“Lord Ming Zhen, I believe you.” This was the first thing Yuan Qian said upon seeing Ming Zhen and Hui Yuan together.

To be honest, Yuan Qian is rather peculiar. For instance, she calls Qiu Huan “Master,” Ming Zhen “Lord,” yet addresses Yuan Mo by his given name—when in fact Ming Zhen and Yuan Mo are equals, so there’s no need for such disparate treatment. It’s just that when she first started working with Yuan Mo, they were indeed on equal footing, but Ming Zhen happens to be Qiu Huan’s sibling, and those titles have stuck ever since. Or perhaps she knows she should change them, but some awkward, half-formed ideas keep getting in the way. Anyway, since Qiu Huan has never corrected her, she’s just let it slide. And now, the two people standing across from her are the two Nest Masters of Tonglou, yet she still refers to Ming Zhen by his given name—how utterly inappropriate!

Then there’s the matter of how she herself has now fallen into someone else’s hands: either protect herself, or follow the assassin’s dark path all the way to self-destruction. Even if she sees Ming Zhen seemingly betraying their master, at most she’d just shoot him a venomous glare (after all, boasting like that isn’t Tonglou’s style). So why on earth would she suddenly say, “I believe you”? Not only does she practically sell out her own master, but anyone who hears it might think it’s like a legitimate wife being confronted by a third party, yet stubbornly clinging to her unfaithful husband and refusing to face the truth, pouring her heart out to him with deep affection.

In fact, Ming Zhen believes the reason Yuan Qian hasn’t gone any further is simply because her master places no demands on her—and that’s a huge misunderstanding. Qiu Huan doesn’t lack expectations for her; rather, he recognized long ago that Yuan Qian is someone who acts purely on emotion, and therefore never suited for this line of work in the first place. Since no amount of pressure will change her anyway, it’s better to leave her be; after all, Yuan Mo is more than enough—this is what Qiu Huan is really thinking.

Still, Ming Zhen doesn’t have time to dwell on these matters right now; his immediate concern is how to resolve his own predicament. He can’t kill Yuan Qian just yet, or Qiu Huan will surely fall out with Hui Yuan. But keeping her around… Well, he previously concealed from Qiu Huan the fact that he knew she was searching for Bai Xiao’s feather. If she were to discover his whereabouts now… Hmm, what he’s been up to behind the scenes is one thing, but maintaining his image in front of his beloved is another.

Ahem, if Duan Yunhe were to find out about all these convoluted twists and turns, he’d undoubtedly label Ming Zhen a “perfectionist.”

But setting that aside for now, Hui Yuan doesn’t know Yuan Qian at all. At best, he only knows there’s a female assassin by Bai Xiao’s side; as for her exact appearance or personality, well, someone who doesn’t even take Bai Xiao himself seriously certainly wouldn’t bother paying attention to his subordinates. And now that he’s caught her, Hui Yuan is even more convinced of his view of Qiu Huan: if the subordinate is this unreliable, the master can’t be much better either. So he simply doesn’t take the whole affair seriously.

“You’re Bai Xiao’s person,” he stated flatly, using a definitive sentence.

Only then did Yuan Qian finally look Hui Yuan straight in the eye, though she felt no particular emotion toward him. In Yuan Qian’s mind, she, Qiu Huan, Ming Zhen, and Yuan Mo grew up together; if Ming Zhen “betrays” Qiu Huan, it’s tantamount to “betraying” her as well, which is why she’s so agitated. In reality, though, she’s completely mistaken.

As for the notion of “growing up together,” that might hold true for Qiu Huan and Ming Zhen, but when Yuan Qian and Yuan Mo were with Qiu Huan, they were already fourteen and twelve respectively—far from little kids. What’s more, Ming Zhen never really took Yuan Qian seriously in the first place; even his regard for Yuan Mo stems from the fact that after Qiu Huan distanced herself from him a few years ago, he gradually grew closer to Yuan Mo. As for “betrayal,” that’s pure nonsense. No matter how dashing Ming Zhen may appear or how gentle and affable Qiu Huan seems, let’s not forget that deep down they’re both assassins, long since cast aside any notions of benevolence or morality. It’s perfectly normal for them to be laughing and chatting one moment and drawing swords against each other the next; even if Ming Zhen were to press a knife against Qiu Huan’s throat, Yuan Qian wouldn’t find it the least bit strange.

Yuan Qian gave no response to Hui Yuan’s remark, displaying the composure expected of an assassin.

Hui Yuan didn’t expect a reply, either, and continued speaking: “It seems she trusts you completely—or maybe she’s treating you as a disposable pawn?” Yuan Qian is indeed very capable; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to eavesdrop on their conversation. It was only because her emotions ran too high when she left that her breathing became unstable, leading to her discovery. When Ming Zhen heard Hui Yuan say “pawn,” he realized Hui Yuan intended to treat Yuan Qian as his own tool, which is why he used such provocative language, planting a seed of suspicion in his mind.

End of Chapter 13: Who Is This Visitor?