Chapter 37 The bamboo blind hanging in front of the window...

A few rays of sunlight shone through the gaps in the bamboo curtains hanging in front of the window, and the interior of the carriage was no longer as dark as it had been the night before.

Xie Baoqiong opened her eyes in the swaying carriage.

He turned his head and looked, but Ah Mei, who had been sulking by the carriage door last night, was nowhere to be seen.

His hands were bound behind his back with hemp rope, but that did not prevent him from sitting up.

But as soon as he moved his body slightly, his left arm, which had been pressed under him all night, unexpectedly came out with a tingling sensation as if it were being gnawed by ants, causing him to fall back to his original position.

Having never experienced numbness in her hands during her brief demonic life, Xie Baoqiong pursed her lips, resting her forehead on her hair that fell to the ground, her mind racing with the possibility of Amei's treachery.

"Ah-Jung." A sleepy voice came from behind. My left arm, which was resting on the ground due to numbness, was brushed against by a head: "Are you alright?"

Xie Baoqiong's hair, which was sticking up on her head, trembled: "Oh no, a monster is causing trouble."

—

"Sir, we have detected traces of demonic energy in the alley."

Someone walked in from outside the main hall and whispered a few words to Rong Feng.

Qi Yan, who was nearby, overheard the conversation. Having learned from Lu Anzhi that Qi Gui was most likely kidnapped in the alley, he spoke with a frustrated tone:

"What do you mean? How could Qi Gui be involved with demons?"

Lu Anzhi waved his hand: "The presence of residual demonic energy detected at the scene indicates that a demonic cultivator had cast spells in the alley, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the person who took the two young masters away was the one." Although it seems likely that the demonic cultivator was behind it, Lu Anzhi didn't explicitly state this to avoid causing panic and conflict between humans and demons.

The situation was already unclear, and now the matter of demon cultivators has emerged, leaving everyone present in a bad mood.

Qi Yan coldly looked at the servant on the ground. Seeing that he couldn't get a single useful question out of him, he waved his hand and ordered the guards following behind him to take the servant away.

A pebble wrapped in cloth was thrown in from outside, hitting a beam or pillar in the hall and shattering the silence inside.

"who?"

Someone shouted, and a dark shadow flashed outside, quickly disappearing in the direction from which the pebble had been thrown.

While everyone's attention was drawn to him, Meng Rui picked up a pebble that had rolled to his feet and removed the cloth strip above it.

Meng Si was worried that there might be hidden hands above, but before she could stop him, Meng Rui had already untied the strip of cloth binding the stone.

"There are words on this." Meng Rui tore open the strip of cloth and read out the words on it, one by one:

“The people who committed the crime left the city last night. Their carriage left along the small road on the west side of the city. The lost items in the east of the city are also in the hands of that group of people.”

There is a cultivator among that group, so be careful!

Yan Shuo stayed.

Yan Shuo, who remained on the other side of the wall, saw that everyone in the hall had finished reading the message on the cloth strip. He then adjusted his straw hat, jumped off the wall, and took a few steps forward to blend into the crowd.

"Wow, big brother, it's Yan Shuo!" Meng Rui was at the age where he was easily swayed by the morally ambiguous and independent chivalrous thieves. He held up the strip of cloth in both hands and handed it to Meng Si.

Meng Si, mindful of the people from the Anti-Evil Division inside the house, raised her hand and gently patted her younger brother's head before handing the strip of cloth to Lu Anzhi.

"Yan Shuo, this man became active in the southern region two years ago. A year ago, he broke into a bandit stronghold alone and stole the villagers' stolen property, thus becoming known as a chivalrous thief among the people. However, he has also robbed government silver. He is both righteous and evil." Xie Zhuo revealed Yan Shuo's information.

"Lord Xie knows this person well, so how much truth do you think the information he provided is?" Lu Anzhi asked.

"The person who gave the information may not necessarily be Yan Shuo himself. To verify its authenticity, we can send someone to check the small path west of the city." Xie Zhuo, as an official of the imperial court, was not in a position to judge Yan Shuo's actions and did not directly answer Lu Anzhi's question. Seeing that Lu Anzhi still seemed to have doubts, he added:

"The messenger knows that there is a cultivator among the recipients, and they must have fought with him. Send someone to check if they can find any traces of the same demonic energy."

Lu Anzhi arranged for someone to conduct the inspection as Xie Zhuo had instructed.

After Xie Zhuo finished speaking, Rong Feng suddenly spoke up: "Lord Xie, since there are demon cultivators involved, please recall the people the Marquis's mansion sent to search for people." He then turned to the head and ordered: "Send someone to inform Lord Xu and ask him to withdraw his men."

After offering his advice, Rong Feng left with his men.

After Rong Feng, who was in charge of the case, left, Qi Yan saw that there was no need for him to stay any longer, so he took his leave and hurriedly left with Rong Feng.

"Is Ah-Qiong in great danger right now?" Meng Rui asked dejectedly after witnessing the conversation among those present. "I wish I hadn't left."

Meng Si sighed and gently patted her younger brother's head reassuringly: "Describe what that big man looks like later. The people from the Anti-Evil Division are very capable and will be able to find Qiong'er soon."

Xie Rongjing got up to see the two out, and then comforted Meng Rui, saying, "This is not your fault. Luckily you didn't stay there, otherwise we would have one more person to worry about today."

“Brother Rongjing…” Meng Rui opened his mouth, but when he remembered that Xie Rongjing had said that he was not wrong, the words of apology stuck in his throat and he did not make a sound.

Xie Rongjing gently pushed his back from behind: "Go back with your older brother as soon as possible. Try not to go out these days, so as not to worry your aunt."

After seeing off the two Meng brothers, Xie Rongjing turned back to his residence, only to find Xie Zhuo dressed in light clothes, with a sword unusually hanging at his waist, and a servant leading a horse beside him.

"Father, what's wrong?"

"Go find Qiong'er." Xie Zhuo took the reins from the servant and mounted his horse.

Xie Rongjing stepped forward and said loudly, "I'll go too."

Xie Zhuo controlled the reins, turned the horse around, and went around Xie Rongjing: "Jing'er, you stay in the manor. This trip is dangerous, and you must not get hurt."

Xie Rongjing stubbornly stepped forward and blocked the horse: "Qiong'er is also my younger brother. I know that Father loves me very much, but if Father really treats me as his own son, rather than the son left behind by Father, then Father should take me with him."

As soon as he said it, Xie Rongjing was stunned for a moment.

His father went to the battlefield after he was born, and he had almost no memory of his biological father. Instead, Xie Zhuo, who was his uncle at the time, took on the responsibility of teaching him. After his biological father passed away, Xie Zhuo took him in and raised him, treating him with kindness. These words were so absurd that they should not have come from his mouth.

But the words had already been spoken, and he could only attribute it to Rong Feng's earlier words, which still left a knot in his heart. However, Xie Zhuo's words of defense also came to mind, and in the end, he could only attribute the cause to not having slept all night and not being clear-headed.

"Smack!"

The whip lashed against his body, making a crisp sound as it struck the bluestone bricks, pulling him back to his senses.

He looked up and saw Xie Zhuo sitting on horseback, the sunlight shining down on him, making Xie Rongjing's eyes dazzle.

"Xie Rongjing, if you're not thinking straight, go soak in the water vat in the backyard to clear your head." Xie Zhuo scolded, but ultimately couldn't bear it and softened his tone: "The Marquis's residence needs someone in charge..."

Should we wait until I bring Qiong'er back to discuss this further, or should you manage the Marquis's mansion well if something happens to me, or perhaps both?

On the mountain path, Xie Baoqiong, who was in the carriage, lay down for a while and felt the tingling sensation in her arm gradually subside.

But he maintained his original posture, only turning his head to face Qi Gui.

Seeing that he finally made a move, Qi Gui carefully moved closer to him: "Ah Qiong, are you alright?"

Xie Baoqiong cautiously moved her left arm, and finding nothing amiss, she breathed a sigh of relief: "It's alright now."

Qi Gui's eyebrows drooped: "I'm sorry, A Qiong, I've dragged you into this. If I hadn't been there, you would have gone home long ago." After waking up, he also noticed the restraints on his body. Recalling what happened last night and the recent events in the capital, he understood what had happened.

"It's not your fault," Xie Baoqiong said. The group outside was after him, and to be honest, it was he who implicated Qi Gui.

Perhaps comforted by his words, Qi Gui's gaze suddenly hardened as she looked at him: "Ah Qiong, I will get you out of here."

Even if Xie Baoqiong was not good enough, he was still a demon who only knew some magic. Naturally, he did not need Qi Gui's protection, let alone obtain information about the person behind the scenes from these people. It was better for him to stay quietly and travel alone: ​​"You..." Just protect yourself and escape.

"You're not going to escape!"

He had barely uttered a single word when he was interrupted. The curtain was lifted, and a flood of sunlight streamed into the carriage.

A short figure rushed into the carriage.

Qi Gui flinched slightly, but didn't back away. He secretly peeked at the newcomer.

Xie Baoqiong silently turned her head and pressed herself against the ground.

Once inside the carriage, Amei walked to Xie Baoqiong's side, exchanged a glance with Qi Gui, and muttered, "Why is another one awake?"

Then he squatted down and nudged Xie Baoqiong beside his leg:

"I just heard you speak."

Helpless, Xie Baoqiong turned over, used her waist and abdomen to sit up cross-legged.

When he sat up, he was a head taller than Amei, who was squatting down, and he blocked Amei and Qi Gui's view.

After settling down, he lazily opened his eyes and said, "What are you up to now, hmm?"

Half a piece of cake was suddenly stuffed into her open mouth, and Xie Baoqiong habitually bit into it and chewed.

He swallowed the flatbread with difficulty. It was dry and a little hard to swallow. It was better than the cornbread he had eaten in the prison, but it couldn't compare to the food he had been eating at the Marquis's mansion these days.

At this time of day, he should have been in his study eating pastries that Xie Zhuo brought back from court, instead of being tied up and forced to eat dry biscuits.

Seeing that he had finished eating a bite, Amei stuffed the piece of cake that he had bitten off into his mouth again.

After taking a bite of the dry, hard biscuit, Xie Baoqiong realized what was happening, closed her mouth tightly, and refused Amei's attempts to feed her.

Amei frowned: "Why aren't you eating? Eat up! Mortals will die if they don't eat."

Xie Baoqiong tilted his head. He hadn't expected that Amei hadn't seen through his identity. The jade pendant that clearly concealed his aura had been put away by him last night. But then he thought that if Amei knew his identity, she wouldn't have tied him up with hemp rope so simply, and he felt relieved.

"You'll be following me from now on, so you can't starve to death." Amei held the pancake close to his mouth, trying to force it in.

Xie Baoqiong didn't expect Amei to still remember this, "You..."

Before she could even open her mouth to speak, it was stuffed full of biscuits. Xie Baoqiong could only take a bite first, chewing as she spoke:

“You ba wu…” He swallowed half a mouthful of biscuit, making his words clearer: “Untie me, I’ll eat by myself.”

Although the rope can't bind him, it's always more comfortable to untie him.

“I raised you, so of course I have to feed you.” Amei said, and seeing that he was still chewing, she held the cake with her hand, which was itching to put it in his mouth, but she didn’t put it directly in his mouth.

“I can’t run away as long as you’re here.” Xie Baoqiong dismissed Amei’s concerns, swallowed the remaining half of the pancake, and before Amei could stuff it into his mouth, she quickly finished speaking:

"If I'm with you in the future, are you going to keep me tied down forever?"

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Author's note: I stayed up all night the night before last, and slept all day yesterday. I got up, ate dinner, and went back to sleep (￣ω￣).