Chapter 373: That's a Pity

That person is definitely a veteran who has been navigating social circles for years.

Yang Yichen's mind instantly flashed with countless images.

Flattery, scheming, taking advantage of others' misfortune—

"You aren't allowed to go anywhere tonight," Yang Yichen said resolutely.

Ying Duo looked up, his golden eyes fixed on him.

Yang Yichen softened his tone when he met those eyes, yet remained unyielding.

"I'll go meet that person for you."

Ying Duo blinked, "Do you understand that character?"

He only managed to grasp the meaning because, for a while, he was obsessed with using those characters like a mad actor.

So the question is, how did his brother decipher it?

Yang Yichen was momentarily stunned.

He glanced down at the scrap of paper in his hand, a crumpled, dog‑track‑like slip.

Yang Yichen's voice sounded a bit airy, "I've seen others use it before..."

Ying Duo tilted his head, "That character is written so badly, how did you—"

"Don't worry about it."

Yang Yichen cut him off, folded the slip neatly and slipped it into his pocket.

His expression was solemn, as if preparing for a life‑or‑death battle.

What is this, then?

A telepathic bond between brothers?

Or perhaps his brother, for his younger sibling, can force‑decode even this anti‑human script?

Yang Yixie thought for a moment and decided not to probe further.

Anyway, the outcome was already set.

As for that person's identity, he could probably guess, and as for why Hua Jian Lei could recognize him......

It must have been a stunt by the actor.

【Side quest updated: Night Banquet Appointment】

【Current objective: Arrive at the designated time and attend the banquet】

——————————————

When Ying Duo returned to the room, Luo Jinyou was fretting in front of the mirror.

To be precise, he was worrying about the new tail that had sprouted on him.

His tail hung from the lower back, now swaying anxiously with a gentle tremor.

Luo Jinyou tried every pose to hide it—coiling it around his waist, stuffing it into his pant leg, wrapping it with a coat... but no matter what, the tail would stubbornly break free after a few seconds and continue to swing freely.

"Don't move erratically," Bai Mu Yun leaned by the window, advising the newcomer, "The more you move, the less it obeys. Relax and let it find its own balance."

Luo Jinyou gritted his teeth hard, trying to press his tail back, "But it keeps trying to break out!"

Before he finished speaking, his tail indeed curled and slipped out of his clothes again, the tip still trembling slightly.

Bai Mu Yun sighed.

"You have to treat it as part of your body, not as an extra gadget, and it will obey you."

"But it is inherently an extra," Luo Jinyou's voice cracked as he began to collapse.

Bai Mu Yun fell silent; as Ying Duo entered, he saw Luo Jinyou wrestling his own tail freely, looking like a beached fish.

"You're back?" Upon hearing the door, Luo Jinyou didn't turn his head, his voice laden with deep frustration.

Ying Duo gave him a glance.

"Why hide it?"

Luo Jinyou choked slightly, "Normal people don't have tails."

Ying Duo coldly retorted, "Anyway, you don't even count as a human now."

Luo Jinyou: "......"

Sometimes it's truly unnecessary to speak such blunt truths.

Bai Mu Yun held a magazine that seemed to have appeared from nowhere; as Ying Duo walked in, he casually tossed the invitation onto the table.

Luo Jinyou's gaze was instantly drawn to it.

"What is this?"

"An invitation. There's a banquet tonight."

Luo Jinyou was stunned, "Banquet? You? Going to a banquet?"

His tone carried obvious disbelief.

Ying Duo gave him a look.

"Any problem?"

Luo Jinyou's mouth twitched,

Bai Mu Yun's gaze at Ying Duo was clearly disdainful, as if she wished Ying Duo would just stay with Yang Yichen tonight and not come back.

Ying Duo shook his head and casually tossed the invitation onto the table.

"He said he'd go to the appointment for me."

Bai Mu Yun was taken aback, but judging by his face, Ying Duo wasn't unattractive; it was just that his previous burst of Ying Guang Lu was too glaring.

"Attend the appointment?"

"Hmm," Ying Duo said evenly, "Someone challenged me to a duel tonight; my brother said he'd go in my place."

Bai Mu Yun glanced at the invitation, his gaze falling on the emblem in the signature.

"A Windsor family banquet......" His tone instantly became nonchalant, even carrying disdain.

Ying Duo noticed his change in tone, "You know?"

"Not exactly acquainted, but I know." Bai Mu Yun casually tossed the magazine onto the table and leaned back on the sofa.

"A fallen noble, living off the little leftover glory of his ancestors, somewhat connected to the Dome, putting on airs of a proper noble outside."

He looked at Ying Duo, unusually giving him several reminders, then washed his hands of it.

"If you want to go play, go; just don't blow up the airship."

Ying Duo blinked, "You're not going to stop me?"

"What's the point of stopping you?" Bai Mu Yun basically had 'slacker' welded onto his face, "Can you listen to me?"

Ying Duo was very decisive, "No."

"Then that's settled."

"If you need anything, just take it from the Windsor family people; if they're unwilling to give——"

He paused.

"Just say you're a student of Fang Zhiyan."

Ying Duo's attitude toward his cheap teacher remained the same, "Is Fang Zhiyan's reputation useful?"

Bai Mu Yun looked at him, his eyes conveying the helplessness of "you know nothing of your teacher's prestige."

"He is the head of the Mutation Department, and the current head of the Windsor family, Meiweis·Wensha, is also a member of the Dome's Mutation Department."

"Her outward identity is that of a fallen noble-born mystery novelist, occasionally writing gossip stories about noble circles, which are quite popular."

He paused, then added.

"Even if you're not a member of the Mutation Department, relying on your teacher's reputation, you can basically walk sideways in the Dome."

"Is Fang Zhiyan's reputation really that useful?"

Bai Mu Yun's mouth twitched, "This is the consensus among everyone in the Dome: you can offend anyone, but it's best not to offend Fang Zhiyan; offending others at most gets you a beating or petty sabotage, but offending Fang Zhiyan——"

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of deep meaning.

"You don't know when or how he'll turn you into a 'sample' in his laboratory."

Ying Duo nodded thoughtfully, "That's a pity."

"What a pity?"

Ying Duo seemed to have said this after some thought, "My mutation source isn't a crab; walking sideways in the Dome would be a bit strange, wouldn't it?"

Bai Mu Yun froze for a moment, then reacted, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

"You——"

He took a deep breath, deciding to skip the topic.

"In short, if you have anything, just go find Meiweis·Wensha of the Windsor family; she'll most likely attend tonight's banquet, and the most conspicuous person there will definitely be her."