Friendship of a Gentleman!

"A woman who could be called the Empire's Bright Moon truly was no ordinary woman to be compared with." Yan Xiangma sighed inwardly.

Cui Xiaoxin had only been inside for a few short minutes, yet she had already understood the whole ins and outs of the matter. Even though he had wanted to help Li Mu Yang conceal it, she had seen through him at a glance.

Cui Xiaoxin knew who had killed Killer Crow, and she also clearly understood his painstaking intention in taking the credit for himself.

He wanted to protect Li Mu Yang, which was why he had said that he had killed Killer Crow himself.

Cui Xiaoxin also wanted to protect Li Mu Yang, which was why she had likewise said that she had killed Killer Crow herself.

He had said it was a great deed done selflessly, while his little sister had said—why did he feel just a tiny bit uncomfortable about it?

However, since Cui Xiaoxin had brought up the matter with him in such a serious tone, he had no choice but to agree.

Because Cui Xiaoxin was not merely his cousin; she was also a daughter of the Cui Family. The Yan Family was related to the Cui Family by marriage and was also its vassal. Yan Xiangma's status was naturally not as important as Cui Xiaoxin's.

Even if Cui Xiaoxin married in the future, she would have to marry someone of equal standing who could bring tremendous support to the Cui Family—someone like that Jade Tree of the Song Family, for example.

And him? The son of a City Lord of Jiangnan City—he really was unlikely to be taken seriously by those wealthy and powerful clans.

If his mother had not also been a woman of the Cui Family, what qualification would he have had to spend his days alongside Cousin Xiao Xin and speak with her as an equal?

Yan Xiangma patted his chest and said, "Rest assured, Cousin. I'm someone who believes in the word 'justice' when I do things—if it's my credit, no one can think of taking it away. If it isn't my credit, even if I wanted to snatch it, no one could say much. I'll go report to the City Lord's Mansion in a moment and say that I set a trap and eliminated Killer Crow. I'll claim that three-thousand-Gold-Coin bounty while I'm at it. Li Mu Yang, we owe this to your feat of luring the enemy. I'll have someone send you fifteen hundred Gold Coins later. We brothers will split it fifty-fifty."

Li Mu Yang waved his hands repeatedly. "No, no. That's your bounty. It has nothing to do with me."

"What? You look down on me?" Yan Xiangma said unhappily.

"Not at all—I just feel that one shouldn't accept benefits without contributing—"

"All right, enough." Yan Xiangma said impatiently, "Just take what I give you. In our circle, refusing a gift isn't merely refusing the gift—it's a slap in the giver's face. Anyone who doesn't give me face, I'll want to slap theirs. We good-for-nothing young masters are capable of anything."

Lowering his voice, Yan Xiangma asked in a whisper, "Can I go up and see Sinian?"

"No."

"I'll give you two thousand Gold Coins."

"No."

"Twenty-five hundred."

"No."

"I'll give you all three thousand. How about that?"

"No."

Yan Xiangma poked Li Mu Yang in the chest and said, "Kid, don't you think we ought to join hands, work together, and create a beautiful future?"

"What do you mean?"

"You like my cousin, and I think Li Sinian is pretty cute too. You help me court your sister, and I'll help you court my sister. We'll exchange information and create opportunities for each other—how about it?"

Li Mu Yang rolled his eyes. "Go court your own sister."

Yan Xiangma then took hold of Cui Xiaoxin's sleeve and said, "Cousin, he's driving you away. Let's go back—"

"Yan Xiangma—" Li Mu Yang really wanted to rush over and beat him up. I said 'go court your own sister'; I wasn't telling you to drive Cui Xiaoxin away. He couldn't have been more eager to keep her here.

Cui Xiaoxin shook off Yan Xiangma's tugging hand and looked at Li Mu Yang. "I know you've been through a great deal, and that your family has also faced tremendous danger because of it. But I hope these matters won't affect your examinations tomorrow. If there's anything we can help with, please be sure to say so. Don't stand on ceremony."

"Huh?" Li Mu Yang looked at Cui Xiaoxin and found that the girl had suddenly become somewhat unfamiliar. It was as though, before that lake outing, she had kept a certain distance from every person in the class.

"Then my cousin and I will take our leave." Cui Xiaoxin bowed slightly and performed the Empire's standard aristocratic etiquette. "Please take care."

"Cui Xiaoxin—" Li Mu Yang called out.

He felt that Cui Xiaoxin had changed, becoming distant.

Yet this distance was difficult for him to grasp, because Cui Xiaoxin had never truly drawn close to him in the first place—she had merely not avoided him whenever he was the one to approach.

Cui Xiaoxin turned around. Her expression calm, she looked at Li Mu Yang and asked softly, "Classmate Li Mu Yang, is there something else?"

"I wanted to ask you—" Li Mu Yang spread his mouth into a grin, revealing two rows of neat, pearly-white teeth. Under the midday sun, the side of his face shimmered with a faint yellow halo. His eyes narrowed slightly, and his long eyelashes drooped like a delicate folding fan. He was young and in the springtime of his life—the perfect season to bravely pursue love. "We said we'd go together to the shore of Sunset Lake at Xifeng University to watch the sunset. Does that still count?"

A trace of sorrow flashed through Cui Xiaoxin's eyes and vanished. She gently brushed up a lock of long hair before her forehead. Her face showed no emotion as she said, "Li Mu Yang, that's something for the future—at least, it's something for after you manage to get into Xifeng University. So work hard."

Cui Xiaoxin left.

She would not be coming tomorrow, either.

Li Mu Yang's heart felt hollow.

"Why—why did it suddenly become like this?" Li Mu Yang's mood was oppressed, the young man carrying a sorrow too difficult to put into words.

"Why did it suddenly become like this?" In the car, Yan Xiangma looked at Cui Xiaoxin and asked the same question.

"Killer Crow's target was Li Mu Yang, wasn't it?" Cui Xiaoxin asked.

"Yes." Knowing he could not hide it from his cousin, Yan Xiangma answered frankly. "The situation was extremely dangerous. When I arrived, Li Mu Yang's parents and younger sister were all unconscious. Li Mu Yang was covered in blood, standing in the courtyard with killing intent surging from him, like a demon that had crawled out of hell. The ground was covered with the corpses of blood crows, yet Killer Crow's corpse had vanished. According to Li Mu Yang, the blood crows had turned on him and eaten him."

"The reason the blood crows devoured their master was that they had no other flesh to eat—in other words, Li Mu Yang had already defeated Killer Crow before I arrived. What do you make of this? Don't you think Li Mu Yang—don't you think there's a monster hidden inside his body?"

"Have they found the person behind Killer Crow?" Cui Xiaoxin's fingers crossed and rubbed together lightly. It was a habitual motion she made whenever she fell into deep thought.

"Not yet." Yan Xiangma shook his head. Cui Xiaoxin had been unwilling to comment on Li Mu Yang's physical condition, exactly as he had expected. "Father has already sent word of your attempted assassination to the Imperial Capital, but there hasn't been any response from there yet—only instructions to ensure your safety no matter what. It was merely an assassin, and a dead assassin at that. What information could we possibly find?"

"So, do you think there was anything wrong with what I did?" Cui Xiaoxin asked in return.

"I know you did it to protect Li Mu Yang. We haven't found the mastermind behind the scenes, so who knows whether there'll be another wave of assassins? Li Mu Yang ruined their plans this time, so naturally they'll place their hatred on him. He's just an ordinary—actually, he isn't ordinary either. That fellow is hiding himself very deeply. I can't see through him."

"His person isn't ordinary, but his heart is." Cui Xiaoxin spoke softly.

"That's right. He's a good person—" Yan Xiangma sighed lightly. "That's why I can't help wondering—wasn't this a little cruel to him?"

"Death is what's cruel." Cui Xiaoxin said, "We'll have to part sooner or later. What difference does it make whether it's a little earlier or later?"

"That's true." Yan Xiangma gazed out the window at the blazing, brilliantly blooming cold crimson cherry blossoms. "It seems my little sister sees through things more clearly."

Cui Xiaoxin lowered her head without answering. After a long while, she finally said, "I asked my cousin to step forward and bear this danger and responsibility. Please don't be angry with me—"

Yan Xiangma gently patted Cui Xiaoxin's shoulder. He knew the girl was suffering inside as well.

"Isn't this only right and proper?" Yan Xiangma smiled warmly, possessing the wisdom of one who had seen through the truth. "If I let an unrelated person bear this danger and responsibility, that would be what truly bothered me—who told me I'm your cousin? We're the real family."

After a pause, Yan Xiangma looked at Cui Xiaoxin and could not help asking, "Li Mu Yang—you and him—do you truly not feel anything at all?"

"Friendship of a Gentleman, Cousin. Why must you ask such a question?"

"Ah—" Yan Xiangma sighed regretfully. "He has a good little sister too."