"Crackle!"
A dazzling burst of candlelight exploded behind the two of them.
In the eyes of Yun Zhao and Yan Nantian, the flickering red flames reflected each other's faces, swaying like ripples on water.
It was as if they were about to melt into the firelight.
A cold wind blew in from outside, meeting the warm, fragrant air inside, creating a fine mist of frost.
Yan Nantian slowly straightened up, reached out, and brushed away the frosty light from the side of her temple.
In his peach blossom eyes, both coldness and tenderness coexisted.
The coldness was for others. The tenderness was only for her.
After a moment of eye contact, Yun Zhao suddenly burst into laughter. "Yan Nantian! Do you have some kind of serious problem?"
He paused, his hand still lingering near her ear, and lazily smiled. "What do you mean?"
The lingering edge of killing intent in his voice made it slightly hoarse.
Yun Zhao repeated, "Are you asking me to kill Wen Nuannuan?"
He lowered his eyelashes, a subtle nod.
Yun Zhao laughed. "Last time, when she drank 'Next Year at This Time,' if you hadn't carried her away so quickly, she might have already been poisoned to death. Back then, you got mad at me, and now you want me to kill her? Are you messing with me?"
Yan Nantian didn't try to hide it. "At that time, she still had value."
Yun Zhao: "..."
His expression was calm, his tone straightforward. "Her value was to help find the Dragon's End."
Yun Zhao sighed. "You really have no filter when talking to me—where's your noble and upright image?"
He lazily replied, "In front of you, what image do I even have left?" After a pause, he curled his lips into a smile, though there was no warmth in it. "As for why I was angry back then... have you really forgotten?"
"You heartless little thing," he accused her.
Yan Nantian's brow was sharp, dusted with a thin layer of frost by the night wind, making him look both fierce and fragile.
Yun Zhao felt a pang in her chest.
Ah, the silk veil.
The vows he had painstakingly woven, which she had ruthlessly destroyed.
But could she really be blamed entirely?
She had indeed misunderstood him, but wasn't he also at fault?
He gazed at her.
Under the candlelight, her eyes—shifting from guilt to mischief, from righteous indignation to deliberate provocation—were utterly captivating.
He was certain that there was no one else in this world who could make his heart ache with longing like this.
"Ah Zhao," Yan Nantian smiled faintly at her. "I'm not really forcing you to kill anyone. I just want to show my loyalty, to make sure you understand where I stand."
Yun Zhao: "Oh."
"I'm really afraid," he sighed. "You're so impulsive. If my father really does arrange some random marriage, I'm afraid you'll just say 'let's call off the engagement,' abandon me, and throw me to the wolves."
Yun Zhao: "..."
The way he said it, did Wen Nuannuan even know she was the wolf?
*
After last night's conversation, Yun Zhao couldn't help but twitch her eye when she saw Wen Nuannuan again.
The girl had no idea that Yan Nantian wanted her dead. In the short span of a mile or so, she sneaked glances at Yan Nantian eighteen times.
Tsk.
The weather by the sea was unpredictable. Yesterday had been a gloomy, overcast day, but today the skies were clear, perfect for setting sail.
As they approached the shore, a strong, suffocating smell of blood hit them.
A whaling ship had caught a dragon whale, and over a hundred men were shouting and hauling it from the shallows onto the beach.
"Yah! Ho! Yah! Ho!"
The ropes tightened and loosened rhythmically, dragging the massive body of the whale across the sand and gravel, creating an ear-piercing scraping sound and leaving a long trail of blood.
"Whale! Whale!"
A small, jade-like child with short legs ran toward the dragon whale, crying out loudly, "Let it go! Let it go! Whale! Go home!"
It was Jingsheng, the teacher's son.
Too young to understand the danger, the child rushed toward the mountain of flesh, raising his small arms as if to push the whale back into the sea.
The ropes were taut, and if the massive body were to roll over the child, it would crush him into a pulp.
At the critical moment, Yu Fengyun darted out, grabbed Jingsheng under the arms, and pulled him away.
"Whale!"
With the help of the tide, the dragon whale was finally dragged fully ashore.
Next, they would use the half-man-high iron tools to butcher and strip its bones.
Jingsheng broke free from Yu Fengyun's grip and rushed forward again, slapping the whale's body with his small hands, trying to wake it up and make it escape back to the sea.
The whale's body was covered in countless wounds—scrapes, hook marks, embedded injuries—so much so that there was hardly any unmarred flesh left on its massive frame.
Each wound was as large as Jingsheng's entire body.
The child cried heartbreakingly as he touched the edges of the wounds. He raised his hands, trying with all his might to push the mountain of flesh back into the sea, like an ant trying to move a tree.
Wen Nuannuan said sadly, "Jingsheng loves the dragon whale. No one has the heart to tell him that his mother was killed by one. When he finds out the truth, he'll be devastated. The dragon whale is no friend to humans!"
The sea breeze carried the sticky, bloody scent of the whale.
Yu Fengyun walked back, hearing Wen Nuannuan's words, and let out a cold, mocking laugh. "Hmph. Friend."
Wen Nuannuan's face turned pale. She bit her lip and lowered her eyes in resentment.
She wasn't trying to act cute, so why was he being so confrontational? Why did he have to mock her?
Men who cling like leeches are so annoying!
The group walked past the whale and headed toward the port.
Suddenly, an even stronger stench of blood filled the air.
The dragon whale on the shore twitched violently and suddenly opened its eyes!
Everyone was startled and instinctively stepped back.
It wasn't completely dead yet.
The injured whale opened its massive mouth in agony, violently thrashed its tail, and sent a spray of wet sand flying like a rainstorm hundreds of feet away.
Jingsheng jumped up excitedly, waving his arms and shouting at the whale, "Whale! Go home! Hurry! Run! Run!"
The whale let out a silent roar, its massive body convulsing in pain, and it suddenly collapsed toward Jingsheng—
Yu Fengyun couldn't react in time, his eyes wide with panic. "Move!"
At such close range, everyone knew it was impossible to dodge.
But then, the whale stopped moving.
Everyone held their breath, their faces pale with fear. "Is... is it dead?"
After a moment, someone quickly stepped forward and stiffly carried Jingsheng far away.
"Whale!"
It took a while before Yun Zhao realized she had been holding her breath.
She coughed, the cold, salty air rushing into her lungs.
Yan Nantian patted her back.
Yun Zhao frowned. "It's so badly injured, dragged all the way from the deep sea, and it's still not completely dead."
He nodded. "Whales are massive and thick-skinned. It's hard to kill them with a single blow. Do you feel sorry for it?"
"Not really," she said coldly. "I was just thinking that its death seems similar to Wen Changkong's? He killed so many whales, and now he ended up like this. It's hard to say if it's karma."
Hearing this, Wen Nuannuan's eyes instantly reddened. She bit her lip and looked pleadingly at Yu Fengyun, then at Yan Nantian.
Unfortunately, neither of them spoke up to refute Yun Zhao.
Yun Zhao muttered to herself, "Before it died, it looked at him."
Yan Nantian: "What?"
Yun Zhao: "Nothing."
The whale had looked at Jingsheng. If it had collapsed, Jingsheng would have died.
But it didn't move again, lying there, letting them strip its flesh and bones.
*
The ship was filled with the strong smell of dead ginger flowers.
Yan Nantian frowned as soon as he boarded and retreated into the cabin. He was already prone to seasickness, and this made it worse.
A seasoned crew member explained, "The smell is strong, but it works. It keeps the dragon whales away."
Yun Zhao leaned against the sturdy wooden railing, tapping and knocking on it.
It was her first time at sea, and she couldn't help but feel excited.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the wolf-like Wen Nuannuan following Yan Nantian into the cabin, presumably to offer him some comfort.
Yun Zhao snorted but didn't pay it any mind.
She wanted to watch the ship set sail.
The ship gradually pulled away from the shore, its sails slowly rising, as if gliding across a vast, green mirror.
Yun Zhao was surprised to find that Yu Fengyun was quite popular among the crew. They all seemed very close to him, taking every opportunity to chat with him.
After eavesdropping a bit, she learned that despite his cold exterior, he was actually very generous. He often helped his neighbors in times of need, and many had benefited from his kindness.
"Wen Changkong takes, Yu Fengyun gives?" Yun Zhao laughed. "Mr. Stoic, who would've thought!"
The stoic face turned into an icy, stoic face.
"When I was a child, I relied on the kindness of others for food."
"Ah—" Yun Zhao nodded. "I remember. You only had your grandfather, and the two of you depended on each other."
He rested his wrist on the ship's railing, gazing at the rippling waves flowing past the hull, and murmured, "When I was five, my father passed away. I wandered to Linbo Prefecture, where kind-hearted aunties took me in and gave me food. I was born with great strength and grew quickly. By the time I was seven, I was already working at sea with Uncle Wen."
He glanced back toward the cabin, "Wen's daughter was two years old at the time. I watched her grow up, and she was always closest to me."
He pressed his lips together, leaving the rest unsaid.
Yun Zhao finished for him, "You thought you two would surely marry and grow old together."
She sighed, "I once thought the same."
He was slightly taken aback, tilting his head to look at her, "He's devoted to you. You don't need to 'think.'"
Yun Zhao suddenly stared at him, her gaze lingering for a long while.
She narrowed her eyes, suspicion creeping into her tone, "You've changed."
He frowned, "What do you mean?"
"Your attitude," Yun Zhao said sharply. "You're much friendlier toward me now."
Yu Fengyun: "……I was never unfriendly."
■ Want to read Chapter 21 of "The Villain Spoiled Me" by Qing Hua Ran, titled "Killing Intent Looms"? Remember the site domain [(()
Yun Zhao snorted, "I don't care."
Yu Fengyun sighed, resigned, "You're not as aloof as others."
Especially when watching the dragon whales and Jingsheng, he knew she understood.
She should have been that kind of person, but she wasn't. That was what made her precious.
Yun Zhao wasn't entirely satisfied, "Oh."
*
As soon as she entered the cabin, Yun Zhao sensed the tension in the air.
The purple-gold incense burner emitted a minty citrus fragrance, the smoke curling upward. Through the haze, Yan Nantian looked at her calmly.
"What were you talking about for so long?" he asked.
"Nothing much."
Yun Zhao sat down beside him, noticing his cold wrist and icy gaze.
She gestured toward the corner with her chin, where Wen Nuannuan sat, and asked, "Aren't you here to guide us?"
Wen Nuannuan whispered timidly, "We need to go to the place where my mother was… was murdered…"
She quickly glanced at Yun Zhao, biting her lip, her eyes wide and frightened like a deer's.
Yun Zhao chuckled, "Pfft."
Relying on the fact that the dead can't testify, she was putting on this act, subtly implying that Yun Zhao's mother was the murderer.
"Uncle Mute knows the way," Wen Nuannuan added, shrinking back.
Yun Zhao smiled, "Oh—Uncle Mute was on Wen Changkong's ship back then."
She suddenly remembered she hadn't told Yan Nantian about this.
She tugged on his sleeve and said, "When her mother was pregnant, she stirred up trouble between Wen Changkong and his first wife, and the first wife ended up throwing her into the sea!"
Yan Nantian frowned, "Oh?"
Wen Nuannuan panicked, "You—you can't just slander someone's reputation like that! My stepfather and mother only got together after the first wife passed away!"
Yan Nantian only looked at Yun Zhao, "Did Yu Fengyun tell you this?"
His expression darkened.
Not wanting to betray Aunt Qiu in front of others, Yun Zhao simply smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.
*
They sailed smoothly for two days, but on the evening of the third day, as thunder rumbled, a sudden storm descended.
In an instant, the sea turned pitch black.
Mountain-like shadows emerged from the depths, and the ship was tossed violently, rising and plunging into the waves.
Icy white spray splashed in all directions.
The crew on the deck stumbled and fell.
Yun Zhao was no stranger to this kind of scene.
Steadying herself, she dashed out of the cabin.
The storm wasn't as fierce as the illusions she had experienced, and this ship was far sturdier than Wen Changkong's whaling vessel. Several lanterns hung high, and the crew struggled to secure the sails, clinging to the ropes.
"I'll do it!" Yun Zhao's playful spirit took over.
Though her cultivation was mediocre, years of consuming rare treasures had left her with a modest reserve of spiritual energy.
Steadying herself, she took a few quick steps toward the mast, grabbed the rope hanging from above, and scaled the wooden mast in a single leap.
Reaching the top, she recalled the carefree figure she had once seen, effortlessly handling the sails. Mimicking his posture, she gripped the massive sail with one hand, seized the rope, and swiftly descended from the heights.
She laughed, imitating him, "Hahaha—cough!"
Her mouth filled with stormy seawater.
At least her landing was graceful.
Following his technique, she tied the sail into a fish-scale pattern, securing it from top to bottom.
The ship immediately stabilized, cutting through the waves head-on.
Yun Zhao landed with a thud, raising her head triumphantly.
Low gasps of amazement surrounded her. Everyone had been holding their breath, watching her every move, and only now did they snap out of their daze.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure striding toward her.
Yan Nantian's clothes were soaked, his face pale. He grabbed her wrist, his fingers trembling faintly.
Yun Zhao said, "If you're seasick, don't move around—"
A cold hand pressed against the back of her head, forcing her face into his drenched chest.
His voice, low and restrained, came from above her, "That was too dangerous. Who taught you that? Tell me."
Her head was pressed against him, so she didn't see the cold glare he directed toward someone in the distance.
His lips curved into a faint smile, but his eyes were filled with murderous intent.
