Bai Qingfan went numb. Ning Chen had seen exactly what he was about to say coming.

"Ning Chen, all I did was steal your commander's seal. Are you going to slander me by saying I'm not a man of the Great Xuan?"

Ning Chen gave a cold laugh. "Bai Qingfan, the truth is, I don't care who you are—or whether you're even human. All I care about is getting to the bottom of things and leaving no questions hanging.

What are you going to say next? I can guess all of it.

You're in love with Little Xixi, so you want to pull me down off my pedestal and ruin me. That's why you tipped off Xiliang and got thousands upon thousands of Great Xuan soldiers killed. And you stole the commander's seal to get back at me too, am I right?"

Bai Qingfan stared hard at Ning Chen, then suddenly shook his head and laughed in spite of himself. "A man famous throughout the land, no question. Nothing gets past you.

That's right, I'm in love with Little Music. Once, she secretly changed into women's clothes, and I saw her. From that moment I fell for her, and I've never been able to pull myself out of it."

Xiao Yanxi was stunned.

Ning Chen had told her before that what she felt for Bai Qingfan was what a student feels for a teacher, but Bai Qingfan's intentions weren't pure. What he felt for her was forbidden.

She hadn't believed it at the time. She'd thought it was just Ning Chen being jealous and talking nonsense... A teacher and student are like father and son. Her teacher was the Immortal of Painting, famous throughout the land. How could he do something so against the natural order?

She'd never imagined Ning Chen would actually be right.

Xiao Yanxi looked at Bai Qingfan, and the respect in her heart drained away little by little.

She remembered how Bai Qingfan used to pat her on the head. She'd always thought it was an elder's fondness for someone younger. She'd never imagined he had…