As dawn approached, I suddenly felt someone beside me. At first, I thought it was my imagination, but then I felt her hand touching me, the icy sensation instantly waking me up.
"Who?"
I tried to sit up abruptly, but a single hand pressed me down onto the bed, rendering me immobile. Even the word "Who" only managed to escape as a single syllable before being forcefully suppressed.
A jolt of fear went through me. Was this sleep paralysis?
An ordinary person encountering such a situation would likely just endure it, perhaps losing a bit of vital energy and feeling listless the next day. But I was no ordinary person; I was an Yin Gua Master. My internal Xuan Yang Qi was already scarce, and if any of it were drained, it would take days to recover.
As I considered this, I prepared to bite my tongue, intending to use my yang-infused blood to break the spell. Before I could even move my mouth, a leisurely voice echoed in my ear.
"Are you truly planning to rob my father's tomb?"
I froze. "Fifth Princess? How did you get here? Let me explain, I was going to..."
"I asked if you were planning to rob my father's grave." As soon as she finished speaking, her right hand transformed into five icy steel needles, plunging fiercely towards my heart.
"No..."
With that, I struggled violently.
*Thump—*
"Ouch..."
Only then did I realize I had rolled off the bed onto the floor. I touched the sweat on my face and breathed a sigh of relief.
"It was just a dream. It scared me to death."
As soon as I spoke, another voice sounded in my ear.
"If you truly wish to do so, I can make it a reality."
My heart clenched instantly. In the dim light filtering in from outside, I saw a woman in ancient attire sitting on a chair. Even if I were the most foolish person, I would know it was the Fifth Princess.
"Fifth Princess, why are you here?" I tossed the blanket that had fallen to the floor back onto the bed, then turned on the light and asked with some surprise.
The Fifth Princess was still in her white dress, her face veiled. Her beautiful eyes, however, held a hint of anger as she looked at me.
"I'm asking you, are you really preparing to rob my father's tomb?"
Her words left me utterly confused.
"Fifth Princess, what are you talking about? When did I ever say I was going to rob Prince Wu's tomb? Prince Wu saved my life; how could I possibly rob his grave? Who told you this?"
My words clearly eased some of the anger in the Fifth Princess's beautiful eyes, but her voice still carried a hint of doubt. "Since you aren't planning to rob my father's tomb, why did you agree to help Li Zuoquan?"
Her question surprised me. This Fifth Princess was remarkably well-informed! When I agreed to help Li Zuoquan last night, no one else was present except for Zhang Dabiao, Li Zuoquan, Li Jian, and myself. Even the woman who served tea was called in only during the tea preparation and then dismissed. How did the Fifth Princess know about this?
"I have no intention of robbing the tomb. I agreed to help Li Zuoquan only to prevent him from meddling with the Half-Yin Realm. It was too late last night, and Bai Ling'er had disappeared somewhere. Otherwise, I would have had her inform you of this. Now that you know, it saves me a trip."
"You still have some conscience."
Perhaps feeling that her words were too ambiguous, the Fifth Princess's figure vanished from the room with a "whoosh," leaving behind only a parting remark: "Remember what you just said, or I'll make that dream a reality."
I shook my head with a wry smile. Forget her warning; even without it, I wouldn't let Li Zuoquan succeed.
Glancing at the clock on the wall, it was already half-past six. Li Zuoquan would likely send someone to find me soon. I put on my clothes and prepared to go out to buy some breakfast.
Before I could open the door, I saw it creak open slightly. Bai Ling'er sneakily crawled in from outside, and we found ourselves face-to-face.
"Hey! Why are you up so early? I thought you were still asleep."
I feigned a bit of anger and snorted.
"Asleep? Do you think I dare to continue sleeping? If I had kept sleeping, I might have been sold off. If this happened to you, would you dare to keep sleeping?"
Bai Ling'er, who had been feeling a little embarrassed, instantly widened her small eyes.
"What do you mean by that? If you don't explain yourself clearly, I'll show you why flowers are so red."
Faced with Bai Ling'er's threat, I immediately fell silent. How could I forget that this little thing held grudges? If I really upset it, I would be the one to suffer. I certainly didn't want a bald head like the Buddha.
I apologized with a smile and explained, "The Fifth Princess was here just now. I meant, did you invite her?"
Seeing me back down, Bai Ling'er curbed her temper, though her tone remained somewhat displeased. "Do I need to report to you for what I do? Are you satisfied that I didn't go to see her?"
Although Bai Ling'er's words left me speechless, I could only swallow my pride. Who was I to blame but myself for not asking for clarification beforehand?
However, this also indirectly proved a point: in this Mo Lu Village, there was no secret that the Fifth Princess, or rather Prince Wu's household, didn't know. They say there's no airtight wall in the world. I didn't believe it before, but now it seems this saying, passed down for thousands of years, holds some truth.
Just as I was about to head out for breakfast, Bai Ling'er's words almost made me stumble.
"Don't forget what you said last night, five sheep."
Seeing Zhang Dabiao, who had woken up due to the noise, I managed a wry smile. Fortunately, I had some money now; otherwise, eating like this would drive me insane.
After breakfast, not long after, Li Rui, with a look of reluctance, kicked open the door and walked in. "My second granduncle wants you to attend a meeting to discuss tonight's operation." He turned to leave, seemingly certain I would follow.
But after a couple of steps, he stopped. He turned back and saw Zhang Dabiao and me sipping tea, neither of us having moved.
How could the usually arrogant Li Rui tolerate this? He strode up to me and stared directly into my eyes, saying word by word, "Kid, if you have the guts, just sit here and don't go."
I raised an eyebrow, not even bothering to look at him. "Brother Zhang, did you hear a dog barking?"
Zhang Dabiao understood and nodded. "I heard it. I wonder where that stray dog came from! If I catch it, I'll skin it and stew it. I'm telling you, Brother Zhang, stewed dog meat is incredibly delicious."
"Then I must try it if I get the chance. But white dogs might not be very tasty!"
"..."
Our back-and-forth nearly made Li Rui, standing beside us, turn red with anger. He pointed a trembling finger at me for a long time, but couldn't utter a single word.
They say it's best to be forgiving when possible, and I didn't want to offend Li Rui too badly. After all, he was the only heir of the Li family. I'd gone far enough.
"Let me teach you something. Sometimes, there are people you shouldn't offend. For example, me right now. If you don't believe me, we can make a bet. Tell Li Zuoquan what you just did, and see if he deals with you, or if Li Jian himself comes to invite me."
Upon hearing this, Li Rui's face changed like a dye vat, turning pale, then green, and finally black. If it had changed two more colors, he could have been mistaken for a rainbow.
He said "I don't" twice, but the last word "believe" simply wouldn't come out.
Finally, his face flushed red, and he gritted his teeth, looking at me. "Mr. Song, my second granduncle requests your presence. Please do us the honor of attending."
After causing Li Rui some trouble, my resentment from being bullied by the Fifth Princess and Bai Ling'er had somewhat dissipated. I completely ignored Li Rui's hateful gaze.
"Lead the way."
When we passed Fang Huixin's house, Li Rui didn't stop but continued forward. He only stopped after walking about another five hundred paces.
"We're here."