My Years in the Jianghu with the Prince: A Time of Unethical Conduct

That's why Xie Yan and Chu Ling couldn't find any flaws in him, because this person had never actually made a move.

Thinking of this, Chu Ling couldn't help but admire his forbearance. He chuckled lightly, turning to look at Xie Yan, "Do you think he would collude with the Holy Sun Cult?"

Xie Yan shook her head. "I don't think he's that stupid."

When everyone comes to their senses later, there will be those who can't understand this point. If Cheng Shu really is colluding with the Holy Sun Cult, then all his hard work today will have been in vain.

The two watched Cheng Shu put on an act with the others and remained silent for a while.

"Brother Xie, Your Highness, are you alright?"

Just then, Shen Yulin, clutching his wound, stumbled and rushed over.

He looked anxious and quickly glanced at the two of them.

His gaze quickly swept over Chu Ling, who was clearly unharmed, before slowly settling on Xie Yan's face.

With a hint of doubt and concern, he asked, "Eh? Brother Xie, is your face... scratched? And what's that around your eye, blood or...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Xie Yan suddenly covered her right eye. Then, realizing she had overreacted, she glanced at Chu Ling again.

The latter, however, had a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth, looking at him with a half-smile, clearly having already noticed him.

Xie Yan silently looked away, chuckled dryly a few times, and said, "Hahaha, I saw something I shouldn't have seen, and now I have a sty."

Shen Yulin: ? Is the needle eye located there?

Before he could ask any further questions, Xie Yan excused herself to change clothes and quickly left.

Judging from his back, he even looked like he was fleeing in panic.

Shen Yulin was completely baffled. He turned his head, wanting to ask Chu Ling for some information.

But the latter didn't give him any attention at all. Instead, he slowly smoothed his sleeves, turned around and left, leaving Shen Yulin with only his back view.

Unlike Xie Yan, Chu Ling wore a meaningful smile.

For some reason, Shen Yulin felt inexplicably good.

Shen Yulin: ...Strange, I always feel there's something odd about the relationship between these two.

the other side--

Lu Zizhao, who had been called over to do odd jobs, had just wrung out Xie Yan's clothes and was about to hang them up when he suddenly felt a sharp gust of wind blowing in front of him.

Then, in a flash, a figure snatched the clothes drying nearby and darted into Xie Yan's room like a gust of wind.

Lu Zizhao: "...Holy crap! There's a thief!"

I never imagined that there would still be such blatant thieves these days, daring to steal things right in front of people!

Lu Zizhao stared dumbfounded at the closed door, and the thought of what would happen to him if Xie Yan found out that his things had been stolen made him shudder.

He quickly put down the wet clothes in his hand, grabbed a wooden stick from the side, and cautiously approached the door.

It's better to die fighting a thief than to be toyed with by Xie Yan.

Filled with grief and indignation, Lu Zizhao took a deep breath, then kicked the door open and shouted, "Hey! Where do you think you're going, you little thief?!"

Then he and Xie Yan, who was sitting in front of the mirror holding a human face in her hand, looked at each other.

Xie Yan: "...Who is the thief?"

He turned his head, sighed, and placed the mask on the table. "Also, if you still don't know how to knock before entering the room next time, I'll knock on the door with you as my door."

But Lu Zizhao did not respond; he remained frozen in place, still holding the stick.

Upon seeing the scene inside the room, his mouth slowly opened wide, his eyes fixed on Xie Yan's reflection in the mirror, and his face gradually turned bright red.

He stammered, "I...I didn't know it was you...you...your face..."

Before Lu Zizhao could finish speaking, Xie Yan waved her hand, and the door slammed shut in front of him.

Lu Zizhao only came to his senses when he felt a pain in the tip of his nose. He awkwardly put down the wooden stick in his hand and muttered under his breath, "I didn't expect Xie Yan to have such a handsome face... How come I've never seen him wear one before?"

But soon, the silly boy shook his head again, convincing himself, "It must be because he's embarrassed to wear it!"

Cheng Family Front Yard —

Xuanfeng took the spear from Chuling and was about to disassemble it when he heard Chuling instruct, "Send a message to Heshan, he can come back now."

"Yes."

Xuanfeng didn't even look up, and responded reflexively, before suddenly snapping back to reality a second later.

He looked up at Chu Ling, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, "Your Highness means..."

Chu Ling smiled but remained silent, his gaze fixed on the outside of the courtyard, his eyes deep and unfathomable, as if he were lost in thought.

Xuanfeng accepted the order and left, but could not hide his shock.

Heshan, whom Chu Ling mentioned, was also one of the personal guards.

Unlike the others, Heshan never appeared by the prince's side.

This was because he had been ordered to go out several years ago and had been secretly searching for someone for the prince.

Who this person is, how old he is, and what he looks like—aside from the prince and Heshan, no one else knows.

But they knew that no matter how many years had passed, even if Heshan had found nothing, the prince had never given up the search.

Now you say there's no need to search anymore? Does that mean you've found that person?

Thinking of this, Xuanfeng slowed down and couldn't help but scan the crowd.

Why now of all times? Could it be that person is right here right now?

He looked conflicted, unsure whether he should gossip with someone, when he bumped right into Xie Yan, who had changed her clothes and face.

Seeing Xuanfeng hurrying along with his face scrunched up, Xie Yan raised an eyebrow and said—

"What's wrong, are you constipated?"

Xuanfeng: ...No matter who it is, it could never be this guy!

Watching Xuan Feng leave, having swallowed his curses, Xie Yan turned around and, without much effort, spotted Chu Ling huddled together with the Master of Zixiao Manor, seemingly talking about something.

Upon seeing him return, Chu Ling nodded slightly to the two men, then walked towards Xie Yan without stopping.

As Xie Yan got closer, she could see clearly that the man's eyes were full of affection, his lips were smiling, and his face was gentler than ever before.

The whole person looked like...

Xie Yan twitched her lips: ...What a magnificent peacock displaying its plumage.

He had expected Chu Ling to ask him about his appearance, but Chu Ling only glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and turned to talk about something else.

"Although those two seniors promised to testify for you, we still have to go to the Martial Arts Alliance."

Xie Yan was clearly still a little confused: "Huh?"

Seeing his expression, Chu Ling couldn't help but chuckle twice, then raised the fan in his hand and considerately placed it under Xie Yan's chin to close it for him.

"I just learned from two seniors that the winner of this martial arts alliance leader election will receive a treasure map."

Xie Yan: "Huh?"

"To be precise, it should be half a treasure map."

Xie Yan: "...Huh?"