Was recognized

"A dark figure swiftly approached and whispered in Baili Jiajue's ear, "Your Highness, Young Master Hei has been located."

Baili Jiajue's beautiful eyes remained calm, but the cold wind that rustled through his wide sleeves added to his aura of inaccessibility and coldness. After a moment, he made his way to where Kurosawa was detained.

Blocking the exit was a bold move, even though the shadows didn't really intend to impede the young master of the Black family. However, in the entire capital, only the Third Prince, Baili Jiajue, dared to stand in the way of the second young master.

Seeing Baili Jiajue, Hei Ze's lips curled into a smile. "Your Highness, such elegance! Don't you sleep at such a late hour?"

"Isn't the second prince asleep either?" Baili Jiajue's voice was light, seemingly nonchalant about everything, but with an irresistible air of dominance. "What about her?"

Kurosawa cursed inwardly as he was blocked and lay in the grove, trying to come up with excuses and plans on how to handle the situation step by step. But the Third Prince wasn't playing by the rules and directly asked, "What about her?"

Those three simple words completely caught Kurosawa off guard. All the plans he had made in advance were rendered useless.

It was clear that the Third Prince knew more than Kurosawa had anticipated. Realizing this, Kurosawa let out a wicked laugh. "If Your Highness is referring to Wei Wei, she has already left the academy."

"Wei Wei?" Baili Jiajue's eyes narrowed, and the smile on his lips deepened. "Left?"

"Yes, she's gone," Kurosawa replied sincerely. "We had planned to descend the mountain together, but she seemed to be in a hurry and left early. By now, she should be close to the avenue. If Your Highness sends someone to pursue her, they should be able to bring her back."

Baili Jiajue looked at him with a deep gaze, exuding an air of elegance and indifference. "The main hall thanks the second prince for providing such a crucial clue."

"I only did what I was supposed to do," Kurosawa smirked, a hint of pride staining his face. He felt unusually clever in that moment.

Baili Jiajue slowly turned the black jade ring on his finger and gave a light instruction to the shadow beside him. "Release the second prince."

"Yes." The shadow hesitated for a moment, finding it hard to believe that His Royal Highness was letting the young master of the Black family go so easily. There was obviously something going on between him and Miss Helian. Perhaps if he investigated further, he could uncover the truth.

However, Baili Jiajue had a different perspective. He deliberately let Kurosawa create such a smokescreen to distract him. There was no need to waste time on Kurosawa.

Furthermore...

"Continue searching the entire academy, narrowing down the search area. She hasn't gone far; she's still in Youyuan."

Upon hearing this, not only Kurosawa, who was about to leave, froze, but even Helian Weiwei, hidden among the crowd, felt a tremor in her heart.

Kurosawa's lies had been exposed. Not only that, Baili Jiajue had analyzed Kurosawa's words in reverse and pinpointed her exact location.

Her situation had become even more precarious now.

Moreover, since the Third Prince had ordered Kurosawa's release, he had to go. That meant she was truly on her own from this point onward.

Helian Weiwei bit her lip and followed the guards back to the courtyard. Unfortunately, she was just one step away from the door. She could only watch as the academy's gates closed before her, unable to take any risks as any suspicious movement would be detected.

Baili Jiajue's eyes flickered with an icy coldness, unnoticed by Helian Weiwei. He leisurely curled his lips, a mixture of displeasure and playfulness. He wanted to see how Kurosawa would handle the situation after being sent away—whether he would come to him or continue hiding.

Either way...

If she was smart enough, she wouldn't involve anyone else. That would make him very, very unhappy.

As the shadow trailing behind Baili Jiajue observed his master's expression, a cold sweat broke out, realizing that His Highness was truly angry this time. In all these years, there had never been a moment where His Highness had been so focused and determined.

Helian Weiwei was the first person to make him go to such lengths.

The shadow could hardly imagine the consequences if His Highness were to catch her now. It sent shivers down their spine.

"Achoo!" Helian Weiwei covered her mouth and sneezed softly, an hour had passed since she began planning her escape. She had to act swiftly. Baili Jiajue hadn't withdrawn his hand, and when he had idle time, his first instinct would be to check on her. This "guard skin" she was wearing wouldn't be able to protect her then.

Should she consider herself lucky or unlucky?

After all her previous schemes, this was the first time she had been pushed to such a desperate situation.

But the real drama had just begun.

It was the early hours of the morning when people were most fatigued and prone to errors. She could have taken advantage of that...

Crack.

Rain suddenly began to fall lightly from the sky.

The shadow quickly opened an umbrella for Baili Jiajue, offering protection from the rain. While walking forward, the shadow prayed silently, "Your Highness, we have searched the entire Youyuan, but we haven't found any trace of Miss Helian. Should we continue searching?"

Baili Jiajue's hand paused for a moment. He had underestimated the resilience of the little fox.

Good, good.

Narrowing his eyes, Baili Jiajue's voice carried neither warmth nor coldness. "Replace the search party with a new group of guards, and the guards being replaced are to stay in the vicinity and rest. Fatigue leads to vulnerabilities. We can't afford any loopholes in our plan."

He wouldn't allow even the slightest loophole.

Helian Weiwei had thought that being replaced would allow her to return to the house, but she hadn't expected that the three princes were not only intelligent but also exceptionally cunning and ruthless.