Man Yue lowered his head to look at the river, the water’s surface sparkling brightly, and the reflection of the person in it swaying along.

Suddenly, a shadow appeared beside him: "Why are you standing here?"

Man Yue turned his head and pointed to the center of his forehead: "Did you do this?"

The boy had a spot of vermilion on his forehead; his face, initially lacking color, now had a hint of redness, adding more charm.

"Yes."

Chuzheng looked at him twice: "Don’t you like it?" It obviously looks pretty good.

Man Yue frowned slightly but ultimately said nothing, turning his head back to continue looking at the water’s surface.

Chuzheng stood there with him until someone called them from behind; Chuzheng then gestured for Man Yue to return.

Man Yue turned silently and walked toward the carriage.

-

Linjiang City.

The Tower Master brought back a fair-skinned, handsome boy, and the news quickly spread through Fengman Building, with everyone eagerly discussing it— even the Left Protector was among the first to hear the news.

"Tower Master."

The Left Protector stepped into the room, and his first sight was of a boy sitting in the main seat, holding a cup of tea, about to drink.

The boy’s red clothes were flamboyant, his appearance strikingly beautiful, with a spot of vermilion like blood on his forehead. Even at his age, the Left Protector was deeply impressed by the boy’s beauty.

From where did the Tower Master snatch such a person!!

The boy, noticing someone entering, immediately put down the tea cup and grabbed Chuzheng’s sleeve. The fierce gaze that swept over them left the Left Protector momentarily stunned.

The Left Protector, meeting Chuzheng’s gaze, immediately lowered his head: "Tower Master."

"Is there something you need?"

"I heard you returned, so I came to take a look." The Left Protector replied.

Chuzheng most likely knew what she wanted to see: "This is Man Yue; he will stay at Fengman Building from now on."

Man Yue?

Doesn’t he have a family name?

The Left Protector’s mind spun in several directions: "Tower Master, may I speak with you privately?"

"I’ll step out for a moment and be right back; you should eat these things first." Chuzheng pulled back her sleeve and comforted Man Yue with a few words.

Man Yue lowered his lashes, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Chuzheng took it as his assent, and the Left Protector went out of the room.

"Tower Master, what is the background of this Young Master Man Yue?" The Left Protector asked directly, almost asking where Chuzheng had taken him from.

"He’s a young master from Man Mansion."

Since Chuzheng and they had just returned, the Left Protector hadn’t had time to figure out what had happened before.

Chuzheng briefly recounted the situation.

Upon hearing about the Man Mansion massacre, the Left Protector was both surprised and shocked: "How could this happen? Yet there hasn’t been any news recently..."

Such a significant event, and yet after so long, there’s still not a whisper of its occurrence?

"I don’t know." She’s not responsible for these things.

"So, the intention of the Tower Master... is to take in Young Master Man Yue?" That boy is not only breathtakingly beautiful but also carries such a weighty grudge. Could that bring disaster to Fengman Building?

The Left Protector not only had to consider Chuzheng but also the entirety of Fengman Building.

"I already said so." Chuzheng replied expressionlessly: "He will be staying here in the future."

"Tower Master, given our current situation at Fengman Building..." The Left Protector frowned even more deeply, but ultimately said no more, turning the subject: "Well, Man Mansion and Fengman Building have connections; we can’t just stand by and watch."

Man Mansion...

As far as she knew, Man Mansion had a reputation for punishing evil, promoting good, and being generous in the martial world. How could they have invoked such misfortune?

"Go and find all the doctors in Linjiang City." Chuzheng instructed the Left Protector.

"What’s wrong? Is the Tower Master unwell?" The Left Protector grew nervous.

"Not me."

She needed to figure out Man Yue’s physical condition.

At present, he seemed only slightly weak without other symptoms, but those doctors mentioned his veins had been damaged.

Linjiang City had many famous doctors, all of whom were now invited to Fengman Building to diagnose Man Yue.

"This young master’s body..."

Doctor Number One glanced at Man Yue, who showed no signs of pain, surprisingly.

"What is it?"

"The young master’s veins are all severed; he should be in unbearable pain, yet he seems..."

Doctor Number Two concurred: "The young master’s condition is severe; how could he be allowed to walk around?"

Chuzheng furrowed her brows slightly— was it this serious?

Man Yue seemed entirely unaffected.

Chuzheng told the doctors to leave: "Do you feel pain?"

Man Yue shook his head.

Chuzheng paused, and asked speculatively: "You don’t feel any pain?"

The boy slowly nodded after a moment.

Chuzheng: "..."

"Have you always been unable to feel pain, or did that happen later?"

"Since I was five."

Since five years old?

So prior to that, he did feel pain.

Why could he not feel pain since he was five years old?

"Why can you no longer feel pain?" Chuzheng gently inquired further.

The boy blandly replied: "I can’t remember."

Chuzheng looked at him for a few seconds, taking a deep breath: "When did your veins get injured?"

"I think..."

"Man Yue, my kindness toward you will continue for all future times, don’t hide from me, I need to know about your health."

The boy was startled, slowly lowering his head, the sleeves reflecting in his eyes.

"That day..." the boy hesitated, barely audibly, "those people broke in, caught me, and threatened them..."

He didn’t say whom they threatened, but common sense would suggest it was his family members.

Evidently, the threat didn’t work well. Man Yue didn’t know what those people did to him; at first, he felt nothing, but the more he used his Inner Strength, his health worsened.

Now, here he was.

Chuzheng told Man Yue to stop talking: "Focus on getting better; you’ll recover."

All the doctors shared the same view: the body could be nursed back to health, but his martial skills were undoubtedly ruined.

Because Man Yue couldn’t feel pain, unless he was too weak to stand up, he wouldn’t notice anything.

To prevent him from moving around, Chuzheng almost always stayed with him, carrying him wherever they needed to go.

-

It was around this time that news spread of Man Mansion being annihilated.

The news shocked the martial arts world.

"The Man Family were good people; how could this happen?"

"Who knows? Who could be so heartless?"

"Are there any survivors?"

"I heard when they arrived, the bodies in the entire mansion had begun decomposing, so there’s no way any survived; they must all be dead."

"What a tragedy."

Rumors abounded, with everyone wanting to know who committed such a heartless act.

-

Shenwu Manor.

"Manor Owner." A beautiful woman respectfully entered the room.

The room was filled with incense, and a man in a lake-blue embroidered robe, looking young around 25 or 26, sat there, but he had a head of silver hair.

This was the current Manor Owner of Shenwu Manor— Liu Quchen.

Liu Quchen lifted his gaze: "Any news?"

The beautiful woman cautiously answered: "The methods were clean and swift, but it’s unclear which faction it might be. Nothing seemed ransacked at Man Mansion; from the scene, those people seemed only intent on killing. Also, the Second Young Master of Man Mansion is missing."

Liu Quchen made an ’oh’ sound, elongating the tone slightly with some curiosity: "Have you found out if anyone from the Man Family offended someone recently?"

"No, they haven’t."

Liu Quchen lowered his head, pondering briefly: "Find the Second Young Master of the Man Family as soon as possible, dead or alive."

"Yes."