The night was still, disturbed only by a light breeze. The Longyuan continent had already entered autumn, but here in seasonless Nanzhao, it remained a summer night regardless.
In the woods, Meng Duo’er had no idea how long she’d held her turned-head pose—the bright moon had already begun sinking, and still she hadn’t spoken a word.
Loving someone, this process was destined to be long and painful.
Sometimes, she envied Yelu Qianqian—envied her boldness, her willingness to simply tell Situ Haonan how she felt, and even after being rejected, being disdained, she’d still chased him across the entire world!
But she, given her nature… simply couldn’t do it!
At that moment, Baili Weisheng had no idea the person beside him was staring at him so foolishly. He genuinely had things weighing on his mind, thoughts filled with Baili Xiaosheng, with Jun Buli, and even more so with Consort Li.
From what he understood, there were no inns anywhere near Yuqiong Mountain—aside from the Xiao family estate, there wasn’t a single soul for a hundred li in any direction. Where could Consort Li possibly be staying?
Jun Buli was absolutely the type to avoid trouble, yet he’d insisted on bringing Consort Li along despite all the inconvenience. Why did Consort Li’s presence matter so much?
And right now, was Jun Buli with Consort Li? Where were they?
Turning it over and over in his mind, Baili Weisheng simply couldn’t fall asleep. He finally sat up, and the moment he did, Meng Duo’er instinctively turned her head away, closing her eyes and feigning sleep, terrified of being caught in the act of watching him.
To her surprise, what followed was complete silence—no movement at all.
Curious, Meng Duo’er opened her eyes, only to find Baili Weisheng had already vanished.
“Where’d he go?” Meng Duo’er murmured to herself, and after a moment’s thought, silently leapt down from the tree as well.
Might as well go look for him—or just wander around a bit. She wasn’t going to sleep tonight anyway.
Baili Weisheng had had much the same thought. By now, he’d already crossed through the back garden and landed atop the roof of a tall building within the Xiao family estate, surveying the entire compound.
His eyes held a certain sharpness; in the silence, his handsome, refined face carried an added air of mystery. Alone like this, he seemed quite different from his usual self.
In truth, when he chose to be serious, he bore no resemblance to a scholar at all.
Sensing some movement, he immediately shot off to the right. But before long, he ran straight into Meng Duo’er coming the other way.
Only, the movement he’d sensed didn’t seem to be Meng Duo’er at all—it was someone else entirely.
Meng Duo’er was about to speak, but he immediately made a silencing gesture, urging her to stay quiet, and carefully stepped across the roof tiles, passing by Meng Duo’er, making his way to the corner of the roof, where he indeed found the person he’d truly been searching for—Jun Buli!
Meng Duo’er hurried over, peering down as well, and saw Jun Buli with one hand clamped over a young woman’s mouth, pressing her against the wall with the other.
The girl was slender, dressed in purple robes over white gauze, her face concealed behind a mask, her true appearance hidden.
“Jun…”
Meng Duo’er was about to call out, but Baili Weisheng suddenly grabbed her, one hand yanking her close, the other instantly clamping over her mouth, glaring at her fiercely—an expression as serious as could possibly be, startling Meng Duo’er into stunned silence.
This, she had to admit, was the first time in all these years of knowing him that she’d truly seen him fierce, truly been frightened by him.
So startled was she that Meng Duo’er didn’t even register her current situation.
Baili Weisheng was quite tall, and though Meng Duo’er wasn’t short herself, she still barely reached his shoulder. Having just been yanked and silenced so abruptly, she now found herself trapped in his embrace, the back of her head pressed against his solid chest.
At first she hadn’t noticed, but after a while, hearing the strong, steady beat of his heart, there was simply no way for her not to notice!
The moment she realized she was held in his arms, her entire composure crumbled instantly. She carefully lifted her head to look, and from this angle, his sharply defined, cold face appeared even more handsome, even more distant.
She tried hard not to think too much of it, not to dwell on it, but she simply couldn’t control herself.
She couldn’t control her ears, listening to his powerful heartbeat, feeling his strength;
She couldn’t control her sense of smell, catching the faint scent of dragon-spice incense clinging to him, his distinctive fragrance seeming to envelop her entirely;
She couldn’t control her face flushing red, tensing, freezing.
Her heart pounded wildly, her whole composure shattered, and yet she wished this moment could last a little longer, wished he wouldn’t let go.
In this moment, Meng Duo’er was certain—she was hopelessly in love with him, beyond any cure, and equally certain that in this lifetime, she would never again give up on him!
At this very moment, she found herself wondering what Yelu Qianqian would do in her place.
Pry his hand away, then instead cover his mouth, and confess to him face to face?
Or grab his hand and refuse to let go, saying word by word, “Baili Weisheng, let’s be together!”
At that moment, Meng Duo’er felt filled with courage—yet before she could decide what to do,
Baili Weisheng suddenly released her, both the hand over her mouth and the hand gripping her letting go at the same instant. The moment he let go, he leapt away.
Jun Buli had taken the masked girl and left—of course Baili Weisheng had to give chase.
Regardless of whether the masked girl was Baili Xiaosheng or not, finding Jun Buli at night, tracking him, discovering wherever he was staying for the night—he might just run into Consort Li there too!
Meng Duo’er, snapping back to her senses, was about to give chase as well, but suddenly Xiao family guards came rushing from one side—no wonder Jun Buli had left.
Meng Duo’er had no choice but to hide. Once the guards had passed, she found she could no longer locate Baili Weisheng or the others, and helplessly had to head back for now.
In truth, neither Jun Buli nor Baili Weisheng had gone far at all.
Just around a nearby corner, Jun Buli still held the masked girl captive, and Baili Weisheng still perched on a rooftop—only, this time Jun Buli had spotted him.
At that moment, he still had one hand clamped over the girl’s mouth, pinning her against the wall, and he looked up toward Baili Weisheng. “When did you get here?”
“When you were little, you used to call me Uncle Scholar. Grown up, and you’ve lost all your manners?” Baili Weisheng said, raising an eyebrow.
“Would it really suit me to still call you ‘Uncle’ now?” Jun Buli shot back, eyeing Baili Weisheng with disdain—by appearance alone, they both looked like young men of roughly the same age.
“If you’re willing, I’d be delighted,” Baili Weisheng said shamelessly, grinning cheerfully.
The two of them bantered back and forth, seemingly having entirely forgotten there was still a girl present. The girl’s phoenix eyes, visible beneath her half-butterfly mask, were already blazing with fury, on the verge of erupting.
Finally, her phoenix eyes narrowed, and she suddenly raised a foot, kicking viciously toward Jun Buli’s vital area!
But Jun Buli caught her ankle effortlessly, with perfect precision and timing, and with a hard yank, sent the girl crashing flat onto her back, sprawled out with all four limbs in the air.
“You bastard!”
The girl cursed furiously, but Jun Buli, still gripping her ankle, actually pulled her foot up toward her own mouth to silence her—it had to be said, this girl’s flexibility was genuinely impressive!
The tip of her right foot pressed right against her own mouth, forcing her to clamp it shut, lest she end up eating her own shoe!
“Who exactly are you, and what are you doing here at the Xiao estate?” Jun Buli demanded coldly.
He’d nearly been struck by one of her concealed darts during their earlier encounter—this girl, despite her young age, was not only skilled with hidden weapons but clearly had considerable martial prowess as well. Judging by her manner, she wasn’t a native of Nanzhao.
Getting a closer look, Baili Weisheng immediately recognized this girl wasn’t Baili Xiaosheng. He settled back lazily on the rooftop, letting Jun Buli handle things, thinking to himself that this fellow really showed women absolutely no tenderness whatsoever!