At night, just as Shen Yao Xing was about to have a late-night snack, Meng Xin Yi suddenly burst into the room, dressed in all black.
Shen Yao Xing looked her up and down, asking puzzledly: "What are you doing?"
"Tonight, you're coming with me to the Four Directions Association again." She said, placing the night clothes in front of her.
"..." Shen Yao Xing blinked, raising her voice in disbelief: "You can't be serious, big sis! Your wound hasn't even healed yet, and now you're thinking of going there again!?"
This person seemed to have no regard for her life. The bloody hole from last time hadn't even closed yet, and now she was rushing to get stabbed again. Couldn't she just eat more and sleep more when idle? Why did she have to sneak into someone else's place in the middle of the night!
The black clothes wrapped the woman's figure tightly, accentuating her curves, and coupled with those mature facial features, she would be a perfect example of a mature beauty in modern times. However, the words coming out of that mouth made Shen Yao Xing want to give her a slap.
"That day when I snuck into the Four Directions Association, I accidentally went to the wrong place and didn't have time to investigate anything, so I plan to go again tonight."
Shen Yao Xing was ready to kneel before her: "What exactly do you want to investigate? Can't you go during the day?" Sneaking into someone's "private residence" in the middle of the night gave her a heavy sense of guilt.
Meng Xin Yi automatically ignored the useless parts of what was said, frowning and saying in a deep voice: "I suspect the Four Directions Association has some unspeakable dealings with the Longevity Pavilion."
Ever since the news of the competition came out, she had felt something was off. Perhaps she didn't know much about the Longevity Pavilion, but the Four Directions Association was certainly not as upright as it appeared on the surface. Its behind-the-scenes methods were no better than the Longevity Pavilion's. To suddenly organize something like this for no reason, there must be some unspeakable cause.
"No," Shen Yao Xing held her forehead, then remembered she had just grabbed a chicken leg and her hand was greasy. She quickly put it down, gesturing tiredly: "Even if there are some unspeakable dealings, it's none of your business, right? Why do you have to go and get involved!"
Meng Xin Yi didn't want to say more to her, using her sword hilt to push the black clothes in front of her: "Are you going or not?"
What could Shen Yao Xing do? If she didn't go, she was afraid the other would end up lying there covered in bloody holes, unable to get out.
The perimeter of the Four Directions Association was heavily guarded. The two waited for the right moment during the guard change to sneak in. But once inside, a new problem arose - this Four Directions Association was as big as a maze, how would they know which room the managers were in?
Just as Shen Yao Xing felt this was unfeasible and was about to persuade her to go back, she saw Meng Xin Yi pull out a cloth map from somewhere.
"What's this?"
"A layout map of the Four Directions Association."
"...Where did you get it?"
"Bought it from a wandering magician." She replied matter-of-factly.
Shen Yao Xing held her forehead, truly ready to kneel before her.
Let's not even discuss whether this map was accurate or not, in the middle of the night it was hard to distinguish which building was which and which room was which. Shen Yao Xing had already given up and could only follow her as they jumped from rooftop to rooftop.
This place seemed to be composed of various large and small pavilions, with winding paths. To be honest, even in broad daylight she wouldn't be able to find her way around, let alone at night.
After searching for quite a while under the moonlight, Meng Xin Yi stopped on the roof of a pavilion. She turned back to signal the young girl to be quiet, then crouched down and removed two tiles from under her feet. A beam of light shone on her face, clearly indicating they had found the right place.
Shen Yao Xing shrugged, turning towards another direction. She spread her arms and stood on tiptoe. The young girl's body was agile and light as she jumped over to sit on the main ridge of the roof, legs crossed, leisurely looking at the full moon above, occasionally glancing at the woman who was engrossed in eavesdropping.
Sigh, how nice it would be to sleep at this late hour, instead of sneaking around here.
As she was thinking, Shen Yao Xing narrowed her eyes and yawned, catching sight of a dark shadow not far away in her peripheral vision. Startled, she hiccupped, quickly covering her mouth and pointing it out to Meng Xin Yi who looked over.
Meng Xin Yi looked in the direction she pointed. They saw a black cat standing on the upturned corner of the eaves, its glowing cat eyes staring intently at them.
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