Chapter 190: A Man’s Devotion to His Family

The next few days passed in utter tranquility.

Every day, Pei Qingxuan would visit—sometimes staying a bit longer, sometimes only briefly.

For most of the remaining time, Xu Ping’an spent his days with the three women.

Yet this very peace left Xu Ping’an deeply content.

He had never wished for any earth-shaking adventures; to him, only this calm was truly real.

It was also the rhythm that suited him best.

However, sometimes even if you don’t go looking for trouble, trouble finds its way to you.

For several days in a row, Pei Qingxuan came in haste and left in haste.

Once or twice was nothing, but as it kept happening, Xu Ping’an knew his wife must be scheming something.

Out of trust, he never asked.

Pei Qingxuan, for her part, seemed unwilling to talk about it.

Though neither of them intended to expose the matter, the other three women saw it all with utter clarity.

Sure enough, this morning, Pei Qingxuan came by early, snuggled up to Xu Ping’an for a while, then reluctantly departed.

“Sir, is Sister Qingxuan busy with something these days?”

As expected, Li Yuer was the first to speak.

Xu Ping’an furrowed his brows and shook his head.

“Don’t overthink it. If she wants to tell us, we’ll know when the time comes.”

“But, sir, if Sister Qingxuan is in trouble, she may not want to speak up, but deep down, she must wish you would ask her about it.” “Is…is that so?”

Xu Ping’an’s brow creased further as he looked at Li Yuer’s earnest and serious face, somewhat confused.

“Of course! Sir, your medical skills are outstanding, and you have some other remarkable talents, but you’re ultimately not a woman. You don’t understand a woman’s heart. Although Sister Qingxuan says nothing, I think she really wishes you would take the initiative to ask, to help her, to be her support.”

Xu Ping’an sat up from the lounge chair.

He wasn’t some romantic philanderer; even looking back on his past life, he’d had no luck with women.

For him, women were like the moon’s reflection in water, or flowers in a mirror—beautiful, yet distant.

Though he’d watched plenty of television dramas and movies, when it came to affairs between men and women, there were still many things he didn’t fully understand.

Without experience, he naturally lacked relevant insight—let alone anything else.

These days, although Xu Ping’an never said a word, his heart had been constantly concerned about Pei Qingxuan.

After Li Yuer’s reminder, he finally understood.

That’s right!

Even if his wife doesn’t want to speak, he’s her support, her husband!

As a man, if he can’t share his wife’s burdens, how could he call himself head of the family, its master?

Now that he understood, Xu Ping’an couldn’t help but look at Li Yuer.

“Sir, if I’ve said anything out of turn, please forgive me.”

“No, no, you’re absolutely right. I was being a bit selfish in this matter. Thank you, Yuer, for enlightening me. Xu Ping’an is grateful to you.” Xu Ping’an bowed deeply.

“Sir, what are you doing?!”

Li Yuer paled and hurried forward to steady Xu Ping’an.

“Yuer is yours, sir. Advising you is only natural. Sir, as head of the household, how can you bow so deeply to me?”

“There’s no such thing as master or not in my eyes. I’ve never thought of you all as lesser than myself.”

Xu Ping’an took a deep breath. After Li Yuer’s words, he finally saw clearly.

Over these past days, the knot in his heart was completely unraveled.

That’s right, even though Pei Qingxuan didn’t want to speak, as a man, there are things he must take the initiative on.

“Yuer, I’ll leave the house to you. I’ll be going out for a while. If anything happens, use the Jade Token to contact me.”

“Mm, sir, don’t worry and go ahead. With Yuer, Zai’er, and Xiao Jing’er at home—and besides, this is Swordsmith Peak of the Liuyun Sect—nothing will happen.”

Xu Ping’an nodded, then set aside his previous laziness, went inside to take his Medicine Chest, and left the room.

The first place he needed to visit was the Pavilion of Immortal World—to see whether Pei Qingxuan was there.

However, upon arriving at the Pavilion of Immortal World and seeing the tightly closed doors and the slightly drowsy, half-asleep gatekeeping disciples, Xu Ping’an had a pretty good idea even without asking.

Pei Qingxuan was most likely not at the Pavilion of Immortal World.

Although she was absent, the two disciples guarding the pavilion ought to know something.

With this in mind, Xu Ping’an stepped forward and cleared his throat.

The two female disciples, drowsy a moment before, were startled awake by the sound and hurriedly braced themselves.

But when they opened their eyes wide, feigning alertness and preparing for a scolding from the Sect Master, only to see Xu Ping’an, the two of them exchanged a look, and one of the women gave Xu Ping’an a sharp glance.

“So it’s you, Junior Brother Xu. What brings you here? The Sect Master isn’t at the Pavilion of Immortal World right now. If you have business, please come again later.” Xu Ping’an nodded quietly to himself.

It seemed that Pei Qingxuan had instructed these two on what to say when she left; otherwise, they wouldn’t have answered so fluently before he even spoke.

“Master isn’t at the Pavilion of Immortal World? I’ve run into a bottleneck in my cultivation lately, and I wanted to seek Master’s guidance.”

The two women at the door exchanged another glance. One of them cautiously asked,

“Well… Junior Brother Xu, perhaps you should return for now. Once the Sect Master returns, we’ll be sure to inform her.”

“Then, Senior Sisters, do you know where Master has gone? Or what she’s busy with lately?”

Of the two, the more cautious disciple subconsciously answered, but before she could finish, the other pretended to cough.

“The Sect Master said…

‘Ahem!’

“Junior Brother Xu, you should come back in the evening. As for where Master has gone, we don’t know either.”

Seeing their reaction, Xu Ping’an felt certain inside.

It seemed Pei Qingxuan really didn’t want him to know.

But the more she did this, the more worried he became.

If it weren’t for something special, Pei Qingxuan would never hide something so deliberately from him.

So what could it be that made Pei Qingxuan go to such lengths to keep him in the dark?

By rights, Pei Qingxuan had no need to do this—unless the matter threatened him directly.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t go to such trouble.

Now, it seemed Yuer was right!

No matter what, he needed to get to the bottom of this.

Pei Qingxuan, come back.

Forget it, I won’t leave today. I’ll just wait here for Pei Qingxuan to return.

When she comes back, I’ll get a clear answer.

It’ll save me from feeling so uneasy inside.

As he was thinking this, suddenly, a gust of wind came from afar, and a graceful figure descended from the sky.

At the very moment she landed, she seemed to catch sight of Xu Ping’an standing at the door.

Her steps faltered slightly, but she quickly regained her composure.

“You, come in with me.” Pei Qingxuan had returned.