"Will you dare do that again next time?"

"I won't."

"Louder, I can't hear you!"

"I won't do it again next time!"

Qian Yuya and the other three knelt obediently on the floor, while Nai Qingni sat on a chair, looking at them with an expression of "Why can't you just get it right?" and utter disappointment.

Kui Nianruo and Li Ying were actually fine, the former was already used to being punished by her father at home, and the latter was shameless, so kneeling meant nothing to her;

But Lin Xue was a year older than them. At home, she had an equal footing with her father, and after growing up, when had she ever needed to kneel? But since they were in the wrong this time, Lin Xue could only kneel as well, though she still kept her back straight to mark her seniority in the group.

Yet, no matter how compliant they were, Nai Qingni still felt angry, so angry that she paced up and down. "I'd expect this from Nianruo and Xiao Ying, but Yuya and Xiao Xue, what's wrong with you two? How did you end up getting crazy with them? You could've just told me, or told a teacher at school—it'd be better than facing those criminals head-on!"

Kui Nianruo stared dumbfounded at Nai Qingni, caught in a daze.

Li Ying couldn't help but say, "Nai, sis..."

"I'm not your sis, you don't even trust me, so why are you calling me that?"

"No, Nai, sis, that..."

"You talk nice, but did you ever consider how I'd feel? What if something happened to you? What if you got hurt? What if there was more than one attacker?"

"Nai, sis..."

"Stop calling me sis, I don't have a little sister who doesn't care about herself!"

"Nai, sis." Qian Yuya quickly said, "I came up with this plan, it has nothing to do with them."

"Huh?" Nai Qingni was taken aback, blinking. "Wasn't it Xiao Ying and Nianruo who led you two to trouble?"

"Nai, sis!" Li Ying clung to a pitiful Kui Nianruo and said, "Look, Nianruo's about to cry! How can you say that about us? We were just being loyal to help Xiao Yu!"

"Er, uh, well... You two really should reflect on yourselves, on why, whenever something happens, I'd always assume it was you starting trouble." Nai Qingni looked away. "Fine, fine, you two go back to your room, no punishment for you."

"We shouldn't have been punished in the first place. Nianruo, let's go shower, today your sis Li will scrub your back!"

Li Ying marched Kui Nianruo to the bathroom, and soon all sorts of wild noises emerged: "Get out, get out," "Let go of me," "Damn it, why are you so big even though you're this short?"

Nai Qingni heaved a sigh and led Qian Yuya and Lin Xue into the study, saying, "Give me a simple description of that cloaked man."

Qian Yuya and Lin Xue then described the fighting style of the cloaked man, and as Nai Qingni listened, her expression gradually changed.

"He could precisely predict attacks, knew techniques from all kinds of schools, acted in secrecy..." Nai Qingni frowned deeply. "No way, why would they target you guys..."

Lin Xue immediately asked, "Nai, sis, do you know who they are?"

"Nai, sis, he also seems to know White Night," Qian Yuya said calmly. "He once invited me to join him, even saying if I hadn't been brainwashed by White Night, he'd apply to the organization to recruit me."

Nai Qingni, who'd originally planned to brush them off, paused for a moment after hearing this and said helplessly, "They're... a long-standing secret organization inside the Imperial Court of Glorious Radiance. Not many members, but obvious traits: every single one of them was a formidable fighter, and against anyone below the Integration and Mastery level, they practically made quick work of the enemy, able to precisely predict enemy intent."

"They may have practiced some Forbidden Battle Technique, or maybe they had a Divine Weapon. We're more inclined to think it's the former, since they don't have many members, but if each one really had a Divine Weapon, there wouldn't be enough Divine Weapons to go around these days..."

Lin Xue said in surprise, "An Imperial Court organization? Then they should be our enemies, right? But why would he..."

"No, technically they're not our enemies—not for now, at least." Nai Qingni shook her head. "There are many factions in the court, and that group always made everyone wary. They even worked with us before. From their point of view, our existence benefited them."

Qian Yuya suddenly said, "Raising wolves to create trouble?"

"That's one way to describe it." Nai Qingni skipped past the topic. "Yuya, do you know why they're in pursuit of you?"

Qian Yuya fell silent, as if thinking. Lin Xue, getting the hint, stood up and said, "I should go shower too..."

"No, Xue, I just haven't figured out how to say it." Qian Yuya said, "You both know, these past two months, I received two large amounts of money, right?"

Nai Qingni and Lin Xue nodded. Lin Xue commented, "You suddenly had money to ride the bus with us, Li Ying was thrilled—she got to sleep a bit longer every day."

"You didn't ask where the money came from, and I'm grateful for that. But it's not that I didn't want to talk about it, it's just I didn't know how." Qian Yuya said, "There was a letter in the mail, which claimed the sender was a friend of my brother. He knew I was studying in Yanjing, so he asked someone to give me the money, to help with my schooling. He even stated that this money was nothing compared to his friendship with my brother—they were supposedly 'as close as sharing pants.'"

"He didn't leave any other information, but the money he gave was a lot—a whole lot."

"But in my memory," Qian Yuya shook her head, "my brother didn't know anyone so rich—really, other than Chen Fu, my brother didn't really have any other friends."

Lin Xue agreed. She'd also looked into Qian Yuliu, and if anyone said he and people like Qian Yuliu could 'share the same pants,' Lin Xue could only assume that person was a pervert who liked stealing men's pants.

"So how did you handle that money?" Nai Qingni asked.

Qian Yuya said, "I put it away for gradual use. After all, studying in Yanjing costs a lot."

Lin Xue joked, "I thought you'd never use cash from an unknown source."

"The money's not fake, why wouldn't I use it?" Qian Yuya said coolly. "If I can endure the hardships that fate brings, then of course I have to accept reality's sudden offerings, too."

"Besides, I originally thought the money came from my enemy."

Lin Xue and Nai Qingni were both stunned; Nai Qingni quickly responded, "Xuanzhu, a friend of Qian Yuliu... Someone who fits both—the only one I can think of is Yin Yinyin!"

Lin Xue asked, "You said, 'originally'... so you've changed your mind?"

"Yes," Qian Yuya nodded. "That person said the money was sent through the Windward Post Office, headquartered in Xuanzhu County, and what he wanted to know was, what exactly is my relationship with Xuanzhu's Jing Family."

Even though Qian Yuya felt no pressure spending money from anyone, if Yin Yinyin was really the one giving her money, it would actually put her more at ease.

However, if Yin Yinyin intended to use this to atone for his sins, Qian Yuya would be sure to let him know all he'd ever done was nurture an enemy.

After learning about her brother's death, Qian Yuya no longer felt sorrow or happiness.

All that remained in her heart were three things, "her brother's will, her revenge, and her fate."

"Xuanzhu's Jing Family?" Nai Qingni raised her brows slightly. "Sounds kind of familiar... I'll check for some info tomorrow."

"Xuanzhu?"

Hearing Lin Xue repeat it pensively, Qian Yuya asked, "Xue, do you have any intel?"

"It's not exactly intel, but I saw Li Ying reading a newspaper a couple days ago." Lin Xue shrugged. "You know, Li Ying never reads anything except novels, so I was curious. I took a peek and realized she was reading a paper, and she smugly said it was the hottest paper in Dongyang's Xuanzhu County lately—hardly any copies in Yanjing, they're selling out everywhere."

Qian Yuya immediately stood up. "I'm going to check it out."

Nai Qingni nodded. "You two should get some rest early. If I dig up something detailed tomorrow, I'll let you know."

"Nai, sis."

Qian Yuya suddenly paused at the doorway. "Is it really that safe around Vermilion Bird Alley?"

At the academy, it was normal for those people to play it safe. Out on busy streets, as a secret organization, obviously they wouldn't dare show off. But in Vermilion Bird Alley, which was a residential area, for the cloaked men to still refrain from acting rashly, it meant something.

Nai Qingni glanced at her, shrugged, and said, "If you can lure those guys into Vermilion Bird Alley next time, I promise none of them will get away."

"Got it."

Qian Yuya and Lin Xue left the room, just in time to see Li Ying and Kui Nianruo heading to their room in their pajamas.

"Ew, I'm not sleeping with you!"

"Alright, alright, I'll take responsibility and look after you properly."

"Like hell you will!" Even someone as meek as Kui Nianruo couldn't help cussing. "It's bad enough you hog the blanket, but you've kicked me out of bed so many times. I'm not sleeping with you again!"

"Then why am I the one kicking you out and not the other way around? Clearly it's your problem..."

Qian Yuya went into the room, cutting off their everyday bickering, and asked, "Xiao Ying, I heard you bought a newspaper from Xuanzhu County?"

"Yeah, Xiao Yu, Xue, you two want to see it too?" Li Ying looked at them, and after they both nodded, she said, "You can borrow it, but you have to promise me—really, really focus on the front page. Promise?"

The request was a little odd, but Lin Xue and Qian Yuya didn't overthink it and both agreed. Clearly they didn't notice Kui Nianruo, lying in bed with a flushed face, pulling the thin blanket over her head.

Li Ying took a newspaper from her desk drawer. "Here, remember, really look closely at the front page, and tell me what you see!"

Qian Yuya took the newspaper, and saw the name written in bold, striking strokes on the front page,

Youth Daily