***
“Azure Dragon blood?”
Lin Muyu’s brow furrowed suddenly. She felt like she had heard this term somewhere before, but couldn’t quite remember where. Could it be…
Wait, Great Xia’s totem is the phoenix, so the neighboring Great Qi along the border, their totem should be the Azure Dragon, right?
That woman just mentioned Great Xia’s Second Prince, clearly indicating she was working for him… Could it be that this Second Prince from the capital was secretly colluding with Great Qi?
This was a border city, precisely where Great Xia and Great Qi were closest and where exchanges were most frequent. Xiao Huo’s schemes here seemed to have some logic to them?
But no matter how hard Lin Muyu thought about it, she couldn’t understand why the Second Prince, as Great Xia’s second-in-line to the throne, would collude with Great Qi.
Wasn’t this basically handing his own country’s resources to outsiders?
Unlike Lin Muyu, who was pondering the geopolitical situation, Yunduo’s gaze was firmly fixed on the Azure Dragon blood.
“It has dragon energy swirling around it, yet lacks a true dragon’s noble aura… Could this be flood dragon blood?”
She rested her chin lightly on top of Lin Muyu’s head, muttering in a low voice.
“Although flood dragons have violent temperaments and aren’t good creatures, every part of their body is a treasure. For someone to be willing to use it as a bargaining chip is quite interesting.”
As she pondered, a cunning smile curved at the corner of Yunduo’s lips, and her finger moved slightly.
“Whoosh whoosh whoosh—”
In an instant, a sudden gust of wind violently rushed in through the window, sending the light curtains inside the building dancing wildly.
Accompanied by the howling wind, the originally melodious and graceful music in the building was instantly drowned out without a trace.
“Who’s there?”
Xiao Huo, who was about to tuck the Azure Dragon blood into his robe, suddenly tensed up. He scanned his surroundings warily, his hand unconsciously reaching for the sword at his waist.
But before he could hide the item away, as a gust of wind blew past, the droplet-shaped blood in his hand vanished from his palm into thin air.
“How is this possible?”
Xiao Huo’s pupils constricted sharply, his face instantly turning ashen.
Before he could recover from his shock, he glanced to his side with his peripheral vision, only to discover that Youxiao, who had been standing beside him moments ago, had somehow disappeared without a trace.
The guests around him, who had been immersed in the music, had all snapped awake and were now staring at him with strange looks, their whispers rising one after another.
“Did I see that wrong just now? Wasn’t this guy standing together with Miss Youxiao, and they were pretty close too?”
“Eh? You saw it too? I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, especially since that tune earlier made everyone feel so drowsy.”
“Isn’t this the Young Master Xiao who crashed the wedding at General Li’s residence this morning? He was making such a spectacle stealing the bride in the morning, and now he’s at a brothel in the evening. Don’t tell me he failed at stealing the bride and came here to find consolation?”
“Crashing a wedding in the morning, visiting a brothel at night, his time management skills and thick skin are truly impressive. Respect, respect.”
As the gossip grew louder, Xiao Huo’s expression became increasingly ugly.
Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, the establishment’s matron quickly pushed through the crowd, forcing a stiff smile as she announced:
“Distinguished guests, we sincerely apologize. Due to some special circumstances, tonight’s music banquet must end here. Please exit in an orderly manner.”
After speaking, she hurried to Xiao Huo’s side, lowering her voice to whisper in his ear.
“Young Master Xiao, please don’t be upset. Miss Youxiao asks that you meet her in the inner hall later. She says there’s an urgent matter to discuss.”
……
“What just happened?”
Lin Muyu, who had been watching the show with the mindset of a spectator, stared at the suddenly chaotic scene before her, feeling somewhat dazed and completely unable to keep up with this sudden turn of events.
On the other side, Xuanxuan, who had groggily awakened from her stupor, rubbed her throbbing temples and looked bewilderedly at the chaotic crowd before her, then at Lin Muyu who seemed equally confused beside her, her eyes full of puzzlement.
“Just now… did something happen?”
As she spoke, she looked down at the recording stone in her hands, her expression changing slightly.
At some point, the recording stone that had been glowing faintly earlier had completely lost its luster, clearly having lost its recording function.
“Let’s go, let’s go! Stop watching the commotion!”
Yunduo suddenly reached out and grabbed Lin Muyu’s wrist, a playful smile on her face as she pulled her toward the exit.
This sudden action immediately raised Lin Muyu’s suspicions. She paused in her steps and asked:
“Do you know something? That couldn’t have been your doing just now, could it?”
“Oh my, Yunduo doesn’t know anything~”
Yunduo blinked her eyes, putting on an innocent expression, though her feet didn’t stop as she continued pulling Lin Muyu outside.
“No, you definitely know something!”
Lin Muyu stared at her profile, her tone absolutely certain, her curiosity piqued even more.
“Um… Miss Lin, Miss Yun.”
Just then, Xuanxuan also hurried to catch up, her voice soft and tinged with hesitation.
“Just now, Young Master Xiao and Miss Youxiao… was it really like everyone said?”
“What else could it be? Xiao Huo and that Youxiao were having a secret rendezvous, obviously.”
Yunduo waved her hand dismissively, speaking these blunt words in a casual tone, directly blocking the explanation that was on the tip of Lin Muyu’s tongue.
“Miss Lin, is this… is this true?”
Xuanxuan looked at Lin Muyu. For some reason, she lowered her head, her voice carrying a barely perceptible note of dejection.
Perhaps she had once harbored some unclear, indistinct feelings for Xiao Huo.
“Mm… she’s not wrong.”
Looking at Xuanxuan’s dejected appearance, Lin Muyu sighed inwardly but ultimately went along with Yunduo’s words.
The more you say, the more mistakes you make. Revealing that she knew Xiao Huo’s secrets would be troublesome.
Before Xiao Huo completely exposed all his cards, she didn’t want to clash head-on with this male lead.
After all, her current identity was still that of a villainous cannon fodder. Even if she felt she had already whitewashed herself halfway, she couldn’t take this risk.
A whitewashed cannon fodder was still cannon fodder!
“Eh? Xuanxuan, why are you unhappy?”
The seemingly carefree Yunduo actually noticed that Xuanxuan’s mood was off. She stopped in her tracks and patted Xuanxuan’s shoulder, enthusiastically suggesting:
“Don’t think about those unhappy things! Come on, let’s go drink, drown our sorrows in wine!”
“Drink?”
The moment she heard the word “drink,” Lin Muyu’s mind instantly conjured up an image of her alcoholic Master. Her brow furrowed instinctively as she resisted the idea somewhat.
“How about… we do something else instead? Like go eat some sweets or something. Drinking is so boring.”
“Wine is for drowning sorrows!”
Yunduo raised an eyebrow at her, deliberately using a teasing tone.
“Don’t tell me you can’t hold your liquor and you’re scared~ Little Lin is really no good~”
“…Fine, let’s drink! Who’s afraid of who!”
Seeing Yunduo’s still-annoying smug expression, Lin Muyu immediately felt her competitive spirit rise.
In her previous life, she had been hailed as a drinking saint at the banquet table. She had once drunk even her school principal under the table, how could she be afraid of this little girl?
And so, Xuanxuan, who was already in low spirits, was confusedly dragged by Lin Muyu and Yunduo toward a nearby tavern.