Naturally, showing off for Warrior Li.

Pei Xiao snapped open his folding fan with a “pa” and waved it a few times.

Mm, too dashing and elegant.

“Tang Jianxi sent word that Yan Sanhe is at Muli Mountain. Xie Fifty was worried and went to meet her personally—he’s already left.”

After ten days of meticulous care from Tangyuan, Li Buyan’s face had gained some color, but her whole person was still weak, and her voice faint.

“In such a hurry?”

“It’s called ‘one day apart feels like three autumns’—couldn’t be stopped.”

Pei Xiao waved his fan again. “You have to understand him.”

Li Buyan had heard Third Master mention that the heart demon had been resolved and that Yan Sanhe was at Muli Mountain, so she wasn’t worried.

She just found it strange that this person hadn’t gone along.

“You…”

“I have too much to do at the yamen, couldn’t get away for even a moment, so I didn’t go with him.”

Pei Xiao puffed out his chest, bringing out his very comforting waistline. “Want to eat lychees? I’ll peel one for you.”

“Too cloying!”

“Then… shall I crack some melon seeds for you?”

“Too dry!”

“Preserved fruit?”

Li Buyan’s lips curved upward. “Young Master Pei…”

“Before he left, he repeatedly instructed me to look after you more.”

Afraid she’d see through him, Pei Xiao quickly changed the subject. “By the way, Shen Chong just came on Huairen’s behalf to ask how your injuries are doing.”

The first step of making a move—reconnaissance.

Whether a campaign could achieve victory, this step was absolutely critical.

This was what, exactly?

This was called crisis awareness.

“Won’t die.” Li Buyan replied weakly with three words.

Yet these three words made Pei Xiao break out in a palm full of sweat.

What emotion did this express?

Was she sulking or indifferent?

“That day…”

Pei Xiao coughed once. “Why fight so desperately?”

Li Buyan: “Wasn’t it you all who told me to protect him well?”

The words weren’t wrong.

But…

Pei Xiao coughed a few more times. “Do you still have feelings for him…?”

“Unfinished old love?”

“Hey, I’m not deliberately prying.”

Pei Xiao didn’t think twice before passing the buck.

“It’s just that your injuries are too severe. Xie Fifty is afraid he won’t be able to explain to Yan Sanhe, so he wants to find an excuse to put her off.”

“Then please convey to Third Master on my behalf.”

Li Buyan’s voice was somewhat hoarse. “I’ve always loved the new and despised the old.”

What an excellent quality!

Pei Xiao wanted to grin from ear to ear but forcibly held back. “That’s exactly what I told Xie Fifty—what kind of person do you take our Warrior Li for?”

“Young Master Pei.”

Tangyuan entered carrying a medicine cup. “It’s getting late. Let Miss Li rest. She can’t overtax herself with this injury.”

Damn it.

Don’t you have any perception? From now on the nickname “shit-stirrer” is yours.

Pei Xiao’s rear end didn’t budge as he racked his brains thinking of what excuse he could use to stay in this room a bit longer.

“Pei Mingting.”

“Ah?”

Li Buyan looked at him and said slowly, “There’s no difficulty in anything as long as you’re willing to give up. He and I aren’t the same kind of people, nor are you and I.”

Pei Xiao’s fan paused mid-wave.

Strange—why did it feel like the lamp in the room had suddenly dimmed considerably?

“You deserve better,” Li Buyan said softly.

So.

She saw through my feelings?

So.

I failed before I even began?

Pei Xiao’s perfectly straight waistline collapsed in an instant.

He looked at Li Buyan silently, then stood up and walked out with his head down.

Tangyuan had never seen Young Master Pei so dejected and couldn’t help saying softly, “Miss Li, at least…”

“When you break it off, break it off cleanly. When you reject someone, reject them decisively and without mercy.”

Li Buyan’s tone was cold. “At least we’ll see each other often. I can’t mislead him.”

Tangyuan: “…”

…

A three-day journey—Xie Zhifei made it in two days.

When he arrived, it was also night.

He dismounted and discovered a boat moored by the river with a lamp lit on board.

He pointed at the boat. “Your master’s?”

Xue Zhao nodded.

Hearing it was Tang Jianxi’s boat, Xie Zhifei boarded directly.

Entering the cabin, he was stunned. Tang Jianxi sat upright, leisurely drinking tea under the lamplight.

“Master, Third Master came alone, brought no one. We ran non-stop for two days and nights.”

Xie Zhifei turned his head, looking at Xue Zhao strangely.

Why say all this?

“Third Master, please sit!”

Tang Jianxi pointed to the chair opposite the tea table. “Have some hot tea to quench your thirst. I’ve been waiting for you for quite some time.”

Xie Zhifei was somewhat baffled. “Master Tang, what act are you putting on?”

“No act—I just waited here specifically, wanting to speak some words from my heart with Third Master.”

“Wait—first tell me, has Yan Sanhe woken up?”

At this critical juncture, he was still concerned about Yan Sanhe. Looked like the gamble paid off.

Tang Jianxi smiled lightly. “Actually, she only slept for a day and night before waking up.”

Just as Xie Zhifei was about to mentally ask “why lie to him,” a matter suddenly came to mind—

Yan Sanhe wasn’t Xue Zhao’s master; Tang Jianxi was.

Why would he promise Yan Sanhe not to leak a single word?

Xue Zhao clearly couldn’t leak a single word, yet he deliberately revealed the most crucial information to him—that the incense lighter was Yan Sanhe.

Wasn’t this using one’s own spear to strike one’s own shield?

“So…”

Xie Zhifei’s gaze sharpened. “Master Tang deliberately lured me up the mountain?”

“Yes!”

Seeing he’d guessed it, Tang Jianxi stopped hiding. “The incense lighter is Miss Yan. What did Third Master think of?”

Xie Zhifei raised an eyebrow. “Naturally, whatever Master Tang thought of, I thought of as well.”

Tang Jianxi: “I thought of her identity.”

You’re quite frank.

Xie Zhifei: “Same here.”

Tang Jianxi nodded at Xue Zhao. “Start rowing.”

“Yes, Master.”

The boat began moving, water sounds gurgling—no one could approach.

Tang Jianxi slowly began, “That day when I asked her who the incense lighter was, she said it was her. My heart became suspicious.”

That girl couldn’t lie.

Xie Zhifei: “When Xue Zhao said those words, I became suspicious too.”

Tang Jianxi: “When she lit the incense to resolve the demons, she didn’t let me watch. I waited outside until dawn. When I entered, she had collapsed in front of the altar.”

The incense had all been lit.

The two thousand bowls were empty, not a drop remaining.

The roasted chickens, ducks, and pig heads prepared beforehand hadn’t been touched.

“When I had Xue Zhao lift her up, her face was covered in tears. At that moment, my heart already had vague suspicions.”

Tang Jianxi’s pupils widened sharply, staring fixedly at him. “Third Master, can I trust you?”

“If you didn’t trust me, why lure me here?”

“Because of Mingyue.”

Tang Jianxi said, “That time you came up the mountain and asked me for Mingyue’s childhood swaddling clothes, you also told my wife and me to take the secret to our graves.”

Xie Zhifei: “Is there more?”

Tang Jianxi: “Because of the way you look at her.”

Not only was there romantic love between man and woman, but also a deep desire to protect.

He’d seen this kind of gaze before in Lu Shi’s eyes years ago.

It was an emotion externalized that was determined, resolute, silent, and stubborn.

Xie Zhifei: “Is there more?”

“Also because you wrote asking me for Xue Zhao.”

Tang Jianxi glanced at the person outside.

“You’re the first person who dared to write asking me for Xue Zhao, especially for such a critical, important matter.”

Xue Zhao was Tang Jianxi’s man. Whatever he heard, whatever he saw, he would return and tell Tang Jianxi word for word.

“This shows… you consider me one of your own.”

Xie Zhifei met his eyes directly, neither dodging nor avoiding.

“You were always one of my own.”