As soon as the words fell, the room instantly became silent.
Shen Yao stood in place, staring at the white-haired girl in the wheelchair not far away, her thoughts frozen and unable to speak.
The sound of rain outside pattered continuously, flowing into the room.
After a long while, Shen Yao finally recovered from her shock, clenched her fists, and barely maintained her composure. Her ice-cold tone could no longer be sustained:
"What are you talking about? I don't understand what you mean."
"Miss Shen knows very well."
Mu Qinglan smiled and said.
"Sixteen years ago, Miss Shen was only three years old. To witness the tragedy of your country's downfall at such a young age—it truly breaks one's heart. If you weren't a princess of Yan, protected by loyal guards, and happened to be away from the palace at that time, you probably wouldn't have had any chance of survival. As the sole survivor of the Yan royal family, you must feel quite resentful, don't you?"
Shen Yao stared at her intently.
These matters were supposed to be unknown to anyone.
She had always thought her past was buried in that rainy night sixteen years ago.
But unexpectedly, this girl before her, who seemed so fragile that a mere breath could kill her, had somehow discovered her true identity through unknown means.
Logically, anyone who knew her secret should be silenced by her.
But this was enemy territory!
Of course she could easily kill Mu Qinglan, but after doing so, would she have any chance to escape this massive mansion?
"What do you want to do?"
After taking a deep breath, Shen Yao spoke hoarsely.
"I don't want to do anything."
Mu Qinglan offered reassurance.
"As you know, I was targeted by an assassin last night, so I just want to ensure my own safety."
"Ensure your safety? Aren't you afraid I'll kill you right now?" Shen Yao laughed coldly: "At this distance, unless there's a third-rank expert hiding nearby, I could kill you with ease."
"Would you kill me then?"
Mu Qinglan asked in return, her voice, combined with her pale face, somehow carrying a pitiful tone.
"..."
Shen Yao fell silent.
She had no grudge against Mu Qinglan and indeed had no intention of dying together with her here.
Mu Qinglan also knew she didn't have such intentions, which was why she was engaging in this back-and-forth.
"Miss Shen comes from Yan and has an irreconcilable blood feud with the faction of the Southern Campaign General. But frankly speaking, even though you're the personal disciple of the Chief Constable of the Six Bureaus, your chances of successful revenge are minimal. That Southern Campaign General is a genuine second-rank Martial Saint. And now he even enjoys the emperor's favor, with increasingly prominent power and influence."
Mu Qinglan calmly recounted the knowledge she had obtained from the game.
Indeed, everything she had said so far came from the plot of the game in her previous life.
This princess had kept her identity very secret. In fact, if it hadn't been for this genius constable suddenly rising up to kill a third-rank general of Great Xia in the late game, no one would have known Miss Shen's true identity.
And at this current point in time, this information was known to no one.
That's why Shen Yao had lost her composure.
Having her pain point exposed, Shen Yao could no longer maintain her previous calm demeanor.
She indeed didn't hate Mu Qinglan, but this was predicated on Mu Qinglan not overstepping.
Being threatened with her weakness had already put Shen Yao in a bad mood, and Mu Qinglan's every word was like a critical hit, each sentence piercing her heart, almost throwing the words "you're incapable of revenge" in her face.
"Miss Shen, you know very well that with just your abilities, you probably can't achieve revenge in this lifetime."
Whoosh—
The raindrops outside the room suddenly halted.
A cold, murderous intent leaked out, and an invisible pressure spread outward with the black-haired woman as its center, causing the doors and windows to rattle.
The immense pressure of a fifth-rank martial artist gradually emerged from the enraged black-clad woman. As her black hair moved without wind, a terrifying ferocity lit up in those blood-red eyes.
Mu Qinglan's face paled for a moment.
Her body was too weak; merely the pressure from a fifth-rank martial artist caused her obvious discomfort.
As if sensing their mistress's condition, the shadows in the room slowly solidified.
Two not-insignificant auras surged from both sides of the girl's wheelchair, pushing back the other's pressure.
Shen Yao looked at the pale-faced girl opposite her, her blood-red eyes seemingly capable of devouring people. Although the sword at her side was sheathed, the body tempered through training was itself the best weapon of any martial artist.
—At this distance, Shen Yao was confident she could take the other down with her.
The wind pressure intensified.
The two sides seemed on the verge of a life-or-death struggle.
Mu Qinglan stared at the woman opposite her without any wavering, then she smiled slightly, changing the direction of the conversation, and uttered words that stunned Shen Yao.
"However, I can help you."
"..."
The air in the room fell deathly silent.
The frozen raindrops outside the window scattered like a curtain of beads, shattering on the ground.
Shen Yao had already discerned the meaning of the girl opposite her. Not only would she not report her, but she would also help her, providing her with an opportunity for revenge.
But this made her even more vigilant.
There's no free lunch. Shen Yao was very clear on this point. Now that her weakness was in the other's hands, the other might use this to make some very excessive demands.
Shen Yao's eyes fixed firmly on the wheelchair-bound girl before her, her gaze intense, and she spoke word by word:
"Why?"
As she spoke, Shen Yao gradually restrained the aura around her.
"I encountered an assassin last night," Mu Qinglan's voice was calm, "and that assassin is connected to the fanatical war hawks associated with the Southern Prince. So, I also seek revenge."
Listening to her words, Shen Yao fell silent.
She suspected Mu Qinglan was lying. Her purpose wasn't so simple. With such a scheming mind, would she really have such a strong obsession with revenge? But at this moment, she had no better options. The other party had perfectly seized her weakness.
After Shen Yao's killing intent gradually dissipated, this was no longer a fair negotiation.
It became a one-sided... trampling.
"Miss Shen, your talent is rare. But a second-rank Martial Saint is not something that can be confronted with talent alone. To deal with him, or the emperor behind him, you probably need a bit of help."
Mu Qinglan leaned back against the backrest, her hands on the wheelchair, her expression as calm as still water:
"In other words. You need my friendship."
The girl's tone was unhurried, yet carried a certainty difficult to question. As the words fell, Shen Yao's heart began to beat rapidly.
Mu Qinglan was absolutely right.
The path of transcendence became increasingly difficult as one progressed. Although there were only three levels between the fifth rank and the second rank, the gap between them was as vast as a heavenly moat.
Her talent was indeed strong, but talent needed time and resources to materialize.
She was far from a second-rank Martial Saint.
Shen Yao needed help to achieve revenge, and this level of help was difficult for her to obtain normally. Shen Yao was no longer the princess of Yan. Now, apart from her talent and her undercover position in Great Xia, she had no other chips to play.
And she was a clear-headed person.
So, as long as she wanted revenge, she would definitely consider the proposition of the wheelchair-bound girl opposite her.
The condition Mu Qinglan had just thrown out was only one part, and the fragile vulnerability she deliberately displayed was also an important factor in ensuring the smooth progress of her plan.
After all, who would suspect that a girl on the verge of dying from illness would harbor so many schemes?
After a moment of silence, Shen Yao lowered her head:
"What does Miss Mu want me to do?"
More like not "want" but "require," a slight difference in wording perfectly demonstrated the black-haired woman's submission at this moment.
The corner of Mu Qinglan's mouth curled slightly.
She knew that from now on, this future second-rank expert, this super boss from the late game, was temporarily on her side.
Not completely loyal? No matter.
Now that they had begun, in the time to come, she had ways to make Shen Yao completely submit.
She understood this ice-cold girl very well.
A future world boss?
Heh, wasn't she still in her hands now?
Under Shen Yao's gaze, the girl slowly moved her wheelchair forward until the two pairs of equally blood-red eyes were close enough to see every detail in each other's pupils.
Shen Yao turned her head away somewhat unnaturally.
The next moment-
She saw the girl smile slightly, tilt her head, take her hand, and place it on her unguarded pale neck, her voice carrying an indescribable enchantment:
"I want you to be my eyes, my hands, my mouth, the extension of my will. And, 'Miss Mu' sounds a bit distant. Miss Shen could use a more intimate form of address to highlight our relationship. For example…
Master."