079 The Beginning of Destiny

The Imperial Capital, 9 a.m.

An hour ago, the sky had been clear, but now a torrential rain poured down without warning. Steward Ji, who had been watching the servants clear away the breakfast dishes, suddenly heard the front door open. Taking a step outside, he was astonished to see the Fifth Young Lady, drenched to the skin, standing at the threshold like a bedraggled bird.

She was soaked through, rain streaming from her hair and clothes, utterly disheveled.

“Miss, where have you been?” he asked in surprise.

Mu Qingcheng slipped off her shoes, her trembling fingers brushing back the wet strands clinging to her forehead before hiding them behind her. She managed a weary smile. “I went out for a run. Didn’t expect the rain to come down like this.”

“Why didn’t you call? We could have sent a car for you. Quickly—go change your clothes, you’ll catch cold,” he chided gently, ushering her inside while taking a towel from a servant to dry her hair. He gave instructions as he worked, “Make some ginger tea and bring it up to the young lady’s room.”

“Yes, sir,” a servant replied at once, hurrying off toward the kitchen.

Mu Qingcheng started up the stairs but suddenly paused. At this hour, her grandfather would usually be in the living room, listening to Peking opera, but today, he was nowhere to be seen. The servants around her seemed unusually tense, moving with hurried, anxious expressions.

“Uncle Ji, did something happen?” she asked.

Steward Ji hesitated, glancing at her suspicious gaze. After a moment’s pause, he sighed and spoke honestly, “This morning, the Second Young Master had an attack and was taken to the hospital.”

“What did you say?!” Mu Qingcheng spun around so quickly she didn’t even notice the towel slip from her hands. She grabbed the steward’s arm, her voice urgent and trembling, “What happened? How did he suddenly fall ill?”

“This morning, when the Second Young Master came out of his room, he suddenly felt unwell and... fell down the stairs.”

“Wh—what?” she stammered.

“Fortunately, when he reached the second floor, he managed to grab the railing and didn’t fall any further. Otherwise...” Steward Ji didn’t finish the sentence, but the expression on his face said it all. If he’d fallen all the way, his life might have been lost.

“And now? Which hospital? How is he?” she pressed on.

“Don’t worry. The Master went with him early this morning. He’s out of danger now, but he hasn’t regained consciousness.”

“Wait for me. I’ll change my clothes and go to the hospital with you,” she said, already racing upstairs without waiting for his reply.

“Miss, wait—” Steward Ji called after her, but she was gone in a flash.

Barely five minutes later, Mu Qingcheng reappeared, changed and ready. Noting the paleness of her face, the steward said worriedly, “Perhaps you should rest at home. It’s not too late to go after the Second Young Master wakes up.”

“It’s fine. Let’s go,” she replied, shaking her head and heading straight for the door.

***

Meanwhile—earlier

“Hiss—” Si Qingchen woke to a whirlwind of pain. The first sensation that struck him was the lingering bitterness in his mouth. In the next instant, he turned sharply to his side. The wounds on his arm had already scabbed over and healed, the recovery much faster than usual. But as he shifted, pain tore through his back.

“My back... was injured?”

Gradually, the memories returned. Underwater, there had been an explosion—a powerful shockwave, fragments of metal everywhere. He had shielded the woman in his arms, using his body to block the flying debris without a second thought. After that, he’d lost consciousness.

Yet, in those final moments—

“The vermilion mark. I saw that vermilion mark.”

Though he’d been on the verge of passing out, he was certain he had seen the very mark he’d always wanted to glimpse. Now, as long as he could see the same mark on Mu Qingcheng, it would prove it all: whether it was the mysterious leader of “No Trace,” or the woman who had kissed him so fiercely in the manor that night—

They were one and the same: Mu Qingcheng, and no one else!