"Good morning, Miss!"Xiaoyu had just woken up, rubbing her eyes as she walked out of the bedroom, only to see Dongfang Mingyue, wearing a light-colored apron, busy in the open kitchen. She was instantly wide-eyed with surprise. In her memory, Miss had always been focused on alchemy and had never personally cooked. This scene today was truly a first."Good morning, Xiaoyu." Dongfang Mingyue turned and smiled. On the stove were several delicate pastries; their crusts were golden, and the cakes were moist and radiant, looking every bit as good as the signature items from outside shops."Wow! Miss, did you make all these? You're amazing!" Xiaoyu quickly rushed over, a faint sweet aroma wafting around her nose, her eyes sparkling with delight.Dongfang Mingyue picked up a piece of osmanthus cake that had just cooled and offered it to Xiaoyu's mouth, her tone relaxed: "If I can do something as complex as alchemy well, making these pastries is much simpler than alchemy.""Then—are these specifically made for me?" Xiaoyu took a small bite of the osmanthus cake, the sweet yet not cloying taste melting on her tongue. With her mouth full, she asked indistinctly.Dongfang Mingyue smiled and nodded, then added: "They are for you, but there's also a portion for Mr. Qin Tian. He saved all our lives, so we should show our appreciation. Making something by hand also seems more sincere."Xiaoyu's chewing paused, and she eyed Dongfang Mingyue suspiciously, a mischievous smile playing on her lips: "Miss, how is it that I feel like I'm the 'add-on' here?""You mischievous girl, you talk too much!" Dongfang Mingyue gently tapped Xiaoyu's forehead in exasperation, her cheeks slightly flushed, "Hurry and wash up, or the pastries will get cold."Xiaoyu stuck out her tongue and skipped off to wash up. Not long after, Dongfang Mingyue carried several plates of pastries and warm tea into the suite's dining room.The suite in the Pill Tower was exquisitely and luxuriously decorated, with ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) a spacious two-bedroom, one-living-room layout. It was originally intended for stewards or high-ranking Guards, but they were temporarily lent one.As soon as they sat down, Dongfang Mingyue softly called out into the air, "Mr. Qin Tian, are you there?""I am."No sooner had the words fallen than a subtle spatial ripple appeared in the air, and Qin Tian's figure materialized out of nowhere beside the dining table.He was still wearing his characteristic black attire, the fabric crisp, as if yesterday's bloody battle had left no trace on him. His face remained stern but with a hint of softness he rarely showed."Brother Qin Tian, good morning!" Xiaoyu was the first to greet him enthusiastically, her tone full of familiarity."Morning." Qin Tian's lips curved into a rare, faint smile. His gaze fell upon Xiaoyu, and he asked with concern, "Miss Xiaoyu, how is your recovery?""Couldn't be better!" Xiaoyu immediately straightened up, spread her small hand, and a ball of pure white spiritual energy blossomed in her palm, shimmering with a pristine glow. "After taking the Yin-Yang Rebirth Pill yesterday, I directly broke through from Tier 2 Nine-Star to Tier 3 Three-Star! Elder Gu He even said that over eighty percent of the pill's medicinal properties remained in my body and will slowly nourish me in the future, helping me break through to at least Tier 5!"She spoke, her eyes full of yearning: "Tier 5, I never even dared to dream of it before, but now I have hope!"As her words fell, Xiaoyu looked at Qin Tian again, her gaze becoming particularly serious. She stood up and bowed deeply to Qin Tian, her voice full of gratitude: "Brother Qin Tian, if it weren't for you yesterday, Miss, I, and everyone around us would probably not be alive. Thank you so much!"Qin Tian quickly reached out to help her up, his tone gentle: "Protecting Miss Mingyue is my duty. Miss Xiaoyu, there's no need to be so polite.""Then Brother Qin Tian, just call me Xiaoyu from now on!" Xiaoyu looked up, saying earnestly, "Everyone calls me that, 'Miss Xiaoyu' sounds too formal."Qin Tian looked at her sincere eyes, pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Alright, Xiaoyu.""Then you can't be biased." Just then, Dongfang Mingyue spoke softly, her gaze falling on Qin Tian, her tone somewhat serious, "Since you've changed to calling her Xiaoyu, don't call me 'Miss Mingyue' anymore either. Just call me Mingyue. From now on, I'll also call you Qin Tian directly."Qin Tian's heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively wanted to refuse—the embrace in the snow yesterday, he took it as Dongfang Mingyue's impulse after surviving a close call. After all, their relationship was that of a bodyguard and a protected person; such an intimate address seemed inappropriate.But he looked up at Dongfang Mingyue, only to see her gaze firm, without any hint of jest. That seriousness made the refusal at the tip of his tongue impossible to utter.After a moment of silence, Qin Tian gently nodded, his voice a few shades softer than usual: "Alright, Mingyue."Hearing this address, Dongfang Mingyue's cheeks flushed faintly, but a faint smile unconsciously bloomed on her lips. She picked up her teacup and took a sip."Qin Tian, these are the pastries I made for you and Xiaoyu. How do they taste?"Dongfang Mingyue said with a beaming smile."Alright."Qin Tian no longer stood on ceremony, picked up a pastry, put it in his mouth, took a gentle bite, and after savoring it, gave a thumbs-up."Excellent, much better than those made in the shops."Hearing this, Dongfang Mingyue's smile deepened.Xiaoyu, watching the two of them, secretly blinked, picked up a pastry, and stuffed it into her mouth. The sweetness seemed even richer than before."Miss, have Brother Min and the others found out the identities of those who ambushed us yesterday?" Xiaoyu asked indistinctly, her mouth full of pastry, her eyes showing a mix of curiosity and vigilance. After all, these were enemies who had almost cost her her life; not knowing their origins made her feel uneasy.Dongfang Mingyue put down her teacup and gently shook her head, her tone tinged with helplessness: "Brother Min has already sent the bodies of those men in black to the relevant departments for identity verification, but until now, there has been no news."Qin Tian listened quietly at the side, not interjecting, but his fingertips unconsciously stroked the rim of the teacup.Yesterday, from the Man in White, "Great Emperor Zhenwu," he had already learned the identity of those assassins—the Round Table Society.The Round Table Society was not comparable to regional assassin organizations like Shadowmoon Tower. Its sphere of influence covered the entire Nine Great Star Regions, and even the star sectors inhabited by the Spirit Race and the territories of the Orc Empire were within their mission acceptance range.What was even more daunting was the organization's extremely long history, founded by the legendary "Twelve Knights of the Round Table," and passed down for thousands of years, almost as old as the Empire's history.Their method of training assassins was almost rigorous—the ace assassins in the core circle were mostly selected from childhood, undergoing brutal training in a closed environment. Only the most top-tier strong individuals who survived layers of screening could enter the core circle and access the Round Table Society's core secrets.As for yesterday's attackers, they were merely the Round Table Society's "peripheral contract workers."Although these peripheral assassins also had internal ratings and could undertake various tasks issued by the organization, they could never touch the Round Table Society's core circle, nor could they possibly know the true identities of the Twelve Knights.And the only Tier 7 peak assassin who might have known more information had already been eliminated by the Man in White in advance, leaving no trace of a clue.In other words, even if the relevant departments eventually clarified the identities of those men in black and confirmed their connection to the Round Table Society, it would be difficult to dig out more information along this line of inquiry—the peripheral assassins were intentionally left by the Round Table Society as "smoke bombs."Qin Tian thought of this, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.Since the Round Table Society had already targeted Dongfang Mingyue, it was unlikely they would only send peripheral assassins once. The situation might become even more troublesome going forward.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.