The young man in the blue robe leisurely tidied his slightly disheveled clothes and hair, while sighing softly as if with a hint of resentment: "Alas, the world is hard, let's not talk about it."

When Black Owl heard him say that, he really thought that the boy had stopped talking about it. But before he could catch his breath, the boy continued, "Prices have been going up lately, everything is expensive, and I'm short on cash."

Black Owl: "..."

Honestly, aside from that little female bandit, he rarely felt so speechless towards anyone, except for this young man in blue.

"Do you know how much those guys from Donglongmen can eat? They can eat tens of thousands of steamed buns, hundreds of kilograms of meat, and hundreds of jars of wine in one meal..." The young man in the blue robe sat with his knees drawn up next to Hei Xiao, counting on his fingers as if reciting a treasure.

The top assassins hiding somewhere on the shore: "..."

Young Master, tell me, how long has it been since you and the Sect Leader returned to Donglongmen to host a banquet?

Is it really okay to spout such nonsense and blame them for being able to eat?

People thought that the Donglongmen sect was raising not a group of fearsome killers, but a bunch of good-for-nothings.

The immobilized Black Owl's face darkened: "Can you shut up?"

“Emmmm…” The young man in the blue robe pressed his hand against the smiling mask, turned his head and looked at Black Owl very seriously, and said, “You seem interesting, but you’re less interesting than my sister… less interesting than me. You asked me why I took this job, and now that I’m telling you, you won’t listen.”

Damn it, why did I have to lift his veil first? Couldn't I just crush his throat bone first?

Black Owl was filled with resentment.

"Alright, I'm a magnanimous young master, I won't hold it against you," the young man in the blue robe said magnanimously. Suddenly, he knelt down, bent over, and leaned most of his body over the black owl.

In the dim moonlight, Black Owl could even see a faint outline of the boy's Adam's apple on his firm, slender neck.

There were two red marks on his fingertips there, from where he had pinched him earlier.

Under the slightly narrowed gaze of the black owl, the young man, as if driven by a deep obsession, reached out and patted his shoulder before standing up: "Don't worry, we're friends who became acquainted through a fight, friends who've been through thick and thin together. If you truly want to protect someone, I might consider not lifting a finger. Next time you see me, don't be so ruthless; you almost crushed my throat."

The young man in the blue robe grumbled in dissatisfaction and turned to leave.

Black Owl noticed the jade flute hanging at his waist, his eyes flashing slightly: "Were you the one who played the flute on the river last time?"

The young man in the blue robe stopped abruptly, then turned around and gave a bright, triumphant smile. Even with his face covered by a mask, his beautiful phoenix eyes were still bright and sparkling: "Isn't my flute playing quite good? Doesn't it sound nice?"

At this point, Black Owl could at least confirm that this person was not an enemy, and said in a nonchalant tone, "So-so."

"If you like what I say, I'll charge you next time. It's not expensive, just a thousand taels of silver for one song... Never mind, a hundred taels will do, I suppose you don't have much money." The young man in the blue robe said happily, and then turned back.

Black Owl's face darkened: "Enough talk, get lost!"

"Alright, look at your temper. I'm leaving now." The young man in the blue robe lightly touched the water with his feet and walked away. "I also have some things to take care of today. Let's talk again next time."

A few water droplets swirled from the lake's surface and struck several pressure points on Black Owl's body.

Black Owl sat up and saw a blue figure disappear into the distance on the deep blue lake under the silver frosty moon.

The night was quiet, and the lake surface shimmered gently.

Black Owl was lost in thought for a moment:

He must have seen this boy sometime before, but when and where exactly?