That scoundrel Baili Weisheng, tricking her like that!
She was truly angry now!
Fury surged in Meng Duo’er’s heart. She spun around at once and saw Baili Weisheng’s figure already growing distant toward the south—his lightness technique had improved considerably.
This man had just moments ago readily agreed to everything Lady Jinjiao had asked, and now he’d flipped faster than turning a page, not only tricking her but abandoning her outright!
However much Meng Duo’er liked him, she still had her own temper, and she genuinely hated feeling this way about herself.
“How unreasonable!”
Her voice turned grave. With a light tap of her toes, she immediately gave chase.
After all, these ten years of secluded cultivation hadn’t only refined her barrier techniques—she’d also trained in internal energy and martial arts. She was no longer that little girl of the past, clumsy with only rudimentary skills, whose barrier techniques kept failing at the worst moments, always worried about holding everyone else back.
Within moments, Meng Duo’er had actually caught up to Baili Weisheng’s side.
Baili Weisheng was cheerfully skimming along with his gliding steps when he casually glanced back and, to his shock, found Meng Duo’er right beside him. He froze instantly in surprise.
But to his surprise, Meng Duo’er didn’t wait for him at all—instead, she shot him a disdainful glance and continued accelerating forward.
Baili Weisheng stared, somewhat stunned, muttering to himself, “That fast?”
Of course, this man who appeared refined but was actually a scoundrel, who looked like a scholar but was really a rogue, wasn’t one to admit defeat easily. His competitive spirit flared instantly.
He quickly gave chase, his strides now even larger than before—each step seemed massive, and in the blink of an eye, he’d covered several li.
At such speed, catching up to Meng Duo’er took only a moment. Soon, Baili Weisheng appeared beside her, walking alongside her stride for stride.
He seemed in fairly good spirits, showing no intention of overtaking her, instead chatting cheerfully with her. “Girl, ten years apart, and I’ve got to say, I’m impressed!”
Faced with this Baili Weisheng, Meng Duo’er suddenly felt her entire being go off-kilter, and without even realizing it, she slowed her pace.
He’d called her “girl” again. He was smiling at her so effortlessly again.
She wished he wouldn’t do this. Whenever he did, she’d turn into a lovesick fool, her entire composure crumbling, nothing like her true self at all.
Meng Duo’er desperately wanted to control herself, but she couldn’t.
Soon, she slowed her steps further, looking at Baili Weisheng, and fell back into that same old gaze—the kind that laid her every thought bare in her eyes.
Many people say that whether one person loves another can be told simply by watching how they look at the other.
That must certainly be true.
Meng Duo’er’s entire composure had unraveled, and seeing her like this made Baili Weisheng deeply uncomfortable too, his own composure crumbling in turn.
Baili Weisheng desperately wanted to say, “Girl, don’t look at me like that. As long as you don’t, we can still be friends.”
Of course, he only dared say this in his heart. Averting his gaze, he immediately picked up his pace, quickly widening the distance from Meng Duo’er!
He silently hoped, hoped that this girl would hurry up and confront him directly, so he’d finally have the chance to make things clear with her!
She was twenty-five or twenty-six now, she couldn’t afford to delay any longer—she needed to marry!
Watching Baili Weisheng grow distant, Meng Duo’er finally snapped out of her anxious, tangled thoughts, cursing herself inwardly, scolding herself in every way she could think of.
How could she not control herself? Hadn’t she already given up, ten years ago?
Ten years, and the secret he’d asked her to keep—he still remembered it so clearly!
The scholar had long since had someone else in his heart. Even if she moved in now, she would always be nothing but a guest there.
The more Meng Duo’er thought about it, the more depressed she became, the more she disliked herself, the angrier she grew at herself, stomping her foot in frustration, wanting to slap herself awake, or perhaps slap herself senseless.
She took several deep breaths to calm herself before continuing the chase.
Whether Baili Weisheng was deliberately waiting up ahead, or her lightness technique now surpassed his, she caught up to him once again regardless.
This time, she didn’t even glance at him, simply sweeping past him without a word.
And yet, even so, some small part of her heart still held out hope—hope that Baili Weisheng would chase after her again, return to his earlier playful manner, and talk to her.
But she waited, and waited, one day, two days, three days, until they drew near the Xiao family estate, and Baili Weisheng still remained behind her the whole way—never straying too far, but never closing the distance either.
This distance meant that whenever she looked back, she could always see him—yet she never once turned to look;
This distance meant that whenever he wanted to catch up, he always could—yet he never once did.
It seemed this was the truest, the most fitting distance between the two of them.
Finally, on the night of the third day, Meng Duo’er and Baili Weisheng arrived near the Xiao family estate, one following the other. Along the entire journey, neither had spoken a single word.
The Xiao clan of Nanzhao’s beast tribe was now not only the ruler of the beast clans, but also the single most powerful faction among all the forces of Nanzhao.
Whether measured by military strength, financial resources, or the extent of territory held, no other family in Nanzhao could compare.
And here, on what had once been the sacred mountain shared by Nanzhao’s beast and medicine clans, Yuqiong Mountain, now stood as the Xiao family’s stronghold.
The towering, opulent estate stretched from the mountain’s base all the way up to its midsection, following the terrain’s contours—palace after palace built against the mountainside, water pavilions and towers, upturned eaves against sheer cliffs, red walls and green tiles, all bathed in the bright moonlight of night, resembling some celestial jade palace from the heavens, majestic and noble, tinged with an air of mystery.
At this deep hour of the night, aside from the occasional sound of insects, everything seemed still, as if the whole world slept.
Meng Duo’er glanced back at Baili Weisheng once, saying nothing, gesturing for him to follow.
The two of them, one after the other, slipped past the Xiao family’s main gate, their figures quickly melting into the night. When they reappeared, they were already in the back garden.
“Where’s Jun Buli?” Baili Weisheng asked in a low voice.
“He’s usually impossible to find at night. Probably asleep by now,” Meng Duo’er said, choosing a towering tree and leaping lightly up into it, leaning against the trunk, clearly intending to rest as well.
Baili Weisheng leapt up too, asking, “And Consort Li? Has she been following him around?”
“No, I haven’t seen Consort Li since I arrived. She’s probably been settled somewhere else,” Meng Duo’er answered honestly. She felt a bit tired, wanting to rest, and wanting to sort through her own feelings as well.
A flash of suspicion crossed Baili Weisheng’s eyes. He leapt to another nearby tree, lying back against its trunk, saying nothing more, apparently also intending to rest right there.
Meng Duo’er was somewhat surprised, and unconsciously turned her head to look at him. She found him unusually quiet, lying back looking up at the sky, hands pillowing the back of his head, eyes wide open, clearly troubled by something.
Meng Duo’er found herself torn—should she… talk to him a little?