Xie Lan pestered Old Xi for a long time before finally learning the ins and outs of the matter.
Ever since he witnessed her sudden disappearance that day, he had been wondering in his heart, but Old Xi refused to tell him much, and he didn’t get anything out of Xie Tao either. So for many days, he could only guess blindly.
If he hadn’t heard Old Xi and Xie Tao’s conversation when he returned last night, he might still not know anything.
Now, Xie Lan, Old Xi, and Xie Tao were sitting in a private room of a Sichuan restaurant.
“Tao Tao, you haven’t even met him, and you already like him?” Xie Lan suddenly lost his appetite, didn’t even pick up his chopsticks, and just stared at Xie Tao. “Isn’t this a bit reckless of you?”
“I’ve met him before,” Xie Tao retorted quietly.
“Just meeting him doesn’t count!” Xie Lan said, glaring at Old Xi. “And you, Old Xi, why didn’t you tell me about this earlier? If you had told me earlier, I would have extinguished this flame long ago.”
“It’s Tao Tao’s business, why are you in such a hurry?” Old Xi leisurely ate his food, hurriedly drinking some tea when it got too spicy.
“It’s not even an online relationship…” Xie Tao added.
Xie Lan gave her a sideways glance. “Right, it’s even more intense than an online relationship. They have long-distance relationships, and you? You managed to create a relationship across different worlds?”
Speaking of which, Xie Lan became even more curious. “I really want to know, what does that kid look like? Or does he have any special abilities?”
Xie Tao thought for a moment, then silently held her phone up to his eyes.
The phone screen lit up, revealing the portrait of Wei Yun that she had set as her screensaver right in front of Xie Lan’s eyes.
Xie Lan was dumbfounded for a moment, then he realized and took Xie Tao’s phone, glanced at it again, and then pointed at the phone screen, saying to Old Xi, “Old Xi, do you think someone could really grow up like this?”
Xie Tao took the phone back and gave him a glare.
During this meal, Xie Tao finished eating amidst Xie Lan’s incessant chatter. He was like an overly concerned “old father” afraid she might suffer, constantly advising her on many things that girls should pay attention to.
Some of it was even stuff he found on the spot with his phone and read out loud in front of her.
Finally, because it was almost time for school lunch break, Xie Tao hurried off to school.
Xie Lan and Old Xi sat in the private room, but the relaxed atmosphere from before was no longer there.
Despite holding chopsticks, Xie Lan seemed to have lost his appetite. He remained silent for a while before finally asking Old Xi, “Old Xi, don’t you worry about Tao Tao?”
“Why should I worry?” Old Xi took a sip of wine, his voice devoid of any emotional fluctuations.
He was always like this, his expression calm with a smile, unruffled, making it impossible for people to see what was going on in his heart.
“Don’t you think this whole thing is very unrealistic?”
At this moment, Xie Lan’s face no longer showed the carefree demeanor it usually did. He poked at the rice in his bowl with his chopsticks.
“There’s nothing unrealistic about it; this is her destiny.”
Old Xi still appeared as indifferent as ever, “Since she has made her choice, whatever joys and sorrows come in the future, she will have to face them herself.”
Xie Lan remained silent for a long time, even the spicy grilled fish he had longed for seemed less spicy as he ate. He silently finished his bowl of rice, wiped his mouth with a tissue, then looked at Old Xi, “Old Xi, you have to help her more.”
Old Xi smiled, his eyes squinting, and after a while, he nodded gently, “Don’t worry too much, I know what to do about this.”
Xie Lan snorted, “You’re always like this.”
To Xie Lan, Old Xi always seemed to be harboring unspeakable secrets, perpetually mysterious.
As if there was nothing in the world he didn’t know about.
“That person who wanted to kill Tao Tao Sister last time, you seem to know who she is, right? Why aren’t you telling me anything? What if she comes again?” Xie Lan suddenly remembered the previous incident.
Old Xi always managed to timely rescue Xie Tao. He seemed to always be aware of the movements of that mysterious person.
When Old Xi heard Xie Lan’s words, he clearly paused for a moment.
For an instant, a flicker passed through his eyes, which seemed to have experienced all the vicissitudes of life, and suddenly, a cold and elegant face appeared in his mind.
In some corner of his heart, it was as if a gust of wind suddenly blew away the thick dust that had accumulated, and the locked box finally opened.
In the bustling market, a girl in red clothes rode a horse, her attire blazing like fire, dragging a long whip as she swept past like the wind.
She suddenly turned her head, her smile bright and colorful.
“Master Xi!”
Her crisp voice seemed to echo in his ears at that moment.
Just as this fleeting scene passed by, Old Xi’s knuckles tightened, and in an instant, he crushed the transparent glass in his hand into a handful of sand, slowly slipping away from his fingers.
The tighter he held, the faster it slipped away.
Just like certain things he dared not touch.
His eyes inexplicably stung a bit. When he met Xie Lan’s astonished gaze, he reluctantly suppressed his emotions, tugged at his lips, and his voice inexplicably became a bit dry, “She… won’t do it again.”
In this world, no one understood her better than Old Xi.
—
Xie Tao returned to school, attended classes for the afternoon, and then rushed to the dessert shop to make a new batch of crispy candies.
At eight o’clock in the evening, Xie Tao returned to her rented place.
Wei Yun accurately calculated the time, almost when she returned home, just washed her face, and hadn’t had time to dry it, incense was lit.
Xie Tao stood in Wei Yun’s study, wiping her face with a towel.
Wei Yun didn’t expect her to come like this, with a smile on his lips that he couldn’t contain. He reached out and handed her a handkerchief, “Wipe your face.”
But Xie Tao didn’t reach out to take it. Instead, she leaned her face towards him.
Just looking at him.
It’s obvious that she wanted him to help her wipe.
Wei Yun was stunned for a moment, his ears slightly warm, he remained silent for a moment, but still reached out and wiped the water stains off her face for her.
His movements were slightly unnatural and a little flustered, but still gentle and careful.
After wiping, he even scrutinized her appearance with her eyes closed for a moment, for some reason. He stepped back a bit, and unexpectedly breathed a sigh of relief.
“Come and sit.”
He only said one sentence, then turned and walked into the inner room.
The charcoal fire was burning brightly, warming the inner room.
Wei Yun took the teapot from the stove and poured a cup of hot tea.
Xie Tao hurriedly followed in and sat down across from him.
Wei Yun timely pushed the cup of tea in front of her.
Xie Tao took a sip of tea and then quietly stared at his face.
The faint ink marks she had seen on his face last night were no longer visible.
And the marks on her face, after washing this morning, were also barely noticeable.
Wei Yun raised his eyes and saw her staring straight at him. The light from the candle in the inner room was reflected in the depths of her eyes, like a tiny flickering flame, carrying a hint of warmth.
He felt a bit uneasy, but his voice remained calm as ever, “What are you looking at me for?”
“You’re handsome.”
She held her face, saying such words as if she had become more and more skilled at it.
Wei Yun most appreciated her saying such words without any reservation. For a moment, his eyelashes trembled slightly, and he decisively reached out and stuffed a pastry into her mouth.
Xie Tao suddenly had a mouthful of pastry stuffed into her mouth. She couldn’t say a word, so she could only puff her cheeks and slowly eat the pastry.
Outside the window, shadows were sparse, and fine snowflakes were falling, occasionally leaving a few faint traces on the gauze curtains illuminated by the lights, like flower petals falling from bare branches in an instant.
Wei Bo was already accustomed to Xie Tao’s sudden disappearances, but she always seemed to come out from Wei Yun’s room.
Some things, upon closer examination, he could discern some clues.
But he was unwilling to think deeply and ask too much, a rule he had silently followed for many years in the Master’s residence.
At dinner, Xie Tao once again saw that girl, Shao Liyin, who always seemed cold.
Wei Jing attempted to strike up a conversation with her, but she didn’t say a word from start to finish.
She only nodded and bowed when Xie Tao and Wei Yun walked past the courtyard.
Tonight is the Lantern Festival of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Xie Tao wasn’t late.
As she walked onto the bustling main street, Xie Tao covered her face with silk gauze, curiously looking around.
Various colored lanterns intertwined in the sky, creating a colorful light, like neon lights in a modern city. Clusters of lanterns were lit, illuminating this corner of the city by the Yongdu moat.
Beautiful flower boats slowly approached on the sparkling water, while men and women walked back and forth on the bridge.
Pedestrians on the road brushed past each other, laughter filling the air.
“Wei Yun…”
Xie Tao smelled the tantalizing aroma of noodles from a roadside stall. She reached out to tug at Wei Yun’s sleeve, but he dodged her abruptly.
She paused, her fingers hanging in the air, hesitant.
After a while, she silently withdrew them.
She didn’t say anything, but in her eyes, there was a momentary shadow.
Wei Yun paused for a moment, as if wanting to say something but not speaking.
There were many people around, and he couldn’t get too close to her. This, to her, was ultimately a dangerous thing.
He couldn’t let her be in danger.
Xie Tao didn’t know what he was thinking, but the appetite she had just smelled seemed to dissipate now.
Cold snowflakes fell, melting into faint watermarks on her shoulders.
At that moment, when someone passed by her side, her fingers seemed to accidentally touch the object held under the person’s wide sleeve, causing her fingertip to sting. Reflexively, she raised her hand.
Under the warm yellow light, she clearly saw a bloodstain on her finger.
Xie Tao suddenly turned her head and saw a stranger with slightly dark skin.
As her gaze moved down, she caught a glimpse of a cold gleam hidden in the man’s sleeve.
“Wei…”
She barely spoke when several strangers who were about to pass by suddenly raised their hands, holding short swords.
At the same time, masked men wielding knives emerged from a distance in groups.
Wei Jing and Shao Liyin reacted extremely quickly, immediately standing in front of Wei Yun and Xie Tao, drawing their long swords and discarding the scabbards.
As the blades clashed, sparks flew, accompanied by a piercing sound.
The sudden turn of events frightened the surrounding people, causing screams to erupt as they scattered and fled.
Xie Tao was knocked by the crowd and almost fell, but her wrist was grabbed by a hand.
As she was pulled into his arms, Xie Tao looked up and only managed to see the smooth contour of Wei Yun’s jawline before warm, moist blood splattered on her face.
Carrying a strong scent of blood.
Xie Tao saw Wei Jing behind Wei Yun without hesitation wiping the neck of the man who had just passed by her, his skin slightly darkened.
The man fell to the ground instantly, his eyes widened, and there was a fierce blood mark on his neck.
Xie Tao stared blankly, wiping her face, and then between her fingers, she saw a crimson blood stain, soaking her palm.
There were also blood drops falling down along her eyelashes.
At that moment, Shao Liyin also quickly pierced the chests of several people with the soft sword in her hand.
She was just a sixteen-year-old girl, even two years younger than Xie Tao, but at this moment, she killed several people without even blinking her eyes, as cold as if she had no emotions at all.
And more than a dozen guards who came with the Imperial Master’s Mansion also participated in this fight.
Dead bodies already littered the ground, and blood flowed to Xie Tao’s feet.
This was the first time she had seen a scene of killing so vividly.
She widened her eyes, her whole body stiffened.
At that moment, Wei Yun had already noticed something was wrong with her.
But before he could speak, he felt a gust of wind coming towards him. When he looked up, he saw an arrow flying through the air from a nearby tall building.
Wei Yun’s pupils contracted slightly. He directly flashed with Xie Tao in his arms, and at the same time, quickly reached out and caught the arrow, but the speed of breaking through the airflow caused his palm to be cut in that instant, and the arrowhead also pierced the fabric on Xie Tao’s shoulder, leaving a shallow blood mark.
Xie Tao was still in shock, unable to say anything for a moment.
Wei Yun let go of her, and when he saw her face pale with blood stains, he reached out to wipe the blood off her face, but it stained his palm with blood from her face.
Suddenly, he tore off his own hairband, and the golden crown fell off, his thick black hair spreading out.
He tied the hairband in front of her eyes, embraced her again, and gently kissed her forehead.
At that moment, Xie Tao saw nothing but darkness, only hearing the constant sound of swords clashing and screams around her.
And there was a warm and soft touch on her forehead, fleeting.
Then, she heard his voice in the chilling wind, softly crushing against her ear:
“Tao Tao, don’t be afraid.”
The next moment, she was suddenly pushed out by him, but caught steadily by another person.
“Take her away from here,” she heard the cold voice of Wei Yun.
And immediately, Shao Liyin, who was holding her arm, responded, “Yes, my lord!”
As Shao Liyin demonstrated his light skills and led Xie Tao away, Wei Yun held the arrow stained with his and her blood firmly, watching the dark buildings that had fallen silent after the lanterns had been extinguished.
In the end, only one masked man remained among the attackers.
Surrounded by guards, he stood there with a knife, utterly isolated.
As Wei Yun approached, Wei Jing automatically stepped aside and handed over his bloodied sword.
Wei Yun gripped the sword handle and dragged it toward the man. Sparks flew as the blade scraped against the ground.
Seeing Wei Yun approaching, the man involuntarily stepped back.
But there was no escape behind him.
At this moment, Wei Yun’s brows were as cold as ice, and there was a fierceness about him that was not usually present.
“Speak,” he spoke, his voice cold and devoid of warmth, “who sent you?”
The man showed no intention of answering. With a resolve in his eyes, he stared at Wei Yun and rushed toward him with the knife in his hand.
But before he reached Wei Yun, he was pierced through the abdomen by the guards surrounding him.
He fell to the ground, coughing up blood, staining his black mask with a darker hue.
Wei Yun let out a cold laugh.
Without hesitation, he tightened his grip on the sword and thrust it into the man’s chest.
Then, he kicked one of the burning lanterns nearby onto the man. As the flames engulfed him, Wei Yun remained calm, watching as the fire gradually consumed the man, seeing him struggle, and then slowly fade away into silence.
The smell of burning filled the air, and Wei Yun tossed the long sword in his hand to Wei Jing.
As he turned around, he saw a slender figure standing on the flower boat by the water’s edge, illuminated by the lantern shadows.
Clad in luxurious garments, with a handsome face, it was none other than Prince Xin — Zhao Zhengrong.
