Chapter Fifteen: The Black-Clad Figure in the Plum Garden

Update Time: 2013-05-16

By now, under Little Tiger’s twisting and turning guidance, Yue Lianyue and Ziling had already ventured deep into the plum grove. Though they were only about thirty feet away from Qiao Zhi and Yuwen Lingxi at the entrance, unless Uncle Tian was leading the way, even that short distance would have taken the two half an hour to traverse.

Yue Lianyue glanced back, making sure the pair was out of sight before she said, “Finally, we’ve shaken them off…”

Little Tiger tilted his face up, blinking his eyes. “Sister Yue, are you afraid of those two? Did they bully you? If so, Little Tiger can avenge you!”

With a huff, Lianyue plucked a red plum blossom from a nearby branch and tucked it behind the small boy’s ear. “Who’s afraid of them? I just have no time to bother with them. If I had the leisure, I’d teach them a lesson so well that they’d run the other way the moment they saw me… hmph!” She then admired her handiwork, ignoring the boy’s dismayed look, and praised, “How lovely!”

“Miss, Little Tiger is a boy,” Ziling reminded her helplessly.

As he reached up to remove the blossom from his ear, the child pleaded, “Exactly, Little Tiger is a man. A real man can’t wear flowers.”

Lianyue retorted with conviction, “Who says boys can’t wear flowers? Little Tiger looks so handsome with a flower—it only makes him more dashing. Here, wear another!” Without warning, she plucked another green plum and reached for his head.

Startled, Little Tiger jumped aside, pouting and threatening, “Sister Yue, if you keep this up, I’ll go find Grandpa, and I won’t lead you anymore.”

At this, Lianyue immediately gave in—this was no laughing matter. She had no idea how to navigate the “Threefold Plum Blossom Maze”—she’d always mixed up left and right since childhood, and the simplest way through the maze was precisely a left-right method. Without Little Tiger’s guidance, given how deep in they already were, she’d likely be lost until nightfall. So, she stuck the flower into Ziling’s hair instead, took the child’s hand, and called out, “In the plum grove, Little Tiger is in charge! Come, let’s go pick some plum blossoms…”

While the trio busied themselves with shears among the plum branches, Qiao Zhi, Yuwen Lingbo, and their servants, guided purposefully by Uncle Tian, also entered the grove. The two groups were not far apart, and with their keen hearing, Qiao Zhi and Yuwen Lingbo could faintly make out laughter from the other side.

Qiao Zhi lowered his voice: “Yuwen, are you certain my sister Yue is truly your fiancée? She avoids you as if you were a tiger.” Not receiving an answer, he mused, “Could it be she’s wronged you somehow? Or perhaps she’s secretly pledged herself to another?”

A cough interrupted him—Uncle Tian, who’d been eavesdropping, could not bear the young prince’s wild suppositions. He coughed as if wounded internally by Qiao Zhi’s words. “Forgive me, young masters, old age brings many ailments… cough, cough…”

Yuwen glanced at Qiao Zhi, who was slightly annoyed at the interruption, and said smoothly, “No need, Uncle Tian. It’s too cold for you to be out here.”

Uncle Tian was secretly pleased with Yuwen Lingxi, silently praising his future young lord. Quickly, he replied, “No, young lord—no, Master Yuwen, you needn’t be so formal.”

Yuwen Lingxi nodded awkwardly, turning his gaze to the plum blossoms fluttering down before him. An awkward silence fell. Uncle Tian, regretting his interruption, was about to speak to ease the mood when Qiao Zhi’s curious voice sounded, “Yuwen, did you sense something?”

Yuwen Lingxi’s eyes remained on the blossoms as he answered gravely, his voice husky, “There’s a faint murderous aura in the air—well concealed.”

“Can you locate the source?” Qiao Zhi asked.

Yuwen Lingxi shook his head slightly and addressed the plum trees ahead, “Friend, since you are here, why hide further? If you have something to say, come out and say it.” His steady voice brimmed with confidence.

The answer came in the form of a flying dagger slicing through the air, its blade shimmering with a sinister blue glow—clearly laced with deadly poison. Yuwen Lingxi swayed aside, letting the dagger brush past his temple and embed itself deep into a red plum tree, the hilt quivering in the bark. Both Qiao Zhi and Yuwen Lingxi exchanged wary glances.

“A true master of the Yuwen family—skilled and brave. I am most impressed.” From the direction of the dagger’s flight approached a masked man in black. The only part of his face visible, a pair of almond-shaped eyes, were filled with admiration.

Qiao Zhi interjected, “Might this brother dare to show his true face?”

A flash of mockery flickered in the masked man’s eyes. “Prince Six, since I am masked, it means I have no intention of revealing myself. Why persist?”

At this, Qiao Zhi, uncharacteristically, did not get angry. He cupped his hands and said, “Forgive my rudeness.”

The masked man shook his head. “You surely sense I mean no harm. Otherwise, that dagger would not have missed.”

Yuwen Lingxi frowned slightly, his tone measured. “I admit you’re not someone I can best, but evading you is not beyond me.”

“Indeed. For now, farewell. We shall meet again another day.” With these words, the man melted into the plum grove, his presence vanishing as quickly as he had appeared.