The value of this profound saying in Chapter 156 continues to rise.

That night.

Shen Zhaozhao dragged her slightly tired steps back to Yunlai Residence. When she opened the door, the scene that came into view made her pause slightly.

The cool moonlight slanted in through the carved wooden window, just enough to envelop the table next to it.

Xie Linyuan was supporting his forehead with one hand, a few strands of his long, dark hair cascading down like a waterfall. His eyes were closed, his long eyelashes casting a small, quiet shadow beneath them. His breathing was shallow, as if he had already fallen asleep.

The moonlight flowed down, softening his usual cold and aloof demeanor and giving him an unexpected sense of tranquility.

Shen Zhaozhao barely needed to think to know that the peacock had adjusted the angle eight hundred times to precisely capture this "beauty resting under the moon" picture.

She wanted to call him out directly, but when her gaze swept over his flawless face, which looked even more stunning in the moonlight, she swallowed back the sarcasm that was on the tip of her tongue.

hiss.

Xie Linyuan is foolish, yet undeniably beautiful—the value of this profound statement continues to rise.

As long as he doesn't cause trouble and just stays quietly, he's quite pleasing to the eye.

"..."

With a chuckle, Shen Zhaozhao, as if possessed, tiptoed over, reached out, and gently ruffled his wonderfully soft black hair.

The touch from my fingertips is gentle and soft.

Xie Linyuan, who was pretending to be asleep, stiffened almost imperceptibly when her fingertips touched him.

Zhao Zhao was not angry.

Does that mean that she... tacitly approved of what happened during the day?

However, his secret joy didn't last a moment before he felt the hand quickly move away, followed by the faint sound of Shen Zhaozhao turning and leaving, and... the sound of the door next door closing softly.

Xie Linyuan: "?"

The peacock opened its eyes almost immediately, its tranquil and gentle "sleeping face" vanishing instantly, replaced by a bewildered look.

...Gone?

He just rubbed it once and then left?

Aren't we going to do something else?

Xie Linyuan sat there in a daze. The corners of his lips, which had almost turned up when she gently rubbed them, now drooped listlessly. Even the moonlight he had deliberately created around him seemed to have dimmed a bit.

He pursed his lips, feeling increasingly uneasy as he thought about it, gripped by a sense of loss at being "used and discarded."

no.

He couldn't just sit there and wait to die.

Thinking of this, Xie Kongque suddenly stood up, walked quickly to the next room, and raised his hand to knock on the door. However, before his fingertips even touched the door, he could vaguely hear Shen Zhaozhao's voice, which was very low and seemed to be talking to someone, coming from the next room.

Xie Linyuan suddenly stopped, subconsciously focusing his attention to listen carefully.

Inside the next room.

Shen Zhaozhao was holding a communication talisman, her expression somewhat speechless.

She originally intended to contact Yan Qiubai and tell him the information she had gathered that day about the strange movements of Lingxiao Zhenren and Yun Wan'er.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the communication talisman lit up, a rustling sound came from the other end, followed by Liu Qingyi's muffled voice filled with obvious disgust: "...Yan Qiubai, that's enough! You're always so lovey-dovey, don't you get tired of it?"

Immediately following was Yan Qiubai's sticky, whimpering voice. The exact content was unclear, but the tone sounded as if someone had wronged him.

Shen Zhaozhao couldn't help but burst out laughing, saying to the two people on the other end who were clearly unaware that the communication talisman had been connected: "Senior Sister Liu is right, Junior Uncle, I'm not trying to be mean, but these clingy men are the most annoying."

The words fell.

Xie Linyuan, standing outside the door of the next room, froze on the spot.

inside the house.

Hearing the sharp, explosive sound of Yan Qiubai's voice, like a boiling kettle, erupting from the other end of the communication talisman, along with Liu Qingyi's irritated scolding, Shen Zhaozhao chuckled mischievously and added two more precise blows before getting back to the main topic amidst Yan Qiubai's indignant accusations of "you heartless little thing" and "I've spoiled you for nothing," and carefully recounting the information she had gathered that day to the two of them.

After speaking, there was a moment of silence on the other end of the communication talisman, followed by Liu Qingyi's slightly deep voice: "Zhaozhao, you used to have a lot of contact with Senior Brother Gu, so you probably don't know that whenever Yun Wan'er pesters someone like this, she must have something in mind, and what she's after is usually not a small thing."

"Furthermore, Qiu Bai previously discovered that my master's destiny star is obscure and unclear... I'm afraid that Yun Wan'er, this troublemaker, might want to use the sect leader to deal with my master."

"impossible!"

Yan Qiubai immediately retorted, but his tone was clearly uncertain and anxious, "Qingyi, don't overthink it. No matter how much Senior Brother Lingxiao dotes on Yun Wan'er, she is still just a disciple. She has only been a disciple for five years. How much affection can she possibly have?"

"But Master Lingxiao and my senior brother have been disciples of our master since I joined the sect. How many storms have they weathered together? How could a mere young girl like her easily sway them?"

"Besides, why would Yun Wan'er want to kill her senior brother? She had no reason at all."

Shen Zhaozhao lowered her eyes and after a long while, slowly said, "But this matter concerns Elder Qingxuan's safety after all. It's better to believe it's true. Tomorrow... I will go and investigate more carefully."

The three of them discussed the matter briefly before ending the communication.

Shen Zhaozhao breathed a sigh of relief. The outer disciples only had limited information. If she wanted to find out the details, it seemed she would have to find a way to infiltrate the Tianyan Sect tomorrow.

But in this way...

I promised Xie Linyuan I'd take him to the Flower Festival tomorrow... Hmm, maybe I should just let him suffer a little?

Shen Zhaozhao pinched the bridge of her nose, just as she was planning how to slip away to investigate the Tianyan Sect the next day. Involuntarily, the image of Xie Linyuan's aggrieved look—his peach blossom eyes instantly filled with tears, his eyes reddened, as if he had been abandoned by the whole world—came to mind when he heard that the appointment for the Flower Prayer Festival was to be postponed.

She suddenly shivered.

no.

Absolutely not.

Even if she were to jump out of the window of Yunlai Residence and die outside, she would never break her promise to Xie Linyuan!

Otherwise, who knows what kind of outrageous trouble that peacock who was stood up will cause her in the future!

Thinking of this, Shen Zhaozhao sighed resignedly and decided to go next door to discuss with Xie Linyuan whether she could ask him to wait for her at the inn a little longer tomorrow. She would go and return quickly.

However, as soon as she pushed open her bedroom door, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

The door to the next room... was ajar.

Shen Zhaozhao's heart sank. She took a few steps forward and pushed open the ajar door—

The room was empty.

The cool moonlight still fell quietly, but the carefully angled "beauty under the moon" was no longer there beside the table by the window.

Shen Zhaozhao: "???"

no? !

Where is Xie Linyuan, who was just posing and pretending to be asleep?!

How long has it been?!

That's it?!