The drizzle fell, driving away the summer morning’s heat. The courtyard was very quiet, with only the sound of rain.

Baili Xiaosheng sat on the bed, arms wrapped around her knees, silently watching that upright figure by the window, recalling the events of the previous night.

She’d been up on the roof, thinking things over, watching the stars, and hadn’t even noticed when she’d fallen asleep. Had she really slept that soundly — not even noticing someone moving her?

It must have been this fellow who’d brought her down. But when had he done it?

This man had been keeping watch here for several days now, and she’d never given him a second thought — so she wasn’t curious, and certainly wouldn’t take the initiative to make small talk.

Of course she knew who he was — his name was Guxi, formerly one of Aunt Qing’s soldiers, once a good partner to Shiliang, and now serving under Jun Buli as the commander of the palace guards. Though a servant in status, his standing was far from ordinary, and his martial arts were nothing ordinary either.

Only now did she wonder — what exactly was he doing standing guard here?

The drizzle grew heavier, the wind picked up, and rain began sweeping across the corridor. Yet Guxi still didn’t leave. A complicated look flickered across Baili Xiaosheng’s eyes as she got out of bed.

By now, the wind and rain were fierce, rain splashing in through the window. Baili Xiaosheng stood by the window, muttering to herself, “Never seen such a foolish person.”

Still, she didn’t speak to Guxi, and simply shut the window.

She was about to go back to bed when she hesitated slightly. But her resolve had always been no less ruthless than her master’s — after a moment’s hesitation, she curled back up on the bed.

She took out the small brocade box she always carried and began fussing with the swarm of poisonous insects inside.

Before she knew it, this occupied her the entire morning. She ignored the meals and medicine the maids brought entirely.

Only once she’d finished fussing over the insects and finished her medicine did she remember that fellow out in the corridor. With a rare bit of curiosity, she opened the window and saw Guxi still standing there.

The wind and rain had long since stopped. He was still in the same black outfit, whether dried by the wind or changed, she couldn’t tell.

Hearing the sound of her window opening, he didn’t turn around — she couldn’t see his face.

Baili Xiaosheng wondered to herself — earlier, when she’d closed the window, had this fellow not turned to look either?

Was this guy simply dull, or was he a recluse by nature?

She said nothing at all, and after opening the window, walked off.

That night, when Baili Xiaosheng went out, Guxi was resting on the railing as usual, his long sword propped up beside him.

She deliberately paused, glanced at him once — he showed no reaction whatsoever, as though truly asleep.

A flicker of suspicion crossed her eyes, but she still asked nothing and said nothing, darting straight up onto the roof.

That night, she didn’t fall asleep, sitting on the roof for a little over an hour before coming down. She found Guxi still there, seemingly truly asleep.

“Blockhead!”

She muttered the word and went inside to sleep, deliberately leaving one window unlatched.

The next morning, she rose especially early. Looking out the window, she couldn’t spot Guxi anywhere. Puzzled, she hurried to open the door and look around — and indeed, he was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’d he go?” she murmured to herself, walking barefoot out into the courtyard, looking around in every direction, but couldn’t find that fellow anywhere.

Suspicious, she pursed her lips and went back inside.

All of this, however, was witnessed by Guxi, who was sitting on the roof of the building across the way, eating a steamed bun.

He wondered slightly what she was looking for, but didn’t take it to heart, silently continuing to eat his bun.

Once the sun rose high, he returned to his spot beneath the eaves. Compared to being on duty in the palace, where he occasionally had to deal with Consort Li’s unreasonable demands and deliberate difficulties, being on duty here — watching over one silent girl — was truly much more relaxing.

He thought that once this girl was in a better mood, he’d bring up the matter of Shiliang.

He’d only just sat down when Baili Xiaosheng looked out from the window and raised an eyebrow at him.

Sensing someone watching him, he turned his head to look — only for Baili Xiaosheng to instinctively avert her gaze.

That instinctive action even startled herself. Let him look — what was she afraid of?

So she looked over again, only to find Guxi had already closed his eyes once more.

“Blockhead!”

Baili Xiaosheng muttered, not even realizing her own mood had improved considerably. After tidying up, she decided to go see Aunt Qing and the little princess.

But as soon as she stepped out, Guxi followed behind her.

At first, Baili Xiaosheng said nothing, walking out of the courtyard before coming to an abrupt stop, back to him. “Don’t tell me you’ve become my personal bodyguard?”

“More or less. The young master has ordered me to be at your service at all times,” Guxi said flatly. He delivered the phrase “at your service at all times” quite beautifully.

“I don’t need it. You can go,” Baili Xiaosheng said.

Guxi didn’t answer her. When she walked, he followed.

Finally, Baili Xiaosheng grew angry. Him keeping watch in the courtyard was one thing — it didn’t get in her way regardless. But him following her when she went out — sorry, but she wasn’t used to being tailed!

Baili Xiaosheng turned around, staring at him coldly. “You, go away, go away!”

Guxi said nothing, only watching her, his expression calm and cool.

Baili Xiaosheng abruptly narrowed her eyes, and instantly, countless poisonous insects the size of hornets came swarming out of the surrounding grass, surrounding Guxi.

Only then did Guxi’s brow furrow slightly. Baili Xiaosheng snorted coldly and turned to walk away.

But before long, Guxi had somehow caught up behind her again, without a single scratch on him.

“You!” Baili Xiaosheng was shocked. Very few people could escape her poisonous hornets — yet this fellow had managed it so quickly.

She let out a whistle, but somehow her precious hornets refused to return.

“What did you do to my hornets?!” Baili Xiaosheng demanded furiously.

“Where are you headed, and when do you plan to return? You have two hours left before you need to drink your medicine,” Guxi said, completely ignoring her question.

Furious, Baili Xiaosheng pulled out her insect brocade box, muttering something under her breath. The moment she opened it, a dense swarm of insects like a cloud of bees came flying out, attacking Guxi.

Yet, to Baili Xiaosheng’s astonishment, Guxi suddenly began spinning in place at high speed, moving so fast his figure became a blur — just a shadow spinning into a vortex.

Every insect that hadn’t yet gotten close was deflected away, sent tumbling to the ground, while those that had gotten close were all sucked into the whirlwind. In moments, dark heaps of insect corpses littered the ground.

Baili Xiaosheng stared in shock. After a good while, she came back to her senses and hastily called her insects back — but she couldn’t recover much of her losses. Less than a third of her original swarm survived!

Only then did Guxi’s spinning come to an abrupt stop. Even after such a spin, he wasn’t dizzy in the slightest — his expression remained the same, his breathing remained the same. He said flatly, “Miss Baili, you still haven’t answered my question.”

Even losing to Jun Buli hadn’t given Baili Xiaosheng such a strong sense of defeat as she felt now.

Was it that she’d underestimated this fellow, or that he was simply that good at hiding his abilities? Judging from what she’d just seen, whether in handling poisonous beasts or in raw martial skill, he might well be no less than Jun Buli.