Chapter 94 : Exposed?
The sky was gloomy.
On the official road west of Heyang, carriages gathered.
Streams of vehicles merged from the mountain paths into the main road, like hundreds of rivers flowing east to the sea, rolling forward against the damp air.
"We're about to enter the capital."
In the carriage, Bai Yuyu lifted the curtain, drawing her gaze away from the vast, sprawling city in the distance, and looked back at the white-haired girl sitting across from her with closed eyes, still feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
—Why did she have to say that?
It was clearly just a pure friendship.
'...Wait, it is pure, right?'
Thinking about her previous interactions with Mu Qinglan, Bai Yuyu suddenly became uncertain.
Perhaps, maybe, probably, possibly... in others' eyes, she and Mu Mu might indeed seem a bit too close?
'But we really do have a pure friendship.'
Bai Yuyu had grievances she couldn't express.
Actually, they weren't really grievances.
Considering Mu Mu's personality, it might even be quite pleasant if they did have a not-so-pure friendship, but Miss Bai was still an innocent young lady. Suddenly discussing such things would naturally make her feel embarrassed and a bit resistant.
Not rejecting it, but not wanting to think about it.
Ah, how troublesome! Let's deal with it later!
Bai Yuyu patted her cheeks, encouraging herself, no longer dwelling on what Mu Mu had said earlier, and her mood improved greatly.
Couldn't be helped—who told her she had just obtained an amazing treasure?
Although she also owed Mu Mu a big favor, could owing Mu Mu really be called owing? She would definitely try her best to repay it.
Little Bai started giggling to herself.
Mu Qinglan heard the sound, glanced at her indifferently, then looked outside to confirm their current location.
"Look, look, it got smaller! Oh, it's big again!" Bai Yuyu played with her newly acquired weapon, like a child showing off a new toy, excitedly showing it to Mu Qinglan.
"It suits you well," Mu Qinglan said casually, not particularly interested.
"Hmph, of course it does. In what way does Mu Mu think it suits me?" Bai Yuyu asked curiously, digging deeper.
"Height, I suppose."
"?"
Bai Yuyu was irritated. You're a shorty too, why are you subtly calling me short? If you stood up, you might not even be as tall as me?!
Ahhh, Mu Mu is so annoying.
I won't talk to you for an hour, no, ten minutes!
○
Half an hour later.
The rain had stopped, but puddles remained on the ground.
Little Bai had completely forgotten her earlier displeasure. Near Prince Qi's mansion, she was pushing the wheelchair forward with huffing and puffing.
Mu Qinglan held a plate of cut cake, savoring it in small bites.
Bai Yuyu had paid for the cake, and it tasted exceptionally good. After all, freeloaded things, as long as they weren't too bad-tasting, always received a decent rating from her.
Extra points.
After walking for a while, Miss Zhu Yan with her cat-faced mask was following behind them, swaying as she walked.
At first, Bai Yuyu was a bit wary, wondering why such a masked strange person was following them near Mu Mu's home. But after Mu Qinglan explained that this was her newly appointed personal maid, she felt relieved.
It was Mu Mu after all, being a bit strange was normal.
And this person—she seemed somewhat familiar, just hadn't recognized her with the mask on.
"Shall I go then?" Bai Yuyu looked at the little follower behind and asked.
"Go home. Remember to send my regards to Miss Shen."
"I know~" Bai Yuyu dragged out the last sound, looking like she couldn't stand the nagging.
She needed to return to the Six Bureaus to change her clothes first, then go home, so Mu Qinglan's request wasn't unreasonable.
Still, Mu Mu not bidding her farewell made the cheerful young girl feel a bit depressed.
"See you in a few days."
"It's a deal!" Bai Yuyu's eyes brightened, and with a good mood, she got back into the carriage and headed toward the Six Bureaus.
The carriage wheels splashed through puddles, making sloshing sounds.
Bai Yuyu swayed left and right in the carriage, which creaked and groaned, occasionally humming softly to herself.
Upon reaching the Six Bureaus headquarters, Bai Yuyu shrank the jade pestle, wrapped it in white cloth, tucked it behind her, jumped out of the carriage, and ran forward with small steps, arms outstretched as if walking on a balance beam.
After putting away her things, taking a nice bath, and changing into fresh clothes, Bai Yuyu went to find Shen Yao.
She heard that Shen Yao was still working at this hour.
How diligent, tsk tsk.
Little Bai recalled the pleasant days she'd had, then thought about her senior sister's hard work, her eyes almost curved with happiness.
Well, happiness is always relative!
In the office, Shen Yao's desk faced the door, piled with documents. Bai Yuyu carefully pushed the door open, her movements as light as a raccoon stealing food from its owner's kitchen at night, making no sound at all.
Shen Yao's movements paused briefly. Seeing that the visitor made no sound, she guessed who it was and continued to work with her head down.
She was now at the fourth rank; how could Bai Yuyu's entrance escape her notice?
Just a sneaky cat trying to steal food.
Snap!
Shen Yao finished reading a booklet, casually wrote a few notes, snapped it shut, and tossed it aside.
Bai Yuyu was right behind her, standing on tiptoe to look, her expression like a student who had been daydreaming for two minutes in advanced mathematics class, then looked back at the blackboard—utterly confused.
However, having someone constantly staring from behind while working tends to reduce patience.
Shen Yao was no exception.
Growing annoyed with the paperwork, Shen Yao closed the booklet, leaned back in her chair, raised her head, folded her arms across her chest, and with a cold gaze, calmly asked:
"So you remembered to come back?"
Hearing this, the usually fearless Miss Bai suddenly felt guilty.
"Attendance is required..." she murmured, scratching her cheek.
"Three days."
Shen Yao silently took out the attendance record, opened it, pointed to the time when she had run off, then pointed to today.
Everything was understood without words.
"It was unexpected, unexpected. I've come back now, haven't I?" Bai Yuyu coughed twice in embarrassment, then tried to change the subject: "By the way, Senior Sister, do you know about the unusual phenomenon at Fragrant Mountain outside?"
"What? You went looking for that thing?" Shen Yao asked calmly.
She knew about this matter too. When the phenomenon first appeared, many people in Heyang City had gone to investigate, and the Six Bureaus had sent people to maintain order.
"Come on, why aren't you asking if I found it?"
Bai Yuyu dragged out her words, hands on her hips, her tone clearly hinting.
Shen Yao folded her arms, giving her a cold stare.
"..."
Bai Yuyu surrendered and could only say: "A secret realm opened. I went in and got that thing."
Shen Yao looked at her with slight surprise.
"If you got it, just keep it for yourself. By the way, how many people died in the secret realm?"
"Quite a few."
"I see. I'll send a team to collect the bodies tonight."
Shen Yao nodded, then asked in a seemingly casual tone: "By the way, she wasn't hurt, was she?"
?
Bai Yuyu was stunned, alarm bells ringing in her mind.
Have I been exposed?