On the other side, Dongfang Yi woke up in a strange environment. She felt a splitting headache, which was the after - effect of a hangover.
After a moment of stunned thought, all the events of the previous day flashed through her mind. Dongfang Yi was instantly dumbfounded. What on earth had she done! She quickly lowered her head to check herself. Although her body didn't feel uncomfortable, the clothes on her were completely different from those of the previous day. She buried her head in her hands and cursed herself in her heart.
With a creak, the sound of a door opening echoed in the air. Dongfang Yi, who was extremely sensitive at the moment, suddenly stood up, grabbed a flowerpot beside her, and stared warily at the door.
The person who came in was Situ Qing. He was still dressed in red, but this time his hair was neatly pulled up behind his head, and his clothes covered his skin properly.
"Where are my clothes?!" Dongfang Yi asked.
Situ Qing lowered his head and let out a soft chuckle, then said, "The vase in your hand is an antique with a history spanning three dynasties. Its current market price is at least a hundred thousand taels."
Hearing this, Dongfang Yi hesitantly placed the vase on the nearby table.
"That's a good girl," Situ Qing said with a smirk. He continued, "Do you think a good - looking person like me would harm you?"
Dongfang Yi rolled her eyes at him mentally. She had to admit that he was good - looking, but who was so narcissistic as to boast about their own beauty? So she lowered her head and mumbled in a voice only she could hear, "Don't you know that beautiful roses always have thorns..."
Although Situ Qing couldn't hear what she was saying, he found her behavior extremely interesting. The smile on his lips deepened.
"Dongfang Yi?" Situ Qing suddenly called out.
Dongfang Yi was instantly surprised. This man actually knew her name! Did that mean he also knew her identity? Oh no, had she fallen into the hands of kidnappers?
Watching the rapid change of expressions on the woman's face, Situ Qing continued, "You're different from what others said."
"What did others say about me? Did they say I'm weak and helpless, an easy target? Hmph, they're all just repeating what they've heard," Dongfang Yi said, rolling her eyes. She had heard this countless times.
"Hahaha, you're so interesting. I don't even want to kill you anymore," Situ Qing suddenly said.
Dongfang Yi felt her blood freeze instantly. She was no martyr. She hadn't even enjoyed enough of her wealthy life as a queen.
So she immediately put on a smiling face and walked up to Situ Qing, saying, "Qingqing~ You're so good - looking. Killing people will only dirty your hands."
Qingqing?
Situ Qing was speechless. What kind of a nickname was this? This woman was so strange. Both her actions and words were completely different from ordinary women.
He had originally intended to kill her the previous day, but unexpectedly, he had been flirted with by the drunk her. Now that she was sober, she was still so carefree, showing none of the pride of a queen. But he found her extremely interesting. After all these years of a cold heart, it seemed like something had suddenly sprouted in his heart at that moment.
The next night, Helian Qi and Ru Yi disguised themselves. They put on the special local clothes and slightly modified their appearances.
A group led by Wu Jian took to the street. The night street was as silent as ever, making their group look even more peculiar.
"If you guys sneak in with a purpose, the Black Hawk Society will surely kill you," Wu Jian said, squinting his eyes, looking shifty.
"Shut up!" Ru Yi scolded.
"Mr. Wu, when we get there, do you know what to do and what not to do? Sometimes, talking too much can get you killed. Lead the way," Ru Yi said menacingly, making a throat - slitting gesture with his hand.
Seeing Ru Yi's look, Wu Jian shivered and quickly nodded in agreement.
In less than a quarter of an hour, they stopped in front of a cloth shop. Wu Jian stepped forward, took out a small tag from his bosom, and showed it to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper then called a young servant to lead the way. They were led into a secret passage under the cloth shop.
"Master Wu, it's been a while since you last came," the young servant carrying a lantern in front asked Wu Jian.
Wu Jian glanced nervously at Helian Qi behind him and stammered, "Oh - I've been busy with family affairs."
The young servant murmured a few times and then fell silent. They reached the end of the secret passage, and the group entered a circular room. Opposite them was a carved stone door with the familiar Black Hawk totem on it.
This was the place!
The young servant fiddled with something in front of the stone door, and it slowly opened. What was behind the stone door surprised them all with its vastness.
"Master Wu, please," the young servant made a gesture of invitation and then stepped back. After everyone had entered, the stone door slowly closed.
The space inside the stone door was extremely large and had a wide view. It was divided into two floors in total. In the middle of the first floor was a large platform with a huge Black Hawk sculpture on it.
The second floor consisted of small private rooms. Each private room had a small tag hanging outside with the name of the owner inside.
Wu Jian led the way up to the second floor and stopped in front of the private room with his name tag. He told the others to wait outside the room and then entered the room with Helian Qi and Ru Yi.
There were a few chairs and a small table in the private room. There were tea and snacks on the table.
The private room was covered by a light - pink curtain made of a special material. People inside could clearly see outside, but those outside couldn't see what was going on inside.
After they sat down, they saw a rope hanging down from above.
"This is for us to place bets. When we pull it, the gong in front of the door will ring once, and the judge will add a thousand taels to our original bet. The highest bidder wins," Wu Jian explained.
Ru Yi nodded to show that he understood.
In less than a quarter of an hour, most of the people in the venue had arrived. The first floor was filled with people. They were those with poor family backgrounds who didn't have the qualification to go to the second floor but still wanted to have a try.
Helian Qi looked out through the curtain and saw a private room in the southeast corner with a tag that read "Black Hawk Family Head". His eyes darkened.
Wu Jian looked in the direction he was looking at and explained, "The Bai siblings are sitting in that room."
Although the Bai siblings weren't the official Black Hawk Family Heads, they were only known as the left and right protectors. But over the years, the real family head had never shown up in front of the followers. So the prestige of the Bai siblings had been rising.
Inside the private room opposite with the Black Hawk Family Head tag, it was a completely different scene.