Chapter 562 - 274: A Midnight Rendezvous (Part 2)

Chapter 562: Chapter 274: A Midnight Rendezvous (Part 2)

At first, Zheng Xiu thought Feng Bei and the Orange Cat were just playing.

But when Zheng Xiu took two more steps closer, he couldn’t help but hold his breath.

Multiple orange figures flickered through the air like phantoms. Feng Bei’s eyes were closed, her head tilted as she listened intently. Sometimes she’d let out a surprised laugh, other times her expression would turn solemn. He realized she was listening for Mao’er’s faint movements, trying to maneuver the fishing rod to evade the Orange Cat’s pounces.

The fluffy fish-ball toy danced faster and faster. The Orange Cat, having failed to catch it after a long chase, got angry and swatted a paw forward.

A paw-pad-shaped orb of light hit the fluffy fish with a POP, and Feng Bei could no longer hold on to the fishing rod. It flew from her grasp.

The Orange Cat, satisfied, snatched the fluffy ball and happily rolled around with it on the ground.

"Are you... training your reflexes?"

Zheng Xiu leaped onto the roof and sat down beside Feng Bei.

Without turning her head, Feng Bei heard his voice and gently rested her head on Zheng Xiu’s shoulder.

"I was just bored, teasing Mao’er is all."

"But you seemed pretty serious about it."

Feng Bei was silent for a moment. "It... cheats."

A moment later, she added another word coolly: "Shameless."

Down below, Mao’er looked smug, raising its two paws.

"You’re the great Pillar Phoenix of the Disaster Prevention Bureau. Why get so serious with a cat?"

Zheng Xiu said to Feng Bei first.

Then he pointed at the cat playing with the ball below. "And you’re a Darkness Creature, for crying out loud. How could you get serious with a mere Human?"

The Orange Cat’s eyes went wide. It froze for a second, then lowered its head in thought. Suddenly, the fluffy ball it had snatched didn’t seem so great anymore.

Having placated both sides, Zheng Xiu changed the subject, asking in a tentative tone, "Say, Feng’er..."

"Hmm?" Feng Bei’s eyes half-closed as she hummed in response.

"I was wondering if you’re free tonight?"

Feng Bei started, her heart pounding. She hadn’t expected Zheng Xiu to be so direct tonight. Suppressing the complicated feelings in her heart, she tried to keep her voice calm. She furrowed her brow and asked coolly, "What do you have in mind?"

"Join me for something exciting." Zheng Xiu wanted to leave her a little surprise, so he didn’t elaborate. He winked mysteriously and said, "Let’s meet on the mountain where your old home was, at the summit of the broken peak. There’s a railcar that goes straight there. Midnight. Don’t be late."

With that, Zheng Xiu leaped off the roof and hurried away, leaving Feng Bei alone, her thoughts a mess in the wind.

A midnight rendezvous for the two of them, at the summit of the broken peak?

’What is he planning?’

Feng Bei sat on the roof for a long time but still couldn’t figure it out. Anxious, with time to spare before their meeting, she quietly went to Second Lady’s door.

When she knocked, Second Lady opened the door, looking puzzled. After Feng Bei explained her reason for visiting, Second Lady’s face turned red. She muttered under her breath, "Why is Xiu’er in such a hurry? And so... Didn’t we agree he’d marry you properly?"

Feng Bei’s ears perked up, and she was about to ask what she meant, but Second Lady, face flushed, forcefully pushed her out the door. "Y-You should go ask Zizi and the others! They might know more about this sort of thing."

Feng Bei was actually on good terms with the four maids. After all, living in the Red King Mansion, they saw each other all the time. Besides, the four maids had been secretly cultivating with the master these days, so they had a guilty conscience. They treated Feng Bei exceptionally well, almost as if she were already the Madam—carrying her bathwater, providing the most attentive service—which had made the five of them even more amicable.

The four women lived together in a small courtyard. As Feng Bei approached, she heard the harmonious sounds of zithers and a flute from within.

They were practicing music late at night.

The moment Feng Bei stepped into the courtyard, the music stopped abruptly.

Before Feng Bei could knock, Zizi scrambled to open the door, fully dressed to welcome her.

Feng Bei stood with her hands behind her back, appearing nonchalant, but her expression held a trace of awkwardness. "There’s something I don’t understand..."

She didn’t waste any time, directly telling them about how Zheng Xiu had asked her to meet him outside at midnight and asking what she should do.

In truth, Feng Bei had a vague idea that Zheng Xiu wanted to go on a "date," but meeting outside... in the middle of a deserted mountain at midnight... Feng Bei wasn’t sure what Zheng Xiu was planning.

The four women understood instantly. They exchanged glances, thinking to themselves that the master really knew how to play. Zizi, blushing, whispered something in Feng Bei’s ear. Feng Bei’s face filled with shock. "Impossible!"

Pingping giggled. "Why impossible? Has Sister Feng Bei ever considered it? Under the moon, before the flowers, with a beautiful mountain view, a late-night talk, getting candid..."

"Ahem, Pingping, what nonsense are you spouting!"

Lily grew anxious and shot Pingping a look, cutting her off.

"It’s written in the Spring Palace Map! If you don’t believe me, I’ll go get it for you to see!"

As she spoke, Pingping was about to go rummage under the bed for her secret manual.

"Don’t!" Feng Bei raised a hand to stop her righteously, then started to walk out, her mind heavy with worry.

"Wait, you’re not going to..." Lily cautiously took Feng Bei’s arm, a move that took all her courage. Most people treated Feng Bei like a monster, her hands an Omen, but after spending so much time with her, the four maids knew of her inner turmoil and made the effort to initiate contact.

Feng Bei didn’t dare move, afraid her hands might touch them. Lily looked her up and down. "You’re not going to the date like this, are you?"

Feng Bei paused. "How else?"

Jing Xuemei, who had been silent the whole time, sighed softly and took the Eternal World Painting from her waist.

Soon, the image of Xi’er, hard at work tailoring clothes and grinding away on her Path, appeared on the Eternal World Painting.

Jing Xuemei smiled faintly. "Xi’er, we’ve got a job for you."

...

Zheng Xiu had already taken the secret passage early on. Pumping the railcar’s lever, he soon arrived at the outskirts of the city.

This tunnel was the one he had Qing Shisan order Yan Jiji to build back when he was bringing the Eye of the Crow Tamer back to the city.

After pumping for a good while, he reached his destination. ’I should really get a female driver in the future,’ Zheng Xiu thought.

—’To watch her pump the lever.’

Effortlessly scaling the stone cliff, he stepped onto the mountainside. Zheng Xiu looked at the wreckage around him, remembering how he had accidentally shattered Feng Bei’s home with a single slash, and couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt. At the same time, he also recalled the days and nights he had spent sparring with Feng Bei here, grinding their Trait levels, and a nostalgic smile touched his lips.