Black Myth: Starting from the Destined One
Chapter 89 - 85 Cross-Server Chat (Three more - s, please follow!)

Chapter 89: Chapter 85 Cross-Server Chat (Three more Chapters, please follow!)

"Great!"

...

About the time it took to finish a meal later, Li Ping’an emerged from his bath, only to find the Xiao Family members and Yiye Zhiqiu missing. He only saw Xiao Yuechi approaching him coyly:

"Senior, did you say this morning that you wanted to speak to my sister alone?"

"Oh! Did your sister tell you that?"

Li Ping’an had intended to divide and conquer: planning to take advantage of Zhuge Weiwei’s identity to first win over elder sister Xiao Qingfeng, then seduce Xiao Yuechi on his own, and finally come clean when they were all together; after all, in this era, it was common for a man to have multiple wives and concubines, and sisters sharing a husband.

His calculations were crisp and clear, but they fell apart at the very first step. Since his enlightenment about life, Li Ping’an did not show any remorse or weakness. Instead, he began to probe the coy Xiao Yuechi:

"Sister Yuechi, you’re not angry, are you?"

Xiao Yuechi quickly waved her hands to explain:

"Not at all! Not at all! It’s my sister’s good fortune to be alone with senior. But I too wish to have some private time with senior..."

"Damn! Am I seducing you or are you seducing me?"

Li Ping’an had not expected the Xiao sisters to be so open-minded, persistently initiating flirtation.

"What did you say, senior? Yuechi is silly and doesn’t understand."

Embarrassed, Xiao Yuechi lowered her head.

"No matter, no matter. Just tell me where your sister is waiting for me."

Li Ping’an licked his lips eagerly, ready to engage in deeper conversation with Xiao Qingfeng.

"Sister is all by herself in the boudoir in the third courtyard, waiting for you, senior. Please do not make her wait too long."

"I won’t, I won’t. I’ll go right now, right this instant!"

Li Ping’an straightened his clothes, and as he went on his way, he even picked a wildflower and put it in his mouth, sauntering off with swagger.

"Come out now!"

Once Li Ping’an left for the back yard to find her sister, Xiao Yuechi immediately called out to Yiye Zhiqiu and the hidden members of the Xiao Family outside the main hall. Yiye Zhiqiu, with paper and pen in hand, immediately ran over.

"When Senior Zhuge imparts the Mystery to my sister, you all must listen carefully, analyze everything, and not miss a single word, especially you, Yiye Zhiqiu!"

"Understood, understood."

Thus, Xiao Yuechi led a group of people, sneaking furtively behind Li Ping’an.

Li Ping’an reached the third courtyard of the back mansion, saw the lit room in the center, and Xiao Qingfeng waiting by the window. Before pushing the crumbling door that seemed ready to shatter at a touch, he looked around:

The place was utterly quiet and deserted; even if Xiao Qingfeng screamed herself hoarse later, no one would come to her rescue. Hehe, Li the libertine must seize the moment well!

With a creak, he pushed the door open and, as soon as Li Ping’an entered, he carefully closed it behind him, while Xiao Yuechi, Yiye Zhiqiu, and the others tiptoed to the door, huddling outside, waiting for Li Ping’an to impart the Mystery to Xiao Qingfeng.

The shameless Li Ping’an, right upon entering, gave Xiao Qingfeng a "wall slam", placing the wildflower he had been chewing on top of Xiao Qingfeng’s head. Then, gazing into Xiao Qingfeng’s eyes with deep affection, he said:

"Sister Qingfeng, there were many people earlier, and I was afraid your sister would get jealous. That’s why I wanted to see you alone."

Xiao Qingfeng, thinking Li Ping’an was about to discuss the Mystery, looked up at him with great anticipation:

"Qingfeng has been waiting for this moment."

"Not bad, quite enlightened!"

Li Ping’an hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly, with no need to employ any tactics, sweet talk, or vow undying love. He simply asked bluntly:

"Sister Qingfeng, shall we date?"

The people outside the door urged Yiye Zhiqiu to quickly take note. After jotting it down, Yiye Zhiqiu stared at the words "date" and analyzed them carefully:

"The moon? The moon? It means when the moon rises, which is to say, Senior was hinting that the person would appear at the end of You Hour (19:00)!"

Inside the house, Xiao Qingfeng listened with confusion, thinking she was too foolish to understand Senior’s deep and mysterious language, and asked sheepishly:

"What does Senior mean?"

"Playing dumb won’t do."

Li Ping’an, believing that Xiao Qingfeng had accepted their relationship, became bolder, placed her hand under Xiao Qingfeng’s chin, and gently lifted:

"It’s about hooking up! Don’t you get it?"

The Xiao Family members outside also did not understand, but Yiye Zhiqiu noted it down and started to analyze seriously:

"Hooking up? It refers to a metal device, associated with the west in the Eight Trigrams. Igniting creates fire, and fire corresponds to the south in the Eight Trigrams. Thus, Senior must be hinting that the person will appear from the southwest direction!"

Xiao Yuechi urged softly:

"Quick, write it down!"

Inside the house, Xiao Qingfeng was preoccupied with her father’s life and death, whether he could return alive, so she didn’t mind Li Ping’an’s advances and, still not understanding, she urgently said:

"Senior, my father has been gone for three days now, can he still return alive?"

Li Ping’an pressed her face even closer, almost cheek to cheek, face to face with Xiao Qingfeng, and said with slight annoyance:

"Your father is a lucky man with heaven’s protection and won’t die so easily. Why bring him up at a time like this? Don’t you know that a moment of spring evening is worth a thousand pieces of gold?"

Outside, Yiye Zhiqiu wrote it down and started analyzing it earnestly again:

"A lucky man with heaven’s protection means the Imperial Censor can return safely, but what does ’a moment of spring evening is worth a thousand pieces of gold’ mean?"

Xiao Yuechi, following Yiye Zhiqiu’s train of thought, had a flash of insight:

"Zhengqi Villa to the southwest happens to have a Qianjin Pavilion."

"Wow! Senior is truly incredible—time, place, and person all accounted for!"

The Xiao Family members and Yiye Zhiqiu thought they had understood Li Ping’an’s profound words, and in their excitement, they crowded together and accidentally knocked down the dilapidated door.

"Hmm?"

Just as Li Ping’an was about to seal the affectionate moment with a kiss, she was startled and quickly let go of Xiao Qingfeng. She turned around to see Xiao Yuechi, Yiye Zhiqiu, and other Xiao Family members sprawled on the ground in disarray, making the situation utterly embarrassing for Li Ping’an.

"What are you doing..."

Just then, an unfamiliar voice came from outside.

"Miss, Second Miss, where are you?"

"We’re here!"

Xiao Qingfeng immediately went to the doorway to call out to the newcomer.

"Third Brother Xiao, why is it you? Where’s my father?"

Third Brother Xiao replied hastily:

"Miss, Second Miss, the old master encountered some troubles in the capital city but has fortunately resolved them. To avoid worrying you, he specifically sent me back first to report. The master took a detour to shake off any pursuit and is likely to appear at the Qianjin Pavilion to the southwest of Zhengqi Villa around the end of You Hour (19:00)."

"It matches! It matches!"

Xiao Yuechi, Yiye Zhiqiu, and the Xiao Family members, eyeing the recorded time, place, and person, cheered excitedly.

"Let me see!"

Xiao Qingfeng took the book, and saw that the conclusions Yiye Zhiqiu and the others had deduced matched the mystery Li Ping’an had imparted to the letter. Indeed, it was truly impressive.