Back with Lei, she had woken up from a nightmare and wanted to take a walk. The two guards that were guarding her door wouldn't let her as they were a part of the group.
"I just want to take a walk to cool down from a nightmare I had. I'll just be in my little area," Lei stated.
"Sorry Young Mistress, but we were ordered to guard you and not let anyone walk in or out," they said.
"Ordered? Ordered by who?"
"By Young Master Yu Min."
"I know he was going to have guards guard my house," Lei said as she was finding this strange, "but I didn't know that he told the guards to watch me and not let me out to get some fresh air if I woke up from a nightmare." She had to play along with them so that they wouldn't attack her.
"He told us not to let you or anyone out or in," one of them said.
"Ok. Fine, I won't argue anymore. I'll just go back to bed," she said as she closed her door and walked to her bed. Lei thought that was weird. She knew that Yu Min had the guards guard her and her house, but not like that. Lei sat down as she was thinking why the guards wouldn't let her go out and walk when they could just follow her around. She knew if she called for Pan Shi that the guards wouldn't let her in even if she was Lei's personal maid.
Over at the dining hall, Pan Shi had finished cleaning up the mess. She walked over to Lei's house to check up on her. Pan Shi arrived and went to go in when the guards stopped her.
"Sorry Miss, but you can't enter," one of the guards said.
"I'm Lei's personal maid. I can enter whenever I want," Pan Shi stated as she went to enter again.
The guards stopped her again. "Sorry, you still can't go in. Young Master Yu Min ordered us to watch Young Mistress Lei's house and her, which also means no one can enter nor leave."
"Really, boys?" Pan Shi said. She was about to be fed up with this.
They nodded as they looked at her. "Yep."
Pan Shi smirked. She had gotten an idea. "Hey boys, I heard that there's a new cute, but sexy girl at the restaurant. I also heard that she wants to get married to a guard."
The boys perked up, but they didn't fall for it. "Yeah, right. We haven't heard anything about that," they said as they were ready to fight.
Pan Shi charged at the door, making the guards fall backwards and opening the door.
Lei heard and screamed.
The guards looked around and saw a shadow behind Lei's curtain. They got up and bowed, "so-sorry!" They then bolted out of there.
Lei looked over her curtain and laughed.
Pan Shi walked in and closed the door quickly. "Lei, what was that about?"
Lei walked out and over to her. "Those two guards are from the group. The other guards would've walked with me when I told them that I was going for a walk to calm down from a nightmare I had. They also smelt like the people from earlier," Lei said.
"You had to play along with them so that they wouldn't know that they were found out and that they wouldn't do anything to you, right? Pan Shi asked.
Lei nodded. "I have a favor for you, do you think that you could do it?"
Pan Shi nodded, "what's the favor?"
"I need you to go and tell my parents about the two guards and then after you do so, go and look for Dai Hui, I need to ask him for a favor as well," she replied.
"Ok. Will do. Tell your parents about those two guards then go and look for Dai Hui and say that you're looking for him?"
"Yes. Now hurry," Lei stated.
Pan Shi nodded and left.
Now, Lei starts to think of a plan for Dai Hui and some of his men. She wants him and his men to keep watching the group, but also to be a part of the group. Lei was struggling with coming up with a plan for Dai Hui.
As she was thinking, Pan Shi got to the guard house to tell Lei's parents about the two guards.
"General! Second-in-command!" Pan Shi called out.
"Yes, Pan Shi?" Yawen asked as she and Mu came out.
Pan Shi told them what happened.
Their eyes widened. "Go and get more guards and tell them to watch the manison," Mu said.
Pan Shi nodded and went to go and get more guards so that there's more people watching Lei and the mansion.
"Mu, what are we going to do?" Yawen asked Mu as she looked at him. She was worried and concerned about Lei.
Mu hugged her. "We can't do anything. You know how Lei is when she gets into something."
"I know, but I can't stand going about my own business when my daughter is after a bad person who no one's seen or heard of before. We only know how to see if people are in the bad person's group…"
"I know love. It hurts me just standing here and not being able to help her," Mu said as he kissed the top of her head, "what if we secretly help her out?"
"Wouldn't she get mad at us?" Yawen asked.
"She will be mad at us, but I believe that she might appreciate it," Mu replied. He was regretting what he had said to Lei the day before.
Yawen nodded. She was also regretting yelling at Lei the day before.
They both regret yelling at her and telling her to change her dream of becoming the general after Mu and Yawen steps down or dies. They both want to make it up to Lei, but they haven't really been there for Lei while she was growing up.
While Yawen and Mu were thinking, Pan Shi was looking for Dai Hui so that she could tell him that Lei needed to talk to him about the case.
Pan Shi spots him and runs over to him. "Brother Dai Hui!" She exclaimed.
Dai Hui got startled and jumped. He looked over and saw Pan Shi. "Yes, Pan Shi?"
"Mistress Lei needs to talk to you," Pan Shi said, "it's urgent."
"Ok. Let's go then," Dai Hui stated.
They headed back to Lei's mansion so that Lei could speak to Dai Hui.
They get back to Lei's mansion.
Dai Hui headed straight for Lei's building. "Lei!" He called out as soon as he got close to her building.
Even though Lei was waiting for him, she still jumped. "Here!"
Dai Hui rushed in. "Hello. I heard that you needed me?"
"Hi, and yes. I needed you," Lei said.
"I knew you would come to your senses and figured that you love me and want to marry me," he said jokingly, knowing that she and Yu Min were together.
"Dai Hui! No. Plus, I have someone already," Lei exclaimed, "anyway, I need to talk to you about something."
"I know, I know, Lei. What is it that you need to talk to me?"
Lei tells him about what happened and that she's been hearing a voice. She told him that she thinks it's the leader of the group that she's after. Lei then told him what the voice had been telling her. She also asked him not to tell anyone about what she told him about the voice as they would probably think that she's crazy and hearing things.
"Lei, I promise you that I won't tell anyone about what you told me," Dai Hui interrupted her.
"Ok. Good, you better not either until I know for a fact that it isn't just my mind playing tricks on me or if it's the leader," she said, "I need to ask for a favor."
"What's the favor?"
"I need you and some of your men to watch my mansion for the people who are suspicious that are in my mansion. Have some of your men be a part of the group. If you or any of your men sees something suspicious, then come and tell me right away," Lei asked.
"Ok. I'll tell my men when I get back to my base," he said as he had to come up with a somewhat of a lie as he didn't want to tell Lei that Yu Min had already asked him to watch the mansion.
"Good. Whenever this is over, I'll treat you and your men to a meal," Lei stated.
"Ok, I'll hold you to that, Lei," he responded.
"I know you will," Lei smiled. She just hoped that none of her friends or family gets killed because of this. Lei had already lost so many people growing up. She had already seen many deaths of her friends and family. She didn't want to go through it anymore, even though she still wants to be the general.
"Good. So, how are you and Yu Min?" Dai Hui asked as he wanted to tease her about them.
"We-wait, how did you know that Yu Min and I were dating?"
"It's obvious and also your eyes gave it away when you said that you have someone already," Dai Hui replied.
"You're not mad or upset?" Lei asked as she was worried about him.
"Of course not. I knew that I had no chance with you. Just know that I will always love you and if Yu Min treats you terribly in the future, then I'll protect and keep you safe," Dai Hui said as he was lying, but all that mattered to him was to see Lei happy and smiling. He was in fact a little bit upset.
Lei lets out a small chuckle. "I know. You would be the first person to realize and save me."
"Good. Anyway, is that all you needed me for?"
Lei nodded. "Yeah, I'll keep you on track with what's going on."
"Ok. I'll take my leave then. Bye Lei," he said as he left.
Lei watched him leave as she sighed. She was relieved that Dai Hui was alright with her dating Yu Min. Though, she did feel bad. Lei knew that she couldn't love someone else other than Yu Min.
A while later, Lei was laying in bed, thinking. "Why are they doing this? Could it be something they're after or did something happen in the past?" Lei stayed laying in bed, thinking. "That could be it, but what?"
Lei's parents were walking past and heard her.
"She must be mumbling about the motivation for why whoever is doing this," Mu said.
"Yeah. She must be," Yawen replied.
Mu was thinking to see if he had enemies that wouldn't go directly for him. He thought about when he accidentally hurt Sun Huang's daughter when she was about five or six years old. "Do you think it's Sun Huang?" Mu asked.
"Why would she wait this long to get revenge?"
"Maybe because she found out that I have a daughter?"
"But aren't Lei and her daughter the same age?"
"Yeah, I would think so. Or maybe her daughter is a year older than Lei," Mu replied as he thought back to it. "Lei was four or five when that happened, right?"
Yawen thought about it. "Yeah, I believe so. It was about eleven or twelve years ago," Yawen stated.
"It's been that long?"
Yawen nodded and smiled. "Yeah. It was five years as we were in a battle with another kingdom."
"Lei's seventeen?"
"She's about to be eighteen this year. Actually in a few days," Yawen stated as she remembered that she gave birth to Lei on June twelfth. "Her birthday is the twelfth day of the sixth month."
Mu's eyes widened. "How can I forget my baby girl's birthday? And especially when it's her eighteenth birthday…"
"Mu, we've been busy fighting a battle and I'm sure she also forgot that her birthday is soon," Yawen stated, "why don't we throw her a small birthday party for her?"
Mu nodded. "Yes, let's," he said as they started to walk and talk about the party.
In the morning. Lei was reading some details about the case to see if she missed any clues in the evidence that she has. "She's only going after pharmacies and me. Why is she going after me? I don't have any enemies besides a girl at school, but it's not her because it's not her voice. Could it be something that my parents did?" She mumbled as she was thinking if her parents did anything wrong to someone. Lei couldn't think of anything that her parents did wrong. "Unless they're keeping something from me…"
As she was thinking and mumbling to herself, Pan Shi walked in. "Young Mistress?" she called out.
Lei was in her thoughts as she was still mumbling.
Pan Shi walked over to her and tapped her on her shoulder, "Young Mistress?"
Lei jumped and also punched Pan Shi. "Pan Shi!! You scared the living soul out of me."
"Sorry, Young Mistress. There's someone here for you and they haven't said why," Pan Shi stated.
"It's fine, Pan Shi," Lei said as she got up, "oh? What do they look like?"
Pan Shi explained what the person looked like. She had described He Zhihao.
"He's a classmate of Yu Min's. Where is he?"
"He's at the entrance. The guards aren't allowing anyone unfamiliar in," Pan Shi said.
"Ok. Thanks. I'll go to them," she said as she went to the entrance of her mansion.
Once she got there, she saw He Zhihao pacing back and forth in front of the gate. Lei walked over to him, "He Zhihao?"
He Zhihao jumped slightly, but it was as if he didn't know that Lei would actually come or was allowed. "Lei, we need to talk about something."
"Ok. Follow me," she said as she looked at him and turned around and went to her study hall.
He nodded and followed her.
They get to Lei's study hall, which everyone knows not to disturb her when the doors are closed.
"He Zhihao, what do we need to talk about," Lei asked as she looked at him.
He Zhihao takes a piece of paper out of his sleeve and hands it to Lei. "Read this and tell me what it is."
Lei takes it and reads it.
It was a note from one of Lei's men.
"Dear He's family,
We know that you're hiding something. If you don't want me or any of the others that know to tell higher ups or the Feng family that you're hiding something, then you listen to me and get out of Xinhou.
-One of the Feng's men"
Lei's eyes widened after she finished reading the note. "Your family isn't hiding anything, are they, Zhihao?"
"No? Not that I know of, but I don't think that they are hiding anything. If anything, your men are a part of the group and are trying to scare my family and I," Zhihao said as he looked at her.
Lei was so confused now. 'Why are they going after the He family now? That makes no sense unless they're going after all of my friends, but the He family, Zhihao isn't really my friend though. I mean like he is a friend. But I don't really know him well,' Lei thought to herself. Even Xiao doesn't know why this is happening, but she knows how it's going to end. She just doesn't know how it will lead up to the ending of the book. "Hey Zhihao, does your family have any relations to stores that the group is targeting?"
"Yes, but why would they go after us when we only have relations to the stores that have been targeted?" Zhihao asked as he was confused on what Lei was getting at.
"What are their relations? Are your parents business partners with them? Suppliers?"
"They're business partners who also give them supplies when none of their other business partners don't have the supplies for them," Zhihao stated as he understood a little bit of what Lei was getting at, "do you think that they're targeting the business partners?"
"Yes, but it makes no sense if they are going after the business partners," Lei said as she was still trying to figure out a little more.
After a while. Lei and Zhihao had been discussing why they would be going after the business partners of the stores they had been going after. Zhihao left after they finished.
Lei went to the kitchen to grab a snack, even though dinner was about to be done. She walked in and went to grab an apple.
As she went to grab an apple, a servant stopped her and told her that dinner was about to be done and that she shouldn't spoil her dinner. Lei nodded and put the apple away. She left after she had put her apple away.
As she was just walking around, she would still be in her thoughts. Lei was so confused about everything and the leader of the group's motive. "Why are they going after the business partners, and why target the He's family?" she mumbled to herself.
Lei kept walking and thinking that eventually she ended up at her parents study hall.
Yawen and Mu were in their study hall talking and were about to head to the dinning hall. Mu opened the door and saw Lei.
"Lei? Sweetheart, what are you doing here?" Mu asked Lei.
Lei didn't answer as she was still in her thoughts.
Yawen noticed that Lei was in her thoughts and probably doesn't know that she ended up here. "Mu, I think Lei is in her thoughts," she said as she smiled a bit.
Mu realized it after Yawen pointed it out. "She probably is."
Yawen snapped her fingers near Lei's ears so that she could zone back in.
Lei heard her mother snap her fingers and zoned back in. 'How did I get here and when?' she thought. "H-Hi mother and father," she said.
"Deep in thought?" Yawen asked.
Lei nodded, "yeah. I just got something else that's for the mission that I'm on. It just doesn't make sense why they are after them."
"Oh? Want to talk it out so that it could make a little more sense?" Mu asked.
Lei looked at them and was confused. "I thought you didn't want me to be a part of the mission."
"We know that you wouldn't give it up so we decided to help you whenever you need it," Yawen and Mu stated at the same time.
Lei smiled. "Shouldn't I give you two a run down of the mission and tell you about the group from what I've gathered?"
"No need. Professor Shiqi filled us in and also you wrote down what you know and put it in your little area at the guard station," Yawen stated.
"Ah. Then you know that some of our servants might be a part of the group?"
They nodded. "Yes, but it's a good thing that there might be spies, because we could give them fake information," Mu said quietly.
"True. Anyway, the He family got a letter from one of our men and threatened them to leave Xinhou or the man who wrote this told us what they're hiding. Zhihao came a few hours ago to tell me this and he said that his family isn't hiding anything. I had asked him if his family had any relations with the stores that are being targeted and he said that his family is business partners with most of the stores," Lei stated, "why are they targeting the business partners and why did the He family get a letter from one of our men? It makes no sense."
Her parents were also shocked and confused. "It doesn't, but in a way it does. If you go back to the business partners' part, they'd have the supplies that the stores carried and would have more of it than the actual store itself."
Lei understood a little bit more. "That makes sense. I guess I was overlooking the situation and not going back to think about it more slowly and carefully. But wouldn't any other of the business partners tell the guards if they got a letter?"
"Not necessarily, Lei. They would be scared to tell the guards know or to tell us know about it," Mu stated, "but I'll go around to the other business partners that are with the He's family about of the alliance of the stores that's been robbed."
"Right," Lei said as she was thinking about the time when she was hesitant about telling her friends about what she was doing before she told them that she had a mission. Lei nodded at her father.
Yawen nodded and smiled. "Let's go and eat dinner, you two."
Lei and Mu both nodded as they started to walk towards the dining hall. Yawen followed as she was still smiling.
Once they got to the dining hall and sat down to eat, Pan Shi came in and walked over to Lei after she had apologized for interrupting. She bent over to whisper something to Lei.
Lei's eyes widened as soon as she heard what Pan Shi whispered to her. She got up and asked, "mother father, something came up with one of my friends and-"
Her parents interrupted her, "go. We'll have the maids cook you something when you get back. Hurry."
Lei nodded and bowed before she ran out. She ran to get her sword.
Once she got her sword, she ran to the stalls to get her horse so that she could get there faster. Lei got on her horse after untying the horse and rode it to the place that her friend was at.
After a few minutes, she arrives at the place which was an abandoned farm house. Lei got off her horse, carefully, not wanting to alert the bad guys. She would slowly walk towards the gate. Lei feels uneasy. 'This doesn't feel right,' she thought to herself. Lei stopped moving once she got closer to see if she could hear any movement from coming inside. She couldn't hear anything. So, she peaked around the corner of the gate to see if there was anyone out and guarding. Lei didn't see anyone guarding or anyone in fact. 'This definitely will go terribly wrong,' she thought to herself, again as she got her sword ready to attack. Even though she still felt uneasy, she entered.
As soon as she entered, a trap was triggered and alerted everyone. The bad guys ran out and went to attack Lei. Lei heard their movements and was one step ahead of them. She attacked them and killed most of them within ten minutes.
Lei ran into the farmhouse and started to feel dizzy. She looked around to see if there was an incense burning, but couldn't find it. Lei passed out and fell, hitting her head pretty hard on the floor. Once she hit the floor, someone came out with a mask covering their nose so that they don't inhale the incense.
They picked her up and carried her to where they needed to take her.
Once they got to where they were taking Lei, they set her down and tied her up. They went to get the person who ordered them to kidnap her. "I got the girl," they said.
"Good. Now, go and tell her parents what I want," the person said.
They nodded and turned around to go and give Lei's parents a letter about her and how to get her back.