"What?" Xue'er was truly surprised, "Okay bring her here."
"Are you sure little Xue? She might be planning to hurt you again," said Elder Yue, she still didn't believe Yun had truly changed.
"It's fine, even if she were to try, I have Big brother Yan and all of you here. I don't believe she will do such foolish action."
"Fine, I will bring her here," Elder Yue turned around and left.
A few minutes later Elder Yue brought Yun in. By now Yun had cleaned herself. Even changed into a new set of clothes. Although not as much as Xue'er, she still looked charming.
When she saw Xiao Yan, she couldn't help shuddering. Elder Yue noticed it and thought Yun feared that elder behind Xiao Yan so she didn't think much about it. Only Xiao Yan knew her reasons and he just smiled in a carefree manner. Now that he calmed down, he didn't really hate her that much. It was just that he had been way too angry at that time. He even had the thought of removing the curse from her, but when he saw her resolution to remove it by seeking Xue'er's forgiveness, he held back from interfering.
'Since she has determined to seek forgiveness, then let destiny take its course. If it's too much for her, I will certainly remove it in time, I don't want her to become a mindless fool,' thought Xiao Yan.
When Yun saw Xue'er, she slowly kowtowed to her saying, "Young Miss, I know that I have sinned and I know you will not be able to forgive me easily. But I am determined to make amends. I know asking for forgiveness is too much, so please give me one more opportunity to serve you," tears were running down on her face and she really sounded sincere.
Xue'er narrowed her eyes, she could tell Yun was really sincere. How could she not? She had spent her entire childhood with Yun and Yi. Even then she couldn't forgive her. If that expert had not given hand, she would have been forced to marry Yang Ping and the Lin family elders would either be captured or killed.
"Aunt Yue, bring all of the elders here, I want to hear their opinion. If Yang and Ma families' plan succeeded, then all of us would have been inflicted. Hence, I don't think I am the only one whom you should ask forgiveness for," said Xue'er.
Elder Yue and Xiao Yan smiled at this. They both know Xue'er's decision was excellent. She really showed how a family head should act.
When Elder Yue brought all of the elders here and asked for their opinions, they were actually some who supported Yun.
"All of us makes mistakes sometimes. Simply punishing her is fine now, but if she is given a chance to serve the family and she remains loyal, then the family will only gain," said Elder Song.
"I agree with Elder Song. Yun, you have betrayed us for benefits this time but who can guarantee that it won't happen again? give me a reason to trust you," asked Xue'er.
"Young Miss, I am sorry, I don't have a reason to make you believe me again, but I know I have made a mistake and I want to correct it," said Yun.
"Mm, can you tell us what happened after the elder took you?" asked Xue'er. She was extremely curious about what that expert did to change Yun like this.
Yun became embarrassed, she looked around and said, "Miss, if it's just you, I can say it but, …"
Xue'er understood her, it would be embarrassing for anyone to speak such things in front of a crowd, before she could say anything, "Elders, please return and take some rest, I will stay with Xue'er you don't have to worry about her safety, I will protect her with my life, you don't have a problem with that right?" asked Xiao Yan turning towards Yun who nodded.
"With Young Master Yun, we don't have to worry. But Young Miss, I still don't believe she should be forgiven, please decide with caution," said an Elder.
"Young Master Yun, I will leave our miss in your hands," said Elder Song and left with the group of elders.
…
"Now tell me what happened?" asked Xue'er once the elders left.
"I was Cursed for the sin of betrayal," said Yun lowering her head.
"What? Curse? What kind of Curse?" asked Xue'er. Three Thousand years ago before the continent was split by Four Great Clans, Evil cultivators or Devil cultivators used evil powers such as Curses, Plagues, Corpse soldiers, etc. to reign havoc on the land. When the founding ancestors of Four Great Clans rose to power, they hunted them all down. Ever since then, if you ask who everyone on the Azure Heaven Continent hated, it was Devil Cultivators, even Xue'er hated them after learning about their deeds. Now, hearing Yun was cursed, of course, she will be surprised. And more importantly, that expert who cursed Yun had saved Lin family people. The Evil cultivators never bothered to save anyone, it was all contradicting one another.
"Miss, you don't have to worry, he wasn't a Devil Cultivator," said Yun.
"Oh, how do you know?" asked Xue'er.
Now, Yun was in dilemma. Xiao Yan had masked his identity and warned everyone not to reveal his relation to Xiao Yan. But if she didn't say it then she cannot prove she wasn't cursed by a Devil cultivator. Although she didn't know Xiao Yan's background, she was certain he wasn't an evil cultivator because, evil cultivators usually cultivated dark and evil techniques, but Xiao Yan's Qi felt pure and holy. Even when he placed Spirit Worm, it didn't feel like a curse, more like a holy seal.
"He is related to Young Master Yan," said Yun finally deciding to go with Xiao Yan's story.
"Are you certain? Why would someone practicing Curses be related to Big brother Yan?" asked Yun not believing her. 'Is she here to sow discord between me and Big brother Yan? If she was, how could she be this obvious? I had thought of giving you one more chance, but now you lost it. You even dared to say someone related to Big brother Yan practices Curses,' thought Xue'er
"No, he said he is related, you can check with the elders, he said so in front of everyone," said Yun.
"Then what kind of curse did he place on you?"
"Pain, the curse of pain. I will feel pain every day at dawn until I receive forgiveness of the person I betrayed," said Yun truthfully which caused Xue'er to suck in a breath of cold air. This was a terrifying curse, she herself knew that she would never be able to fully forgive Yun, hence she had to suffer this pain forever.
But Yun didn't know she had planted a seed of doubt in Xue'er's mind. 'Is Big brother really related to someone who practices curses? Or does Big brother Yan come from a family who uses them? It is generally known that Evil cultivators can increase cultivation rapidly, is that the reason he has his current cultivation?' thought Xue'er.
"Big brother Yan, what should I do? Should I give her another chance?" asked Xue'er. Although she still loved him all the same, there was a trace of vigilance that was not there before and it was normal to show caution towards anything remotely related to Devil Cultivators. Yun noticed it and so did Xiao Yan. But Xiao Yan didn't mind it at all. Everything will clear up once he meets his Aunt and Uncle. Or so he thought.
"Anyone who sincerely tries to correct their mistake deserves a second chance," said Xiao Yan.
But to Xue'er it sounded like he was preparing to explain how he is related to Devil Cultivators and will ask for forgiveness later. So, her vigilance grew instead.
"Okay, since Big brother Yan said so, I will give you one more chance to prove your loyalty to Lin family, don't make me regret it."
"Thank you miss, You don't have to worry, I will definitely work hard," said Yun, she finally took the first step to gain her forgiveness. As if thinking about something, "Miss can I say something?"
"Yes"
"Miss, please don't ever break the trust of someone who truly loves you. The price, it's not worth it," she knew because she was paying the price and she didn't want Xue'er to commit the same mistake she did. She clearly noticed the vigilance that Xue'er started to show against Xiao Yan, hence she had taken this time to mention it.
"Don't worry, I will never ever do it," said Xue'er confidently. Seeing her effort did not work, Yun could only shake her head and hope everything will be fine.