In the swirling smoke, An Jiu’s slender figure stood out. The dazzling snow behind her cast an ethereal glow, making everything seem dreamlike. Her wide sleeves hung down like a butterfly at rest, or a hawk with folded wings. It was hard to tell if she looked fragile or strong.

Chu Dijiang’s gaze fixed on her face. The dark blue dress accentuated her jade-like complexion. Her black hair was styled elegantly, without any unnecessary ornaments, giving her a particularly clean and simple appearance.

For some reason, this reminded Chu Dijiang of the first night he saw her body. His face heated up, and the book in his hand fell into the pile of medicinal herbs with a thud.

The sudden noise woke Wei Yuzhi from his daze. The current An Jiu looked somewhat different from when he first fell for her. It wasn’t just her appearance; her demeanor had also become more gentle and serene. In the past, An Jiu seemed quiet when she wasn’t killing, but it was a stillness like the oppressive calm before a storm as if she might explode at any moment.

“Dressed like this, you look somewhat like a woman!” Mo Sigui remarked.

An Jiu sat down beside Chu Dijiang. Mei Jiu followed her in and nodded slightly to the three men as a greeting.

“Beautiful,” Chu Dijiang praised softly.

An Jiu nodded. “I know.”

“Can’t you be a bit more modest?” Mo Sigui said disapprovingly.

An Jiu turned to look at him. “Do you have a problem with that?”

“Yes, I do!” Mo Sigui blurted out but immediately sensed the strange atmosphere. He suddenly remembered that the other two men in the room had feelings for her. But words once spoken were like spilled water; it was too late to take them back.

The tension was palpable. Everyone thought An Jiu would impulsively go to hit Mo Sigui, but she merely glanced away indifferently. “I’m dressed for Chu Dijiang to see. I don’t care about your opinion. You probably won’t have the chance to give opinions in the future anyway. Lou Mingyue won’t dress up for you to see.”

Mo Sigui’s heart sank instantly. He turned away, looking as if he never wanted to speak to this woman again.

Wei Yuzhi lowered his eyelids, concealing the darkness in his eyes.

The entire room seemed divided by Mei Jiu. On one side, the sun shone brightly; on the other, gloom prevailed.

“Cousin, shall I have this room tidied up as well?” Mei Jiu asked.

“Not!” Mo Sigui quickly objected. “My room is very neat. It doesn’t need tidying.”

There was barely space to stand in the room; calling it neat was blind. But Mei Jiu understood Mo Sigui to some extent. She knew this statement was mainly to ease the tension, not a genuine desire to tidy the room. “All right then, never mind.”

She then looked at Wei Yuzhi. “Should we prepare a room for this gentleman?”

“No need,” Mo Sigui refused again. “If you have time, go hold your son. Don’t come here making trouble.”

Mei Jiu didn’t get angry. With a tolerant expression that said “I know you’re upset because of heartbreak, I don’t blame you,” she smiled and said, “It’s almost New Year’s. I just wanted everyone to have a better time.”

Mo Sigui felt even more frustrated seeing this. If it weren’t for Chu Dijiang, that living King Yama, he would have immediately thrown these two out!

After sitting awkwardly for a while, Mei Jiu asked Mo Sigui to check on her son’s health. Chu Dijiang and An Jiu then returned to their room.

Only when An Jiu’s figure disappeared did Wei Yuzhi withdraw his gaze.

In the corridor, An Jiu looked back, feeling inexplicably low-spirited. She could feel Wei Yuzhi’s gaze and sense his inner emotions.

If there was someone in this world whose true feelings you could clearly see and constantly feel, could you still treat them like a stranger?

An Jiu couldn’t.

Having seen her father’s cruelty, she knew how rare true feelings were. How could she remain unmoved when faced with genuine emotion?

Her mother’s loyalty had a profound impact on An Jiu. Back then, she despised such foolish behavior, but when it happened to her, she was surprised to find herself willing to stay faithful to one person for life.

“It’s you,” An Jiu grabbed Chu Dijiang’s hand.

“Hm?” Chu Dijiang looked at her, puzzled.

An Jiu paused. “I’ve started to care about other men, but I still feel you’re the one who won’t change his heart for a lifetime.”

Chu Dijiang was silent for a moment, then smiled slightly and patted her head. “Good girl.”

Chu Dijiang was a perceptive person; nothing escaped his notice. But there was a difference between him noticing and An Jiu admitting it herself. He was happy that An Jiu was so honest.

“It’s okay to be distracted occasionally. I trust you,” Chu Dijiang said in a deep voice, embracing her.

Meanwhile, in the room, Wei Yuzhi lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling beams. His white hair cascaded from the edge of the bed to the floor, like snow and frost.

He rarely had moments like this, allowing himself to think of nothing, his mind completely blank.

…

Kaifeng had been clear for many days. As the accumulated snow melted, it became even colder than when it was snowing. Most people chose to stay indoors.

Two days before the New Year, it suddenly started snowing again. The snowflakes were like goose feathers, falling with the momentum to bury the city and its high buildings, dense and heavy.

An Jiu loved to sit by the fire basin in such weather, wearing only comfortable undergarments wrapped in a quilt, nestled beside Chu Dijiang.

“Let’s leave after the New Year,” An Jiu frowned, her eyes reflecting the fire in the basin. “I just remembered I accepted a bounty task that I haven’t completed yet! Where’s that bounty notice?”

Chu Dijiang poked at the charcoal with a fire iron. “It’s too late. You’ve probably already been put on the bounty list yourself.”

Seeing An Jiu’s confused expression from the corner of his eye, he explained, “Those who accept a bounty but fail to complete the task will be hunted by the Bounty List.”

Being hunted by the Bounty List was equivalent to being hunted by all the assassins in the world. This was not good news.

“Hmm.” An Jiu was unhappy. She had ended up in this situation again! In her previous life, she had also been wanted by the whole world…

Chu Dijiang didn’t take this matter too seriously. “It’s not a big deal. If there’s no better way, we can kill the person in charge of the Bounty List. All bounties will be canceled then.”

This was the rule of the Bounty List. Each manager had their list, and no tasks would be carried over to the next manager.

“Who’s the person behind the Bounty List?” An Jiu asked.

Chu Dijiang’s gaze fell on the pendant at her waist.

It was a black jade pendant with a human face, which had come into her possession a few days ago.

“Hua Rongjian!” An Jiu sat up straight.

Chu Dijiang made an affirmative sound.

“Are you sure?” An Jiu found it hard to believe. In the past, Hua Rongjian had been very active and famous, almost always in the public eye in Kaifeng. If he could still secretly manage the Bounty List like this, he must have incredible depth!

“He took over the Bounty List less than two years ago,” Chu Dijiang guessed her doubts and explained, “This information is accurate. The Yu clan and he together eliminated the original forces behind the Bounty List. Then Hua Er exchanged the water and land passage permits for the Yu clan to relinquish control of the Bounty List. The Yu clan wasn’t interested in it anyway, so they naturally agreed.”

The current head of the Yu clan was Yu Pianfei, the younger brother of Zhu Pianzhan.

Chu Dijiang continued, “The jade pendant he gave you is one of the tokens of the Bounty List. If you don’t want to kill him, you can use this to remove your bounty.”

“If he has the power to remove bounties, why didn’t he just cancel it directly instead of giving me this thing?” An Jiu asked.

Chu Dijiang replied, “The Bounty List has a long history, and many managers have come and gone, but its rules have never changed. For the sake of fairness, the Bounty List has never been a one-man show; many rules constrain it. Since the Bounty List’s inception, this jade pendant has existed. It’s given to those who have rendered meritorious service to the List. The holder can use it to make the Bounty List do one thing.”