely unknown even to the Holy Court, for a reason.

When the Holy Court eradicated Guiyu Clan, few escaped. To continue the family bloodline, their true identities had to remain hidden, marrying outsiders. If a daughter was born, she was left with some wealth and sent away; if a son was born, familial ties were severed, and he left home, only secretly raised by someone else in the family. Once sufficiently grown and deemed capable, he’d be told the family secrets, acknowledging his roots.

Once acknowledging his roots, besides marrying to extend the lineage, he couldn’t easily depart, nor witness his descendants grow up. Even father and son wouldn’t recognize each other. Only by doing so could the family’s secrets remain guarded.

Take those black-clothed swordsmen for instance. Besides themselves, even their spouses and children don’t know their origins. Meaning, although Guiyu Clan’s elite swordsmen were annihilated today, descendants persist on the Holy Court Continent, or even within our Anyun Country, but they’ll never know who their ancestors were." Uncle Yun said leisurely.

"Uncle Yun, how do you know all this?" Jiang Yuzhe asked curiously.

"Because every family, after a calamity, can continue only this way. If our Mu Family were destroyed by a powerful enemy one day, we’d employ such means to keep our bloodline alive, avoiding their pursuit, awaiting a day for resurgence and revenge." Uncle Yun replied calmly.

Mu Hanyan and the others realized how difficult it was for ancient families with tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of years of history to survive to the present, through endless hardships.

Nevertheless, knowing descendants of Guiyu Clan, even if they exist, pose no threat, Mu Hanyan and the others finally let out a sigh of relief.

Eradicating traces is easy to say, but raising a blade against innocent infants and women proved challenging.

Ye Lanfeng assured them the masked man had no ill intent, and with Gui Yu Mie’s divine soul self-destructed, even taking the corpse should have no repercussions. Moreover, Guiyu Clan’s elite being annihilated, the remaining orphans unaware of their origins posed no threat.

Mu Hanyan and the others naturally shouldn’t worry about Guiyu Clan members anymore, yet thinking of the piles of bones, of those innocent tragically deceased girls, their hearts weighed heavy.

"Take the elixir and tend to your wounds." Mu Hanyan took out elixirs, distributing them among Huayue and the others.

During the bitter battle earlier, although no one’s life was at risk, everyone had sustained some injuries.

"Where are you going, my lord?" Seeing Mu Hanyan leaving alone, Zirong asked worriedly, instinctively, just like Huayue earlier, feeling awkward after asking and corrected himself to call her miss.

"Don’t worry about me, I’ll be right back." Mu Hanyan waved her hand, heading alone behind the cliff.

Very soon, Zirong and the others found out what she was up to.

Just after tending their wounds, a graceful youth appeared over the cliff, strolling toward them, radiating charisma like Yu Shulin Feng, with a hint of a playboy’s distinctive brashness between his brows.

Mu Hanyan’s prior clothes were stained with blood; apparently she went to change. But where were her lord’s clothes hidden? The group wondered.

Even Huayue and the others had to admit Lady Mu, dressed as a man, indeed exuded extraordinariness, but right now, it seemed odd.

"Sis, at this point, there’s no need to dress like that anymore." Mu Hanfeng said.

Previously, Huayue and the others couldn’t discern her identity as a daughter, yet now they knew. Maintaining disguise now served no purpose. In truth, he felt Sister Han Yan was more endearing than Brother Han Yan.

"Do you prefer the first playboy lord title or the first playboy lady title?" Mu Hanyan asked, a bit sullenly. Plus, she had no women’s clothes in her space, so she’d naturally wear men’s attire.

"Hmm... The playboy lord sounds better." Mu Hanfeng considered, then stated, somewhat displeased, "I don’t know what father and mother were thinking; even feigning, they needn’t go to such extremes. As people called you a playboy, they joined in, secretly fanning the flames to tarnish your reputation. Father’s enthusiasm took the lead; most of your unsavory nicknames were his brainstorming."

"Don’t blame them; they’re doing it for my own good." Mu Hanyan bore no resentment, recalling a father’s care beneath his cold demeanor, and a mother’s profound love risking life for her daughter, a warm feeling surged within her heart.

"Does that mean you won’t blame me either?" Mu Hanfeng’s eyes lit up hearing Mu Hanyan’s words.

"You?" Mu Hanyan looked at him, puzzled.