“Hmm…” Fengfeng reached out to pinch her face, rubbing his cheek against her body. “Niunie! Yi wu… wu wu…” A’Shui hugged Fengfeng tightly. If not for this warm breath in her arms, hearing Yu Tuan’er’s questions, she really would have been heartbroken… She couldn’t like Tang Lici. He was just constantly playing a game that pleased him – bestowing favors on her, wanting her to fall helplessly in love with him, to live and die for him. What he liked wasn’t her feelings, but the pleasure of winning the game, proving his omnipotence.

She didn’t love men like Tang Lici, never had. She would be grateful for the kindness he bestowed, could understand that a hero without a confidant needed some way to please his soul. She would try to convince herself not to fear and avoid him, but she didn’t love him.

But… what made her tremble was… why did she always feel disappointed?

Tang Lici was just this kind of person – he wouldn’t change. She understood this clearly, but why did she repeatedly feel disappointed… This feeling made her tremble, as if her soul had consciousness that didn’t belong to her, silently betraying her body, and she didn’t know where it would go.

Dawn gradually broke. The Central Plains Sword Association group had walked out of Jiaoyu Town and reached Wang County. Everyone stopped at an inn in Wang County to rest and eat. A’Shui, Yu Tuan’er, and Lin Bu sat at one table. The dishes Tang Lici ordered for everyone were the same, except their table had an additional serving of ginger duck. The southern winter climate was cold and damp – ginger duck dispelled dampness and cold, quite beneficial for those without martial arts. A’Shui slowly ate with her chopsticks, her heart filled with mixed feelings, while Yu Tuan’er and Lin Bu chatted spiritedly.

After eating and drinking, Cheng Yunpao and Dong Hubi bid farewell to Tang Lici. They would lead their forces back to Haoyun Mountain. Tang Lici, not knowing what they had discussed, didn’t leave but remained sitting in his chair, chin propped up gazing at the dishes, his expression completely tranquil. Yu Tuan’er tugged A’Shui’s sleeve, asking quietly, “What’s he doing?” A’Shui shook her head. Fengfeng suddenly burst into tears, crying and shouting, “Niunie… Niunie niunie… hug hug hug hug…” He waved his arms at Tang Lici, his tender little face covered in tear tracks. All along the way he had babbled endless words at Tang Lici’s back but received not the slightest response. His little heart must be full of dissatisfaction, not understanding why Tang Lici ignored him.

A’Shui coaxed him quietly. Fengfeng sobbed and cried, “Cough cough cough…” Tang Lici sat with chin propped, gazing at dishes, completely motionless. Fengfeng cried and cried until his whole head was buried in A’Shui’s arms and wouldn’t come out. A’Shui held Fengfeng tightly. Yu Tuan’er glared at Tang Lici. “Hey! Are you deaf? Why don’t you acknowledge people?” Tang Lici looked up at her and smiled slightly. “Have you three eaten your fill?” Yu Tuan’er snorted. “Don’t think you’re so great just because you’re treating us. We have money too. You’re terrible – hearing a child cry like this and pretending not to hear. Terrible! Very…” She thought for a moment, emphasizing heavily, “Very bad, very bad!”

A’Shui didn’t say a word. Tang Lici was always unpredictable. You couldn’t say he was bad to people, but… his “goodness” was always completely different from expectations. Fengfeng missed him, yet he turned a blind eye – she wasn’t surprised. Vaguely having a thought, in this instant she almost absurdly wondered if perhaps his not acknowledging someone didn’t mean he didn’t care about them, just as his being good to someone didn’t necessarily mean he cared about them.

He liked being unfathomable. He liked others being heartbroken over him.

That’s just how he was. No one could change him, no one had the power to change him, because he was too strong.

“Young Master Lin,” Tang Lici didn’t take Yu Tuan’er’s “very bad, very bad” seriously, his tone gentle. “Where did you encounter the man with the red snake tattoo on his face?” Lin Bu stood up, walked over and sat at the same table as Tang Lici. “In a white carriage, inside which was a huge iron cage.” Tang Lici’s eyes shifted. “Was there anything special about that white carriage?” Lin Bu pondered for a moment. “The carriage hung white curtains. Inside there were no seats, only a huge iron cage containing the unclothed man. Besides the iron cage, the carriage had a strange smell, as if it had once kept some animals.” Tang Lici said, “That would be Bai Suche’s carriage. The carriage once kept many poisonous snakes driven by Pu Kuisheng.” A’Shui’s eyelashes lifted slightly as she suddenly raised her head. “Miss Bai’s carriage is pulled by two fine horses, both famous steeds from the Western Regions. Miss Bai treasures fine horses – those two horses’ horseshoes are carved with special marks, leaving a row of fine patterns at the front edge when stepping on the ground. Now after heavy rain, if we track the hoofprints, we might be able to find that carriage.”

“Miss is always very observant.” Tang Lici said gently. “If this carriage transported Young Master Lin to the mountain valley below, then when the great fire started last night, it must have departed. We need only search for hoofprints at the fire scene to track its whereabouts… uh…” Halfway through speaking, he covered his mouth with his hand, frowning slightly, enduring for quite a while. “There’s only one road out of that valley in He County…” Yu Tuan’er looked at his complexion, asking strangely, “Are you injured?” A’Shui’s gaze finally fell on him. Tang Lici’s complexion was always beautiful, his cheeks always flushed, but today the flush seemed to hide a faint yellow tinge. “You…” She finally managed to smile slightly. “What’s wrong with you?”

“There’s only one road out of He County, and very few people travel it. The carriage can’t cross mountains – we’ll definitely catch up.” Tang Lici also smiled at her. “Let’s go.” He stood up from his chair, left hand supporting the table, right hand covering his mouth, bending over and enduring for a while before straightening up and floating toward the door.

Yu Tuan’er pointed at his back, speechless. “Hey! Do you really have a problem? If you’re sick, how can you rescue people? Hey!” She caught up and grabbed Tang Lici’s hand, pulling him back. “Sister A’Shui is very concerned about you. If you’re sick, why don’t you tell her?” Tang Lici didn’t struggle free from her, looking her up and down with an indifferent gaze, though his expression remained gently smiling. “I’m not sick.” Yu Tuan’er hadn’t expected him to be so pleasant and was even more surprised, releasing his hand. “Were you about to vomit just now?” Tang Lici smiled slightly. “Mm…” Yu Tuan’er laughed. “I heard my mother say only women with children keep wanting to vomit… You’re really strange. Are you really not sick?” Tang Lici coughed lightly. “I think I’m just a bit tired.”

A’Shui watched intently. Tang Lici was very gentle with Yu Tuan’er, like treating an innocent white rabbit. She softly sighed. “Young Master Tang, where is Miss Tao? You…” She paused. “You…” After stopping twice, she never continued. Tang Lici laughed, his right hand’s slender index finger sliding across his lips, seeming to make a silencing gesture. He said gently, “Miss Tao is unwell and has gone to rest quietly.” A’Shui looked at him. “I think Miss Tao…” She spoke very softly, saying half before stopping. She had been in Romantic Shop for months and was very familiar with Xifang Tao. Xifang Tao’s betrayal of Romantic Shop and becoming an indispensable member of the righteous martial world appeared to others as Xifang Tao enduring humiliation and understanding righteousness, but she knew she wasn’t that kind of person. Tang Lici’s eyes lifted at the corners, for an instant his eye corners bloomed as beautifully as peach blossoms. “What do you think about Miss Tao?”

A’Shui hesitated for a while, saying slowly, “I think Miss Tao… has very deep schemes…” Tang Lici said gently, “Then what do you think of me?” A’Shui sighed deeply. “Your schemes are deeper than Miss Tao’s.” Tang Lici burst into laughter. The change from refined elegance to unrestrained wildness happened in an instant. His laughter shook the building until it hummed and dust fell. In the instant dust scattered everywhere, he had suddenly returned to his gentle, refined smile, as if the person who had just laughed wildly was only an illusion from others’ confused thoughts. “I struck her down a cliff. Very regrettably – she won’t die.”

A’Shui’s color changed. “You struck Miss Tao down a cliff? Could she really… really still be a Romantic Shop person?” Tang Lici said grimly, “She manipulated Liu Yan to make poison, used Gu Pearl poison to kill Chi Yun, set up a killing trap in Bianjing to kill me. Liu Yan is ruined, Chi Yun is dead – shouldn’t she die?” A’Shui’s whole body shook. “But she’s now a Central Plains Sword Association person. You struck her down a cliff – aren’t you afraid the whole world will take you as an enemy? Did someone… did someone see?”

Tang Lici looked at her with bright eyes, the murderous and demonic aura in them blazing until sun and moon lost color. His lips grew more vivid. He pursed his red lips and said gently, “When I want to kill someone… I never care what others say…”

“You… did you strike Xifang Tao down a cliff as soon as you returned to Haoyun Mountain? You never consider consequences? If she… if she recovers from injury, Central Plains Sword Association will surely split into two factions because of your differences, fragmenting from then on…” A’Shui said quietly, “Young Master Tang, aren’t you afraid the martial world will fall, poison troubles will spread, millions will suffer unbearably…” Tang Lici smiled. “I’m not a woman – I don’t care for compromising.”

A’Shui fell silent. He listened to no one’s advice – it had always been this way.

“That Miss Tao is terrible.” Yu Tuan’er said. “Bad people deserve to die. How did you strike her down the cliff? Will she die?” Tang Lici smiled at her, saying gently, “In the middle of the night, she was changing clothes in her room. I burst in and struck her back with my palm. She hurried to put on her dress, distracted. When she finished dressing, I struck her off the window cliff with one palm.” Yu Tuan’er asked strangely, “She was busy dressing so didn’t use full strength?” Tang Lici laughed. “Mm.”

“She was about to be beaten to death by you but still cared about wearing clothes? Besides, she must have been wearing undergarments to sleep. Did she sleep without clothes?” Yu Tuan’er asked directly, “How could there be such a strange woman?” Tang Lici said gently, “She wasn’t afraid of being seen naked – just afraid others couldn’t see what they should see.” Yu Tuan’er frowned. “What should be seen?” Tang Lici coughed lightly, his manner seemingly very reserved. “She’s not a woman, he’s a man. He wasn’t not wearing clothes, he was wearing men’s clothes.” Yu Tuan’er laughed “Ah!” “He wasn’t afraid of being seen without clothes, he was afraid of being seen not wearing women’s clothes, so he hurried to put on a dress and was struck down the cliff by you.” Tang Lici smiled. “You’re extremely clever.”

“So ‘Miss Tao’ was actually a man!” Yu Tuan’er looked at A’Shui. “Sister A’Shui, didn’t you know he was a man?” A’Shui shook her head, saying quietly, “Miss Tao has heavenly beauty – very few would think he’s a man.” Tang Lici laughed softly, his right hand dropping down, snow-white sleeves covering his hand. “Speaking of heavenly beauty, no one compares to your Sister A’Shui.” Yu Tuan’er said, “I think if you dressed as a woman, you’d probably be incredibly beautiful too.”

“Young Master Tang, having struck Miss Tao down the cliff, she won’t let this go.” A’Shui wasn’t listening to their discussion about whether Xifang Tao wore clothes or not. After pondering, “She really won’t die?” Tang Lici shook his head. “She takes Crimson Ghost Nine Heart Pills. Though struck down a cliff, her injuries won’t be severe.” A’Shui said quietly, “Then she’ll certainly claim you intended to harm her, inciting those who trust her to become your enemies.” Tang Lici said gently, “If I were her, I’d certainly create some incidents to frame me.” A’Shui frowned, biting her lip silently. Then she heard Tang Lici say gently, “But when I left Haoyun Mountain, I first created some incidents to frame her.”

When Tang Lici said he framed someone, it would surely be difficult to clear their name. Hearing this, A’Shui didn’t know whether to be glad for Tang Lici’s outstanding talent or feel chilled and fearful at such scheming methods. She only felt the world was vast and boundless – right and wrong, truth and falsehood were all somewhat unclear. Life was very confusing. Sometimes she didn’t understand how Tang Lici found direction, how he could walk forward without doubt and by any means necessary. Where did his faith and strength come from? Had he himself become lost in this evil and conspiracy?

To unwaveringly believe oneself right required a very strong heart.

Young Master Tang…

She looked in Tang Lici’s direction, but her gaze’s focus was unknown. For a person to unwaveringly believe himself right required a very strong heart, but… but the reason Tang Lici would say “elegant prostitution,” would ignore Fengfeng, would strike Xifang Tao down a cliff – all because he… he wasn’t strong.

He should be calmer, deeper, more patient, more ruthless, more terrifying, but he couldn’t manage it…

“I’m starting not to dislike you.” Yu Tuan’er said to Tang Lici. “You’re very bad, but different from other bad people.” Tang Lici smiled. “How different?” Yu Tuan’er said, “Because you’re going to rescue Big Brother Shen!” She hadn’t forgotten that Tang Lici stayed behind specifically to rescue Shen Langhun.