Chapter 73 Shangguan Finds Trouble, A Short Trip to Youzhou

October 12th, Youzhou City.

After a journey of about ten days, the young men finally arrived at Youzhou City, the largest city in Youzhou.

As the cool morning light shone down, the carriage gradually entered the city. Through the window, Qingyu looked at the streets of the city.

"It's so cold."

She murmured to herself, “Winter in Youzhou is cold everywhere. People come and go on the street, hiding their hands in their sleeves. Vendors greet you with smiles, their breath hot in the air. Some people sweep snow and shovel ice until the stone bricks of the street reappear.”

"cold?"

Zhang Xuan, who was sitting on the daybed reading a book (a rare occurrence), looked up in confusion upon hearing this and said, "The Spirit Flame Lamp is here, and it's not cold in the carriage."

This was true; the Spirit Flame Lamp was placed on the table in front of the long couch, shining brightly every day, making the entire carriage extremely warm.

Qingyu smiled and said, "I'm talking about outside, Youzhou City."

"Have we arrived in Youzhou City?"

Zhang Xuan replied that he had gotten up early to read and was still a bit dazed on the way. Lin Fanxiang, sitting behind the medicine table opposite him, smiled helplessly upon hearing this, thinking that he was really engrossed in reading.

"We just arrived, no rush, go read your book."

Qingyu smiled and replied that Zhang Xuan was reading the Fengdu Ghost Book that Qin Tianshu had found. It contained many interesting ghost stories. However, in the words of a scholar, although the content was half true and half false, it was still about ghosts. Who knows, it might be helpful to Zhang Xuan and Shuangyue Dao.

Fortunately, it was an interesting little story, and Zhang Xuan had been reading it with great interest these past few days. As soon as Qingyu finished speaking, he nodded and picked up the book to read it again.

Qingyu smiled, turned around and sat on the swing chair on the right side of the car door. The girl talked to Wen Chuan through the car door.

Where are we going now?

"Let's find an inn to stay at first. Where would you like to go?"

"have no idea."

"It's okay, no rush."

Qin Tianshu, who was sitting in a recliner by the bookshelf reading a book, smiled when he heard this. He put down his book and said, "The Shangguan family is the most powerful in Youzhou City, but it is said that the Murong family also lives there. It is also an interesting place."

"Murong?"

Qingyu sat on the swing chair, swaying back and forth. She said, "Is it that Murong family, the one where women are respected, the family of music cultivators?"

Of the three great families of Youzhou, the Murong clan is the most mysterious. Headed by a woman, they wield music as their weapon, and are only allowed to emerge during times of great chaos. Legend has it that a hundred years ago, a female general named Murong served the Zhou ancestor. On the battlefield, the sound of her pipa rose, and blood blazed, inspiring both fear and longing in the world.

In the last battle before the founding of the dynasty, General Murong transformed his bones and blood into musical strings and offered his soul as a sacrifice to the Yan army. For nine days, the strings resounded on the Yunlan River, marking the end of his reign and announcing to the whole country that the emperor would return.

...

Unfortunately, the Murong family has strict rules and has always kept a low profile. Even though General Murong died for Yan Zhou, his family never used this to gain fame. Such a family only has two stages: unknown and famous. The last time they were mentioned was when Shangguan Ming became a disciple of Murong and became a Heaven-level Qin cultivator at the age of eighteen.

Qin Tianshu nodded, and casually stretched out his arm to pull Cai Cai out of the nest and put her in his arms to stroke her fur. "Murong Su produces music cultivators, usually playing instruments like the pipa, guqin, and guzheng, but they are very low-key and usually don't come out."

Cai Cai: "Coo coo coo".

Lin Fanxiang was grinding some medicinal herbs on the medicine table. She checked the time and asked, "Are we about to get off the bus?"

Before the question could be finished, the carriage suddenly stopped, and everyone felt a fluctuation of spiritual energy.

At the carriage's driver's seat, Wen Chuan leaned gently against the door, his posture natural and even somewhat lazy. The young man glanced at the group of guards with swords in front of the carriage, his eyes slightly raised, his voice cool.

"Isn't it inappropriate to block people and vehicles in the middle of the street?"

Before anyone knew it, the ordinary people on both sides of the street quickly packed up their stalls and left, leaving only a group of armed guards who surrounded the carriage—they were soldiers from the Youzhou Guard Camp.

As Wen Chuan finished speaking, the soldiers in front of him made way, and a smiling young man gradually stepped out. In the winter, he held a black fan, wore a snake jade belt, and a dark green cloak. He glanced at the boy in the carriage with his narrow eyes and raised them slightly. His standard smile deepened the sharpness of his chin—what a gentle and serpentine young man.

"Shangguan Xiu of Youzhou has come to welcome distinguished guests on the orders of the governor."

These words were spoken politely, but the tone carried a hint of malice. The soldiers outside the carriage were all holding swords and knives, their imposing manner quite menacing. What a welcoming gesture! What a fine welcome, Governor Shangguan!

Inside the carriage, Qingyu smiled upon hearing this. She exchanged a glance with her friend inside the carriage, then opened the carriage door halfway, allowing people to see her but not the inside.

She didn't move, still sitting on the swing chair rocking back and forth. Qingyu laughed, "Dozens of soldiers, and you, Shangguan Xiu, are the only one to greet me like this? Could it be... that there's no one left in Youzhou City?"

“Heh,” Shangguan Xiu raised her eyes and smiled, gently waving her ink fan. The young man said softly, “Miss is kind, but my Youzhou is bitterly cold and naturally cannot compare to the liveliness of Qishan.”

You say Youzhou City is weak, then I laugh at the Qishan demons, who are full of murderous intent every day, desperate demons—how pitiful!

Qingyu understood Shangguan Xiu's meaning and saw the mockery in his eyes, but she didn't feel anything. It was fine. She was a demon after all. After the night at Meishan, the news naturally spread like wildfire throughout the Nine Provinces. Now, she could be considered as the Qishan Demoness, living openly, even arrogantly, in the eyes of the cultivators of the Nine Provinces.

Upon hearing this, Wen Chuan smiled slightly, while the young man glanced at Shangguan Xiu.

"Youzhou is vast and has extremely beautiful scenery, what a pity."

This place is teeming with demons and monsters.

His words were understated, but upon closer inspection, they seemed to carry a hint of genuine regret. Before Shangguan Xiu could reply, Qingyu's laughter rang out again, "Young Master Shangguan, you couldn't stop us today, so why bother with all this?"

"If you want to invite us to the Shangguan family, there's no need to rush."

"Upon careful consideration, I realize I still harbor old grudges against your Shangguan family. What do you say tomorrow? I will personally pay you a visit and seek your advice—"

"Youzhou, the poison of cold snow."

Upon hearing the name Han Xue, Shangguan Xiu's expression finally changed. He smiled.

"Young lady, you are joking. I must have misunderstood something. I, Shangguan Xiu, am here today on behalf of the governor to welcome you. I simply wanted to ask you all a question: when you arrived by cloud boat, did you see my family's third young master, Shangguan Nan?"

Qingyu: "Who are you talking about? Shangguan... never mind, I've never seen him before."

Shangguan Xiu gripped the fan handle tightly at her nonchalant words, veins bulging for a moment. The young man, however, suppressed his emotions and smiled at them.

"Is that so? You all know absolutely nothing about it?"

Suddenly, a young man on the carriage laughed loudly.

On the night of the first snowfall in Jizhou, Shangguan Nan hurried back to Youzhou through the night. The wind was strong and the snow was heavy, and no one knows where he went!

"If you're really worried, Shangguan Xiu, you might as well go to Jizhou to look for it yourself. You won't find it there,"

"You could also try looking in Qingzhou."

Qingzhou, Taishan Fengdu, if you can't find people, go find ghosts.

Wen Chuan smiled helplessly after hearing Zhang Xuan's words, then looked at Shangguan Xiu in a flash. The young man's eyes were indifferent.

"Please make way, Young Master Shangguan. We will come to pay you a visit tomorrow."

After he finished speaking, Shangguan Xiu and he locked eyes for a moment. The effeminate young man closed his fan, silently waved his hand, and made way for them with a pursed lip.

The sound of horses' hooves clattered, and Qingyu inside the carriage curled her lips into a smile.

At this moment, Shangguan Xiu could not see anyone, only hear their voices.

This powerful demon, who had recently been causing trouble throughout the Nine Provinces and originated from Mount Qi, said to him...

"It's been cold lately, Young Master Shangguan, please be careful, lest you really lose sight of the road while walking."

...

Inside the car, Qin Tianshu, while teasing Cai Cai, who was dozing off in the green chicken coop by the bookshelf, sighed leisurely.

"It seems we'll have to get going again after tomorrow."

Zhang Xuan was flipping through a book on the daybed.

"Let's hurry on our way. Let's explore today, have a fight tomorrow, and then head straight to Jianxue City. Sister Qingyu wants revenge, and I also want to see what the number one swordsman in the world is really like."

Lin Fanxiang was still selecting medicinal herbs on the medicine table, and there were also some mortars and pestles on the table.

She was bored lately and wanted to make some Chinese herbal beads, imbued with spiritual energy, to have a healing effect. Later, she thought about it and realized that these beads and pills could have other uses.

The girl worked diligently the whole way, and even when Shangguan Xiu stopped the car and mentioned Shangguan Nan, she didn't react at all, focusing wholeheartedly on the medicinal herbs in her hands.

Qin Tianshu raised his eyes and asked Zhang Xuan, "What happened with Shangguan Nan...?"

Zhang Xuan: "You're right. That night, he barely said two words before crying and begging to go back to Youzhou."

What happened next is clear. He confessed that he wanted to abduct Lin Fanxiang to Wen Guyou's former room... Moreover, he had done such indecent things many times before. Once a woman loses her virginity, she will naturally be half-willing and half-willing in the future. Even if she doesn't comply, she has already enjoyed herself, so killing her wouldn't be a loss.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xuan swung his knife and killed him with a single blow.

Shangguan Nan was the first person to die in the snowstorm of Meishan that night.

Zhang Xuan was not wrong, but he didn't finish his sentence either.

"Cluck cluck! Cluck cluck! Cuckoo cuckoo!"

Suddenly, Cai Cai, who had been dozing off, seemed to be awakened by a nightmare, or perhaps she was angry at Zhang Xuan's words. In any case, she made a loud "clucking" sound, breaking the silence in the car... Then, a few seconds later, Cai Cai hummed and buried her head in her warm armpit and continued to sleep.

The scholar, who was listening to Zhang Xuan speak, was startled and speechless: "..."

Just then, Lin Fanxiang finally finished sorting the medicinal herbs. She smiled, let out a soft sigh of relief, and looked up, saying...

"Shangguan Nan's strength is average, but he is protected by his Shangguan status. He has secretly done a lot of things, such as forcing women, raping and killing them... I just don't know if anyone has been helping him deal with it."

After all, he dared to impulsively kidnap people and commit immoral acts in Yunzhou, and he lost his mind at the slightest provocation—it can be seen that Shangguan Nan is just a young master on the surface, but in reality he is brainless and stupid.

Qingyu, who was hanging from the car door, smiled upon hearing this, "That Shangguan Xiu seems to have a close relationship with Shangguan Nan."

Qingyu's tone indicated that he didn't care about Shangguan Nan. Upon hearing this, Shangguan Xiu's expression changed. After Zhang Xuan finished speaking, a murderous intent flashed in his eyes. Although he was smiling, the sinister aura in his bones was too heavy. Qingyu could tell at a glance that he had killed many people.

Qin Tianshu: "I remember that Governor Shangguan only has three children... Never mind, we'll find out tomorrow... Wenchuan, we don't need to look for an inn. We can just stroll around today and leave the day after tomorrow."

Wen Chuan: "Okay."

"Sigh," Qingyu sighed, the girl leaning back on the swing chair, swaying gently, lost in thought.

She doesn't think she's ever tried the snake spirit before.

...

Youzhou City truly lives up to its reputation as the main city of Youzhou, boasting numerous unique foods and scenic spots. They ate and played from noon until night—

Zhang Xuan especially liked mutton shumai and stone cakes. As he walked, he would try a little of everything he saw at the stalls. Qin Tianshu accompanied him for an hour on the street, which annoyed the scholar so much that he hugged Cai Cai and pecked at him.

Lin Fanxiang and Qingyu then browsed some items that girls like, such as tussah silk from the North, gold hairpins that are still popular in the North due to the influence of the customs of the previous dynasty, goldware, and even some leather wine flasks and porcelain with simple and elegant patterns.

Wen Chuan just followed them around aimlessly. The boy gently followed behind them, paying for things and taking things. Occasionally, he would pull Qin Tianshu and Zhang Xuan apart and use dry humor to scold them for being crazy.

Finally, Zhang Xuan helped Lin Fanxiang with her work, saying that there were many things to prepare for tomorrow. The scholar, having nothing else to do, went to study the stone brick structure of Youzhou City, looking at the stones as if they were muttering something.

Questions like, "Do stones have hearts?", "Are there any stone cultivators in this world?", and "How do stone demons find mates?"

Oh, he's still holding Cai Cai, and the little chicks are too noisy from all the commotion to even cluck.

Qingyu ate her milk tofu, glanced at the scholar speechlessly, and then skipped over to Wen Chuan's side, her eyes crinkling as she spoke intimately with him.

She asked him why he wasn't in a good mood, and Wen Chuan smiled and said no. He then helped her tighten her cloak and used the fluffy edge of the cloak to scratch Qing Yu's face. Qing Yu laughed and fed him a piece of milk tofu.

"How is it? Is it delicious?"

"tasty."

"Then why don't you buy it?"

"It's not that delicious."

"Why didn't you say so earlier? I regret letting you eat it... What should I do? You have to make it up to me..."

Her voice was clear yet sweet, and at that moment, the lights in the distance were like stars, the voices of people were noisy, and the evening breeze was still.

Under the moonlight, Wen Chuan smiled and leaned down to embrace Qing Yu, gently kissing her brow with a mixture of helplessness and doting affection.

"You."

How can one feel such joy?