The white eagle tilted its head, its round eyes darting around; clearly, it couldn't understand what Ning Xian was saying.
Seeing this, Ci Sheng couldn't help but chuckle and reached out to remove the feathers clinging to her head—at this moment, Ci Sheng was still the familiar Ci Sheng, without the aloofness she had shown just moments before.
Chapter Fifty-Seven: Ci Sheng's Thoughts
"This is...?" Ci Sheng looked at the white eagle, which seemed quite intelligent. Ning Xian patted the feathers on her hair and replied, "It's the dead bird the sect leader keeps! Because the sect members often travel around without a fixed place, the carrier pigeons often can't find their destination, so the Right Envoy uses the sect leader's dead bird and its offspring, both dead, as carrier pigeons." She couldn't tell which one it was; she called anything white "White Feather." This dead bird certainly knew how to find its target, always aiming for the head!
Ning Xian reached out and grabbed it, untied the paper tube from its paw, glanced at the words on it, and said to Ci Sheng, "I'll be right back." Then he flew away with the white fur.
"Wooden Kite!"
Mu Yuan turned around upon hearing the voice and saw Ning Xian arrive. She teased, "Why do you miss me so soon after just leaving with me?"
"I don't miss you, it misses you!" Ning Xian tossed the white feather out, which swirled in the air in a beautiful arc before landing precisely on the wooden kite's head. The wooden kite, not wanting its image to be ruined, dodged to the side and caught it.
"Why is White Hair here? Is something the matter?"
Ning Xian handed over the note, "It's a warning talisman from Yanyu Pavilion, but it doesn't say what's going on."
“That’s strange. When did Ni Chang start doing such vague and unpredictable things? Something’s odd. It seems we need to go and find out more… I’ll find someone to come with me. You stay here.”
"Huh? Why do I have to stay here?"
"You haven't received your divorce papers yet, huh?"
"..." Don't leave her alone in such a boring place, so unloved by her fellow disciples...
Mu Yuan quickly went to find Kinnara, who was still hungover and vaguely aware that his plan had been ruined, though he wasn't quite sure how badly it had gone wrong. He agreed when Mu Yuan asked him to go, and then went back to sleeping soundly.
"You think you can get him drunk with this little bit of alcohol?" Mu Yuan scoffed.
He simply ignored Kinnara and turned to find Feng—although he didn't know what had happened at the Misty Rain Pavilion, that they didn't even have time to properly send a message? He just wanted to go and see, and the two of them were enough.
Youmingtian had hidden sentries throughout Zhanzhou, and Yanyu Pavilion was the largest of them. It was responsible for gathering information and relaying news from various places. Because it always acted discreetly, and most of the people in Yanyu Pavilion were ordinary people from the entertainment industry, it was well hidden and had never had any problems. Therefore, Mu Yuan didn't pay any attention to it, or rather, he never paid any attention to it at all.
Dongfang Qingming had once told him that he would eventually be killed by his own carelessness, but he had never taken those words to heart. Yet now, for no apparent reason, he suddenly remembered them. Was he getting old, becoming prone to remembering trivial things?
Without any suspense, when Feng Yi was told, she agreed to go, but hesitated slightly and asked, "Where is Ning Xian?"
“She doesn’t need to go; she has more important things to do.” Mu Yuan smiled ambiguously, but Feng didn’t seem to appreciate the hint and said, “Take her with you.”
"Isn't that unnecessary? It would be better to let her stay here and resolve her own problems..."
"Her problem can only be solved when I'm around—I'll go and call her."
Mu Yuan raised an eyebrow, watching Feng's retreating figure. This guy usually didn't seem very good at interacting with people, but at times like this, he actually knew what it meant to take precautions and not give the enemy any chance. He shook his head and smiled, then followed closely behind, saying, "Never mind, it's just to ask about the situation anyway. I can go by myself. You stay here and watch over your Broken String. Keep a close watch and resolve the 'problem' as soon as possible."
Mu Yuan then went out alone to Yanyu Pavilion.
As Feng was about to return to his room, he suddenly smelled an unusual odor in the air—puzzling him, he hurriedly went to find Ning Xian.
Meanwhile, Ning Xian was in Bai Yanfang's room. He had originally wanted to see if Bai Mo had come to hide there, but he couldn't find him. Seeing that Bai Yanfang had been cooped up in his room for a long time, he simply stayed to keep him company. "You really don't hold grudges."
"What?" — Do we have a grudge against each other?
"You really acted like nothing happened when faced with a 'brother-in-law' who was deliberately flirting with you."
Ning Xian found it amusing to see Bai Yan's sullen and listless appearance. "Anyway, you didn't manage to flirt with me. You're suffering right now, so why should I bother with you?" Ning Xian's smiling face was like indulging a stubborn child, which made Bai Yan feel depressed. Ning Xian was clearly younger than him.
"Actually, you're quite cute like this." She added, as if to kill herself, and even reached out to ruffle his hair—Bai Yan turned his head away in annoyance, yelling, "Don't think you're so much older just because you're my sister-in-law!"
"So, your sister-in-law is older than you, but you seem to often forget that I'm your sister-in-law?"
—Just a little girl!
Bai Yan turned his head away in dissatisfaction, but kept glancing at her... How did things go with the arrangements made last night? He had been in the room the whole time and still couldn't find out what happened. She seemed no different from usual...
"This morning—were you the one who screamed? What happened?"
Ning Xian froze slightly. "...Nothing happened...Just take good care of yourself! Why are you thinking about all this?!" She changed the subject, slightly embarrassed. "Have you eaten? I'll go get you something to eat!"
Which meal?
She walked out of Bai Yan's room, hugging a pillar in the corridor and repeatedly hitting her forehead—what happened… how could she say what happened? She had inhumanely raped him, and even abused him… Although she could choose not to answer or run away, what should she do if someone continued to ask her this question in the future? Should she just pretend nothing happened?
"Ning Xian, what are you doing?" Ci Sheng's voice rang out. She quickly released the pillar and hurriedly said, "Nothing, nothing, my head just itches..." What kind of excuse was that? She wanted to despise herself... But seeing Ci Sheng, she couldn't help but think... He must have heard her earth-shattering scream this morning, right? And it came from Feng's room...
—Mom, your daughter is too ashamed to face anyone…
"Ah... Cisheng, could you please look after Baiyan for me? I'll go to the kitchen and get him something to eat."
"Alright. Why didn't the second young master have breakfast?"
"Who knows if he ate it or not..."
"Huh?"
Ning Xian went to the kitchen and searched for a large plate of food, hoping to stuff his mouth full.
However, before she even reached her room, an unusual smell made her stop in her tracks—strange, how could the Bai residence possibly have such a thing? A chill ran down her spine, and she hastily placed the plate on the railing before rushing towards Bai Yan's room—before she even got close, a loud bang was heard, and a house on one side of the courtyard suddenly exploded, sending billows of debris and thick smoke billowing in. The dark gray smoke obscured the view ahead, but the explosion was too close to Bai Yan's room, and her first thought was that Bai Yan, being immobile, couldn't escape on his own!
She rushed towards Bai Yan's room, but the explosions continued, with continuous booming sounds echoing throughout the Bai residence—
"Bai Yan! Ci Sheng!? Cough cough—"
"Ning Xian!" Feng's voice came through the thick smoke. A sense of relief washed over her, and the panic she had felt earlier vanished instantly. She watched as Feng Huohong's figure emerged from the black smoke and rushed to her side. "Are you injured?"
She shook her head vigorously and said, "Come with me!"