Chapter 516: The Person She Wants to Protect

Chapter 516: The Person She Wants to Protect

Maple Leaf Keep.

When Yun Mu stepped inside, it was already past one in the morning.

Normally at this hour, Yun Mu would have been fast asleep long ago. But perhaps because so much had happened today, she had been pushing through, so she didn’t feel particularly tired now.

"Are you tired?" Yi Jue opened his arms.

Yun Mu gently leaned into his embrace and shook her head, asking, "Where’s Karen?"

Yi Jue replied, "Confined to her room. She refuses to say anything, only that she wants to see you."

Yun Mu held Yi Jue tightly, resting in his arms for a few minutes to recenter herself before lifting her gaze. "Then I’ll go talk to her first."

Yi Jue nodded. "Shout if you need me. I’ll be waiting outside the door."

Yun Shumo was leaning against the wall outside Karen’s room, smoking while standing guard.

When he saw Yun Mu approaching, he asked, "How do you plan to deal with her?"

Yun Mu almost laughed. "Relax, I’m not a murderer."

Then she pushed open the door. The room was lit only by a lone lamp. Karen, still dressed in a simple white shirt and black trousers, sat there, still.

As Yun Mu entered, Karen looked up and said, "You’re here."

Yun Mu was a little startled by how calm she felt at this moment.

She sat down across from Karen and looked her over. "Just now, Yun Shumo asked me how I planned to deal with you. To be honest, the me from before wouldn’t have even given you a chance to explain—I’d have ruined you for good. But I’m different now. So tell me, why did you deceive me?"

Karen raised her head and met her gaze.

"Can I ask for one thing?"

"What is it?"

Karen said, "Can I see your face?"

Yun Mu hadn’t expected this. "Alright. But once you see it, I won’t let you return to Shangguan Yu’s side."

Karen gave a dry laugh. "Point taken—you wouldn’t let me go back anyway, would you?"

Indeed.

Yun Mu smirked and tugged off her veil without hesitation.

When Karen caught her breath at the sight of the stunningly beautiful face before her, Yun Mu could see the shock and dawning understanding in her eyes. This face was so beautiful it could bring empires to their knees, but it was absolutely not the face of Yun Mu, the head of the Yun family, as she remembered.

Yun Mu read the shock and dawning understanding in Karen’s eyes and could mostly guess why Karen had asked to see her face—and why she now wore such an expression.

But she offered no explanation, swiftly pulling the veil back up.

"Now, can you answer my question? Why did you deceive me?"

Karen replied calmly, "I bear you no ill will. I never intended to deceive you. But because your name is Yun Mu, and you’re my godfather’s enemy, I had to deceive you."

"Did Shangguan Yu send you to deceive me? What was the point? Just to take my life?"

Karen gave a nod.

"That's not how it is. Shangguan Yu saved me when I was a child. If he'd wanted my life, he'd have done it years ago." Yun Mu stared at Karen and asked, "The only explanation is that he couldn’t take my life at the time, or at least wasn't ready to kill me, right?"

Karen looked at her. "Hurting you and deceiving you was my fault, so I didn’t run. I’m willing to accept any punishment from you. But my godfather is my savior—I can’t betray him."

"Savior? You really mistake a villain for a father!" Yun Mu sneered, looking at her with a mix of scorn and pity. She then tossed a stack of documents. "Read these carefully. They document your real identity and the truth about your family’s death! Bai Wei!"

Yun Mu directly called out her real name.

Bai Wei's gaze wavered, but in the end, she opened the file in front of her.

By the time she finished reading, her face—previously set in determined acceptance of death—transformed completely.

She threw the documents at Yun Mu’s feet. "This is all fabricated! I was just an orphan abandoned by my parents. It was my godfather who saved me from the water and gave me a new life!"

"He did save you, that’s true. But he also wiped out your whole family! Let's face it—you’re nothing more than a pawn to him. Did you really think he cared for you?"

Yun Mu’s words hit home.

Though Bai Wei still refused to believe that Shangguan Yu had killed her family, one thing Yun Mu said was correct: he had indeed always treated her as a pawn.

Deep down, she'd long known this. But the fact remained—Shangguan Yu had saved her life, and her godmother had always been kind to her.

"I won’t believe a single word you say. My godfather had no reason to harm my family. Why would he—"

"Because your aunt once stole a baby girl for Shangguan Yu in the capital. She must have learned some of his secrets, which is why your entire family was silenced—leaving only you alive." Yun Mu continued, "Bai Wei, deep down, you know I’m telling the truth. I have no reason to drive a wedge between you. All this time, while you acted like you were working tirelessly on the antidote for me, you were really just monitoring whether I had found a solution, weren’t you?"

Yun Mu then took out a small transparent bag containing a pale red petal.

"You also knew I liked to replace the fresh roses in my room daily. So you doctored the pollen, mixing it with the fragrance so I wouldn’t notice—but it could kill my child without a trace."

Bai Wei remained silent, offering no rebuttal.

Yun Mu tossed the petal into the trash and added, "Or maybe it started even earlier. You secretly pumped Liu Ling for information about me after rescuing her from Yi Yanran—learning about my decent relationship with Yun Shumo. So your ‘accidental meeting’ with Yun Shumo was never accidental. It was all part of your meticulous plan. Even if Yi Jue hadn’t picked you up on the street that day, you would have found another way to get close to me through Yun Shumo. Bai Wei, your plan was perfect, and your acting was impeccable. You had both me and Yi Jue fooled."

With every word Yun Mu spoke, Bai Wei’s face grew paler.

"Anything you’d like to refute?" Yun Mu asked.

Bai Wei shook her head. "It’s all true. I have no defense."

"Good. Shangguan Yu has manipulated the four major families of the Southern Nether Continent—the Yun, Yi, Xuanyuan, and possibly even the Ji Clan. He’s moving everyone like pawns. What is he really after?"

Yun Mu leaned forward slightly, her eyes turning to ice.

"Bai Wei, tell me the truth!"

Bai Wei held her stare unblinking. "I don’t know the truth. And even if I did, I would never tell you!"

"Why?"

Yun Mu couldn't understand. Now that Bai Wei knew Shangguan Yu was her enemy, why would she still willingly protect him?

"I have someone to protect too," Bai Wei said.