Yuelong blankly stared at the familiar face reflected in his eyes. A complicated mix of emotions rushed through him; from anger to melancholy, disbelief, grief, etc. However, seeing the smirk on Wuzhi's face, Yuelong desperately held back the urge to punch him in the face.

Clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, Yuelong spat out. "Wu-zhi!"

"Younger brother seems to be angry at elder brother," said Wuzhi, mimicking an expression of heartbreak. His attitude then suddenly flipped around as he cheerily continued. "Say, Younger Brother Yuelong, don't you think 'Younger Brother Yuelong' is too much of a mouthful to say? Can I call you 'Xiao Long?' I'm going to call you 'Xiao Long.'"

"Xiao Long, Elder Brother here knows that you hold some anger towards me within your heart. Elder Brother feels deeply hurt by this and wants to resolve this. Why don't we sit down and talk about our differences? Communication is key in any relationship."

Without waiting for the dumbfounded Yuelong to answer, Wuzhi pulled a chair and took a seat. He then naturally crossed his legs and rested his hands. Seeing Yuelong still standing, Wuzhi casually waved his hands and said, "Take a seat, Xiao Long."

Yuelong did not know what to say. He had yet to recover from the shock of Wuzhi's arrival and had yet to make sense of the barrage of words thrown at him by the young scholar.

Still, Yuelong was no ordinary person. It only took him a moment to calm down from the shock and recover his mental faculties. After taking a deep breath, he firmly said, "Don't call me 'Xiao Long.'"

"Understood, Xiao Long," replied Wuzhi, a bright smile occupying his features. From his tone, it seemed that he had no intention to stop calling Yuelong by that name. The young scholar genuinely enjoyed calling him that.

Once again, Yuelong was overcome by a storm of emotions. This time, however, the elements making up that storm were different. Hearing Wuzhi's speech and tone, Yuelong was reminded of a certain similarly difficult-to-deal-with person: his fiancé, Tianfei.

Yuelong wisely chose to not linger on this topic anymore and took a seat. He kept his silence for a moment as he carefully evaluated the youth before him. After a minute, Yuelong seriously asked, "Wuzhi, do you hate the Mu family?"

Wuzhi gently smiled at that question and replied, "Xiao Long, would you hate a stranger passing you by on the street?"

While his answer was bent, Wuzhi's meaning could not be clearer; the Mu family was a complete stranger to him. Why would he feel any hatred toward them?

Of course, the truth that he had some malicious schemes aimed at its Patriarch would go unsaid. This was part of his grand schema to unite the world and was not related to Yuelong or the rest of the Mu family.

Hearing Wuzhi's answer, Yuelong let out a sigh of relief. He had used a Path Technique [Heart Intent Detection] while asking that question and knew that Wuzhi's answer was completely genuine. He rested easy.

He then recalled a matter that he had wanted to ask and angrily questioned, "Did you know? Your visit that day to the Mu Household had caused so much heartbreak and pain to Father and all the Sister-Mothers!"

Yuelong then retracted his sharpness and softly said, "I understand that you have been wronged and that the Mu family owes you too much. Still, what you did that day wasn't right. Wronged or not, the Mu family is still your family. My father is your father." He sighed.

Hearing him sigh, Wuzhi also sighed. A sincere expression appeared on his face. "I understand you, Xiao Long. I really do. Ever since my immature actions that day, I have been feeling much regret. It appears that while my age has progressed, my heart is yet to mature. Please forgive me for my childish actions. I do not wish to cause anyone any pain." He bowed.

Yuelong felt moved by Wuzhi's sincerity. He quickly waved his hands to stop Wuzhi from bowing. "Ah, Wuzhi! You needn't bow for this! Thinking about it, it is only natural that you feel some measure of resentment towards the family. Everyone will understand. Please lift your head."

"My heart cannot rest easy until I have been forgiven."

"I forgive you!" Yuelong immediately shouted, growing uncomfortable at Wuzhi's subservient attitude. Wuzhi was, after all, a blood sibling of his. Seeing a sibling almost beg him to be forgiven seemed unnatural and wrong to Yuelong.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Furthermore… "Wait," Yuelong suddenly noticed something. "How are you my older brother!?"

Wuzhi simply smiled and replied. "You were born at 6:23 PM on the 1st Day of the First Month in the Year 715. This fact is known by all underneath the heavens."

"I, on the other hand, was born at 3:13 AM on the 1st Day of the First Month in the Year 715. This makes me," Wuzhi pointed at himself and winked, "your older brother."

Yuelong was shocked. He then turned pale. A spine-chilling horror crept down his back. "Wuzhi, then—! You! The Eldest!! The engagement!!!"

If Wuzhi was indeed the eldest then the implications and consequences of this truth would be far-reaching and terrifying. The most apparent one was the engagement; it would mean that Yuelong had snatched his older brother's promised wife!

Yuelong was a very conscientious man who firmly stuck to his morals. While he couldn't call himself entirely honest, he could openly and confidently say that he had never done anything that went against his conscience.

If Wuzhi was indeed his older brother and Tianfei was indeed his promised wife, then Yuelong was a third party who had wrongly snatched the bride! While this was done unknowingly, the truth remained that what he had done was unethical and immoral. An act that went against everything that Yuelong believed in.

Yuelong immediately felt his Heart shake. The power which usually rested in the inner depths of his body started to quiver and shake. The air inside the office began to tremble. He began to lose control over his power.

The horribly twisted and tangled complications in this matter did not merely end here; there was another aspect to consider: Yuelong's feelings!

Mu Yuelong was a man. And not just any ordinary man, but a man with extraordinary looks, talents, and abilities. He was also loyal, possessed good morals, and was sincere. To say that he was the most perfect and desirable type of man in the entire world would not be too far-stretched!

And who was Feng Tianfei? Publicly, the people of the world called her 'Goddess!' Her looks were second to none and as the sole disciple of one of the World Sovereigns, there needs to be no mention of her abilities and talents.

Sure, her temperament was a little warped. Those who knew her privately called her a 'minx' and a 'devil.' Yuelong had been victim to more than one of her 'devilish' schemes. That being said, such a temperament was charming in its own way!

It was impossible for any man to NOT be moved by such a woman. And Yuelong was no stone. He had long since fallen for Feng Tianfei. He even secretly looked forward to the day of their marriage in his heart.

And now, the truth being like this; how could he simply give up and walk away? Didn't he deserve to be happy too!?

But that would mean wronging his older brother and going against the morals that he set for himself and believed in! If Yuelong chose to walk down such an immoral, unethical path, then he would be no better than a beast!

Torn between his feelings and morality, Yuelong's condition quickly deteriorated. Sharp sword intent began to leak from his body and tear the air around him. The foundation of his cultivation rapidly shook as his Heart began to develop a sinister Inner Demon.

Just as Yuelong was about to experience a cultivation deviation, he felt a hand clamp down upon his shoulder and his attention was pulled away by something. Two bright orbs of silver appeared in front of his eyes and drew the entirety of his gaze.

"Look at me. Look into my eyes," Wuzhi hypnotically said. His argent eyes grew brighter with every passing second. "'Those that seek the Way are unplagued by all demons; for they hold the Heavens in their heart! The Way is supreme and the Way is absolute. There exists nothing but the Way and the Way is nothing…'"

An ancient mnemonic was recited by Wuzhi. Yuelong immediately felt his consciousness being drawn in by this esoteric sutra and had his power stabilized. The nascent form of the Heart Demon which had just begun to form was completely squashed by this sutra.

"'I am the Way and the Way is me. The Way is also the Heavens; it is also the Earth. It is the sky and the land. The Way is everything that exists and will ever exist. The Way is life…'"

Wuzhi continued to hypnotically recite and Yuelong seemed to have joined in the recital somewhere in between. The look in Yuelong's eyes soon turned calm and empty and his power was firmly back in control. After noticing that the danger had passed, Wuzhi sighed and abruptly stopped his chant.

He then stumbled back and slumped against his chair. Multiple cuts and lacerations filled Wuzhi's body with blood seeping out from within. Wearing a bitter smile on his face, Wuzhi jokingly said, "Xiao Long truly is a 'dragon' amongst men. Look at this. Your mere aura has felt such deep cuts in my body."

Snapping out of his daze, Yuelong looked startled at Wuzhi's words. Seeing the wounds on the scholar's body, he panicked and quickly rushed near. "Brother Wuzhi! I'm extremely sorry! I—I—!!" He tried to activate a healing-type Path Technique.

Wuzhi, however, shook his hand and stopped Yuelong. "Do not bother. Your Path Techniques will not work on me."

"What? Nonsense! Just wait a bit. I'll heal you," said Yuelong. He then performed a few complicated sets of hand signs following which a ray of light-green light left his hands and covered Wuzhi. He used a [Wood Path] recovery technique.

The light gently struck Wuzhi and… nothing happened. Wuzhi's wounds remained and the bleeding did not stop.

Yuelong was shocked. The technique that he had just used was an excellent technique that would heal anything less than an amputation in mere seconds! However, upon coming into contact with Wuzhi, it failed to produce any results.

Just as he was about to employ another technique, this one belonging to the [Light Path], he heard Wuzhi softly mutter.

"Xiao Long, no Path Technique works on me. This is the price that I have to pay as a Star."

Yuelong stilled. His eyes widened to the extreme. With trembling lips and a quivering body, he gazed at Wuzhi with disbelief.