Lin Zhiji looked him up and down. Aside from a slightly familiar build, this face was completely different.
Especially the eyes.
The gray haze in his left eye had actually disappeared completely.
But his expression was unmistakably Xie Yi.
Lin Zhiji instinctively reached out to touch his left eye, but the other calmly stopped him.
Xie Yi held his wrist, smiling carelessly: “Even seeing a face like this and you still dare to touch me? You’re quite bold, Young Master.”
Lin Zhiji: !!!
Knowing full well Xie Yi was doing it on purpose, facing this completely different face, he still felt an uncontrollable sense of shame and turned red as he pulled his hand away.
Unexpectedly, Xie Yi let go this time very easily.
Seeing that Xie Yi was fine and even still able to joke, Lin Zhiji turned to leave in embarrassment, but after a few steps, he came back and hesitantly asked, “What exactly happened to your eye?”
“Just some dyed medicine.” Xie Yi said lightly.
Before Lin Zhiji could respond, Xie Yi lowered his head and, somewhat playfully, lifted his chin: “You like this kind?”
Lin Zhiji stepped back uncomfortably: “I don’t like it at all.”
After Lin Zhiji left, Xie Yi slightly furrowed his brows.
Luo Zhitang stepped forward, somewhat worried: “Master, your eye…”
“It’s nothing.” Xie Yi said indifferently. “I have my own measure.”
“Yes.” Luo Zhitang swallowed the rest of his words.
In truth, it was their incompetence, otherwise the master would not need to use such harmful dyed medicine and personally go out to investigate.
Before coming to Qingzhou, Luo Zhitang only thought Qingzhou was remote, and that the Xu and Kou families were somewhat capable but only engaged in seizing farmland and bribing officials. But after arriving, he realized it was far more complicated.
He had even suffered several setbacks in Qingzhou, giving up quite a bit of profit before barely gaining a foothold.
If not for the master’s caution and scheming, they might not have arrived safely in Qingzhou at all.
The Kou family was far more deeply hidden than they had imagined.
On Xie Yi’s second night infiltration into the Kou residence, he discovered their guards were not simple at all, faintly resembling a military force.
Though they concealed it well, Xie Yi still caught traces of it.
This made the already unclear situation even more unpredictable.
Moreover, although Xie Yi had been very careful, the Kou family guards were too strict, and he was still discovered. Although he successfully escaped, it alerted them.
The next day, Qingzhou City became even stricter, with many more hidden informants, all strictly inspecting people with gray eyes.
It was clearly aimed at Xie Yi.
Luo Zhitang originally advised Xie Yi to avoid confrontation and stay behind the scenes.
Unexpectedly, Xie Yi instead went the opposite direction, openly disguising himself and appearing in the city, even casually befriending the Fifth Young Master of the Xu family.
Compared to the caution of the elders, the younger generation had far less scheming.
Xie Yi easily extracted information from him, though as Luo Zhitang said, what they knew was limited.
Even so, Xie Yi still found clues in his words.
In the following days, he investigated the Kou residence again and indeed discovered a highly concealed secret chamber.
Luo Zhitang said, “It seems the Xu family’s chamber is a decoy placed in plain sight, while the Kou family’s chamber is the real one. They’ve set it up in layers of illusion—what they are hiding must be significant. —But how can we obtain the contents of the chamber?”
Not to mention the strict guards, even the master himself would find it difficult to approach, let alone take anything from inside.
And although the Kou family was deliberately mystifying things, on the surface there was nothing to criticize.
If they were to attack rashly, it would instead put them in a passive position.
Neither the open nor the covert paths worked. Luo Zhitang also momentarily lost his idea.
But Xie Yi said, “Since we cannot move, then let them move first.”
Luo Zhitang froze. “Your meaning is?”
Xie Yi said, “Send word to Xu Zhongze. Have him bring the people of Chixialing to make some movement. Let them show themselves more often.”
Luo Zhitang suddenly understood. “Your meaning is—we will also play that kind of real-and-false game!”
The Kou family head was cautious and suspicious by nature. If Xu Zhongze appeared frequently with Chixialing’s decoy forces, it would instead make him suspect whether the master was within the army.
And since he was so wary of the master, he would inevitably try to investigate where exactly the master was. Once he moved, they would have an opportunity.
Luo Zhitang sincerely submitted. “Master is wise.”
—
Lin Zhiji returned to his room, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt that something about Xie Yi today was wrong.
But he only assumed Xie Yi was still bothered by his left eye. After all, at that time, the gray haze in the eye was considered an ominous and evil sign.
Lin Zhiji truly did not think this was a problem. In the modern world, it was only a common pathological change.
Even so, when 03 came online, he still asked: 【Can Xie Yi’s left eye be cured?】
03 replied blankly: 【Why are you suddenly talking about this? That’s the villain’s iconic trait.】
Hearing this, Lin Zhiji felt that discomfort rise in his heart again.
Just like when 03 casually referred to “cannon fodder.”
He dismissed 03, and in the end could not resist secretly finding Luo Zhitang to ask what was going on with Xie Yi’s eye.
Luo Zhitang was stunned for a moment before saying, “As the master said, it is dyed medicine.”
Lin Zhiji frowned. “That thing won’t have side effects, right?”
After all, in modern times, wearing colored contact lenses too often could cause conjunctivitis and such. This unknown formula being directly applied to the eye sounded even more dangerous.
Luo Zhitang hesitated.
Lin Zhiji immediately reacted. “There really is a problem!”
In truth, the master had strictly ordered them not to tell Lin Zhiji. Luo Zhitang also knew that once the master made a decision, few could change it. If there was truly someone in this world who could persuade him, it could only be Lin Zhiji.
He made up his mind and said, “That dye is called Zhaosui. It was originally… used as a form of torture…”
—
At nightfall, Xie Yi finally returned.
Compared to the previous days, this was the earliest he had returned in some time.
He removed the disguise from his face after entering the room, but his gaze landed on the remaining blackness in his left eye.
The effect of Zhaosui had not yet worn off.
He could feel piercing pain coming from the left eye, and even he, who had always endured pain well, could not help but feel momentarily dazed.
At that moment, when he sensed the door open, he instinctively struck out with his palm—but forcibly withdrew his force the moment he saw Lin Zhiji.
Lin Zhiji was also startled.
Xie Yi swallowed the blood rising in his throat and stood up, walking to him. Seeing that he was not injured, only frightened, he said in a low voice, “Do not enter so casually next time.”
Lin Zhiji had actually knocked before entering. Xie Yi had not responded, so he pushed the door open.
Moreover, whether in Qingping Courtyard or in the Qilin stronghold, he had long been used to the two of them entering each other’s rooms freely. Xie Yi had never said it was not allowed.
Not to mention that Xie Yi had almost injured him just now—something that had never happened before.
Lin Zhiji thought of what Luo Zhitang had said about Zhaosui, and his heart sank.
He stepped forward and once again reached out toward Xie Yi’s left eye.
As expected, he was stopped again.
Xie Yi pressed down his brow ridge, his voice carrying a hint of darkness. “You like this eye that much?”
Lin Zhiji was not afraid at all. Instead, he glared back, louder than him: “Like your head!”
This was the first time Xie Yi had seen Lin Zhiji lose his temper. At first there was surprise and anger, but soon only novelty remained.
“You’ve really become bold.”
If it were before, Lin Zhiji would have instantly become obedient. But perhaps because he was in the right, or perhaps because Xie Yi’s indulgence had made him bolder, he showed no restraint at all.
“Who told you to use medicine randomly without even discussing it with me!”
“You know?” Xie Yi’s voice cooled slightly. “Luo Zhitang told you?”
Lin Zhiji, afraid he would punish Luo Zhitang, immediately hugged his waist. “I forced him! If you want to punish someone, punish me!”
It was his first time doing something like this, his heart beating violently, not even daring to open his eyes.
Xie Yi looked down at his trembling eyelashes and the tiny beads of sweat on the tip of his nose, rolling shakily over the small mole, his gaze darkening.
“Like this… how does it look like you are asking for punishment?”
Xie Yi slowly brushed the damp hair at his forehead behind his ear, his fingertips sliding over his full earlobe. “This general has always enforced orders like iron. If I let you off so easily, how will I maintain authority in the future?”
Lin Zhiji widened his eyes.
He had miscalculated!!
He did not expect Xie Yi to not fall for this at all—and still intend to punish him!
He quickly said, “Wait… wait, I haven’t finished speaking!”
He entered the system shop and selected the face-changing mask.
This was an item he had searched for a long time to find. As the name implied, once worn, one could freely change facial features, even eye color, hair color, and skin tone, with no side effects.
The only drawback was the price.
A single mask was actually more expensive than his body!!
Ridiculous!
Lin Zhiji looked at the price of 3,500 points and felt a sharp pain in his heart.
This not only used up the 3,000 compensation points he had received from 03, but he even had to add more of his own.
But points could be earned again.
Xie Yi’s eye was more important.
Xie Yi had originally only seen through his little thoughts and was teasing him, but after seeing the mask he took out, his expression truly darkened.
“Your points are not even enough to exchange for this.”
Lin Zhiji had originally been waiting for him to be moved, but instead he exposed everything immediately.
Why in a moment like this were you focusing on these details?!
And why do you remember my points more clearly than I do?!
Lin Zhiji naturally could not admit he had extra compensation points, so he intended to falsify data.
Unexpectedly, Xie Yi saw through it at a glance. “Everything you have exchanged in the system shop is worth its price. This cannot be cheap.”
Lin Zhiji: …
He snapped, embarrassed and angry: “If you don’t want it, forget it. Don’t blame me for being kind.”
But in the next moment, Xie Yi grabbed both of his hands, pulling them behind his back, and pulled him into his arms.
Xie Yi lowered his eyes, all emotions seemingly restrained.
“Lying. That adds another offense.”
Afraid he would truly be punished, Lin Zhiji closed his eyes in panic.
But he was only forced to lift his head, his nose mole brushed by warmth, then his brow, eye corners, cheeks, and finally his lips…
Xie Yi watched as Lin Zhiji arched his neck in discomfort, opening his mouth to bite his throat.
Lin Zhiji let out a soft, broken cry.
Only then did a trace of restraint slip from Xie Yi’s eyes, the biting turning into licking.
“Take missions. I will make up your points.”
Seeing the hazy, teary gratitude in Lin Zhiji’s eyes, Xie Yi instead felt even less satisfied.
For the first time, he felt those people were not wrong—he truly was someone who did not know gratitude.
He was like a snake frozen on the roadside. Lin Zhiji, this foolishly kind person, had taken him into his arms and warmed him.
But he would not repay it.
He would only coil around him with his body, bite him, and in the end completely swallow him.