As the sun set and twilight deepened, the man's tall, upright figure resembled a silhouette in a painting as he approached.

Clad in black robes, his beauty was breathtakingly profound, a hint of mockery playing on his strikingly handsome features.

His eyes curved into crescents, yet he exuded an intense pressure, rendering Xiao Fengyun momentarily speechless.

A moment ago, his face had been filled with sorrow, the very picture of a victim, but now it froze abruptly.

After a long while, he recovered, his gaze darting about, a guilty expression on his face.

Indeed, A-Wu hadn't been saved by him, but he was the first person A-Wu saw upon waking. What did it matter if Xie Jin Yan exposed him?

As long as he refused to admit it, Xie Jin Yan would be the one lying!

Besides, Xie Jin Yan was usually just a frivolous young master; it was common for him to spout lies.

With this thought, Xiao Fengyun quickly calmed down, forcing a smile as he looked at Xie Jin Yan with feigned confusion and asked, "Seventh Brother, I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Don't understand?"

Xie Jin Yan raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement and disdain in his eyes, and chuckled.

"Senior Brother Xiao, what's this? I give you a little face, and you take a mile?"

"Let me tell you, the one who saved A-Wu that day was me. You've already stolen the credit twice; now you're shamelessly trying to exploit a false debt of gratitude?"

"Even if A-Wu really wants to be with you, do you dare take her away?"

Xie Jin Yan's lips curled into a cold smile as he coldly scrutinized Xiao Fengyun's guilty face, approaching him step by step, lightly patting his shoulder. "Do you... dare to defy Master?"

"Xie Jin Yan, I am after all..."

"Am what? Your esteemed Senior Brother?" Seeing that Xiao Fengyun was about to invoke seniority, Xie Jin Yan couldn't help but interrupt, looking at him with pity and sighing. "Senior Brother Xiao, other than that, what else can you use to suppress me?"

"Apart from being slightly better looking, a little more hypocritical, and better at哄ing women, what else are you good at? Your aptitude is mediocre; if it weren't for being Master's nephew, would you be qualified to be the senior brother?"

"I'm afraid you wouldn't even be qualified to enter the Xiao Sect."

"So, when you say that everything I have is due to my status, please take a look in the mirror first."

Xie Jin Yan's eyes smiled, his tone calm, without a hint of sharpness, but his words pierced the heart.

The reason Xiao Fengyun often said that Xie Jin Yan was a playboy and that everything Xie Jin Yan had came from his status as the crown prince was partly because he was indeed deceived by appearances, and partly because of jealousy and guilt.

He envied Xie Jin Yan for being so outstanding in his studies despite not seeming to try very hard, envied Xie Jin Yan for always coming up with ingenious strategies during missions, even though those strategies were sometimes too shameless, but ultimately solved the problem.

However, the more Xie Jin Yan was like this, the more it highlighted Xiao Fengyun's mediocrity. Even compared to the other disciples, he was unremarkable without his status.

Therefore, when all the discussion shifted to Xie Jin Yan, when everyone focused on whether everything Xie Jin Yan had came from his identity as the crown prince, naturally no one would discuss him...

Now, after being exposed by Xie Jin Yan, Xiao Fengyun felt even more embarrassed. He gritted his teeth, wanting to retort, but couldn't say a word.

Looking back at Yu Qingwu, the woman who had once been gentle and kind, he saw a hint of ridicule and disgust in her eyes.

Why, why had it become like this?

Xiao Fengyun was extremely unwilling and couldn't bring himself to lose face.

No, he couldn't be so humiliated.

At least, he couldn't admit that he had pretended to be A-Wu's savior.

If this matter were to spread, what would become of his reputation?

His reputation in the sect was already terrible. If people found out that he had exploited a false debt of gratitude, accepting Yu Qingwu's help with laundry and other tasks with peace of mind, how would he be able to gain a foothold in the sect?

Thinking of this, Xiao Fengyun's eyes reddened. Instead of answering Xie Jin Yan's question, he looked at Yu Qingwu with a pained expression and asked with a bitter smile, "A-Wu, do you believe his words? Do you believe that he saved you that day, and that I pretended to be your savior?"

"A-Wu, many people saw me carrying you out of the back mountain. Besides, I was the first person you saw when you woke up, wasn't I?"

"A-Wu, I know you're angry that I'm cowardly, angry that I don't dare to confront my uncle. I can endure your hatred, but if you say that I pretended to be your savior and exploited your gratitude, then you're insulting me. That day, I jumped into the icy lake to save you, braving the cold to pull you out. Also, in the mountains, I carried you out all night, my shoes were worn through, I..."

"Those shoes weren't yours to begin with, were they?" Xiao Fengyun was putting on an act of being a righteous man who had been humiliated when the woman who had been silent for a long time suddenly interrupted him coldly.

If she had felt even a little guilt and pity for Xiao Fengyun before, now she only felt disgust and revulsion.

Looking at Xiao Fengyun's hypocritical appearance, Yu Qingwu finally couldn't help but laugh, coldly scrutinizing him as she said, "Senior Brother Xiao, I know you're definitely going to say that Xie Jin Yan is slandering you."

"Alright, let's not talk about what happened in the mountains for now. Let's talk about the icy lake."

"You said that you pulled me out of the icy lake that day, so may I ask you, why was I bedridden for more than a month, lost all my martial arts, while you didn't even catch a cold?"

"On the contrary, Xie Jin Yan was sick for more than a month?" Yu Qingwu's lips curled into a smile as she stared mockingly at Xiao Fengyun, who was trying to argue, and said, word by word, "Because the one who saved me was Xie Jin Yan. You just happened to pass by and carry me back. I'm very grateful to you for carrying me back that day, so I gave you face before. But now you insist on bringing up the debt of gratitude, so let's talk about it properly."

"You carried me for a while, and I washed your clothes and did so many things for you for so many years. I've repaid what I owe, haven't I? Besides, even if you hadn't carried me back, Xie Jin Yan would have asked Master to look for me. It would have taken less than an incense stick's time to go back and forth. Even if you hadn't carried me back in advance, I wouldn't have died."

Yu Qingwu smiled faintly, coldly sweeping her gaze over Xiao Fengyun, whose face was already flushed red and was choking on his words, and then pointed outside, saying, "Senior Brother Xiao, please leave. I'll say it again, leave yourself some dignity."

"Also, no matter what you do, you need to be down-to-earth. No matter what your status is, you need strength to gain the true respect of others."

"Opportunism and crooked ways cannot last long."

Yes, feelings gained through opportunism and crooked ways cannot last long either.

Laughing coldly in her heart, Yu Qingwu didn't give Xiao Fengyun a chance to speak, grabbed Xie Jin Yan's hand, and slammed the door shut with a bang.

"Senior Sister is so heartless today." As soon as he entered the door, Xie Jin Yan spoke.

He leaned against the table with one hand, looking at her with a smile as he asked, "Why weren't you so clear-headed before?"