At such a close distance, Wen Lisheng found herself unable to think for a moment, her gaze and attention completely captured by his eyes.
In that brief instant, she noticed a flicker of impatience in his brows, as if he were in a foul mood, and her heart sank.
She would rather be chased by that big black dog all afternoon than be dragged out of the vat by Xie Xiaonan under these circumstances.
Xie Xiaonan looked down at her as if she were a piece of pork on a chopping board, his gaze devoid of any warmth.
Quick-witted as always, she struggled hard, wrenching her wrist free from Xie Xiaonan’s grip, and blurted out, “I didn’t see anything, I didn’t see anything, and I won’t say a word!”
With that, she grabbed the wooden lid and covered her head, muttering a jumbled mess of chants—the Heart-Cleansing Mantra, the Diamond Sutra, the Heart Sutra—invoking every deity she could think of, praying that Xie Xiaonan would leave immediately.
However, not long after, the sound of shattering echoed in Wen Lisheng’s ears, and the large vat suddenly split into pieces, falling to the ground. She was left squatting alone, still holding the wooden lid.
Before her stood Xie Xiaonan in his snow-white robe, his voice drifting lazily from above. “Miss Wen, what a delightful pastime.”
With nowhere left to hide, Wen Lisheng dropped the lid and stood up with an awkward smile. “Young Master, you’ve misunderstood. I was chased by a big black dog and had no choice but to hide in this vat for refuge.”
Whether Xie Xiaonan believed her or not, she was telling the truth.
“Chased by a dog into a vat, and just happened to run into me here,” he said, narrowing his eyes with a hint of mockery.
“It… really was just that coincidental,” Wen Lisheng replied, wanting to say she had no idea it would be such a coincidence.
Xie Xiaonan let out a cold, disdainful laugh, his aura making Wen Lisheng tremble with fear. Whether it was her imagination or not, she felt an invisible pressure spreading around her.
Heavens above, send someone to save me!
Wen Lisheng wailed inwardly.
Xie Xiaonan fell silent, his gaze scrutinizing her as if trying to discern her intentions.
Wen Lisheng felt her scalp tingle under his stare and finally couldn’t bear it, averting her eyes in a gesture of surrender. She wondered if she should say a few more flattering words—after all, flattery never hurt anyone.
Though she wasn’t the type to grovel or curry favor, this young master from a prominent family, the future emperor, certainly deserved every bit of her praise.
Lost in her thoughts, she failed to control her expression, and a trace of fear inadvertently flickered in her eyes. It was this subtle display of fear that made Xie Xiaonan pause.
He could tell that the fear this person felt toward him wasn’t feigned—it was genuine, something she couldn’t suppress.
This left him feeling rather wronged. While he wasn’t exactly a kind-hearted person with a gentle temper, he had only just arrived in Yiguan County and hadn’t done anything yet, had he?
Or was Prefect Wen’s daughter simply born timid?
With their thoughts diverging, a brief silence settled between them.
Just then, Yu Gui’s voice called out from afar, “Miss—!”
Overjoyed, Wen Lisheng nearly burst into tears. Turning her head, she saw Yu Gui had brought Wen Puchang, followed by a few attendants.
Wen Puchang pointed at her from a distance and shouted, “Show some decorum when speaking to the young master! Why are you standing in a vat instead of on solid ground?”Wen Lisheng looked down and saw she was still standing on the broken remains of a vat, now just a base. She quickly stepped off and hurried over to Wen Puchang, putting on a pitiful, frightened expression. “Father, your daughter was just chased by an enormous black dog and nearly bitten!”
Yu Gui also came forward to check on her, tears welling in her eyes. “Miss, are you hurt?”
Wen Lisheng shook her head, her face pale, and hid behind Wen Puchang, refusing to meet Xie Xiaonan’s eyes again.
Wen Puchang had been terrified when he saw Yu Gui rushing over in a panic, crying and shouting. He immediately gathered people to search the area and found Wen Lisheng here. Assuming Xie Xiaonan had helped drive away the black dog, he repeatedly expressed his gratitude.
Xie Xiaonan couldn’t be bothered to mention that she had hidden in the vat herself, so he went along with the misunderstanding and accepted the credit, a light smile gracing his features as he said it was no trouble at all.
Wen Lisheng didn’t want to stay there a moment longer. Just standing and exchanging a few words with Xie Xiaonan had already made her break out in a cold sweat down her back.
Seeing his daughter pale and hanging her head, clearly frightened out of her wits, Wen Puchang’s heart ached. He didn’t bother with formalities, bid farewell to Xie Xiaonan, and led Wen Lisheng away.
Only then did Wen Lisheng realize that if she had run a little farther when the big black dog was chasing her, she would have reached the area where people were dining. She wouldn’t have had to crouch in that vat for so long.
And she wouldn’t have run into Xie Xiaonan.
What awful luck!
Wen Lisheng slapped her thigh in frustration.
Seeing she was still full of energy, Wen Puchang felt somewhat relieved. To comfort her, he said, “I just saw that rascal Shen Jiaqing with his parents over at Suihe Courtyard in the east. Go find him and play.”
“Aren’t we going home?” Wen Lisheng asked in return.
“Your father still has important matters to attend to,” Wen Puchang said, patting her head.
Wen Lisheng muttered, “What important matters could you possibly have?” but had no choice but to agree. She then turned to look for Shen Jiaqing.
Shen Jiaqing was bored out of his mind at that moment, slumped in a chair listening to his parents chat with the head of the He Family. He found it utterly tedious, so he grabbed a handful of melon seeds and spat them out with a “pfft, pfft.”
Thinking it would be too troublesome to go over and greet the elders, exchange pleasantries, Wen Lisheng hid behind a pillar, peeking out with half her head, and tossed a small pebble at Shen Jiaqing.
Unexpectedly, it hit him right in the face. He immediately jumped up. “Who’s there?! Who dares to ambush me?!”
Wen Lisheng quickly pulled her head back behind the pillar.
His shout startled the adults who were chatting. Lady Shen directly kicked him. “You rascal, go make trouble outside.”
This suited Shen Jiaqing just fine. He grinned at the adults, then scampered out happily. Seeing him come out, Wen Lisheng had a mischievous idea. She stuck out her foot, intending to trip him and send him sprawling.
But she hadn’t counted on this guy whose eyes seemed to be on the top of his head. He truly didn’t see the foot suddenly appearing from behind the pillar, but he also didn’t trip. Instead, he stepped right on it with his big foot.
Wen Lisheng let out a yelp.
Hearing the sound, Shen Jiaqing finally saw her and exclaimed happily, “Lizi! When did you get here? I was just looking for you!”
Wen Lisheng desperately wanted to take off her shoe and rub her toes, but since she had started it, she had to endure the pain in her foot and force a smile. “My father said you were here, so I came to find you.”
Shen Jiaqing eagerly beckoned her. “Come on, come on, let’s go have some fun.”The sun was strong outside, so the two sat under the long eaves of the corridor. Shen Jiaqing, as if presenting a treasure, took out a small wooden box the size of a fingernail, covered with densely packed needle holes, and handed it to Wen Lisheng.
“What is this?” she asked, taking it and examining it, trying to open the wooden box.
“Don’t open it,” Shen Jiaqing quickly stopped her, then took out another wooden box slightly larger than the one in her hand. “This is a treasure my father acquired a few days ago. Inside are Thousand-Mile Fireflies, similar to ordinary fireflies—they glow at night too. But once Thousand-Mile Fireflies recognize their partner, they stick together until death. Even if separated by thousands of miles, they can still find each other.”
Wen Lisheng looked surprised. “That amazing?”
Shen Jiaqing was immensely proud. “I knew you hadn’t seen it before, so I brought it for you to play with.”
Wind Spirit Manor usually collected rare treasures from all over. Some things others considered priceless, Shen Jiaqing would casually play with, so Wen Lisheng had also been fortunate enough to see all sorts of oddities since childhood.
She tucked the small wooden box away. “Do your parents know about how you almost kidnapped the young master yesterday?”
Shen Jiaqing shook his head like a rattle drum. “How would I dare let them know?”
Wen Lisheng wore a grave expression. “I just saw Xie Xiaonan, and it seems he intends to pursue yesterday’s matter further. From now on, let’s avoid him. Keep our distance and stay out of each other’s way.”
Shen Jiaqing thought for a moment. “But I just heard people say this young master seems like a gentle, guileless person, and he’s still young. He doesn’t pose a threat to Yiguan County.”
Wen Lisheng sneered and muttered, “He’ll overturn this entire Yiguan County in the future.”
“What?” Shen Jiaqing didn’t catch it clearly.
Seeing his reaction, Wen Lisheng decided to give him a strong dose of medicine. She beckoned him to lean closer.
Shen Jiaqing obediently leaned in, only to hear her speak in a sinister tone, “We’re far from the imperial capital and know nothing about what happens there. Little do we know, although this young master Xie is young, he’s a ruthless, bloodthirsty killer who suffers from madness. Every time his illness flares up, he brutally kills many people and drinks their blood to suppress the urge to kill. He came to our Yiguan County precisely to recuperate!”
Her tone was exaggerated, rising and falling in a way that sent chills down Shen Jiaqing’s spine. He shuddered. “Is that really true?”
Of course, it was all made up.
“Absolutely true!” Wen Lisheng, having been friends with Shen Jiaqing for years, knew exactly how to deceive him. “My father told me himself. His spies risked their lives to uncover this information. It’s precisely because such rumors are circulating in the imperial capital that they hurriedly sent him to Yiguan County.”
Once Prefect Wen was brought into it, Shen Jiaqing completely believed his childhood friend and sworn brother, Wen Lisheng. His eyes widened in fear. “Then weren’t we both hanging by a thread yesterday?”
Wen Lisheng saw he had taken the bait. “Of course! If it weren’t for the fact that I’m the prefect’s daughter, our corpses would already be stiff by now!”
Shen Jiaqing swallowed nervously. “No wonder you looked so serious yesterday…”
Then he gazed at Wen Lisheng with grateful eyes, deeply moved. “You truly are my good brother! I want to be brothers with you for life!”Wen Lisheng had spent much of the previous night crafting this story. On one hand, no one knew the real reason Xie Xiaonan had suddenly come to Yiguan County, and rumors were flying everywhere. On the other hand, she only intended to tell this to Shen Jiaqing, mainly to scare him and prevent his reckless, fearless nature from provoking Xie Xiaonan.
In any case, as long as it achieved the goal of making Shen Jiaqing keep a respectful distance from Xie Xiaonan, that was enough.
As the two of them sat whispering conspiratorially under the eaves, the sound of pattering rain suddenly reached their ears. Wen Lisheng turned to look outside and saw that the bright, sunny sky had, in the blink of an eye, become shrouded in dark clouds.
Wen Lisheng frowned. “It’s raining.”
The rainstorm arrived with unusual ferocity. In just moments, it poured down in torrents. People who had been drinking and enjoying themselves in the open air hurriedly rushed under the eaves to take shelter, and those who moved too slowly were drenched completely.
Accompanied by rumbles of thunder, the sky darkened abruptly, as if covered by a gray, murky cloth. Inside the hall, visibility was so poor that lamps had to be lit for illumination.
Because the rain had come so suddenly, both the main hall and the outer eaves were crowded with people. Wen Lisheng sat in the hall, her brows tightly furrowed, feeling extremely uneasy. Her gaze kept drifting outside, occasionally catching glimpses of silver dragon-like lightning streaking across the gray sky, followed by deafening thunder that rolled from afar.
Everyone thought that since the rain had come so swiftly, it would likely pass just as quickly. Yet, unexpectedly, it poured for nearly two hours, and the sky grew completely dark.
Something Wen Lisheng had never anticipated happened.
The heavy rain triggered a massive landslide, washing away mud and rocks and blocking the road down the mountain. Everyone was forced to spend the night at the Mei family’s Old Tree Hall.