Chapter 710: The Waning Moon and a Calculated Heart
"Shen Anyu, are you alright?"
Yu Guannan scrambled over to him, her eyes wide with panic. Seeing him standing there, seemingly unharmed, she pressed a hand to her chest, her heart still hammering against her ribs from the lingering terror.
Just moments ago, her mind had gone completely blank. She had nothing left but Shen Anyu; if he had died too, she couldn't imagine how she would possibly go on.
Her clan had been annihilated, her brother had died a gruesome death, and she was left utterly alone and adrift in the world. Shen Anyu was all she had.
That streak of black, ghostly light had brushed past them, carrying with it a deep and chilling dread.
"Do I look like something's wrong?" Shen Anyu's handsome face broke into its familiar, easy smile. He tilted his head, his tone light as he posed the question back to her.
"It's good that you're fine." Yu Guannan pursed her crimson lips, her gaze fixed on Shen Anyu's face. After a moment of silence, she suddenly asked, "Why did you save me?"
"If you hadn't grabbed me just now, you wouldn't have been injured."
Her voice was soft, but insistent. "Shen Anyu, why did you save me?"
The black light had struck with blinding speed, yet Shen Anyu had still taken the time to wrap an arm around her waist and leap away. From Yu Guannan's perspective, if he had simply abandoned her to save himself, he wouldn't have been a fraction of a second too slow, and he wouldn't have been hurt.
And she would have been dead.
Shen Anyu was momentarily speechless, then he let out a low chuckle.
"You are my woman," he said, his voice a low, confident murmur. "I, Shen Anyu, am not in the habit of abandoning my own woman to flee alone."
He wasn't a good person, not by any stretch. If he had faced a situation of absolute, certain death, he might not have bothered with Yu Guannan. But for the price of a minor injury? He would never ignore such a golden opportunity.
In Yu Guannan's eyes, it had been a harrowing, life-or-death crisis. In Shen Anyu's, it was hardly critical.
Not only did he possess the Divine Soul Ring, which could save his soul from annihilation once, but even without it, that ghostly black light wasn't nearly enough to kill him. It was dangerous, certainly, but the threat was negligible.
Looking at the stunned expression on Yu Guannan's face, Shen Anyu knew he couldn't let this perfect moment go to waste. He deliberately softened his gaze, a carefully crafted tenderness blooming in his peach-blossom eyes.
"Guannan," he said softly, his voice dripping with affection. "You have no idea how beautiful you are. I fell for you the first time we met, eight years ago. And it's not just me. How many young masters from the great clans in the Imperial Capital don't secretly admire you?"
He leaned in a fraction closer, his tone becoming conspiratorial. "Otherwise, why would I have tolerated the Yu Clan's hostility toward my Shen Clan for so long? I would have made my move long ago."
He finished with a flourish, his voice firm with conviction. "No matter how dangerous the situation, I will never abandon you."
Yu Guannan stared at him, her phoenix eyes searching his. A sudden, deep blush crept up her alluring face, and she averted her gaze, sputtering, "Eight years ago? How old was I? You... you pervert."
[Ding! Detected that Destined Heroine Yu Guannan's favorability has increased by +15! Plundering 45,000 Destiny Value!]
[Ding! Detected that Destined Heroine Yu Guannan's total favorability has exceeded 80! Awarding bonus plunder of 30,000 Destiny Value!]
[Ding! Detected that Destined Heroine Yu Guannan's total favorability is now 93! Awarding bonus plunder of 50,000 Destiny Value!]
...
Yu Guannan was no fool.
The heart of a direct daughter of Yanxia's Yu Clan couldn't be captured with just a few pretty words. That was impossible.
But facts spoke louder than words.
At that critical, desperate moment, Shen Anyu had immediately taken her with him. That was a fact.
Shen Anyu possessed such overwhelming power, yet he hadn't immediately struck down her elder brother, Yu Guanying, or moved against the Yu Clan. That was also a fact.
Yu Guannan had no way of knowing that she was a "Destined Heroine," or that she possessed a "Destiny Value" that Shen Anyu desperately needed.
From her perspective, for Shen Anyu to do so much for her, he must truly like her. There was no other explanation for his actions. With his status and power, was he lacking for beautiful women? Of course not. Just look at the women he brought to the Hilton banquet—Ling Qingcheng and He Yiyi. One was noble and cool, the other charming and pure; both were peerless beauties of the highest order.
When her parents, her brother, and her entire clan were being massacred by Zhang Zhiyun, the Young Sect Leader of the Tianshi Sect, it was Shen Anyu who had appeared like a savior, dispelling the suffocating gloom in her heart and rescuing her from despair.
At this moment, gazing at the handsome face of the man before her, Yu Guannan felt a deep stirring in her heart.
'Shen Anyu treats me so well,'she thought, her resolve hardening.'I cannot let him down. Parents, brother... if you can hear me from the heavens, please give us your blessing.'
As for Ling Qingcheng, He Yiyi, and any other women in his life, Yu Guannan didn't give them a second thought. Among the upper echelons of society, which powerful man didn't have numerous lovers? Her own father had kept more than a dozen mistresses.
The fact that Shen Anyu would save her at the cost of his own safety, at the very brink of life and death, proved that he must truly love her.
For now, Yu Guannan pushed those thoughts aside. Her brow furrowed, her expression turning serious. "Shen Anyu, who instigated this attack? Do you have any idea?"
Her gaze swept over to the severed head of the old man lying nearby. The face was completely unfamiliar; she didn't recognize him at all.
"Could it be an expert from the Tianshi Sect?"
Because of Zhang Zhiyun, Yu Guannan harbored a deep-seated hatred for the Tianshi Sect. Besides, it was almost impossible for an expert of that caliber to appear out of thin air. Only an ancient, deeply rooted organization like the Tianshi Sect could produce such a monster.
'Did the Tianshi Sect find out that Shen Anyu severely injured Zhang Zhiyun, so they sent an even stronger master to assassinate him?'
Does the Tianshi Sect have other Land Immortals?
A heavy weight settled in Yu Guannan's heart. She had assumed the Tianshi Sect's strongest masters were at the Celestial Master Peak realm. But now, Land Immortals were appearing one after another?
"It's probably not the Tianshi Sect." Shen Anyu considered it for a moment before shaking his head with a soft chuckle.
Initially, he had suspected them as well. The Tianshi Sect had dominated the Yanxia cultivation world for a millennium; its foundations ran impossibly deep. It had produced more than one Land Immortal-level patriarch in its history. It was entirely plausible that they had left behind some contingency, like a Land Immortal-level corpse puppet.
But then, the system prompt had informed him that the mastermind behind the attack was another Child of Destiny named Qin Yuan.
It was highly unlikely that the Tianshi Sect would have two Sons of Destiny, right? Of course, he couldn't completely rule out the possibility.
"I'll handle this matter," Shen Anyu said, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"Mm." Yu Guannan nodded gently. As the direct daughter of the Yu Clan, the education and grooming she had received since childhood were enough to prepare her to rule as an empress. She was not some impulsive girl who would argue with her man's decisions. Aside from the momentary loss of control after suffering such a devastating blow and witnessing her brother's tragic death, her clarity and composure were rapidly returning.
"After I've dealt with the funerals for my parents, brother, and the others, I'll come and help you," Yu Guannan said, pursing her lips. Her phoenix eyes drifted to the ruins of the villa not far away, where the bodies of her brothers still lay. A shadow passed over her heart, but she looked back up at Shen Anyu, her gaze firm.
"When the time comes, I will personally go to pay my respects," Shen Anyu replied solemnly.
Afterward, Shen Anyu arranged for Yu Guannan to be resettled, then made his excuses, claiming his soul had been damaged and he needed to return to his physical body to recover.
Back in the suite, Ling Qingcheng was still sound asleep. A faint, rosy blush colored her delicate, jade-like face, a sign of her exhaustion. In her sleep, she restlessly kicked off the silk quilt, revealing a pair of slender, perfect feet.
Shen Anyu gently took hold of them and tucked them back under the covers. Then, he walked out onto the balcony and dialed a number.
"Investigate everyone named Qin Yuan in the entire country."
"Reporting to Young Master, there are a total of twelve thousand, seven hundred and ninety-seven individuals named Qin Yuan in the nation."
Qin was a common surname, and the name Qin Yuan was quite ordinary. It wasn't surprising there were over ten thousand of them. If his name had been Zhang Wei, there would have been over three hundred thousand.
A cold light flickered in Shen Anyu's eyes. "Investigate them," he commanded, his voice turning to ice. "Investigate every single one in detail. I want all their information, from childhood to the present day. Miss nothing. Trace their family lines back two hundred years. Even if they're dead or missing, as long as their name was Qin Yuan, I want them investigated thoroughly!"
Land Immortals were comparable to cultivators from the late Qi Condensation to the early Foundation Establishment stages, but they lacked the extended lifespan of true cultivators. At most, they lived for a little over a hundred years.
"Yes, Young Master!"
"Be discreet," Shen Anyu added. "Don't alert the target."
After giving a few more instructions, he hung up. He raised his head, his gaze falling upon the pale crescent moon hanging in the night sky. He narrowed his eyes, a smirk touching his lips.
"You dared to strike at me... Can you afford the price?"
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