"You must have the wrong place. How could I possibly have the Twin Spirit Fruit?" Ye Lanshan tightened her grip on the dagger in her hand.
Mo Ran spoke slowly and deliberately. "As far as I know, one of your guards had his meridians severed and became a cripple. Your purpose in seeking out Sikong Kuang was precisely to heal him."
"Even so, that doesn't mean the Twin Spirit Fruit is with me," Ye Lanshan interrupted him hastily.
Mo Ran showed no sign of annoyance at being interrupted. Instead, he continued, "True, if it were only that, I wouldn't have come to you. Unfortunately, the person who once fought me for the Twin Spirit Fruit used the same footwork as you."
"Moreover, he initially disagreed, but after Ye Yu was injured, he changed his stance and agreed. Don't tell me all of this is just a coincidence." Mo Ran smiled casually, but his tone was dangerously sharp.
Ye Lanshan dropped the pretense at this point, curling her lips into a smile. "Even if the Twin Spirit Fruit is with me, so what? Don't forget, this is my territory. Do you really think you can take the Twin Spirit Fruit from my turf all by yourself?"
As if too lazy to argue, Mo Ran responded with an action that conveyed his confidence.
Ye Lanshan had already prepared for battle while he was still speaking, so she handled the fight with relative ease.
But after all, Ye Lanshan had only been here for about a year, not even having established a solid foundation. No matter how extraordinary her talent, she couldn't match Mo Ran, the young master of the Demon Sect, who ranked high on the current prodigy list.
The reason she had managed to win in their previous conflict was that Mo Ran hadn't taken her seriously at the time and had let his guard down, not to mention the covert help from Ye Yutian.
As for the puppeteer last time, Mo Ran had blocked most of the attacks and severely injured him; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to drive the puppeteer away.
But now that he was serious, Ye Lanshan gradually found herself struggling to hold her ground.
Still, this was the Ye family's territory, and soon the household members noticed the fight. The guards rushed over to deal with Mo Ran.
By then, Mo Ran had already grabbed her by the neck. Though he held her throat, Ye Lanshan showed no panic. Her calm and composed demeanor stirred a hint of unease in Mo Ran.
Suppressing his anxiety, he leaned close to her ear and asked, "Do you think these ants can save you from my hands?"
"Sigh! You really don't learn, do you? Forgetting the lesson from last time so quickly." The dagger in Ye Lanshan's hand gleamed as it aimed directly at a certain private area of his.
"A girl being this brutal isn't good," Mo Ran said, his eyes narrowing dangerously as his other hand shot out to grab her wrist, trying to force it back. But to his surprise, he couldn't budge it.
"Master Mo, it seems you're not up to par. You can't even overpower a woman like me. Tsk, tsk, who would've thought..." Before she could finish, Mo Ran grabbed her hand and swung the dagger toward her.
Startled, Ye Lanshan desperately twisted her neck free from his grip, leaning her head back.
The surrounding guards seized the opportunity and immediately attacked him.
Mo Ran quickly changed the direction of her hand, controlling her to slash the dagger at the guards, eager to see her expression if she killed her own people.
Ye Lanshan wasn't about to let such a tragedy happen. Risking a dislocated shoulder, she twisted her hand out of his grasp in an impossible angle.
Mo Ran hadn't anticipated this move. Caught off guard, she managed to cut his finger with the dagger.
Mo Ran licked the blood from his finger, his eyes blazing with murderous intent, as if ready to go on a killing spree.
Ye Lanshan, for once, grew serious. She spoke each word deliberately: "If you dare kill a single person in my household, I'll destroy the Twin Spirit Fruit. I mean what I say."
Afraid he wouldn't believe her, she actually produced the Twin Spirit Fruit, holding it up as if to crush it.
"Don't worry. As long as you hand over the Twin Spirit Fruit, I promise not to touch anyone in your household," Mo Ran said, reining in his murderous aura, his eyes fixed solely on the fruit.
To be safe, Ye Lanshan ordered the guards to step back before tossing the Twin Spirit Fruit to Mo Ran.
True to his word, Mo Ran flew off immediately after obtaining the fruit. But unexpectedly, as he left, he hurled a mystic technique back at them.
Fortunately, Ye Lanshan had been cautious. When she threw the fruit, she had warned her guards, "Stay alert." So this time, no one was injured.
The commotion from their fight was far from small; even the imperial palace got wind of it. In the following days, the number of visitors to the Ye residence surged, all seeking information about the clash.
Seeing how eager they were to gauge the Ye family's strength, Ye Lanshan decided to let them remain wary. To those who came calling, she simply replied, "It was just some sparring among the household members. The noise got a bit out of hand."
"How did it go? Did the emperor agree to the marriage?" Xiao Li asked, sneaking into the queen's chamber late at night.
The queen was feeling a bit irritable, but she still answered, "No. No matter what I said, the emperor refused to approve the marriage."
"I see." Xiao Li mused, "Why not let Sun Chenbo pursue Ye Lanshan first? If she shows no interest in him, then kill her."
"No," the queen replied. "If Ye Luotian catches wind of anything suspicious, all our plans will fall apart."
"Right now, the Ye family is at the center of attention. While many fear them, plenty also want Ye Lanshan dead."
Xiao Li analyzed the benefits for her: "If Ye Lanshan falls for Sun Chenbo, the Ye family's power becomes ours. Even if she doesn't, killing her can be pinned on another clan."
"By then, the only one left in charge of the Ye family would be Ye Luotian. He's already bedridden with illness. Add the grief of losing his only relative, and how much strength do you think he'll have left to oppose us?"
"Either way, it works in our favor."
The queen stared at him blankly, lost in thought, before finally asking, "Your feelings for me—are they the same?"
"What nonsense are you imagining? How could my feelings for you be fake? If they were, would I be here in the palace, doing all this menial work for you?" Xiao Li gently tapped her nose with affection.
The queen shook her head, dismissing the strange thought, and leaned on Xiao Li's shoulder. "Once my brother seizes control of the Moon Kingdom, let's leave. Get away from all this strife and build our own mercenary group, living as a carefree couple."
Xiao Li hid his emotions and whispered, "Alright."