"Uncle?"

Fu Yinhong was not the only one who had frozen in place. Liu Qing was stupefied by the claim as well.

No one in their ranks had met with this man before.

Those in attendance had served in the City Lord Mansion for many years. Perhaps they did not have enough experience, but they should have heard of this figure at least once or twice.

Liu Qing released the imprisonment around Xu Xiaoshou in fear. She had lost her urge to counterattack as well.

Xu Xiaoshou rolled his eyes in secret.

He had never expected Fu Zhi to take him seriously and even proclaim that in front of his own men. 'Uncle?'

He had also addressed Xu Xiaoshou as Brother Shou and not Senior.

However, this was not the elephant in the room.

The elephant was going to be how Fu Yinhong reacted now that he had put her in this situation.

She was not willing to even be addressed as "Little Sister."

It took Fu Yinhong a good moment to fully recover and react to the news. She untangled herself from the hug that had lost its warmth and gazed unsurely at Xu Xiaoshou for a long while.

Xu Xiaoshou shrugged and put up his hands in a manner to convey what seemed to be saying, "Yes, it is me."

"Are you Xu Xiaoshou?"

Doubted, Passive Points +1.

He almost laughed out loud. He could hardly believe the events that were unfolding before his eyes.

Fu Zhi lifted a bottle of elixir over his head and immediately knocked it on his daughter's head.

"No manners."

"Stop calling him by his name, I told you to call him 'Uncle.'"

"You look like you know him. Have you two met before?"

Fu Yinhong was thrown off by her father's words.

Her encounters with Xu Xiaoshou went beyond a simple meeting.

Moments ago, she was cleaning up the mess the young man had made in the banquet hall. Now, things were drastically different.

All it took was the time needed for a quick bathroom break for this man to turn into her uncle.

She thought about the world and questioned what exactly had happened for it to fall into the state it was in.

Was she in the wrong, or had the Great Path been forcibly twisted by an external power?

Fu Zhi paid close attention to his daughter's facial expressions and seemed to have realized something as well.

He wondered if Xu Xiaoshou might have been the age that he had assumed him to be judging by his looks.

Moreover, Xu Xiaoshou seemed to have some form of relationship with his daughter.

'Could it be that they are familiar with each other?' he thought.

It seemed to him that there was a relationship between the two. This reassurance eased Fu Zhi of his awkwardness.

He looked toward Xu Xiaoshou and laughed relaxedly, "Fu Mou had known too. Though I may be slightly older than you, we could still be brothers, right?"

Xu Xiaoshou had a strange expression on his face, but he nodded and made no reply.

To address each other as brothers was just a method to establish a closer bond between the two.

If he were to go into the technicalities of it, it would have been impossible.

One could address someone they were unfamiliar with as "Brother" as a means to establish a close relationship with him. However, the meaning would change if it was someone of higher seniority addressing him as such.

If it was not for the fight, he perhaps would have earned this title.

Xu Xiaoshou did not see himself as someone with a hot temper. He found it amusing that he had bypassed calling Fu Xing his younger brother and addressed him as his nephew from now on.

He watched the shell-shocked expression on Fu Yinhong's face as she heard her father's words. He decided to let go of the technicalities for a moment.

"Don't worry about it, Brother Fu."

"Small children lack manners. She was just fighting for fun. There is no need to scold her."

As he spoke, he scanned the room, looking past Liu Qing and the countless eyes of shock before his gaze settled on Fu Yinhong.

"Isn't that right, Xiao Hong?"

"?"

Fu Yinhong would have exploded from anger if it was possible.

She did not consider herself a gentle or soft ruler. As the vice commander to the City Guards, she had always carried herself with a dignified and mighty presence.

But now...

Xu Xiaoshou dared to address her with her nickname "Xiao Hong."

She had not argued with him when he called her "Little Sister" at the previous Pagoda incident.

He had grown bold enough to use "Xiao Hong" although they barely knew each other.

Her anger was overflowing her sense of logic. Fu Yinhong downed a bottle of elixir and launched into the air again.

"Xu Xiaoshou!"

She gritted her teeth and called out, "I'll make sure to break all of your teeth and scatter them across the City Lord Mansion! You have underestimated me... Ah!"

However, she was pulled down harshly and immediately by Fu Zhi before she could gain much altitude.

"Stop this foolishness!"

Fu Zhi spoke with real anger in his tone. "Are you still not listening to me?"

The scolding had transformed Fu Yinhong's anger into desolation.

She pulled her lips down. Her eyes were lacking emotion. Every presence in her body instantly vanished. The only emotion that remained was the feeling of being wronged.

Fu Yinhong's mouth moved slightly. She seemed to be wanting to say something. Under the strict gaze of Fu Zhi, she remained quiet.

Cursed, Passive Point +1

Missed, Passive Points +1.

Xu Xiaoshou approached her with a smile. He watched the girl stand motionlessly with her hands by the side and commented with admiration, "What a good child."

Fu Yinhong was speechless.

She looked back at the man with a gaze as sharp as knives and sliced through the detestable face of Xu Xiaoshou more times than she could count.

Someone like Xu Xiaoshou, who always used his words to irritate others, was not going to let another's gaze affect him.

"This little girl is quite stubborn too."

The causal comment and laugh and sent her into a fit of rage. Fu Yinhong clenched her fist tightly and dug her heels into the ground. She was very close to landing a punch on the man's face.

As Xu Xiaoshou approached her, she had mentally tried all forms of weapons and methods possible to eliminate him.

She was seething with anger and disgust.

She deeply regretted holding back her rashness that day in the back alley of the Plenty Gold Company. She should have eliminated the man back then.

Fu Yinhong screamed in her mind.

'Ahh!'

Xu Xiaoshou walked past her with a laugh. His Information Bar refreshed instantly with a wave of new notifications.

He turned away from the girl. His expression changed to a solemn one. "What about my junior sister?"

The comment left Fu Zhi in an awkward situation.

He looked down to the hole in the ground with a serious expression.

"You see, there was a Cardinal Wheel here initially. I wanted to talk to you about it..."

"What happened?"

"After the sea of flowers was blown apart, I sent someone in before I could think..."

"Where's the wheel?"

Fu Zhi did not expect Xu Xiaoshou to get to the point so quickly. His forehead wrinkled as he continued, "Well, it's lost."

Xu Xiaoshou responded with silence.

It was what Xu Xiaoshou had expected, but a confirmation of his assumption that his junior sister had been taken away still triggered a wave of uncontrollable anger within him.

As Fu Zhi saw the change in Xu Xiaoshou's face, he turned quickly to address the others around them.

"What are you looking at? Start the search!"

"Lock down the mansion! Did I not say there's a thief on the loose?"

He glanced over to Fu Yinhong and said with contempt, "Keep up the foolishness, and we will lose our man."

Fu Yinhong's body stiffened. Her sixth sense told her that she would be next in line for the scolding. She turned and prepared to take her leave with her men.

She did not want to stay in the messy situation. No good would come out of it.

No one knew how this man, Xu Xiaoshou, had gotten so close with their leader to the extent in which Fu Yinhong had to address him as "Uncle." If she were to stay any longer, she was certain she would be dragged into it as well.

It was best for her to leave now.

As she watched the masses depart, Fu Yinhong started to follow them.

She knew she would not be able to maintain her composure with Xu Xiaoshou around.

"You stay!"

Fu Zhi called out immediately.

Fu Yinhong slowed down her footsteps at her father's voice. "I have some business to tend to..."

"What business? Leave the search to Liu Qing. You're just a Master Stage, so what can you do?"

Rage once ignited within Fu Yinhong.

What was wrong with being at the Master Stage?

Was the Master Stage not good enough for her father?

Before she could argue, Xu Xiaoshou spoke up. "Let her go."

Fu Zhi frowned. He had intended for the two to get to know each other better. If Xu Xiaoshou had this level of accomplishment at this age, he had more potential than anyone else in Tiansang Prefecture.

In his mind, this was a pair highly compatible with each other.

Yet, the other seemed unwilling to be matched up.

'Whatever,' Fu Zhi thought. He would leave this up to fate.

"Fine."

Fu Zhi sighed and turned to his daughter. "You can go."

Fu Yinhong bit her lips. She looked at her father with a face of disbelief.

She felt as if someone had pinched her heart.

It struck her that her words as his daughter was not as important to him as what Xu Xiaoshou said.

The thought process led her to the heart-sinking realization that love was something that faded and disappeared over time.

Looking up to the sky, her eyes were full of doubt. Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes.

Fu Zhi watched her remain in her spot and felt a tinge of happiness in his heart.

He wondered if his daughter had changed her mind.

"Hm?"

"Do you want to stay?"

Fu Yinhong jumped at her father's voice. She left quickly without a trace.