Return of the 13th Zodiac

12: The Serpent Underneath the Flower (1)

Stumbling upon one of the lost ancient sword techniques of the Ophiuchus Clan was no coincidence. Ever since she won in the sparring match, things had been happening at once.

It was impossible for Lu Baiyu to get his hand on that manual without the help of an outsider. Judging from the situation, Lu Baiyu must have been working with another clan. If that was the case, she needed to figure out which clan it was. Could it be the clan the mysterious man belonged to? Maybe he was the one who gave Lu Baiyu the manual. Lu Baiyu also mentioned having a complete copy of the Claw of the Eternal Beast. Now that she needed two things from Lu Baiyu, she had to make changes in her plan for tomorrow.

She rose from the bed and walked over to the window. Pulling it open, she looked up at the clear dark sky, where the stars shone icy bright. She shivered slightly as a cold wind touched her face.

A light knock came on her door, but she remained motionless, staring at the sky. She heard the door open behind her, followed by gentle footsteps that belonged to none other than her fox. He had just returned from running an errand for her, which was to ensure that Lu Baiyu received the letter she had anonymously written for him.

Xiao Ran stood beside her in front of the window, staying quiet for a few moments before turning to face his master. "Young Mistress, you're quiet today. Is everything fine?"

Shu Yue tilted her head to look at him. Bathed in the moonlight, Xiao Ran's skin looked even paler than before, his golden eyes brighter. He was just as beautiful and fierce as she remembered. She still couldn't understand how she had tamed someone like him.

"Beautiful," Shu Yue breathed.

Xiao Ran stared at her for a long minute. A wind stirred his silver-white hair. "You told me that before."

"Because you really are." A gentle smile touched Shu Yue's mouth, then she reached out to brush a strand of silver hair from his cheek.

Xiao Ran stiffened slightly, but then he recovered his composure in seconds, and an odd smile appeared on his lips.

"How's the boy?" Shu Yue asked quietly as she looked up at the sky again.

"I just checked up on him before heading here. He was sleeping peacefully. Don't worry too much, Young Mistress, Madam is taking good care of him."

Being reminded of that, Shu Yue bit her bottom lip as guilt gnawed her insides. She did it again, lying to Wu Lanqi. Her precious mother had no idea about what she was up to, what she had done. What Wu Lanqi knew was that Lu Rui was her martial art teacher's new student--a lie that wouldn't remain a lie for very long. If things went according to her plan.

While Shu Yue was training in the bamboo forest with Lu Baiyu, her old mentor was playing with the young Lu Rui in the Chen residence. When Shu Yue returned home not long ago, she found Lu Rui already asleep and her mentor gone, most likely back to the inn where he was temporarily staying. And because Shu Yue's mentor was a familiar face, Wu Lanqi agreed to let Lu Rui stay for the night. Little did she know that the family of the boy who was currently sleeping in the same room as Chen Ru was in turmoil.

"There's a slight change in the plan." Shu Yue changed the subject to distract herself from the guilt that was haunting her. "I need you to do another job for me tomorrow."

Xiao Ran looked at her but didn't say anything. He waited for her to continue.

"With such unseen circumstances, Elder Lu will have to cancel tomorrow's training. Do you know how he'll inform us about it if the training and his disciples are supposed to be kept hidden?"

"A letter," Xiao Ran proposed. "He'd hire someone to bring the letters to each of you." He looked at her, his eyes steady. "What do you want me to do?"

Shu Yue smiled. "I need you to intercept one letter."