Xiao Mo gave Sung-il a side-eyed glance upon realizing he was trying to change the subject.
"What kind of person sneaks into someone's bedroom and sniffs their clothes like some dog?"
"Haha! Brother Xiao Mo, your words are too harsh!"
"Ha? Who's your brother?"
Xiao Mo gave Sung-il a disdainful look.
Sung-il, however, seemed unaffected as the smile never left his face. Glancing at the now-closed hidden entrance, he said curiously.
"I never knew there was a passage like this in here, it was well hidden for it to escape my probing until now. But Brother Xiao Mo, I'm curious as to what the circumstances were for you to be coming out of it in such a state. This passage should lead to the next courtyard over, correct?"
Xiao Mo's disdainful expression stiffened before he slowly lowered his head to look at his current appearance.
Bare feet—ruffle pants and hair—and an exposed torso with defined abs; meanwhile, the robes that were supposed to cover his torso were instead being carried in his hands.
Xiao Mo raised his head to see that Sung-il was staring at him with intense interest. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but no words of explanation came out.
An awkward silence then fell over the room as the two suspicious youths stared at each other mutely.
Sung-il was the first one to break the silence as he coughed and said.
"Brother Xiao Mo, I won't say anything if you don't say anything."
Xiao Mo didn't immediately answer and instead remained silent.
'Does he know about Bai Luo acting as his sister? Or does he think there is something between me and the Cult Leader's daughter since I'm coming from her courtyard with such an appearance? No, I think what's more important is finding out the relationship between this guy and Bai Luo. Why is he sneaking into his room? At the very least they should know each other, right?'
Reaching here in his thoughts, Xiao Mo recalled what Bai Luo told him before coming here about having someone he liked.
Xiao Mo's expression changed slightly.
'Could it be…'
Gaze suddenly hardening, Xiao Mo glowered at Sung-il and asked.
"What is your relationship with Bai Luo?"
Sung-il tilted his head at Xiao Mo's sudden question. However, seeing the serious expression on Xiao Mo's face, he thought for a moment and then answered.
"My little brother and I are childhood friends of Bae-min. Since she and the Young Miss have become close friends, as her childhood friends we just happened to have a bit more interactions with the Young Miss and the Young Master."
Xiao Mo frowned upon hearing that.
"If that's the extent of your relationship, why are you sneaking around in his room sniffing his clothes?"
Sung-il laughed awkwardly before he said.
"If I reveal the reason, will Brother Xiao Mo tell me why you came out of the Young Miss's courtyard so early in the morning?"
"It's none of your business!"
Xiao Mo immediately retorted.
"Haha, then I'll keep the fact that Brother Xiao Mo was in the Young Miss's courtyard all night a secret."
Sung-il said this as he stood up and walked over to Xiao Mo to pat him on the shoulder.
Xiao Mo frowned at him and thought internally.
'With this guy's loose tongue can he even keep a secret?'
After patting Xiao Mo's shoulder, Sung-il spoke.
"Brother Xiao Mo, why don't we take our leave now? I promised I would take you to the Red Orchid Garden today and I'm a man of my word! I'll leave first to get ready before meeting again shortly so we can take a carriage together."
Xiao Mo barely had any time to respond before Sung-il's black robed figure slowly faded away from in front of his eyes.
Xiao Mo scanned the slightly dark room, and seeing the closed window over the bed and the tightly shut door across the room, his expression slowly turned solemn.
"This guy isn't so simple; his Movement Technique should have reached the Realm of Completion. It might have even touched the Realm of Intent."
The Realm of Intent was a level of comprehension exclusive to Grandmaster-level figures. So, for Sung-il, who was in the younger generation to reach that Realm, even if it was only by a small margin, he was undoubtedly a top genius within the Demonic Cult.
Eyes narrowing into slits, Xiao Mo muttered.
"Was his surname Yan? He should be the Young Master of the Yan Clan in the Demonic Cult."
The Yan Clan of the Demonic Cult was one of the newer powers that had risen in the last twenty years to challenge the long-standing Eight Demonic Clans. With their proficiency in Assassination Arts, even the Assassins Guild in the Righteous Faction has to take them seriously.
However, their sudden rise in strength to the point of competing with the Eight Demonic Clans was not without help from the shadows. As for who helped them and why, it was none other than the Cult Leader herself, and she did it as a means to keep the Eight Demonic Clans in check after massacring all their top experts to build peace between the Righteous Faction.
As Xiao Mo recalled these pieces of information he had read before coming here, he realized the relationship between Sung-il and Bai Luo might be closer than Sung-il let on.
"Is that why Bai Luo wasn't as disgusted by my actions after waking up as I thought he would be? Is the person he likes this Sung-il guy?"
After standing silently in the room stirring in his emotions for a minute or two, Xiao Mo finally came out of his thoughts.
With a snort he muttered, "What does he have that I don't?"
After saying this, Xiao Mo skipped over the piles of books and left the bedroom.
....
...
..
Outside at the entrance of the courtyard, Mei-Mei was waiting next to a carriage. Soon she saw Xiao Mo approaching with disheveled hair and his chest bare.
Even though Mei-Mei didn't say anything, Xiao Mo could tell from her strange expression as she looked at him that she had a bundle of questions at the tip of her tongue.
Xiao Mo pursed his lips and without giving his maid and guqin teacher any time to speak, he grumbled out, "Don't even ask."
He then walked past her and climbed up into the carriage.
Mei-Mei listened and said nothing, but as she turned, about to climb up to the coach seat, she suddenly stopped and gripped the hilt of her sword ready to draw it.
However, in the split second between her grip tightening around the hilt of the sword and the blade of the sword leaving the sheath by four inches, Xiao Mo's voice drifted out of the carriage to stop her in time.
"He's with me."
In the same moment that he said that a small gust of wind blew, causing the curtains of the carriage to lightly flap.