The sky gradually darkened. In the temple, the monk struck the bell for the last time. The night turned as thick as spilled ink, while the drizzling rain beat against the trees, releasing the fragrant scent of damp earth.

Shen Yue sat at the table, put down the book in her hand, and rubbed her eyes, appearing somewhat drowsy. The maid beside her asked, “Does Miss want to rest now?”

Shen Yue remained silent and opened the window. In the adjacent room lived Shen Qing. Shen Qing’s room was not far from hers, and at this moment, her lights were still on.

“Does Second Miss want to sleep together with First Miss?” the maid asked hesitantly.

“No,” Shen Yue turned away with some distaste. “Go close the courtyard gate.”

In the other room, Shen Qing was toying with a small trinket in her hand. She lazily yawned and glanced outside. “It’s so late already…” She stood up. “I should rest now.”

As she passed by the table, she suddenly noticed an elegantly shaped incense burner with some incense sticks. Shen Qing picked one up and sniffed it, finding it remarkably fragrant, and said, “Light this incense as well.”

After a short while, the light in her room also went out.

Everything returned to silence. In the ancient temple deep in the mountains at night, apart from bird calls and insect chirps, there was only the sound of rain hitting the tiles and dripping from the eaves onto the stone slabs with a crisp sound.

In the profound stillness, the lamp in the innermost room of the North Pavilion was extinguished without a sound.

In the darkness, it seemed that someone’s footsteps lightly passed by. If anyone had walked past at this moment, they would have seen a purple-clad young lady sitting by the window table. Her appearance was cold and expressionless, with only her eyes, clear even in the darkness, resembling a predatory beast intently awaiting its prey.

The roof tiles above seemed to make a rustling, crisp sound. Guyu and Jingzhe, who stood behind Shen Miao, both looked up simultaneously, nervously protecting the person at the table.

After a moment, a “meow” of a cat came from outside the window.

Both of them sighed in relief.

But before they could fully relax, they heard another set of hurried footsteps. Though the sound was light, it was distinctly clear to the three who were wide awake. Following this, the window was opened, and a figure leaped in.

“Miss, it’s me, Mo Qing,” the person said softly.

Guyu and Jingzhe then truly relaxed. Jingzhe lit a thin candle, fearing that the light would show outside. At first glance, however, they were shocked to see that Mo Qing was carrying someone on his back—none other than Shen Qing.

At that moment, Shen Qing’s eyes were tightly closed, appearing deeply asleep. Jingzhe and Guyu were both terrified, but Shen Miao merely glanced at Shen Qing and said coolly, “You’ve done well.”

Mo Qing’s expression was somewhat embarrassed. This was his first time doing such a thing, and he did not know what Shen Miao intended to do. He had assumed that it was due to Shen Miao’s temperament, that she was dissatisfied with her room, and thus used this method to secretly switch rooms in the middle of the night. However, the approach was too crude; if he had been caught, he would have been mistaken for a thief even if he had a thousand explanations.

Fortunately, outside the rooms of Shen Qing and Shen Yue, there were only two guards in total, which seemed oddly few for daughters from a military family. Nevertheless, he wouldn’t seek trouble for himself. Carrying a young lady was an easy task for him, and before that, he had also followed Gu Xiang’s instructions to mix something into Shen Qing’s incense that would make her sleep deeply.

“Carry her to the bed,” Shen Miao said.

Mo Qing did as instructed and, after some thought, pulled the blanket over to cover Shen Qing. Even at this point, Mo Qing still couldn’t understand what Shen Miao intended to do.

“Miss, what are we going to do now…” Guyu asked tentatively. In this room, apart from Shen Miao, perhaps no one knew what she planned to do. Mo Qing thought Shen Miao was playing a spiteful prank, but Jingzhe and Guyu could vaguely sense that wasn’t the case. Shen Miao was no longer the type to quarrel over unsuitable accommodations, and to have someone carried out in the middle of the night—if it was just for such a small matter, it would be making a mountain out of a molehill.

“Let’s go,” Shen Miao glanced at the person on the bed.

“Go?” Guyu was startled. “Where are we going?”

“Naturally, to my dear sister’s boudoir.”

Mo Qing inwardly sighed, thinking it truly was childish mischief. He felt somewhat displeased with Shen Miao, not expecting that someone who appeared so quiet and aloof would privately have such a competitive nature, risking even her cousin’s reputation for a small matter. As he was thinking this, his expression suddenly changed, and he whispered, “Who’s there?”

At this, Guyu and Jingzhe immediately became anxious.

“Were you seen by anyone when you came just now?” Shen Miao’s face darkened. If it were someone from the other side, there was no way they would arrive so quickly. Given Ren Wanyun’s thoroughness, she would surely have made them wait longer. How was it that someone had come looking just as Mo Qing delivered the person? If so… Her expression changed several times; if necessary, she would have to resort to the most inferior method.

“I’ll go out and take a look,” Mo Qing nervously drew the sword from his waist. Just as he reached the door, he saw a figure flash past the window. Unable to make a loud commotion, Mo Qing called out in a low voice, “Who goes there?” and swung his sword toward the intruder.

The black-clad figure, however, easily dodged Mo Qing’s sword. Using some unknown technique, one foot stepped on the windowsill, and like a swallow, they flew in—moving through this place as smoothly as a fish in water. Upon entering the room, the figure swiftly turned around. Before Mo Qing could react, the person sidestepped, nimbly seized the sword from Mo Qing’s hand, and in the next moment, held it horizontally against Mo Qing’s throat.

The sudden turn of events stunned everyone. Shen Miao was also somewhat surprised. Mo Qing’s martial skills, given his position as the head of the guards, were certainly not low. Previously, with his skills, he had safely escorted Shen Miao for many years in Qin State. Now, he hadn’t even lasted five moves against this black-clad person and had even had his sword taken?

Mo Qing probably hadn’t expected the opponent to be so much more skilled than himself. He seemed ashamed but was more concerned about Shen Miao’s safety. He said, “I have no grudge with you, sir. Why do you attack me so?”

His words weren’t wrong. Tonight in this temple, apart from the monks, there were only Shen residence guards. But among the Shen residence guards, none had such excellent techniques. Mo Qing was astonished—could there be other people in Wolong Temple?

The other party showed no intention of releasing him. Then there was a slight sound as Shen Miao found a fire starter and relit the candle that had nearly gone out.

The intruder hadn’t expected someone to suddenly light a flame and had no time to conceal their reaction, instinctively revealing a murderous intent, clearly planning to commit murder and silence witnesses.

However, as the dim yellow light rose, everything in the room was exposed. In Shen Miao’s cold gaze, the intruder’s extraordinarily handsome face flashed with a trace of astonishment. Then, frowning slightly, he coldly said, “The Shen family girl?”

“Would you kindly release my guard?” Shen Miao’s voice was colder than the autumn rain outside. “Young Master Xie.”