Fear crossed the disciples' features. They looked even more frightened when Xiao Ran looked at them with piercing eyes.

"Chen Hui," Ye Fan called as he approached her. "Don't worry; I'll keep an eye on them and make sure everything stays in order. You can trust me."

Shu Yue studied him with narrowed eyes. Ye Fan looked sincere and determined.

"Ye Fan."

"Since I admitted defeat, that means I'll be working with you from now on. You may not believe me, but I'm doing this of my own volition."

Shu Yue arched a brow at him.

Despite how convincing Ye Fan appeared, Shu Yue reminded herself that this man had a silver tongue. Although looking into his eyes, she could sense his genuine sincerity.

Ye Fan tightened his grip on his sword. "I also want to apologize because I was so blinded by my ambition that I didn't even consider the consequences and chose to betray my clan, almost putting my family's reputation at risk! I'm such a fool."

Shu Yue's face was expressionless as she watched him. Ye Fan sounded sincere to her, and she didn't doubt his words this time. But that didn't mean she could completely trust him. On the other hand, he seemed like a really nice man with a pushover personality. It wouldn't be hard to keep him under her thumb.

"Well then," Shu Yue said. "I'll entrust you with the task of supervising your group. Make sure to keep things in order. Should you find anything suspicious, report it to me immediately."

"I will," Ye Fan responded obediently.

Shu Yue smiled, then looked at the disciples, who were still tied and kneeling on the ground. "All right, if you want to learn Lightwind Steps, please come here next week."

The disciples' eyes shone with excitement as they expressed their willingness.

Satisfied with the way things were going, Shu Yue ordered Xiao Ran to release the disciples. But she was caught off guard when she turned and found her fox already standing in front of her. There was a cut on his cheek with blood dripping from it. But what stunned her was the anger on his face.

"What's going on-" Shu Yue started, but was interrupted when Xiao Ran grabbed her hands, gently yet hasty.

"Who did this?" He was staring at the bruised on Shu Yue's wrist, but the question wasn't directed at her.

Letting go of her hands, Xiao Ran turned to face the disciples. "Who did that to my master?"

Fa Xiang and Si Bai stiffened, a terrible expression of guilt crossing their faces. Xiao Ran spotted them in an instant. Before Shu Yue knew it, the fox demihuman lunged at them like a bolt of lightning.

"Xiao Ran!" Shu Yue's voice cut through the air like the twang of a ricocheting bullet.

Xiao Ran halted mid-action, his fist an inch away from Fa Xiang's face. Si Bai was stunned next to him.

"Calm down," Shu Yue uttered gently.

Clenching his jaw, Xiao Ran withdrew his hand and took a step back, his gaze never leaving the two disciples. His golden eyes were blazing with a murderous glare.

The other disciples scurried away from the insane demihuman, but Fa Xiang and Si Bai remained frozen to the spot, their faces paled in terror.

"You fucking bastards!" Xiao Ran hissed. One by one, his gaze traveled over each of the disciples' faces. "If any of you dare to touch my master, I will fucking kill you and feed your bodies to the wild beasts!"

The disciples shivered in fear.

"Xiao Ran," Shu Yue called.

The fox's features slightly softened as he looked at his master.

"Have you calmed down yet?"

Xiao Ran's lips twisted in a faint smile. "Yes, Young Mistress. I apologize for my sudden outburst."

Shu Yue smiled at him kindly. "Well then, do release them now."

With a wave of his hand, Xiao Ran undid the spell binding the disciples' hands. As soon as they were free, a smile brightened their faces. They bowed to Shu Yue.

"Thank you for showing mercy to us!"

Shu Yue smiled at them. "As long as you keep your words, I will forbid my demihuman from killing you."

Ye Fan approached Shu Yue. "Don't worry, I'll make sure they keep their words."

"Of course, you will," Shu Yue lowered her voice, "because you don't want to see them die, so I'll expect you to do your job well. They're now your responsibility, so make sure they don't do anything stupid."

Ye Fan tensed up. "I understand."

"All right," Shu Yue said to the rest of the disciples. "Please get lost now, and remember to come back here next week to learn the Lightwind Steps."

"We will come."

Of course.

She cast a glance at her bodyguard. "Do escort them out of the forest, Xiao Ran." The wispiest shade of a smile line touched the corners of her eyes. "Make sure they don't get lost."

Xiao Ran nodded and handed the sword he was carrying on his back to her. The sword was wrapped in a white cloth. The disciples' eyes wavered as Xiao Ran walked toward them.

"You should get used to my fox's presence from now on because he will be your temporary teacher," Shu Yue reminded them, but the disciples didn't seem to hear her. They kept taking small steps away from Xiao Ran, whose gaze was like that of a predator eyeing its prey.

Shu Yue let out a sigh. "And you, Xiao Ran, please refrain from looking at them like that."

"I'll do my best, Young Mistress," Xiao Ran mumbled. He sounded a little hesitant. "May I tell them something?"

"Oh, sure," Shu Yue responded, slightly surprised.

Xiao Ran faced the disciples and pierced them with an icy gaze. "No one is allowed to touch my master. Keep your hands off of her if you don't want to lose a limb."

The disciples bowed their heads, as if pleading for his mercy.

"We'll surely take that in mind." Si Bai was the one who gathered the courage to speak. "We won't even go near her."

"He's right," another man agreed. "We'll stay three feet away from her."

"Five feet," Xiao Ran said firmly.

"All right," the man promised. "Five feet."

Xiao Ran nodded, seemingly satisfied.

Shu Yue shook her head with an amused air. "All right. Please leave now."

"Wait, what about master?" Ye Fan asked.

"I still have some business with Elder Lu, so he'll stay here for a little while longer. Don't worry, I won't harm your master."

A sly smile lifted the corners of Shu Yue's mouth as her gaze fell on the kneeling old man whose hands were still bound.