As night deepened, having finalized the general arrangements for heading to Ancient Sword Mountain with the sect Elders and Murong Yue, Su Yi was finally able to return to his secluded courtyard.
Moonlight flowed like water over the bluestone path, accompanied only by the rustling chirps of insects. He let out a long breath of relief.
Subconsciously, he reached back and rubbed a spot on his lower waist, where the sore ache of being pinched with pinpoint precision by two fingers still seemed to linger.
“That girl Gongsun Lin actually pinched me for an entire day...”
Recalling how she had clung to his back like a little pendant—no matter how many hints he gave her with his eyes, her hand stubbornly gripped the fabric at his waist, giving it a resentful twist from time to time—Su Yi surprisingly felt no aversion to it.
Pushing open the courtyard gate, the familiar crisp, cool air greeted him. The bamboo shadows swayed gently in total silence, no different from when he had left. Because of Gongsun Lin, he had not looked for any more maidservants, and as expected, the place was completely deserted.
However, the moment he reached out to push open his bedroom door, his movement paused slightly.
Something seemed different inside. It was not any dangerous aura, but rather... an extra trace of an exceedingly faint, elusive fragrance.
His gaze sharpened slightly. Pushing the door open without showing any reaction, he saw that the room’s furnishings remained as simple as ever, with moonlight filtering through the window lattice to cast mottled patches of light and shadow across the floor.
And beside the desk by the window, an exquisite food box had appeared at some point.
Su Yi stepped forward and lifted the lid of the food box.
Neatly arranged inside were several light dishes alongside a pot of Clear Heart Tea that still retained some residual warmth. While the dishes could hardly be called top-tier in presentation, they clearly bore the marks of meticulous care.
There was no note, nor any signature.
“It seems it’s not completely deserted after all.”
He sat down, picked up a pair of chopsticks, and tasted a bite of the still-warm food. The flavor was just right.
“Junior Sister really does know me best.” The tension in the corners of Su Yi’s eyes relaxed, and the fatigue and turbulence of the day gradually dispersed.
However, just as Su Yi let down his guard, his chewing abruptly halted, his body tensing in an instant.
A cool, silky-smooth hand slithered noiselessly around his waist like a spiritual serpent.
He moved to react on instinct, but another slender, jade-like finger, carrying a faint scent, was already pressed gently against his lips.
“Shh—don’t make a sound. If people found out that the Young Manor Lord of Divine Might Manor and the Young Pavilion Master of Perching Phoenix Pavilion were having a midnight rendezvous...” A languid, teasing voice whispered into his ear, warm breath brushing against his earlobe. “I can hardly imagine how massive of a stir that news would cause.”
It was Ming Xi!
Su Yi raised his hand, precisely slapping away the hand encircled around his waist while turning aside to put some distance between them.
The two locked eyes in the dim light. Two pairs of equally brilliant golden eyes clashed in the night—one filled with annoyance and vigilance at being disturbed, the other overflowing with cunning and intrigue.
“What are you doing here?” Su Yi’s voice regained its calm, devoid of any ripples.
In the game, he had not paid much attention to the character of Ming Xi. After all, she was more like a plot device character; although she had a grade, she was destined to die an early death in the later storyline.
Perhaps it had been to pave the way for the female lead, since Ming Xi was also an individual of peerless talent.
Su Yi still remembered that in Ming Xi’s character setting, she seemed to succeed at everything she tried. Because she was too powerful, she had lost interest in virtually everything.
Originally, during the Ascendance Gathering, Su Yi had thought Ming Xi had stopped paying much attention to him. But now, it seemed that because of what happened in the Foundation Establishment secret realm, her gaze was fixed upon him once again.
‘Tsk, being targeted by this woman always gives me an uncomfortable feeling.’
Across from him, hearing Su Yi’s distant words, Ming Xi smoothly and lightly sat down on the other side of the desk. Resting her chin in one hand, she idly twirled an empty teacup with the other.
Smiling brightly at Su Yi, her gaze swept over the dishes on the table that had already been touched. “Curiosity, nothing more.”
She paused, her tone still tinged with laughter. “So, how is it... is my cooking not bad?” Although she wore a smile, it did not reach her eyes, instead carrying traces of chill.
She had never expected Su Yi to eat it so unreservedly. After all, to consume food that mysteriously appeared in one’s room without the slightest precaution...
...that could only mean he had long grown accustomed to someone doing this, trusting that person to a profound degree.
At the thought that someone had forged such an intimate, even tacit relationship with Su Yi without her knowledge, that inexplicable irritation surged in Ming Xi’s heart once more.
It was not any profound affection, but rather resembled the unpleasant possessiveness triggered when a unique possession one had taken an interest in—yet had not fully claimed—was touched by another first.
Her golden eyes narrowed slightly. Though the corners of her mouth remained curved upward, the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.
Su Yi frowned slightly, a flicker of helplessness flashing through his golden eyes, though his tone deliberately took on the authority of the Young Manor Lord: “Fellow Daoist Ming, trespassing into someone else’s courtyard in the dead of night is hardly proper guest etiquette, is it?”
Hearing this, Ming Xi did not take offense; instead, her smile turned even more charming. Tapping her slender finger against the dishes, she tilted her head. “Young Manor Lord Su wrongs me with those words. Am I not visiting with a ‘gift in hand’?”
She deliberately emphasized the words “gift in hand,” mischief rippling in her gaze. “Besides, from what I saw just now... weren’t you savoring it quite delightfully?”
As she spoke, she put on an aggrieved expression, her red lips pouting slightly in mock reproach. “Sigh, pity my good intentions. Not only did you not invite me to sit and drink a cup of tea, but you treat me so coldly. Young Manor Lord Su, your hospitality isn’t any better either.”
Su Yi’s eyelid twitched as he listened.
Honestly, he considered himself someone who did not strictly follow conventions, but this Young Pavilion Master of Perching Phoenix Pavilion before him was simply far more reckless and unrestrained than he was!
Sneaking soundlessly into someone else’s courtyard in the middle of the night—and the key point was, his status was the Young Manor Lord!
What was more, she was not Gongsun Lin!
Right now, Su Yi truly had no desire to get tangled up with her any further and only wanted to send her packing as quickly as possible. Thus, he asked point-blank, “Speak plainly, Young Pavilion Master Ming. What exactly is your purpose in paying a late-night visit?”
Ming Xi did not answer immediately.
She tilted her head to the side, her gaze seemingly directed toward the deep darkness outside the window, the profile of her face tracing an exquisite curve in the moonlight. “Nothing much. I just wanted to ask you... why did you choose to go to Ancient Sword Mountain?”
“...”
“???” Following the silence, Su Yi had no idea how to respond.
So, picking up a peanut with his chopsticks, he tossed it casually into his mouth. “Could I answer you by explaining why I just happen to like eating peanuts?”
Rate on N.U.
