Two human shadows were cast on the window.

One person sitting, one person standing.

Strange.

So late at night—why was there still someone in the master’s study?

Xie Xiaohua was about to push the door open, but for some reason, his hand was already on the door handle when he stopped.

The eldest young master’s courtyard gate was barred.

The second young master rarely came to the master’s study.

Third Master was hardly ever home.

Then who could this person in the study be?

Just then, voices came from inside the study.

The voices were low, but in this silent night, every word clearly reached Xie Xiaohua’s ears.

“You come running to my study without saying a word, just standing there stiffly like that—what for?”

“…”

“Has something happened with Third Master?”

“…”

“If there’s nothing wrong, then go back. Third Master’s side can’t do without you—serve him well.”

“Master, I came… just… just to ask one question.”

“What question?”

“Was it you who sent someone to kill Yan Xi?”

“Outrageous!”

The sudden outburst of fury startled Xie Xiaohua so badly his heart trembled violently. He quickly pulled his head back.

My heavens, in the dead of night one should sleep peacefully in bed, not wander about randomly—that’s just courting death.

I’d better get out of here quickly.

Xie Xiaohua made up his mind, carefully turned around, and silently exhaled a breath.

This breath wasn’t even finished when he raised his eyelids. His body froze—his soul flew away in terror.

Before him.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

Seven people.

Fourteen eyes.

All staring straight at him.

“Ghosts!”

Xie Xiaohua screamed in fright, his body went limp, and he fainted.

“Who’s there?”

A stern shout came from inside the study, followed by footsteps.

The footsteps drew closer and closer…

The vermillion door creaked open.

In the moonlight, an unremarkable face was exposed before everyone—it was none other than Zhu Qing, who never left Xie Sanye’s side.

Zhu Qing first froze, then unprecedented panic and fear showed in his eyes.

More footsteps approached.

But halfway there, they stopped.

Everyone’s gaze passed over Zhu Qing to look behind him. In the moonlight appeared an elegant, well-maintained face with a trace of weariness—

This was the person Xie Sanye respected most: Xie Daozhi.

Seeing the people outside the door, Xie Daozhi’s mind exploded with a bang. In that split second, he shouted:

“Third Son, why have you come back?”

Xie Zhifei didn’t hear this shout at all. His gaze moved from Zhu Qing to Xie Daozhi, then from Xie Daozhi back to Zhu Qing.

When Yan Sanhe deduced that the mole was one of either Zhu Qing or Ding Yi, he had already couldn’t bear it.

Especially Zhu Qing.

He trusted him as he trusted himself.

If Zhu Qing’s betrayal left Xie Zhifei utterly unprepared, then Xie Daozhi’s appearance…

Was! Mountains! Collapsing! Earth! Splitting!

Cold sweat continuously poured from Xie Zhifei’s entire body. His hands began trembling first, then it spread throughout his whole body. His ears could hear nothing but his own pounding heartbeat.

His face first suddenly turned deathly pale, then slowly the pallor receded and a bluish-purple color surfaced.

His face was bluish-purple, his lips were bluish-purple, even his black pupils were entirely bluish-purple.

“Xie Chengyu, what’s wrong with you?”

“Xie Wu-shi, is your chest uncomfortable?”

The anxiety and worry on the faces of Yan Sanhe and Pei Mingting both fell into Xie Zhifei’s vision, but he simply couldn’t speak.

Not only couldn’t he speak, even his body had gone rigid.

In this moment, Xie Zhifei suddenly realized that his body, which he had controlled so well, was about to lose control, collapse, and even be destroyed in this instant.

The next moment, his vision went black and he collapsed forward.

“Xie Chengyu!”

“Xie Wu-shi!”

“Master!”

“Third Son!”

In her urgency, Yan Sanhe’s reaction was remarkably swift. “Huang Qi, go fetch your master. Quickly.”

“Yes!”

“Ding Yi, carry Third Master to his room.”

“Yes!”

“Buyan, drag Steward Xie away and wake him up.”

“Yes!”

Those who left left, those who carried carried, those who dragged dragged. In mere moments, the study gate emptied completely.

Yan Sanhe looked coldly at the dazed Zhu Qing and suddenly laughed.

This laugh hurt more than a dagger stabbing into the heart.

Zhu Qing’s legs buckled and he knelt straight down. “Miss Yan, I…”

“Are you worthy of him?”

Yan Sanhe walked before him, a trace of irrepressible sorrow appearing in her eyes.

“All day long it’s ‘Zhu Qing this, Zhu Qing that, Zhu Qing this thing, Zhu Qing that thing.’ He calls your name hundreds of times a day, and in the end he’s raised an ungrateful wolf.”

Zhu Qing slowly lowered his head without saying a word.

“You damn well still feel wronged?”

On the side, Pei Xiao was so furious he gnashed his teeth and directly kicked out. “You traitorous dog, I…”

“Mingting, stop!”

Yan Sanhe shouted sternly.

Pei Xiao’s extended foot forcibly pulled back. If gazes were knives, by now Zhu Qing’s body would have been stabbed seventeen or eighteen times over.

Damn it, causing Xie Wu-shi’s heart condition to flare up—even being cut into a thousand pieces wouldn’t be excessive punishment.

No wait, it wasn’t just this surname Zhu—there was another one too.

Pei Xiao’s gaze lifted to look at Xie Daozhi, his tone immediately turning caustic.

“Well well, Uncle Xie, truly couldn’t tell! How many layers of skin are you wearing on that face? Which layer is human skin and which layer is demon skin?”

All the blood in Xie Daozhi’s body grew cold bit by bit. His gaze shifted. “Miss Yan, this is a misunderstanding. I…”

“Misunderstanding what?”

Yan Sanhe laughed coldly. “Misunderstanding you scolding Zhu Qing for being outrageous? Or misunderstanding Zhu Qing questioning you about whether you sent someone to kill Yan Xi?”

Xie Daozhi: “…”

“Do you know why he came to question you in the dead of night?”

Yan Sanhe pointed at Zhu Qing on the ground, speaking word by word. “That was a trap I set, with the purpose of finding the person behind him.”

The commotion Li Buyan made at the villa gate was to apply pressure.

Her shutting herself in the study, seeing only Third Master and Young Master Pei, was also to apply pressure.

Li Buyan’s shouting that the incense was almost burned out was applying even more pressure.

Xie Zhifei sending Ding Yi and Zhu Qing away was to give them opportunities to act alone.

Ding Yi was secretly followed by Li Buyan.

Zhu Qing was followed by Lu Da.

Huang Qi was the liaison.

After leaving the villa, Ding Yi returned to the Xie manor, saw the old ancestor and Xie Daozhi, and even paid his respects to Xie Erli.

After doing all this, he immediately returned.

But Zhu Qing…

After leaving the Five Cities Magistrate’s office, Zhu Qing sat alone at a small wine shop on the street, quietly drinking two pots of wine.

He drank the two pots very slowly. Yet this time, for her and for Xie Zhifei, felt even slower—so slow that every moment was torment and torture.

When Zhu Qing climbed over the wall into the Xie manor late at night, she and Xie Zhifei hadn’t spoken another word.

The Xie manor?

Then it could only be Xie Daozhi.

“Xie Daozhi.”

The expression on Yan Sanhe’s face could no longer be described as merely cold.

“Whether you’re human or demon, loyal or traitorous, it’s time we sat down and sorted this out clearly.”

Utter dejection covered Xie Daozhi’s face.

After a long while, he asked in a pleading tone, “Miss Yan, could we speak at the villa?”