C11. A Sudden Encounter.

Chapter 11: A Sudden Encounter

Through the translucent window paper, two figures could be faintly discerned.

One of them was exceptionally tall.

Squinting his eyes, Xi Che paused his footsteps at a distance.

Having trained in martial arts since childhood and deliberately practicing stealth, his movements were almost inaudible.

Inside the room, Ji Li remained oblivious, her gaze fixed on the person facing her.

Unfazed by her words, the man tugged at the corners of his lips and let out a soft chuckle.

"My name is Yuan Ke." Seeing that Ji Li remained unmoved, he took a few steps forward and leaned closer to her. "My lady."

She wasn't surprised that he knew her identity, her expression remaining calm and composed.

In front of outsiders, she always maintained this demeanor.

Yuan Ke half-kneeled on the pear blossom red sandalwood bed, assuming a subservient posture, and lowered the hem of her skirt.

A hint of fear was evident on his face, yet his words were audacious, "My lady... smells so good."

With the man repeatedly crossing boundaries, Ji Li couldn't help but furrow her brows slightly. "Do you know what you're doing?"

Her voice was barely a whisper, undeterred, she moved forward a step.

The maiden's rosy lips parted and closed, against her fair skin, a hint of natural jade could be seen.

It was as if lovers were whispering sweet nothings, yet her words were the opposite, "Those who trespass into the General's Mansion without permission shall be punished with ten strokes of the bat."

"And for those who knowingly break the law and remain unrepentant, an additional ten strokes shall be added." She looked at the man, "The ones who administer the punishment are all seasoned veterans from the military camp, ensuring that each stroke is delivered with precision."

"How many lives do you have to dare be so bold?"

Her eyes were cold, "Or perhaps, the one who sent you offered you a substantial reward?"

Yuan Ke: "My lady..."

Ji Li stepped back, her expression indifferent, "Stop with the nonsense, leave now."

Seeing a hint of hesitation on Yuan Ke's face, she added, "My promise still stands, I saw no one tonight."

Or, she raised her eyes, "Who sent you?"

She already had her suspicions, and when she looked at Yuan Ke, she was fully confident.

The man opposite seemed to sense this as well, his face contorted in ugly manner.

Seeing this, Ji Li was about to speak again when a voice suddenly inquired from outside the door -

"My lady."

The voice cut off abruptly, then continued, "Are you asleep?"

The boy's voice was clear and bright, with a hint of magnetism.

More importantly, she recognized it instantly as Xi Che's voice.

Ji Li: "..."

She glanced at the person standing not far away and subconsciously lowered her voice, "You..."

The man paused his actions due to the knocking sound.

His cheeks flushed, his hand clenched his sleeve.

Ji Li's eyes narrowed.

The man's skin was also on the fair side, with single eyelids and eyelashes drooping down, gazing elsewhere.

In the warm glow of the light, his profile was elongated.

Yuan Ke's inexplicably shy appearance made her feel a bit like... Xi Che.

Like him when he first saw her at Rong Hua Temple.

In an instant, she understood the intentions of the person behind Yuan Ke.

She burst into laughter out of sheer amusement.

Turning to look at him, she said, "You were chosen, weren't you?" Her tone still deliberately suppressed.

Without her permission, Xi Che would never open the door rashly. She continued to look at the bewildered man and said, "Wait until the people outside leave for a while, and then you go out immediately."

"Otherwise, you're dead."

She had given this man several chances, but he still didn't know his place.

Then she couldn't blame her.

Thinking of the intentions of those petty thieves, she felt disgusted as if she had swallowed a fly.

Raising her eyes again, her expression was already cold, "For now, don't make a sound."

The atmosphere in the room suddenly changed, and Yuan Ke felt a chill for no reason.

He was just an ordinary person, and suddenly faced with the powerful aura of a noblewoman, his lips moved.

He wanted to say something to ease the tension, but when he saw her expression, he quickly closed his mouth.

The scheming and plotting of a moment ago were gone. He was not stupid and had long realized that their plan had been exposed.

Now, the noblewoman was giving him a choice.

He would not be ungrateful.

To stay alive was the most important thing.

He nodded and tiptoed aside.

In the flickering candlelight, a few breaths later, there was indeed no sound outside.

After the people had left, Ji Li waited a while before letting Yuan Ke leave.

She didn't want to cause any unnecessary misunderstandings.

Outside, the sky was as dark as ink, so thick that not a single star could be seen.

The entire mansion was enveloped in this night, extremely quiet.

Yuan Ke walked along the gravel path for a while before he could extricate himself from the cold and stern atmosphere of a moment ago.

In the next instant, he became worried again.

He had not completed the master's instructions, and he was afraid that things would not go well if he went back like this.

But... this task was already difficult.

With a Xi Che already there, how could there be room for him, Yuan Ke?

He rubbed the tear mole he had deliberately painted at the corner of his eye.

It was made of a special material and was not easy to wipe off.

It took some effort to finally wipe it off.

The insects were chirping incessantly at night, and he couldn't help but quicken his pace.

"Hey," someone suddenly called out from behind him, startling him and causing him to turn back instinctively.

Xi Che looked straight at the man opposite him.

Under the cover of night, his expression was well hidden by the darkness.

Yuan Ke couldn't see his expression, but... he was familiar with his face and figure.

He had spent several days and nights studying the portrait.

But when he finally came face to face with the real person, he felt an inexplicable fear.

Xi Che stared at him coldly, saying nothing.

Yuan Ke couldn't help but think to himself: "These two people's style of not speaking and just staring at people is really the same."

"Those who know the times are the wise ones."

Turning his thoughts over in his mind, considering the current situation, he spoke up, "Excuse me, brother, what is it that you want to stop me for?"

With that, he gave the person opposite him a friendly smile.

He also had a similar single eyelid type with phoenix eyes, probably because he had learned too much too quickly.

When he smiled at people, even he himself didn't realize it -

He had subconsciously imitated again.

Xi Che's eyes darkened as he scrutinized this person and finally said, "What are you doing here sneaking around in the middle of the night?"

Thinking about the direction he came from a moment ago, his brow furrowed imperceptibly, and an unknown emotion surged through his heart.

Seeing Yuan Ke's eyes dodge, he continued to question, "Speak?"

Dressed in the same black robe as he had worn before, the man solidified Xi Che's nagging suspicion. Now he understood the source of the disharmony he felt.

But anger wasn't his first emotion. Instead, a strange surprise bubbled up. These people had found an impersonator.

He had some...secret surprise. The very act hinted at a complex web of intrigue.

Seeing Xi Che stand frozen, Yuan Ke quickened his pace, hoping to slip past him unnoticed. In a flash, a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

With a practiced twist, likely honed through martial arts training, Xi Che tightened his grip.

"Brother, what's going on?" Yuan Ke stammered, turning back.

Grimacing in pain, Xi Che forced out a cold snort. "Where do you think you're going? Besides, sneaking out with two old men in the dead of night... frankly, I'm..."

Yuan Ke, a young man from a poor background, had little choice but to take on this work. If someone better suited appeared, he knew the opportunity wouldn't be his.

Dreading his fate if he failed, he squeezed his eyes shut and growled, "Fine, fine! Can't you just ask what you want?"

"What are you doing here?!" Xi Che demanded.

Hidden beneath a cloak of night and shrouded by overgrown grass, the secluded corner felt even more concealed. Yuan Ke, now defiant, scoffed, "You just figured out I was in the room, didn't you?"

Xi Che's fingers curled into fists at Yuan Ke's blatant admission.

On the surface, he still appeared as a clear and youthful man, "Hmm."

Seeing him acknowledge, Yuan Ke was not surprised at all.

Raising an eyebrow in challenge, he said, "Hey! Kid!"

"Do you like her?"

Xi Che's eyes took on a layer of frost, he glanced coldly in Yuan Ke's direction, and coldly uttered a few words, "This is none of your business."

He could not go back without receiving humiliation again.

Yuan Ke also found courage at this moment and chuckled, "Why is it not my business?"

"Like the Miss from the General's Mansion, both of you do not like gentle words, you prefer getting straight to the point, right?"

Bringing up his interaction with Ji Li just now caused Xi Che to involuntarily glance sideways.

Staring at the person in front of him, his thin lips parted slightly, "So?"

Yuan Ke, who was used to being diplomatic outside, almost immediately concluded that the other party was tough.

He had tried both soft and hard approaches himself, but this person simply did not respond.

He decided to be blunt, "I came to talk to you about something, don't get physical!"

"My weak arms and legs can't withstand a single blow from you..."

"Just tell me, what do you want? It's simple." He stared at the mole near the end of Xi Che's eye, reaching out towards him.

After a few breaths, the only sound was the night wind blowing gently.

He withdrew his hand and awkwardly started talking to himself, "I poured her a cup of tea, but she didn't drink it."

"Just because of this matter, you've been keeping me here from midnight until now." This familiar flirtatious look made him feel a pang of jealousy.

As he spoke, he took a few steps closer to see the person's face clearly, feeling a sense of emotion.

Although he was rude and lacked manners, his face was indeed attractive.

A few more beautiful than in the portrait, especially at night... it was a bit difficult to tell if he was male or female.

"If you don't speak, I'll take that as a yes?"

Xi Che: "Yes to what?"

Yuan Ke: "That you like her, right?"

The person stood in front of him, watching time pass by. Inside and outside his words, Yuan Ke was getting a bit impatient, "I've said already, you can just let it go?"

The person he led away was probably coming back soon. If they found him here at this hour, even if Ji Li was willing to forgive him, he wouldn't be able to explain.

Urgently he urged, "Can't you just let it go?" He said as he tried to walk away.

But in the next moment, he felt a sharp pain in his wrist.

It was Xi Che twisting it.

He controlled the intensity just right, causing quite a bit of pain but not fatal.

Even so, any country healer could easily fix a dislocated wrist.

In the hazy night, a cold smile slowly appeared on the corner of his lips.

It was a melancholic, sarcastic smile, "Don't pour tea in the future."

Feeling the pain in his hand, Yuan Ke couldn't care less about his life, he shouted at him, "Are you crazy?!"

Well, he was already a person with a pathetic fate.

"Do you dare to say you don't like her?" He glared fiercely at the person not far off, enunciating each word.

"Do you dare to say you have no other thoughts about her?! Do you dare?"