Chapter 91: Risking Life and Limb (2)

Her determined eyes locked with his deep, phoenix-like ones. Zhuo Qing did not know what Lou Xiyan was thinking; she only hoped he could feel her resolve and the confidence she had in completing this task.

After a long, lingering gaze, just as Zhuo Qing felt she had no way to persuade him, Lou Xiyan suddenly lowered his head slightly and began to chuckle to himself. Zhuo Qing frowned: "What are you laughing at?"

Gently holding Zhuo Qing's hand, which was slick with sweat from nervousness, Lou Xiyan smiled: "Leave tonight's deployment to me. There are only ten days left until our wedding day, and I don't want to be without a bride."

Zhuo Qing's eyes widened abruptly, and she asked in disbelief: "You agree?"

Lou Xiyan let out a helpless, cold snort: "Does it matter if I don't agree?"

"It does!" Seeing that he had actually agreed, Zhuo Qing finally had the mood to joke. She laughed sheepishly: "But I would feel very, very sad, very, very heartbroken, my self-worth would completely collapse, and I would have no goal in life—"

"Stop. Since you've said all that, how could I say no?" If he let her continue, he would soon become a heinous villain.

Gently pulling her shoulders to tuck her into his embrace, he remembered the time she fell into the water; he had secretly sworn never to let her face danger or suffer even the slightest harm again. Yet this time, because of her persistence, he had actually compromised, because in her eyes, he saw the true meaning of "I want to stand with you." She had her own thoughts and her own will. What he could do for her was to protect her well, not constrain her!

Suddenly thinking of something, Zhuo Qing looked up and asked: "Did you just say there are only ten days left until our wedding?" Is it really only ten days away? Time passed so quickly; in the blink of an eye, nearly a month had gone by.

Raising his eyebrows slightly, Lou Xiyan smiled gently: "What? Do you think it's too fast?"

Oh oh~ the long-absent fox-like smile was back. Zhuo Qing hurriedly shook her head and replied earnestly: "No, I think—it's too slow!"

Lou Xiyan laughed; this girl was becoming better and better at reading the situation.

Leaning in his arms, listening to his steady and calm heartbeat, Zhuo Qing raised the corners of her lips in peace. It would be truly foolish not to seize such a man early. She was very much looking forward to the wedding in ten days.

Night, Yin Hour (3:00 AM – 5:00 AM)

General's Mansion

Dawn was almost breaking. There was no movement inside or outside the room, and the entire General's Mansion seemed quieter than usual. Tonight's moonlight was exceptionally bright, shining through the open window into the room. Zhuo Qing, lying on the bed, kept her eyes slightly closed, yet she could still see the situation in the inner chamber.

Worried that distant water could not put out a nearby fire, Lou Xiyan had arranged for Mo Bai, dressed in black, to lie on the rafters, while Ao Tian hid behind the bed curtains and the wardrobe that had just been placed in the room. Outside, Ye Mei, Qian Jing, and men from the Ministry of Justice were lying in ambush. Gu Yun insisted on entering the room, and Lou Xiyan, also worried about Zhuo Qing's safety, hid with her in the corner of the room furthest from the inner chamber. From here, they could probably see what was happening in the inner chamber through the screen, but if they spoke in low voices, they likely wouldn't be heard.

Dawn was almost breaking. Could it be that their guess was wrong? Or was the murderer truly not Su Mufeng?

Just as Zhuo Qing and Gu Yun were both guessing in their hearts, a black shadow swept past the window. A thin figure in gray clothes, wearing a silver-gray mask, was stretched long by the moonlight. He appeared silently, his movements extremely fast. Mo Bai and Ao Tian's breathing tightened, and they hurriedly suppressed their presence; this person was definitely a master. If he discovered them, tonight's capture operation would be over.

The gray-clothed man stood before the window, glanced at the woman who shouldn't have been on the bed, his eyes darkened, and after hesitating for a moment, he turned to leave.

No, he couldn't be allowed to leave! Otherwise, even if they caught him, they wouldn't be able to solve the mystery of the illusion technique.

Zhuo Qing suddenly sat up straight, calling out in a low voice that was filled with urgency and tenderness: "Mufeng, is that you?"

The gray-clothed man's spine stiffened; he did not answer, but he did not leave either.

It really was him! Zhuo Qing got up and walked slowly behind him, but did not get too close, saying in a low, as gentle a voice as possible: "Actually, I liked you the very first time I saw you. I spent a lot of effort tonight to send Qing Mo away, just to wait for you."

The gray-clothed man slowly turned around. With his back to the moonlight and wearing a silver-gray mask, Zhuo Qing could not see his face or his eyes, only hearing a low, yet sexy male voice chuckle in reply: "You knew I would come?"

This voice? The tone was very similar to Su Mufeng's, but the manner and inflection were completely different.

Zhuo Qing secretly calmed her mind, shook her head slightly, stepped forward, grabbed his wrist, and while shaking it lightly, said with feigned shyness: "I didn't know, but I hoped you would come. As it turns out, Heaven heard my prayers, and you finally came."

Gu Yun rolled her eyes fiercely. Could this woman not be so immersed in her acting? The legendary gentle-as-jade man beside her had already clenched and relaxed his fists several times!

Zhuo Qing thought the gray-clothed man would push her away; that was Su Mufeng's normal reaction. Who knew that not only did he not push her away, but he instead wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her tightly into his embrace, his face even rubbing ambiguously against her cheek. A bewitching voice, tinged with hoarseness and hot breath, sounded faintly in her ear: "You said you like me?"

The cold mask rubbing against her face felt like a snake's scales sliding across her cheek. That kind of eerie and terrifying feeling was tormenting. Zhuo Qing secretly took a deep breath several times before nodding obediently and replying in a low voice: "Mm."

Before she could recover, the man had already picked her up by the waist, walked to the spacious bed, and gently laid her down. Immediately after, his body pressed down, trapping Zhuo Qing between his arms. His fingers kept teasing her earlobe in circles. This man was too good at flirting; was he really Su Mufeng?

With difficulty, she reached out and gently stroked the man's masked face, Zhuo Qing murmuring tenderly: "Mufeng, I want to look at you."

Gu Yun carefully looked at Lou Xiyan, who was still relatively calm beside her. She saw his phoenix eyes slightly cold; even in such a night, Gu Yun felt the killing intent in his gaze. She admired this man's rationality and deeply understood that this man loved Qing to the bone.

The gray-clothed man suddenly grabbed Zhuo Qing's hand. Mo Bai, hiding on the rafters, immediately became alert. Zhuo Qing was also startled, thinking he was about to get angry. Who knew that the man actually grabbed the mask himself, tossed it aside dashingly, and it landed lightly by the bed.

Zhuo Qing finally saw the man's eyes clearly.

The face before her, with sharp, well-defined features and extraordinary handsomeness, was indeed Su Mufeng's face, but Zhuo Qing dared not be certain if this person was truly Su Mufeng. The black eyes that looked only faintly silver-gray during the day were actually silver-gray in the night, half-squinting in a mocking way, his thin, rosy lips curled in a playful smirk. Unlike the cold and ethereal demeanor of the day, he was now exuding a lazy, evil charm from head to toe. Such a version of him was so dazzling it made one's heart race. Zhuo Qing felt suspicious, beginning to doubt her previous judgment. Suggestive hypnosis could not change a person to such a great extent, so was he really Su Mufeng, or—

Zhuo Qing was lost in her own thoughts, but the man did not allow her to be distracted. Gently pinching her chin, the man asked softly: "Are you willing to do anything for me?"

Zhuo Qing was stunned, then nodded and smiled: "Mm."

Lightly scraping Zhuo Qing's nose, the man asked in a low voice while rubbing her cheek: "Good girl, are you willing to give your heart to me?"

The low voice was soft and carried a bewitching charm. Zhuo Qing raised her eyebrows slightly and asked: "You want my heart?"

Zhuo Qing's answer made his eyes flicker slightly, but soon, he returned to that evil, charming smile: "You aren't willing?"

The two stared at each other without blinking. Zhuo Qing could see the silver light swirling in his deep eyes, like a deep pool, sucking you in bit by bit. It was a very strange experience. Zhuo Qing felt a moment of trance and dizziness. After a while, Zhuo Qing nodded and replied: "Okay."

An excited and evil smile spread across the man's face. He sat up straight, looking with satisfaction at the motionless woman beneath him, his hand reaching familiarly toward her waistband. Soon, her clothes fell away. Facing the woman beneath him who was staring at him, he smiled gently: "Don't be afraid, you will be free soon."

The thin blade wandered over her smooth skin. The sharp, cold edge cut across her chest, and the bewitching red followed the blade, crossing her waist and falling into the silk quilt...

The man made the cut as cleanly as usual, slowly reached out, and probed into her chest cavity. Before long, he held a heart that was still thumping in his hands and presented it to Zhuo Qing, waiting to see her look of horror and pain. This was the moment that excited him the most. When he met Zhuo Qing's eyes, however, his heart panicked. The eyes meeting his were calm and deep, and there was not a trace of fear or pain on her face.

The evil, charming smile on the man's lips froze there! Watching his own heart being dug out, how could she still be so calm? What was going on?

"What is going on?" It wasn't just the man sitting blankly before the bed who had this question; except for Gu Yun, the three men in the room were all looking at this scene in astonishment!

Just now, after the man and Zhuo Qing, who was lying on the bed, had stared at each other for a while, he had sat up straight on his own. Zhuo Qing immediately moved to the side, and then the bizarre thing happened. The man was performing the action of undressing toward the empty bed, then took out a sharp, thin blade from his waist, skillfully and cleanly made a cut, and reached his hand into the position where he had just cut. He held his hand as if he were holding something and took it out, his face always carrying excitement and fanaticism, as if he were demonstrating to them how he stole hearts. No matter how you looked at it, it was bizarre.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 92 =====