hough she had never met the legendary queen of flowers, Qi Lin found Peony very attractive. Unfortunately, a crying beauty couldn't elicit any sympathy from Qi Lin. Just as Qi Lin was looking for an e...Chapter Forty-Two: My Companion and I Are Shocked

This was the first time seeing a ghost in broad daylight Driven by curiosity, Qi Lin followed despite the pain on her bottom.

The ghost seemed to be very cautious flying two steps then stopping for a moment or hiding behind a tree trunk sometimes not moving at all completely like a monkey.

This made it easy for Qi Lin to follow perhaps the ghost was too focused on avoiding others and didn't notice her.

However, in broad daylight, the ghost looked almost identical to Feng Changqing, occasionally overlapping with Yu Mu; but Yu Mu had difficulty moving around, so it couldn't be him. Moreover, Feng Changqing wouldn't act like this at least not during the day.

The ghost finally jumped into a courtyard after some twists and turns. Qi Lin ran up and looked at the high walls unless she turned into Spider-Man, there was no way to climb over.

But why did this place feel so familiar

Around her, Qi Lin realized that she had arrived outside Bamboo Retreat it just happened to be a side door. She rarely came here and usually used the main gate; if not for the tea scent wafting out, she wouldn't have recognized it.

It was quiet here with no one coming or going likely Mai Dong went out on errands; otherwise, Ren Dong would surely notice something amiss. But since the ghost had been inside for so long without any commotion, Qi Lin could only assume this hypothesis.

Wait a minute if Ren Dong wasn't around, neither was Mai Dong, leaving Yu Mu alone. If the ghost entered to do something important and got caught by Yu Mu, would he kill Yu Mu to cover his tracks

Although both of them were under Zi Yin's watchful eye, Zi Yin's spies usually didn't know each other; if that happened oh no, she must stop it.

Thinking this over, Qi Lin anxiously walked around the wall and finally found a relatively thick tree. Without hesitation, she rolled up her sleeves and started climbing.

The eighth time Qi Lin fell from the tree after only managing to climb two steps, she was out of strength hugging the trunk, she began panting, starting to consider other methods.

Despite falling so many times, Qi Lin still didn't miss a single movement at Bamboo Retreat; the ghost hadn't come back out and there were no signs of activity. Could they be torturing Yu Mu

Even though Yu Mu appeared frail, he wasn’t that easy to break.

In Qi Lin’s mind, various images of Yu Mu being mistreated flashed through.

"No, I can't think like this," she slapped her face and decided to find another way.

But she forgot there was a tree in front of her, so she bumped into it head-on.

Gazing at the stars spinning above her head, Qi Lin helplessly fell onto the grass, covering one eye with her hand.

What had happened to her never before had she felt so flustered and helpless; surely there were better ways to deal with this situation, but was she really that nervous

There must be a better solution, and Yu Mu is too smart to die easily.

Qi Lin closed her eyes, carefully contemplating the next move.

But as soon as she closed her eyes, Ah Piao's various behaviors towards her came flooding back. Everything about living with Yu Mu was vividly clear in her mind, just like when a lantern is relit.

Qi Lin suddenly opened her eyes and then quickly shut them again.

The images seemed to be overlapping now.

Ah Piao's gaze was deep and bright under the starlit sky, while Yu Mu had dark circles under his eyes. Although she had never seen him with open eyes before, somehow their gazes matched perfectly.

Height-wise, if Yu Mu stood up straight, he would be about the same height as Ah Piao; they should also have similar builds.

So where exactly did they resemble each other most

Qi Lin thought carefully. The first time she saw Yu Mu, he was playing a zither with Mudan in harmony. He shifted suspicion towards others subtly and helped her without hesitation when the opportunity arose. His strikes were always right on target, and his smile was always light-hearted.

Right, their smiles matched as well.

Ah Piao often appeared beside her unannounced; he didn't seem to live outside either, so it must be within this Drunken Flower Tower. And each time, his route seemed very familiar. Today's tracking had shown that here was like his own home, and he knew every corner.

This suggested Ah Piao lived in the tower, but where exactly

The only place Qi Lin could think of to hide well was Bamboo Retreat.

It was secluded, with respected Yu Mu living there, so few would come to disturb them. However, she had lived together with Yu Mu for a period, yet Ah Piao visited only once when he happened to be away. Despite her careful hiding, Yu Mu's sharp senses and intelligence made it easy for him to spot her.

Since her arrival at Drunken Flower Tower, she'd been under Purple Profound's surveillance. Was that person Ah Piao Or were they in cahoots

All these events seemed to be slowly piecing together, yet remained unclear and confusing.

She couldn't help but press her hand against her chest; the thought became increasingly clear. She had already suspected it before, but repressed it subconsciously. Now she let it surface.

Rising to her feet, Qi Lin didn’t look for any other entry points and directly opened a side door. Knowing Yu Mu preferred seclusion, he kept few attendants; since her wheelchair arrived, those who carried him had been dismissed, leaving no one at the gate now.

She carefully opened the door. Entering was the backyard with clusters of bamboo and tea blossoms sprawling across the ground. She recalled Yu Mu saying that unpruned tea flowers smelled most fragrant and looked loveliest.

Nearby, she saw a white greenhouse, though not tall; it matched what she had described from her 21st-century knowledge. Merely mentioning its structure and principles, Yu Mu actually built it.

Approaching, half-open roses were visible inside—indeed his gift

Before the familiar little house, Qi Lin walked carefully, not daring to make any noise; her breath was equally cautious. Yet she hesitated before opening this door.

Lifting and retracting her hand countless times, she nearly gave up, but couldn't find reason to do so. Steeling herself, she quickly pushed the door open and rushed in.

All of this happened in an instant... She believed that there were no places to hide in the elm-wood room and that A Piao had no chance to escape. Therefore, she was sure that everything would be revealed.

But...

The scene before her eyes stunned her. The furniture arrangement of the elm-wood room was very simple and spacious, with only a big bed standing out prominently. However, now there were two people lying on it. One had messy hair, an open shirt, and sweat glistening on their closed eyes. Even though most of his handsome face was hidden by disheveled hair, she could still recognize him as Zi Yin, the one who almost killed her and molested her a day ago.

The other person lay atop Zi Yin's chest, with half of their body covered by him. The part exposed to Qi Lin’s view were loose black tresses, flushed cheeks, and slightly parted lips...

Staring at the scene before her eyes, Qi Lin was stunned for nearly twenty seconds until a soft moan from under the thin blanket snapped her out of it.

Hastily blushing, Qi Lin covered her eyes with both hands while bowing and apologizing as she quickly retreated. Even after leaving through the main door, she still wasn’t satisfied; turning around to run into the courtyard, she tripped over her robe corner and fell flat on her face.

Holding her nose in pain, Qi Lin bit her lip tightly and hurriedly picked herself up, standing there dazed.

When she touched her burning hot face, her heart was pounding fiercely as well. What did she just see Zi Yin's sweat on his forehead

And that sound... Could it be such a thing...

No, everyone knows that Elm Wood has an extremely good temper; even when his hand got scalded by hot tea accidentally, he still smiled and said it was fine. But during such times, people usually can't help but make sounds...

What's the point of being clear about something like this This is definitely not something to be proud of.

Ah! She must have seen a big deal!

Zi Yin doesn’t seem like someone who would do that, neither does Elm Wood.

Could it be... rape

No no no...

But thinking about it made her feel as if something was missing. They had been living together for so long...

Sometimes she even slept in the same bed with him...

Does he do such things on this very bed

Shit... Qi Lin slapped herself a few times, thinking it was useless to think about this. Elm Wood's profession is already that of a gigolo.

Thinking about it this way, everything seems reasonable.

"Come in."

After a while, a lazy voice of Zi Yin came from inside the room, with an unpleasant tone as if he had been disturbed during something enjoyable and was not pleased.

Qi Lin patted her chest nervously and stammered, "That... since it's... inconvenient... I'll just leave then."

"Since you've already disturbed me, there’s no rush to leave right away."

Great heavens, what does this mean Qi Lin looked up at the sky for help but found it was useless. She couldn’t go in or stay outside.

"Do I have to invite you myself"

Hearing Zi Yin's displeasure in his words, Qi Lin had no choice but to take a deep breath and walk inside.

After entering, Qi Lin kept her head lowered, too scared to lift it up for fear of seeing something she shouldn’t. However, the faint scent of tea calmed her nerves somewhat.

"Look up. Are you afraid I'm going to eat you" Zi Yin found Qi Lin's behavior amusing and straightened his clothes before continuing, "What do you want to see me about No wait, what do you want to see Pine Wood about"

Huh Qi Lin’s face turned even redder as she peeked up quickly. She saw that Zi Yin was now dressed and sitting by the bed, while Pine Wood had his shirt open, revealing a fair chest that looked very inviting in the sunlight.

She suddenly felt heat rush to her nose. Qi Lin touched it and found sticky blood with a smell coming from it. Looking at the red fluid on her fingertip, she couldn’t regain her composure for a long time.

A cup of tea later, Zi Yin looked down at Qi Lin who was lying on the table, amusedly waving a white handkerchief stained with blood that was very noticeable to look at.

"I said, how long are you going to stay like this" Zi Yin said casually as he glanced at Pine Wood, who was making tea nearby. "If you don’t get up soon, I’ll have to do it myself."

Qi Lin slowly lifted her head and wiped the blood from her nose with her sleeve, nervously smiling and saying, "My lord, heavy taste."

Hmm Zi Yin looked at Qi Lin confusedly. Heavy taste He tried discreetly and found he didn’t have bad breath.

Pine Wood silently handed a cup of tea to Qi Lin before drinking his own as if nothing had happened.

Qi Lin took a small sip of the fragrant tea, which cleared her disordered mind somewhat.

Only then did she notice that Zi Yin was wearing a white robe with faint blue hues visible in sunlight; could it be that she saw him earlier If so…

This kind of thing is hard to talk about openly, so sneaking around is understandable. But during the day, his tastes are indeed heavy.

After exchanging a few words and asking Pine Wood for some flower tea, Qi Lin hurriedly left.

"Is this really okay" After Qi Lin left, Zi Yin toyed with his teacup with interest as he watched Pine Wood, unable to hide the smile on his lips.oze for a moment as Yu Mu smiled at her; she looked around and saw no one paying any attention to her, so there shouldn’t be any problem with squatting down and picking up the fan.When Qí Lín bent dow...