After deceiving the villain, I was forced to love him.

Wang Qingyan led her to the other side of the bamboo forest.

A patch of unidentified red flowers then came into view.

They danced like elves under the bamboo, and the lanterns hanging on the bamboo or treetops cast flickering lights, softening the night.

Before long, a light drizzle fell, slowly forming a layer of crystal-clear "frost" among the flowers, leaves, and bamboo, bringing peace of mind and clarity to one's thoughts.

Bai Li Ce was so engrossed in watching that he didn't pay attention to his footing and stepped into a puddle in the flowerbed. He was about to fall, and his hands instinctively reached for something to steady him...

"Carefully," Wang Qingyan grabbed her left hand and pulled her back. Once she was steady, he immediately let go without overstepping his bounds.

"..." Bai Li Ce himself was no longer calm.

In the dim light, the "frost" between his hair and eyebrows glistened, his temperament was aloof, yet with a touch of brokenness like the twilight, making her unable to look away for a moment.

Wang Qingyan was so flustered by her gaze that he dared not look her in the eye and instinctively raised his sleeves to cover her head.

"Let's go back... The rain is getting heavier..."

Wang Qingyan always struck her as an unfathomable, intelligent man who was not someone she should get too close to.

Even after spending the last few months with him and knowing that he meant no harm, Baili Ce still kept his distance from him.

But at this moment, seeing him so helpless, she felt that the calm, composed, and shrewd head of the Wang family seemed to be—

It's quite cute too~

"Aren't you leaving?" Wang Qingyan, who was really losing his composure, suppressed the urge to run away. His throat bobbed a few times, and he wanted even more to cover her bright eyes.

"Heh..." It was rare to see him so shy, so Baili Ce smiled and suddenly had a mischievous thought.

So she parted his sleeve, leaned closer, and said, "Look closely."

"..." Wang Qingyan felt like he was about to catch a fire.

He'd been trying to woo her for months and couldn't, while she...

Meeting her gaze, his emotions surged to their peak, and he suddenly forgot everything else, blurting out, "A-Zhu, I like you."

"..." Upon hearing this, the smile on Baili Ce's lips gradually faded.

Wang Qingyan witnessed this and felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar...

After a long while, Fang gave a bitter smile.

Yet she remained gentle and calm, saying, "Go back."

Just as he was regretting his irrational behavior, Baili Ce reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Will you stay with me and get caught in the rain?"

“…” Wang Qingyan looked up at her.

He didn't detect a trace of impulsiveness or joke in her eyes.

Amidst the stirring of the swaying bamboo shadows, Wang Qingyan lowered his hand and tucked her right hand into his sleeve.

"Then I'll just get wet for a short while."

......

They said they'd only be in the shower for a little while, but Wang Qingyan ended up getting completely soaked.

If it weren't for the thunder that followed, and Baili Ce having done so many bad things that she was afraid of being struck by lightning, she would never have let Wang Qingyan drag her back.

After seeing Baili Ce to the door, Wang Qingyan's sleeves began to drip water.

"Hahaha..." Baili Ce, whose skirt and a little hair were only wet, looked at his disheveled appearance with glee and beaming.

He wasn't angry at all. "Alright, now that you've had enough fun, hurry up and change your clothes and rest."

"I need to go back to my room too."

"Wait a minute!" Bai Lize quickly grabbed an umbrella from the corner and gave it to him. "Here you go."

Wang Qingyan's lips curled slightly, and he helplessly opened his arms, like a phoenix falling into the water. "Do you think I need an umbrella looking like this?"

"It's the thought that counts!"

"Okay~" Wang Qingyan accommodatingly took the umbrella.

He opened the door and stepped into the rain, and amidst the crisp, pattering sound, his voice rang out, "Qingyan."

"Hmm?" Wang Qingyan turned around.

She stood at the door, smiling sweetly, and said, "Sleep well."

Good sleep

......

The rain is getting heavier.

Lightning flashed across the sky in a tangled pattern, and the occasional booming thunder seemed to be right next to us, making us feel extremely oppressed.

"Pitter-patter-patter..." Raindrops pounded against the window, and for a moment drifted into the room.

But soon, the crackling sound started up again, filling the room and making it impossible for anyone to sleep.

The "young lady," Feng Lan, soaking wet, bowed with her sword in hand.

Bai Li Ce, who had been sitting quietly for half the night, poured him a glass of water. "Drink some hot water first."

"No need," Feng Lan said, handing over a bamboo tube.

As Baili Ce unpacked and examined the contents, he explained.

"What the young lady means is that those heads of the household haven't made any major mistakes, and if the third branch of the family puts in a little effort, they can still save their positions."

"But from now on, they will have to work for the Baili family."

"You can rest assured about that, Miss. They went to Thorn City to find Aqi today."

"Yes, but these eight people on the list still need to be dealt with by Lin Yuchuan."

Bai Lize glanced at the list on the table again. They had done everything except harassing the beggars, so they were indeed not wronged.

"Don't worry, after the powerful clans in Shucheng are dealt with, Lin Yuchuan will arrest them."

Otherwise, Lu Jian's edict would not have been issued.

"The matter you asked last time, the young lady had it verified by several of the most skilled masters in Kyoto, and they all said it was impossible."

Bai Li Ce's expression turned slightly cold. "Aren't there any exceptions?"

"Among them was an old gentleman who could listen to the wind in the water and track it with his eyes closed without any problem. He could shoot a bee among the flowers from a hundred meters away without damaging the petals."

"If someone's archery skills are better than his, then... they are probably not human."

In other words, an arrow can curve, and it can hit the bullseye every time.

Amidst a vast army, on the battlefield, it's possible to avoid harming even one person.

But the idea of ​​"having eyes" is utter nonsense.

"What exactly did that old gentleman say?"

"He has been practicing archery for over fifty years and has seen countless archers. Among three thousand people, ten who can hit the bullseye from a hundred paces is already considered excellent."

"Those who can truly distinguish various sounds, smells, living and dead objects without being affected by external factors are one in ten thousand."

"It is absolutely impossible to train such a group of archers and ensure that every arrow shot by each archer is flawless."

"Other masters also said that no matter how much a person surpasses their limits, they will always be bound by their physical body."

Even products manufactured with the most advanced modern technology still have defects.

Even snipers need to use aiming tools.

Sharpshooters aren't mass-produced; how could they possibly achieve 100% uniformity?

"..." A hint of wariness flashed across Baili Ce's face, and he secretly made some guesses.

"I put the item in the fifth hidden compartment under the ruins of the kitchen in the Three City Walled City."

After gesturing a few coded words with his left hand, Bai Li Ce handed Feng Lan a valve key, saying, "Use this to open it."

The exact opposite meaning, Fenglan remembered at a glance.

"Have you found any trace of Seventeen?"

"He did indeed fall into the hands of the He family."

"So, Seventeen didn't even leave the capital?"

Good heavens, if Baili Ming hadn't been more aware of the crisis back then, the Baili family would have suffered a huge loss.

"Yes, but... he had been to the outskirts of Beijing before he was captured by the He family."

Suburbs of Beijing?

Bai Lizhe roughly went through the list of businesses in the suburbs of Beijing in his mind.

"When you get back, check out the shops 'Nanji Pastry,' 'Wufu Cloth Shop,' and 'Fenglai Pavilion'..."

"Yes"

"Also..." She felt like she had missed something.

Just as I was about to think of it, a flash of inspiration struck me, but it was overshadowed by other thoughts: "Let's also go and take a look at the nunnery on the mountain opposite Fenglai Pavilion."

"That nunnery has been abandoned for a long time, so I'm afraid we won't be able to find anything."

"Is the feng shui bad there?"

After thinking for a moment, Feng Lan had a sudden realization.

"Hmph, the feng shui is not bad, it's convenient to come and go, and it's not government land, so why has it been abandoned for so long?"

There are plenty of wealthy people in the capital, so doesn't anyone want to buy it and start a business?

"..." Feng Lan was sincerely impressed and also very pleased.

"Before I came, I was worried about you... Now I see that I was just overthinking it."

"Are you worried, or is it the young lady?"

"..."

"Or perhaps it's those old fogies who are just hoping I'll make a mistake?"