“Xiaoli,” Han Mingxiang suddenly called out to stop her.

“Mm? What is it?” Du Xiaoli turned around to ask.

Han Mingxiang smiled and said, “Nothing. Just wanted to say… the earlier the marriage between Yalan and your brother and Yalan can be set, the better it will be... so as to avoid whatever unforeseen events that may occur later!”

It was just like with Han Mingxiang and Ji Liufeng. If Ji Liufeng had been able to take that step two years earlier, the two of them wouldn’t be in their current situation.

“Mm, I will,” Du Xiaoli affirmed while nodding.

Upon reaching her own room, Du Xiaoli undressed and realized her clothes reeked of blood. It was just like what Xia Yuan said earlier.

“Mistress.”

For a while, Du Xiaoli had been immersing herself in the bathwater while holding her breath. Then the very moment she emerged, she found Xia Yuan standing opposite and staring right at her.

“Okay, okay. I’ll tell you. The members of Water Moon Paradise did indeed come to find me,” Du Xiaoli said as she used her hand to wipe away the water on her face. Then she leaned against the side of the tub and continued, “But they didn’t come to snatch the secret book. Instead, they came to find me, and in passing, they saved my life.”

“They saved your life?” Xia Yuan was shocked.

Du Xiaoli nodded and said, “When we were on our way back, we encountered some assassins…”

Hearing that Du Xiaoli had experienced two assassination attempts and that she faced that many hitmen... Xia Yuan’s heartbeat suspended in worry.

“Then Mistress, does that mean your Sound Arts have been revealed?”

“I had no other choice at the time,” Du Xiaoli said. Reaching out, she ran her hands through the water before explaining, “For my sake, the members of Water Moon Paradise depleted their internal strength and ultimately suffered a wave of backlash from using their musical instruments. I’m the reason why they were drawn into such danger, so I couldn’t simply watch them die. Moreover, Beiling Yicheng was also present. Since I took him out of the city, I naturally had to bring him back alive.”

“Will this bring you any trouble though?” Xia Yuan asked worriedly.

“It’s likely that rumors will spread in the Jiang Hu world about the reappearance of the Wind Blowing Snow. That said, if anyone wants to track down its location to me, they will still have to spend quite some time searching,” Du Xiaoli said.

“Then Mistress, will you become Water Moon Paradise’s Sect Master?”

Du Xiaoli shook her head and said, “I don’t intend to do so.”

“However, this Phoenix flute is Water Moon Paradise’s sacred tool. I doubt they’d give up so easily. If it’s true that Mistress is the only one who can play this Phoenix flute and that Water Moon Paradise has reached a critical moment when their existence hangs in the balance… I’m afraid Mistress will be unable to restrain yourself from helping them,” Xia Yuan surmised.

“Am I, your Mistress, that sort of over-the-top-person who indiscriminately tries to be on good terms with everyone?” Du Xiaoli said disapprovingly.

“No, Mistress isn’t that kind of person, but when it comes to those who treat you well, you always wholeheartedly treat them well in return!” Xia Yuan stated. She paused to top up Du Xiaoli’s bathwater with a bit more hot water and then continued to say, “It doesn’t matter what intentions Fairy Shui Qing and the others had. Since they saved your life, you now owe them a debt of gratitude. Mistress, when the time comes that Fairy Shui Qing really asks you for help, it just seems unlikely that you’ll refuse.”

“......”

Du Xiaoli felt that if such a time really were to arise, it was true that perhaps she wouldn’t refuse to give them some help. However, as for being their Sect Master, it would still be best to forget about that.

Meanwhile, in Prince Ren’s Manor, Han Minghong kicked out and landed a hit on one of the people kneeling before him. He bellowed, “There are so many of you, yet you’ve all failed? No, you failed before even taking action! A bunch of good-for-nothings! There are so many of you and yet you couldn’t even capture two people. What’s the point of me raising you lot?!”

“Your Highness, please quell your anger!”

All of the people in the room quickly knelt down, and those two people who were already kneeling on the floor lowered their heads rigidly.

“Quell my anger? How can I?! This Prince let you go capture a person and sent you so many helpers to do it. Yet in the end, you returned totally unscathed and empty-handed! You’re really a bunch of good-for-nothings!” Han Minhong got so furious that he pushed all the things on the table to the floor. Seeing the people on the floor, he really wished to have them killed. “Someone, drag them out to be killed!”

“Your Highness, your imperial bodyguards have always been diligent and responsible. They must definitely have a reason for returning like this. Why not try asking them for the reason first? It wouldn’t be too late to punish them after!” Huang Qi, the head housekeeper of Prince Ren’s Manor urged. “If it really is because of some other reason, we’ll be able to do a more thorough preparation next time.”

Han Minghong felt that what Huang Qi said made sense, so he kicked the people on the floor another two times before returning to sit in his chair. He said, “This Prince will give you one chance. Talk.”

The prince’s imperial bodyguards glanced at Huang Qi gratefully and then kowtowed toward Han Minghong. One of them said, “Your Highness, before we could get to her, Miss Du had already encountered two groups of assassins.”

“What did you say?!” Han Minghong exclaimed, springing to his feet. He asked worriedly, “Did Xiaoli get hurt?”

“Your Highness need not worry. Miss Du didn’t get hurt,” the bodyguard replied. “The first time was yesterday afternoon. Members of Hitman Pavilion lay in ambush for her. There were around 50 or so of them. Right when we planned to go and rescue Miss Du, the members of Water Moon Paradise arrived and saved her instead.”

“Water Moon Paradise? Why were they there? And why would they save a member of the Imperial Court?” Huang Qi asked puzzledly.

“We didn’t understand either at first. However, what happened this morning allowed us to understand the reason why,” the bodyguard said.

“What’s the reason?”

“Miss Du’s Sound Arts!” The bodyguard answered. His words successfully astonished Han Minghong and Huang Qi.

“She… She knows…”

MoonWhisperer, TWIP's Thoughts

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