Chapter 138 - It was just short of stating plainly that he cared

Liu Yusheng turned around in a daze, only to find the man had stopped at some point and was standing right behind her.

At this moment, he was slightly puzzled looking at her.

The gentleman was flawless and dazzling, indifferent and solitary. His dark purple brocade robe fluttered slightly with the wind, and gentleness seemed to overflow from his long, slender eyes.

Those eyes, somehow hooked up the grievances buried in her heart, and her eyes reddened even more.

"What are you doing here?" the man asked again, playing his voice even softer than earlier, as if afraid of disturbing her tears.

"Looking at a cocoon," she sniffled, her voice muffled.

She didn't notice the man's clenched fists under his wide sleeves unclench slightly the moment she spoke. He was afraid she would cry.

A moment ago, he received a secret report from his subordinates that a Baicao Valley disciple had appeared at the Lucky Fortune Inn in the east of the city, and he was about to rush over with two of his followers, but unexpectedly ran into her.

So unexpectedly and coincidentally, he ran into her.

In that instant, his entire body went empty and his mind went blank.

His feet, however, still mechanically moved forward.

The tumultuous waves that have been trained for years actually surged to the extreme at this time!

But at least on the surface, it wasn't so.

He should pretend he didn't know her. That would be best for her.

But the moment he passed by, he saw the corners of her reddened eyes.

His heart was stabbed so hard, he couldn't move forward as if nothing had happened.

He couldn't take a single step.

He couldn't bear to see her like this!

"See a cocoon?" The man looked over to where she had just stepped out, and swept a glance on an empty cocoon shell that fell on the ground. "Do you sympathize with it?"

"No," Liu Yusheng shook her head, dropping her eyes and no longer looking into those eyes. "I just wanted to accompany it through that process, so that it doesn't have to fight alone. Whether it succeeds or fails, no one knows."

Unbeknownst to her, the man's eyes darkened abruptly above her head, and his raging emotions conflicted so much that his disguise crumbled.

"Master, we have to leave now," Wei Zi reminded the man in a low voice, his half-lidded eyes looking complicated.

This was the first time he had seen his master talking to this girl.

No wonder his master had avoided talking about Xinghua Village all these years. He was afraid that once he talked about it, there would be no way to hide it anymore.

As was his attitude towards this girl, it was just short of stating plainly that he cared.

And this was already the result of his utmost restraint.

In nine years in the capital, who had ever seen his master acting patient and careful with a woman?

Hearing that they were leaving, Liu Yusheng's eyes flew up at the man, right into his gaze that was also fixed on her.

The man merely nodded to the person by his side, and then said to her, "This courtyard has a nice view too. You can walk around if you're fine with it."

After a pause, he quipped, "But don't cry. Otherwise, bystanders will think I bullied you if they see you walking out from here."

She was startled when the man turned around and walked away. Liu Yusheng squeezed her finger, and not knowing where a lone courage came from, she asked, "Wh-What's your name?"

The man faltered on his tracks. "Feng Qingbai."

Feng Qingbai?

The famous Prince Regent of Nanling Kingdom, King Feng Qingbai of Nanling?

Liu Yusheng stood rooted on the ground and watched the man's back as he left, mocking herself. What else was she thinking?

Apart from their eyes, they had nothing in common.

At the entrance of the small courtyard, the sound of rushed footsteps rang once more.

"Master… the people from Baicao Valley…"

In the distance, Liu Yusheng only vaguely heard these words, and in a heartbeat, chased after them.

"Are you looking for the Baicao Valley disciples?"

The man turned around, and there was still an undiluted majesty in his knitted brow. He nodded and responded briefly, "Yes."

"Master…" the guard beside him wanted to say something else, but shut up when he gave him a look.

Liu Yusheng pursed her lips. "Can you bring me along with you? Truth to tell, the reason I came to Xuzhou this time is because of the fame of Baicao Valley."

Feng Qingbai was momentarily stunned, caught off-guard by her request. He subconsciously wanted to refuse, but when his eyes touched her expectant eyes, his words changed, "Sure."

Wei Zi wanted to slap his forehead right then and there.

Something had happened over there, and they were now going to do business. But bring a delicate and weak woman with them, what the hell was his master thinking?

As for Liu Yusheng, she hadn't figured out why she put forward this request until she was in the carriage.

She had never been one to pester others randomly, but the words just came so naturally.

To borrow Qian Wanjin's words, as if not strangers.

But they obviously met for the first time, and were totally strangers.

The carriage was fast, and the air in the carriage was somewhat solemn.

After getting on the carriage, the man didn't speak again, and she couldn't think of what to say.

Besides, it seemed that she had intruded on someone once or twice, thus making her feel embarrassed, so she simply turned her face away and pretended to look out the window.

The instant she turned her head, his gaze fell on the side of her face.

And in those narrow black eyes, strands were dense and surging – all of which were longing.

The carriage stopped in front of an inn, and Liu Yusheng followed the man's footsteps to the second floor. The door of the innermost guest room was wide open, and the entrance to the room was full of onlookers. Liu Yusheng squeezed in and saw the room was in disarray as far as the eye could see, like traces of a brawl or an entanglement.

There were also broken pieces of porcelain scattered on the floor, as well as some pills.

And the heavy smell of blood in the air.

Liu Yusheng paused, trying to move her gaze to the corner of the room, when a cool, dry hand abruptly covered her eyes. "Don't look."

It was the man's breath sprayed on her ear.

Faint, with an elegant fragrance that washed away the sickening smell of blood in the air.

The movement brought her so close to him that she could almost feel the heat emanating from his chest on her back.

It was flustering.

Then she was dragged out, confused and back in the carriage.

"He – is that man dead?" Liu Yusheng asked.

"No, the one who broke in the room was a rival's minion. That one escaped," the man sat across from her and spoke apologetically, "We were a step late. Sorry we couldn't get you to meet anyone."

"…" She couldn't figure out why he would apologize to her for that.

"Are you afraid?" he asked again, his narrow eyes dark and deep, and his tone seemingly casual and offhanded.

But Liu Yusheng felt that when he asked if she was afraid, it was definitely more than just the literal meaning of the word.

After thinking for a moment, she smiled cheerfully, "You can only know whether you are afraid of something like this or not when you experience it yourself."

The man was startled, then chuckled low and open. It sounded oceanic, as if a magical note was attached to it – bewitching.

He nodded and looked at her. "You're right."

His Shengsheng wasn't a doddering flower kept in a greenhouse.

She was also pampered, but she had a toughness in her bones that could turn people's heads.

Just like when everyone had given up looking for him, she alone had persevered for three years until she found him.