Black Snake stood behind Long Yunxiao with his hands at his sides. Seeing him standing in the cold wind, staring at a tightly shut gate without moving for a long while, Black Snake made no attempt to urge him along.

After quite some time, Black Snake finally could not help himself and said, “Mr. Long, we should head back.”

He had always followed at Long Yunxiao’s side, serving as his most capable right-hand man. He understood Long Yunxiao better than anyone — a man of wealth and power like him was rarely the sentimental type.

Ever since Miss Shu had died, Long Yunxiao had been alone, until he met Miss Yan. Only then had he seemed to come alive again.

It was a pity that Miss Yan was already married — and married to a man born under a lucky star at that.

Black Snake believed that if Long Yunxiao truly wanted to, he could take her by force. But he had not done so, which proved that he genuinely cared for Miss Yan.

For someone he truly cared for, he only wished to see her happy.

Black Snake sometimes felt that Long Yunxiao really did not resemble a gang boss. In other matters he could be ruthless and merciless, yet when it came to matters of the heart, he had always been soft.

“Let’s go.” Long Yunxiao shifted his gaze away from that darkened gate. “Station men here to keep watch. Don’t let those riff-raff frighten her.”

“Yes.” Black Snake received the order and immediately sent men to make the arrangements.

Long Yunxiao knew that Yan Qing was not that fragile, but he still wanted to protect her. This was perhaps one of the few things he could do for her.

On Yan Qing’s side, she had barely settled in when someone delivered medical supplies for dressing wounds.

The cut Dihuai had received was deep enough. After Yan Qing cleaned and debrided the wound, she decided stitches were necessary.

Evidently, among the medical supplies Long Yunxiao had sent, there was no anesthetic. After searching through everything, Yan Qing furrowed her brow: “There’s no anesthetic.”

Dihuai gave a small laugh. “Miss, just go ahead and stitch it. I’m a grown man — I don’t mind a little pain.”

“The spot where you were cut has many capillaries. Without anesthetic, it’s going to hurt a great deal.” Yan Qing said with concern. “Long Yunxiao must have left men outside. I’ll ask one of them to get anesthetic.”

“Miss, it’s truly not necessary.” Dihuai stopped Yan Qing. “I can bear this much pain. Besides, it’s already late and there probably isn’t anywhere selling medicine now. We’re staying here and have already caused enough trouble for people.”

Murong, standing to one side listening, felt her eyes sting.

“Miss, please go ahead.” Dihuai placed his arm on the table and turned his head away.

His gaze met Murong’s. Murong pressed her lips together, took out a handkerchief, folded it neatly, and held it up to Dihuai’s mouth.

Dihuai gave her a reassuring look, opened his mouth, and bit down on the handkerchief.

As Yan Qing worked the stitches, Dihuai — even with the handkerchief between his teeth — was drenched in cold sweat from the pain, and the whites of his eyes went red.

Unable to bear watching, Murong instinctively reached out and clasped his hand.

The moment that warm palm covered his, Dihuai froze entirely.

Though the two of them were already betrothed, this kind of intimate contact was a first. He could not help but lower his gaze to the hand clasped over his own. Owing to years of martial training since childhood, this hand was not particularly fair-skinned, but the knuckles were long and clearly defined, radiating a healthy glow.

That one grip of hers carried some invisible force that instantly dispersed the pain in his arm, like a warm current flowing gently through his heart.

Unable to stop himself, Dihuai placed his other hand over the back of Murong’s hand and pressed it lightly, indicating she need not worry.

The movement between the two of them was entirely natural — no awkwardness, no blushing — as though they were an old married couple encouraging each other.

Yan Qing, still working the stitches, watched all of this and could not help but press her lips together in a smile.

Some people, though not skilled at expressing themselves, carry their true feelings deep inside, revealing them through their actions.

Fortunately, Yan Qing only needed five stitches. When she finished, Dihuai’s clothes were as soaked as if he had been pulled from the water.

“Go take a bath first, but the wound can’t get wet.” After putting away her supplies, Yan Qing said to Murong: “Murong, go help him.”

Her intention was simply to ask Murong to boil some bathwater for Dihuai, but in Murong’s ears the words immediately made her face turn red.

Yan Qing noticed the strange expressions on the two facing her and the suddenly charged atmosphere, and only then realized her words could easily be misunderstood.

So she cleared her throat awkwardly and added: “Go boil some hot water for Dihuai.”

Murong also felt she had been reading too much into things. She stood up and scurried off in a flash.

Dihuai watched her fleeing figure and could not help laughing out loud.

That night passed peacefully and quietly.

The next morning, when Murong heard the knock at the door she went to answer it. Just as she had expected, the person standing outside was Long Yunxiao.

“Mr. Long.” Murong offered a greeting.

“Is your Miss awake?”

“She’s been up for a while. She’s been waiting for you, sir.”

For some reason, hearing those words, Long Yunxiao’s heart suddenly became unbearably soft. He knew that Yan Qing was waiting for him because she had something to discuss, yet those simple words still filled him with a deep sense of happiness.

As long as she was waiting for him — regardless of the reason — what did anything else matter?

Long Yunxiao strode into the sitting room to find Yan Qing seated there, tending to the tea leaves.

Having shed her heavy, oversized cloak, she wore a light purple top with a row of frog-button closures. The mandarin-collar neckline made her neck appear slender and long.

A thick skirt of matching color fell to her ankles, its refined fabric catching the light in soft, subtle gleams.

She had never been fond of overly ornate accessories. Even her hair was simply gathered into a loose braid at the back of her head. Beneath her wispy bangs, viewed from a distance, she looked like a girl who had yet to shed her youthful air.

“Long Yunxiao.” Yan Qing spotted him and gestured with a wave of her hand. “Come have some tea.”

Long Yunxiao strode over, flicked up the hem of his long robe, and sat down across from her.

“These tea leaves are something I brought from Shun Cheng. They’re a specialty from the Maoshan area — supposedly they were once tribute tea for the imperial court. Production is still very limited, and every year the queue of people placing advance orders is enough to burst Maoshan at the seams.”

Yan Qing introduced the tea to Long Yunxiao as she picked up the small copper kettle of water.

Long Yunxiao had seen every fine thing there was. He had plenty of Maoshan tea at home, too. But hearing these words from her lips, he felt as though this tea had become the finest in all the world — something he was suddenly eager to taste.

“This iron box — the badge inside is indeed from Long Yun Society.” Long Yunxiao said. “But judging from the degree of wear on the badge and the design on it, it should be something from over a decade ago.”

“Over a decade ago — how old were you then?”

“I was still in school at the time. Long Yun Society was managed by my father. Back then, however, Long Yun Society dealt only in underground trade, and this Five Boundaries region is where its power began to expand.”

Long Yunxiao took the teacup Yan Qing handed him. Before it even reached his lips, the fragrance of the tea had already drifted gently over.

He could not help but exclaim: “Excellent tea.”

“Then that means the person who carried this badge truly was a member of Long Yun Society.”

“Anyone who joins Long Yun Society is given this badge. And you’ll notice — the designs on the badges are different. This one has a radiant sun, which means the badge’s owner belonged to a branch hall called the Sunshine Hall.”

“Is this Sunshine Hall still around?”

“Yes.” Long Yunxiao took a sip of tea before continuing. “I’ve already sent word to summon the Sunshine Hall’s master. He should arrive shortly.”

“I really must thank you for this. Without your help, I’d be left holding just a badge with no idea where to begin the investigation.”

Yan Qing gave her wrist a little shake. “If all else failed, I would have had to use the special privilege you once gave me.”

The badge Long Yunxiao had given her was affixed to the back of her wristwatch. Long Yunxiao had said that the badge carried the same authority as his own presence — anywhere within Long Yun Society’s territory, seeing the badge was the same as seeing him in person.

It was precisely because of this that, after discovering the badge in the iron box belonged to Long Yun Society, Yan Qing had dared to venture into Five Boundaries. If necessary, she still had this talisman to protect her life.

“Since I’m here in person, you won’t need to use it.” Long Yunxiao set down his teacup, and Yan Qing quickly refilled it for him.

“That Xie Yan would lend you Mu Bai speaks volumes — he knows just how dangerous this trip of yours is.”

“You know Mr. Mu?”

“Never mind the black market — even within our own society circles, the name Mu Bai is known to all. Most people only know the name, though; very few have ever seen him in person. Even I am meeting him for the first time.”

“Did you also imagine him as some rough, cold brute?”

“Mm.” Long Yunxiao nodded. “He’s quite different from what I pictured.”

If you didn’t look closely at Mu Bai’s eyes, at first glance he appeared entirely like a refined, bookish scholar without an ounce of fighting ability.

“Xie Yan once saved Mu Bai’s life, which is why a wanderer like Mu Bai is willing to follow Xie Yan’s orders.”

“Mr. Xie is quite a remarkable man himself.”

“Indeed. Whether in the underworld or the legitimate world, there is no one who dares to show Xie Yan disrespect.”

While the two were talking, Dihuai led a man in through the front door. The man was dressed entirely in black with a matching dark padded coat over it. His straight, sharp brows swept back like swords, and his eyes burned bright as stars. His steps were steady and powerful.

The man came before Long Yunxiao and cupped his fists in greeting: “Mr. Long.”

Long Yunxiao said: “This is Miss Yan. And this is Hall Master Ying of the Sunshine Hall.”

Hall Master Ying cupped his fists toward Yan Qing as well. “Miss Yan.”

Yan Qing returned the greeting: “Hall Master Ying.”

“Hall Master Ying, do you recognize this badge?”

Hall Master Ying took the badge from Long Yunxiao’s hand and examined it carefully. “This is indeed a badge from our Sunshine Hall.”

“Are you able to identify its owner?” Yan Qing felt as though she had caught hold of a glimmer of light; even her voice carried a trace of urgency.

“Every badge issued by our Sunshine Hall is registered, and on the back of each badge is a serial number that allows it to be matched to its owner. This badge is at least a decade old by the look of it, so I’ll need to go back and search the records. Items from over ten years ago are locked away in storage. Finding the original register will take some time — I’m afraid I must ask Mr. Long and Miss Yan to wait a while.”

Yan Qing quickly said: “Thank you for your trouble, Hall Master Ying.”

“You’re too kind, Miss Yan.” Hall Master Ying cupped his fists once more toward Long Yunxiao, then withdrew.