"Was he trying to bluff ?"
Le Yuxin examined the dal in her hand. It really did have "Deceitful Needle" and "Yin Minghong" engraved on it, but that didn’t prove the dal was genuine. For all she knew, it could be a cheap knockoff.
Even in the worst case, even if the dal was real, that still didn’t an it belonged to the second-in-command. Maybe so unlucky White Night Walker died at his hands, and he just kept it as a trophy—just like how Le Yuxin collected Qian Yuliu’s dal from Yin Yinyin.
"This ti I’ve learned my lesson. Just because you say sothing, doesn’t an I’m buying it. I won’t ever give Yin Yinyin another chance to look down on !"
Le Yuxin made a show of walking toward the window. "Guess I’m leaving now then?"
"Wait."
"Ha, n. Finally showing your true colors, huh?"
Yin Minghong opened the wardrobe next to him and took out a set of clothes. "Put on this guard outfit. I’ve packed dry rations, a water flask, and a map in your bag. If anyone gets suspicious, just give the passcode ’Moon Silver’ and say you’re delivering a ssage to Xuanzhu County."
"I’ve marked the sentry points and the Heyang Army’s patrol routes on the map. Since you’ve got those Swift Blade Boots, you should be able to dodge them and get back to Chenfeng District before dawn."
"I don’t know who you are, but whether you’re ’Star Reacher’ or ’teorite,’ you’re both in the ’Star’ sequence from Chenfeng District. I just got intel today: Lv Zhong checked into Star Engraving County two days ago. Not sure if that’s going to ss with your mission."
"If you do get caught, just say you ran off while I wasn’t paying attention. That’s the line I’ll use to brush them off later too."
"That’s it. Good luck getting out, I won’t see you off."
Le Yuxin walked over and checked the bag—yup, everything was there. As for whether the food or water was poisoned, or if the map had any traps, Le Yuxin really had no idea. Still...
"If there’s so trick inside, the worst that’ll happen is I get hauled back here. But if I actually pull off this escape, I hit the jackpot."
"From Yin Minghong’s perspective, whether I escape or not ans zero downside for him. There’s no way he’d get any benefit out of this, and I couldn’t possibly leak secrets to him—even if I wanted to. Honestly, I don’t even have secrets worth leaking."
"Most importantly—in everyone’s eyes right now, I’m like a fish on a chopping block. If Yin Minghong wanted to get so intel out of , why bother with all this trouble? Just torture for info, plain and simple."
Unless...
"Are you really a White Night Walker?" Le Yuxin asked.
"You and I are from different districts. In a place like this, it’s impossible for us to truly confirm each other’s identities," Yin Minghong said, "So there’s no need for you to tell your code na, your mission, or any intel. Just leave. That’s all I can offer."
"But aren’t you afraid I’ll betray you?" Le Yuxin glanced around the room. "If you really are a White Night Walker, you’re probably carrying out an infiltration mission, right? What if I was actually sent by soone else to test you? Even if I’m not, I might not be a White Night Walker at all, and you seem like a big-shot. I could just sell you out for profit and everything you’ve worked for goes up in smoke."
Yin Minghong said, "So what you’re saying is, as an Infiltrator, my smart move would’ve been to keep my head down, hide my identity, pass your intel to Dongyang’s branch, and wait for other White Night Walkers to find a way to rescue you?"
Le Yuxin shrugged. "Isn’t that just common sense?"
Yin Minghong turned to glance at Le Yuxin. For so reason, she sensed there was a hint of disdain in his eyes.
"If I’m not mistaken, you used to be an assassin, didn’t you?"
Le Yuxin patted her white hair. "None of your business."
"Infiltrators are supposed to look out for themselves, always put survival first, trust no one, take no risks, don’t rescue anyone, and put the mission above all else..." Yin Minghong said coolly, "That’s the kind of chanical logic that’s common sense to assassins, not to actual people."
"Normally, Boss Huo would never rest in this spot, but your scare tactics drove him to Red Moon Fortress. While I was talking to him, I got curious about your Swift Blade Boots and took your bag. And finally, I found your White Night dal in the bag, and realized you might actually be a White Night Walker..."
"Rather than suspecting you’re so bait sent to test —or that you’re an assassin who killed two White Night Walkers and then carelessly got caught by Boss Huo—I’d rather believe you’re my ally. That’s the more likely scenario."
Yin Minghong said, "If I let doubt and self-preservation get in the way, and I leave you to fend for yourself, once you’re taken to Xuanzhu County, it’ll be much harder for the branch to rescue you, and you’ll go through even more suffering along the way."
"But if I just trust you now, then with minimal cost, we get the best outco."
"That’s what White Night calls common sense."
"Turns out I got tricked by Yin Yinyin," Le Yuxin thought.
Still, Le Yuxin just couldn’t help but argue, "But what if? What if things really do end up in the worst-case scenario?"
Yin Minghong said softly, "It’s exactly because we believe the world can move toward the best possible outco that White Night exists, that we beco Walkers. This isn’t just so wishful-thinking prayer—it’s the optimal solution, discovered after careful analysis and reflection."
"If a little trust is all it takes for the best outco, there’s no point dwelling on the worst possibility. White Night believes in the goodness within people. If even we White Night Walkers can’t manage that, then what’s the difference between us and the Imperial Court?"
"So because of this, you’re willing to take a risk to save ?" Le Yuxin asked.
"Not entirely," Yin Minghong suddenly smiled, "There’s also a very important reason: I’ve got a really dangerous mission in the next couple days. If I get unlucky, I might end up joining White Night myself."
"Whether you’re legit or not, it doesn’t make much difference to . Of course, that’s only because I trust my own judgnt, and I’m willing to accept whatever fate brings."
"So even if you’re an assassin, I’d still trust you."
Le Yuxin suddenly rembered that gift White Night gave Yin Yinyin.
White Night had long known Yin Yinyin was with the Assassin Organization—maybe even that he’d touched the Soul Purification blade and had every reason to commit a cri—but they still trusted Yin Yinyin, letting him run the city-takeover plan.
"And look how that ended for White Night—total disaster. The entire Star Engraving County White Night branch was wiped out, Yin Yinyin stole the Saint’s Relic, then Lv Zhong moved in. This is what you get for putting faith in naive ideals—the absolute worst-case scenario."
"As much as I wanted to rub those facts in Yin Minghong’s face and shatter that fake sense of idealism, looking at ’Yin Yinyin’s Tribulation,’ for so reason... suddenly I wanted to try trusting Yin Minghong after all."
[Yin Yinyin’s Tribulation: Restore Yin Yinyin’s approval in the eyes of White Night (0/50).]
"I could never figure out how to clear Yin Yinyin’s Tribulation. The second he shows up, White Night would grill him about what really happened in Star Engraving County. Even though Yin Yinyin cooked up an excuse, deep down he knew no one in White Night would buy it and the Saint’s Relic couldn’t stay hidden—he didn’t even have to use it publicly. As long as the white-haired guy kept breathing, soone would piece it together."
"Yin Yinyin might not have realized it, but digging through his mories, I could faintly see... he actually wanted to go turn himself in."
"He was going to lay low for a few months, wait for things to cool down, and then show up again at White Night. But Yin Yinyin knew better than anyone White Night would never buy his story, and Lan Yan would never cover for him. Heading back to White Night was basically walking into a snare."
"All those months on the run... rather than really dodging White Night, it was more like Yin Yinyin gave himself ti to ’Cross the Tribulation.’"
"If he made it through that tribulation, then the world was his oyster—he could take the Saint’s Relic and enjoy life, leaving White Night and Black Robe Tower in the dust."
"If he couldn’t get over that internal hurdle, he’d go back to White Night, cross his tribulation there, and let fate judge him."
"Yin Yinyin spent years scheming for the Saint’s Relic—he couldn’t just ditch his obsession for White Night. But after he got the Relic, White Night beca his new obsession."
"Bottom line, Yin Yinyin never really had anything else to live for—no family, no friends, no dreams. He had to find a goal to survive. The Saint’s Relic was his first beacon, and White Night his only safe harbor."
"Honestly, I’d basically decided to give up on Yin Yinyin’s Tribulation. I an, I’m not exactly in the habit of handing myself in, and if I ended up tried for ’killing Qian Yuliu,’ that would just be plain weird."
"But now I realized—there actually IS a way to complete Yin Yinyin’s Tribulation."
"Plus, going solo was getting downright exhausting. I really wanted the kind of life where I had a girl, a sweet ride, and so little minions. I needed to latch onto a big organization."
"If I drove around in a fancy car, when would I ever get snatched up by traffickers?!"
Le Yuxin said, "Honestly, even if you don’t save , I’ve still got ways to get out of this."
Yin Minghong nodded, "I know. You’re surprisingly cool-headed."
"Like you said, I’m an assassin," Le Yuxin grinned, "Plus, I’m an assassin with basically no backstory. Since you’re willing to trust , why not trust even more—"
"Let’s make a deal."
Yin Minghong blinked, "A deal?"
"My powers can absolutely help with your mission. But in return, I need you to give one tiny little favor."
Before Yin Minghong could respond, Le Yuxin made a slicing gesture across her neck, "I want to take out those traffickers—before they’re all dead, I’m not leaving."
Yin Minghong frowned, "Why? They’re just a pack of dogs. They bite you, so you’re going to bite back? The best revenge is just to leave them behind."
"Wrong. The best revenge is making them contribute to the great cause of population cleansing," Le Yuxin spat, "I’m not gonna bite the dogs—I’m going to roast them, skin them, and rip their bones out!"
"Ever since leaving Star Engraving County, I’ve been holding in this rage. I wanted to lash out but had no target. I wanted to stir things up, but didn’t know where to start. I was feeling nothing but frustrated and lost. Then these bastards crossed my path—no way I’m letting that slide."
"If I just walked away now, I’d be too pissed to ever sleep again!"
"Helping Yin Yinyin cross his tribulation was part of it, sure. But the real reason is, I’m just pissed off!"
"Got a grudge? Pay it back tenfold. Righteousness will shine across the land!"
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