Lin Guanqing frowned in deep thought for a moment, his gaze passing through the window to look at the empty, deserted street outside. The surroundings were completely silent.
After pondering for a moment, he said, “I want to sneak into the City Lord’s Manor tonight to have a look. Even if the disappearances have nothing to do with him, his attitude during the day is far too suspicious.”
Having said this, he turned his head back to look at Senior Brother Fang. “If we return by surprise, we might just stumble upon some clues.”
Senior Brother Fang thought it over briefly before nodding in agreement. “Alright. Then I will go with you so we can look out for each other.”
Lin Guanqing shook his head in refusal, however. “No, I had better go alone. Moving with two people makes too much noise and makes it easier to expose ourselves. Senior Brother should stay here at the inn. If I really do uncover any clues, I might not be able to return right away, so I will still need Senior Brother to help smooth things over and cover for me tomorrow to avoid arousing suspicion.”
Senior Brother Fang thought about it and felt that what his junior brother said made a lot of sense. After a brief consideration, he nodded in agreement.
“Very well, then Junior Brother, you must take care of yourself. Don’t get caught, or I will have to come rescue you.” Senior Brother Fang tossed out a parting joke, turned around, and lay down fully clothed.
Hearing this, Lin Guanqing raised an eyebrow with a smile, looking entirely unconcerned as he turned over, fished out his night-walker’s outfit, and changed into it.
The security of the City Lord’s Manor was truly rigorous, with guards keeping watch at both the front and side gates. The moment he stepped into the manor, he sensed that quite a few guards were hidden within.
Lin Guanqing never expected that he would be so careless this time.
He had originally planned to sneak into the main courtyard where City Lord Zhao resided to investigate whether he could find any hidden clues, but once he entered the main room, he discovered it was completely empty.
Earlier during the banquet, City Lord Zhao had consumed a considerable amount of wine and clearly looked completely out of it. Besides, it was already deep into the night; if he was not resting in his room, where could he possibly have gone?
Suspicion stirred in Lin Guanqing’s heart, and as he secretly frowned, he suddenly heard a slight commotion coming from the courtyard adjacent to the main bedchamber. It sounded like someone speaking in a lowered voice, mingled with the crisp sound of a teacup shattering.
A slight chill ran through Lin Guanqing’s heart. He immediately held his breath and quietly glided toward the source of the sound.
Dressed entirely in black with exceptional lightness kung fu, his movements were so subtle that no one noticed him as he reached the side courtyard.
The side courtyard was slightly smaller than the main one, with two orange-red lanterns hanging under the eaves casting a rather dim light.
Crouching within the shadows of the eaves, Lin Guanqing looked down and saw a figure standing in the corridor, and it was none other than City Lord Zhao, who had been heavily drunk at the banquet just moments ago.
Yet at this moment, his expression was alert, his gaze clear, and not a trace of drunkenness remained on his face.
Standing before him, the young maidservant was trembling all over, her panicked voice tinged with anxiety: “Mistress, the mistress’s health has taken a turn for the worse again, and she is vomiting blood. My lord, please go take a look.”
Lin Guanqing’s suspicions deepened further. He could not understand why this City Lord Zhao was putting on an act, nor what his true purpose was. With these heavy thoughts running through his mind, his gaze lingered on City Lord Zhao’s face for an extra second.
And it was precisely this extra second of lingering gaze that caused City Lord Zhao, who had just been about to turn and leave, to halt abruptly in his tracks.
As if suddenly sensing something, his gaze shot out like a torch straight toward the spot where Lin Guanqing was hiding, and he shouted in a deep voice, “Who is sneaking around? Get out here!”
A chill struck Lin Guanqing’s heart, and he cursed inwardly. He had never expected that the City Lord’s five senses would be so remarkably sharp. A mere momentary pause of his gaze had carelessly exposed his whereabouts.
The instant he threw himself backward to retreat, the cold, harsh command of City Lord Zhao rang out from below: “Catch the assassin!”
As the words fell, several dark figures flashed swiftly out from beneath the corridor, their blade lights gleaming with lethal intent as they charged toward him.
Using the leverage of a kick against a pillar, Lin Guanqing flipped over and landed within the western corridor. Seeing the surrounding encirclement growing tighter and the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching from behind, Lin Guanqing inwardly muttered that he was in trouble. He had no way back the way he came, and hiding any longer meant discovery was only a matter of time.
With the pursuing footsteps closing in fast, he had no time to overthink. Searching the area with a hurried glance, he suddenly spotted a quiet, secluded courtyard with the fewest pursuers not far to the west, and immediately ducked low to dash inside.
The moment Lin Guanqing quietly slipped into a room, he could still hear the footsteps of the pursuers lingering nearby.
He heard someone bark a low order: “Search separately!” Bending low at the waist, Lin Guanqing smoothly slipped over to hide near the edge of a wardrobe.
Only when the pursuing footsteps faded into the distance did Lin Guanqing finally let out a breath of relief. Yet the moment he turned his head and scanned the scene inside the room, he nearly jumped out of his skin and crashed into a nearby wooden rack.
For he truly had not expected that the place he had rushed into in a panic was a maiden’s bedchamber, and that the young woman in question was currently bathing.
Hearing the soft rustle of the door being pushed open, the young woman inside the room assumed it was just a maid entering and simply raised her head to say:
“You can just leave it outside.” Her voice was calm and gentle, yet hearing it brought an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
Lin Guanqing’s face flushed crimson. Frantically and clumsily, he pulled the curtain across, not daring to make the slightest sound. In his panic, he almost knocked down the garments hanging on the wooden rack, though he managed to steady it just in time, producing only the faintest whisper of a noise.
Lin Guanqing exhaled, holding back even his breath.
The inner room was separated from the outer area only by a folding screen.
The room was hazy with warm mist, casting the slender figure behind the screen in a soft, hazy glow. Through the shifting vapor, the contours of the woman’s shoulders and neck were faintly visible, resembling a hazy ink-wash painting of a beauty.
Aesthetically pleasing as it was, Lin Guanqing had no mind to appreciate it at the moment. He merely swept a single glance before quickly looking away, feeling a sudden wave of panic, embarrassment, and awkwardness.
He had truly been far too careless tonight.
However, Lin Guanqing had no leisure to dwell on his embarrassment now, for he sensed that the footsteps outside the courtyard seemed to be returning.
His attention entirely focused on being vigilant against the pursuers outside, he temporarily lost track of what was happening inside the room.
Consequently, he failed to notice that after speaking those words, the young woman who had been bathing seemed to sense something amiss. Lowering her gaze, she paused her washing motions.
The sound of water rippled lightly, and then the woman rose from the wooden tub. Through the light cyan screen, that slender figure calmly and leisurely finished dressing.
Lin Guanqing cast only a hurried glance before seeing that the young woman was dressed in a moon-white long skirt tied at the waist with a pale cyan ribbon. Her figure was slender, boasting narrow shoulders and a delicate waist, and just from her back one could tell she was an exceptionally beautiful woman. Yet when she walked out from behind the screen:
Lin Guanqing felt a deep sense of incongruity.
It was because her face was utterly ordinary, with plain, unremarkable features that would blend right into any crowd. Lin Guanqing’s gaze touched upon her and withdrew instantly, yet a strange thought could not help but rise in his mind: How could such a graceful figure belong to such a face?
The young woman walked over to the table and calmly poured herself a cup of tea. The water was still steaming hot and looked scalding. Raising the teacup, she brought it lightly to her lips, her lips parting slightly.
Just as Lin Guanqing wondered how she could possibly drink tea that hot, he saw the young woman’s delicate hand flip over, and that cup of scalding tea was ruthlessly splashed straight toward the direction of his eyes.
Boiling hot tea, actually used to splash his eyes!
This girl’s methods were truly vicious, without a shred of hesitation!
Hastily leaping out from behind the wardrobe, Lin Guanqing dodged the steaming hot tea. Before he could even steady his footing, a cold-gleaming dagger followed right behind, stabbing straight toward his chest.
Raising a hand to block, Lin Guanqing deflected the dagger with a sweep of his palm. The young woman paused, but her attacks did not stop, continuing to aim straight for his face. Her moves were not unfamiliar, yet her physical strength was too weak. And after exchanging a couple of blows with her, Lin Guanqing suddenly realized why did these moves look so familiar?
Had he seen them somewhere before?
Then it dawned on him: this was clearly the introductory form of Biyue Manor’s martial arts, and he had even rewritten and adapted a portion of these very moves himself.
No, wait. Who was this person?
Astonishment filled his heart, but seeing that the other party still refused to relent, he spun around to circle her left side, pinned her arm with one hand, and pressed her directly down onto the couch, lowering his voice to say:
“I am sorry, but I truly harbor no malicious intent.”
The young woman raised her head to glare coldly at him. Beneath those utterly ordinary features, she possessed a remarkably striking pair of eyes, clear and bright like jade, brilliant and pure, carrying a touch of aloof, ethereal beauty.
Lin Guanqing was stunned for a moment.
He felt as though he had seen them somewhere before.
“Who are you?” When she spoke, her voice was equally detached and distant, though her beautiful eyes inevitably betrayed a trace of irritation.
Lin Guanqing started involuntarily. The disgust reflected in those eyes caused his movements to stall, jolting him back to reality.
Hearing her voice, he finally realized that he was being mistaken for a scoundrel. He opened his mouth, desperately wanting to offer an explanation, but the words felt stuck on the tip of his tongue; anything he said right now would sound like a lame excuse, leaving him completely unable to clear his name.
“I…” He began, only to find his voice choking up for a fraction of a second.
For some inexplicable reason, the longer he looked into those eyes, the more familiar they seemed, as if he really had seen them somewhere before. Where on earth could it be? Even with her face cold, he could still tell that her gaze wasn’t fierce; there was no murderous intent or malice in it, nor did she look like a pugilistic martial artist.
Lin Guanqing felt his heart skip a beat, as if he had suddenly perceived something.
With one hand holding down her wrists and trapping her beneath him, his other hand suddenly reached out toward the young woman’s chin. Seeing her eyes widen in absolute disbelief as she stared at him, Lin Guanqing fumbled around for a moment, and his fingers brushed against the edge of a thin-as-cicada-wings skin mask. With a firm tug, he peeled it right off.
In that instant, he froze completely dumbfounded.
Staring blankly at the familiar face pinned beneath him, Lin Guanqing was rooted to the spot in shock.
Xiuxiu!
It was actually, truly her.
Lin Guanqing felt a bit dazed, as he truly had never expected to encounter her in such a setting, leaving him momentarily speechless.
However, taking advantage of his sudden distraction, Shen Xiu reached back, pulled the hairpin from her hair, and fiercely stabbed it straight into his chest. With a muffled groan, Lin Guanqing snapped back to his senses, his hands instinctively loosening their grip as he tried to explain.
Yet seeing that she had successfully stabbed her target, Shen Xiu turned and bolted without giving Lin Guanqing a single chance to explain.
Witnessing this, Lin Guanqing hurriedly endured the pain, letting out a sharp hiss through his teeth, though his tone carried an unmistakable sense of relief: “It’s me, Xiuxiu.”
Hearing this, Shen Xiu paused in her tracks. She turned her head to look at the man wrapped tightly from head to toe in black night-walker’s clothes, her eyes filled with doubt. “Who are you?”
She watched as he gritted his teeth and tugged off his mask, revealing that vibrant, dashing, and familiar face.
Lin Guanqing.
Shen Xiu was instantly stunned, her lovely eyes widening slightly in sheer disbelief. “Young Master Lin! How could it be you?”
“Yes, it’s me.” Lin Guanqing’s brows flew upward, and he nearly burst out laughing, only to accidentally pull on his wound, making his eyebrows knot together in pain. “Xiuxiu, your hands sure are ruthless.” Though his tone held a hint of complaint, it was brimming with an inexplicable joy.
Shen Xiu hurried forward, reaching out to steady him. Looking at the wound on his chest where the hairpin had pierced through and blood was seeping out to stain a patch of his clothes, a look of sudden worry and guilt surfaced on her face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was you.”
“I wasn’t doing it on purpose; I really didn’t recognize you earlier. I’m sorry, does the wound hurt badly?”
“Young Master, please sit down first. I will treat your wound; the hairpin went in rather deep. But Young Master Lin, why are you here? And wearing an outfit like this?”