"Come, I'll ask, you answer. 'Since ancient times, in love one can only regret in vain'—what's the next line?"

Early in the morning, the blind man was brewing tea while asking Xue Three, who sat across from him.

Xue Three immediately answered with a grin:

"'This regret rolls on and on, never coming to an end.'"

The blind man nodded. "Yet another one led astray by that pig."

"Uh…"

"It's 'A good dream is always the easiest to wake from.'"

"Never heard that one. No, wait, are you calling me as stupid as a pig?" Xue Three finally cottoned on.

The blind man lifted his teacup and took a sip, but felt the tea wasn't very comfortable in this heat. He hesitated, then set it down again. The weather was getting hot; something cool would be better. Looked like he'd have to go ask A Ming for some ice blocks later.

"What I mean is, in truth we all have a lot of freedom. Within the bounds of that freedom, each of us can do what we like, but if you go past that limit, it can't be allowed.

Take what you did last time—what you did basically dragged the rest of us down with you."

"I was the one who got screwed over by Ah Li. That oaf didn't tell me the whole picture. And you lot, I don't know if you're clueless or what, weren't you all watching which way I'd jump?"

"That's right." The blind man spoke as if it went without saying.

"Since you were all watching which way I'd jump, you've got the nerve to blame me now?"

"Of course I do. You know the difference between a trailblazer and a screw‑up? They're both just the one walking at the very front of a road. If that road is eventually cleared, he's a trailblazer. If he walks it into a dead end, he's a screw‑up.

So, you're the screw‑up."

"Hey, hey, hey, it's first thing in the morning. I only came to hit you up for a bit of funding, and you had to trash me first, is that it?"

"I'm idle anyway." The blind man was unconcerned.

Just then, Siniang walked in.

Today Siniang wore a long purple dress, a phoenix hairpin in her hair, unmatched in grace and beauty.

The blind man's expression paused for a beat, then he smiled in quiet understanding.

Xue Three didn't react at first. When Siniang had sat down and he was just about to speak, he suddenly started, and hurriedly said:

"Siniang, you broke through?"

Siniang reached out and picked up an account book that had just been delivered that morning. She opened it as she nodded.

"How did you break through?" Xue Three genuinely couldn't understand.

"Just like that."

"Then you… Forget it, forget it, I won't ask. A thousand people, a thousand paths—if I keep asking I'll probably talk myself into a trap. Siniang, approve this order for me. I want these workshops built first; I need some equipment specially forged."

The men under Xue Three were all trained by him personally. He would also design dedicated tools just to equip them. These tools generally couldn't be popularized. First, they weren't worth spreading; second, they were too expensive to spread.

"Alright, leave it here. I'll sign it this afternoon and have someone send it over to you."

"Good, then I'm off. You two talk."

Xue Three got up and left the signing room.

The blind man then turned to Siniang. "Congratulations."

Siniang shook her head. "If you really want to congratulate me, you might as well have a fight with me right now, see if your mental strength is as fast as my needles yet."

Every time one advanced, there was always this impulse to find someone to fight.

The blind man gave a wry smile.

"Can't beat you."

"Boring."

"I've delivered today's orders. I'll trouble you to handle them again."

"Got it."

The blind man stood up and left directly without dawdling.

Siniang quickly finished reading the account book in her hand, slapped the red approval mark on it, then tossed it to the side and flexed her fingers a little.

Thinking of what she had said to My lord last night—

In this world, there is only you, My lord, as a man.

Even a seasoned veteran of the Romance Scene like Siniang couldn't help the flush that rose to her face.

It had truly been from the heart.

She wasn't interested in men. But unfortunately, she was a woman.

Since you're a woman, you'll always have needs. You'll want to try being with someone, try having feelings with someone, try saying you love them—whether it's purely spiritual or with a bit of flesh in the mix, you need an opposite party.

Only My lord could give her the feeling that he was a man.

Even if she didn't love My lord—not that kind of love between a man and a woman—she had no choice.

Did that count as love?

Siniang herself wasn't sure.

When she got up, My lord was still fast asleep.

What does it really feel like to love someone?

Siniang didn't know the answer.

But when she got out of bed and saw him looking completely drained, she did feel an immense sense of accomplishment and satisfaction inside.

When she flipped open the second account book,

Siniang's gaze instantly turned cold.

With a goose‑quill pen dipped in red pigment, she drew a big circle around one section.

That circle meant that people were going to die again.

Siniang thought of something the blind man had told her—

Those dirty hands, you can never cut them all off. Chop them down and they'll grow out again.

The blind man had said:

People get dirty even after they bathe. Are you going to stop bathing forever just because of that? 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

My lord had said he wanted to go wander around Jiangnan in Qian State, clear his head.

In truth, Siniang wanted to go too.

Round and round they'd gone, from the far west of Yan State to the far east of Jin State. What changed was the scenery; what never changed was the roughness behind the red bed‑curtains.

It seemed only in Jiangnan of Qian State could one seek out the truly exquisite brothels.

It was just a pity that right now, the matters at hand still weren't settled. If she wanted to go out and wander, she'd have to wait until everything at Snow Sea Pass was running on track.

At the same time, My lord's status was different now. If anything were to happen, it wouldn't be a joking matter.