Adorable Creature Attacks!

Gu Qingyu quickly followed Xiao Qi downstairs, and Jia Qizhe looked at Gu Qingyu with a half-smile. "Your new clothes look good." Only then did she take notice of what she was wearing. Her dress was in powder blue, the sleeves flared out at her elbows, the sash that rested perfectly at her waist was royal blue, and white flowers were embroidered along the neckline and the cuffs. That pale blue looks familiar. She then looked at Jia Qizhe's robes. Hey, it matches! And it matches well! But this can't be such a coincidence, what if he was the one that brought up my clothes? 

 

"Although the clothes are beautiful, they are not suitable for Yu'er." Mo Bai nodded, his hand rubbing the jade flute, "Yu'er, in my humble opinion, you look better in white."

"Eh? Yeah, white is pretty good too!" Gu Qingyu nodded in agreement.

"Your original purple dress is more suitable for you." Murong Zuoyu said coldly.

"What, dark green is good-looking!" Qi Wan said disapprovingly, "Boss, I'll make you a set in green, it'll even come with a hat!"

"Go away, wear it yourself." Gu Qingyu rolled her eyes.

"Red is a little flamboyant, suitable for feisty kittens~" Xie Zang added. He leaned back on his chair, and as always, his lips were curled into a smirk.

Yan Zun nodded in agreement as he floated through the air. "Yes, red is the best."

"Had enough fun?" Gu Qingyu rolled her eyes again. At her current level of exasperation, she might even strain her muscles from rolling her eyes too much. She ended the discussion while rubbing her eyes. "Let's eat."

 

They all took their seat and started dinner. 

"Speaking of, Qi Wan, try to get the horses by tonight and go straight to the Imperial City. Brother Murong and Qi Yichen, figure out the shortest route. Xiao Qi, I'll leave you to prepare our supplies for tomorrow. Xie Zang, just sleep. Who's left? I need someone to come with me to learn more about the King of Xiqian and the Prime Minister." Gu Qingyu delegated the tasks as she ate. Xie Zang was perplexed that he was simply told to sleep, but he decided to drop the subject.

"I'll go with you." Jia Qizhe spoke first.

"I'm going too." Mo Bai joined in with a smooth voice. "I heard that one of the largest intelligence and assassination organisation is currently in this city. Although it is only a small subdivision of the group, they still have eyes and ears everywhere. And their information is often true and reliable. "

"Eh? Then we can go and check it out, but we'll need something to exchange for that information, right?" Gu Qingyu blinked curiously.

"That would depend on the leader of that organisation." Xie Zang smiled playfully.

"Yes." Mo Bai nodded in agreement, "The leader has requested for a beautiful man when he is happy, and a finger when he is in a foul mood. "

That's wild! And very unpredictable!

Gu Qingyu looked at Mo Bai in horror: "Is the leader a woman?"

"According to the rumours, that leader is neither male nor female." Mo Bai dropped his eyes slightly, "A mysterious existence, truly."

"Speaking of... why do I get the feeling that you have some issues with that leader? You almost sound angry..." Gu Qingyu looked at Mo Bai suspiciously. I don't think Mo Bai has been this upset with anyone, aside from Jia Qizhe.

Mo Bai probably found that he spoke too much, he coughed slightly and gave her a faint smile. "I was just talking about some rumours I heard."

"Rumours are not credible." Jia Qizhe knocked on the table with chopsticks. "I didn't expect Brother Mo to be so interested in this leader."

Mo Bai shook his head, his faint smile remained. "I'm just curious."

"Curious..." Jia Qizhe returned with a knowing smile. 

Gu Qingyu glanced between the two men. "What's wrong with both of you? Hurry up and eat!"

 

After the meal, Gu Qingyu and Mo Bai and Jia Qizhe walked out of the inn.

"Mo Bai, do you know where that organisation is?" Gu Qingyu blinked.

"That organization is called Ye, as in the night. It's not far from here." Mo Bai replied.

"Ye?" That name felt oddly familiar to Gu Qingyu, as if she heard it some time ago.

"Well, let's go." Jia Qizhe nodded. "Brother Mo may have to cover his face, or you'll be staying with Ye's leader tonight."

"Eh?" Gu Qingyu looked at Jia Qizhe curiously. "Why don't you have to cover your face?"

"Me?" Jia Qizhe smiled, "Am I handsome?" Gu Qingyu nodded before she could stop herself.

"Is he pretty?" Jia Qizhe pointed at Mo Bai. Gu Qingyu nodded again.

Jia Qizhe smiled. "Exactly, Ye's leader likes pretty, not handsome."

"Oh, that makes sense!" Gu Qingyu suddenly realized.

Mo Bai's mouth twitched. "Yu'er, he ..."

"Mo Bai! Be sure to cover your face!" Gu Qingyu immediately looked at Mo Bai's face and swallowed madly. "It's impertinent that you cover it well! Otherwise, a beautiful man like you will definitely be taken away by that leader!" "

Mo Bai thought to himself, "Although I am very happy that you like me so much, it still takes a while to digest 'pretty'..."

 

They stopped outside a plain-looking building. "It's here!" Gu Qingyu looked at a wooden door plate engraved with the word 'Ye'.

"They're really bold..." Gu Qingyu scratched her head. "So we just walked in like this?"

"Or what?" Jia Qizhe gave Gu Qingyu a side-eye and kicked open the door. "Anyone? I need to ask about something!"

"That's badass." Gu Qingyu was floored and impressed. The way Jia Qizhe did things was as badass and ridiculous as asking someone for a favour, then making that person slap themself. The door opened to a small courtyard, Jia Qizhe walked in, Gu Qingyu followed him, and Mo Bai followed her. A man in black robes and a black, smiling mask stepped out from the shadows. "Who dares to cause such a ruckus on my territory?" For some reason, his voice was a little strange. It was old and rugged, but unnatural as if he changed his voice.

Gu Qingyu smiled sweetly, she was simply going to chat with the 'old man' first. But Jia Qizhe stopped her with a stern look and said to the man, "We are looking for information about the King of Xiqian and the Prime Minister." He pointed at Mo Bai. "This is for you, you'll like him."

Gu Qingyu froze in her steps. Why does he sound like a human trafficker? 

Mo Bai stared at Jia Qizhe for a long time before he addressed the old man while pointing at Jia Qizhe. "You must have had dozens of beautiful men, a change in taste is always good. And I assure you, he is like no one that you've ever had." 

The 'old man' was befuddled, it was clear that he had no idea what they were hinting at. 

"You know what, ignore those two. They're both idiots." Gu Qingyu took two steps forward and bowed. "We want to ask you about the King of Xiqian and the Prime Minister, especially about their interests and preferences."

The 'old man' nodded vigorously, he finally found someone that made sense. "I will tell you if you can get those two to leave."

Jia Qizhe and Mo Bai were both speechless. 

Gu Qingyu smiled and waved at Jia Qizhe and Mo Bai. "Go, go!"

Jia Qizhe clicked his tongue while Mo Bai hmph-ed. But for the sake of the overall situation, they both turned and walked out. Gu Qingyu and the 'old man' cringed as they watched the two men leave. 

 

After Jia Qizhe and Mo Bai left, the 'old man' waved his sleeve. "Take a seat." Gu Qingyu had just opened her mouth to ask a question, then something stiff rested against the back of her knees. She turned around, it was a chair. Gu Qingyu sat down, and at the same time, the 'old man' took a seat across her.

"Introduce yourself." The 'old man' gestured for her to begin, his palm faced up. There was nothing in his hands. 

Gu Qingyu understood that in order to get the truth from the other party, she must first be honest with him. So she relented. "Gu Qingyu, the third miss of the Gu Family in Dongxuan."

"Oh~ So you are the legendary Miss Gu~" The 'old man' seemed to have hinted at something. 

Wow, I am infamous at this point. Gu Qingyu asked impatiently, "Yes. Can you tell me what I want to know, oh great leader?"

"Oh, I am not the leader." The 'old man' shrugged. "I merely work for him, you can call me Crow."

"Well, then Uncle Crow ..." Gu Qingyu tried to appear very respectful of the elderly.

"Cough!" For some reason, he coughed unnaturally. "You want information? You'll have to agree to a condition."

"Say it, I'll try my best to meet it." Gu Qingyu cut straight to the point.

"I will give you the information you seek, then you can fulfill the condition in the future. Don't worry, I will only ask for what is within your capabilities" Crow nodded.

Gu Qingyu nodded. "Okay!"

Crow continued. "Cough. Well, listen closely. In the eyes of everyone, the King of Xiqian is an incompetent monarch, drunk on wine and beauty. There's three thousand beauties at his harem, more than any other monarch in the world. He would visit his concubines, yet afterwards, he would give them medicine for abortion. I speculate it was all to keep up appearances, it's all a ruse to appease his subjects. And it is rumoured that all state affairs are handled by the Prime Minister instead. We have found that claim to be factual, the King seeks the Prime Minister's opinion for all matters. Sometimes, the Prime Minister's opinion is more valuable than the King's own ideas."

"Then what is their relationship?" Gu Qingyu couldn't help asking.

"Good question, that is what we have been trying to find out." Crow nodded, "I don't know why, but it's clearly well-concealed."

"So that is to say, as long as the Prime Minister agrees to anything, it doesn't matter if the King disagrees?" Gu Qingyu blinked.

"That is one way to look at it. But the Prime Minister is said to not indulge in neither vice nor virtue. It would be quite difficult to persuade him." Crow shook his head. "The only thing I know is that the Prime Minister has a collection of paper fans."

"Fans?" Gu Qingyu was surprised and suddenly the image of Qi Yichen waving his fan regardless of the situation entered her mind.

"Yes, I believe this would assist Miss Gu." Crow hunched his back and stood up slowly. "Miss Gu, this is all the help I can give. Don't forget our agreement, I'm afraid I will not be able to see you out myself."

"Okay, thank you." Gu Qingyu nodded and also stood up. "Goodbye, Uncle Crow!"

"Cough! Actually... I am not that old!"