Hmm? Shi Chun paused, stuck on the stairs, staring eagerly at the other person.

The Red-clothed Woman on the fourth floor turned back and beckoned him with a finger.

Shi Chun immediately snapped back to his senses, quickly scampering up, and with a beaming smile, asked, "What did you say? I couldn't hear clearly. Did you just mention the Demon Queen?"

The Red-clothed Woman leaned against the railing, somewhat lazily, and retorted, "Can't I?"

"No, I just didn't hear clearly." Shi Chun waved his hand, then asked, "Is your cousin someone from the Demon Queen's side?"

Red-clothed Woman: "Is that a problem?"

"No, no." Shi Chun waved his hand again, then curiously asked, "Then why are you here at Chao Yue Hall doing odd jobs?"

Leaning against the railing, the Red-clothed Woman toyed with a red flower at her temple with one hand, while playing with Sandal Gold Flame Energy in the other, "You think I wanted to come here? Something happened at Chao Yue Hall before, the whole family was arrested by the City Guard. The library's ancestors apparently had connections with the Demon Queen and left a Life-saving Talisman for them. At a critical moment, the owner crushed the ancestral Jade Talisman, and then the Demon Queen sent my cousin over. After he got the family out, he said Chao Yue Hall had a vast book collection and I should be educated more, so he sent me here under the pretext of doing errands to get more exposure."

"Oh." Shi Chun suddenly realized, understanding the situation—it made sense why Dong Liangyu mentioned before that the whole family was implicated and got arrested.

Meanwhile, his eyes began to shine, looking at the Red-clothed Woman with an unmistakable appreciation, squeezing out a smile as he asked, "Since he's concerned about your education, your cousin must really care about you."

The Red-clothed Woman, with a casual demeanor, said, "It's alright."

Shi Chun's smile became even more ingratiating, "Who was that Mr. Fu you mentioned earlier? Is it that man in the blue robes?"

The Red-clothed Woman made a sound of acknowledgment.

Shi Chun asked again, "Who is that person?"

The Red-clothed Woman nonchalantly replied, "Sword Saint Fu Que."

"Ah!" Shi Chun was genuinely taken aback this time, "He is Sword Saint Fu Que?" Even though the disdain in the other party's gaze was evident, he couldn't help but continue to ask, "Why is he here?"

The Red-clothed Woman: "To read books. I called him here, is that a problem?"

"..." Shi Chun was at a loss for words. To be able to summon the Sword Saint, this woman must have quite the influence. If she was willing, couldn't she easily get the Sword Saint to help him escape? Immediately, he cupped his hands and greeted her again, "May I ask your honorable name, miss?"

"Ruo Jun..." The Red-clothed Woman paused, her lazy posture suddenly straightening up, and she said irritably, "I'm the one interrogating you. How did it turn into you questioning me?"

Shi Chun chuckled, liking her absent-minded demeanor. Absent-minded people make easier friends. He adopted an avuncular tone, "Ruo Jun, is it? Ruo Jun, I'm indeed a friend of the Second Miss. I..."

The words were abruptly cut off by his own frantic movement to cover his mouth.

Because the Red-clothed Woman acted directly. Who told him to get so close? The beard seemed to deliver itself into her hand, and she pinched three strands of his beard before he could react, pulling them off, "The disguise is broken, do you think I'm blind not to see it? Hiding and sneaking around. Speak, who are you really?"

With one hand covering his mouth, Shi Chun watched helplessly as she tossed the fake beard aside. He instinctively took a step back, utterly speechless.

The Red-clothed Woman scoffed, "Not going to talk, huh? Fu Que should still be inside the building. I can shout for him."

She turned her head, opening her mouth to call out. Unexpectedly, Shi Chun reacted swiftly, taking a step forward to clasp her mouth shut.

In her icy, sidelong glance, there was surprise, perhaps even astonishment, as if she didn't expect someone to dare lay hands on her, directly covering her mouth.

The repelling force of her reflex was something she truly swallowed down hard.

She wanted to ask if this guy was just short of a few cards. Didn't he understand her cultivation? How dare he lay hands on her, with such audacity? Was he not afraid of being beaten to death?

Shi Chun put a finger to his lips, hushing, "Don't shout, alright? If you start yelling, it will just be awkward for the Second Miss."

Slap, the Red-clothed Woman struck away his hand, expressionless, "Dare to lie to me, and I'll chop your hand off!"

Shi Chun felt helpless. Given her attitude, it seemed there's no avoiding giving an explanation. After thinking for a while, he tentatively asked, "If I tell you, you won't report me to the authorities, right?"

"Report to the authorities?" The Red-clothed Woman smiled mildly, giving him reassurance, "As long as you're not here to make trouble in the library, I'm not interested in getting involved. The authorities don't concern me."

Alright, Shi Chun straightforwardly rubbed his face with both hands, peeling off a layer like an old skin, the dark spots and slight wrinkles on his face vanished immediately. When he looked up again, he had returned to his original appearance.

Revealing his true face, he suddenly had the spirit to stand tall and confident. In front of a woman, he was still quite confident in his looks. Then, with a face of resignation, he said, "I am Wang Ping, used to be someone associated with the library."

While speaking, he watched for her reaction. If there were any threats, he would immediately subdue her, preventing her from causing a stir, and then think about how to escape.

But the Red-clothed Woman seemed as if she was accustomed to the world, not reacting much at all, just making a sound of acknowledgment, "You're the one who used to do errands at the library. No wonder, should have said so earlier, what's there to hide? Going in circles is tedious."

Seeing her indifferent attitude, Shi Chun was instead surprised, "The Second Miss's family was previously implicated because of me. Aren't you afraid I'll come back to implicate them again?"

The red-clothed woman took down the red flower from her temple, brought it to her nose to sniff, and responded simply, "I'm here, it's not my problem. The Second Miss herself doesn't think you have any issues, I don't see the need to be overly concerned."

The Sandal Gold Flame Energy she was playing with in her hand was casually placed on the railing.

Shi Chun saw her graceful demeanor, her beauty rivaling that of the flower, blinked, and asked, "Don't you want to know why I've returned to the bookstore?"

The red-clothed woman glanced sideways, let out an 'oh', and asked, "Why did you return?"

Shi Chun gazed intensely and said, "Came for you."

"For me?" The red-clothed woman was startled, the flower swaying in front of her nose stopped moving, and she turned to stare at him, eyes filled with suspicion. Did he recognize who she was?

Previously, there shouldn't have been much chance to meet.

If they did know each other, then the matter of covering her mouth earlier wouldn't be excused as ignorance, and a reckoning would be needed.

Shi Chun's eyes showed affection as he said, "I happened to pass by through the bookstore before, and from the first moment I saw you, I was deeply captivated by you. Although I said I came to read, it was because I couldn't resist wanting to see you, Ruo Jun..."

His thoughts were simple: whether it works or not doesn't matter, just give it a shot, flattering words can never offend anyone.

As for his pride, what is that anyway? He doesn't have the morality of a normal person and naturally lacks the shame of a normal person, only caring about the utility.

The red-clothed woman was visibly dumbfounded; this was something she couldn't even dream of, didn't expect the other party to be so straightforward, just bluntly confessing on their first official meeting.

Could there still be people in this world who would confess to her? Her facial expression was slightly out of the ordinary, it's hard to tell whether it was flattered or puzzled.

Of course, she didn't find it difficult to understand, given she was ordinary afterwards, those who could freely interact with her were many, and those scholarly men expressed their admiration for her quite often. She could understand, men indeed, she had quite the confidence in her own looks.

But those scholarly men usually displayed themselves like peacocks flaunting, they would first showcase their so-called advantages to bolster their own confidence.

This guy seems different, either his confidence has exploded, or he is just very direct and straightforward.

Without the foreplay, and while she was contemplating whether his confession was genuine, one finger had already poked out, touching Shi Chun's chest as a warning, "Just talk when talking, what's the problem with getting closer while speaking?"

"You're too beautiful, it's hard to control, difficult to restrain..." Shi Chun laughed dryly, repeatedly adopting a posture of asking for forgiveness.

Seeing his plain and straightforward sentences, the red-clothed woman was momentarily speechless and remembered his background, feeling amused yet helpless deep in her heart.

She directly pointed out her uncle was a trusted aide of the Demon Queen in order to pressure the other party into helping with work.

Who knew this one wouldn't act rationally, not only showing no fear of her background but even confessing to her. He must be interested in her background.

Fine, since the other party was so shameless, she decided to play along, asking, "So you mean, you've fallen for me?"

Shi Chun nodded repeatedly, clutched his chest, and said, "From just one glance, I couldn't stop thinking about you day and night. Otherwise, I wouldn't have risked coming here knowing that the City Guard in Dazhi City is after me. It's said that heroes have difficulties overcoming beauties, and now I truly understand."

A bit too embarrassed to continue watching, the red-clothed woman lowered her eyes and blew on the red flower, "Everyone can say words with a sharp tongue and white teeth, those scholarly men coming to the bookstore daily have more eloquence and speak more pleasingly than you, how will you prove you truly like me?"

Wow, from her words, there seems to be some opportunity, no direct rejection, so it's still possible to continue. Shi Chun perked up.

For him, unless he wasn't given a chance to speak, once there's an opening, there's a chance to maneuver.

As long as things can continue, continue interacting, even if a romantic relationship can't be established, a friendship can be.

Just the background of Miao Dingyi and his wife made him spend so much effort on Miao Yilan. This woman's uncle is a trusted aide of the Demon Queen, and could summon Sword Saint Fu Que, his reaction is predictable.

Almost immediately puffing up his chest and responding, "Does it need proof? How would you like it proven?"

The red-clothed woman said, "Earlier at the dining table, the eldest miss and third miss happened to mention something, hoping I'd help them handle it. If you truly like me, I'm sure you wouldn't want to see me toil, right?"

"..." Shi Chun's expression froze. Things that would require her influential background must be known to be out of his league, yet he still tried to ask, "What did they want you to handle?"

The red-clothed woman swept her sleeves, picked up the Sandal Gold Flame Energy from the railing and pointed downstairs, "Go ask the Second Miss yourself."

Leaving the railing, she turned and walked away.

"Ruo Jun." Recovering his senses, Shi Chun hurriedly called out to her, quickly produced a Mother-child Talisman and split it into two, handing one piece to her, "Let me ask the Second Miss and I'll get back to you."

The red-clothed woman raised her hand to insert the flower back into her temple, accepted the Mother-child Talisman, and left.

Shi Chun did not forget to express heartfelt admiration for her action of wearing the flower, "Truly beautiful."

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