Chapter 618: A Midnight Visit

Chapter 618: Chapter 618: A Midnight Visit

Shen Ningning froze for just a moment, then suddenly covered her face and shrieked.

The scream startled Mo Lingwei awake. He shot up into a sitting position, pulling her into his arms. His gaze swept around with extreme vigilance, a cold killing intent flaring in his narrowed eyes.

’He thought it was an assassin.’

But to his surprise, the room was empty. And the Shen Ningning in his arms took that very opportunity to punch him.

"Who told you to hold me!" Her face flushed crimson with mortification, her big, watery black eyes simmering with petulant anger.

Mo Lingwei came to his senses and looked down at his own palms.

"I was holding you?" he asked, his expression a mask of innocent confusion.

"Still playing dumb!" Shen Ningning crossed her arms, fuming. "It’s not like I could have rolled into your arms by myself, could I?"

Mo Lingwei raised a long brow. "Perhaps you did. You’re a restless sleeper. You kick off the covers and roll all over the place."

Shen Ningning’s lovely eyes widened. "Nonsense! I’m not like that..."

But the more she spoke, the less confident she sounded. She remembered that when the wolf pack had lived with her on Wolf Mountain, she would always roll off her bed in the middle of the night.

She would land on the furry bodies of the wolves and not even wake up. The Black Wolf King would then gently carry her back to her pallet.

Shen Ningning’s pink cheeks puffed out as she demanded, "But when I woke up just now, your hand was on my waist! Even if I’m a restless sleeper, I couldn’t have possibly grabbed your own hand and wrapped it around me!"

Mo Lingwei cleared his throat. "I was asleep. I can’t control what I do then. I’ll be more careful next time."

"There’s a next time?!" she exclaimed, hitting him again.

Mo Lingwei caught her fist in his hand. "You silly girl. If you’re going to hit someone, go for the face. Hitting my body like this—doesn’t your hand hurt?"

Shen Ningning froze, her lovely eyes wide with surprise. Mo Lingwei leaned his face closer. "Go on. Hit me. It’ll make you feel better."

Seeing him so willing to let her, Shen Ningning couldn’t bring herself to strike.

With a disgruntled "Hmph," she gave him a light shove.

"Stop with the self-pity ploy. Besides, I’m not that unreasonable."

Mo Lingwei sensed that she couldn’t bring herself to be harsh with him, and the faint smile on his lips deepened. "I’ll be careful this time. You go back to sleep. I’ll lie on the very edge, alright?"

Shen Ningning shook her head. "But I was sleeping so soundly..."

It was then that she remembered she had been woken by the sound of something tapping on wood.

Shen Ningning peeked toward the door. The young maid on night watch was probably far away, as Ningning had told her she didn’t require any attendance at night.

’Was it the wind? Did I mishear it?’

Just then, the tapping sound came again, this time from the window lattice.

Mo Lingwei’s relaxed expression vanished in an instant, his eyes glinting with a sharp, severe light.

He moved Shen Ningning behind him, his gaze fixed warily on the window.

The KNOCK KNOCK sound didn’t stop. In fact, it continued with a steady rhythm.

The moon was dark, hidden behind thick clouds. Shen Ningning whispered worriedly, "Do you think it’s one of your Hidden Guards?"

"No." Mo Lingwei’s brow furrowed. "They wouldn’t disturb our rest at night. Even for an emergency, there’s a signal. The whistle hasn’t blown. It’s not them."

But Mo Lingwei’s Hidden Guards were concealed nearby. If there were any danger, it was unthinkable that they wouldn’t have shown themselves.

After a moment’s thought, Mo Lingwei stood up. "You stay on the bed," he instructed Shen Ningning. "I’ll go take a look."

With that, he retrieved the longsword from under the bed and padded softly toward the window.

Shen Ningning watched nervously.

The closer Mo Lingwei got to the window, the more he could hear the sound of flapping wings.

He frowned. After a brief hesitation, he threw the window open. In an instant, the night wind surged in, and a massive black shadow darted into the room.

Mo Lingwei immediately slashed at it with his sword, but the creature was nimble. With a slight twist of its body, it dodged his attack completely.

Shen Ningning’s eyes widened as she watched the black shadow spread its wings, flapping its way up to the roof beams.

"Wait, Mo Lingwei, I think that’s... a Hei Diao?"

Mo Lingwei looked up at the beams, his brow furrowed.

The Hei Diao that had flown in was enormous. Its feathers were a rich, glossy black, and it stood half as tall as a man.

As it perched on the beam, the space above it seemed incredibly cramped. The Hei Diao had to cock its head, its yellow-brown eyes sizing up Shen Ningning.

"So you’re the one who was looking for me?" the Hei Diao spoke.

Mo Lingwei was stunned. This time, he could actually understand it—the Hei Diao was speaking in a human tongue.

Shen Ningning stood up on the bed, staring at it in shock. "You... How can you speak our language?"

The Hei Diao sneered, ruffling its wings. "That’s none of your concern. If you hadn’t sent everyone and their brother looking for me, even finding my great-aunt, I wouldn’t have made this trip at all. So, spit it out. What do you want? And once you’ve made it clear, stop pestering my family!"

Shen Ningning: ...

In her efforts to have the small animals carry a message to the Hei Diao, she had fed all sorts of birds over the past few days. She had no idea which one might have been its great-aunt.

"Since a bird passed on my message, I’ll get straight to the point. I want you to take me to Tianshan Mountain."

The Hei Diao sized her up, letting out a series of squawks that sounded suspiciously like laughter at her audacity.

"You? Go to Tianshan Mountain? A little thing like you would freeze to death instantly. Hmph. Don’t think I don’t know why you want to go up there. It must be for that Snow Lotus, right?"

"You know about the Snow Lotus?" Shen Ningning asked, a hint of tension in her voice. ’Although,’ she thought, ’the flower isn’t the most important part. It’s what’s buried underneath it.’

Her mother hadn’t been able to finish telling her what it was before the voice had cut off.

That was why Shen Ningning had to go to Tianshan Mountain herself and dig up the Snow Lotus.

"Of course I know about it. For you humans, it’s a rare and precious medicine. For me, it’s a potent herb that strengthens my body. It blooms once a year, and I eat it every time. So no, I won’t take you up the mountain."

Shen Ningning said anxiously, "I don’t want the Snow Lotus! I just need you to take me up the mountain. I want the thing beneath the Snow Lotus!"

The Hei Diao folded its wings, its gaze turning severe and cynical. "Lies! You humans are the most treacherous of creatures. You use all manner of lies to trick me into helping you, and then you scheme to hunt me down and kill me. That’s your true motive."

It then began to mutter to itself with agitation, "I’ve long known humans can’t be trusted. For personal gain, you betray your own families. For wealth, you turn your blades on your own kind. I will not help such a vile species!"

Fearing it would fly off, Mo Lingwei abruptly slammed the window shut.

The Hei Diao ruffled its wings. "You cannot trap me. Don’t waste your effort!"

Mo Lingwei’s expression was cold, his voice steady. "We don’t wish to trap you. We summoned you to discuss a partnership. Help us get up the mountain, and from this day forward, every Snow Lotus on Tianshan Mountain will be yours. Furthermore, I will have a shrine built for you on the mountain. You will have a place to live and be worshipped, and you will never have to be chased from pillar to post again."

The Hei Diao fell silent for a moment, eyeing him. "On whose authority?"

"Is the authority of the Crown Prince not enough?"

At Mo Lingwei’s words, the Hei Diao instantly fell silent, sizing him up with a suspicious glare.

Seizing the opportunity, Shen Ningning noticed the Hei Diao’s left talon was somewhat withered. It was clearly smaller than the right one, the result of an old injury.

So she added, "And I can restore your left talon. It will be as good as new, as mobile as it was before it was injured."

The Hei Diao’s head snapped toward her. "My left talon was injured by a human who looked very much like you."