In the afternoon, Ye Anping and Huang Quan strolled around the *Cloud Mansion* for a while, after which he went back to the main hall and continued to help Yun Yiyi deal with some of the internal affairs of the **Flowing Water Peak.**
Meanwhile, Yun Yiyi was reading the genealogy of the Yun family that she had obtained from the **Middle Peak**'s records, matching each of the twenty-seven deceased individuals one by one.
Unfortunately, this genealogy was too complicated, and Yun Yiyi couldn't finish reading it even after a whole afternoon. It wasn't until nightfall when Huang Quan came urging her to bathe and rest.
After helping to settle today's internal affairs of the **Flowing Water Peak**, Ye Anping bid farewell to Yun Yiyi. Taking advantage of the dusk, he returned to those suspicious places he had seen earlier with Huang Quan and left behind some backup measures before returning to his bedroom.
Of course, if those who wanted to kidnap Yun Yiyi would really come to kill him, his bedroom would be the main battlefield.
However, since he did not know the cultivation level of the people sent by Zhuang Yan, randomly placing talismans around his bedroom would not deter them; instead, it would only increase their vigilance.
After considering the pros and cons, Ye Anping hung some bells around his house so that if someone approached stealthily, he could hear their movements in advance and avoid being stabbed from behind.
Ye Anping arranged his bedroom, messed up his bed, and stuffed two or three spare pillows under the quilt as stand-ins. He decided to hide in the closet and condense his energy while waiting.
However, just as he blew out the candle in the room and was about to get inside the wardrobe...
*Jingle---*
A bell ring was heard from the front door.
Ye Anping frowned, then jumped inside quietly and slowly closed the closet door, leaving only a small gap to check the situation outside.
Just as he was wondering why Zhuang Yan's men came over so soon after nightfall, the next moment, there was Huang Quan's voice, knocking on the door.
"Master~~ I saw that your lights just went out. Are you ready to sleep?"
"..."
Hearing that it was Huang Quan, Ye Anping hesitated. In the afternoon, there was nothing unusual about this girl. She behaved just like a maid toward her master.
After careful consideration, he finally readied his sword and quietly got out of the wardrobe, walked to the door, and opened it.
"What's the matter?"
Outside the house, Huang Quan was squirming, seemingly having just finished bathing, with a bit of moisture still remaining on her bun and face.
Seeing the door opening, she pursed her lips and hurriedly said, "Young Master... It snowed heavily today. I was worried that you might catch a cold, so I thought to come over and help warm your bed or something."
"No need."
"Ah... Master, it's okay, you don't have to feel embarrassed," Huang Quan quickly said. "I just finished warming the Young Lady's bed. She got into bed and fell asleep. If you think I'm dirty... I just took a bath and my body is clean."
"I'm not concerned about that," Ye Anping replied. "I'm just not used to someone warming my bed for me."
Huang Quan paused before asking again, "Oh? When you were in the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect, didn't you have a maid to warm your bed?"
"... No."
"Well, you can give it a try. The warmed bed is cozy and comfortable. You'll know once you try it."
"No need."
Huang Quan twirled her hair and shyly said, "Master, you have been in the *Cloud Mansion* for so long without making any requests to the maidservants. I don't know what you like, and I usually dare not talk to you... Let me take care of you, okay? It's my voluntary choice."
Looking at this girl's resolve, Ye Anping felt that if he didn't agree, she might stay in front of his house for a long time.
Glancing at the snow outside the porch, he compromised and stepped aside. "Then, come and warm yourself up."
"Yes, Master~!"
Huang Quan's eyes lit up. She bowed politely, picked up her skirt, and walked inside. She looked around the room under the faint moonlight and ran to the bed without saying anything.
She was about to take off her shoes and crawl in when she found that the quilt was bulging. She pulled it over and looked in confusion at the several feather pillows inside.
"Master, why did you put so many pillows under the quilt?"
"I like it that way." Ye Anping replied flatly and urged, "Warm up quickly. After warming up, go back to the house and go to bed. It's getting late."
"Ah... um."
Huang Quan answered, then took off her shoes, ready to get into bed.
If she wanted to become his favorite maid, then she should talk more with the master. In the future, she would come to warm the bed every day and chat with him. In this way, after Miss and the master get married, there would be a greater chance for her to be summoned to his room.
Thinking like that, Huang Quan wrapped herself in the quilt tightly and looked sideways at Ye Anping, who was standing by the bed, then asked, "By the way... I am a little curious. What is the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect like? Can you tell me about it?"
"The ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect..."
*Ding ding---*
Just as Ye Anping started speaking, his excellent hearing immediately caught the bell ring coming from the southwest of the house, although the sound stopped suddenly.
To the southwest of his bedroom was a small garden. At this time, the wind was swirling the snow outside and it did not seem to be guards patrolling or maids.
Seeing that Ye Anping had stopped halfway through his sentence, Huang Quan asked, slightly puzzled, "Master? What... uh..."
Ye Anping immediately stepped forward and covered her mouth. Her eyes widened in shock, but soon, there was a little expectation in those frightened eyes...
But the next moment, Ye Anping quickly raised his index finger to his lips and slightly shook his head, signaling her to be quiet.
"..."
Huang Quan's reaction was also very quick; although confused, she immediately recovered and nodded slightly.
*Rustle---*
*Tap tap---*
Very light footsteps approached from afar. Because the wind outside was strong, Huang Quan couldn't hear it, but Ye Anping still distinguished this sound through all the noise.
---There were at least three people strongly built, wearing shoes with extremely soft soles that muffled the sounds when stepping on the snow.
Just from these shoes, Ye Anping could infer that these were probably the ones who came to kill him. Although soft soles could reduce the sound of footsteps, it sounded too different from ordinary shoes.
Ye Anping looked at Huang Quan, feeling a little awkward. The timing was really bad, but there was nothing he could do. He couldn't let the gang wait outside for too long.
After a short hesitation, he directly pulled Huang Quan out of the quilt, his right hand wrapped around her waist, while his left hand quickly arranged the pillows and quilts as they were before. He then walked into the wardrobe with Huang Quan in his arms.
Fortunately, she was very small. He squeezed hard and hid in the closet with her, leaving only a gap to peek in the direction of the bed.
At the same time, he whispered softly, "Don't make a sound..."
