Yue Qingyuan had intended this visit to be purely political. The noble in question held territory, wealth, and influence, the kind that required patient smiles and careful words. Shen Qingqiu had not been necessary at all—his presence held no strategic weight. Yet these days, if Shen Qingqiu so much as expressed a passing interest in the shape of the clouds, Yue Qingyuan found a way to make it happen. A vague comment about “sightseeing” had turned into full travel arrangements within the hour.

No one had questioned it.

The manor was vast, ornate, and insufferably proud of it. Yue Qingyuan slipped into his flawless composure at once, his posture straight, expression serene, mind already untangling political threads. The noble, however, proved… trying. He was loud, proud of his ignorance, and possessed an astonishing ability to combine arrogance with absolute density. Every crude remark, every half-formed opinion delivered with confidence, made the accompanying disciples stiffen.

They had learned to read Shen Qingqiu’s temper in the way sailors read the sea.

Each idiotic comment from the noble sent a ripple of tension through the room. A sideways glance toward Qing Jing Peak’s lord. A subtle step back. A collective, silent prayer.

Yue Qingyuan, for his part, felt a strange, treacherous anticipation build inside him.

When Shen Qingqiu finally reached his limit, the air itself seemed to sharpen.

What followed was not merely an insult. It was a masterpiece of verbal annihilation. Layered, precise, poetic in its cruelty. A dismantling so thorough that even the decor seemed to lean away in shame. The noble was left flushed, stunned, reduced from ‘influential figure’ to ‘confused, offended man’ in the span of moments.

Yue Qingyuan’s expression never shifted. His hands never moved. Yet something bright and disobedient sparked in his chest. Giddy, almost. Pride coiled warm around his ribs.

Of course, others noticed the imbalance.

This was an important man. Disrespect carried consequences. Punishment should follow. A reprimand, at the very least.

The disciples who caught wind of the incident did not bother speculating for long. They only sighed, the sound heavy with long familiarity, and began the quiet process of preparing for their return.

After all, if Shen Qingqiu had offended a noble, then Yue Qingyuan would simply find a way to make the noble apologize to him for existing in the first place.

And everyone in Cang Qiong knew it.