After the tense family dinner, Xue Horan maintained his distance from Rao Zhengsheng. Instead, he focused his entire attention on Yongzheng, showing him around Butterfly Island. After the sun had set and the daylight was replaced by night, Xue Horan and Yongzheng returned to Xue Horan's room.
In the room, Yongzheng was already sitting at the table. Xue Horan closed the door behind him. Yongzheng knew the truth: Xue Horan was only using his name to provoke Rao Zhengsheng.
Xue Horan sat down on the table opposite Yongzheng. In the soft candlelight, he realized that in the past, he had never truly taken a good look at Yongzheng. To be honest, Yongzheng was undeniably very handsome. Xue Horan chuckled lightly.
Yongzheng asked, "What? Is there something on my face?"
Xue Horan smiled genuinely. "Yes, your face is too handsome." He leaned forward slightly. "Yongzheng, I was not very optimistic about you before. Now that you've bathed, shaved, changed your clothes, and have your hair done, you are very good looking. Why did someone like you decide to become a Taoist priest? I believe many women would be willing to be your wife."
Yongzheng corrected him gently. "I'm not a real Taoist yet."
"Really?" Xue Horan asked, surprised.
Yongzheng explained. "My Shifu refused to let me go through the ceremony. He said that when I can let go of all my attachments, he will reconsider again."
"You dress like one, act like one, but you aren't one?"
"Yes," Yongzheng confirmed. He looked directly at Xue Horan, his expression serious. "Horan..."
"What?"
Yongzheng spoke honestly about the situation. "If you are not happy with Benefactor Rao, you two should sit down and have an open-heart talk. It is wrong to regard me as your escape sheep. This is not conducive to the situation, but will escalate the situation to the worst."
Xue Horan frowned, shame crossing his face. "I know… I'm sorry."
Yongzheng's reply was startling in its selfless devotion. "You can treat me as your escape sheep as many times as you want, because I am willing, but other people may not be like me."
Xue Horan whispered, his voice low, thinking out loud. "If you were Zhen Ge, how wonderful would it be."
Although Xue Horan was only talking to himself in a low voice, Yongzheng heard every word clearly.
Yongzheng repeated his painful, necessary truth. "I'm sorry. I am not him."
"It's just that... I am confused now," Xue Horan admitted to Yongzheng. "I don't know if two people of the same sex can be together. After thinking about it carefully, I realized that I am not a good match for Zhen Ge. Zhen Ge is the last offspring of the Rao family. He has a big responsibility to continue the Rao family line, which I can't give him that. I don't know if he loves me or not, or whether he strongly wants to marry me because of the promise he made to me." His eyes moistened. "I really like him... No, I only like him, and I hope he only likes me. I may not be as smart as other people, but love is important to me."
Yongzheng listened patiently. "How do you know that he likes the other person more than you?"
"He said it himself," Xue Horan whispered. "He likes Yuan Xiurong as much as he likes me. There were things that he did which showed me that he really likes Xiurong. My mother always said I was naive, and she told me that the world of martial arts is not like what I imagine. I refused to accept and insist on going to the Central Plains to look for him." He frowned. "Yongzheng, your words also opened my eyes."
Yongzheng feigned forgetfulness. "I don't remember which word you are referring to."
Xue Horan gave him a faint, genuine smile. "'I'm covered with scars, but I chose to stand up instead of being defeated by something beyond my reach.'" Yongzheng quickly returned the small smile. "I came to the conclusion that even if Zhen Ge chooses to marry someone instead of me in the future, I will still bless them. I will slowly withdraw from him. I believe that if I take a step back every day, one day, I will stand far enough from him, and I will no longer recognize his face."
Yongzheng's face softened. "That is a good start. My Shifu once said, 'Take a step back doesn't mean you lose the fight, but it simply means you understand the meaning of forgiveness.'"
Xue Horan was genuinely intrigued. "I really want to meet your Shifu." He frowned. "But your Shifu will never come down here to meet me."
Yongzheng offered a solution. "You can visit him in Li Village."
Xue Horan stood up, his excitement visible. "Yongzheng… come with me." He took Yongzheng's hand and led him to the door. "Let's go to sleep on the roof of my bedroom."
"Why?" Yongzheng was utterly surprised.
"Come with me quickly!"
Xue Horan and Yongzheng stood in front of Xue Horan's room. Xue Horan flew swiftly onto the roof. He peaked out and said, "Hurry up."
Only then did Yongzheng fly up and stand beside Xue Horan. He asked, "What exactly are we doing up here?"
Xue Horan sat down and pulled Yongzheng's hand. "Sit down." Yongzheng sat beside Xue Horan. "Look." He pointed to the sea. "Those distant lights are the seventy-two islands."
Yongzheng recalled their trouble at sea. "The people that tried to drown us?"
"We have been living in harmony here," Xue Horan replied. "I don't think it was aimed at us. It's just that we happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"You are not angry with them?"
"No, if I stayed here and didn't run away, I wouldn't be in that situation."
Yongzheng pointed in another direction. "What about those lights?"
Xue Horan looked at the hundreds of lit torches heading their way. It looked like the water in front of their house was lit on fire. He stood up and took a closer look at the hundreds of torches approaching. It turned out to be fifty ships with hundreds of people holding torches.
Yongzheng stood beside Xue Horan. "Who are they?"
Xue Horan's face darkened with dread. "I don't know. How do they get inside?"
Yongzheng asked, "What do you mean?"
Xue Horan explained, "My father set up traps on the island. If those people travel without permission, the traps will activate."
Yongzheng narrowed his eyes. "You mean, someone opened a trap for them." He looked at Xue Horan. "Who?"
Xue Horan whispered, "I don't know. The only two new people here are you and Yuan Xiurong."
Xue Horan jumped off the roof and rushed directly into Dong Lanying's room. He pushed the door open and found Yuan Xiurong and Dong Lanying still talking at the table. He stared at Yuan Xiurong and demanded, "Who are those people that are at our front door?"
Yuan Xiurong looked genuinely confused. "What are you talking about? What people?"
Dong Lanying looked concerned. "Horan, what's wrong?"
Xue Horan pointed his finger at Yuan Xiurong, fury replacing heartbreak. "Shijie, she… she opened the trap switch. There are hundreds of people in front of our front door!"
Yuan Xiurong claimed her innocence. "I don't know anything about a trap switch!"
Rao Zhengsheng walked out of his room, drawn by the shouting. He asked, "Hao'er, what's the matter? Why are you shouting?"
Xue Horan turned to him. "Da Shixiong, have you ever told her"—he pointed at Yuan Xiurong—"about our Island traps?"
Rao Zhengsheng's voice was stern. "Horan! I don't like the tone of your voice when you speak to Xiurong. Xiurong respects you, and you should also respect her."
Xue Horan's respect for Rao Zhengsheng was gone. "I don't need your lecture. Just answer the question."
Rao Zhengsheng sighed deeply. "No…" Then, he looked at Yongzheng, standing nearby. "You only have doubts about Xiurong, what about him? The man standing next to you."
Xue Horan shouted madly, the new bond absolute. "I believe him!"
Rao Zhengsheng was also angry with Xue Horan, because since they were young, Xue Horan had never questioned his decision. He shook his head, then noticed a wave of fireflies flying towards them in the dark sky.
Rao Zhengsheng's heart began to pound with primal fear. Suddenly, he heard the screams of servants and maids burning in the flames. Immediately afterward, he heard Dong Lanying calling his name. He came back abruptly to the reality of the crisis.
The front door of their house was knocked open. The two door panels flew to the burning wall. What emerged from the flames was Cao Fengge, walking towards them with his hands behind his back. Following behind Cao Fengge were Cao Wenyan, Red Mice, and Blue Mice, along with one hundred Beixing disciples.