Ten years ago

Mingfeng Valley.

Various disguise tools were laid out on a stone table in front of a wooden house.

Xiao Yan handed a delicate hairpin to Mu Tiantian, saying, "A young lady should dress up nicely, instead of always looking like a tomboy. Long Fantian can't see that."

"Master, I think I look fine like this." Mu Tiantian looked in the mirror and pressed her eyelids down, turning them into small, single-eyelid eyes, except that her pupils were a bit large.

"Master is Master, why add 'big'?" Xiao Yan pouted.

Mu Tiantian chuckled, "It's not that hard to tell."

"Go change Long Fantian's dressing in a bit. He'll be able to see again tomorrow," Xiao Yan instructed.

Mu Tiantian nodded and put the hairpin away.

Before leaving, Xiao Yan reminded you, "That hairpin is a hidden weapon that I made for you to use for self-defense. Keep it safe."

"Hidden weapons?" Mu Tiantian took them out and examined them with curiosity. "Master, you can even make hidden weapons?"

“Your master is quite capable.” Xiao Yan pouted.

Mu Tiantian was amused by his appearance and took the medicine to a thatched hut behind the wooden house.

Long Fantian's ears were much more sensitive. Hearing the voice, he asked in a low voice, "Is it time to change the dressing?"

Mu Tiantian lowered her voice a few decibels and hummed in agreement.

As usual, she removed the white cloth from his eyes, sat down in front of him, and gently wiped away the dark ointment from his eyelids with water, bit by bit.

Long Fantian's sense of smell became sensitive, and he smelled a very faint milky fragrance. He recalled that he had also smelled this fragrance the night he was injured.

Long Fantian tentatively asked, "You don't seem to smell of medicine anymore."

Mu Tiantian paused as she wiped his eyes, her attention drawn to the hidden weapon hairpin Xiao Yan had given her, and she forgot to apply the medicine to her body.

"I didn't gather any herbs today." Mu Tiantian quickened her movements, but remained careful, changing the subject, "Your eyes will be open tomorrow."

"So, I'll be able to see you then," Long Fantian said with a hint of anticipation.

Mu Tiantian didn't say anything, continued to apply the ointment, and finally covered it with a white cloth.

“You really don’t like to talk. Are you a woman?” Long Fantian continued to ask.

Mu Tiantian pursed her lips and remained silent, quickly packed her things, and left.

Before he could even take a step, Long Fantian grabbed his wrist.

Her wrists were slender and her skin was smooth, as delicate as a woman's.

"If you don't say anything, I'll take that as a yes."

Mu Tiantian tried to pull her hand away, but he was very strong. She denied it in a low voice, saying, "Your woman's voice is so rough."

Long Fantian continued to probe, "The voice can be deliberately altered."

"Let go, or I'll get angry!" Mu Tiantian pretended to be angry.

Long Fantian was amused by her, his lips curved slightly, and he let go of her hand.

Mu Tiantian quickly ran away.

Long Fantian said softly, "I hope that when I open my eyes tomorrow, the first thing I see is you."

Although Mu Tiantian ran very fast, she still heard it.

Seven Commanders: [You will go to the capital tomorrow.]

Mu Tiantian: [Why would I go to the capital? He's all better now, shouldn't I be leaving?]

Seven Unifications: [The forecasting department needs to re-evaluate this world. You can only leave when the world develops according to the World Management Bureau's predictions. By the way, even if you go to the capital, it's best to avoid him and not let him recognize you.]

Mu Tiantian: [How long will it take?]

The Seven Dynasties: [At most, it will last five years.]

Mu Tiantian gave a forced smile: 【You guys are so troublesome!】

Seventh Master: [Here's the thing, there's extra compensation for temporary repairs. Calculated according to the current world's time, for each year the mission is delayed, an additional 20% of the total mission points will be compensated. If you really don't want to do it, I'll try my best to apply to higher authorities for you, and maybe we can send other mission takers.]

Mu Tiantian: [Five years? That's too short a time.]

Seven Systems: [...]

The next day, Mu Tiantian cooked a big meal for Xiao Yan, including various shapes of steamed buns. Xiao Yan liked them, so she made a lot of them.

"Shouldn't you be leaving?" Xiao Yan asked casually while eating.

Mu Tiantian was slightly taken aback, and tentatively asked, "Leave? Where am I going?"

Xiao Yan simply smiled faintly, stroked his beard, and instructed, "Don't forget your master in the future."

Qi Tong: [Xiao Yan knows some divination techniques; he might have foreseen it.]

Mu Tiantian: [You even figured that out.]

"Of course I will not forget my master." After saying that, she walked out of the valley.

On the way, Qi Tong suddenly reminded them: [Long Fantian has appeared.]

Upon hearing this, Mu Tiantian hurriedly ran over, but her hairpin fell to the ground.

She was about to go back and pick it up when she saw a white figure walking towards her from not far away.

Mu Tiantian had no choice but to leave quickly.

Long Fantian searched everywhere, eager to see what his little apprentice, who had always taken care of him, looked like.

But they didn't see a single person.

Until he found the hairpin on the ground.

Long Fantian picked it up. Xiao Yan had made it clear that there were no outsiders here except for him and his little apprentice Lin Miao.

Before leaving, he went to thank Xiao Yan and say goodbye, taking out the hairpin and asking, "Master Xiao, is this hairpin yours?"

"It was true before, but it's not true now."

Long Fantian guessed, "So, this belongs to your little disciple?"

Xiao Yan didn't answer, but instead placed a small steamer of steamed buns in front of him, saying, "Eat your fill before you set off."

Long Fantian joked, "Master Xiao, are you sending me away?"

As he spoke, he ate a steamed bun with red bean paste. It tasted really good, quite different from anything he had eaten before. He praised it, "Did you make this?"

"My apprentice made it," Xiao Yan said with a hint of pride, showing how much he really liked his little apprentice.

Taking this opportunity, Long Fantian asked, "May I see him?"

"What is destined to be yours will be yours, and what is not, you cannot force. If you are meant to meet, you will meet again." Xiao Yan muttered this in a cryptic tone, seemingly unrelated to the question.

Finally, he said to Long Fantian, "Keep the hairpin safe, you never know when you might need it. Should I bring you some dry rations?"

"Thank you, Master Xiao." With that, Long Fantian took out several ingots of gold to give to Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan waved his hand, packed the bean bag and handed it to him, "Someone has already paid you the reward, otherwise I wouldn't have saved you."

"Was she the one who brought me here? Where is she?"

"Go on, I won't see you off." Xiao Yan didn't reply.

Long Fantian was already used to his irrelevant answers.

Since Xiao Yan really didn't want to talk about it, he didn't ask any more questions.

He took the steamed buns that Xiao Yan had packed for him and left the valley.

He glanced at the hairpin in his hand, and a hunch came to mind.

Lin Miao, who had been taking care of him, might just be the little mute who brought him here...

...

Reunion

While Mu Tiantian was making money at the First Restaurant, Qi Tong gathered information that Jing Huaxiong was planning to assassinate Long Fantian and needed her to keep a close eye on him to prevent him from being killed.

Mu Tiantian asked curiously, "Don't you guys ever change the male lead in these worlds?"

Seven Unifications: [Given the current situation, we can't find a male lead who meets all the criteria, so we can only protect him secretly for now. By the way, I might be recalled by the main system in the next few days to undergo a comprehensive test. The survival system will remain active, so don't do anything reckless.]

Mu Tiantian: [I might be a bit reckless, but I'll never be reckless.]

Seven Systems: [...]

The day arrived when the assassin killed Long Fantian.

Mu Tiantian changed into black clothes, covered her face, took her newly made dagger, and quietly followed Long Fantian.

In the darkness, several figures followed behind him.

Long Fantian had excellent hearing and pretended to be completely unsuspecting as he walked down the street.

Until the assassins leaped up and fought fiercely.

Amidst the flashing blades, the assassins fell one after another, and some who were powerless to resist immediately bit open the poison pills hidden in their mouths and committed suicide.

Just as Long Fantian was distracted, one of the fallen assassins quickly got up and tried to stab him in the back.

Seeing this, Mu Tiantian, who was secretly observing from the rooftop, acted faster than she thought, drew the dagger from her waist and threw it, piercing the assassin's brow.

This action also led to her location being exposed, and she was seen by Long Fantian.

Mu Tiantian quickly fled the scene.

He still caught up with her and ripped off her black veil.

He grabbed the back of her neck tightly, and Mu Tiantian coughed a few times as she was being strangled.

The next moment, I felt a sharp pain in my back and was pulled against the wall.

Suddenly, a perfectly handsome face appeared before me, its skin appearing quite fair in the moonlight.

With dragon-like eyebrows and phoenix-like eyes, he scrutinized her closely, his sharp, dark gray pupils seeming to see right through her.

Long Fantian grabbed her chin with his large hand, making her raise her head, and stared intently into her eyes.

Her dark eyes reflected a bright, clear moon.

"Manager Lin?" Long Fantian asked, looking at the unfamiliar yet familiar face. "Are you dressed like that... to kill someone?"

His gaze instantly turned sharp, as if he would strangle her if she uttered a single wrong word.

Mu Tiantian swallowed nervously and said in a rough voice, "I...I came out for a walk...Your Highness won't even interfere with this, will you?"

She smiled sheepishly. The extra layer of eyelid tape on her eyes already made them look smaller, and with that smile, her eyes almost disappeared.

"Oh?" Long Fantian draped the mask over her shoulder, chuckled, and asked in return, "Does Manager Lin like to wear night clothes for walks?"

"It's purely a personal hobby." Mu Tiantian gently pushed away the large hand that was pinching her chin, and chuckled awkwardly, "Your Highness, I have urgent business to attend to and need to get home quickly. Could you please move aside?"

Her eyes darted around, clearly looking for a chance to slip away.

Long Fantian thought for a moment and said, "I can let you go, but you have to answer my questions."

"Wh...what question?" Mu Tiantian's mind raced, realizing that his question was definitely one she couldn't answer.

Before Long Fantian could even ask, Mu Tiantian's eyes widened in terror as she looked behind him and screamed, "Ah! An assassin!"

Long Fantian turned around upon hearing the sound, and Mu Tiantian seized the opportunity to slip away, running faster than a rabbit.

He watched her retreating figure, finding it somewhat amusing, and a smile, unnoticed by himself, crept onto his lips.

Long Fantian returned to the place where the assassin killed him and pulled out the dagger stuck between the assassin's eyebrows. Both the hilt and the blade were engraved with snowflake patterns, which were very exquisite.

It looks like a woman using a dagger.

Long Fantian wiped the bloodstains off his face and murmured, "Lin Sanshui... Lin Miao... that human skin mask is so exquisite..."

I wonder what the face beneath that person's skin looks like...

He carefully sheathed the dagger and walked towards the end of the night...