[Double chapter merged, 6000+ words]
Two days later
Inside a private suite, a round table was piled high with delicious dishes. But out of everyone there, only Shen Bingxin was actually enjoying the food—the other three were just glaring at each other across the table.
"Why... why are you all staring at me?" Butterfly Rogue reached out with his chopsticks, clearly wanting some chicken, but the other two just glared at him even harder.
"Eat!" Shen Bingxin snapped, her face darkening as the tension rose again.
Hearing this, Adrian Night grumbled, "Zhen Fengliu, why did you let him stay?" After two days of holding back, he finally couldn't resist asking. To keep Butterfly Rogue from recognizing Shen Bingxin, he and Lucian Vane had actually agreed to call her 'Zhen Fengliu.'
Ah, these two are really suffering for the sake of secrecy!
"Hey, why can't I stay? I'm your brother-in-law too, just like you!" Butterfly Rogue shot back, clearly annoyed by Adrian's words. And since they kept calling her 'Zhen Fengliu,' he was sure that was her real name. He actually liked his little brother-in-law quite a lot.
"Shut up! You think you can join us?" Lucian Vane barked. This guy's just a flower thief—how could he possibly be worthy of Xin'er?!
"Hey, you—"
"Enough! Are you all going to eat or not?" Shen Bingxin tossed down her chopsticks and glared at the three of them. Then she sighed, "You two beat him up so badly and now you're just ignoring him?" She pointed at the yellow tail curled under the table.
"Exactly! Look how badly you hurt me—my tail won't even retract!" Butterfly Rogue shook his tail dramatically. "Ow, ow, it hurts so much! My poor, beautiful tail..."
"You're faking it!" Lucian Vane, who'd been silent, coldly stated the obvious. Sure, both he and Adrian wanted to beat him up, but with his insane lightness skill, there was no way they'd hit him unless he let them. Only after the fact did they realize—damn, they'd been played!
"That's enough!" Shen Bingxin frowned, clearly annoyed. Like she didn't know what Butterfly Rogue was up to—he probably just wanted to see 'her' through her disguise. Still, it was fine to keep him around; there was something she needed him to steal, and only he could pull it off!
"Hmph!" Adrian Night, still annoyed, picked up a piece of veggie and started eating.
"Hey, little brother-in-law, which one of you and your sister was picked up off the street?" Butterfly Rogue asked, now that everyone was quiet.
"Huh?"
"You and your sister look way too different," Butterfly Rogue said honestly.
"So you're saying my sister is ugly?" Shen Bingxin snapped, clearly annoyed by his comment.
"Ah, no, that's not what I meant, you misunderstood! Your sister may not be good-looking, but as long as I'm handsome, it's fine—then she'll treasure me more!" His logic was so twisted, Shen Bingxin was left speechless.
"Butterfly Rogue, we’re out here for some seriously important business. You wanna see my big sis, fine—but you gotta help me with something first." Shen Bingxin flashed a sly grin, looking totally scheming.
The three guys instantly froze and leaned in, ears pricked for gossip.
"Bro-in-law, just say the word! Your business is my business, we’re all family here, no need to be polite!" Butterfly Rogue jumped in, trying to win favor. In his mind, this bro-in-law clearly had clout—he’d managed to make these two scary dudes bow their heads. If he scored points here, one word from the guy and boom, he’d be the official brother-in-law!
"I need you to steal something for me!"
"Stealing? Oh, that’s my specialty! What is it—mountain of gold or vault of silver?"
"Nope, forget the gold and silver. I need you to swipe Cao Guocheng’s Ice-Soul Jade for me." Shen Bingxin enunciated each word, dead serious.
Everyone blinked. Ice-Soul Jade? How did that end up with Cao Guocheng?!
From what everyone knew, Cao Guocheng was sworn brothers with the Wang clan, and the Ice-Soul Jade was their ancestral treasure. No way Cao didn’t know about it. Could it be... he’s the one who wiped out the Wang clan?!
Shen Bingxin’s words left all three men totally shook. That old fox Cao Guocheng was ruthless to the core!
"What’s wrong? Too tough for you?" Shen Bingxin teased Butterfly Rogue, spotting his furrowed brow. Not that she didn’t know—this was way more than tough. Cao Guocheng was the Emperor’s father-in-law, and his house was basically as locked down as the palace. Breaking in was no joke.
But hey, there’s always exceptions to the rule...
"Whoa, bro-in-law, isn’t that a bit much? Old Man Cao’s security is insane—even if I’m good, this one’s..." Butterfly Rogue hesitated, looking sheepish.
"Relax, I’m not sending you to your doom. The herb conference kicks off in two days, and Old Man Cao is already headed this way. Ruiland City’s biggest Stormrain Lodge was booked out three days ago. Sure, swiping it in Draken City would be hell, but now the fat loot’s coming to Ruiland itself. For you, shouldn’t be a problem, right?" Shen Bingxin smiled.
Honestly, she could steal it herself, but she wasn’t about to show her face yet. She knew her looks—disguised as a guy or not, she was a dead ringer for her mom. If she popped up now, cleanup would be a nightmare. Plus, she had bigger fish to fry.
"Wait, seriously? Old Man Cao’s coming to the herb conference?" Butterfly Rogue yelped, then was totally wowed by Shen Bingxin’s genius. "Bro-in-law, you’re a legend! That’s gotta be top secret intel, and you dug it up? Respect!"
At that, Shen Bingxin grabbed her chopsticks and started eating again. "Two days, Demon Doc—I need him patched up!" (Translation note: implication—stop poisoning him, she needs his help!)
"I can get it for you!" Lucian Vane suddenly looked at Shen Bingxin, clearly desperate to do something for her.
"Nope, you’re not going. Sure, your martial arts are top-tier, but his lightness skill is a notch above. Plus, his ‘one-finger swipe’ is something you can’t just learn!" Shen Bingxin shot down Lucian Vane’s offer. Stealing wasn’t about brute force—it’s about sneaking in at midnight with nobody the wiser. If Lucian went, one wrong move and Old Man Cao would be toast. And she wanted him alive to watch the drama!
"Oh right, Xin’er... Xin’er’s little bro—um, anyway, tons of people have come to Ruiland these past two days, most of them for our nightclub," Adrian Night chimed in, grumbling about using the nickname. If that annoying guy wasn’t here, he’d just call his beloved Xin’er outright!
"Yeah, the herb conference is right around the corner. Once-a-year event like this? Of course it draws a crowd." With that, Shen Bingxin mused to herself: Old Man Cao must be after something—herbs? Nah, it’s gotta be more than that. But since she got to Ruiland first, no way she’s just gonna sit around and wait to get steamrolled!