I long to return home!

In the imperial city, a disheveled young man was fleeing hastily. As the moonlight shone down, the young man leaned against the wall in a panic, his clothes slipping down to his shoulders, revealing scars all over his fair body. The most shocking sight was the claw mark that pierced through his chest. Given the young man's wretched appearance, it was hard to imagine what he had done before.

Before Xue Wu could catch his breath, a series of rapid footsteps approached, the sound as loud as thunder, making his heart pound.

"The princess has been murdered! Go and investigate immediately! Search for any suspicious individuals, and kill anyone found lurking in the shadows!"

Xue Wu was startled and slowly crawled along the wall, unaware that he was about to face a terrible disaster.

Suddenly, the sound of clashing metal rang out. Xue Wu turned around and saw guards holding halberds and wearing armor staring at him menacingly.

"Come quick, suspicious person found here!"

Xue Wu was startled and was about to flee when a group of soldiers suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his way out.

Damn it, don't do that! I didn't do it on purpose.

Xue Wu pressed himself against the wall, looking left and right. The roads on both sides were completely blocked, and soldiers with golden spears were constantly approaching. Just as he was at a loss, a blue figure swept across the top of the wall. Then, before anyone could see who it was, a strong wind suddenly blew up from the ground, blinding the soldiers and making it impossible for them to move forward even an inch.

As the strong wind subsided, the soldiers groggily opened their eyes and found that the suspicious person who had been cornered against the wall had vanished without a trace.

...

In his dazed state, Xue Wu seemed to see a familiar figure. When he opened his eyes again, he was surprised to find himself in the courtyard of the residence, where a young man with blue hair was standing in front of him.

"Xiaoyao!" Xue Wu exclaimed in disbelief.

"Fellow Daoist Xue, I truly underestimated you. I never expected you to be so bold. I am truly impressed." Xiaoyao bowed respectfully to Xue Wu.

"I really didn't mean to, and besides, how would I know she was in there? Wait... how did you know? Did you peek?" Xue Wu asked, glaring at Xiaoyao.

"No... of course not... I just happened to be passing by and saw you running out of the princess's bathroom, so I helped you out." Xiaoyao turned away shyly, a blush creeping onto her fair face.

As he said, he was drinking up high and enjoying the...beautiful scenery when he suddenly saw Xue Wu running out of Lei Mengying's bathroom, disheveled, and he witnessed a good show.

"By the way, how's Princess's figure?" Xiaoyao suddenly turned around and looked at Xue Wu with a sly grin.

"Cough... Eight points, there's still a lot of room for improvement." Xue Wu coughed a few times, his old face instantly turning red. He lowered his head, recalling Lei Mengying's graceful figure, and put his past hatred behind him.

As he pondered, he suddenly realized something extremely important and exclaimed in horror, "It's over... she knows me, I... I'm afraid I won't live past tomorrow night."

"Ah! Well then, good luck to you. I suddenly remembered I have something important to attend to, so I'll be going now."

Just as Xiaoyao was about to leave, he was pulled back by a large hand. Xue Wu exhaled a long breath and said in a deep voice, "You think you can leave so easily? Since I'm not going to live, I'll definitely tell you everything about you peeping at the princess bathing before I die. Neither of us will live."

"How could you do this? I kindly saved you, how could you repay kindness with enmity?" Xiaoyao said indignantly.

"Even if you die, die a well-fed ghost and stay here to help me," Xue Wu said.

...

The beginning of Hai.

Xu Tao and the others, dressed in light robes, were strolling toward Xue Wu's residence.

"Haven't you seen our junior brother? We've been waiting for him at the bathhouse for ages, and he still hasn't come," Xu Tao said.

"No, Ling Jiao and I didn't see Junior Brother Xue until we came out of the bathroom. Elder Lin, you didn't see him either?" Gu Qingcheng asked urgently.

"I haven't seen her before, but a notice just came from the capital that thieves are plotting to assassinate Her Highness the Princess, and we are advised not to go out unless it is absolutely necessary," Su Yifeng said calmly.

"Is it possible that Junior Brother Xue accidentally got lost, and accidentally... was..." Su Changfeng speculated softly.

Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this. It wasn't impossible, after all, it was their first time in the capital, and getting lost was inevitable. But this was just too much of a coincidence.

"Impossible! Xue Wu isn't that kind of person. He would never go to watch the princess bathe," Jin Lingjiao exclaimed in surprise.

Upon hearing this, everyone paused, their speculation growing, wondering if there might actually be such a possibility.

As the crowd drew closer, two clear, excited voices rang out from Xue Wu's residence.

"cheers!"

A delicious aroma of meat wafted from the residence.

Xu Tao and the others quickened their pace until they reached the door of Xue Wu's residence, where they could clearly hear Xue Wu's voice, as well as a voice they had never heard before.

Xu Tao pushed the door open and found Xue Wu enjoying eating insects he had bought in the city, with a young man with blue hair sitting next to him.

Xue Wu had just put the peeled lobster into his mouth when the door opened, and Xu Tao and the others appeared in the doorway, staring straight at him.

"So that's why I haven't seen you. You were hiding here secretly eating behind our backs." Su Yifeng didn't stand on ceremony. He came to Xue Wu's side, looked at the various flavors of lobster, some side dishes, and lemonade, tugged at his sleeve, picked up a lobster, and imitated Xue Wu's way of peeling lobsters. He peeled off the shell, took out the lobster meat, and began to eat with gusto.

I took a bite of shrimp, poured myself a full glass of lemonade, took a small sip, and felt only one word: refreshing!

Suddenly, as if remembering something, he looked at the person next to Xue Wu. He was dressed in the clothes of the Xiaoyao Sect and had long, waist-length blue hair. The moment he saw his face, he froze, his hands trembled uncontrollably, and he was too nervous to speak.

"Elder Lin, what's wrong with you? You're not so hungry that you can't speak?" Xue Wu asked in surprise, looking at the trembling Su Yifeng. Then he looked at Xu Tao and the others outside the door and called out, "Why are you standing there? Come in and eat! There's plenty for you."

Xiaoyao took a sip of lemonade, looked at Su Yifeng, silently put her index finger to her lips, and gently blinked.

Upon seeing this, Su Yifeng swallowed hard, his expression returning to its usual composed demeanor, though now with a hint of restraint.

"Junior brother, did you burn the insects you bought in Qingyue City?" Xu Tao peeled a shrimp shell and put it in his mouth.

"Hmm, this isn't called an insect, it's called a lobster, a crayfish. This one is garlic flavored, this one is spicy flavored, this one is... and this one is lemonade, the two are a perfect match." Xue Wu stood up and explained to everyone one by one, then sat down, peeled a plump lobster, and fed it to Jin Lingjiao.

"I wonder who this fellow Daoist is..." Xu Tao asked, looking at the carefree and unrestrained Xiaoyao beside him.

"I am Xiaoyao."