"Baby!"
"Hmm?"
"You admit you're my baby?"
"If you have something to say, just say it."
Bai Yuji was a little speechless. Qin Muye always liked to use that impossibly natural tone to say the most sickeningly sweet things.
The first time she heard him say things like that, she felt as if ants were crawling all over her.
But after hearing it enough, she got used to it. She just assumed he was starved for affection and didn't bother arguing.
Qin Muye took a bite of his flatbread. It was so hot that his face twisted, and he kept hissing as he blew on it. "The Puppet Assembly's tomorrow. Auntie's already taken leave, and I booked a private room at the restaurant beside the Weapon-Forging Platform. It has a fantastic view. Let's go watch it together tomorrow?"
"That's exactly what I had in mind. All we ever do when I go out with you is wander around and eat. At last, there's something interesting to do."
Bai Yuji didn't refuse. Among the Nanzhao Remnants were many young experts who had traveled far and wide. One of them was a genius puppeteer. If he won the Puppet Assembly, he would become a bargaining chip in negotiations with the Ganbian Nations.
And winning two thousand spirit stones would be equivalent to sixty thousand taels of silver. The Nanzhao Remnants wouldn't have to worry about money for a long time.
At that thought,
she suddenly felt someone watching her. She leaned toward the window and looked down at the street, where she met the gaze of He Xifeng, who was dressed like a Daoist priest.
Qin Muye glanced out the window, and his expression immediately soured. "Are you planning to discuss how to deal with me again?"
Bai Yuji rubbed her pale, smooth brow. "Can you stop thinking that everyone is plotting to harm you every moment of every day? We're people too. We have ordinary lives to live. I'm going over there. Don't let your imagination run wild. Just sit here and don't go anywhere."
With that,
she hurried downstairs.
She could call He Xifeng "Master" affectionately in front of the passersby. After all, only a handful of people in the capital knew their identities.
He Xifeng put on the kindly air of an elder and led Bai Yuji into the teahouse across from the restaurant.
As they walked, she lowered her voice.
"Princess, Luo Qing is back."
"When did he return?"
"Yesterday."
"How good is his skill at forging artifacts?"
"It's improved by leaps and bounds. An artifact-forging master once remarked that, in puppetry alone, he's already reached the threshold of a master."
"Really? That's wonderful!"
Bai Yuji could no longer suppress the smile on her face. Artifact forging wasn't like cultivation. It did require a foundation of essence, energy, and spirit, but it had no clear divisions of cultivation realms. Sometimes even a very ordinary blacksmith could, with a sudden flash of inspiration, forge an artifact so astonishing it rivaled the work of a master. It depended heavily on insight and luck.
At only twenty years old, he'd already earned the praise of another master, who said he'd reached the threshold. Becoming a master-level artifact forger was practically a sure thing.
Even the Gongshu Clan, a major artifact-forging clan, had no more than a handful of people worthy of being called artifact-forging masters!
At last, she felt as if the clouds had parted and the moon had emerged. "Where is he?"
"He's waiting for you."
"Take me to him!"
"Um..."
He Xifeng suddenly seemed hesitant.
Bai Yuji furrowed her brows. "What happened?"
He Xifeng spoke quietly. "When Luo Qing returned yesterday, he happened to see you out shopping with Qin Muye. If he hadn't noticed the experts protecting you nearby, he might have attacked Qin Muye. When he got back, he flew into a rage."
"Didn't you explain things to him?"
"I did, but he was so worked up that I only dared tell him you were trying to keep Qin Muye in your grasp and make him work for us. I didn't dare mention the matter of taking the Qin Family's bloodline."
"And even that didn't calm him down?"
"He did calm down, but then he saw you out shopping with Qin Muye again just now. Today you seemed even sweeter together than yesterday, like a newlywed couple. He thinks you've become so absorbed in enjoying yourself that you've completely forgotten your original purpose. If I hadn't stopped him, he might have already left the capital."
"..."
Bai Yuji was taken aback. They seemed even sweeter today, like a newlywed couple?
Was her acting really that good?
She couldn't help frowning. "Take me to him!"
"Princess!"
"Take me to him!"
"..."
He Xifeng had no choice but to take Bai Yuji into a private room, then quickly set up soundproofing.
A table laden with food and wine stood in the room.
But the tall, straight-backed young man at the table had his arms folded and showed no intention of touching the food. When he saw the two women enter, delight immediately lit his face. "Yu—"
"Please call me Princess."
"..."
Luo Qing's smile froze. Then resentment surged in his heart. "That useless bastard can call you Yuji, so why am I only allowed to call you Princess? Have you really been corrupted by all that luxury and—"
Bai Yuji cut him off coldly. "The Great Elder told me you wanted to leave the capital?"
Luo Qing looked into her icy eyes and felt a chill run down his back. Most of his resentment was doused in an instant, and his voice fell considerably. "I was just saying that in anger."
"You used the future of all the Nanzhao people as something to say in anger?"
"I... I just don't want to see you fall into depravity, Princess."
"What is depravity? Risking my life by entering Qin Mansion and seeking a way forward for Nanzhao—is that depravity?"
"But you..."
"For Nanzhao! What does it matter if I let him take advantage of me? Even if I gave my life, so what? You came to the capital yesterday. Haven't you heard that I already died once a few days ago?"
"..."
Luo Qing was so thoroughly scolded that he could barely hold his head up, but he still said, "Princess! It's only a matter of time before I become an artifact-forging master. You don't need to suffer indignities in the Qin Family. I know it's only an act, but you're so beautiful. What if that useless—"
Bai Yuji countered, "Are you saying you alone can support all of Nanzhao?"
"As long as I become an artifact-forging master—"
"Do you know how much you spent on your travels during the time you were wandering the world?"
"..."
"Where did that money come from?"
"..."
"Then do you know how many people like you Nanzhao would have to support to cultivate a single artifact-forging master?"
"..."
"Can one artifact-forging master support all the Nanzhao Remnants?"
"..."
"Even if every last one of the Nanzhao Remnants truly relied on you, how sure are you that you could cultivate another artifact-forging master?"
"..."
Luo Qing was so overwhelmed by her sharp questions that he wanted the ground to swallow him. At last, he lowered his head. "Princess, this subordinate was wrong!"
Only then did Bai Yuji's expression soften a little. "Do your best at tomorrow's Puppet Assembly. Even if you lose, don't let it cloud your judgment. We still have a long road ahead of us."
"Yes!"
"Eat well. I'm leaving."
"Princess!"
"What is it?"
"Do you really have no romantic feelings for Qin Muye?"
"None."
There was no room for doubt in Bai Yuji's tone.
Because that was truly what she thought.
At most, she felt pity for Qin Muye.
After saying that, she turned and left.
"Why did you take so long?"
"The flatbread hasn't even cooled down. You call that a long time?"
"I mean, you were gone for so little time it's suspicious, as if you were afraid I'd catch on to something. You weren't meeting another man, were you?"
"..."
Bai Yuji's heart gave a thump. Looking back, she really had hurried back because she was worried Qin Muye would get the wrong idea. But somehow, that had only made her look suspicious.
Wait!
So what if he found out?
She suddenly smiled. "I have so many subordinates. It's inevitable that a few of them are handsome young men. Don't tell me you're jealous?"
"I am jealous."
Qin Muye looked into her eyes, his tone utterly serious.
Bai Yuji choked for a moment. For some reason, her heart started beating a little faster.
But Qin Muye suddenly grinned. "You didn't really think I was jealous, did you? How can you be so full of yourself?"
Bai Yuji flared up at once. Without thinking, she grabbed the flatbread from the table, ready to smack it into his face.
But then she reconsidered. She had no reason to be angry.
So she stuffed it fiercely into her own mouth.
Qin Muye, meanwhile, glanced at the young man who had just hurried out of the teahouse.
[Main Fate: Fierce Dog]: A fierce dog without a leash; both sides suffer. [Fate Rank]: Fifth-grade (310/320) [Annotation]: When feelings take hold, reason vanishes. Unable to bear seeing the woman he loves pretend to be lovers with his enemy, he grows increasingly reckless, driving his own people into turmoil and perishing alongside his enemy. [Hint]: When the fate fluctuation exceeds 500, you can obtain the fate skill Dog Leash.
The woman he loves, pretending to be lovers with his enemy?
Did that mean me and Bai Yuji?
Damn it!
This woman wasn't satisfied with taking my body by force. Now she wanted to trick me into giving her my heart too?
No wonder Bai Yuji's current annotation said she was at a loss and unable to advance or retreat. It turned out this guy was the reason.
Qin Muye fell into thought.
Suddenly, a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
He'd always wanted to test whether killing someone to change their fate could actually yield a reward.
He just hadn't found a suitable target.
But now...
He had one!
Before you continue