Burial Village

"Qin Mo?"

At the sound of that name, Su Jinxuan's expression didn't change, but a flicker of something passed through her alluring peach-blossom eyes. She didn't answer right away.

Xu Yuan didn't rush her, either. But after waiting a while, a look of surprise gradually appeared in his eyes as well.

She was taking too long to think.

A person could usually tell at once whether they knew someone. Even if she needed to choose her words carefully, she wouldn't take this long unless she meant to keep quiet.

Su Jinxuan wasn't so poor an actor that she couldn't work that out.

So,

judging by her reaction, was she planning to tell him about Qin Mo?

If so, things were getting interesting.

The two had met,

and she was willing to tell him about Qin Mo without hesitation.

Those two facts alone narrowed down the route this world's protagonist was following to no more than five possibilities.

After a while,

Su Jinxuan spoke softly:

"Third Young Master, how did you find out that Qin Mo and I knew each other? We met several months ago. At the time, I don't think I had met you yet, did I?"

Her voice was gentle, and her eyes lingered on Xu Yuan's as if by chance.

She couldn't understand it. When she'd met Qin Mo, Xu Changtian should still have been trapped and awaiting rescue. If so, where had he gotten that information?

Xu Yuan could hear the probing in her question, but he had no intention of telling her. He didn't say a word.

Even if he knew the answer, it was best not to reveal anything about the specifics unless absolutely necessary.

Showing off in front of someone by saying it outright felt great, but explaining it all afterward would be a pain.

It was the same reason Xu Yuan didn't want to copy out poems and lyrics.

He could make up whatever he liked to an outsider like Su Jinxuan. She didn't know the full story and would just assume that Third Young Master had been hiding his true abilities all along.

She might even spread rumors that, though he seemed like a wastrel, he was actually plotting a thousand miles ahead, having secretly built an intelligence network of his own.

The Prime Minister's Estate's nickname—two dragons, one phoenix, and a rat—might even turn into something more flattering, like two dragons, one phoenix, and a hidden kun or a hidden qilin.

But the problem was,

outsiders didn't know Xu Changtian, Xu Changge, and that cheap old man of his understood him—their wastrel through and through.

A person's nature could change with their constitution, strength, status, and a host of other factors, but information didn't just appear out of thin air.

They might not suspect his identity, but he would still have to explain himself.

After a pause, Xu Yuan said quietly:

"How I found out isn't something you need to ask about, Su Jinxuan. You only need to answer my question."

"..."

After a moment of silence, Su Jinxuan bowed her head.

"Third Young Master is right. I overstepped just now."

Xu Yuan waved a hand.

"Never mind. What I'm curious about is your relationship with Qin Mo."

Su Jinxuan giggled, her eyes brimming with allure.

"Are you asking because Qin Mo got jealous?"

Xu Yuan shook his head with a faint smile.

"Maybe. After all, I'm very tempted by a constitution like the Charm Soul Demon Body."

"This servant is already yours, Young Master." Su Jinxuan's breath was as fragrant as an orchid as she leaned lightly against his shoulder. "If you're tempted, why not just take me?"

Xu Yuan sneered inwardly, slipped an arm around her shoulders, and continued:

"So, Jinxuan, what is your relationship with Qin Mo?"

Xu Yuan wanted to figure out which route the protagonist was following so he could prepare accordingly.

Besides, he didn't necessarily have to kill the protagonist.

Some protagonists were worse than the villains—more despicable even than the original owner of this body.

If their goals aligned, perhaps he could even work with him.

Su Jinxuan thought for a moment, then smiled.

"If I tell you, what will I get in return?"

"In return?"

Xu Yuan raised a brow and glanced sideways at her, meeting her eyes, limpid as autumn water.

"Mm."

Smiling, Xu Yuan gently brushed his knuckle across the woman's lovely face and spoke in a soft, unhurried voice.

"Of course there's a reward. When we get back to the estate and I hand you over to Ying'er, I'll put in a good word for you and ask her to be gentler."

His voice was tender, as if he were sweet-talking a lover, but the smile on Su Jinxuan's face faltered.

She still harbored a sliver of hope.

Xu Changtian had brought her back to the estate to keep her as a caged mistress.

She knew all too well how tempting her body was to men like him.

She didn't want it, but if Xu Changtian couldn't restrain himself and touched her, then—if the ancient text Mr. Qin had given her was accurate—she would still have a chance to turn the tables.

But Xu Changtian's words had turned that last bit of hope into a joke.

Ying'er clearly meant the masked woman she had first seen when she woke up.

That getup was unmistakably the Prime Minister's Estate's Shadow Guard.

If she were handed over to Ying'er, what would become of her?

At the thought, a flicker of panic passed through Su Jinxuan's eyes.

After a long pause, she bit her lip and spoke softly:

"Then I don't want a reward after all. But if I tell you the truth, will you grant me a quick death, Third Young Master?"

Because she had hesitated to choose mutual destruction back then, the powerful cultivator beside Xu Changtian had sealed her "charm essence" inside her sea of consciousness. Now she couldn't even end her own life.

Xu Yuan rubbed his chin and smiled in amusement.

"That depends on how you perform, Jinxuan. It'll be about half an hour before we get back to the estate. If you can offer me something that interests me, I might consider your request."

Su Jinxuan took a deep breath.

"All right. I'll tell you. Qin Mo and I don't have a complicated relationship. We traveled together for a while, and when we parted, we made a bet."

"A bet? Let's hear it."

"When we parted, I told him that if he could bring me the demon core of the deer demon in Wind Crow Forest this month, I'd play a song just for him."

Xu Yuan nodded slightly and smiled.

"If that's all you have to tell me, it's not enough to earn you a quick death."

A trace of bewilderment crossed Su Jinxuan's face, but she soon gritted her teeth.

"I approached Qin Mo because Mr. Qin said his background might not be simple."

Xu Yuan's eyes narrowed at once.

There it was again—another change to the plot.

In his previous life, he had always thought the protagonist's meeting with Su Jinxuan was a chance encounter written into the story. But someone else had carefully engineered it.

Though their meeting had been planned, the routes where they fell in love should still have been real.

After all, the affection values in the game system couldn't lie.

Putting those thoughts aside, Xu Yuan said, "Go on."

Su Jinxuan glanced at him, sighed, and spoke quietly.

"Mr. Qin said Qin Mo might be connected to a place called Burial Village."

"Burial Village?"

Xu Yuan murmured the name, even more certain that Mr. Qin was no ordinary member of a sect.

Su Jinxuan shook her head.

"Mr. Qin didn't say much. All I know is that Qin Mo might have come from Burial Village."