TSFLIP Chapter 782

“What kind of clues?” Feng Guang asked.

“I heard,” Lianzi said, lowering her voice mysteriously, “that even though the widow, Madam Liu, seemed well-behaved and modest, she secretly liked the master of Linglong Manor. People say she often sneaked over there to see him.”

Feng Guang’s expression turned serious. “And?”

“I also heard,” Lianzi continued, her tone dropping to a whisper, “that the master of Linglong Manor never leaves the estate. No one knows his name or what he looks like. Aside from one steward who occasionally goes out to buy supplies, no one has ever seen another soul come or go from that place. And they say…”

“What do they say?” Feng Guang pressed.

“Someone claimed to have stood outside the manor and seen… a white-haired ghost!” Lianzi gasped, clutching her face in fright. “Everyone says that a man-eating ghost lives in that estate!”

Feng Guang froze mid-bite, the candied hawthorn forgotten in her hand. “A white-haired ghost?”

“Yes! They say the person who saw it fell sick afterward—and died soon after!” Lianzi said, her voice trembling with both fear and excitement. “I think that’s who killed Madam Liu—the white-haired ghost bit her to death!”

A storm swirled in Feng Guang’s mind. She quickly flipped through the story in her memory and relaxed once she confirmed there were no supernatural beings in this world. With a composed air, she said coolly, “Ridiculous. What, are the county officers so incompetent that they’ve decided to blame ghosts now?”

“Well… I don’t know,” Lianzi murmured uncertainly. “But Tong County’s always been peaceful. Linglong Manor’s only been here a few years, and ever since it appeared, there’ve been missing children—and now a murder. Everyone says the master of Linglong Manor must be some kind of evil spirit.”

“One moment he’s a ghost, the next he’s a god,” Feng Guang muttered, shaking her head in mock exasperation. “People are truly ignorant.”

She had heard of Linglong Manor—only bits and pieces from gossip. It was a large estate not far from the Xia residence. She had never been there herself; her father kept her under tight protection. Even today, while she was strolling through the streets, she knew there were guards secretly shadowing her.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have dared to wander.

Just as Lianzi mentioned Linglong Manor, Feng Guang came to a halt. They had arrived right at its gates. Anyone leaving the Xia residence and heading toward the bustling market street would have to pass by the manor—but Feng Guang had always ignored it before. It had nothing to do with her.

Now, however, after hearing Lianzi’s story, she couldn’t help glancing toward it.

The large wooden doors were tightly shut, revealing nothing of what lay inside.

“Miss, let’s go!” Lianzi tugged anxiously at her hand.

But the cat in Feng Guang’s arms—Little Embroidery Ball—suddenly leapt down with a startled meow. It darted up onto the wall and disappeared into the estate.

“Little Embroidery Ball!” Feng Guang called. A faint meow echoed from the other side of the gate.

“M-Miss…” Lianzi stammered. “Let’s go get someone to help rescue it…”

Feng Guang shot her a glance. “Honestly, you’re such a scaredy-cat.”

She shook off Lianzi’s hand, stepped onto the stone stair, and hesitated for a moment with her hand hovering over the gate. But thinking of her cat trapped inside, she reasoned that knocking to ask for it back couldn’t hurt—so she placed her hand on the door.

To her surprise, it opened easily.

Beyond it stretched a deep, quiet courtyard. At the entrance, Little Embroidery Ball meowed once more before darting farther inside.

“Little Embroidery Ball! Don’t run!” Feng Guang lifted her skirt and chased after it.

Only once she entered did she realize how enormous the estate was. She crossed a courtyard with ponds and bridges, passed through a grove filled with flowering trees, and finally reached a clearing where a single tall loquat tree stood beside a small pavilion.

In the pavilion sat a man.

He wore snow-white robes, immaculate and unblemished. His long white hair fell loosely down his back, glimmering faintly in the sunset light. Even the evening sun seemed too shy to cast mottled shadows across him. A serene air radiated from his finely sculpted features, seeping gently into the tranquil garden around him until the entire space felt hushed and dreamlike.

He smiled softly as he looked down at the cat resting on his lap. The curve of his lips carried a quiet warmth untouched by the mortal world. The breeze rustled the bamboo leaves, spreading the faint fragrance of herbs through the air.

One glance was enough to make him seem almost otherworldly.

At last, his gentle gaze turned toward her.

Feng Guang froze. Without realizing it, she lifted her hand—the one holding a skewer with a single candied fruit left—and blinked at him.

“You’re really handsome,” she said frankly. “Let’s be friends. Here—this is a gift for our first meeting.”

The corners of his eyes curved in amusement, and his thin lips lifted in a faint smile.

“Alright,” he said.

Even his voice carried a warmth that could melt snow and ice.