Afterward, Ye Tianfan and Yao Lingshan arrived together at the cave where Ren Ningyue was hiding. They saw Qin Hu and Liu Moyu, who were chatting idly about topics like age, appetite, and a narrow worldview.

To put it unkindly, whoever is with Qin Hu will lower their intelligence, and Liu Moyu was no exception. Seeing them converse cheerfully, it seemed they were just short of becoming blood brothers.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Ren Ningyue had another bout of rapid coughing. The demon blade had already been handed over to Qin Hu to carry, and now Ren Ningyue seemed to regain her original cold and aloof demeanor.

"Have you finished taking care of your business?"

Ren Ningyue's voice was almost devoid of any emotion, making her seem like a completely different person than before. Even Yao Lingshan noticed this change and couldn't help but frown.

"It's done."

Yao Lingshan responded equally coldly. For some reason, Ye Tianfan felt that ever since these two women met, there had been a barrier between them.

"What should we do next? Do you want to take care of this black market?" Ren Ningyue asked casually, casting a questioning glance at Ye Tianfan.

Ye Tianfan knew that after what just happened, the structure of the black market was completely understood, and with Ren Ningyue's strength, it wouldn't be difficult to destroy it.

"No need. You don't have to worry about this black market; leave it to our Yao Family," Yao Lingshan spoke first. She had been tracking the Yao Family's batch of medicinal materials for a long time, and now that there was news, she naturally wanted to trace it back. As for this black market, the Yao Family certainly had the strength to make it disappear without a trace overnight.

Since Yao Lingshan had already spoken, Ye Tianfan could only nod. After all, less trouble is better than more trouble; if the Yao Family was taking action, then that was for the best.

"Let's go, let's leave this place."

While speaking, Yao Lingshan glanced at Qin Hu and Liu Moyu without much expression and turned to walk out of the cave. Judging by her demeanor, she didn't seem too bothered whether these two men joined them. It didn't matter to her; after all, on the Yao Family's ship, having them was no more significant than not having them.

Ye Tianfan and Ren Ningyue then took Qin Hu and Liu Moyu to the other side of the island, where a massive, ancient wooden ship was docked along the coastline.

By then, Yao Lingshan had already boarded the ship, with her long hair constantly fluttering in the sea breeze, and her face bore a deeply pensive expression.

Perhaps, at this moment, Yao Lingshan's primary concern wasn't the batch of medicinal materials from the Yao Family; she cared more about Ye Tianfan, the man she had grown up with as childhood friends, who had married another woman.

This kind of situation would be hard for any woman to accept, let alone Yao Lingshan, whose thinking was still quite traditional. Her views on marriage remained old-fashioned.

Ren Ningyue glanced up at Yao Lingshan standing on the deck, then turned to Ye Tianfan and whispered, "You'd better handle it carefully. That girl's nature is very stubborn. If you don't manage it well, there might be trouble."

Despite Ren Ningyue's reminder, Ye Tianfan could only manage a bitter smile in his heart. How should he handle this matter?

He had already obtained a marriage certificate with Qin Ruomeng, an objective fact that couldn't be changed, and the engagement jade pendant from the Ye Family had already been given to Qin Ruomeng.

To put it accurately, Qin Ruomeng was now Madam Ye, and Yao Lingshan, who had appeared halfway through, couldn't possibly become his legal wife.

How could he explain such a thing to Yao Lingshan?

Ye Tianfan truly had no idea.

The Yao Family's ship began to slowly sail away from the coast, and Ren Ningyue took Qin Hu and Liu Moyu to the cabin's rest area, leaving only Yao Lingshan and Ye Tianfan on the deck.

However, the distance between the two was a bit far. Yao Lingshan stood at the northernmost end of the deck, while Ye Tianfan was at the southernmost end, separated by at least thirty meters.

In the past, whenever Yao Lingshan saw Ye Tianfan, she would cheerfully come bouncing over to him like a clinging little pixie who followed him everywhere, no matter where he went, like a little tail.

But now, the atmosphere between them was somewhat awkward, though it was only a thirty-meter distance, yet for them, it felt insurmountably vast.

Ye Tianfan sighed slightly and slowly walked toward Yao Lingshan, but when he reached her side, he didn't know what to say to her.

"Brother Ye, do you like her?" It was Yao Lingshan who spoke first. She didn't look at Ye Tianfan, her gaze fixed on the sea, but there was no feeling of springtime warmth and blossom in her expression.

Ye Tianfan knew who Yao Lingshan was referring to. Mentioning Qin Ruomeng, Ye Tianfan had an indescribable feeling. If speaking of liking, Ye Tianfan did have a fondness for Qin Ruomeng. Whether it was her personality or appearance, she was first-class, especially when facing danger; Qin Ruomeng could step up and stand in front of him in the face of mortal threats.

Just for that, Ye Tianfan couldn't find any fault with Qin Ruomeng.

In today's society, sharing the good times was easy, but enduring hardships together was difficult.

Looking at the surrounding world of temptations, with women varying in appearance, coming and going, Ye Tianfan could easily find someone to flirt with. But finding a woman willing to endure hardships with him was truly difficult.

Now, with Yao Lingshan so directly asking if he liked Qin Ruomeng, Ye Tianfan thought for a moment and nodded. "I do."

He didn't want to go against his heart's desires for fear of making Yao Lingshan jealous or angry. He also knew that Yao Lingshan needed comfort and consolation.

But Ye Tianfan didn't want to resort to this as though it were a tactic to appease a girl, nor did he want to deceive Yao Lingshan.

Yao Lingshan nodded once with a quiet "Mm," and didn't appear as sorrowful as Ye Tianfan had imagined. Ye Tianfan had thought Yao Lingshan would at least shed a few tears, but this time, he was wrong.

Instead of crying, Yao Lingshan showed a faint smile at the corners of her mouth and turned to look at Ye Tianfan, asking, "Then what do you like about her?"

"What do I like about her?"

Ye Tianfan was suddenly stumped by this question and couldn't answer for a moment. Previously, when he interacted with Qin Ruomeng, he always felt she was just a nuisance, and the marriage contract upset him.

But now, thinking back on the things he went through with Qin Ruomeng, the emotional entanglement had surpassed that marriage contract. Looking back now, Ye Tianfan realized that even without that marriage contract, he might have still liked Qin Ruomeng.

"I can't really say what I like about her." Ye Tianfan shook his head, truly unable to articulate it.

Yao Lingshan shrugged her fragrant shoulders, with a somewhat relieved expression on her face. "It seems she is quite outstanding."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.