Chapter 105

Chapter 105

Ever since they parted in Fangcun City, Qiao Ying had never imagined she would see Ming Caihua again. With his hand still over her mouth, she could only express her surprise through her eyes.

The astonishment in Ming Caihua’s eyes was no less than hers. When he noticed another group of guards approaching in the distance, he quickly dragged Qiao Ying away in silence. They found another secluded corner and crouched behind a thicket to whisper.

Qiao Ying asked, “Are you the petty thief who slipped into the manor?”

“Oh, calling me a thief sounds awful. This young master only planned to rob the rich and aid the poor. I wasn’t going to do anything that defied heaven or harmed the innocent.”

“But whenever the people here mention the City Lord’s Manor, they only have good things to say.”

“What good could possibly come from them? They’re nothing but a pack of…” Ming Caihua stopped midway. “Forget it. I can’t be bothered to argue about all this with an outsider like you.”

Suspicion entered Qiao Ying’s eyes. “If I remember correctly, wasn’t Young Master Xue keeping you under his control? You weren’t supposed to be able to travel far from him. How can you move around on your own now?”

At the mention of this, Ming Caihua’s face lit up with smug delight. “Did that blockhead Xue Heting really think he could keep me trapped for life? I used one tiny trick, and he willingly removed the restriction himself.”

Qiao Ying pressed, “What trick?”

Ming Caihua said, “It was bad enough that he insisted on tracking down Zhao Fanhua. Every time he saw some Yaoguai committing evil along the way, he had to stick his nose into that too. One time, he fell into a dog Yaoguai’s trap and nearly died. I panicked. If he wanted to throw his own life away, that was his business, but he absolutely could not drag me down with him. I promised over and over that I would never again engage in any petty thievery. His heart softened, and he lifted the restriction.”

“So you left without caring whether Young Master Xue lived or died?”

“Not quite.” Ming Caihua lifted his chin. “This young master took pity on him and carried him to a clinic before leaving. He imprisoned me for so long, yet in a burst of generosity, I still saved his life. Who could possibly claim I’m not a good person?”

“Oh,” Qiao Ying said.

“Xue Heting heard that Zhao Fanhua had appeared in Yunling Prefecture, so I was forced to follow him here. Then I thought the City Lord’s Manor in Yunling City was sure to contain plenty of treasures. Since I was here anyway, I decided to join the fun.” Ming Caihua turned the question back on her. “What about you? How did you end up in the City Lord’s Manor? And where is Shen Qingyu? Isn’t he usually joined to you at the hip? Why can’t I see him now?”

Qiao Ying said, “I was staying at an inn. Someone knocked me unconscious, but I don’t know who. When I opened my eyes, I was inside the City Lord’s Manor.”

Ming Caihua’s eyes widened. “Who would have the nerve to lay a hand on you?”

Ming Caihua had witnessed Shen Qingyu’s methods. His strength was terrifying, and his strange temperament was impossible to predict. Anyone plotting against Qiao Ying was clearly courting death.

Qiao Ying could not guess who had abducted her either. If that person bore her ill will, they had done nothing else to harm her. They had merely drugged her and dumped her inside the City Lord’s Manor.

“That area hasn’t been searched. Go over there!”

The guards’ voices instantly put Ming Caihua on edge.

When he was alone and unencumbered, he could dart and leap wherever he pleased, flirting with death as much as he liked. In any case, he was as slippery as an eel. Even Xue Heting had failed to keep watch over him, let alone anyone else.

The problem was Qiao Ying. A defenseless girl like her would be taken for his accomplice if she remained beside him. If she lost so much as a single hair, Shen Qingyu would undoubtedly tear him limb from limb!
Ming Caihua quickly grabbed Qiao Ying by the arm. “Hurry, hide this way!”

Qiao Ying had no choice but to follow the highly experienced fugitive. Ming Caihua was exceptionally skilled at racing across rooftops and scaling walls, but with her as a burden, even he began to struggle.

Only his vigilance kept the guards from discovering them along the way. After repeated twists, turns, and narrow escapes, neither knew where they had ended up. Yet in the dead of winter, this place was rich with floral fragrance and ablaze with color, like open fields in the middle of spring.

The two stopped at the courtyard gate in perfect accord.

Qiao Ying said, “I have a feeling there’s something very unusual inside.”

Ming Caihua nodded. “So do I.”

Any intelligent person would put as much distance as possible between themselves and such an unusual place. But their pursuers were closing in from behind. With no other choice, the two exchanged a look and reluctantly stepped into the quiet courtyard.

In their panic, they fled into an unlit room. At the sound of movement outside the door, Ming Caihua hurriedly took Qiao Ying up into the rafters to hide.

The door opened, and a fragrant breeze entered. A group of pink-robed maids surrounded a woman in white as she slowly walked into the room. They lit the candles within.

One maid said respectfully, “The Saintess worked hard attending the Sacred Tree today. The hour is late, and you should rest well, Saintess. You must continue attending the Sacred Tree tomorrow.”

The white-robed woman wore a veil that revealed only her eyes and brows. Her brows were as fine as feathers, yet carried a distant air. Their slightly upturned ends seemed touched by frost, while her clear pupils held not a trace of warmth. Nobility and sanctity mingled in her, creating a beauty far beyond reach.

As she reached the center of the room, she raised her eyes slightly.

The maid behind her asked, “Does the Saintess have any other orders?”

Her voice was equally cold. “No. You may withdraw.”

The maids bowed, filed out together, and closed the door.

Qiao Ying had no experience hiding in rafters. Clinging to the beam was difficult and uncomfortable. When she looked to the side, she found Ming Caihua staring fixedly at the white-robed Saintess as if his soul had been stolen.

The maid had urged the woman in white to go to bed early, but she clearly had no such intention. She sat at the desk, picked up a book, and turned to the first page.

Qiao Ying looked at Ming Caihua with a strange expression. She gently nudged him, signaling that he should hurry and find them a way out.

The instant she touched him, however, Ming Caihua jerked as if waking from a dream and fell from the beam.

Qiao Ying stared in stunned disbelief.

The woman turned another page of her book. A figure suddenly dangled upside down before her. When she raised her gaze slightly, her eyes met the swaying figure.

Ming Caihua’s feet remained hooked around the crossbeam while the tails of his robe hung down and swayed in small arcs. His inverted posture looked rather sorry. The moment he entered the woman’s line of sight, he forcibly struck a pose, somehow halting even half the swing of his dangling body.

Ming Caihua squeezed what he considered a charming smile onto his handsome face and extended his hand. A red flower he had just stolen from the courtyard appeared in his palm.

“A flower for a beauty. Though the gift is small, the affection behind it is sincere. I hope you won’t take offense, my lady.”

The fact that he could still flirt with a woman at a time like this proved he was a rare talent indeed.

The maid standing guard outside heard his voice and asked, “Saintess, are you still awake?”

The veiled woman accepted the flower in full bloom and said without the slightest ripple of emotion, “I tended this poppy for two months before it bloomed for the first time.”

Sweat instantly poured down Ming Caihua’s face.