The Protagonist is Always Intimidating Me - Chapter 38

The room fell silent.

Bai Meng abruptly stood up, his sudden movement causing the table to shake. A porcelain bowl of sweet rice porridge toppled and shattered on the floor, filling the air with a sugary scent. But none of the three in the room paid any attention, all focused on something else entirely.

“……”

Lan Wei is dead?

In the original story, Lan Wei returned to Xingge Hall with Hankui, but later, after a rebellion in Xingge Hall, Lan Wei was retrieved by the people from Lanxi Hall.

How could he suddenly be dead?

“…Is the information confirmed?” Bai Meng’s expression was complex.

“Hmm. According to the spy, shortly after His Highness left the Yinchen Hall last time, Lan Wei came here to find you. However, he disappeared afterward… The latest report is that, half a month ago, some first-class guards were seen dragging a corpse out of Xingge Tower.”

“…Confirmed to be Lan Wei?”

“Yes. There was a Lanxi Hall insignia on his forehead.”

Bai Meng’s brows furrowed deeply, his mind tangled with countless racing thoughts, like threads in a knotted ball.

Looking up, Bai Meng saw the heavy aura radiating from Mo Hankui beside him, his face dark and brooding.

“…Tonight, Jiuge, come with me to check things out.”

Bai Meng reached out and gently smoothed the crease in Mo Hankui’s brow, his calm tone subtly comforting. Mo Hankui’s gray eyes met Bai Meng’s, and Mo Jiuge, after a moment of contemplation, nodded in agreement.

The inn was unusually quiet all day; even Yinchen Hall didn’t make any further trouble. As midnight approached, moonlight quietly filled the room, casting shadows from the nearby trees across the dimly lit floor, while a few stars shimmered distantly in the quiet night, wafting a faint fragrance into the air.

“Are you ready?”

Bai Meng’s thin lips were pressed together, his youthful face serious.

“Yes.”

Mo Jiuge secured the blades hidden in his wristbands and nodded, signaling that they could set off.

“Wait.”

At the door, Mo Hankui suddenly spoke, stepping forward to place three small, hard, black beads into Bai Meng’s hand, who looked at him in surprise.

“Come back soon,” he instructed.

“Mhm~ Of course. So keep the bed warm, Hankui—I’ll be back shortly.”

Bai Meng, who never took anything seriously, maintained his usual irreverent manner, to which Mo Hankui had grown accustomed, dismissing his frivolity with a calm reply, “Hmm.”

Mo Jiuge, who’d been forced to swallow a mouthful of dog food: “……”

Wait! Get serious! We’re not here to play house!

Bai Meng, however, set off with a broad smile, while Mo Jiuge followed him with a resigned expression.

The cold moon hung low in the sky, casting a silver glow over the rooftops of the Yinchen Hall’s Main Palace, quiet and vast, like an ice sculpture.

Mo Jiuge lightly placed one foot on the rooftop tile, his body as agile as a bird’s, and leapt three or four zhang (丈) was commonly used in China to measure larger distances or heights, and it can still appear in classical texts, historical narratives, and fantasy literature to evoke an ancient or traditional setting. A leap of \"three or four zhang\" (三四丈) would suggest a distance of around 10 to 13 meters (or 30 to 40 feet).",
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}) (丈) was commonly used in China to measure larger distances or heights, and it can still appear in classical texts, historical narratives, and fantasy literature to evoke an ancient or traditional setting. A leap of \"three or four zhang\" (三四丈) would suggest a distance of around 10 to 13 meters (or 30 to 40 feet).",
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}) in a single bound. He moved effortlessly across the rooftops of varying heights.

“Where are we headed first?”

Bai Meng followed close behind, his loose hair fluttering, his obsidian eyes shining as if they were on a sightseeing trip.

Mo Jiuge glanced sideways at Bai Meng, slightly surprised at how easily Bai Meng kept up. Pausing at a high point, he scanned the surroundings and stopped at the Lanxi Tower—the section of Yinchen Hall reserved for hosting guests from Lanxi Hall.

“We’ll start by checking there.”

Mo Jiuge turned to seek Bai Meng’s agreement, and he nodded. They moved swiftly and soon landed on the second floor of Lanxi Tower.

Bai Meng looked around, his little ears twitching amid his tousled hair as he listened intently. The entire tower was silent; even the sparrows were calmly asleep in the trees.

“…Let’s head down…”

Mo Jiuge was about to suggest the next move when Bai Meng suddenly turned, motioning for silence and pointing downward.

Mo Jiuge watched quietly. In the courtyard below, Feng Suiling and a tall man were dragging a body into one of the rooms.

Mo Jiuge looked at Bai Meng. “Should we go down?”

Bai Meng shrugged, giving a deadpan answer, “We’re already here.”

“……”

Just then, distant shouting erupted, followed by alarm bells cutting through the quiet night. Torch flames illuminated an area in the distance as a group rushed toward them.

Below, Feng Suiling and a man fled the courtyard in haste, as though startled. Bai Meng looked up at Mo Jiuge, his eyes full of shock. “But we haven’t even started yet! Did I accidentally set a flag before we left?!”

Mo Jiuge: “……”

“Let’s go!”

Mo Jiuge grabbed Bai Meng and dashed out. But with guards surrounding the area, Mo Jiuge’s brows knitted in frustration. Bai Meng quickly pulled him toward Xingge Tower.

The noise grew louder as they entered the courtyard of Xingge Tower. Bai Meng shoved the door open, and they both checked the room before closing it, blocking out the noise from outside.

“…We can’t stay here. The guards will search soon,” Mo Jiuge said, lowering his gaze. His refined, handsome face held a murderous glint. “Let’s just force our way out!”

“Stay calm!” Bai Meng patted Mo Hankui’s shoulder. “Relax! I can slip us out unseen!”

Mo Jiuge: “…???”

“But before that, we need to deal with the eavesdropper up there!”

With a slight exertion of his fingers, Bai Meng snapped off the edge of a teapot lid, sending it shooting sharply toward the ceiling beam. A person was hidden there, and the teapot fragment sliced a lock of his hair before embedding itself in the support beam, all done in perfect silence with precise control.

“Not coming down?”

Bai Meng smiled innocently at the man.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” The man flipped down to the ground, but due to a leg injury, he couldn’t stand steadily and ended up sprawled on the floor with a resounding thud.

Bai Meng: “……”

Well, that was a failed attempt at showing off.

Mo Jiuge: “……”

“What the hell! Show some respect! Is this how Xingge Hall treats guests from Lanxi Hall? No manners whatsoever!”

Cursing as he rose, his hair was a deep sea blue, tied carelessly behind him, giving off a disheveled look. What was most striking were his dark blue eyes, resembling an ocean concealing endless threats, so deep that they could make one feel breathless.

“…You…” Bai Meng looked at him, surprised.

“What’s this? You recognize me now?” A defiant smirk tugged at his lips as he struggled to get up, though his injuries forced him to remain half-seated. Yet, he exuded an imposing presence, looking down on everyone, unwilling to submit to anyone.

“…Who are you?”

“……”

“What the—!” The man exploded, squinting slightly. “Don’t tell me you don’t recognize me? That short dimwit from the back alleys?!”

“Well,” Bai Meng replied blandly, “I’m from the mountains. I’ve never heard of any famous hooligan around here.”

…Called me short…

“You actually had the nerve to call me a hooligan? Really, you’re quite the fool—when I was making my name, you were still rolling in the mud!”

“Heroes don’t ask about origins, and hooligans don’t care about age. Though you ask about my past, out of courtesy, I won’t directly ask your age!”

“Bold words for a shorty like you!”

Watching them argue, Mo Jiuge sighed and quickly pulled Bai Meng back, whispering, “Alright, alright. Now isn’t the time to bicker. Little Captain, he’s the one we’re looking for—Lan Wei.”