The masked man let go of Gu Yunxi, yet his cold gaze remained on Huanan Xin. In a freezing voice, he spoke.

"Prince Chen... The son of the tyrant..."

Before his words died down, he picked up a cobble and shot it at Huanan Xin.

"No!"

Gu Yunxi rumbled as she intervened with her palm. The cobble shattered midway through the air before it could touch Prince Chen.

"Are you opposing me for this fool?!"

The masked man turned his stern eyes to Gu Yunxi and withdrew his palm, which crackled as it clenched.

Gu Yunxi blinked and lowered her eyes in horror.

"I dare not... But master, your Kungfu is unparalleled. It's unfair for you to kill Prince Chen now that you know he's retarded."

The masked man's heart was softened when he heard her gently addressing him as "master".

But his face did not stir. Instead, he only wrinkled his lips and discharged sneers from his throat.

"Interesting. You are willing to call me 'master' now only to save the tyrant's son?"

Gu Yunxi did not deny it. She kept her head down and replied.

"He is still useful."

Gu Yunxi stood up quietly and walked to Prince Chen.

Since she shattered the deadly cobble with her internal strength, Prince Chen had been watching her talking to the masked man in a daze.

When she stood before him in the most innocuous manner, he giggled and drooled.

"Hehe, sister, what are you doing..."

Gu Yunxi's face suddenly changed. She pointed at the masked man and pretended to be panicked.

"Run, Your Highness! This is a ghost, and I'm fighting with him! Ah, he has seen you and will find you in your sleep!"

"Hehe, liar..."

Prince Chen didn't seem to believe it. Instead, he turned to look at the masked man with a grin.

Gu Yunxi took the opportunity to unplug the hairpin from her bun and stabbed it on the back of Prince Chen's hand.

The pointy needle pricked into his flesh. When it was pulled out, blood streamed out.

"Ouch!"

Prince Chen was caught off guard and broke into tears, his bloody hand shaking.

The masked man stood up. The pattern on his metal mask now looked ghastly and grotesque.

Spreading his arms to Prince Chen like a fierce hawk, he roared on purpose.

"I am a ghost. Now I am going to eat you!"

Gu Yunxi pushed Prince Chen cooperatively and urged.

"He just bit you using witchcraft. If you don't want to be his food, run. Remember that don't tell anyone what you see here. He will find you if he hears about it!"

Frightened, Prince Chen tumbled out of the rockeries and went north.

"It's clever of you to use him to divert the Eastern Depot."

The masked man knew that Gu Yunxi stabbed Prince Chen and scared him away to mislead the Eastern Depot soldiers. As long as they followed the bloodstains, they would only find Prince Chen.

Prince Chen yet did not know the palace Gu Yunxi worked in. Besides, no one would believe a fool's talking.

Watching the young man disappeared at the end of the road in a flurry, he laughed mockingly.

"How ironic. The crown prince selected by the tyrant died of illness a few years ago, and the only heir who made into adulthood is a fool."

"The Emperor's health has deteriorated thanks to his obsession with Taoism. If he dies, who will be ruling the great empire of House Huanan?"

"What are you talking about?"

Gu Yunxi frowned at the fathomlessness of his words.

The cold moon hung in the sky, covering the black-haired and dark-clothed man with frosty light.

He raised his head and looked into the boundless sky. His empty eyes seemed tainted by the night and became dark and deep.

Watching his long black cloak fluttering in the wind, Gu Yunxi suddenly felt that he was an unattainable deity with supreme majesty and isolation. His coldness discouraged anyone from approaching him.

"Who are you?"

She couldn't help walking to him and asked softly.

"You seem to know a lot about the Palace."

The masked man turned sideways and studied Gu Yunxi's face. His sharp eyes contained overpowering coldness along with a trace of thrilling rage.

She instantly felt a chill down her spine and shuddered.

Curiosity could kill a cat!

It seemed that he was about to flare up. How would he punish her later...?

The lasting silence was broken by the masked man. He suddenly put his hands on Gu Yunxi's shoulders and spoke as he looked into her eyes.

"If you want to know, you must give up the Eastern Depot and him."

Gu Yunxi squinted and objected decisively.

"Isn't my life always in your hands?"

He shook his head.

"I want you to give up on that man completely. You will willingly abandon the identity of 'Gu Yunxi' and be my 'Tu Muxue'. Only then will I take off my mask and tell you my story. You'll know and remember me for life."

Gu Yunxi was shocked by his unexpected disclosure. Her brows rose high, and her eyelashes fluttered like wings of a butterfly.

Backing up in a panic, she easily wiggled out of his grasp.

"It's impossible. No one can control my heart, which belongs to one only."

The masked man was neither anxious nor annoyed. He only gazed at the receding girl calmly.

Her stunned expression was deeply and clearly imprinted in his black eyes.

He sighed as his black hair flew in the breeze. The melancholy was thicker in his eyes.

"Do you think it's worthwhile to save yourself for a eunuch? Don't you mind following a man who used you, abandoned you, and loves you not? Even if you are only a substitute for another woman?"

"What are you saying?"

Gu Yunxi's face sank. She clenched her fists and growled at him.

"Are you insane?"

The masked man stared at her face that was completely different from what it had been a year ago.

"Has he never told you about his past with Pei Rushi? Don't you ever wonder why you have a culinary talent compared to other chefs?"

Crucified by the masked man's indifferent gaze, she sweated due to distress and looked miserable as her face ran pale.

"You... You mean... Pei Rushi is..."

She was smart enough to deduce the truth from his unfinished words.

"She is your mother."

The masked man spoke out for her firmly.

Frozen and petrified, she stood on the spot motionlessly.

Her spiritual world was thrown down by the emerging cruel truth. It broke into shards and collapsed to the ground.

How could this be…

That maid, Master Leng's boyhood love, turned out to be her mother?

Gu Yunxi had always believed in Leng Qingtang.

She was more than happy to have him indulging her. In the eyes of the naive young girl, mutual affection and companionship were precious.

She did not know until now that his love for her was based on his feelings for another woman. The weight of the revelation was hard to take. The heaviness hit her heart and put her at a loss.

Her eyes stung and a few tears rose to her eyes in a blink.

Gu Yunxi swallowed hard, wiped her eyes with her elbow, and then turned to him with questions.

"You know who I am, right? I am not an orphan. I have a father and a mother. Does my old face resemble that of my mother?"

The masked man replied with silence.

Gu Yunxi quickly withheld her sorrow and refocused her mind. Her eyes were burning like torches, emitting the light of resoluteness.

"I will find what you need as soon as possible! Then you must tell me my origin."

Equivalent exchange!

She understood the rule to deal with the masked man.

For the time being, actions were more important than words.

"Good, deal."

The masked man gazed at her and nodded. But the tiredness and weakness in his tone were unheard of.

Seeing her walking away, it suddenly perplexed him how strong the teenage girl could be.

If she had been any other woman, she would have been unable to withstand a series of truths. But she managed to suppress the suffering in her heart and stay indifferent and apathetic.

It made sense! When he changed her face before, he had witnessed her endurance of the severe pain and success in pulling through the recovery. He should have realized her strength.

She was a determined woman who could not be easily conquered.