"Innkeeper, two rooms, please."
"Right away, coming!"
The innkeeper raised his head from the ledger with a practiced, welcoming smile. But the moment he caught sight of the young woman standing before him, experienced as he was, he couldn't help freezing in sheer astonishment.
It wasn't as though he had never seen a woman with a birthmark. But even though this girl wore a white veil, it failed to conceal the massive, dark bluish-purple birthmark spreading out from the corner of her eye.
It was uniquely, staggeringly ugly—the sort of sight that made it hard for anyone to bear looking at directly.
"What are you staring at? Stare again and this young master will gouge your eyeballs out!" Qiu Yucheng glared, his heavy saber sliding a third of the way out of its scabbard with an unmistakable murderous intent.
The innkeeper hastily jerked his gaze away, scrambled to paste on a trembling smile, and scurried out from behind the counter, bowing obsequiously as he welcomed them.
"This way, upstairs, please. Right this way."
"Yucheng, put your saber away. Don't frighten people." Qiu Yurong remained completely unfazed, offering only a gentle admonition before following the innkeeper up the stairs.
"Hmph." Qiu Yucheng followed hard on her heels up to the upper floor, the murderous glare in his eyes unabated, looking every bit as though he wanted to slaughter everyone in the inn who had dared stare at his sister.
Meanwhile, Li Lianhua and Bai Buyu were sitting quietly in a corner of the inn drinking tea. A waiter set several plates of pastries on their table, smiling as he said, "Enjoy your refreshments, guests."
"Biluochun tea, thousand-layer crab roe pastries, lotus pond pea cakes—Miss Buyu certainly doesn't stint on herself." Li Lianhua took a sip of tea. What a pity; though he could catch a faint whiff of the tea's aroma, he couldn't taste any of its actual quality.
"You only live once—eat and drink well while you can."
Bai Buyu picked up a piece of pastry and popped it into her mouth. Crisp, flaky, savory, and fragrant—it truly lived up to the city's top-tier reputation.
"The two people who just came in—what do you make of them?"
"Big tempers, mediocre martial arts," Li Lianhua said.
Mediocre martial arts? Bai Buyu gave Li Lianhua a startled look. This man had nerve! Just recently, after the top ten spots on the Wanren Tome had been mysteriously wiped out, the Qiu siblings had surged all the way to twelfth place in the newly reshuffled martial arts rankings, nearly breaking into the top ten.
Yet here was Li Lianhua, dismissing their martial arts as mediocre with absolute calm.
"Both of them carry the stench of corpses. The woman is also injured—the wound should be on her left shoulder blade. Because of that, she contracted corpse poison, and now the necrotic qi has surged upward, showing even on her face. You can tell this isn't ordinary corpse poison. They haven't come to Gulin for a leisurely stroll; they must be looking for a way to cure the corpse poison."
Li Lianhua shot Bai Buyu a sidelong glance. The little girl was burying herself in her food; right now, out of the three plates of pastries, only one piece was left on each—evidently saved specifically for him.
"Pretty smart." Bai Buyu felt more and more that she had struck gold. After a few days of getting along, this man named Li Lianhua had already given her plenty of surprises. She wiped the pastry crumbs from the corner of her mouth and looked at him. "Notice anything else? Keep going."
"Their purpose in coming here should be the same as yours: the Yongjing Estate."
Bai Buyu picked up her Biluochun and took a small sip, her eyes rolling twice before she fixed them on Li Lianhua with a brilliant gleam in her gaze. "Young Master Li, repaying a life-saving debt in three years might not be enough. Shall we change it to five?"
"Miss Bai is going back on her word. I wonder if I might go back on mine as well?" Li Lianhua countered without answering.
"That would hardly be the behavior of a gentleman," Bai Buyu said, her expression entirely unruffled.
"Then Miss Bai..."
"This young lady was never a gentleman to begin with."
Li Lianhua was left momentarily speechless. After a long moment, he shook his head in resignation and delivered his verdict. "Miss Buyu is truly adept at twisting logic to suit herself."
How did the ancients put it again? Only women and petty men are hard to get along with...
If there is anyone in this world who can manage to have it both ways, it is Bai Buyu.
As night fell, Li Lianhua was just preparing to blow out the lamp and turn in. He had half-pulled off one boot when he heard a soft *creak* at the door, and a head poked in from behind the frame.
It was his own fault for forgetting to latch the lock.
"Li Lianhua, I just noticed the Qiu siblings slip out through the inn window."
Bai Buyu motioned toward Li Lianhua with her eyes. "In the dead of night, slipping out and deliberately trying to avoid notice—nothing good ever comes of that. Why don't we follow them and see what's going on?"
"Miss Bai, since you know that heading out in the pitch dark to sneak around means no good can come of it, why bother sticking your nose into the trouble?"
Li Lianhua sighed helplessly, holding his half-removed boot—not knowing whether to put it back on or set it down. "And besides, you and I are man and woman; could you please knock on the door before barging in next time, so this Li can have some warning?"
"During the day, I noticed the corpse poison on Qiu Yurong's face was already showing signs of breaking through her suppression. If the poison reaches her heart by even another fraction, it'll be nine chances of death to one of survival. Those siblings must be losing their patience and breaking into the Yongjing Estate tonight."
Bai Buyu completely ignored Li Lianhua's nagging, single-mindedly intent on following the Qiu siblings to test the waters at the Yongjing Estate.
"If we follow them right now, the timing will be just right."
"The place they're going to is the Western Suburbs Imperial Tomb."
Seeing Bai Buyu push open the window, looking eager to leap right out, Li Lianhua couldn't help speaking up to remind her.
"Huh?" Bai Buyu had one foot planted on the edge of the bed; she turned her head back to stare at him. "And how on earth do you know they're heading to the Western Suburbs Imperial Tomb instead of the Yongjing Estate?"
Li Lianhua pointed to his own ear.
A flicker of suspicion crept into Bai Buyu's eyes.
Didn't he claim his five senses were impaired?
Just by relying on his hearing, he could determine that the Qiu siblings were going to the Western Suburbs Imperial Tomb rather than the estate on the northwest side?
Was this fellow just talking nonsense off the top of his head?
Li Lianhua pulled off his remaining boot, gave a huge yawn, and made it clear that he was sleepy.
"Miss Buyu, if you want to get into the Yongjing Estate, go find a procuress named Madam Qian in the city tomorrow. Give her a few pieces of scrap silver and have her forge a fake deed of indenture for you, then figure out a way to have yourself sold into the estate. Once you're in, you can investigate whatever you like.
"As for the Qiu siblings, whether they'll even return alive tonight is anyone's guess. Why bother following them? You'd be much better off turning in early so you can rest up for tomorrow."
"Now *that* is a rotten idea," Bai Buyu declared firmly.
Paying someone to take you while you sell yourself into servitude.
"There won't be any idea rottener than chasing after the Qiu siblings right now just to throw your life away."
Li Lianhua coolly retorted. Seeing that Bai Buyu still showed no sign of leaving his room, he promptly decided to ignore her, lay down fully clothed, and close his eyes.