Outside the door, Liu Muzhi looked conflicted.
After thinking it over, he felt it was better to leave, so he slipped over to Lin Zhiji and Xie Yi’s room when Song Lü was not paying attention and knocked.
He did not expect that after waiting for quite a while—just as he was worried and about to break the door down—the door opened.
Xie Yi stepped out with a cold expression, his clothes slightly disheveled upon closer inspection.
The moment he saw Liu Muzhi, killing intent rose in his heart for an instant, but he still suppressed it and asked in a deep voice:
“What is it?”
Liu Muzhi felt instinctively intimidated, but still gathered his courage: “I… I’m looking for Brother Lin.”
He felt that because Lin Zhiji had invited him to travel together, it had caused this displeasure, and he intended to thank Lin Zhiji before taking his leave.
But the moment he said this, the surrounding air seemed to grow even colder.
At that moment, Lin Zhiji’s head poked out from inside the room: “Is there something?”
Liu Muzhi saw that his complexion was rosy; although his gaze was slightly evasive, he seemed fine.
Completely different from the Young Master Xie in front of him.
Something flashed through his mind, but before he could think further, Lin Zhiji’s words interrupted him:
“Brother Zhang, what is your matter?”
Lin Zhiji’s eyelashes trembled. He opened his eyes.
“I want to go out for a walk.”
Xie Yi: “Alright.”
Luo Zhitang’s efficiency was extremely high. In just this short time, the corridor had already been cleaned thoroughly, with no trace of the earlier fierce battle.
Xie Yi was afraid Lin Zhiji would be triggered, so he did not take him down the stairs. Instead, he carried him and jumped out of the window.
The inn’s backyard was very quiet, with only the occasional sound of horses chewing grass coming from the stable.
The night wind brushed past, carrying the rich scent of spring vegetation.
Lin Zhiji’s tightly wound nerves gradually relaxed.
In the end, he was still a law-abiding modern person at heart.
He had been very proper since childhood, never fought anyone, let alone beaten someone to the point of near death like that.
Seeing that he was silent, his face pale, and even his usually smiling eyes lowered, Xie Yi felt a little uneasy.
He held Lin Zhiji’s wrist and forcefully turned his face toward him. Looking into his surprised eyes, he said, “The first time I killed someone, I was twelve.”
Lin Zhiji froze.
“He was stronger and taller than me, and he had a weapon. My only chance was that he underestimated me. If I did not give it everything I had, leaving no room for retreat, the one who died would be me… People wanting to live is only natural. You did nothing wrong.”
Xie Yi’s lashes lowered slightly. His tone was calm, but the normally overwhelming presence of the man now showed a trace of vulnerability.
He spoke lightly, but every word carried something chilling.
Lin Zhiji felt as if his heart was being pressed down by something heavy, a dull pain spreading outward.
He subconsciously pressed a hand to his chest, wanting to speak.
But a hesitant voice came from behind.
“Xie-gongzi, Lin-xiongdi… am I interrupting you?”
They turned around and saw Liu Muzhi scratching his head awkwardly.
“I couldn’t sleep, so I came out for a walk. You two also can’t sleep?”
Xie Yi’s gaze turned cold.
Lin Zhiji snapped back to his senses, awkwardly stepping away and coughing lightly. “Yes… we also couldn’t sleep.”
Liu Muzhi could understand that.
He had personally seen Lin Zhiji’s heroic act with the big club earlier; after such stimulation, it made sense he couldn’t sleep.
Preoccupied with his thoughts, he did not notice their posture.
He hesitated. “Actually… I came to confess something.”
Lin Zhiji was confused. “Confess what?”
Liu Muzhi finally made up his mind. “I’m not actually surnamed Zhang. My real name is Liu Muzhi.”
Lin Zhiji froze.
He had not expected Liu Muzhi to voluntarily reveal his identity.
Once he began, the rest flowed more smoothly.
“I am from Jiangcheng. A year ago, my parents and all thirty-one members of my household were killed. I was the only one who happened to be outside and barely escaped… but ever since then, I’ve been hunted.”
Lin Zhiji and Xie Yi exchanged a glance.
They both realized that Liu Muzhi had told them everything without reservation.
Lin Zhiji suddenly thought of something. He opened the mission interface—and saw that Main Quest Five had already been completed. The progress had reached 45%.
The plot had already diverged completely from the book.
Yet the system showed no warning, still marking it as completed.
This meant his earlier idea… was feasible.
Liu Muzhi sighed. “The black-clothed men today were all here to kill me. I dragged you into this. I’m sorry. When dawn comes, I’ll leave…”
Lin Zhiji, having just confirmed his idea was viable, could not let him go.
He was about to speak when Xie Yi said, “If you are worried about implicating us, there is no need to leave.”
Both of them looked at him in confusion.
Xie Yi, after hearing the results of Song Lü’s interrogation, said indifferently, “There were two groups of assassins. One group was here for him.”
He glanced at Liu Muzhi.
“And the other group… was here for me.”