Unsheathed

This was the first time Chen Ping'an was entering a young maiden's residence, let alone her room.

He told Zhu Lian and Pei Qian to wait outside, and he only brought Shi Rou inside the building with him.

Before entering the room, Chen Ping'an knocked on the door and explained the reason for his visit, saying that Assistant Minister Liu had asked him to come here to check on Lady Liu's room and see if there were any traces of the fox demon.

After waiting for a brief moment, Liu Qingqing finished brushing her hair and applying her makeup, and she instructed her maidservant, Zhao Ya, to walk over and open the door.

Chen Ping'an recognized this maidservant, and he knew that she was the gentle-natured daughter of the elderly steward. However, more of his attention was focused on Liu Qingqing, the young woman who was supposedly charmed by the fox demon.

Observing her for the first time, Chen Ping'an felt like the rumors were slightly different from the truth. A person's eyes reflected their internal state, and it was indeed easy to feign a sense of dullness. However, it was very difficult to feign a sense of energy and spirit.

Chen Ping'an breathed a sigh of relief, yet he also felt worried about something else. He felt relieved because the most pressing danger was actually easier to deal with than he had imagined. However, he felt worried because a person's heart was like a mirror—it was easy to shatter, yet it was incredibly difficult to piece back together.

Regardless, this was the young woman's own destiny to deal with, and Chen Ping'an could only do his best to save her life. He couldn't mend the heart of a woman he had just met, nor would he attempt to do this.

Even though Liu Qingqing was a young maiden who wasn't restrained much by her clan, meaning that she had seen many handsome and talented young men from the Azure Phoenix Nation before, she was still very curious about genuine official immortals from the mountains. This was the case even though she had a phoenix cage that housed many spirits in her room.

Thus, she felt less guarded against Chen Ping'an when she saw that he was a decent-looking and warm-natured young man. This was the room of a young maiden, after all, so it was inevitable that Liu Qingqing would feel queasy about allowing outsiders to enter. After all, what would she do if the visitor were a vulgar martial artist who only knew about slaughter or a so-called immortal who clearly had ulterior motives?

Chen Ping'an cupped his fists and apologized, saying, "Our actions don't adhere to etiquette, but Assistant Minister Liu and the Lion Garden's mountain lord are both worried about your health. Please forgive us for doing this, Young Mistress. My surname is Chen, and my subordinate's surname is Shi."