"So you will definitely not be discovered staying here, it's just..."
"Just what?"
"It's just that boss, I usually work in this forging room, and with two beautiful girls like you watching, I get a bit… uncomfortable..."
Luo Fei scratched the back of his head, wearing a shy, honest smile.
Shi Er Luo Yue noticed the doubt in Luo Fei's words and looked at Mu Qingqing, asking, "Beautiful girl? Aren't you a man?"
"Uh… my situation is a bit difficult to explain…"
Before Mu Qingqing could finish, Luo Fei eagerly interjected, "Who said that? My boss is a great beauty, isn't that right, boss?"
As soon as Luo Fei spoke, he sensed something was wrong. He glanced at Mu Qingqing and saw her glaring at him coldly.
"Bo… boss, why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?"
"Why are you so talkative?"
"Ouch, ouch, ouch, boss, why are you hitting me again?"
Mu Qingqing exasperatedly tugged at the little fatty's ear, and Luo Fei yelped in pain.
Shi Er Luo Yue, standing by, eyed Mu Qingqing strangely, her gaze lingering on her chest.
Then, a look of disdain crossed her face. "Who are you trying to fool? If you were a woman, your chest would be a bit too flat."
Damn it.
Mu Qingqing almost spat out blood upon hearing this.
She had merely switched personalities; her body was still Xin Ci's.
However, Mu Qingqing didn't want to explain further and changed the subject. "Luo Fei, I'll leave this woman to you."
"Really! Boss, you found me a wife so quickly?"
"What do you mean! You brought me here just to sell me to this fatty?!"
Shi Er Luo Yue and Luo Yue were both shocked and overjoyed, leaving Mu Qingqing baffled. She rubbed her forehead and explained, "What are you two thinking? I meant for Shi Er Luo Yue to stay here in the forging room, and for you, Luo Fei, to look after her."
"I don't trust this perverted fatty, why would I need him to look after me?"
"Who are you calling perverted? Fatty here doesn't want to look after a spoiled young lady like you!"
Unable to take it, Luo Fei immediately retorted.
Seeing them bicker, Mu Qingqing had no choice. She first turned to Shi Er Luo Yue and said, "The Four Great Families have eyes everywhere outside. This is already the best hiding place. You should stay here with peace of mind. Don't worry, although this little fatty seems unreliable, he's actually quite loyal and won't expose you."
Luo Fei, standing nearby, felt wronged.
Boss, aren't you going to ask for my opinion?
"What's with that expression of yours? Shi Er Luo Yue is from the Puppet Sect, perhaps she can help with your inventions and creations."
"Puppet Sect!"
Upon hearing this, Luo Fei's eyes lit up. "That's right! If I can create mechanical crows, it will reduce the cost of breeding and taming them. My crow network can be further upgraded!"
"Boss, I didn't expect you to bring me such a treasure! That's great!"
Looking at the excited Luo Fei, Shi Er Luo Yue increasingly felt like she had been sold by Mu Qingqing.
She questioned Mu Qingqing, "From your words, it seems you don't plan to stay here."
Luo Fei heard this and also realized the issue, looking at Mu Qingqing with curiosity.
"Boss, you're really going to leave? The Xin family has already started searching for you. If you leave, won't you be in danger?"
"You don't need to worry about this. I have my own ways."
Mu Qingqing blinked her eyes, a mysterious smile playing on her lips.
...
Holy City, Sage Layer, Xin Family.
Xin Li sat in the Xin family's council hall, his expression gloomy. The terrifying power of a one-star Great Emperor pressed down on his subordinate, who was reporting the news, causing him to tremble and dare not breathe.
"Patriarch… we've searched all three layers of the Holy City for days, but we still haven't found that Puppet Sect remnant or Xin Ci…"
The subordinate tremblingly looked up, not daring to meet Xin Li's gaze, his lips quivering.
Hearing this, Xin Li's expression grew even more grim. His eyes blazed with anger, veins bulging on his forehead. He roared, "If you haven't found them, why are you back! Go back and continue searching! Even if those two brats escape the Holy City and the True Domain of Pilgrimage, you must capture them for me!"
"As you command, Patriarch."
The subordinate scrambled away.
Xin Li, still seething, beckoned another subordinate.
"Patriarch, what are your orders?"
"How has Xin Huanyan been lately?"
"Patriarch, since Miss Huanyan was rescued by the Old Ancestor, she has joined the search for that Xin family traitor. She even said that she will not rest until Xin Ci is captured and personally killed."
Xin Li frowned upon hearing this. He didn't want Xin Huanyan to search for Xin Ci; he wanted her to marry the young master of the Changyang family.
So Xin Li asked in a deep voice, "It's been five days. How has the young master of the Changyang family responded?"
"Patriarch, we've sent people to visit the Changyang family multiple times to discuss a wedding date for Miss Huanyan, but he always refuses to see us." The subordinate shook his head.
As soon as this was said, Xin Li's suppressed anger flared up again. He gritted his teeth, "That damned Puppet Sect remnant!"
This Puppet Sect remnant had disrupted the alliance between the Xin family and the Changyang family and even caused one of the Old Ancestors in the Sage Layer to lose an arm. The losses were indeed heavy.
Xin Li could not swallow this humiliation and was determined to grind Shi Er Luo Yue and Xin Ci into ashes!
Inside the Changyang Family.
Changyang Gushuo lay alone in his room, his eyes fixated on a painting on the wall, admiring the beauty on it with a rapturous expression.
If Xin Ci were present, he would likely be so disgusted he'd get goosebumps.
Because the person in the painting was none other than himself, who had transformed into a woman in the Xin family that day.
Changyang Gushuo had painted this from memory.
Ever since he saw the woman in the painting a few days ago in the Xin family courtyard, he had fallen madly in love and was desperate to possess her.
Changyang Gushuo had numerous wives and concubines, with beauties of all kinds, yet he was only infatuated with the woman in the painting.
Suddenly, a subordinate entered the room and respectfully said, "Young Master, the Xin family has sent someone to visit again. You should go and see them."
Unexpectedly, Changyang Gushuo didn't even bother to turn over, looking like a heartbroken lover. He mumbled, "I'm not going. My heart has already been stolen by the beauty I saw in the courtyard that day. I don't want to see anyone else."
The subordinate's expression turned dark, and he muttered softly, "Young Master, didn't you just go to Spring Breeze Pavilion yesterday and see dozens of beautiful women? And I was the one who carried you back when you were drunk."
Seeing that his young master was ignoring him, the subordinate quietly withdrew.