Chapter 185: Fulfilling a Trust for Another

Page 1 of 3 | Updated August 31, 2013

Holding the hot potato in her hand, Chai Mengqing couldn’t help cursing Yuwen Lingxiao inwardly. But she did not turn around. “Second Young Master Yuwen, is there anything else?” She deliberately emphasized the word “Second.”

“I hope you won’t tell my sister-in-law about this yet… Miss Yue, that is. After my elder brother returns…”

Chai Mengqing frowned again and refused without hesitation. “I can’t promise you that. You may not know this, but Yue’er hasn’t heard this so-called news of his death yet. But since you say the Yuwen family head was the one who sent out the report, then no matter how tightly the Yue family tries to keep it under wraps, he’ll find a way to make sure Yue’er hears. Before I pass on your message, I have to warn her.”

Yuwen Lingxiao had no grounds to argue with her. He could only settle for the next best thing. “Then could you at least not tell Miss Yue Dark Nether’s true identity?”

Chai Mengqing hesitated briefly, then nodded. As she was leaving, she glanced at the black-clad man lying on the floor. After a moment’s hesitation, she tossed the handkerchief beside his face, then left without looking back.

Yuwen Lingxiao had watched her every move. His gaze finally settled on the square of cloth as it fluttered down. For some reason, he could not bear to see it land on the floor.

On the way, Chai Mengqing thought things over. She did not even bother to change her clothes, but went straight to Prince Nanping’s residence. She did not see Lianyue, however, only Yue Lingjun.

She left him with just one sentence: “If Yue’er happens to hear that Dark Nether is dead, tell her his life is not in danger.” Then she left Yue Lingjun standing there in thought. Still uneasy, she returned to the Myriad Forms Tower to give Duoli some instructions, then wasted no time in taking a Rain-and-Mist Tower token and riding hard out of the city.

She merely curled her lips at the tail following behind her, looking utterly confident and unconcerned.

At noon the next day, Qingfeng returned to the manor with a look of defeat. Even now, he had no idea how he had managed to lose Chai Mengqing.

Yue Lingjun grew increasingly convinced that something about the matter was amiss. Yet, according to the intelligence from the Secret Division, the Rain-and-Mist Tower and the Rakshasa Hall had no close ties.

So why had Chai Mengqing sounded so certain?

As for Chai Mengqing’s abilities, Yue Lingjun was not surprised in the least. He would have found it unbelievable if she had lacked such skills.

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Yue Lingjun made his way to Lianyue’s courtyard, his mind heavy. He saw the blue-clad figure beside her and paused, lost in thought. Then he made up his mind.

Lianyue still knew nothing of what had happened outside. She had not even left the courtyard. At that moment, she was learning a new knotting pattern from Lan Shui. It went without saying who it was for.

When she saw Yue Lingjun, Lianyue did not stop working. Instead, she gave Lan Shui a mischievous glance, then looked at Yue Lingjun with mock reproach. “Elder Brother, you’re so stingy. Sister Lan has barely spent any time with me, and you’re already getting impatient.”

Lan Shui lightly tapped the back of Lianyue’s hand, but could not hide the blush on her cheeks. “Don’t talk nonsense!”

Lianyue knew perfectly well that her dear Sister Lan was embarrassed. She had no intention of letting the pair off so easily. Raising her voice, she said, “See? Sister Lan was never this fierce with me before.”

Looking at Lianyue, so lively and sweet, Yue Lingjun hesitated again. But in the end, he decided to tell her. Apart from Lan Shui and Lianyue, only Zizhu was in the courtyard, and she could be trusted.

So Yue Lingjun made no effort to conceal it. Looking at Lianyue, he said seriously, “Yue’er, stop teasing. Your elder brother has something important to tell you.” Just from his expression, Lan Shui knew what he was about to say. She put down her knotting and watched Lianyue anxiously.

Lianyue had long known they were keeping something from her. But she knew her brothers would only ever act for her good, so if her elder brother chose not to tell her, she did not press him.

Now that he was willing to speak, and looked so serious, Lianyue stopped working too and waited quietly to hear what he had to say.

Yue Lingjun looked at his little sister sitting so quietly. With her keen mind, she must have sensed yesterday that something was wrong, yet she had chosen to trust them without question. That warmed his heart. “Tell me, Yue’er. How much do you care for Dark Nether?”

The question left Lianyue stunned, her mind briefly unable to catch up. But only for a moment. Soon she realized something was wrong. Putting together everything that had happened since yesterday, her heart clenched and the words came tumbling out. “Did something happen to Dark Nether?”

Yue Lingjun was surprised by her reaction. He had asked only one question, and she had already guessed. It seemed Dark Nether truly mattered a great deal to his little sister.

Choosing his words carefully, Yue Lingjun said, “The news my elder brother received from the Rakshasa Hall is that Dark Nether died while carrying out a mission.” Seeing Lianyue’s face turn deathly pale, he hurriedly added, “But last night, Chai Mengqing from the Rain-and-Mist Tower came to see me. She said he was all right.”

Color gradually returned to Lianyue’s face, but her heart was still in turmoil. Only when Lan Shui enclosed her hands in her own did Lianyue seem to find something to hold on to. Tears welled in her eyes, and she forced a smile. “I knew it. He told me himself that he was only going to see a relative off. How could that have been a mission? Your information must be wrong, Elder Brother. Thank goodness Sister Chai came by, or you would have fooled me.”

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Then she rose on her own, tugging at the corners of her mouth in a smile. “Sister Lan, Elder Brother, now that you’ve told me and we’ve cleared things up, I can go out, right? I’ll go find Sister Chai first.”

Lianyue’s heart was in turmoil. She was saying those words not only to her elder brother, but to herself as well. She was desperate to find Chai Mengqing and confirm the truth. His life was not in danger—but had he been injured? Was it serious? Those were the questions she wanted to ask.

She also needed to go to the Auspicious Cloud Inn and verify things with the proprietor. Yue Lingjun and Lan Shui knew Lianyue far too well not to understand what she intended.

Yue Lingjun stopped her as she headed for the door. “Miss Chai isn’t at the Myriad Forms Tower. She left the city last night.”

Lianyue’s mind went blank. Something had happened to Dark Nether! It had to have! In that moment, it did not even occur to her to wonder why Chai Mengqing had left if Dark Nether was in trouble.

All she wanted was to race to Dark Nether’s side. Only after she had seen for herself that he was truly all right would she be able to feel at ease.

Yue Lingjun forcibly turned her toward him. Looking at Lianyue, whose eyes had lost all focus and who was completely beside herself, he understood more deeply than ever what Dark Nether meant to his little sister. He even felt a faint pang of jealousy. “Yue’er, look at me. I know what you want to do. You want to go to the Auspicious Cloud Inn, but they’ve already issued a death notice. Listen to me—this may not be a bad thing. Perhaps Dark Nether himself sent out that notice. He may be perfectly fine.”

A glimmer of focus returned to Lianyue’s eyes. Yue Lingjun was relieved and continued, “Think about who he is. He could well be called the greatest assassin alive. If he truly loves you, how could he let you live that kind of life with him? This may simply be a temporary ploy. Perhaps he was afraid you’d worry, so he sent word through Miss Chai.”

That was the theory Yue Lingjun had come up with after Chai Mengqing left the previous night. Meng Chuchen and the others had thought it quite possible too—or rather, they hoped it was true.

“But why did Sister Chai leave the city in the middle of the night? Dark Nether must be injured.” Lianyue’s focus had returned, and she quickly chose to believe Yue Lingjun’s guess. Dark Nether was so powerful—how could he possibly have died? He couldn’t have. Perhaps things were exactly as her elder brother had said.

Yue Lingjun felt a little more at ease when he saw that Lianyue was willing to believe him. The Yue family knew something of what an assassin had to endure to leave the Rakshasa Hall. And Dark Nether was the hall master, no less. An injury would count as a light price. But he could not tell Yue’er that.

“Since Miss Chai has already gone to him, you should trust that even if Dark Nether is injured, he’ll be all right. Yue’er, you mustn’t panic. I’ll send people to look for him too!”