Do You Like Me That Much? Miss Villainess

Rumble!

Torrential rain poured down.

Dark clouds rolled outside the window, with streaks of lightning occasionally tearing through the sky, followed moments later by rolling thunder.

As the saying goes, "Each autumn rain brings more cold." Logically, only summer rains should have such force, yet this autumn downpour came anyway, paying no heed to reason.

Once this rain ended, Heyang City would truly turn cold and require adding more clothing.

'A bit chilly.'

Mu Qinglan shook her head and casually closed the window, letting the rainwater beat against the eaves with a pattering sound.

The room was warm and bright.

Incense candles burned slowly without pause, rising wisps of fragrant smoke.

Mu Qinglan glanced at the gray-haired girl sitting stiffly beside the bed, raised an eyebrow, looked at her, then back at the window, and smiled:

"Is Miss Zhu Yan unable to resist picking up her old trade again?"

Zhu Yan's body shrank slightly as she nodded quietly:

"Mm."

"Rainy nights are quite suitable for assassins like you to operate, aren't they?"

"What Skyreach Tower taught me were all shadow-related techniques, but I'm only ninth rank and not proficient with them." The gray-haired girl answered honestly, head slightly lowered.

"That's normal. Ninth rank warriors focus mainly on affinity. Merging with shadows and such requires at least eighth rank to master."

Mu Qinglan casually remarked:

"So for now, I won't let you go to such places."

Zhu Yan said quietly: "My master often took me out on missions..."

Her implication was that she was already accustomed to it and wouldn't have problems.

Who would have thought that upon hearing this, Mu Qinglan only gave her a light glance and knocked firmly on her head, saying with displeasure:

"Your master didn't value your life, but does that mean I should do the same?"

Zhu Yan was stunned.

Then she slowly lowered her head, and beneath the gray hair covering them, her pale blue eyes gained a strange new color.

"I'm sorry..." her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

Mu Qinglan sat on the bed, shifted position, and tried to pull the gray-haired girl, who was about the same small size as herself, into her embrace.

The gray-haired girl gently cooperated.

With soft jade and sweet fragrance in her arms, the bad woman somehow found her thoughts wandering elsewhere.

'The feeling is very different from Miss Shen.'

'Shen Yao is quite a bit taller than Zhu Yan. When hugging her from behind, I have to straighten my body to rest my chin on her shoulder, but with this little girl... if she shrinks down a bit, I could even rest my chin on top of her head…'

Thinking this, she said:

"No need to apologize. I can understand your desire for revenge, but you should at least consider yourself."

"...I just wanted to look."

"Don't even look. The one going to clear out Skyreach Tower's base is Shen Yao. Do you know who Shen Yao is? She's the one who caught you that night. She's fifth rank with an innate destiny trait. If you went there, that unfeeling ice mountain would most likely arrest you as one of the Crown Prince's accomplices and throw you in prison!"

With Miss Shen absent, she could slander freely.

Zhu Yan's attention was elsewhere:

"I'm not one of the Crown Prince's accomplices..."

"Aren't you?" the bad woman asked with a smile. "Then whose accomplice is Miss Assassin?"

The little assassin curled her body deeper, kicked off her shoes, exposing her jade feet to the air with only her toes touching the ground to maintain balance, completely surrendering herself to the bad woman's embrace.

The atmosphere in the room was quiet and peaceful.

The candle continued burning, making faint crackling sounds.

The feeling from her back was warm, reliable, and made her want to depend on it...

Even though Zhu Yan had undergone harsh training, even though she had been taciturn since childhood, even though she had heard countless methods of winning people's hearts, at this moment, Zhu Yan still felt her heartbeat accelerating.

Her jade feet tensed slightly, her hands gripping her skirt tightly.

Silver teeth bit her lower lip.

She almost wanted to turn around, like a swallow returning to its nest, and throw herself into the arms of the person who would comfort her at this moment, who would consider her feelings.

"Could it be that you're my accomplice?"

Mu Qinglan observed the gray-haired girl's strange state, her lips curving slightly as she added fuel to the fire with this remark.

As the words fell.

The assassin girl's body immediately went soft, collapsing into her embrace.

Her arched jade feet suddenly relaxed, leaving the ground.

"Mm." The assassin girl nestled in the white-haired girl's arms, responding softly, then as if afraid she hadn't heard clearly, repeated: "Now I am Miss Mu's accomplice."

...

Let me clarify something in advance.

Miss Mu Qinglan is not the type of scoundrel woman who would sneak up behind every person, blow in their ears, and then deliver soul-piercing questions.

She only does this to beautiful girls.

More precisely, she only does this to beautiful girls with promising futures who can also be useful to her.

Because this kind of sudden, close-range intimacy can quickly close the distance between two people, break deadlocks, and expose the other party's weaknesses.

In other words, this was the bad woman's ultimate move that she was determined to succeed with.

Yes, she had activated her ultimate ability.

Of course, Mu Qinglan wasn't the type to open with her ultimate move to show respect. This scoundrel woman would only activate her ultimate move with a smile after executing a perfect combo, then gracefully send her opponent away in bliss.

The assassin girl had already been defeated.

Defeated by the bad woman's sustained ten-day gentle offensive.

'Zhu Yan, looking at her expression when describing her past, must be quite starved for affection,' Mu Qinglan thought.

That's why she had intentionally or unintentionally shown touches of gentleness during each meeting.

Now it seemed the effect was remarkable.

"By the way, didn't you want to know why I won't let you go to Skyreach Tower?" Mu Qinglan thought for a moment and said.

"I'll listen to you."

"Because I don't want the Crown Prince to know you're still alive."

Mu Qinglan said softly.

A dead possessor of an innate destiny trait and a living possessor of an innate destiny trait were two completely different concepts.

"Is it because of that information? Or because of my talent?"

Zhu Yan's mind worked quickly.

"Both."

Mu Qinglan nodded: "The information matters are small things. Though it can make the Crown Prince suffer losses, it ultimately can't threaten his life. But your innate destiny trait has the ability to actually take his life..."

Zhu Yan's destiny trait was too suitable for assassination. No one would feel at ease with such an assassin constantly watching them menacingly.

If she didn't know her own rank was higher, Mu Qinglan wouldn't feel at ease either.

"I understand. I won't let him discover me."

Zhu Yan nodded, thinking she might as well not leave the house for a while.

"By the way, I remember the Crown Prince's strength isn't great, which is why he suppressed your advancement through the Human Gate."

"He's ninth rank."

"Ninth rank..." Mu Qinglan's gaze flickered slightly. She remembered that in the plot, when the Crown Prince appeared several months later, he clearly had eighth rank strength.

That meant he would break through the Human Gate during these months?

Well, this wouldn't be difficult for him. After all, with royal martial arts, surpassing ordinary people was still quite easy.

'Will he attempt to advance within these two months?'

Mu Qinglan narrowed her eyes, finding this rather interesting.

'During this period, his subordinates have suffered consecutive setbacks, probably creating some sense of urgency in his heart. If I were him, I definitely wouldn't trust these incompetent subordinates, so even if the improvement were minimal, I would try to enhance my own strength a bit…'

So what's the best way to improve a ninth rank warrior's strength?

—Obtaining a destiny trait...

'Then it's almost certain. Once news of Shen Yao's success reaches him, the Crown Prince will probably attempt a breakthrough in October.'

After repeatedly calculating in her mind, Mu Qinglan had deduced the Crown Prince's movements with about eighty to ninety percent accuracy.

If he broke through next month, she would have many opportunities to manipulate the situation.

Mu Qinglan looked up at the assassin girl:

"Would Miss Zhu Yan be willing to help me with something?"

"Yes."

"I haven't said what it is yet."

"I'm listening."

Mu Qinglan coughed lightly: "Next month, would Miss Zhu Yan be willing to attempt breaking through the Human Gate together with me? You know, I'm now a ninth rank magician, but my body..."

Yes, she was still a ninth rank magician.

This was her character setting and couldn't be dropped.

Hearing this, Zhu Yan instinctively looked up at Mu Qinglan, then nodded vigorously: "I will protect Miss Mu well."

"You don't need to address me so formally. Since I'm entrusting you with my protection, a more casual form of address would be fine."

"Sister Mu."

The assassin girl quickly changed her way of addressing her.

"Oh, there's something I need to tell you. The Crown Prince will most likely also attempt to break through the Human Gate next month, and since everyone will be in the northern part of the city, we'll probably encounter him. You..." Mu Qinglan hesitated.

"The Crown Prince?"

Zhu Yan murmured softly, frowning slightly: "I won't show mercy."

○

Distant thunder rumbled under the gloomy sky.

In Zhu Yan's own guest room.

The gray-haired girl lay alone on the bed, both hands gripping the bedsheets tightly, lying on her side with only those misty pale blue eyes visible. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novel⁂fire.net

She breathed softly.

Her face showed genuine, unmasked redness.

The assassin girl had her own protective coloring. Due to childhood experiences, she instinctively rejected communication with the outside world, and after being counseled by Mu Qinglan, she had developed some feelings of inferiority due to what she had previously done to her.

Usually, she hid her inferiority well.

Hidden within her gratitude toward Miss Mu.

But today, after enjoying Miss Mu's warm embrace, the little assassin's small inferiority complex finally couldn't be hidden anymore.

During that brief yet long moment of tenderness, she had repeatedly yearned to go further, but each time was rejected by the small inferiority in her heart.

She was someone who had once acted against her...

How could she...

Zhu Yan lay on the bed, rubbing her legs together, hugging her knees, carefully curling herself into a ball.

She closed her eyes and thought:

'Please don't be too good to me, and don't be too bad to me either.'

'Just like before is fine.'

'I'm already very satisfied now.'

○

Rumble!

A thunderclap interrupted her thoughts.

Mu Qinglan came back to her senses, thinking that the battle on the other side should be ending soon.

With Shen Yao leading several Six Bureaus constables into action and Su He secretly providing backup, Skyreach Tower—the Crown Prince's assassin organization—would have no possibility of escape no matter how capable they were.

'Having cut off the Crown Prince's left and right arms, should the demon clan make a move?'

Mu Qinglan pondered for a moment and shook her head slightly.

'The demon clan isn't as straightforward as the Crown Prince. Although Lou Guanyue is just an insignificant plot boss, she does have some intelligence and is quite cautious.'

Shortly after establishing her foothold, Mu Qinglan had sent people to secretly investigate several dungeon locations she remembered.

But the result was that no one was found.

Presumably, because the Crown Prince had suffered consecutive setbacks, the demon clan became extremely wary and hid in even deeper places.

'In that case, I won't disturb those demons for now. After all, the demon clan and the Crown Prince weren't united to begin with. When one side suffers repeated strikes while the other suffers minimal losses, it's inevitable that suspicions arise.'

Mu Qinglan lightly tapped the armrest with her fingertip, making tapping sounds.

Those not of our race must have different hearts.

As Great Xia's heir, the Crown Prince had no reason not to know this principle.

Although this small scheme to sow discord might not necessarily succeed and was more of going with the flow, this unfair situation would inevitably leave a thorn in that petty Crown Prince's heart.

'Let it be so.'

Mu Qinglan lowered her gaze slightly.

'However, rats should behave like rats and hide well.'

'If they know they're rats but still like to jump around... then there's no need to keep them for fishing…'

Thinking this, Mu Qinglan glanced at the sky outside and closed the window.

She smiled slightly.

Miss Shen, I wonder if you like my gift?

○

Whoosh—

On the outskirts of Heyang City, rain poured down like a curtain.

Bean-sized raindrops fell, striking the wet ground, eaves, and the bamboo hats of numerous silent figures in black.

In the clearing, Shen Yao stood quietly with her sword, her gaze piercing through the rain curtain, expressionlessly watching the large suburban estate complex in the distance.

Lightning lit up the night sky.

"Here?" Her lips parted slightly, carrying a hint of coldness.

Not far behind her, a subordinate stepped forward two paces, looked over there, then at the map in his hands that had been dampened by raindrops, and confirmed: "This is the place."

"The source of last night's fire in the city..."

Shen Yao's gaze grew a few degrees colder as she instructed:

"Please have the constables surround this place. Wait for my signal, then attack together. I've already told Constable Zhao that tonight he'll stay as rear guard to ensure not a single person escapes!"

"Yes!"

Several constables acknowledged the order and left.

The orders from above were clear: tonight, regardless of whatever schemes they had in mind, they all had to follow Shen Yao's instructions.

They also understood clearly that this was about building momentum!

After they left, a shadow emerged from the rain curtain, removed his bamboo hat, and fanned himself lightly with it:

"Well arranged, though next time you could leave two constables to support from the flanks. The frontal strength is already absolutely sufficient, so it would be better to guard against them making a concentrated breakout."

"Should I go arrange it?"

Shen Yao asked.

"No need," the shadow smiled. "Aren't I here tonight? If anyone can really escape, should I still call myself second rank?"

Su He looked coldly toward that direction:

"Those who kill and burn deserve death."

"No one will escape," Shen Yao nodded calmly. "As for their behind-the-scenes mastermind, when does Shifu plan to interrogate them?"

"No need."

"No need?"

Shen Yao frowned slightly.

In her view, the beasts who casually harmed innocent civilians deserved death. These people and their behind-the-scenes mastermind should be thrown into prison to suffer all kinds of torture.

Shen Yao was born in Yan Kingdom but held no hostility toward Great Xia's common people.

She only hated those belonging to King Li.

"I already know who's behind this, but I can't move against him yet." Su He shook his head.

Shen Yao frowned again, then remained silent.

Even if they could only catch this group of criminals, it was good. As for the mastermind, judging from her shifu's attitude, he probably wasn't an opponent she could handle yet.

"I understand."

Shen Yao said coldly, redirecting her gaze to the estate in the rainy night.

Soon, subordinates reported that all constables were ready and could strike at any moment.

Shen Yao nodded slightly.

Su He also put his bamboo hat back on, gradually disappearing into the increasingly heavy rain.

"By the way," Su He chuckled, "do you know who gave me information about these criminals? And do you know why I appointed you as commander?"

"I don't know."

Shen Yao answered honestly.

"Mu Qinglan," the old face under the bamboo hat showed some amusement, "the one rumored in the bureau to be your romantic interest."

With a sound of wind, the bamboo hat-wearing figure and his words both vanished into the rain.

Shen Yao's movements froze.

"Is this the surprise you mentioned? It really is..."

Behind the black gauze bamboo hat, Shen Yao's gaze gradually became complex, then slowly returned to calm.

"I'll come find you after this ends. But now, I need to handle some business first."

A wisp of cold air escaped as the girl under the black gauze showed icy eyes.

Whoosh—

A line of rain swept across the earth. Silently, the black-haired girl's figure disappeared from the spot, charging straight toward that perfectly ordinary estate complex in the rainy night.

Only her cold voice remained.

"Six Bureaus, heed the order! Arrest the criminals!"

"Those who resist, kill!"