Chapter 5, Dali Temple Prison, a cell...

In the Dali Temple prison, a young boy sat leaning against the wall in the corner of a cell.

The rough wall against his back was uncomfortable, and Lin Mushi felt a little like turning back into his original form.

Looking around, the prison guards patrolling outside the cells happened to have reached the end of their patrol route.

The other people in the cell were clearly caught up in the unexpected ordeal of suddenly being imprisoned for reasons unknown, and no one paid any attention to Lin Mushi in this corner.

Besides, Su Yuanshuang, who was getting closer as the rustling sound of fabric came from beside her.

"Mu Shi," Su Yuanshuang said in a low voice, just loud enough for the two of them to hear, "I'm the one who dragged you into this today."

Lin Mushi straightened up, moving away from the uncomfortable wall behind him, and shook his head: "Young Master Su is just trying to help me find people."

Su Yuanshuang raised her hand and brushed the grass clippings off Lin Mushi's hair. As the two drew closer, Su Yuanshuang softly comforted him, "However, we are probably both implicated. Once the investigation is completed, we will be released. It's just that we'll have to endure a few days of hardship here."

Lin Mushi was surprised that Su Yuanshuang, after suffering such an ordeal, still had the mood to comfort him.

After all, he had endured more than ten years of wind and rain when he was still a stone. Although he was in a prison cell now, it was much better than life in the wild. The reason he felt the wall was uncomfortable was simply because he had not yet fully adapted to his transformed body.

Su Yuanshuang, on the other hand, was different from him. Although she came from a wealthy family, she seemed to adapt to life more than him.

Using the light streaming in through the narrow window, Lin Mushi looked up and examined Su Yuanshuang's face.

Unlike the others in the prison, the half-hidden face showed no sign of worry. Noticing his gaze, the other half of the face was exposed to the light, and a reassuring smile appeared on the corner of the mouth. The face then rubbed Lin Mushi's head.

"Mushi need not be afraid."

—

"Bang bang"

A knocking sound came from the cell door.

Then came the jailer's shout: "Young Master Chen, please."

Lin Mushi's attention also shifted from Su Yuanshuang to the doorway.

A figure stood up from the crowd and ran to the door, shouting, "Is that my dad? I told you you arrested the wrong person..."

Before Chen Ye could finish speaking, the jailer interrupted him: "Second Young Master Chen, it's not Lord Chen who's here, but Junior Minister Xu for questioning." Considering Chen Ye's status, the jailer was relatively polite and escorted him out.

Chen Ye's figure disappeared at the end of the corridor. Lin Mushi withdrew his gaze, turned his head to look at Su Yuanshuang again, and saw Su Yuanshuang resting her chin on her hand, gazing thoughtfully in the direction Chen Ye had left.

Noticing Lin Mushi's gaze, Su Yuanshuang looked away and explained, "That Xu Shaoqing is rumored to be quite fair, but he's a bit impatient. I think it won't be long before we leave here."

—

However, four days later, the two still had not left the prison. During these three days, the people in the same cell as them were also taken out for interrogation intermittently. Some of them left and never returned, and those who returned remained silent.

Lin Mushi didn't feel particularly distressed these past few days, as he was lying on the thick clothes that Shan Qing had brought in. However, Su Yuanshuang didn't look too well.

The food in prison was really not good. The Su family was not a powerful family in the capital. The fact that Shan Qing was able to send them thick clothes was the result of bribing officials. As for the food, plain porridge and side dishes were considered delicacies in prison, not to mention any oily or greasy food.

Most of the time, the food was like the cornbread in front of Lin Mushi. For Su Yuanshuang, who was just an ordinary person and rarely suffered, her face began to turn pale after a few days.

"Young Master Su, would you like some more?"

Even though Lin Mushi, whose true form is a stone, is just a minor demon, he doesn't need to eat every meal like mortals.

Remembering how well Su Yuanshuang had treated him, Lin Mushi picked up the bowl of cornbread and held it out to Su Yuanshuang.

Su Yuanshuang glanced down at the grayish-brown, stone-like food in the bowl, and remembering its texture, her expression stiffened for a moment, but she still managed a forced smile: "Mu Shi, you can eat it yourself."

Seeing that he refused, Lin Mushi didn't stand on ceremony. He grabbed the cornbread from the bowl, stuffed it into his mouth, and slowly ground it with his teeth. A question popped into his mind: Why would humans make food that is comparable to a rock?

My thoughts wandered along with the hair that had been ground down from my teeth, so do humans also eat stones?

Recalling Su Xiaochun's threats before she came down the mountain, Lin Mushi immediately stopped chewing.

Xie Zhuo, watching from outside the cell, noticed the boy's bulging cheeks and a faint smile appeared in his eyes.

The unabashed gaze caught Lin Mushi's attention. He turned his head and met a pair of smiling eyes. In the dim light of the cell, the eyes looked strangely familiar.

But this sense of familiarity was fleeting. Lin Mushi didn't dwell on it and chewed the cornbread in his mouth with more effort, unaware that Su Yuanshuang beside him secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Xie Zhuo stood outside the cell, his gaze lingering on Lin Mushi's receding cheeks for a moment before turning to examine Lin Mushi's face. Indeed, as Fang Qian had said, Lin Mushi bore a six or seven-tenths resemblance to him.

Xie Zhuo's slightly lowered eyelashes concealed the emotions in his eyes as he glanced at the jailer beside him.

The jailer, receiving the signal, shouted loudly:

"Lin Mushi, come out."

Lin Mushi, who was trying to grind down his second piece of cornbread, suddenly looked up, still somewhat bewildered. Su Yuanshuang patted him reassuringly twice: "It's alright, Mushi, don't be afraid."

Lin Mushi stuffed the remaining cornbread into his pocket, stood up, and walked out of the cell door opened by the jailer. He saw the man who had been staring at him earlier with a slightly sorrowful look in his eyes.

Lin Mushi, still unable to comprehend the complexities of human emotions, looks back on the past with bewilderment.

The man who had been staring at him just moments before concealed his emotions, walked past the somewhat dazed Lin Mushi, and went straight ahead.

Three days ago, a page came to the mansion, saying that his young master was a distant relative of the Xie family and had been arrested without cause. Xie Zhuo vaguely remembered the past that the page mentioned, and it just so happened to be a case he had handled. Coincidentally, before leaving, the page mentioned that a boy had been arrested along with his young master. He thought of the boy behind him. Too many coincidences would always arouse suspicion.

Xie Zhuo, leaving only his back view, frowned slightly where Lin Mushi couldn't see him. Thinking of the information his subordinates had found out, his brows suddenly relaxed. Deep down, he was also hoping to receive good news.

—

The room, well-lit by candlelight, was not dark. Xie Zhuo sat in the hall, looking at the young man kneeling below him not far away, and asked:

"Name?"

Lin Mushi glanced at Xie Zhuo with a puzzled look, then honestly said, "Lin Mushi."

Having reviewed the documents submitted by his subordinates, Xie Zhuo naturally knew Lin Mushi's name, but he still followed the procedure and continued to inquire.

...

Before asking the next question, Xie Zhuo paused for a moment: "Who lives in your family?" A question unrelated to the current interrogation.

Lin Mushi didn't seem uncomfortable with the question, and looked at Xie Zhuo calmly: "Just me."

Xie Zhuo became the one who felt uncomfortable. Unlike the written documents, the calmer the person involved was, the more oppressive it sounded to Xie Zhuo.

"Why are you going to Chan Gui Lou?" Xie Zhuo avoided the boy's clear eyes and continued to ask.

"Looking for someone."

Whom are you looking for?

Lin Mushi paused for a moment. He was looking for the real culprit who killed Princess Huayang, but he didn't know who the murderer was.

After hesitating for a while, Lin Mushi lowered his head and said in despair, "I don't know."

"I don't know how you plan to find someone?" Before Xie Zhuo could speak, the jailer spoke first: "Tell me the truth."

Xie Zhuo raised his hand to stop the jailer, "Do you have a token?"

Lin Mushi did indeed have a keepsake, which was the peace lock that Qiushuang had brought with him when he went down the mountain, which he had hidden in front of the tomb and placed there.

Finding the peace lock hidden in his sleeve, Lin Mushi's face showed doubt. If the "Xu Shaoqing" in front of him was the real culprit from back then, then... wouldn't he have gotten it without any effort at all?

Thinking of this, his eyes brightened slightly. He pretended to reach into his sleeve to take out the safety lock, but in reality, he was searching inside his sleeve.

After the safety lock covered in blood rust was taken out, the bell hanging on it made a crisp sound.

"This item is the token."

The moment the safety lock was taken out, Xie Zhuo's gaze was fixed on it. He watched Lin Mushi hand the safety lock to the jailer, and then watched the safety lock being handed to him.

The small golden lock was covered with dark brown rust, which flickered with the candlelight.

How could Xie Zhuo not recognize this small lock, even though it was covered in rust?

His eyes lit up with tenderness as the golden lock was presented to him; it was a gift he had prepared for his unborn child.

"Thank you, Your Honor." The jailer respectfully presented the safety lock.

Then Lin Mushi's eyes widened suddenly: "You're not Xu Shaoqing, your surname is Xie?!"

"Don't be rude!" The jailer glared at Lin Mushi.

Xie Zhuo gripped the safety lock tightly in his palm, his fingers tracing the small characters engraved on it, his face calm: "Is there anything wrong with my surname being Xie?"

Lin Mushi avoided Xie Zhuozhuo's intense gaze, and then, as if struck by a sudden inspiration, he recalled the Lord Xie that Shan Qing had mentioned. After hesitating for a long while, he asked, "May I ask if Lord Xie is the husband of Princess Huayang?"

"yes."

Xie Zhuo's unhesitating answer left Lin Mushi at a loss. He had only thought about seeing Xie Zhuo first, and had not yet made any plans for what would happen after seeing Xie Zhuo.

The air grew still as Lin Mushi stared blankly at the dust motes floating around the candlelight.

Xie Zhu waved everyone away, leaving only him and Lin Mushi in the room.

"Get up."

The moment Xie Zhuo saw the safety lock, he was certain of Lin Mushi's identity.

He rose from his seat, walked around to Lin Mushi's side, and looked down at the person in front of him.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you."

As Xie Zhuo approached, Lin Mushi's eyes gradually became puzzled, and when Xie Zhuo finished speaking, they turned into surprise and doubt.

Upon closer inspection, Xie Zhu seemed to only then notice the dirt on Lin Mushi's face. As soon as he raised his hand, he saw Lin Mushi's guarded expression.

Lin Mushi hurriedly took a few steps back, keeping a safe distance from Xie Zhuo before stopping.

Xie Zhuo's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, then fell back to his side after a moment.

"Let's go."

"Lord Xie, you want to let me go?" Lin Mushi frowned, his wary expression revealing confusion.

"We've already verified that you're not a suspect, so of course we won't keep you locked up anymore," Xie Zhuo explained.

Lin Mushi felt relieved, but a hint of worry returned to his brows: "What about Young Master Su?"

"He will be released once he is cleared of suspicion. I will have someone send him some food later. You don't need to worry about him."

Lin Mushi's gaze shifted to Xie Zhuo's clenched fist: "Please return my golden lock to me, Lord Xie."

"Oh? But this golden lock looks familiar to me; it's very similar to the one I prepared for my son." Xie Zhu stared into the eyes of the person opposite him and slowly approached.

A note from the author:

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