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The Ye Family dinner was lavish, yet the atmosphere felt rather ordinary, marred by some awkward seating arrangements. Logically, Wei Wei, as a guest and one of the most important ones at that, should have occupied a prominent position. Thus, it was expected that she would sit beside the head of the family, Ye Wen, along with Jayce. Liu Meier, although from the Liu Family, was a personal friend of Ye Wen and should have been seated above Cui Ming and the others. However, Ye Wen seemed oblivious to these social norms and invited Liu Meier to sit next to him, pushing Wei Wei aside.
The head of the family remained courteous, greeting guests with a calm demeanor while announcing the upcoming ceremony in two days, hoping everyone would stay to witness it. Beiyue responded that he needed to take people back to the Alliance. The head of the family politely insisted on offering assistance and asked Ye Xin to arrange transportation.
The head of the family held a significant position and engaged in brief conversations with each younger member present, even with the vampire Vlad. He encouraged Vlad to stay true to himself, stating that a knife itself is neither good nor bad; it is the person wielding it who determines its morality. However, those who possess a knife may harbor impulses for wrongdoing. If they could control those impulses, it would only benefit them.
Curiously, the head of the family did not exchange a single word with Liu Meier, which was rather unusual. Even though Liu Meier belonged to the Liu Family, such coldness was unexpected. An elder accompanying them shared a similar attitude towards the head of the family, and Ye Xin, as the steward, mirrored this behavior as well. It seemed deliberate.
As the banquet concluded and guests began to disperse, Cui Ming exchanged glances with Yellen, who understood immediately.
Ye Wen escorted Liu Meier back to her guest room after she realized she had left something behind at the banquet. He returned to retrieve it but found Liu Meier's door ajar; she was in the shower. Feeling somewhat awkward, he placed her belongings on the table. He exchanged a few words through the door with Liu Meier before preparing to leave. Just as he was about to open the door and step out, Liu Meier let out a sharp scream...
Artistry had emerged. In novels or television shows featuring such scenarios, many men might rush into a bathroom out of concern for a woman without considering other reasons. The reality is complex; from Cui Ming's perspective, this was merely information—men might not think it inappropriate to appear at such moments. If they were just ordinary friends in a relationship and faced such an incident, they would typically knock on the door first to inquire about what was happening. After several unanswered knocks, they might resort to alternative methods like breaking in.
However, for lovers, this could serve as an opportunity—a chance to break down barriers between them. Perhaps it was intentionally orchestrated by the woman; regardless of any doubts he might harbor internally, a man would not delve too deeply into it because he also needed this opportunity.
Thus, the story normalized itself. Ye Wen hurried over while calling out questions and turned toward the unlocked door. He opened the bathroom door...
"Fourth Brother." A knock sounded from outside along with Ye Shi's voice.
Ye Wen saw Liu Meier sitting on the floor naked and turned sideways; his mind spun like a blender. What he had anticipated as an exciting moment now faced an interruption from Ye Shi...
"Fourth Brother." Ye Shi knocked urgently on the door.
Liu Meier called out, "I'm fine; I was just startled by a gecko. Could you please close the door?" At this point, continuing their earlier scenario was impossible since Ye Shi seemed ready to break down the door. Ye Wen couldn't possibly tell Ye Shi that his fourth brother was in an embarrassing situation and suggest he come back later...
Ye Wen nodded and closed the door. Without much hesitation, she quickly opened the door again, "Sister, what's going on?"
"Vlad is missing."
Vlad... who is Vlad? Ye Wen's mind went blank for a moment before shifting states as she recalled Vlad, the agreement with the Ye Family, Beiyue, and Wei Wei. This could be serious. Ye Wen stepped outside, closed the door, and said, "Let's go. Call all the security personnel and find this person."
...
It was a misunderstanding; Jayce and Vlad had found a place to talk deeply about Jayce's Sister. Jayce was also forced into this situation; Yellen had demanded Vlad be softly kidnapped. The whole act was clumsy because they didn't know when it had started. Li Qing, the True Sight Guardian, quietly entered Liu Meier's room, and when an unexpected event occurred, he immediately began to coordinate. Jayce quickly found Vlad and said they needed to talk. It had to be now—three urgent matters? Hold on; I need to find a place to speak with you.
Then Ye Shi made a quick appearance, knocking on the door within fifteen seconds, but still arrived a beat too late as Ye Wen opened the bathroom door.
After half an hour of commotion, they discovered it was a misunderstanding.
Yellen held Ye Wen back, preventing him from meeting Liu Meier. The topic was about the succession ceremony and conveying some opinions from the elders, particularly regarding Liu Meier. The overall message was that Liu Meier was a good girl but not a suitable matriarch.
The night passed quietly.
In the early morning around three o'clock, Yellen knocked on Cui Ming's door. After closing it behind them, they moved to sit by the tea table. Li Qing was lazily swinging on a rope while Mi Xiaonan watched television and hadn't rested yet. Yellen glanced at them and then whispered, "About ten minutes ago, Liu Meier made a call; my security tapped into the line. The content was roughly about a costume issue. The costume designer asked which outfit was damaged. Liu Meier said her underwear was broken. The costume designer asked if the spare underwear could be worn. Liu Meier replied that it probably couldn't be used. The costume designer said she understood and would contact her later. Eight minutes ago, Liu Meier contacted the costume designer again; she said they would wait for Liu Meier to return before designing her a new set of underwear."
Cui Ming asked, "What do you think?"
Yellen pondered for a moment before responding, "I believe Liu Meier is approaching my fourth brother with an agenda but can't take center stage. After all, she's from the Liu Family; I can't just accuse her like that."
Cui Ming nodded in agreement and replied, "She's smarter than I thought; she didn't say anything directly. Even if she didn't know about the wiretap, she still managed to be quite subtle. Indeed, the easier the opportunity seems, the harder it is to succeed. She's still very cautious." It's possible that Liu Meier really did call the costume designer about her underwear, but that likelihood is low. However, this excuse could hold water; if Yellen accused her, Liu Meier might turn it around on them, leaving the Ye Family embarrassed.
Yellen asked, "So what now?"
"Cui Ming said, 'I can't help you any further with this matter. I suggest you contact Wandering; they were the first to suspect Liu Meier.' He began to throw in the towel. Cui Ming had no intention of spending too much time and energy on Liu Meier. Since he couldn't get a handle on this situation, he decided to abandon further pressure. 'However, I think it's best if you don't mention this to anyone else; it could be exploited by those with ulterior motives.'
Yellen nodded, stood up, and nodded to everyone before leaving the room.
Cui Ming sighed, and Li Qing said, 'The loser goes to prepare a late-night snack.'
'Yes,' Cui Ming replied with a bitter smile.
'Don't make that face. Your senior brother has stayed up all night just for a bite to eat.'
Cui Ming countered, 'How do you know you'll win?'
Li Qing smiled and replied, 'Are you going to eat the late-night snack I make?'
What a world ruled by bad people; how did I not think of that? Even if Li Qing lost, I would still beg him not to make the late-night snack because it really isn't good.
Mi Xiaonan turned during the commercial break and asked, 'Cui Ming, are you planning to let it go like this? We all know Liu Meier is problematic now.'
'Zhuge has talent, right?'
'Yes.'
'In the end, he worked himself to death.'
'Huh?'
'The Records of the Three Kingdoms states that Zhuge personally handled everything, even punishing those who made mistakes himself, fearing others would go easy on them and fail to achieve the intended punishment. I don't want to die young. Some things should be done when there's an opportunity; if there's no chance, it's not worth creating one.' As Cui Ming was about to leave, he added, 'Mi Xiaonan, don't tell your senior brother about this; otherwise, it will turn into chaos.'"
Mi Xiaonan immediately replied, "Cui Ming, I have confidence in you." Cui Ming said that if it couldn't be discussed, then they wouldn't. It made sense; if his senior brother Ashen found out, he would undoubtedly pursue Liu Meier relentlessly. If things got out of hand and they were accused of attacking a practitioner, along with the charge of assaulting a member of a prominent family—Ye Family's future head's beloved—that would be quite disastrous for Balance Sect. The most important thing was that even if Cui Ming were Ashen, he would know how to act with discretion. The key point was that Mi Xiaonan understood her senior brother well; he was loyal and straightforward, not cunning enough to handle such matters.
The next morning, Cui Ming, Beiyue, Mi Xiaonan, Li Qing, Wei Wei, and Vlad left Ye Family. Ye Family had arranged all the necessary transportation and even booked hotels in the cities they would stay in. This significantly raised everyone's opinion of Ye Xin, who managed these arrangements.
Upon arriving in Twilight City, Mi Xiaonan contacted her senior brother to inform him that she and Cui Ming would be heading to Hero City together and would temporarily stay there while waiting for contact from the Alliance and Fire Cult before making any decisions.
Vlad was elegant and well-mannered, resembling a character from a vampire-themed television drama. He did not regret practicing Blood Magic; he had the right to grow stronger while acknowledging his obligation to control his actions. Cui Ming did not dislike Vlad, even though he was a vampire; Beiyue felt the same way. However, due to Beiyue's personality, even if she thought someone was decent, she would not relax her vigilance over them.
Wei Wei fully embraced her role as a caretaker, ensuring Beiyue's safety without assisting in watching over Vlad. She also instructed Cui Ming and the others not to help monitor Vlad; this was Beiyue's test. As long as Vlad was brought to Hero City, Beiyue would become the seventh hunter among the current Alliance Hunters. As for Li Qing, he still needed time.
Wherever there are people, there are conflicts. Even among this group, their points of contention lay in the upcoming first Competition Match over a month later.
On the ship, Li Qing, Beiyue, and Mi Xiaonan surrounded Cui Ming, who was caught in the middle trying to smile through it all. Li Qing said, "Junior Brother, you’re teamed up with Eva and Raefus—what’s that about? Are you looking down on my Mi Xiaonan or think Beiyue is too useless?"
Cui Ming forced a smile and replied, "Big brothers, I truly didn’t expect to run into you all; at that time, you were all out of touch."
Li Qing continued, "To be fair, now that Wandering has spoken up, you’ve actually fulfilled your promise. I just want to ask one question: what’s your real purpose in helping Eva? Are you looking for your parents? Is one favor for that Spectral Cloak not enough? If you say you like Eva, then fine; I understand and hope you settle down soon."
"Absolutely not," Cui Ming firmly denied. (To be continued.)
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