Black-robed Feng Lan…

How could it be him?

Mu Yunjin immediately averted her gaze. Although she had changed her appearance, Feng Lan was meticulous, and he might discover her presence.

At this moment, Qiqi, Hua Ying, and the others also noticed something amiss. They all fell silent, turning their backs to Black-robed Feng Lan, waiting for him to pass behind them.

After Feng Lan walked away, Qiqi stood up and approached Mu Yunjin, lowering her voice. “Master, what is this old demon doing here?”

Mu Yunjin shook her head and pursed her lips. Seeing Feng Lan made her inexplicably think of Qin Munan.

Qin Munan had been poisoned with the Love Poison. She wondered how he was doing now.

“Isn’t that the southern suburbs over there? Why would he go to the outskirts for no reason?” Hua Ying frowned, looking in the direction Feng Lan had gone.

“Could it be that he knows the Master has come here and is specifically looking for the Master’s whereabouts?” Qiqi thought of a possibility.

…

…

Mu Yunjin bit her lip. “Let’s find a place to sit down first.”

“Mm.”

…

Yuncheng Teahouse.

“Since this old demon has appeared in Zhangzhou City, there might be other accomplices here as well,” Qiqi said.

Mu Yunjin took a sip of water. She hadn’t expected to encounter such people after staying in Zhangzhou City for just two days. It was truly troublesome.

“Chu Qing’s uncle is Qiu Tianhuai, the governor of Zhangzhou City. Perhaps Black Robe has some connection to him as well,” Huang Yan spoke up.

“Let’s not worry about this matter for now. We’ll stay in the Fengyu Pavilion, and these people can cause whatever trouble they want,” Hua Ying said indifferently.

Mu Yunjin nodded, but when she glanced at Huang Yan, she suddenly bit her lower lip and said quietly to him, “By the way, could they be targeting the black market?”

After all, in Zhangzhou City, the only thing that could connect to Chu Li was that black market.

Hearing this, Huang Yan slammed the table forcefully, his brows furrowing. “That’s right! How could I have forgotten! I must go check…”

After speaking, Huang Yan had already employed his lightness skill and flown out the window.

“Hua Ying, go follow him and see! What if he can’t handle it alone!” Qiqi urged Hua Ying to go along.

Hua Ying was slightly startled, but she still flew out and rushed in the direction Huang Yan had disappeared.

Only Mu Yunjin and Qiqi remained in the teahouse.

Mu Yunjin rested her head on her hand. “Qiqi, when do you think this world will become peaceful?”

“Unless all those people are dead, don’t expect peace,” Qiqi shrugged.

“Mm, that makes sense,” Mu Yunjin pouted and looked at the time. It was approaching dusk, and before long, it would be dark.

She held the newly bought lantern with a blank slip of paper inside the lamp wick, presumably for making wishes.

After some thought, Mu Yunjin felt a surge of inspiration. She stood up, walked to the door, and called for the waiter to bring ink and a brush.

After the writing materials were brought, Mu Yunjin ground some ink, picked up the brush, and began writing on the slip of paper.

Qiqi rested her chin in her hands, watching Mu Yunjin with a smile. “Master, your wish must be for eternal love with Prince Ning! Then having several plump sons and living a perfectly happy life!”

Mu Yunjin’s mouth twitched. This girl was quite accurate; she had guessed almost everything correctly.

Changing the subject, Mu Yunjin looked at Qiqi. “What about you? What’s your wish?”

“I want to marry Brother Lei Yan, but we can never be together in this life,” Qiqi said, appearing somewhat dejected.

“Why?” Mu Yunjin put down her brush and looked at Qiqi.

Qiqi pursed her lips. “I am a cat spirit, and he is a lion spirit. We don’t belong to the same category, so we cannot be together.”

“What if you were to be together?” Mu Yunjin asked.

“Fish Granny says we would face divine punishment,” Qiqi said, lowering her eyes dejectedly.

After a pause, Qiqi added, “And Hua Ying and Huang Yan, they also cannot be together, or they too will face a bad outcome.”

“Is there no way to defy fate?” Mu Yunjin thought it was a pity.

“To defy heaven, one must be able to fight against it. Looking at the world today, who can fight against heaven?” The more Qiqi spoke, the more sorrowful she became.

Mu Yunjin sighed.

After waiting for more than half an hour, the sky finally darkened. Qiqi had already regained her usual smiling face and pulled Mu Yunjin along, excitedly running downstairs with the lanterns.

Mu Yunjin held her lantern as she walked on the street.

Tonight was the Lantern Festival, and the streets were bustling with activity. All the young men and women were running in one direction.

Mu Yunjin and Qiqi followed these young people to a lakeside. Qiqi looked at Mu Yunjin. “Master, these lanterns can be released into the sky or floated on water. Which one do you prefer?”

“Let’s float them on the water.” If they released them into the sky and they fell someday, wouldn’t all their wishes be exposed?

Qiqi nodded and looked toward the lake. “There are too many people now. We might get crushed if we go there. Let’s wander around and eat something first.”

“Alright,” Mu Yunjin agreed.

The two changed direction and walked toward the nearby stalls. After a few steps, Qiqi spotted a stall selling candied haws. She bought two skewers and handed one to Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin had been particularly fond of sour foods lately. These candied haws suited her taste perfectly. She sat contentedly on a nearby railing, enjoying them.

“Why haven’t those two returned yet?” Qiqi licked the sugar coating, glancing around from time to time.

“I don’t know.” Mu Yunjin chewed on the haws. Hearing Qiqi mention this, she began to worry a bit.

Seeing Mu Yunjin’s slight frown, Qiqi immediately changed the subject. “It’s fine. Huang Yan is clever; he won’t get into trouble. Besides, Hua Ying is with him. She’s a poison expert; no one can easily deal with her.”

“True.” Hearing this, Mu Yunjin felt more at ease.

Since becoming pregnant, her temperament had become more indecisive. Sometimes, even her ability to make decisions seemed to vanish.

After finishing a skewer of the sweet and sour candied haws, Mu Yunjin’s appetite opened up. She pulled Qiqi toward other food stalls.

Qiqi was naturally fond of eating. Together with Mu Yunjin, they sampled food from stall after stall, almost forgetting about releasing the lanterns.

“I’m stuffed…”

After some time, Mu Yunjin finally couldn’t eat anymore. She leaned against a wall, holding her belly.

Qiqi let out a satisfied burp and looked around. “Master, there are still too many people. Let’s rest here for a while.”

“Mm, I can’t walk anymore anyway,” Mu Yunjin sighed.

Qiqi leaned against the wall and sat down, her gaze wandering. When her eyes caught sight of a figure, she immediately stood up, grabbed Mu Yunjin’s arm, and hid around a nearby corner.

“What’s wrong?” Mu Yunjin was startled by Qiqi’s sudden movement.

“Look…” Qiqi pointed ahead.

Mu Yunjin looked in that direction and saw Black-robed Feng Lan appear again. Unlike during the day, this time he was accompanied by a woman who was holding a lantern.

“Who is that woman? She looks quite young,” Mu Yunjin observed the woman, who appeared to be no more than thirty or so.

“The old demon is only in his forties or fifties, not old enough to have a daughter that age. Could she be his wife?” Qiqi rubbed her chin.

Mu Yunjin shook her head. “She doesn’t look like a wife either. A mistress perhaps?”

“I don’t know,” Qiqi pouted.

Mu Yunjin leaned forward, blending into the crowd, closely watching Black-robed Feng Lan’s movements.

She saw Black-robed Feng Lan holding the woman’s waist as they walked toward the lake. Black Robe occasionally turned his head to chat and laugh with the woman, his expression showing a gentleness she had never seen before…

Mu Yunjin found it surreal.

At this moment, Huang Yan and Hua Ying appeared from one side.

Mu Yunjin immediately retreated and looked at them. “How did it go? Any problems?”

“No problems. I’ve secretly dispatched additional guards to the black market to keep watch,” Huang Yan answered.

“Then why were you gone for so long?” Qiqi asked.

Hearing this, Hua Ying rarely showed a smile. “We encountered an unusual phenomenon on the way.”

After speaking, Hua Ying pointed in the direction of Black-robed Feng Lan, obviously knowing that Mu Yunjin and Qiqi had discovered Black Robe and the woman.

“Who is that woman? Do you know her?” Mu Yunjin’s gossip spirit was ignited once more.

Hua Ying shook her head.

Seeing this, Huang Yan suddenly smiled mischievously, shaking his shoulders. “This young master knows.”

“Really?” Three female voices spoke simultaneously.

“That woman is called Shen Wanning. She lives in the Governor’s mansion. Huang Yan raised his eyebrows, looking at the three.

Mu Yunjin was startled. “In the Governor’s mansion? What’s her relationship with Qiu Tianhuai?”

“That I don’t know. But this is the first time I’ve seen this woman having any connection with Black Robe, which makes me curious.” Huang Yan looked toward the lake, where he could now see Black Robe and Shen Wanning crouching together at the lakeside.

“Let’s move somewhere else first,” Huang Yan added.

Mu Yunjin and the others nodded and left the vicinity.

…

After a long while, when people on the street began to disperse, Mu Yunjin and the others returned to the lakeside. By now, Black Robe was nowhere to be seen.

Standing by the lake, Mu Yunjin lit her lantern and carefully floated it onto the water. Then, she silently made a wish to the lantern.

Huang Yan, standing nearby, suddenly used his inner force to summon back a lantern that had already drifted far away on the lake surface.

Seeing the lantern rapidly floating back, Mu Yunjin raised her eyebrows. “What are you doing?”

“I want to see what the old demon wrote on his lantern,” Huang Yan grinned mischievously, bending down to examine the lantern. Upon seeing the note tied to the wick, he was immediately amused.

“There is a note!”

The three others gathered around, staring at the note in Huang Yan’s hand.

Huang Yan unfolded the note, cleared his throat, and read it out with great solemnity. “You were born before me; when I was born, you were already old. If there is a next life, I will surely stay with you forever, not failing this deep affection.”

“Are you sure this is their lantern?” Mu Yunjin touched the goosebumps on her arm.

Huang Yan stared at the lantern. “Yes, there are names on the lantern petals!”

As he spoke, Mu Yunjin looked at the petals of the lantern and indeed saw the characters ‘Ning’ and ‘Lan’.

“Who would have thought that Black Robe, at forty-five, would still be so romantic!” Mu Yunjin pursed her lips in a light smile, taking the note back from Huang Yan’s hand, placing it back in the lantern, and letting the lantern float back onto the water.

Huang Yan pouted. “It seems we need to thoroughly investigate Shen Wanning’s identity.”