Justin Guo was startled. He drew his sword and charged inside.
Cecilia Chen was still inside, not even dressed yet! This was a disaster!
Grace dashed forward in a flash and blocked his way.
Justin Guo clearly hadn't expected a maid to dare block his path, and he stared at her in surprise.
He froze for a moment as he looked at her.
How could there be such a beautiful girl in the world?
She was pure to the extreme, lively to the extreme, like an orchid in a secluded valley, like crystal-clear water from a celestial pool... There were simply no words to capture her charm...
Grace made a 'wait a second' gesture to him, walked over to the door and peeked inside. Seeing that Cecilia Chen had already dressed and gotten out of bed, she finally let him in.
Justin Guo, however, was dumbstruck, just staring at her blankly.
"Go on in!" she whispered, pointing inside.
Justin Guo suddenly snapped out of it, blushed for no reason, gave her a quick bow, and walked in with his sword.
Grace frowned and followed him in.
"Justin Guo, Cecilia Chen tried to assassinate me. Take her away," Evan Xiao said expressionlessly.
"Yes, sir!" Justin Guo replied with a blank face, walked over, and said, "Miss Cecilia, please come with me."
Seeing Evan Xiao was actually serious, Cecilia Chen was so scared she dropped to her knees with a thud. "General, please spare me! You know I'm not an assassin!"
"You entered my room without permission. That's the same as being an assassin," Evan Xiao said. "Take her away!"
"I-I-I didn't sneak in, it was... it was Little Fish who let me in! She taught me to do this, said if I did, you wouldn't marry me off!"
Grace's eyes widened at her, and she sucked in a sharp breath.
Cecilia Chen, you idiot! Can't you tell Evan Xiao is just trying to scare you?
Evan Xiao's gaze turned icy as he looked at the stunned Grace, squeezing out two words through his teeth: "Is that so?"
"No, it wasn't me!" Grace hurriedly knelt down. "I have no idea how she got in, I swear!"
"It was you who told me to sneak in while you were on night duty," Cecilia Chen insisted.
Grace glared furiously at Cecilia Chen, itching to strangle her!
Didn't we agree you wouldn't drag me into this?
Now not only did you drag me in, you put all the blame on me!
What happened to your integrity?
You traitor!
"In that case, you can go back now," Evan Xiao said to Cecilia Chen. "If this happens again, whether you sneak in yourself or someone lets you in, you'll be treated as an assassin."
"Yes, sir." Cecilia Chen bolted out as if she'd been pardoned.
Grace was left standing there, totally bewildered.
"Justin Guo, you can leave now too," Evan Xiao called out to him.
"Yes, sir." Justin Guo glanced at Grace before heading out.
Grace didn't dare make a sound and tried to sneak out right behind Justin Guo.
But suddenly, her neck tightened—Evan Xiao grabbed her, and in a blink she found herself on the lakeshore outside his back window.
Outside Evan Xiao's back window was a medium-sized lake, dotted with patches of Purple Cloud Lotus, breathtakingly beautiful.
Grace had no idea what he was up to, but before she could react, Evan Xiao tossed her straight into the lake.
"Ahhh!" Grace shrieked, flying through the air and splashing into the water. She choked on several mouthfuls and finally surfaced, yelling, "Help! Help!"
Grace had fallen into water as a child, and ever since then, she was terrified of it.
Even after becoming a Ninth Rank Spirit Master, she never learned how to swim.
She flailed around for a bit, then started sinking.
Panic and suffocation overwhelmed her. She stared toward the light, desperately reaching for something—anything—but caught nothing...