Turns out the guard actually knew the name Yuchi.

Before Yuchi could even recover from his surprise, the guard took the initiative to clasp his hands in salute and said, "So it’s you, Young Master Yuchi. You must have had a hard journey getting here."

Yuchi was quite curious at that. "You know me?"

"Yes. My lady has already put your name on the honored guest list. That was a few days ago, so the moment you said your name, it came back to me at once. Please come straight into our residence now. Once you enter the manor, others will come to receive you and take you to find Miss Qi Baiyu as quickly as possible."

While this guard was speaking, the guards beside him had already reacted. One by one they stepped aside, lining up to the left and to the right, forming a corridor of welcome.

"Professional!"

Yuchi was impressed. So this was having everything arranged for you, clear as day? As for this corridor welcome, he didn’t really like the feeling, but since it was their way of showing courtesy, he wasn’t going to use his own standards to judge how others did things. As long as the sentiment was sincere, then there was no problem, eh.

Yuchi expressed his thanks and moved on.

He had just stepped into the main courtyard of the Qi Family when a very pretty maid came up to him of her own accord. As someone who had seen plenty of pretty girls, Honest Yuchi felt that purely in terms of bearing and looks, this maid was already at the level that only the young ladies of ordinary small towns would usually reach.

Truly impressive. Her overall poise and way of speaking were completely different; that spring-breeze smile was always on her face, and her curved crescent-moon eyes were especially clear and bright. It was a pity she had no Spirit Root; otherwise even Yuchi would have been tempted, thinking about how to talk her into joining his sect.

"Young Master, please come with me."

After she learned why Yuchi had come, she reacted very quickly. There wasn’t even any harsh sunlight to speak of, yet she still proactively held an umbrella over Honest Yuchi, holding it in her right hand, stepping back half a pace to walk on Yuchi’s left side, and using her newly freed left hand to indicate which way they would be going next.

That way, first, she accommodated Yuchi’s desire to walk in front; second, she helped shield him from the blazing sun; and third, she could look after Honest Yuchi from behind as well. This left Honest Yuchi inwardly smiling bitterly: No, no, my fate is too light, I can’t stand this kind of pampering. With this going on, I won’t even be able to sleep at night, I’ll probably lose years off my life.

But there was nothing to be done. The Qi Family probably received a lot of officials; people from the Imperial Decree Department came second, and it was mainly that pretentious lot from the Celestial Capital Department. They came to the Qi Family often, and if the reception was lacking, it would be a big headache. Heaven only knew how twisted those Celestial Capital Department people could be, so better to step back and let it be.

All right then.

Strike up the music, keep the dance going.

The maid led the way with smooth, unbroken efficiency; there wasn’t a single thing one could reasonably nitpick.

Given how things looked right now, the Qi Family really did know how to leave a good impression. Regardless of what methods they used, this was one of the easiest ways to show respect.

He had originally come over fuming and ready to make trouble, but after being sanded down by the two "walls" of guard and maid, that aggressive momentum of his had ended up dissolving into a smile.

In the end, it all came down to social niceties.

Yuchi was then led by the maid straight into the inner courtyard. Along the way no one questioned or blocked him. When he finally ran into Qi Baiyu, this girl was chatting with another unfamiliar beauty; the two women were laughing and talking easily, the scene pleasing to the eye.

The maid hurried over to Qi Baiyu’s side, and when Qi Baiyu nodded repeatedly, she stood up and looked toward the gate of the courtyard. It really was Yuchi.

"Young Master Yuchi!" Qi Baiyu happily hurried over to greet him, taking the initiative to offer him a polite salute.

The girl’s dress was quite gorgeous; just one look at the material and you could tell it was expensive. Honest Yuchi didn’t know much about fabrics, but he had at least seen the cloth at the Immortal Robe Pavilion. Clearly, this kind of extremely light, fine-quality garment was a rather costly item.

Then he looked at her pretty little face, and that noble daughter’s hairstyle and makeup. Mm... truly worthy of being the Qi Family’s little daughter. Although her talent hadn’t been pushed to the limit yet, the results were already quite good. Unfortunately, her family had too many matters going on, so there was no way to sweet-talk her into joining the Ascension Gate.

"Miss Qi, I’ve come to return your parasol."

Yuchi grinned as he took out a flowered parasol from the Immortal Stone. The handle of the parasol even had a fine pendant hanging from it; clearly this parasol was also a rather valuable item.

This was the parasol he had previously gotten from Qi Baiyu. He had simply forgotten to return it, and only remembered now because the maid was holding an umbrella. Otherwise this parasol would probably have been dumped in a storeroom to gather dust forever.

"Huahua!" Qi Baiyu exclaimed in delight, taking the parasol with both hands.

"Huahua?"

"That’s the name of this parasol!"

Qi Baiyu looked at Yuchi, overjoyed. Seeing the few black lines appear on his forehead, she laughed and said, "I’d thought I’d lost it before. When I remembered later, I felt so stupid. I hadn’t expected that it was in Young Master Yuchi’s hands. Now that you’ve brought this parasol back, it really makes me so happy!"