It was nothing short of luxurious.

So much so that it took Liu Lang a considerable amount of time to figure out where Liu Wen and Liu Zhaoxue were staying.

’Liu Wen in the west, Liu Zhaoxue in the east... I can’t be wrong.’

Liu Lang lay prone on a surrounding wall, surveying the area for a moment before flipping over into the western rear residence and quietly making his way toward the wing.

As he drew near, he abruptly stopped, then ducked behind a nearby tree.

The next moment, he heard a CREAK.

A hundred feet away, the door to a wooden building opened, and a figure emerged.

It wasn’t the slender Liu Wen, but Liu Zhaoxue, dressed in a long red gown.

Liu Lang glanced over. ’What kind of strange customs does the Liu Family have?’ he cursed inwardly. Just as he was about to head for the other rear residence, he heard a voice from behind him:

"Come out."

’Hm?’

Liu Lang froze. ’Have I been discovered?’

Before he could investigate further, he heard another voice from behind him:

"Miss Zhaoxue, I trust you’ve been well."

The voice belonged to a man, low and tinged with malice.

"It’s you?"

Unable to contain his curiosity, Liu Lang tilted his head, sneaking a peek out of the corner of his eye.

He saw a figure dressed in black, only their eyes visible, crouching on the eaves of the wooden building and staring down at Liu Zhaoxue.

’How strange. There’s someone else hiding here?’

Liu Lang thought to himself, worried he might be seen. At the same time, he couldn’t help but suspect the man was one of Black Tooth’s people.

After all, Chen Yi had warned him to watch out for Black Tooth sending someone to the Liu Family to verify the marriage alliance with the Xiao Family.

Just as he was mulling this over, he heard Liu Zhaoxue speak.

"You came looking for me at this hour. Aren’t you afraid my Second Brother will find you?"

The man in black said in a low voice, "What’s there to be afraid of?"

"That bastard Liu Wen has Wen Yu with him right now. Why would he care about his paternal half-sister?"

"Instead of worrying about him, Miss Zhaoxue, you should be worrying about yourself."

"What do I have to worry about?"

"Heh. Do you even believe that yourself?"

"..."

Liu Zhaoxue’s delicate brows knitted together. She looked up at him and said, "Why don’t you just say what you came here for."

The man in black let out a hoarse laugh. "I’m here to help you, Miss Zhaoxue. Why do you even have to ask?"

"Help me?"

"You said you’d help me last time, but in the end, Liu Wen is still responsible for Xinglin Hall’s expansion into Shu State."

"I’m sure Miss Zhaoxue is aware that the Liu Family’s Sixth Young Master accomplished nothing and ended up dead in Shu State... That was an accident. It had nothing to do with us."

Liu Zhaoxue let out a noncommittal snort, clearly unconvinced.

After a moment of silence,

she asked, "Tell me. How does your Five Poison Sect plan to help me this time?"

Hearing this, the man in black chuckled. "Now that’s more like it."

"Miss Zhaoxue, you should be well aware that you can’t even protect yourself right now. Without outside help, you’ll end up worse off than Xiao Jinghong."

"She, at least, is the commander of the Dingyuan Army and holds military power. As for you..."

"I reckon you’ll just be married off by the Liu Family to another family for an alliance."

Liu Zhaoxue ignored him and pressed on, "If you’re only here to spout nonsense, you can leave now."

"Don’t be in such a hurry."

After a pause, the man in black quickened his speech. "Someone’s coming. It’s inconvenient today. I’ll come find you again tomorrow night, same time."

"When I do, I hope Miss Zhaoxue won’t be as cold and distant as you were tonight."

Before the man’s voice had faded, Liu Lang heard a faint whoosh through the air.

Apparently, the man in black had already left.

Liu Lang’s expression was a little strange, and he couldn’t help but mutter to himself.

’The Five Poison Sect?’

’Weren’t they wiped out decades ago by the Mountain Race Matriarch and her people?’

’To think they’d reappear in the Jianghu now... Tsk, it seems the Jianghu of Shu State is about to get turbulent.’

Despite these thoughts, Liu Lang didn’t dwell on it.

After all, he wasn’t of the Mountain Race and had no conflict with the Five Poison Sect. He couldn’t be bothered with the affairs of those Evil Demons.

’Still,’ he thought, ’it seems this Third Miss of the Liu Family from Jing State is more than she appears.’

Cooperating with the Five Poison Sect was akin to making a deal with the devil.

The fact that she dared to do it meant her courage alone surpassed that of many others.

「Not long after.」

Two figures walked in from outside the residence. One was a tall, slender man whose handsome face had a sinister cast to it. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

The other was a woman, and judging by her attire, she was no mere maid.

Liu Zhaoxue saw them. "It’s so late. Second Brother, why aren’t you resting in your wing? What brings you here?"

’Second Brother, Liu Wen?’

Liu Lang took a look, memorized the man’s face, and remained carefully hidden.

Then he heard Liu Wen say, "Second Uncle sent someone over just now. He told us to get ready."

"Oh?"

"Father sent a letter. He said this conflict with the Xiao Family must come to an end. He’s ordered us to take his letter to Old Marquis Xiao and go to the Xiao Family estate tomorrow."

Liu Zhaoxue was taken aback. "Is Father trying to provoke the Old Marquis?"

"The letter doesn’t say, and Second Uncle didn’t mention its contents. I reckon Father wants us to assess the situation and act accordingly when we get there."

"I see. And here I was, thinking Father would grant Second Brother’s wish and send a letter to propose marriage to the Xiao Family."

"Heh... you never know..."