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Capítulo 75

"Then I'm doing this for your own good," Xiao Dao muttered. "Xue Beihai clearly has a plan."

"You knew my brother had a plan, and you still exposed it to him?" Xue Beifan shook his head. "Now look what's happened, I don't know how to explain it to him."

"Why do you want to tell him?" Xiao Dao asked him, puffing out his cheeks.

"Never mind." Xue Beifan waved his hand at Xiaodao. "He probably figured you wouldn't keep your mouth shut, so don't worry about it."

"Why should I care?" Xiao Dao retorted. "He's not my older brother. What does his happiness or unhappiness have to do with me, Xue Er?"

Xue Beifan turned around and saw that Xiao Dao had an unusually serious expression on his face.

Standing on the bustling street, Xiao Dao looked at Xue Beifan, who was two steps away, and said, "I don't care what your reasons are, but you should treat yourself well. If you treat yourself too badly, you'll be letting your mother down."

Xue Beifan opened his mouth slightly, unable to respond. Yan Xiaodao, that girl, always spoke unexpectedly, yet some of her twisted logic seemed irrefutable.

Xiao Dao strolled over to him with his hands behind his back, tilted his head back and glanced at his dumbfounded expression, then curled up his lips, reached out and pinched his cheeks and pulled them apart, "Smile."

Xue Beifan couldn't help but smirk slightly.

Xiao Dao tiptoed and patted his head like petting a puppy, saying, "If anyone bullies you in the future, tell me, and I'll stand up for you."

Xue Beifan shook his head with a smile, "Who can bully me?"

He was surprised after saying that. Xiao Dao, as if triumphant, raised her hand and lightly patted his chest with the back of her hand. "That's right, as long as you don't want to, who can bully you?"

Looking at the arrogant girl's knowing expression, Xue Beifan felt a feeling he had never experienced before. It was like waiting for the first flower to bloom after the snow melts and spring arrives—a mixture of anxiety and anticipation.

Xiao Dao strolled forward a few steps and, seeing Xue Beifan still standing there in a daze, reached out and waved.

Xue Beifan only felt that fair hand moving gently up and down, as if he were under a spell. By the time he realized what was happening, he was already next to Xiaodao.

He reached out his hand and said, "Can I hold your hand?"

Xiao Dao immediately tucked his hand into his sleeve and hid it behind his back, "No way!"

"Don't be stingy." Xue Beifan made a move to grab it.

Xiao Dao ran away quickly, shouting, "No way!"

"Just hold hands for a moment."

"No way!"

Upstairs, Fang Tongli wiped his face and asked Xue Xing, "This is a very important matter. Should we go back and discuss it with the elders first?"

Xue Xing nodded, "I'll leave tomorrow."

"no!"

Qin Ke suddenly spoke.

Xue Xing and Fang Tongli both looked at her in confusion, "Why?"

"I'm not going back!" Qin Ke frowned, watching Xue Beifan and Yan Xiaodao walk further and further away. "Aren't we still choosing the Ghost King?"

Fang Tongli looked at Qin Ke with amusement, "Choosing the Ghost King is secondary; your main problem is that you're unwilling to accept it, right?"

"Mind your own business!" Qin Ke glared at him unfriendly, and Fang Tongli had no choice but to shut up.

“Indeed, going back now will not help.” Xue Xing closed his eyes slightly. “Xue Beifan… seems to have a side that we don’t know. If we really want to deal with Xue Beihai, he might still be of some use.”

44

The night is deep, but the people are not quiet.

Xiao Dao and Xue Beifan shook off their pursuers and returned to their secret hideout, a rented house belonging to Chonghua. In the western border regions, there are always people of complicated backgrounds who need secluded places to live, so empty houses are frequently available for rent. The renters are mostly elderly people; they take the money and leave without asking any questions, and naturally, they won't gossip.

Xiao Dao walked around the courtyard and felt it had a strong Western Regions feel to it. "This is the first time I've seen a house built in a circle!"

“The circular shape has many advantages. Once the stone gate is blocked, no one can get in. In this desolate wilderness, such a house can keep out thieves, wolves, and sandstorms! The windows open inwards, so you can still dry clothes and sunbathe in the yard. And if you light a bonfire at night, the wind won't blow it out.” After explaining, Xue Beifan took the imperial edict that he had picked up along the way and gave it to Hao Jinfeng, “This is suitable for you.”

Hao Jinfeng opened it and frowned. "They want me to go and find a husband?"

“Well, the best way to sneak into the palace is for us to pretend to be helping you,” Xue Beifan said with a smile. “After thinking it over, neither Chonghua nor I are suitable. Chonghua has someone she likes, and I have a bad reputation.”

Hao Jinfeng waved his hand, "Don't say that, but it is indeed a good method, and I don't mind."

“Then it’s settled.” Chonghua calculated the days. “Let’s discuss the specific countermeasures, and we’ll set off for the ghost city tomorrow.”

Youyou looked worried. "If we sneak into the palace like this, can we really take back the throne? The Imperial Advisor and the Grand Eunuch are not easy to deal with."

"Then let's not go?" Xiao Dao asked tentatively.

"That won't do!" Youyou quickly shook her head. "My mother doesn't know yet. What if she suddenly returns to court and is assassinated without warning? I know they want to harm my mother!"

Xiao Dao curled up the corners of his mouth, "That's right! By the way, tell me exactly what the Grand Preceptor and the Grand Steward look like, what kind of people they are?"

Youyou sat down at a stone table in the courtyard where the sun could shine. “Actually, what I said before wasn’t all a lie. The Grand Preceptor does have a high position and great power. He has abilities that ordinary people don’t have, and sometimes he can even communicate with the gods.”

Xiao Dao secretly curled his lip. A psychic? Maybe he's just a fraudster pretending to be a shaman.

"Moreover..." Youyou's expression dimmed a little as she said this, "The Imperial Preceptor is handsome and elegant, and he is very well-liked. I have always admired him."

"Isn't he an old man?" When Xiao Dao heard the name "National Preceptor," he thought it was a decrepit old man, the kind dressed in Taoist or Buddhist robes. But judging from Youyou's tone, could he be a handsome man?

"No way!" Youyou quickly shook her head. "He's the most handsome man in my ghost town, and he's never married. I heard..."