Chapter 1683 — Yu Xiaoke's Doubt: "Does the Swordswoman Yan Have Amnesia, to Have Forgotten Me So Soon?" Wei Zhao Joked, "And What Would I Be Doing In There?"

"Wasn't it said that the whole gang of the Husband-and-Wife Thieves had already been rounded up in a single sweep?" Hearing Wei Zhao's words, Yu Xiaoke could at last be entirely certain: the man before her was the Male Thief she loved!

"Never mind me for now—what are you doing here?" Wei Zhao asked.

"I... I only came to have a look..." Yu Xiaoke's face flushed red. She dared not admit that she had come to storm the execution ground; that would have been rather too great a presumption in her own strength.

"A look at what? Heard I'd been captured, did you, and wanted to rescue me?" Wei Zhao watched Yu Xiaoke with a half-smile—though with the mask on, Yu Xiaoke could not see his expression in the least.

"I... I..." Her secret guessed, Yu Xiaoke's face turned redder still. "I... I only wanted to see whether there was any way... And you—why did you come here?"

"I happened to hear that you meant to save me, so I came to save you," Wei Zhao told her honestly. "Don't go doing such ruinous things again. I'm quite well—there's no need for you to worry..."

"I... I was nervous, that's all!" Yu Xiaoke, nettled by his words, was not quite ready to yield. "Every time it's you who saves me, and I wanted... wanted to do something for you too..."

"Go and look after the orphanage properly; the children there need you. Don't do this kind of thing anymore. This time I happened to learn of it—had I not come, the consequences really don't bear thinking about!" Wei Zhao said. "From now on, don't do anything so rash again."

"Then... who told you to vanish afterwards and leave me no way to reach you..." Yu Xiaoke, however, stiffened her neck and looked at Wei Zhao, saying stubbornly, "If you came to see me every so often, then I wouldn't... wouldn't have come, would I?"

Wei Zhao looked at Yu Xiaoke, rather at a loss for words. But the request she had made really did place him in a difficult position! Had there been any other way this time, Wei Zhao would never have taken up the identity of the Male Thief again and appeared before Yu Xiaoke!

The Male Thief had become the past; he was now a fragment of Yu Xiaoke's memory, a recollection, a figure who could never appear again.

And yet Wei Zhao, with no alternative, had appeared once more!

Wei Zhao did not wish to appear before Yu Xiaoke in the identity of Wei Zhao. Surely he could not run over and tell Yu Xiaoke that he was the Male Thief, that the Male Thief was safe and sound? That would not only shatter the lovely illusion in Yu Xiaoke's heart, but bring him a good deal of trouble as well!

Yu Xiaoke seemed to hold something against Wei Zhao, some dissatisfaction, and so after long deliberation Wei Zhao decided to dissuade her directly in the Male Thief's identity—it carried more persuasive weight—and this was also why he had made Little Ken keep it secret!

Otherwise, once Yu Xiaoke had gone back, if Little Ken let slip that it was Wei Zhao he had sought out, then Yu Xiaoke, clever as she was, would inevitably discover the connection.

"I... have no way to appear," Wei Zhao sighed, refusing Yu Xiaoke's proposal. "I have a life of my own. In this world, besides the identity of the Male Thief, I have another identity. The Male Thief has already washed his hands of it all; I don't want to shatter the peaceful life I have now!"

"Then... could you tell me your real identity..." Yu Xiaoke asked cautiously.

"We met only in that ancient tomb, and what you love is the Male Thief of that tomb, not the me of real life!" Wei Zhao said. "If you knew the me of real life, you would suffer a great disillusionment. Better to keep a trace of mystery, to preserve a beautiful image!"

"I... I wouldn't! It's you I love—whatever you are like in real life, I love you!" Yu Xiaoke said. "I've washed my hands of it all too. Perfect—now we're equals!"

"Heh..." Wei Zhao laughed. "Since you've washed your hands of it, then forget the past! Just pretend that Male Thief is dead..."

"But... you plainly aren't dead, and you've appeared before me again!" Yu Xiaoke said, and then suddenly: "Oh—is it that you're afraid that if I knew your identity and came looking for you, your girlfriend would find out?"

"Something like that..." Wei Zhao did not answer her question directly.

"Something like that... so that means yes?" Yu Xiaoke was at once somewhat disappointed. "Don't worry, I won't pester you... I only want to know who you are, to see you once in a while, to know that you are safe—then I'll be at ease..."

"Forget all this..." In the end Wei Zhao still did not agree to Yu Xiaoke's proposal. "I'll be off. You should head back early too..."

"Ah? You're leaving? You're not going to do anything about those captured henchmen of yours?" Yu Xiaoke blinked, startled.

"Henchmen? I've washed my hands of it all; they have nothing to do with me." Wei Zhao smiled bitterly to himself. Henchmen, indeed! These people had been sent to prison by his own hand, working in league with Qiu Lingshan—and she called them his henchmen!

"Oh..." Yu Xiaoke nodded. "Then shall I go with you?"

"Go back and ** properly—perhaps next time you'll be able to catch up with me!" But Wei Zhao had already turned, vanishing into the boundless night, not carrying off so much as a single leaf...

Yu Xiaoke rubbed her eyes and exclaimed in astonishment, "No way? How is he that fast?"

Still, be that as it may, Yu Xiaoke's spirits were very high. She was somewhat disappointed that the Male Thief had not revealed his true identity, but his second appearance—and one aimed squarely at her—showed that the Male Thief still cared about her!

Last time, the Male Thief had said he would never appear again in that identity, yet this time he had appeared after all. So Yu Xiaoke was confident that perhaps in the near future she would meet the Male Thief once more!

At this thought, Yu Xiaoke was filled with confidence again. She leaped nimbly down from the tree and ran off toward the orphanage! Since Wei Zhao was safe now, the other members of the Husband-and-Wife Thieves had nothing whatsoever to do with her, and naturally she would not linger here any longer.

Seeing Yu Xiaoke return to the orphanage, Little Ken heaved a sigh of relief—so Wei Zhao really had kept his promise and brought Yu Xiaoke back safe and sound! He had wanted to ask about Wei Zhao, but remembering their agreement—that Wei Zhao meant to help Sister Xiaoke in secret—Little Ken did not bring himself to ask after all!

He was a boy who kept his word; having given Wei Zhao his promise, he would not go blabbing. So he only said, with some delight, "Sister Xiaoke, you're back! Did you manage to see the Male Thief?"

"Yes, yes, I saw him!" Yu Xiaoke nodded excitedly. "I saw the Male Thief—he hadn't been captured at all. Somehow he'd heard that I was coming to rescue him... so he came to stop me... Huh? That's strange. How did he know?"

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