Chapter 333: Do You Think I Believe You?

"You still don't get it? Fine, I'll say it again—this is the last time! I'll speak slowly this time: we first sneak in—"

"Wait!"

Chen Chen Chen Qingshan could no longer bear to listen.

"What's wrong? I haven't finished yet!"

"It's fine, I—I understand…"

"Do you really understand?" Xin Yi frowned skeptically.

Xiao Shan muttered: "I really understand…"

Xin Yi tilted her head and studied Chen Chen Chen Qingshan.

"Then repeat it for me."

Chen Chen Chen Qingshan gritted her teeth and said:

"We sneak in first—oh no, don't you think your plan is too… too simple?"

Xin Yi frowned: "You think it's simple?"

"Don't you?"

"If it's simple, how come you didn't understand?"

"…"

Chen Chen Chen Qingshan had previously marched toward death in despair, fully prepared to risk everything; now that she'd found the Yidu tribe's location and glimpsed hope, she grew calm and mused:

"If this were a mansion, sneaking in under cover of night, avoiding notice, might still work. But this is a barbarian village—it'll be enormous. If it's like Wenyang Tribe, it'll be divided into sections. We don't know the paths, and our clothing and appearance differ from the barbarians. Rushing in blindly would make us like flies without heads, stumbling around—"

Xin Yi frowned again: "Flies without heads are dead—how could they stumble around?"

Chen Chen Chen Qingshan: …

"We're very likely to fail to find anyone. If we're discovered and barbarian troops surround us, all our efforts will be wasted! Even if we somehow find the person, can just the two of us safely extract them?"

Xin Yi thought for a moment and said:

"A fly without a head can't possibly—"

"Fine! I used the wrong word! I won't use it anymore, okay?!"

Seeing Chen Chen Chen Qingshan's resentful expression, Xin Yi also grew annoyed:

"If you use a word wrong, just correct it. No one laughs, nothing happens—it's nothing at all. Your master once wrote a poem using 'purple smoke'; when I pointed out the error, he immediately admitted it. That's how it should be—"

"Are you going to save your young master or not?!"

Chen Chen Chen Qingshan reached her limit!

"Of course I am! If you followed my plan, we'd already—"

"Already be fighting the barbarian troops!"

"So what if we fight? I'm not afraid—are you?"

Chen Chen Chen Qingshan took a deep breath and suppressed her anger:

"Is it just you on your side? No one else?"

Xin Yi lifted her chin proudly: "Of course there are others."

Chen Chen Chen Qingshan's eyes lit up: "Where?"

Xin Yi's expression darkened; her fleeting pride vanished instantly. Her eyes filled with helplessness and confusion, her voice growing soft: "I don't know…"

Seeing the girl's pitiful state, Chen Chen Chen Qingshan said nothing more. Instead, she paced as if imitating Wang Yang's thinking posture,

praying for even a fraction of Wang Yang's inspiration!

But after just two steps, the decaying leaves beneath her feet crackled softly—a loud noise in the silent night. To avoid drawing attention, she stopped pacing and instead pinched her right palm with her left thumb, squeezing, releasing, squeezing again, releasing again, over and over.

Xin Yi said: "If you're afraid, I'll go alone."

Chen Chen Chen Qingshan's phoenix eyes swept over her, blending the casual authority Wang Yang exuded daily with her own hardened, solitary courage—producing a unique, piercing aura that instantly stunned Xin Yi!

"Don't speak."

Chen Chen Chen Qingshan lowered her gaze and resumed thinking.

Xin Yi instinctively fell silent, then blinked, coming to her senses—

Why should I listen to her?!

Her resentment surged again; she opened her mouth to retort—when Chen Chen Chen Qingshan suddenly spoke, lost in thought:

"If your master and my young master were going to be harmed, it would've happened before we arrived. Our coming now is already too late. But if they're not harmed, it might mean they're safe for now. Just now, two people said they blew up a basin. I've never seen nine basins blown up, but one basin…?"

Xin Yi grew more confused: "What are you even talking about?!"

Chen Chen Chen Qingshan fell silent for a moment, her eyes flickering with inner struggle. Finally, she made her decision, raised her gaze to meet Xin Yi's, and spoke clearly and firmly:

"I have a plan to rescue them. Do you believe me?"

"No."

Xin Yi refused without a moment's hesitation.

Chen Chen Chen Qingshan:??

"Do you agree with what I just analyzed?"

"What did you analyze?"

Chen Chen Chen Qingshan: …

Xiao Shan felt drained. If she couldn't even proceed with the current step, how could she possibly convince Xin Yi of her plan? But how could she persuade her?

Xin Yi said: "Fine, if you won't go, I'll go alone. But if I meet Wang Yang, I'll save him too." She paused, then added: "If my young master agrees."

Then she felt it wasn't precise enough and added again:

"If my young master disagrees, I'll still advise him—but if he's furious and absolutely refuses, then I can't do anything…"

She turned and walked away.

"Xin Yi!"

Xin Yi turned back.

"You must believe me, because—because—"

Chen Chen Chen Qingshan's mind was in chaos; she called out purely on instinct, with no words ready to hold her back. But as Xin Yi turned, Chen Chen Chen Qingshan suddenly recalled Wang Yang's calm smile—the one he wore even as mountains crumbled, as if he held all things in his grasp. In that instant, her soul was illuminated, as if Wang Yang had possessed her. She smiled faintly:

"Because this isn't my plan. It's Wang Yang's plan."

Xin Yi gasped: "Wang Yang left a plan?!"

Chen Chen Chen Qingshan's phoenix eyes gleamed with unshakable confidence:

"Of course. He left a contingency, just in case. But this contingency plan is so powerful that I've been hesitating whether to use it. Now I realize saving lives is paramount—everything else doesn't matter! I ask you: do you want to join me?"

Xin Yi's face instantly lit up with brilliant radiance!

It was the hope and excitement of seeing a guiding light in darkness!

She was both delighted and reproachful:

"Why were you hesitating?! Of course saving lives is most important! If you had Wang Yang's plan, why didn't you say so sooner?! Why hide it and dawdle?! Wang Yang's wisdom truly surpasses mine! Even my young master says he's brilliant! With his plan, we're sure to—"

Xin Yi's expression suddenly froze, wary and uncertain:

"You're not lying to me, are you?"

Chen Chen Chen Qingshan's heart leapt. The calm smile she'd mimicked from Wang Yang stiffened on her lips, but she held it, locking eyes with Xin Yi, gathering all her strength, and unleashed her long-prepared Low Arc Yin Finger—

"Do you think, with my wit, I could possibly deceive you?"

Xin Yi blinked, then her eyes widened with sudden clarity:

"That makes sense!"

Xiao Shan: Phew…

"... Hahaha! I'll tell you! My mother and your mother are the same! She has one more trick! She plays the zither to distract me, then suddenly makes me recite what I just memorized!"

Bao Yue lay sprawled on her elbows, propped up, gazing at Wang Yang with eyes as bright as moonlit mountain springs, brimming with light and delight.

Wang Yang was equally excited—it was the first time since his reincarnation he'd talked about his mother, and strangely, their mothers behaved similarly! Hearing Bao Yue's story, he exclaimed:

"Don't tell me! My mother—my mom—did the same thing! Her trick was to make me read a chapter, then cover the book and start talking about something else, deliberately distracting me, then suddenly ask me to repeat the chapter—"

"And while you talked, you must've been dazed, pretending to listen while secretly reciting inside your head," Bao Yue smiled, eyes crinkling, especially when she said "secretly"—adorably sweet.

"How did you know?!"

"Because I did exactly that!"

"Hahaha! Hey, I'll tell you—I once threw my mother's bag because she wouldn't play with me. She couldn't find it, and then…"

The two grew increasingly cheerful, sharing amusing and ridiculous stories of their mothers' tricks and counter-tricks. Soon, Bao Yue fell silent, listening eagerly as Wang Yang spoke. When he asked about one detail, Bao Yue paused, resting her cheek on her arm, her voice growing soft and distant:

"I remembered too little, and my mother passed away too early. She spent little time with me. Most of the time, she was quietly unhappy. The few memories I have of her… I keep turning them over and over, but there are only so many…"

Wang Yang sighed inwardly and said: "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Actually, I envy you—you have so many fun stories to tell. I can tell your mother was a very clever woman, and she loved you deeply."

Wang Yang said: "Your mother was clever too—"

"Not clever enough."

Bao Yue still rested her cheek on her arm, her voice calm, but in her gaze fixed on empty space, a sorrow and chill, far beyond her years, flickered briefly.

She blinked, quickly pulling herself from those memories, and looked at Wang Yang:

"I've always had one question: why would someone like you take the Langye surname?"

Wang Yang met Bao Yue's gaze. His eyes shifted from their earlier liveliness to quiet scrutiny—as if, in an instant, all his chattiness had vanished.

He didn't answer directly, but asked:

"What do you think?"

Bao Yue glanced at Wang Yang, a teasing smile curling at her lips:

"As soon as you hear about this, you get as wary as a scout—really?"

Wang Yang replied helplessly:

"If I weren't wary, you'd have killed me long ago."

"I never intended to kill you."

Wang Yang let out a dry laugh, his expression saying, "Do you think I believe that?"

Bao Yue grew uneasy, then confessed frankly:

"At first, I did consider silencing you—but it was only a thought. How things turned out depended on how events unfolded. To be honest, back then I didn't take you seriously at all. For me, as long as the job was done, whether or not to silence you wasn't important. But later, I truly had no intention of killing you."

Wang Yang said nothing.

Bao Yue suddenly leaned close to Wang Yang, her robes swirling like snow, her black hair cascading like a waterfall, a few strands brushing his neck. She bent forward, gazing into his eyes, her crimson lips parting, radiating breathtaking beauty as she asked with utter seriousness:

"So… do you want to kill me?"