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Глава 20

Or has someone beaten us to it?!

In an instant, several possibilities appeared in her mind. Mo Yan shook her head: No, if the Bai family had discovered something, they would definitely be on guard. At the very least, they should have left someone in the study to keep watch at night. Judging from the current situation, that doesn't seem to be the case.

So, someone beat them to it?

Who could it be?

Just then, he heard a very slight rustling sound from the roof tiles. Mo Yan was all too familiar with this sound; a visitor had arrived.

With a swift somersault, she leaped onto the roof beam, ready to await the arrival of the person...

She almost fell as soon as she went up – a masked man in black was already lying quietly on the roof beam, and when he saw her almost fall, he actually pulled her up.

"you……"

Mo Yan's eyes widened, and just as she was about to ask a question, the man gestured for her to be quiet and then pointed to the north side of the study.

In the cool moonlight, two dark figures could be seen moving about outside the north-facing window, quietly fiddling with the glass. She frowned; the intruders were clearly novices, and making such a commotion would be worse than simply breaking in through the window.

The man in black lying in front of her waited patiently. Mo Yan couldn't help but think of how he had previously watched her every move from the rafters. Thinking of this, she felt annoyed and glared at him fiercely.

The two lay on the same beam, quite close together, almost face to face. The man was masked, and the light from the beam was very dim, so Mo Yan couldn't see his features clearly. She only felt that his eyes, like stars, seemed somewhat familiar…

Without thinking, she reached out to remove the other person's mask, but the other person reacted very quickly, slightly turning their face and using a beautiful grappling move with their left hand to subdue her.

Just as she was about to retaliate, a slight noise was heard, and the two people outside finally opened the window...

Mo Yan and the masked man stopped fighting simultaneously and peered down. Judging from their movements as they leaped into the room, the two were quite skilled, their movements nimble and their landing silent. One of them turned back to close the window, then gestured for the other to check the bookshelf while he checked the desk.

They didn't even touch the antiques on the bookshelf, so they weren't just ordinary petty thieves after money.

Could they also be here for the account books? Mo Yan's heart skipped a beat. She focused her gaze intently and felt increasingly that she had seen these two people before. Although she couldn't see them clearly from the angle on the beam, she vaguely recognized them as the two imperial guards she had seen in the riverside town.

Completely absorbed in her work, she moved her head along with the two men's movements, and before she knew it, she was next to the masked man. To avoid being noticed by his subordinates, the masked man couldn't make a sound, which made him tired as he kept trying to hide away until he could no longer avoid it.

The two were almost face to face, fortunately separated by a black veil covering their faces.

Mo Yan suddenly turned her head, almost bumping into his nose, but she didn't seem to care at all. Her dark eyes were fixed on a certain part of him—a corner of the account book peeking out from his chest.

"So it was you who took it!" Mo Yan said through gritted teeth.

The masked man tried to stop her from speaking, but it was too late. Although her voice was low, it couldn't escape the ears of the people below.

"Who's up there?!"

One of the men below shouted sharply, his long sword already drawn, slithering towards the beam like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

Mo Yan had no time to think. She leaped out, and the silver sword at her waist flashed out, blocking the other person's sword strike first.

The metal and stone clashed, their cold light piercing the eye.

In a mere instant, the two passed each other, exchanging seven or eight blows. The masked man on the beam observed closely. Although Mo Yan's movements were agile and her moves were fierce and dazzling, her internal strength was inferior to her opponent's. Even if the other person did not come to her aid, she would inevitably fall into a disadvantageous position if the time went on.

Besides, this place is not a place for fighting. If the two continue to fight, they will surely alert the Bai family. Although it is not difficult for each of them to escape unscathed with their martial arts skills, it would be bad if innocent people were injured.

With a sigh, the masked man flipped down and used the momentum to strike out several times, freeing Mo Yan from her predicament. He said to her in a deep voice, "You are no match for him, run!"

Mo Yan, however, was unmoved. Her sword thrusts continued unabated as she retorted, "I don't need your help. His amateurish skills are nothing to me."

"you……"

Seeing her like this, the masked man was slightly annoyed, but he couldn't ignore her. With the sword tip approaching again, he had no choice but to grab her arm and pull her behind him. Then he kicked open the nearby half-closed window and, without waiting for Mo Yan's consent, pulled her and leaped out of the study.

"Hey! Give me the ledger!"

Mo Yan was dragged along by him, running non-stop, panting but not forgetting the important matter.

The masked man ignored her completely, only turning his head to see if anyone was chasing after them, before leading her over the high wall and stopping only in a willow grove far away from the Bai residence.

Give me the ledgers!

As soon as she stopped, Mo Yan reached into his arms without saying a word, her eyes fixed on the account book, showing no intention of being grateful for his life-saving grace.

The masked man released her hand, stepped back about ten feet, and then removed the black veil covering his face, looking at her with displeasure.

"Do you know how dangerous that was just now?" Zhan Zhao said angrily.

Mo Yan didn't answer, but moved closer, repeating the same words: "Give me the account books!" Actually, from the moment Zhan Zhao made his move, she had already discerned his identity; this cat clearly wanted to take the account books behind her back. The thought that Zhan Zhao might use the account books to protect his officials and secretly destroy evidence against Zhang Yaozuo in secret infuriated her. She hadn't exposed him yet, partly to make things easier when things turned sour.

"You promised me that I would keep the account books after I got them. Do you want to go back on your word?" Mo Yan attacked several times, but Zhan Zhao dodged them all. She said angrily.

"If the account books are real, I'll give them to you without any problem. But what would you do with fake ones?" Zhan Zhao asked.

“If you say it’s fake, then it’s fake,” Mo Yan persisted. “Why should I believe you? Besides, if it’s fake, why are you protecting it like a treasure? And why did you secretly go and take it back behind my back?”

Upon hearing this, Zhan Zhao smiled faintly: "Then what brings you to the Bai residence tonight, young lady?" The implication was that Mo Yan herself also wanted to secretly retrieve the account books behind his back; they were in the same boat, only differing in who came first.

Mo Yan bit her lip and said slowly, "Even if I take the account book, I will tell you tomorrow."

"Is that so? That's exactly what I was thinking."

"You..." She was furious, and seeing Zhan Zhao turn to leave, she hurriedly called out, "Hey! Where are you going?"

"Let's find a quiet place and take a look at this ledger."

Zhan Zhao didn't use his lightness skill, and his steps weren't fast. Mo Yan glared at his back, but there was nothing she could do, so she had no choice but to obediently follow.

"Did you recognize those two people?" she asked again.