Later that evening, Yuan Zixin's servants confirmed the inn situation was ready.
Yuan Zixin instructed the group, "The owner of this house is someone we shouldn't mess with. Let's go to rest in the inn."
Rao Zhengsheng volunteered, "I will go get Yongzheng and Horan."
Rao Zhengsheng walked into the room and sat down beside Yongzheng, who was sitting at the table. "We are moving to stay at the inn. Master Yuan said that this house belongs to two martial artists we shouldn't mess with."
Yongzheng replied, "Horan hasn't woken up yet."
Rao Zhengsheng said, "Help put him on my back. I will carry him."
Yongzheng countered, "I will carry him, you go carry Dong Shun."
Rao Zhengsheng sighed, attempting to bridge the familial gap. "Yongzheng, you have to call him shushu. I know you may not like it, or it may be difficult to adapt." He looked directly at his brother. "When I realized that you were my brother, it was difficult for me to adapt, but I had to look at it from a larger perspective."
Yongzheng asked, his tone still detached, "Your larger perspective involves what?"
Rao Zhengsheng's focus was clear. "It involves the overall situation of rebuilding the Rao family. I will not let father's inheritance be buried in the sand forever." He stared at the faint candlelight. "Yongzheng, I learned from Master Yuan that you are an assassin known as Number One. He also said that your martial arts surpassed Cao Fengge. If you can easily kill Cao Fengge, why do you delay and not avenge him?"
Yongzheng's response was definitive and rooted in his unique moral code. "Rao Zhengsheng, we only have one thing in common, and that is the blood flowing in our veins. Apart from the blood, we have nothing in common. I should be thankful that I finally found my family. I have always dreamed of reuniting with my family... But it turns out that the family I was looking for were people full of resentment and revenge. I choose to bury my sword and live my life peacefully. Maybe, I might collect enough merit to lessen my punishment when I reach the netherworld."
Rao Zhengsheng was furious but restrained himself. "You won't follow me to kill Cao Fengge?" He closed his eyes, his anger rising, but he forced himself to remain calm. "Well, I respect your decision. Let me take revenge. But Yongzheng, I still want you to stay with me in Rao Manor until I take revenge. I think mother and father will like it."
Yongzheng was already planning his departure. "After you ascend the leadership of Rao Manor, I should probably go home."
Rao Zhengsheng objected immediately. "The Rao Manor is your home!"
"I have a home in the old temple in the back mountain of Li Village," Yongzheng stated.
Rao Zhengsheng became deeply frustrated. "Yongzheng, why are you so stubborn?" He thought, Sometimes, in order to gain, we have to give up.
Yongzheng challenged him directly. "Is that why you agree to marry Yuan guniang and break your agreement with Horan?"
Rao Zhengsheng bristled. "I have never broken my promise with Horan. I will marry him with Xiurong."
"You claim to know Horan the most, but you don't, actually," Yongzheng stated.
Rao Zhengsheng's frustration boiled over. "And you think you do?"
"I know him better than you," Yongzheng said simply.
Rao Zhengsheng demanded angrily, "What do you know?"
Yongzheng's response cut deep. "All he wants is someone who loves him. Obviously, you are unable to give him that."
"How do you know I don't just love him?" Rao Zhengsheng countered.
Yongzheng delivered the final ultimatum. "Rao Zhengsheng, if you marry Yuan guniang, you can say goodbye to the last twenty moves of the Butterfly Swords Manual."
Rao Zhengsheng's eyes widened in astonishment. "How do you know about that?"
Yongzheng explained the promise he made to the deceased Xue Longwei. "Xue qianbei showed it to me before he died. He asked me to promise him that I can only teach it to you only on the day after you and Horan got married. If you did not live up to your promise, then forget about it."
Rao Zhengsheng's carefully controlled anger suddenly burst from his chest. Yongzheng's claim of superior knowledge about Xue Horan, combined with the revelation about the Butterfly Swords Manual—the very legacy he sought to rebuild—was too much.
Rao Zhengsheng gritted his teeth. "Do you think you can give him what he wants?"
Yongzheng's answer was delivered with cold certainty. "I don't think, I know."
Rao Zhengsheng glared at Yongzheng. "Get out. Let's duel."
Yongzheng stood up and walked out the door. He knew that continuing the heated argument inside would wake up the sick Xue Horan. Yongzheng, equally fed up with Rao Zhengsheng's judgmental attitude, was ready to settle their disagreement through force.
When the two brothers went out, everyone who was sitting thought they were ready to leave. Suddenly, Rao Zhengsheng drew out the butterfly swords and fiercely attacked Yongzheng.
Yongzheng did four backflips, using the fourth one to cross the bamboo fence and land on the dirt road. Rao Zhengsheng quickly flew to Yongzheng's side and began kicking him.
Everyone sitting at the table—Dong Shun, Yuan Zixin, Yuan Xiurong, and Cao Yanmei—stood up, walked to the fence, and began to watch the fierce battle between the two brothers.
Dong Shun shouted, "What are you two fighting about?"
Yuan Zixin was bewildered. "What's the matter? You said they are brothers?"
Yuan Xiurong could only reply, "They are, but I don't know why they are fighting."
It didn't take long for Dong Shun to understand what they were arguing about. The conflict over Xue Horan and the family legacy was exactly what Dong Shun had always feared.
Lying on the bed, Xue Horan had only been pretending to be asleep, allowing the brothers to air their deep-seated disagreements. He knew their core differences: Yongzheng sought a peaceful, secluded life to reflect on his past as an assassin, while Rao Zhengsheng felt obligated to uphold the Rao family name and legacy in the martial arts world. Yongzheng was right; their only true commonality was the blood in their veins.
Xue Horan walked out of the bedroom, still weak with fever. He walked to the fence and saw the two brothers fighting. "Is the Inn ready?" he asked, trying to introduce a sense of calm.
Yuan Xiurong rushed to him. "Horan, what's the matter? They came out of the room and started fighting."
Xue Horan simply said, "Their outlook on life is different, nothing more."
The fight escalated; Rao Zhengsheng's sword fell, and Yongzheng landed a hard kick to his abdomen. Rao Zhengsheng leaped onto Yongzheng, pinning him down in the stream, and launched a series of punches. Yongzheng caught some, but several still hit his face. In a burst of rage, Yongzheng kneed Rao Zhengsheng's lower back, causing him to dart forward. Yongzheng immediately flipped the position, pressing Rao Zhengsheng into the stream, sitting on his abdomen, and raining down punches.
Everyone watched as Rao Zhengsheng was severely beaten, unable to escape Yongzheng's hold. Xue Horan walked up to them. As Yongzheng landed another punch, Xue Horan gently placed his hand on Yongzheng's right hand.
"Yongzheng, that's enough," Xue Horan said softly.
Yongzheng instantly got off Rao Zhengsheng. He glared at his brother, but Rao Zhengsheng's furious stare was no less intense. Xue Horan walked to Rao Zhengsheng, took out a handkerchief, and began wiping the blood from the corners of his mouth.
"Da shixiong, you're going to be the chief of the Rao Household in the future. Don't lose your temper so easily," he advised. He then smiled at Rao Zhengsheng. "Go to the inn and take a rest, and we will have a good chat tomorrow."
Yuan Xiurong walked up and supported the advice. "Horan is right, everyone needs time to adjust."
Xue Horan walked behind Yongzheng and put his arms around Yongzheng's neck. Yongzheng immediately bent down, and Xue Horan climbed onto his back. Yongzheng carried Xue Horan and began walking toward town.
Xue Horan stared at Yongzheng's face and saw blood at the corner of his mouth. He reached out and wiped the blood with his sleeve. "Yongzheng, don't fight with da shixiong again. I already told you to teach him the last twenty moves of the Butterfly Swords Manual."
"I promised your father," Yongzheng insisted, referring to the strict condition placed by the deceased Xue Longwei.
Xue Horan pleaded his brother's case. "Da shixiong is still my father's first disciple; my father would teach him sooner or later anyway. Besides, he is also your da ge."
Yongzheng was unmoved. "Being my da ge, he has no right to force me to do what I don't want to do."
"Yongzheng, sometimes, we need to make concessions to gain something," Xue Horan whispered.
"You sound just like Rao Zhengsheng," Yongzheng noted.
Xue Horan stretched out his head and kissed the left side of Yongzheng's neck. "This is what my father taught us." He paused, then asked the question that lay at the heart of the conflict. "Do you really want da shixiong to marry me?"
Yongzheng stopped, breathing heavily. He looked back at Xue Horan. "Do you want to marry him?"
Xue Horan reaffirmed his love. "I have already told you that if I want to marry someone in the future, that person can't be anyone other than you."