Do You Like Me That Much? Miss Villainess

"Divine artifact?"

Mu Qinglan asked curiously.

She was indeed a bit curious about how people in the game world viewed divine artifacts.

"It's that black dome that covered Huaiyun Ward that night."

"That was a divine artifact?" Jiang He asked.

"Yes, a divine artifact—something that even second-rank experts might not necessarily obtain, and it was a very powerful divine artifact, defensive type."

"Very powerful, but..."

Jiang He hesitated: "It was lost?"

"That's right, lost."

Ning Shuyu said helplessly:

"Otherwise why would I tell you not to go to the eastern district recently? A divine artifact was lost, and the imperial family now wants to turn all of Huaiyun Ward upside down and root out all the devil clan spies."

As expected...

Mu Qinglan's eyes flickered.

The imperial family's actions were quite fast. She had only taken the Boundary Shadow Pearl yesterday, and today they already knew it was missing?

So they must have searched for it last night.

If it had been this morning, the National Advisor definitely couldn't have received the news so quickly.

Fortunately...

She had acted fast enough, going over as soon as her body was well enough to leave the house.

Moreover, from the news Ning Shuyu revealed about the imperial family frantically investigating devil clan spies, they hadn't suspected that the Boundary Shadow Pearl was taken by forces other than the devil clan.

After all, even the imperial family had taken three full days to find relevant information.

Aside from the devil clan who had prepared in advance, who in Heyang City could be faster than Great Xia's imperial family?

Coming back to her senses, Ning Shuyu was still talking about the divine artifact:

"Divine artifacts are extremely rare. The Imperial Spirit Sect has only inherited two. You can imagine how crazy the imperial family became after learning that this divine artifact, which should have been in their grasp, was lost.

Just today alone, they raided nearly ten households and rooted out more than ten spies from various countries. The execution ground is almost running out of space!"

'This crazy?'

Mu Qinglan felt a chill in her heart, feeling fortunate.

She had thought about the imperial family's reaction before taking the Boundary Shadow Pearl, but no matter what, she hadn't expected the reaction to be so intense!

She had underestimated the importance of divine artifacts.

In the game, while divine artifacts were precious, players still had ways to obtain them, so she subconsciously looked down on such things a bit.

But now.

Through the imperial family's reaction, she realized just how important divine artifacts were!

'Then it needs to be hidden even better…'

The atmosphere in the back courtyard was somewhat heavy. Mu Qinglan rested her chin on one hand, repeatedly thinking about the impact this matter would have on her.

The Crown Prince was now somewhat insignificant.

But the imperial family...

Thinking of Ning Shuyu's words about heads hanging all over the execution ground, and the antagonistic relationship between Prince Qi and the imperial family in the plot, Mu Qinglan's heart tightened.

It wasn't enough.

She needed to get stronger quickly.

○

After returning to the mansion, Mu Qinglan came alone to the back courtyard, looking preoccupied.

'My strength isn't weak, but I'm still too insignificant before the imperial family.'

'Be cautious, cautious, and more cautious.'

'Then secretly grow stronger!'

'But before that, I need to protect Prince Qi's mansion's existence.'

Mu Qinglan looked at the yard full of withered yellow leaves, thinking that there were still two months until the Lantern Festival plot point. She probably wouldn't have time to grow strong enough to stand on her own.

Cultivation definitely still needed to continue.

But she should also make other plans.

'In Heyang City, who else can be utilized?'

"Let me think..."

○

The sky was overcast, and faint sounds of singing and dancing could be heard from the Crown Prince's mansion.

Because the Crown Prince had been in a bad mood these past few days, to cheer up their master, his advisers had conspired to invite a group of dancers back to perform daily in the side hall for the Crown Prince.

A carriage quietly stopped at the entrance.

After the person in the carriage said a few words, the guards were sweating profusely as they let it pass and escorted the carriage inside.

Getting off the carriage, Lou Guanyue frowned.

How could the dignified Crown Prince's residence sound no different from a tavern or elegant pavilion?

Led all the way to the side hall, she saw the previously high-spirited Crown Prince sitting there with a gloomy expression.

"Master Lou."

The Crown Prince raised his eyes slightly, signaling for the dancers to withdraw.

Lou Guanyue sat across from him.

"Master Lou hasn't come to see me for almost ten days. Coming this time, could it be that there's been significant progress?" the Crown Prince said indifferently.

Lou Guanyue knew he was reprimanding her and didn't get angry:

"Your Highness knows that my Jade Moon Tower is located in the eastern district. Now that the eastern district has lost a divine artifact, I'm taking enormous risks just to come see Your Highness."

Speaking of this, Lou Guanyue smiled lightly:

"I wonder if this matter has anything to do with Your Highness?"

"What matter?"

Lou Guanyue held her tea cup with a resentful expression:

"Isn't it about those devil clan barbarians assassinating the princess? A bunch of barbarians who only know how to kill, kill, kill. Now they've stirred up the eastern district into chaos. Our demon clan lost quite a few spies! If not for good luck, I wouldn't have survived either!"

The Crown Prince slammed his chair in anger:

'How dare those vermin ruin my grand plan?'

Damn them!

Cursing to this point, the Crown Prince's mind raced. His performance should be decent enough. From appearances alone, nothing could be confirmed.

This was his doing, but he absolutely couldn't admit it.

This matter was serious. The people he found were all completely unconnected to the Crown Prince's mansion previously, promised great benefits, threatened with their families' lives, then silenced afterward.

All handled personally by a third-rank grand eunuch.

These demon clan members might have suspicions at most, but no evidence.

Mm... he absolutely couldn't show weakness.

While the Crown Prince was angry, Lou Guanyue sipped her tea while coldly observing, trying to find some flaw in this Crown Prince.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore..."

Lou Guanyue put her tea cup back on the table, knowing she couldn't probe anything, her expression blank:

"I came to report the progress of our grand plan to Your Highness."

The Crown Prince's expression became more serious, indicating he was all ears.

"Quite a few spies being caught has indeed hindered progress, but fortunately our demon clan has devoted ourselves entirely to Your Highness's grand plan. Completing the scheme before the Lantern Festival shouldn't be difficult."

"The Lantern Festival will have an imperial grand banquet."

The Crown Prince's eyes flickered: "I'll do my best to gather information about the arrangements, but these things still need time."

"I naturally trust Your Highness."

"And the lantern festival?"

"Your Highness can rest assured. In this matter, the demon clan's interests are completely aligned with yours."

The Crown Prince wanted to laugh hearing this.

Completely aligned? They probably each had their own schemes!

These demon clan members who couldn't see the light wanted Great Xia in chaos, wanted the imperial family extinct. He didn't have such deep obsessions. He only thought of one thing—

Staying alive.

To stay alive, he could betray his sister and create human-demon conflicts. To stay alive, he could collude with the demon clan and try to disrupt the palace during the Lantern Festival.

He would do even more in secret.

But that wasn't something these demon clan members could see.

The Crown Prince waved his hand, signaling for Lou Guanyue to leave.

After finishing discussing major matters and completing her probing, Lou Guanyue had no interest in staying longer. She nodded and turned to leave.

After she left, the Crown Prince went to the back courtyard to find a loyal adviser and asked:

"Have all the arrangements been made?" For origınal chapters go to novel-fire.ɴet

"All done, but the death warriors cultivated elsewhere, their strength might be..."

The Crown Prince was displeased: "Of course I know their strength isn't enough, but isn't loyalty sufficient? At worst, can't they sacrifice themselves fearlessly?"

"Your Highness is wise."

"I'll go take a look." After speaking, the Crown Prince didn't give the adviser another chance to speak and pushed the door open to enter.

Inside the room, two black-clothed assassins were still waiting for orders from the master outside.

But they saw the main door suddenly pushed open.

Cold wind rushed in.

Before they could say anything, they saw the richly dressed man who entered with the cold wind. In an instant, several traces of excitement flashed in their eyes!

"Your Highness!!"

Both exclaimed excitedly in unison, kneeling on one knee. Clearly able to see the person they had sworn to serve loyally, they were extremely excited.

"Get up."

The Crown Prince helped both up, his face bearing an elegant smile:

"You're all friends who risk life and death for me. No need for such formalities in the future."

"Your Highness, these two come from Chizhou, both ninth-rank cultivation, quite talented, and their strength is among the top of their rank." The adviser spoke up to introduce them.

The Crown Prince's smile grew wider:

"Then for the Human Gate trip in a few days, I'll entrust my safety to you both."

"We swear to protect Your Highness with our lives!"

Both were excited.

The Crown Prince felt gloomy inside. If not for the Six Bureaus taking down Skyreach Tower, why would he need to transfer death warriors from other regions to guard him?

There were several suitable ninth-rank fighters in Skyreach Tower!

Now they were all gone!

Thinking of this, the Crown Prince couldn't help but twitch his face, his heart bleeding.

The external wastes were all unreliable, and those raised at home couldn't escape the imperial family's claws. He had previously paid no attention to his own strength. At over twenty years old, he had only symbolically started learning martial arts without even passing the Human Gate once.

After all, what use was strength?

His second brother was fourth-rank when he died, but that didn't help him survive!

Better to scheme for power and seek survival in the cracks.

But now, the Crown Prince realized with alarm that his sense of security was minimal, so he had put a bit more effort into cultivation.

He didn't need to be too strong, but at least, at least he needed some self-protection ability...

First pass the Human Gate.

Slowly cultivate to seventh rank...

Thinking this, the Crown Prince sighed:

"In the Human Gate, we can't recognize each other, and you don't know me either. But fortunately, I specifically chose two people of different gender from me. Generally speaking, this shouldn't lead to mistaken identity."

"I'll tell you a set of code words that only Skyreach Tower's core members could access before."

"I hope you won't disappoint this reputation!"

"Listen carefully..."

"Plucking stars as chess pieces, the world as the board!"

○

While the Crown Prince was buying hearts and having people die for him, it was dinner time at Prince Qi's mansion.

Maids brought various dishes into the room.

Although Mu Qinglan had said many times not to waste food since she couldn't eat that much, the table still had five full dishes, all because the cook thought the young lady found his cooking unpalatable and was depressedly banging his head against the wall daily.

Bang bang sounds.

Steward Yuan also came to persuade her to eat more and not be picky.

So Mu Qinglan had to temporarily retreat and advance by retreating, pulling Miss Zhu Yan to eat together.

At the dinner table.

Zhu Yan was somewhat nervous, her body slightly curled up, legs bent, always being careful not to let her toes touch the ground.

She did this when nervous.

Mu Qinglan tasted a dish, looked at her, and asked:

"So that Crown Prince fellow didn't give you some domineering meeting code like 'Heaven above, earth below, I alone am supreme' or 'Eternal reign, unifying the realm'?"

Zhu Yan looked troubled:

"There shouldn't be anything like that."

"Then what's your most domineering code?" Mu Qinglan became curious.

Zhu Yan recalled for two seconds and said softly:

"It should be the code for secret orders in the tower. Every time there was something big, this code was used. Because master was fifth-rank, and due to my talent, this code wasn't hidden from me."

"It should be... 'Plucking stars as chess pieces, the world as the board'?"

'What big words.'

Mu Qinglan was stunned and couldn't help but chuckle lightly, her eyes curving.

Zhu Yan ate in small bites, thinking the same as Mu Qinglan.

When she was working for the Crown Prince before, she hadn't thought much of this code. But now, knowing the Crown Prince was her greatest enemy, this code seemed somewhat laughable.

Ridiculously laughable.

But regardless,

She had also worked for her enemy before...

Zhu Yan's eyes lowered, staring at the table, feeling inexplicably empty and a bit inferior.

But just then, a piece of fish was placed in the bowl in front of her.

"What are you thinking about?"

The girl panicked for a moment, feeling she was really troubling Sister Mu too much.

Even when her body was so inconvenient.

She was still serving her food.

She secretly raised her head, wanting to steal a glance at Mu Qinglan's expression, but saw clear eyes full of gentle, smiling warmth.

"Now is eating time. Miss Zhu Yan shouldn't think about those unhappy things, okay?"

Mu Qinglan's voice carried a convincing quality.

"Let's eat."

"Eating is important."

Zhu Yan's body trembled slightly for a moment. She quietly hummed in response. Since she hadn't eaten a single bite from the beginning, there was only the piece of fish that had just been placed in her bowl.

She picked up the fish with her chopsticks and took a small bite.

!!

A sweet sensation exploded on her taste buds.

Prince Qi mansion's exclusive chef lived up to his reputation as a great cook. Every dish he made was delicious and appetite-inducing.

Naturally,

This was something the assassin miss had never tasted before.

For warriors, as long as nutrition kept up, why would they need so much deliciousness?

Moreover, Zhu Yan had previously been an ordinary commoner who couldn't even eat her fill.

So after being stunned, the sheltered assassin miss silently turned her gaze to Mu Qinglan, who was sitting across from her eating methodically.

This dish...

So sweet.

Aside from looking prettier, this fish didn't seem much different from what she'd eaten before. Why was it so delicious?

She looked at Mu Qinglan, gradually feeling a strange sensation rising in her heart.

It was sweetness.

Sweetness that welled up from her heart, gradually dissolving in her mind, that couldn't be shaken off no matter how much she shook her head.

In psychology, there's a term called the suspension bridge effect.

It refers to how crossing a suspension bridge makes people involuntarily anxious and their hearts race faster. At this time, seeing someone of the opposite sex would easily make people think their accelerated heartbeat was because of that person, thus developing feelings for them.

This is the suspension bridge effect.

Some people also call it "the feeling of being moved."

Zhu Yan secretly looked at the girl beside her, feeling this sweetness was spreading from her.

This sweet sensation she had never tasted before.

Made her involuntarily want more.

But as soon as this thought arose, it was immediately suppressed by the inferiority in her heart. She had almost hurt her—how could she have the face to seek gentleness from Mu Qinglan?

Zhu Yan secretly raised her head,

Wanting to touch, then withdrawing her hand.

Because Zhu Yan felt things were already very good now, really good, so good that she was afraid of losing everything she had finally managed to possess.

Afraid of being disliked by Mu Qinglan because of greed.

Dim candlelight, master's teachings, sweat from cultivation, hatred, loyalty, unwillingness...

The past surged from her heart, churning restlessly.

Making the sweet sensation in her heart even more tempting.

She lowered her head, her whole body tense, toes touching the ground again, her slender fingers holding the chopsticks unconsciously exerting force, her heart in turmoil.

I...

Can I...

Finally, her pale blue ocean-like eyes dimmed, gray hair covering her eyes, the small timidity in her heart regaining the upper hand.

Still didn't dare...

But then, "Ding—"

With the sound of bowls and chopsticks colliding.

Another piece of meat fell into the dish in front of her.

"I saw you seemed to really like it, so I gave you another piece. Miss Zhu Yan won't blame me, will she?" Mu Qinglan straightened up from leaning forward and smiled.

"I won't."

Zhu Yan said quickly, then she raised her head and quietly added:

"Definitely won't."

"That's good," Mu Qinglan breathed a sigh of relief. "You've been practicing in the back garden every night these past few days, very devoted. I was thinking you shouldn't tire yourself out—your health is more important."

"..."

Zhu Yan was silent for two seconds, her expression serious: "I won't get tired. I'm used to it."

It was much harder at Skyreach Tower than now.

"I'm not used to it," Mu Qinglan put on a stern face and scolded. "Miss Zhu Yan is at the age where she's still growing. You absolutely can't stay up late, or you won't even be able to surpass my height in the future!"

Zhu Yan pursed her lips and nodded lightly, feeling moved but thinking it would be nice to always be shorter than this sister.

At least she could always call her sister.

"In a few days it'll be the full moon. I'm afraid something will go wrong with the Human Gate assessment and I won't be able to protect Sister Mu." Zhu Yan argued quietly.

This matter...

"How is the Human Gate more important than your health? The punishment for failing the Human Gate is at most being weak for two days. Even I can handle it. Why do you need to worry about it?"

Mu Qinglan said disdainfully:

"If it doesn't work this time, isn't there a next time?"

"Silly."

Zhu Yan's eyes widened. After a long time, she nodded and carefully swallowed the meat Mu Qinglan had given her.

"Mm..."

Indeed so sweet...