He looked at Huo Ling Long, his gaze now tinged with a casual cunning. “No wonder Shao Ji Zu can’t forget about you. The eldest daughter of Ling Long Manor, blessed with the Ling Long Eye, truly is extraordinary.”
His calm words seemed to bring a momentary stillness, as though everything had turned transparent and quiet.
Huo Ling Long’s heart became as tranquil as a lake. Looking at Zhi Hua, she said softly, “If you’re willing to target both Ling Long Manor and Shang Qing Temple, then why not Xing Yun Manor and Han Shui Palace? Your master must be the true patron behind Xing Yun Manor!”
──“Xing Yun Manor dared to abduct Chang Hong Bi because, although they didn’t know Chang Hong Bi’s secret, they were aware that Grandmother Han Shui relied on him. By taking him, they could naturally control Han Shui Palace!”
──“Xing Yun Manor’s secret sword formation, specifically designed to counter my ‘Yin Yang An’ and ‘Fleeting Glimpse’ light-foot techniques, proves they’ve long harbored ambitions to overthrow Ling Long Manor!”
──“No wonder Jiao Chaogui of Xing Yun Manor could rally the Flying Cloud Riders and intercept me at Wushi Ridge in just one day. The person I saw in the forest at Xiao Lang Tou Mountain wasn’t the real you, but an imposter disguised as you. Meanwhile, you were secretly orchestrating everything. I should have realized it then—how could the true Ever-Changing Black Demon Fox, master of disguise and unparalleled light-foot techniques, be so clumsy as that fake?”
She raised her head proudly and said, “Your master—even if you refuse to name them—I’ve already guessed most of the truth!”
Zhi Hua replied with a nonchalant, “Oh.”
Huo Ling Long said, “No matter how flawless your schemes appear, they still have many flaws.”
Zhi Hua’s expression remained unchanged as he replied, “What flaws?”
Huo Ling Long said, “Let’s take one example—the sword formation used by Xing Yun Manor’s Flying Cloud Riders. That’s a flaw. Anyone capable of creating such a formation must have seen both the ‘Yin Yang An’ and the ‘Fleeting Glimpse’ techniques firsthand!”
Her gaze fixed on him. “While many have seen the ‘Fleeting Glimpse,’ very few truly understand its secrets. As for the ‘Yin Yang An,’ it hasn’t left the ancestral hall of Ling Long Manor in decades. You know as well as I do that there are only a handful of people in this world who know both secrets. How hard could it be to deduce who your master is?”
* * *
The light rain had stopped, but the mist thickened, blanketing the surroundings in an even denser haze.
The pair of swallows with black-tipped tails had flown out of sight.
Swallows come and go, but will those dear to the heart ever meet again?
Zhi Hua finally sighed. “I truly underestimated you. Shao Ji Zu warned me, and yet I still underestimated you. Now, I can’t bring myself to kill you.”
Huo Ling Long curled her lips into a sneer. “Kill me? You can’t even catch me.”
Zhi Hua said calmly, “If I can’t kill you, killing this sibling pair would be a simple matter.”
Huo Ling Long’s expression changed.
Knowing they were Zhan Zhao’s servants, how could she bear to see this young pair harmed by Zhi Hua?
Her expertise lay in her unparalleled light-foot technique and the weapon, the ‘Yin Yang An.’ But if she refused to leave them behind and flee, how could she easily deal with Zhi Hua?
This thought prompted her to glance at the sibling pair. Ming Yu’er and Ming Zhu’er, however, stood there with cheerful smiles, seemingly unafraid.
Ming Yu’er smiled slightly and said, “Unfortunately, Master Zhi doesn’t want to kill us.”
Zhi Hua raised an eyebrow. “Oh? You know too many secrets. Why wouldn’t I want to kill you?”
Ming Yu’er replied, “I’m just a mere servant of the Third Young Master. How could someone like me possibly understand the depths of Master Zhi’s schemes? However, all these secrets—we only know them because you let us hear them. If you truly wanted to kill us, you would’ve acted already. Why wait until now? Why waste so many words letting us hear your secrets first?”
──This young girl, though quiet and less talkative than her brother, revealed such wit and insight that both Huo Ling Long and Zhi Hua couldn’t help but give her a second glance.
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