Mo Jin inexplicably felt that Mo Yuan's gaze was extremely fierce, and thought to himself that this guy was indeed as terrifying as the rumors suggested; his eyes looked like he wanted to devour him.
"This is troublesome," Qin Moyu said with a smile.
"No trouble at all." Shen Yebai's sharp aura softened noticeably, and he naturally walked to Qin Moyu's side. "Let's go."
He completely ignored Mo Jin next to Qin Moyu, practically wearing the words "special treatment" on his face.
Although Mo Jin was a little annoyed at being ignored, he didn't say much. He just stood on the other side of Qin Moyu in a huff. Just like that, two big men suddenly appeared next to Qin Moyu, flanking him as if they were afraid he would run away.
Zuo Shu didn't say a word from beginning to end; she followed behind the three of them like she was invisible.
Only the disciple looked left at Mo Yuan and right at Mo Jin, completely puzzled as to how things had turned into this situation in just a few words. It wasn't until he noticed that both of their gazes were involuntarily following Qin Moyu that he suddenly realized what was happening and clapped his hands in understanding.
The old saying is indeed true: even heroes can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman!
...
Due to the unique terrain, the canyon was extremely dark even during the day. The four of them walked on the road without saying a word.
Generally, it takes a disciple of the Chen Sect to lead the way through the canyon to avoid the traps. However, since Mo Jin was in the group, no disciple was specially assigned to lead them. Even with Mo Jin leading them, it still took quite a while to get out of the canyon. By the time they were completely out of the canyon, it was already dark.
Between the canyon and the Chenmen Gate, there is a stretch of wasteland inhabited by wolves. They like to come out in packs at night. The Chenmen Gate has tried to deal with them several times, but because the wolves are cunning and know how to scatter and escape, and because they never harass the Chenmen Gate, the Chenmen Gate eventually simply let them live in the wasteland as an extra layer of defense.
Although none of them were afraid of the wolf pack, getting involved would still be troublesome. After confirming that none of them were in a hurry to go to Chenmen, they stayed put and started a fire to rest.
Mo Jin volunteered to go up the hillside to keep watch, so that they wouldn't be surprised if the wolves came. He even took Zuo Shu with him, leaving only Qin Moyu and Mo Yuan behind.
Qin Moyu knew that this was an opportunity Mo Jin had deliberately created for her to investigate Mo Yuan, and that Mo Jin had not gone far, so that if they really had a conflict, she could come back immediately.
It was a bit cold in the wilderness at night, and the whistling wind chilled people to the bone, so Qin Moyu lit a fire.
The fire wasn't very big, but the crackling sound of the flames was exceptionally loud in the quiet wilderness night. The night wind was strong, and it would probably have been extinguished long ago if Qin Moyu hadn't been controlling it.
The orange flames illuminated Mo Yuan, making his sharp facial features seem softer. When silent, he was no longer the fearsome god of war, but an ordinary friend.
"Have we met before?" Qin Moyu's eyes reflected the orange flame as he turned to look at Shen Yebai.
Shen Yebai froze, thinking he was about to be recognized, after all, he had acted very strangely after meeting Qin Moyu.
Then he heard Qin Moyu mutter to himself, "But I don't seem to remember anything about it."
Shen Yebai breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't dare to look Qin Moyu in the eye, but stared at the flames and said, "I haven't seen it before."
"Is that so..."
Qin Moyu propped his face up with his hand, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly realized, "No, we've met before, I remember now."
"The night Fen Gong broke into my room, didn't you come later?"
"..." Shen Yebai could only remain silent.
Qin Moyu chuckled upon seeing this: "And you even shielded me that day... I still can't understand why."
"It was just a coincidence." Shen Yebai was still being stubborn, because he simply couldn't explain that he had only acted instinctively when he shielded Qin Moyu from the attack that night.
The instinct to not let Qin Moyu get hurt was ingrained in his bones. Before he could even think about the consequences, his body had already rushed over.
Without a doubt, she was completely defeated by Qin Moyu, both in soul and body.
Shen Yebai smiled bitterly to himself, but he didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
After all, it's better to have something to hold onto and something to look forward to in the future than to feel empty inside.
It was just a coincidence.
Qin Moyu did not accept this explanation, but he did not press the matter further. Instead, he asked another question: "Are you and Fen Gong in a superior-subordinate relationship? I thought he seemed to be with you that day."
"..."
Only now did Shen Yebai realize why Qin Moyu had accompanied him. He vaguely guessed that Qin Moyu wasn't going to Chenmen; his real target was actually him, or rather, Mo Yuan, who was related to Fen Gong.
The question Qin Moyu is asking now is a dilemma. If the answer is yes, it is obvious that he is related to Fen Gong, which makes it hard not to think of the old Taoist's death. If the answer is no, how can he explain the fact that Qin Moyu saw him taking Fen Gong away that day?
Shen Yebai didn't want Qin Moyu to misunderstand him, but he didn't know how to explain. Once he started explaining, it would never end, and sooner or later his unusual identity would be exposed. Shen Yebai didn't know how Qin Moyu would view him then, and he would rather never know.
Is this question difficult to answer?
Shen Yebai's silence did not discourage Qin Moyu; instead, he pressed on, throwing out questions one by one.
"You and I were so far apart that night, how could you possibly have shielded me without intending to?"
"Your target is Fen Gong's storage bag. If you're willing to chase Nan Xun at all costs, there must be something very important inside. So why did you ignore me after Nan Xun escaped? Don't you have any suspicion that I'm his accomplice?"
"Even if you know I'm not with Nan Xun, aren't you afraid I'll connect what happened that night with the Liu family massacre?"
"Rumors say that Young Master Mo Yuan is neither righteous nor wicked, and it's hard to tell whether he's good or evil. He'll stop at nothing to achieve his goals. Is he really going to be so merciful as to let me go?"
"I……"
Shen Yebai was speechless when questioned, and with Qin Moyu's questioning, things took an irreversible turn in the direction he least wanted to go.
Finally, Qin Moyu asked the question that concerned her most:
"Did Fen Gong's actions have anything to do with you?"
As soon as Qin Moyu finished speaking about this crucial issue, Shen Yebai became anxious: "I have nothing to do with your master's death!"
Upon hearing this, Qin Moyu suddenly smiled.