She always felt like a bunch of things were being kept from her. It was the same with Meng Xin Yi – she clearly sensed something was up, but when asked, she refused to explain clearly.

“The master said he would not deceive you, and would certainly do as he promised you.”

Those few words caused Shen Yao Xing’s heart to tremble slightly.

“If you don’t like me killing people, I won’t kill in the future.”

That promise still echoed in her ears. She vaguely remembered the young man’s cold voice tinged with sincerity, a rare show of weakness that she had dismissed at the time.

Shen Yao Xing fell into deep thought. By the time she reacted, the “person” had already vanished from the room. She lowered her gaze to the red box. A white note was conspicuously wedged between the yellowish-brown, obviously old deerskin maps.

She walked to the tea table, placed the red box on it, and took out the note to open it.

“Do not trust those around you too deeply.”

The handwriting was just like the person – each stroke precise and beautiful, elegant and pretty.

What did these words mean?

Shen Yao Xing was confused once again.

Those around her? Was he referring to Meng Xin Yi?

Could he be suggesting that the mountain stronghold incident was Meng Xin Yi’s doing?

“Heh.” Just thinking about it seemed impossible. Shen Yao Xing tugged at the corners of her mouth and casually tossed the note aside.

A moment later, her pupils shifted slightly, and she couldn’t help but stare at those few words.

Meanwhile, Meng Xin Yi, who was just about to rest, was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door. She went to open it, and outside stood Shen Yao Xing, fully dressed.

The girl had half her body shrouded in shadow, her small face expressionless as she looked up, her clear bright eyes revealing something unusual. Meng Xin Yi glanced down at the long box clutched tightly in her hand. “What’s wrong?”

Shen Yao Xing shook her head, but her eyes remained fixed on her.

The girl’s thoughts were almost written on her face. How could Meng Xin Yi believe there was nothing wrong? She let out an imperceptible sigh and opened the door wide. “If there’s something, come in and tell me.”

Shen Yao Xing didn’t stand on ceremony with her, stepping inside with one stride.

“What’s really going on? Why aren’t you asleep so late?” Meng Xin Yi asked while pouring her tea.

Shen Yao Xing pursed her pink lips, placed the long box on the table, opened it, and then pushed it towards her.

Seeing the contents of the box, Meng Xin Yi’s pupils quivered. But in the next second, she concealed her emotions and feigned surprise, saying, “This… where did you get this from?”

“Jiang Ming Yue gave it to me.”

“To be able to give away such a precious item, it seems Young Master Ming Yue truly has sincere feelings for you.”

Shen Yao Xing remained silent. After a moment, she said softly, “The incident at the mountain stronghold probably wasn’t his doing.”

If it really was, Jiang Ming Yue wouldn’t need to go to the trouble of deceiving her. After all, for someone like him, even if he had done it, there was nothing strange about it. Such a proud person wouldn’t stoop to lying.

The room fell into silence for a moment.

Shen Yao Xing looked up, the candlelight reflecting in her pupils as tiny, scattered points of light. After some thought, she took out the other map and placed it on top of the long box, saying seriously, “It’s of no use to me. Why don’t I give it to you? You can exchange it for silver or whatever later. It’s better than letting it molder with me.”

Meng Xin Yi chuckled lightly, “Exchanging three maps for silver would be too much of a waste. Besides, I’m not short of money now. If I keep them, they’ll just end up moldering as well.”

The woman’s words were teasing, and it was hard to tell if she was serious or joking. Shen Yao Xing tilted her head, looking at her. Suddenly, her mind heated up, and she couldn’t help but ask, “If I and five maps fell into the water, who would you save first?”

After saying this, she quickly added, “The kind where you can only save one and not the other.”

Meng Xin Yi was stunned by what she heard. When she reacted, she couldn’t help but laugh, “Why would you compare yourself to these inanimate objects?”

Shen Yao Xing also felt that this question was quite stupid, but she bit her lip and insisted on an answer, “So who do you plan to save?”

“Naturally, I would save you,” Meng Xin Yi answered as she wished.

Seeing the girl’s relaxed expression, Meng Xin Yi sighed inwardly again. A glint flashed in her eyes, and she couldn’t help but ask in return, “Then… if Young Master Ming Yue and I fell into the water, who would you save first?”

“Save you, of course.” The girl’s bright voice didn’t hesitate for even a moment.

…

In the end, Meng Xin Yi didn’t accept the deerskin maps. Although she didn’t show it on her face, Shen Yao Xing secretly breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.

Late at night, just as Shen Yao Xing was entering deep sleep, she vaguely sensed an additional presence in the room. The newcomer’s footsteps were extremely steady, so much so that even someone with Shen Yao Xing’s highly sensitive senses couldn’t hear a sound.

If the person hadn’t walked to the bedside, she probably wouldn’t have noticed at all.

Her body reacted faster than her mind. She rolled towards the inner part of the bed, dodging the incoming dagger. The assailant’s movements were agile, and a series of attacks left her with nowhere to hide.

Fortunately, Shen Yao Xing was no pushover. While dodging, she pulled out the saber from the bedhead and blocked the incoming dagger. In the instant she supported herself on the bed with one hand, she kicked out with her foot.

The assailant let out a muffled groan, their attacks becoming even more vicious.

The two fought fiercely in the darkness, neither gaining the upper hand. The commotion disturbed Meng Xin Yi, who was staying next door. By the time she arrived, Shen Yao Xing was gritting her teeth, “Come quickly and help me kill this bastard!”

Damn it, her clothes were all torn up.

At the same time, Shen Yao Xing was secretly shocked. Besides Jiang Ming Yue, this was the first time she had encountered someone who could fight her to a standstill, not giving her any advantage.

Meng Xin Yi looked at the person fighting with the girl, her gaze deep and her brows furrowed. She quickly joined the battle.

The assailant soon found themselves at a disadvantage. Just as Shen Yao Xing was about to pin them to the ground, the person suddenly sprinkled some kind of powder towards her. She swung her sleeve and closed her eyes, instinctively trying to block the window to cut off the assailant’s escape route. Unexpectedly, Meng Xin Yi was overpowered and kicked, knocking into her.

The black shadow quickly leaped out of the window and disappeared.

“If you’ve got guts, don’t run!” Shen Yao Xing wasn’t willing to let it go. Just as she was about to climb out the window to give chase, she was pulled back.

“Are you alright?” Meng Xin Yi asked worriedly.

“No! How could I be alright? I’m about to die of anger.”

She couldn’t even sleep peacefully in the middle of the night, how could she not be angry? But looking out the window again, the person had already vanished without a trace.

Shen Yao Xing touched her tattered clothes, her anger growing. She glared at the woman with quite a resentful look, “Why did you stop me? If I had caught up, they would have been dead for sure.”

Meng Xin Yi’s expression was apologetic, “I was afraid it might be a trap. Besides, that person’s skills were clearly formidable. You’ve been drugged now, so even if you chased after them, you might not have been able to catch them.”