As night fell and lanterns lit up the city, the Li family was led by maids to their respective accommodations, with Li Tan given a room of his own.
Originally, Li Jiaying had insisted on staying with him, but both Li Tan and Li Yang rejected her request.
Li Yang’s refusal was based on the traditional principle of “no physical contact between unrelated men and women.” After all, she was already thirteen, not a small child anymore. If not for the recent heavy setbacks suffered by the Li family, suitors might already have come knocking at their door. It was no longer appropriate for her to share a room with her older brother, as he certainly didn’t want his family to become the subject of scandalous rumors like those surrounding Yuan Moukong.
Li Tan, on the other hand, had no such concerns—he simply found it inconvenient.
Today, he and Tang Leyin had split up to carry out separate tasks. He had gone to the Chilling Frost Festival martial arts competition to prevent any unexpected incidents. Although there had been a few noteworthy events throughout the day, nothing major had happened. He didn’t know how Tang Leyin’s mission had gone, but they definitely needed to meet tonight to discuss it. If Jiaying were around, that would make things difficult.
Indeed, Liu family lived up to their reputation as one of the three most powerful clans. Even the guest rooms were equipped with separate bathrooms, bedrooms, and living areas. Li Tan leisurely took a shower and changed into a fresh white outfit. After confirming there were no Liu family spies around, he quietly climbed onto the roof to sit and gaze at the moon.
Of course, he wasn’t really there to admire the moon.
About half an hour later, a graceful red figure appeared in the distance.
Dressed in flowing crimson robes, her face like jade.
Who else could it be but Tang Leyin.
She was indeed the one he was waiting for on the rooftop.
“Master Li, I’m sorry to keep you waiting.”
With a melodious voice like that of a nightingale, Tang Leyin landed lightly beside Li Tan.
“The moonlight is so beautiful—I was more than happy to wait a little longer.”
Li Tan teased.
Tang Leyin glanced at the softly glowing moon and smiled, “Yes, the moon is truly beautiful tonight.”
“Under such a beautiful moon, calling each other ‘Master’ and ‘Miss’ feels somewhat out of place, don’t you think?”
Li Tan turned his head and smiled at her.
What a beautiful smile it was.
Looking at Li Tan’s smile, Tang Leyin found herself having such a thought, and her face flushed slightly. “Then, Master Li, what do you think would be a more fitting way to address each other?”
Li Tan’s eyes twinkled mischievously, like a mirror image of his usual sly self. “How about we use each other’s given names?”
Tang Leyin hesitated slightly, a bit awkwardly saying, “Li… Li Tan?”
Li Tan nodded in satisfaction and smoothly said, “Leyin.”
“Something feels off.”
Tang Leyin puffed her cheeks, “I feel like you’re deliberately trying to take advantage of me.”
Li Tan whistled innocently, a bit sheepishly.
Tang Leyin gave him a playful glare, “Wow, you really are!”
“Yin.” Li Tan suddenly looked at her with a deep gaze, as if his thoughts had drifted somewhere far away. Finally, the corner of his lips lifted slightly. “Long time no see.”
“What are you saying? It’s only been a few hours.”
“That works too.”
It had been a week since his rebirth, and Li Tan finally spoke Tang Leyin’s name again.
It might not seem like much, but it meant they had already moved past being strangers.
But that was enough.
Although this time around, whether it was their meeting or the events that followed, everything would be completely different, Li Tan was confident that, even so, he could still make Tang Leyin fall in love with him again.
Leaning slightly toward him, Tang Leyin said, “Master Li, you seem a bit strange today.”
Li Tan didn’t respond, lost in thought.
Tang Leyin sighed helplessly and changed her tone, “Li Tan, what’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”
“Nothing.”
With a bright smile, Li Tan stood up and stretched. “Let’s go inside. It’s time to talk about what happened today.”
“Okay.”
Taking advantage of the moment when no one was around, the two entered the room and sat down in the bedroom.
“Leyin, what did you do after we parted ways?”
Li Tan got straight to the point.
Tang Leyin didn’t find the question strange and proceeded to give a detailed account of her experiences.
After they separated, Tang Leyin immediately went to the City Lord’s Mansion and found Chen Yuanxun, who was shooting arrows in the courtyard. There were many guards outside the courtyard, but no one inside.
Her goal was to determine whether Chen Yuanxun had indeed been turned by the black-robed men. In such a situation, directly threatening him might lead to false results. She quickly came up with a clever plan.
Putting on a black robe she had used before, she completely suppressed her spiritual aura. Using a clever technique, she skillfully avoided all the guards’ sight and silently infiltrated the courtyard, landing soundlessly behind Chen Yuanxun at the archery range. In a disguised, hoarse voice, she asked, “Chen Yuanxun, how is everything going?”
Chen Yuanxun was startled and reflexively drew his sword to attack.
Of course, Tang Leyin easily dodged and even managed to disarm him.
Throwing the seized sword aside, Tang Leyin continued in a cold tone, “I’m the one asking the questions here.”
“Who are you?”
Realizing he was clearly no match for her, Chen Yuanxun didn’t even think about calling for help. He asked in confusion, sweat pouring down his face.
“I’m an informant.”
Tang Leyin gave a vague answer.
Chen Yuanxun looked puzzled.
Tang Leyin was already halfway convinced of the answer in her heart, but to be safe, she asked one more question.
“How long until that person is eliminated? I’ve already given you plenty of time.”
Again, the words were intentionally vague.
“That person” referred to the City Lord. If the person had indeed been turned, he would certainly believe she was one of the black-robed men’s powerful experts and would obediently answer all her questions, completely deceived.
After all, who else but the black-robed men could have such terrifying strength in Linjiang?
However, Chen Yuanxun still appeared to know nothing. After that, Tang Leyin left him alone, standing there in confusion.
“That’s basically what happened.”
Tang Leyin finished recounting her experience.
Li Tan furrowed his brow in thought, muttering, “It seems the traitor in the City Lord’s Mansion must be someone else.”
Tang Leyin nodded. “Just as you suspected earlier. Later, I tried to find the real traitor, but I didn’t find anything.”
“Did you tell Mingde about this?”
“No.”
“Then don’t tell him. Informing him might scare the traitor away.”
“That’s not a problem, but since the traitor isn’t Chen Yuanxun, things might get a bit complicated.”
Tang Leyin looked worried.
Li Tan, however, looked relaxed. “It’s a bit complicated, but only a little. Leyin, think about it carefully—who else besides Chen Yuanxun would have the opportunity to poison the City Lord?”
“Hmm…”
“If we figure that out, finding the culprit won’t be difficult. Let’s start by ruling out Mingde based on the current information. The remaining suspects would be some of the City Lord’s close attendants and his personal physician. If we carefully investigate their backgrounds, we might be able to eliminate some of them.”
Tang Leyin considered Li Tan’s words and sighed as she nodded. “It sounds easy, but it’s going to be hard to actually do.”
Li Tan smiled and gave her a slight bow. “Leyin, I’ll leave this matter to you.”
The lamp in Li Tan’s room was extinguished, and Tang Leyin quietly left.
It looked like she wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight.
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