The night was dark.
In front of the tomb of Old Master Bai behind the Bai family manor,
Wu Ying stood silently, an aura of death about him.
The night wind blew through his hair as it danced in the darkness.
"Wu Ying." A woman's voice came from behind.
Wu Ying's eyelids fluttered, but he did not turn around.
The woman gave a cold laugh. "What's this? Now that Bai Zhen is dead, are you still grieving?"
"Why did you kill him?" Wu Ying asked in a low voice.
"If I said I did it to avenge you, would you believe me?"
Wu Ying turned to look at Third Aunt dressed in black. "Mind your own business! Did you find the treasure map?"
Third Aunt hesitated for a moment. "Not yet...but I already know where Bai Zhen hid the treasure map. I'll have it in my hands very soon!"
"You've been with the Bai family for two years, almost exposing your identity, and still haven't found the treasure map. No wonder the Leader sent me here. Turns out you're useless!"
"Humph! If it wasn't for those four meddlesome girls, my identity would never have been exposed!"
"Just a few powerless young ladies, and you use them as an excuse for your uselessness?" Wu Ying's voice turned cold.
"Powerless? That girl called Su Mo has exceptional martial arts. I'd reckon only you in the Dark Cabinet can beat her!"
An image of Su Mo flashed through Wu Ying's mind, but he said nothing.
"She must be eliminated! Otherwise she'll ruin our plans sooner or later!" Third Aunt said coldly.
"They're all locked up in prison now. Who's going to ruin your plans?"
"I have a strange feeling about this. It's better if they're imprisoned, but if not, you must kill them!"
Wu Ying glanced at her disdainfully and walked down the tomb's stairs, his voice tinged with chill. "Don't presume to order me around!"
...
Wu Ying returned to the guest hall at the Bai family manor. He glanced at the tightly shut door next to him, a fleeting gloom in his eyes.
Perhaps being locked up is the safest thing for you.
Suddenly, very light footsteps sounded behind him. Wu Ying's eyes flashed sharply as his hand went to his sword hilt.
A familiar aura came from behind him. Wu Ying paused, then casually let go of his sword.
Delicate fingers covered his eyes.
"Guess who I am?"
Wu Ying's lips curved into an amused smile, though his voice remained cold. "Miss Su Mo, aren't you afraid I'll take you for an assassin and run you through with my sword?"
Su Mo removed her hands and jumped in front of him, laughing. "Would you bear to?"
"...No."
"I knew you wouldn't!" Su Mo winked at him.
Wu Ying felt his heartbeat skip. He immediately opened the door and lit the oil lamp inside.
Su Mo followed him into the room.
Wu Ying looked at her. "Miss Su Mo, sneaking into a man's room so late at night, aren't you afraid of indecent intentions?"
"Would you have indecent intentions towards me?" Su Mo sat down on a stool.
"..."
"I came to...return something!" Su Mo took out a handkerchief from her clothes and held it out to Wu Ying.
Wu Ying didn't take the handkerchief. Instead he asked, "Weren't you taken to the government office by the Bai family?"
"Escaping was easy for me!" Su Mo laughed. "Don't tell the Bai family I'm out! Especially Third Aunt!"
Wu Ying paused. "Alright."
"Wu Ying." Su Mo clutched the handkerchief and walked closer to him. "Why don't you come away with me? You're only staying with the Bai family to recover, you can do that with me too! I'll definitely protect you well and won't let those men in black find you again!"
Wu Ying looked at her but didn't speak, his gaze was dark, as if lost in thought.
He was an assassin. He had no right to care for anyone.
Wu Ying's voice was hoarse. "Miss Su Mo, we are just strangers who met by chance, there are no feelings between us."
"You..." Wu Ying's words were like a stab to Su Mo's heart, inexplicably painful.
She stared into his eyes and moved closer to him. "No feelings? Some stranger! We survived life and death together twice, I thought you would at least consider me a friend. Yet you say there are no feelings between us?"
Wu Ying lowered his eyes and said nothing.
Seeing him like this, Su Mo grew angry. Suddenly she stood on tiptoes, grabbed his face, and fiercely bit his lip.
Wu Ying's brows knitted together as blood seeped from his lip.
Su Mo released him, her eyes reddened. She threw the handkerchief back at him. "Here's your handkerchief back!"
With that, Su Mo turned and ran from the room without looking back.
It felt as if Wu Ying's heart was being wrenched. He clutched his chest and leaned against the table, coughing up a mouthful of blood unexpectedly.
...
Meanwhile, in the Wenge Pavilion:
Xiao Han and Xia Miaomiao's faces were covered in paper strips.
"Don't you think if we opened a gaming parlor here it would be really popular?" Xiao Han said with a laugh.
"That's a great idea! Miaomiao is skilled in the four arts, perfect for running a place like that!" Sang Li added.
"If we can't find a way back soon, opening a shop would be a good idea since we'll need money!" said Xia Miaomiao.
"Haha, a pair of kings!" Xiao Han exclaimed. "Miaomiao, we've got this round in the bag!"
"Wait, why did you bomb me Xiao Han‽ We're on the same team!" Xia Miaomiao nearly lost it.
"You only had one card left right? Gotta double the winnings for Sang Li!" As Xiao Han spoke, she played a 3. "You can follow a 3 can't you?"
Xia Miaomiao rolled her eyes. "I had a 3 left! I#%#%#..." Her lady-like image nearly cracked.
"What, you had a 3 left in your hand?" Xiao Han cried.
Sang Li couldn't help laughing. "Sorry, I think I'm going to win again!"
"Nooooooo!" they wailed together.
Just then, knocking sounded at the door. Xiao Han put down her cards and opened it at once.
Su Mo stood outside cradling a bowl of chili peppers, a distressed look on her face.
"Whoa, MoMo, you scared me!" Xiao Han looked her over. "What happened? You left in high spirits, now you look half dead!"
Xia Miaomiao and Sang Li also came to the door. "What's wrong?"
Without a word, Su Mo shuffled in as if in a daze, put the peppers on the table, and collapsed onto a bed in the corner.
The three girls exchanged looks, then shut the door.
Xiao Han and Xia Miaomiao quickly peeled the paper from their faces.
Sang Li seemed to have guessed already. She went over and sat beside Su Mo, grasping her hand.
"MoMo, don't be upset. Crying over a man isn't like you."
"Waaah..." Su Mo threw herself onto Sang Li's shoulder, sobbing. "I don't want to be upset either, but my heart aches so much. What's wrong with me that he doesn't like me?!"
"There there, it's not you, it's his poor taste!"
"Right, he obviously has poor taste!" Xiao Han chimed in. "MoMo, men only slow down your fighting!"
"Don't worry MoMo, there are plenty of handsome guys out there. He showed his face, for all we know he's super ugly, right? You definitely wouldn't like an ugly freak, would you?" Xia Miaomiao consoled.
Su Mo wiped her tears and gave a sob. "I'm tired, I need to rest."
She curled up on the bed in the corner.
She wasn't the kind of person who liked to cry. This was perhaps the first time she had truly loved a man, and she was very upset when she was rejected. She couldn't control herself.
The other three people looked towards Su Mo's silhouette and exchanged glances with each other.
"Forget it, let her rest. We'll go to the room next door to talk." Sang Lan said.
"Alright."
The three of them got up and went into the room next door.
"Does Mo Mo really have feelings for Wu Ying?" Xiao Han couldn't help but ask.
"It seems so. You saw how she was, she's never been that heartbroken over a man before, has she?" Xia Miao Miao sighed. "Sister Lan, you didn't stop Mo Mo from going to find Wu Ying. Aren't you afraid that Wu Ying will tell the Third Aunt?"
"I also wanted to see whether Wu Ying stands with the Third Aunt or with Mo Mo. If he really stands with the Third Aunt, it would be good for Mo Mo to see his true colors."
"What if Wu Ying really stands with the Third Aunt? Wouldn't he kill us?" Xia Miao Miao said worriedly.
Sang Lan hesitated. "If we hinder their plans, it really is possible."
"What? No way! Out of the four of us, only Mo Mo knows martial arts. We definitely can't beat them. No, starting tomorrow, I'm going to get Mo Mo to teach me martial arts!" Xiao Han said.
The few of them were very worried and went to bed late.
...
In the middle of the night, a dagger was inserted through the crack of the door. After fiddling with it for a while, the door latch fell and the door was quietly pushed open.
Three people dressed in black, holding knives, quietly walked to the beds. Seeing two small lumps on the bed, they glanced at each other and fiercely hacked down with their knives.
After slashing wildly several times, they suddenly felt something was wrong. One of them rushed forward and lifted the quilt, only to discover that there was no one inside!