B A F

36: Nangong Piaoran

Wrapped in thin muslin, within a fragrant room, a stunningly beautiful man leaned languidly. His bare skin was exposed, showing his sexy collarbone and chest, deadly alluring.

He seemed to have just taken a bath, his hair still wet, draping over his shoulders. In his left hand, he held a wine glass. In the other was a piece of paper filled with words. His pretty face had an indescribable smile, his seductive eyes narrowing. He muttered, "When will the moon be clear and bright? With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the clear sky..."

Suddenly, he sat up. The wine he had been planning on drinking was set aside on a table, while his almond eyes grew with fervor. His voice grew louder. "! How brilliant! Who would have thought that little one would be so talented, I like him even more now!"

"Master!" a person in black who had been standing quietly in the room said. "Members of Mangci also seemed to have been interested in this 《Harmonious Water Song》."

The almond eyed master Nangong Piaoran continued to concentrate his attention on the paper in his hand and said heedlessly, "He is not interested in the 《Harmonious Water Song》, but Ye Yin. Fortunately, I already knew he would send people, so I made my move earlier and obtained the original to be able to see his handwriting. This fellow's handwriting is just as straightforward as he, with a faint trace of a scholar."

"Master, why are you so interested in this Ye Yin's handwriting?"

"It is said that one's words reflects themselves. Much information can be gleaned from handwritings. This fellow's strokes are crisp, meaning his wrist is strong. He is likely to be proficient in concealed weapons. His words contain an unyielding air, meaning he is very confident. One must face such a person carefully," Nangong Piaoran explained. Unfortunately for him, he did not know that Ye Yin was ambidextrous and that Ye Yin had two distinctive handwritings. His right hand wrote elegantly like a woman, whereas Nangong Piaoran saw the forceful handwriting of Ye Yin's left hand. Ye Yin had trained this hand since childhood to create this handwriting.

"Have the people we sent to follow him reported back yet?" Nangong Piaoran continued to remain focused on the 《Harmonious Water Song》 and did not raise his head.

"Yes. After young master Ye and the person surnamed Du left the city, they were heading towards the southwest."

"Left the city?" Nangong Piaoran looked up at the person dressed in black. "Do you know how he left the city?"

"This... is not very clear. The people following him only saw that once he arrived at the city gates, the city gates opened automatically. They did not see him do anything."

Nangong Piaoran started to smile. "Although it is said that Yue City's city lord is a softie, and its garrison is somewhat lacking, no one can enter or leave the city as they please. It seems that he has people who have infiltrated the city's ranks. A normal business man has no need to do so. It seems that him being the master of Fusheng is merely a pretense. He must have some other identity."

"Master, perhaps he has the same plans as you?"

"Not necessarily. If he has the same intentions as we, then seeing how he is the master of Fusheng, he should be sent from Dongling, but according to our intel in Dongling, Dongling sent out Prince Dongfang Xi, and his people are currently in East Zhi, so this fellow is not sent by Dongling." Nangong frowned and muttered, "Then is he from Beiqi? That seems wrong as well, Beiqi would not send men here. Then did Dongling send two groups? One to East Zhi and the other to West Zhi? It is said that the Dongling prime minister Ren Fengyao is incomparably farsighted, perhaps he was sent by Ren Fengyao? But why would he be involved with Rouge?"

"Perhaps he really fell for Rouge," the person in black interjected.

"No, no. Although he appeared to be interested in Rouge last night...." Nangong Piaoran shook his head, a strange smile on his lips. "He does not gaze at Rouge like how a man looks at a woman. Although his gaze is filled with pity, it is not emotional, not attracyed at all nor with any desire to possess her. Men look at women fierily, not so calm and collected. He has another reason for attaining Rouge. We'll talk about this later. What did he do after leaving the city?"