“Master, something is off about this temple.”
Zhu Ying had also conducted a covert inspection and discovered several monks within the temple who were robust and fierce-looking, lacking the demeanor of true monks.
These were only the ones he could see openly; those hiding in the shadows were likely even more numerous.
By now, Shang Qingyan had finished washing up. With his hair loosely draped, he reclined leisurely on the couch, calmly flipping through a Buddhist scripture.
If anyone else were in such a posture, they might appear disrespectful and careless. Yet on Shang Qingyan, it carried an air of lazy elegance.
He closed the scripture and lightly tapped his fingers, seemingly indifferent to the impending danger. “They’ve finally come.”
Throughout their journey, their stops had either been at post stations or bustling city inns. Now, in the wilderness, it was naturally the best place to strike.
The only uncertainty was whether Yu Ange’s sudden appearance would introduce any complications.
Zhu Ying said, “They come with ill intentions.”
Shang Qingyan retrieved the prayer beads from a nearby box and slipped them back onto his hand. His well-defined knuckles contrasted strikingly with the pristine white beads. “Committing acts of killing before the Buddha—they aren’t afraid of retribution.”
Zhu Ying reassured him, “Rest assured, Master. Our people will protect you.”
Shang Qingyan shook his head. “If the Emperor wants my life, I must give him half of it. Otherwise, the dangers will only grow more severe each time.”
Zhu Ying exclaimed in alarm, “Master! Absolutely not!”
Shang Qingyan chuckled softly. “I was only joking. Why so tense?”
Zhu Ying shot him a glare. “I’m not like that fellow Meifeng. I can’t handle your teasing.”
Shang Qingyan laughed again. “But the Jingdu envoys outside are all shrewd. While they claim to escort Young Master Yu back to the capital, their true purpose is to monitor me. If I don’t sustain real injuries, I won’t be able to deceive them.”
At this, Zhu Ying’s resentment flared up. The late Emperor’s sudden death was inextricably linked to the current Emperor, who now sought to eradicate Shang Qingyan completely.
Shang Qingyan’s glass-like eyes turned frosty, yet he comforted Zhu Ying, “Enough. I know you harbor hatred, and I feel it even more deeply than you do. But rest assured, I will always stay one step ahead of him.”
Zhu Ying’s throat tightened. His master was barely twenty, yet he had to endure all this. “Master…”
Shang Qingyan’s ears perked up, and he raised a finger to his lips. “Shh—”
Zhu Ying instantly snapped back to attention, suppressing all emotions.
Footsteps approached from a distance, and the wooden door was knocked from outside. “Your Highness, I am here to serve you the medicinal broth.”
Yu Ange emerged from the misty rain, her clothes slightly damp, but the food box in her hands was well-protected.
Zhu Ying opened the door, and Yu Ange’s gaze immediately fell upon Shang Qingyan, reclining leisurely.
Perhaps because it was nearing dusk and the lamps had yet to be lit, Shang Qingyan sat quietly there, draped in loose, spotless white robes. His collar was slightly open, and his silk-like black hair cascaded over his shoulders, accentuating his jade-like complexion, which seemed to glow with a soft radiance.
His glass-like eyes held a smile, yet they exuded a distant and aloof charm. The wind from outside swept in, gently lifting his dark hair. Such grace would likely make even an immortal from the clouds and waters pale in comparison.
A single thought crossed Yu Ange’s mind: This man did not seem of this mortal world.
As Yu Ange observed him, Shang Qingyan was also watching Yu Ange.
Cleaned of the mud that had covered her face and body, Yu Ange’s appearance was truly stunning. Dressed in a black martial attire that fluttered in the wind, her figure was slender and upright. Though she bore a feminine countenance, there was no trace of a woman’s delicacy about her. Instead, a sharp intensity lingered between her brows, like an ancient sword awaiting its moment to be drawn from its sheath.
Perhaps even Yu Ange herself was unaware that, standing there in the curtain of rain, she exuded a cold, desolate aura, as if all wind and snow had been extinguished.
It was Zhu Ying who broke the mutual scrutiny between the two, stepping forward to take the medicine bowl from Yu Ange’s hands.
Shang Qingyan also sat up, gesturing toward the cushion opposite the low table. “Please have a seat, Young Master Yu.”
Yu Ange bowed to Shang Qingyan, then lifted the hem of her robe and sat down. She offered another apology: “Today, I acted recklessly. I hope Your Highness can forgive me. How is Your Highness’s health?”
Shang Qingyan covered his mouth with a handkerchief and coughed twice. “This prince’s health has always been like this. Young Master Yu need not blame yourself too much.”
Zhu Ying took the medicine bowl from the food container. At a glance, Shang Qingyan noticed it was served in a large, deep bowl.
Zhu Ying paused for a moment. Who drinks medicine from such a large bowl? Wouldn’t it be unbearably bitter?
He cautiously glanced at Yu Ange. Could it be that this Young Master Yu was like his master—outwardly amiable but secretly more vindictive than anyone?
Yu Ange, however, picked up a slightly larger teacup from the side and explained, “This medicine was brewed by Imperial Physician Liu and myself. He said it dispels cold, and I can also drink it. So, I shamelessly ask for half a bowl from Your Highness.”
Zhu Ying shrank back. Alright, he had been overly suspicious.
Yu Ange poured the medicine into the teacup and placed it before Shang Qingyan, then drank the remaining medicine from the large bowl in one gulp.
She was the one in her family most afraid of bitterness, but now she had to prove to Shang Qingyan that the medicine was not poisoned, so she paid no heed to the bitterness.
After finishing it, the intense bitterness filled her mouth, and Yu Ange felt a churning in her stomach.
Seeing this, Shang Qingyan smiled faintly and decisively drank the medicine from the teacup in one go.
Though the medicine was finished, Yu Ange, still concerned about the assassins in the temple, had no intention of leaving anytime soon.
Her gaze swept over the chessboard placed nearby, and she said, “I have long heard that Your Highness excels in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—a rare refined scholar in this world. I wonder if I might have the opportunity to learn a thing or two about chess from Your Highness.”
Shang Qingyan’s expression remained unchanged, but his fingers began turning the prayer beads again.
With assassins hidden in the temple, Yu Ange had come up with such a clumsy excuse to force her stay. Had she seen through the situation, or did she have other motives?
Still, what Yu Ange said was true. Given his status, he could not easily involve himself in court politics. Only by focusing his energy on music, chess, calligraphy, and painting could the Emperor rest assured.
Shang Qingyan glanced at Zhu Ying, who stepped forward to set up the chessboard.
Shang Qingyan said, “I dare not claim the title of a refined scholar. It is merely a way to pass the time.”
Outside, the rain grew heavier, with continuous thunder and flashes of lightning that struck fear into the heart.
Inside the room, the battle between Yu Ange and Shang Qingyan on the chessboard was equally thrilling. Shang Qingyan had not expected his opponent’s chess strategy to be so aggressive—sharp and relentless from the very start, with frequent lethal moves.
He shifted from initial nonchalance to cautious deliberation, each of them harboring their own thoughts as they played deep into the night.
Suddenly, the candlewick crackled. Shang Qingyan placed his final white piece, encircling and trapping Yu Ange’s black pieces layer by layer.
Yu Ange sighed softly. “I have lost.”
The game on the chessboard was indeed exhilarating, yet Shang Qingyan felt little sense of accomplishment. He gathered the pieces one by one and said calmly, “It was only because Young Master Yu’s mind was unsettled just now that a flaw was revealed.”
Yu Ange tilted her head to glance at the rain beating against the doors and windows. Indeed, her mind was unsettled.
To avoid arousing suspicion, aside from Yanbo and Yu Shu, she had brought only seven skilled fighters this time. Yet according to what Yu Shu had uncovered, at least thirty assassins were hiding in the temple.
Outnumbered and isolated, the deeper the night grew, the more unsettled her mind became.
Suddenly, a distant bell toll echoed through the mountain mist and rain, like some kind of signal, inexplicably stirring unease in the heart.