"Brother Shen?"


    Jian Huan climbed off Shen Jizhi and crouched beside him, her left hand tugging at the corner of his sleeve while her right hand hid behind the fabric, the movements of a talisman sword technique swirling at her fingertips.


    The two were close, both on high alert.


    Jian Huan looked up at the woman in the sapphire-blue dress, her face gentle and warm. Sensing that the woman was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Jian Huan whispered to Shen Jizhi, "Do you know this sister?"


    Shen Jizhi furrowed his brows, his thin lips pressed together, offering no response.


    He felt a faint sense of familiarity with this person, as if he had seen her before, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall. A memory seemed to linger in his mind, shrouded in a misty veil, preventing him from grasping it.


    Shen Jizhi had a photographic memory, even recalling events from his childhood with rity. This situation was unusual.


    As Jian Huan moved away, the boy’s face became clearer, and Mei Yi was momentarily stunned, snapping back to reality.


    The boy’s features resembled Brother Shen, but his amber ss-like eyes were a reflection of Sister Heng.


    He wasn’t Brother Shen. That little child from back then had grown up so much.


    Tao Hong, hearing her mistress’s mention of "Brother Shen," was equally surprised.


    Over there, a maid in a jade-green dress with twin buns ran out of the courtyard, anxiously asking, "Tao Hong, what’s wrong? Are there thieves?!"


    She nced into the distance and indeed saw two strangers in the garden. Lifting her skirt, she was about to run off to call for help.


    Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi almost simultaneously prepared to strike at the maid.


    Hearing themotion, Mei Yi quickly called out, "Liu Lu,e back! Don’t call anyone!"


    Jian Huan paused her talisman sword, ncing at the nobledy and then at Shen Jizhi. "You really do know her? Who is she?"


    "I don’t know her," Shen Jizhi shook his head, pondering slightly, "but she feels familiar."


    "But she knows you," Jian Huan excitedly shook his arm, her big eyes sparkling as she whispered mischievously, "And I’m certain there’s a hint of affection in her gaze when she looks at you. She might be able to help us avoid trouble. Maybe you should try to charm her?"


    Shen Jizhi: "..."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Without waiting for Shen Jizhi’s response, Jian Huan let go of his hand.


    She sensed that the woman had already decided to help them. She stood up, brushing off the pollen from her dress, and sweetly said, "Sisters..."


    Mei Yi, having calmed down, sniffed the air and caught a faint fishy scent. She quickly interjected, "This is not a safe ce. You carry the scent of the Ghost Fish King, and it can track you through it."


    Mei Yi picked up a jade fan that had fallen on the ground and waved it at Tao Hong.


    Tao Hong hurried over, and Mei Yi instructed, "Go prepare the bathing items, use the other shore flower dew I made a few days ago. And this ce—" She pointed with her white orchid-painted fan, "Sprinkle some flower dew to mask the scent."


    Tao Hong nced at Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi, nodded, and ran off, halfway grabbing Liu Lu, who wasing over, and the two went to prepare the items.


    Mei Yi smiled at Jian Huan, gently lifting her skirt and pointing the jade fan forward, saying softly, "Follow me."


    Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi exchanged a nce and quickly followed, looking around as they walked.


    They were still in the underground pce, not yet outside.


    The "sky" above looked like the real thing, but upon closer inspection, it was a glowing jade stone. The light resembled sunlight butcked its warmth and vitality, feeling cold and rigid.


    The surroundings were high, damp rock walls covered in moss. But the garden was filled with various flowers: red and yellow other shore flowers, clusters of roses, and a pond of water lilies.


    Ahead, green bamboo swayed, and the pavilions and terraces typical of Jiangnan were partially hidden, exuding an elegant and artistic vibe.


    This ce seemed like a secluded paradise built within the underground pce, a haven for the owner’s beloved pets.


    Jian Huan was deep in thought, her ck-and-white eyes reflecting the woman leading the way.


    The woman had a graceful figure, asionally ncing back at them, her profile soft and gentle, exuding aforting and pitiable charm.


    Expecting Shen Jizhi to speak was futile. Jian Huan blinked her big eyes, putting on an innocent and naive expression, and tentatively asked, "Sister, do you also know Brother Shen?"


    Hearing this, Shen Jizhi’s amber eyes flicked toward her.


    Mei Yi lightly held the jade fan, covering her chin slightly. Her misty eyes shed with memories, and after a moment of hesitation, she turned to Jian Huan, "I saw him once when he was a child."


    She paused, her gaze falling on the boy. Through Shen Jizhi’s face, she seemed to see the years from over a decade ago, her tone tinged with nostalgia, "I remember, your name is Jizhi? I knew your parents."


    Shen Jizhi suddenly looked up, "What?"


    "I was a close friend of your parents," Mei Yi said, but just as Tao Hong returned to report that the bath was ready, she stopped and urged, "Go quickly, they’ll be searching here soon."


    ording to the maid, this was the Plum Courtyard in the Hidden Pce.


    The woman was the mistress of the Plum Courtyard, Mei Yi. She was a concubine hidden here by the city lord.


    The bathhouse in the Plum Courtyard was a separate building, hidden among the bamboo grove.


    The green gauze curtains by the carved window were drawn, asionally fluttering to reveal the lush bamboo outside.


    The bathhouse was divided by two screens, leaving a narrow path in between. Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi each soaked in a bathtub filled with fragrant flower nectar, one on each side of the screen.


    The side with Shen Jizhi was unusually quiet. He submerged his chin in the water, his eyes fixed on the luxurious phoenix pattern on the screen, listening to the conversation on the other side.


    When Jian Huan spoke to someone with a request, her voice would soften, sweet and sticky.


    "The city lord?" Jian Huan repeated in surprise, her big eyes blinking, "Sister Tao Hong, are you sure this Hidden Pce is really the city lord’s doing?"


    Though she had suspected it beforehand, some things needed evidence to support them.


    Jian Huan hade to Ningzhang City to take on two Xuanwu missions. The other ten-star Xuanwu mission was to investigate whether the city lord of Ningzhang City was involved in anything suspicious.


    Tao Hong held a gildeddle, scooping water and pouring it over Jian Huan’s fair and smooth back, nodding as she did so, "Yes, the master of the Hidden Pce is the city lord."


    Jian Huan was puzzled, "Then you just told me so easily?"


    Shouldn’t she have tried to hide it a bit? The information was given too readily, wasn’t it?


    Tao Hong was taken aback, then smiled, but the smile quickly faded, reced by bitterness, "Everyone in the Hidden Pce knows about the city lord’s affairs, there’s no need to hide it. Miss Jian, the Hidden Pce is a ce where you can enter but never leave. No one can escape from here, and even in death, we must die here. Knowing this changes nothing. Even Madam is the same..."


    "The city lord treats our Madam well. The entire Hidden Pce, only Madam’s Plum Courtyard has flowers and nts, lit by sky stones to mimic daylight. No other ce has this," Tao Hong put down thedle, her voice muffled, "But Madam can’t leave either."


    Jian Huan was deep in thought, her hands gently stirring the water in the bathtub, creating ripples, "Then, what family is your Madam from? How did she end up in this Hidden Pce?"


    Beforeing, Jian Huan had inquired about the city lord’s residence in Ningzhang City. The city lord’s harem did have concubines.


    Tao Hong shook her head, not hiding anything, as her Madam had instructed her to be truthful, "I don’t know. Before I was assigned to serve Madam, she was already here." She paused, then added, "The Hidden Pce is built underground, connected to the river. It’s perpetually damp, with no sunlight, and there’s that... fishy smell. Ordinary people wouldn’t survive here for more than a few years before falling ill..."


    Before she came, Madam’s personal maid had died of illness.


    Tao Hong wasn’t sure how many more years she could survive here. But no matter what, she would serve Madam well. If it weren’t for Madam choosing her, her fate would have been worse. The maids who came to the Hidden Pce either served in the Plum Courtyard or... served the guards.


    Jian Huan felt a heaviness in her heart. She gritted her teeth, temporarily pushing the weight aside, and continued to ask.


    ording to Tao Hong, she had been sold by her parents to traffickers, who then sold her to the Hidden Pce. Some people were already in the Hidden Pce, with no memory of their lives before entering.


    Jian Huan’s eyes flickered, deep in thought.


    The missing ships and people, people being fed memory-loss pills to serve in the Hidden Pce, to hijack more ships and people? Or was there a deeper conspiracy at y?


    With a creak, Liu Lu pushed the door open, apanied by a man and a woman. Pale light spilled in, interrupting Jian Huan''s thoughts.


    Through the screen, she caught a glimpse of figures whose silhouettes resembled hers and Shen Jizhi''s.


    The man paused behind the screen. Of course, he couldn’t approach Jian Huan’s side, and Shen Jizhi’s area was strictly off-limits to anyone—no maids, no boys.


    Liu Lu walked around the screen and gave Jian Huan a slight bow. "Miss Jian, this is Ying Ti. She’s the one in the courtyard who resembles you the most. Madam has instructed that we disguise you as Ying Ti so you can move freely within the hall. For the time being, Ying Ti will remain hidden in the room."


    Jian Huan nced at the maid in soft yellow standing behind Liu Lu, her mind racing.


    This Mei Yi was no simple figure. In such a short time, she had arranged everything seamlessly, and she even knew Shen Jizhi’s parents.


    So, who exactly was Mei Yi? Why had the city lord confined her here?


    Liu Lu held a tray of cosmetics, and Tao Hong nced at the incense burner nearby. The incense had burned out. Hurriedly, she said, "Miss Jian—" She raised her voice, "Young Master Shen, it’s time. Liu Lu is skilled in the art of disguise and can help both of you with your appearance."


    Jian Huan rose from the bathtub as instructed, took the soft yellow dress identical to Ying Ti’s from Tao Hong, and changed into it. Then she sat down at the dressing table.


    She had barely settled when someone rushed in, their voice urgent. "Sister Tao Hong, trouble! Manager Yu is heading this way with his men. There’s no time—Madam wants you to take those two and hide in the backyard!"


    Twenty paces from Mei Manor, the Ghost Fish King came to a halt.


    Blood dripped from the corners of his mouth, and his jaws clicked as if he were chewing something.


    Yu Jiang stood beside the Ghost Fish King, his head lowered, not daring to utter a word.


    The Ghost Fish King pointed a fin-like hand toward Mei Manor, his voice chilling. "The two you’re looking for—they stopped there."


    The area was protected by a barrier set up by the city lord specifically to prevent the Ghost Fish King from entering Mei Manor in his absence.


    In the entire Dark Hall, only Mei Manor had such a barrier.


    Yu Jiang waved his hand, and a group of ck-d guards moved in an orderly formation toward Mei Manor, their presence imposing.


    Tao Hong and Liu Lu heard themotion and ran out, blocking the entrance.


    Tao Hong ced her hands on her hips and shouted angrily, "Manager Yu, what do you think you’re doing? This is Mei Manor! How dare you barge in!"


    Yu Jiang raised his hand, revealing a Dark Hall token. His sharp eyes fell on Tao Hong’s face, treating her as if she were nothing more than a dying insect. He coldly spat out three words, "Search the ce!"


    The ck-d guards streamed in from behind him, entering Mei Manor.


    Tao Hong and Liu Lu tried to stop them, but Yu Jiang raised his hand, using spiritual energy to bind the two maids and toss them aside.


    He strode in.


    ...


    The backyard was where the servants lived.


    Ying Ti led Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi back to her room, opened the wardrobe, and shoved the two inside.


    The wardrobe was cramped and dim, with clothes hanging down. Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi were very close to each other.


    With a thud, the door was closed, and the maid’s footsteps gradually faded away until they could no longer be heard.


    Jian Huan looked around and said to him, "Hiding here isn’t very safe. Let me try a spatial array."


    Shen Jizhi replied, "Alright."


    ...


    Yu Jiang ordered the ck-d guards to search the courtyard. He pulled someone aside and asked, "Where’s Madam Mei?"


    The person replied, "Madam is bathing."


    Yu Jiang frowned. "Bathing?"


    He looked up at the celestial stone in the sky, which bore special runes mimicking the cycle of day and night outside.


    The people of Mei Manor followed the celestial stone, living by the rhythm of sunrise and sunset.


    It was daytime now. Why would Madam Mei be bathing?


    Something was definitely amiss!


    Without hesitation, Yu Jiang personally led a small team straight to the bathhouse.


    He had always disapproved of the city lord’s favoritism toward Mei Yi. In his eyes, Mei Yi’s heart was never truly with the Dark Hall or the city lord.


    Given the chance, Mei Yi would undoubtedly do something to harm the Dark Hall or the city lord!


    The bathhouse was surrounded by lush bamboo groves, its curtains fluttering gently. The sound of flowing water could be heard from inside.


    Yu Jiang stopped on the stone path in front of the door and spoke in a formal tone, "Madam, before the city lord went into seclusion, he entrusted all matters of the Dark Hall to me. Intruders have entered the Dark Hall and may have infiltrated Mei Manor. I request your permission to allow my men to search the premises!"


    Mei Yi raised a hand, her skin as white as jade, droplets of water gliding down.


    It had been ten years. Finally, someone had breached the Dark Hall—and coincidentally, it was the child of an old acquaintance.


    She gazed at the water droplets, a soft, serene smile spreading across her face. Her voice was gentle and melodious as she said, "The bathhouse is quite small, Manager Yu. Do you truly suspect I’m harboring intruders?"


    Yu Jiang replied, "I wouldn’t dare. I’m only concerned that the intruders might be hiding in the shadows, posing a threat to your safety. My sole concern is your well-being."


    Mei Yi lowered her hand. "In that case, feel free to search."


    With Mei Yi’s permission, Yu Jiang nodded to the matron beside him.


    The matron entered the bathhouse and conducted a thorough search, even walking up to Mei Yi’s bathtub and peering inside.


    Mei Yi chuckled softly and shook her head with a sigh.


    After the search, the matron respectfully exited and shook her head at Yu Jiang.


    ...


    Inside the wardrobe, the space remained small, but the hanging clothes had disappeared, reced by a brightness as clear as daylight.


    Shen Jizhi held a hand mirror adorned with a few agates, its handle carved with intricate patterns and a white tassel tied at the bottom.


    Jian Huan sat cross-legged in front of the mirror, recalling Ying Ti’s appearance as she applied her makeup.


    She had a background in painting, and in her modern life, she had uploaded makeup tutorials to various tforms to earn extra ie. She was skilled at creating looks.


    Jian Huan’s eyes were perfectly shaped—neither too round norcking in liveliness.


    She used a brush to elongate her eyeliner, making her eyes appear slightly narrower.


    Shen Jizhi watched her quietly, then suddenly said, "You look better without makeup." He paused, his cool tone masking a hint of awkwardness.


    Jian Huan’s brush paused for a moment. She nced at him, a yful smile tugging at her lips. "Of course! I’m naturally beautiful. Shen Jizhi, you’re full of ws, but at least you’re honest. Not bad, not bad."


    Shen Jizhi raised an eyebrow. "Full of ws?"


    Jian Huan nodded, her voice brimming with amusement. "Yep. You ignore questions you don’t want to answer, often ignore people, and when you do talk, your words are sharp. Oh, and your financial luck isn’t great either…"


    Shen Jizhi interrupted, slightly incredulous. "Bad financial luck counts as a w?"


    Jian Huan shot him a sidelong nce. "Of course. Bad financial luck is the biggest w of all."


    Shen Jizhi: "…"


    He let out a dryugh, about to retort, but then remembered herment about his "sharp tongue" and swallowed his words, conceding, "Alright, you’re right."


    Jian Huan: "…"


    She pointed the other end of the brush at him. "See? You’re still so good at getting under people’s skin!"


    Shen Jizhi: "??"


    What had he said wrong? Was agreeing with her not enough?


    ...


    Yu Jiang left the bathhouse and stood at the entrance of Mei Manor, listening to the reports from the ck-d guards. Each one said they had found no suspicious individuals.


    His face darkened like a storm cloud. "Search again. Leave no corner unchecked—look under the beds and inside the wardrobes!"


    The ck-d guards obeyed. Three of them entered the servants’ quarters, searching room by room until they reached Ying Ti’s room.


    One of them kicked the door open, and the three entered.


    One searched the bed, another the table, and the third the wardrobe.


    The wardrobe was yanked open, and the guard thrust his sword into the pile of clothes, finding nothing unusual.


    The other two guards also found nothing, and the three left together, leaving behind a mess and the half-open wardrobe.


    Inside the wardrobe, in a space invisible to others, Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi sat facing each other,pletely ignoring theings and goings of the ck-d guards.


    The space was one Jian Huan had created based on Qi Wan’s array from her time in Yuxian City.


    However, since she was only at the Golden Core stage, the space she could create was this small. But as long as the Ghost Fish King couldn’t enter Mei Manor, no one would discover it.


    Jian Huan had finished her makeup and was admiring herself in the hand mirror, turning her head left and right, clearly pleased.


    Shen Jizhi waited for a moment, then looked up and asked, "Aren’t you going to do my makeup?"


    Jian Huan was surprised. "Why should I? When we go out, you can have Liu Lu do it for you."


    Shen Jizhi remained silent for a moment before coldly refusing, “No, I don’t like being touched.”


    Jian Huan responded matter-of-factly, “But I’m a person too.”


    Shen Jizhi simply said, “Oh. To me, you don’t count as a person.”


    Jian Huan: “……?”


    Jian Huan put down the mirror, about to retort, when five spirit stones were suddenly ced in front of her.


    She silently nced at him, epted the spirit stones, and swallowed her words.


    Money made everything easier.


    Jian Huan had seen the musician before, and thanks to her sharp memory at the Golden Core stage, the musician’s appearance remained vivid in her mind.


    She took a box of eyebrow pigment from the dressing table, nning to darken his fairplexion first.


    Without proper makeup tools at hand, she decided to use her fingers.


    Before her fingertip touched the pigment, Shen Jizhi warned, “Use a cleansing spell to wash your hands first.”


    Jian Huan replied, “I already washed them.”


    Shen Jizhi insisted, “You touched the lid of the pigment box.”


    Jian Huan gritted her teeth, “Are your demands a bit excessive?”


    Shen Jizhi remained calm, “I paid for it.”


    Jian Huan: “……”


    Fine, the one who pays is the boss.


    Jian Huan didn’t argue further. She followed his instructions, used the cleansing spell to wash her hands again, and held them out to him, “Is this okay now? Are they clean enough, Young Master Shen?”


    Shen Jizhi silently nodded in approval.


    Jian Huan dipped her finger into the pigment and raised her hand, starting with his forehead.


    The moment she touched him, it felt like brushing against a crescent moon—cool and smooth.


    The young man obediently lowered his head, entrusting his face to her hands.


    His amber-colored eyes, like polished ss, remained fixed on her face, as if filled with the brilliance of stars, shining brightly.


    When Jian Huan met his gaze, she hadn’t even processed it before her eyes betrayed her, fluttering downward in panic andnding on the young man’s new clothes.


    The man who resembled Shen Jizhi in stature was a musician, tasked with entertaining the city lord and Mei Yi with his music.


    The musician wore white robes.


    From afar, they seemed as soft as clouds, but at this close distance, Jian Huan could see the intricate cloud patterns embroidered on the cor.


    The room was quiet. Jian Huan focused on her task, averting her gaze from his face and continuing to apply the pigment.


    But Shen Jizhi was still watching her.


    She didn’t like his gaze—it made her feel inexplicably… shy.


    Jian Huan pursed her lips, “Can’t you close your eyes?”


    Shen Jizhi shook his head lightly, “No.”


    Jian Huan argued, “But if you don’t close your eyes, how can I do this properly?”


    Shen Jizhi pointed out the obvious, “You didn’t close your eyes when you did it for yourself.”


    Jian Huan: “……It’s different. Just close your eyes!”


    Shen Jizhi looked at her, and after a brief standoff, he quietly closed his eyes, his longshes casting delicate shadows.


    Jian Huan let out a sigh of relief and continued applying the makeup.


    Her fingertip, coated with pigment, brushed over his brows and nose.


    With his eyes closed, Shen Jizhi’s other senses became heightened.


    The girl’s warm fingertips lingered on his face, sending ripples of sensation through him.


    They were so close that he could catch the faint sweetness of floral fragrance mixed with a hint of lingering moisture.


    They had both just finished bathing.


    The young man’s breathing grew slightly heavier, hisshes trembling faintly.


    Suddenly, he shifted his posture, bending one leg and adjusting his robe. As if ufortable with the new position, he casually tugged at his cor.


    Jian Huan froze, her thickshes fluttering like a butterfly perched on a flower.


    He… had messed up his robe, leaving the cor slightly open and revealing a slender, porcin-like neck.


    When he spoke, his well-defined Adam’s apple moved with his words.


    The air carried the cool, refreshing scent of a young man, mingled with the same floral fragrance that lingered on her, now more intense.


    The sound of her heartbeat pounded in her ears, loud and clear. Jian Huan lowered her gaze, staring at her pale yellow robes, her breathing slightly uneven, “……Stop moving. It’s almost done.”


    Shen Jizhi’s voice was low, his usually cool tone inexplicably alluring, “Alright, I won’t move.”