Chapter 927 Each with their own ulterior motives

"Six, six, it really is six!"

The rain stopped, and having eaten and drunk his fill, Ouyang Rong left the Red Dust Inn and headed to the agreed-upon ferry crossing.

As a result, halfway there, when they reached a secluded spot, Miaosi, who was lying in her left sleeve, could no longer hold back her laughter and clutched her stomach, giggling happily.

Ouyang Rong said calmly, "Don't try to imitate me. You can't even do it right."

"Who's mimicking you?" Miao Si tilted her head. "This fairy was calling out to Xiao Liu Zi, not you. Why are you getting so worked up? Are you taking it personally? Are you trying to cover it up?"

Ouyang Rong looked at her for a while, nodded slightly, and uttered a single word: "Six."

Miao Si jumped onto Ouyang Rong's shoulder, grabbed his ear, shook her head, and asked with a smile:

"You're something else, Xiao Rongzi! I never expected this, I really never expected it! You actually had something going on with her? You didn't even spare your best brother's younger sister and your junior sister's best friend? Tell me, when did you two start hooking up?"

Ouyang Rong said expressionlessly, "It's not funny. If you really have nothing to say, you don't have to say anything."

Miao Si chuckled: "Flies don't land on eggs without cracks."

Ouyang Rong walked forward quietly for a while, and then suddenly said, "It'll be soon."

Miao Si peeked out, puzzled: "What's fast?"

Ouyang Rong remained silent, but turned to look at a distant inn where travelers were discussing something.

At one point, he murmured, "The ones who can't stand it anymore and are in a frenzy aren't necessarily the Wei family; there are people who are even more anxious than them."

It seemed to be a response to a remark made by the scholar in the long robe.

Afterwards, Ouyang Rong straightened up, gathered his sleeves, and continued walking towards the ferry, without looking back.

Miao Si was completely confused.

...

He was actually referring to the second of the three brocade pouches he had secretly given to his junior sister when they parted ways.

The time it will be soon for the junior sister to take it out and hand it to Li Xian.

The timeframe he entrusted to his junior sister was the day Li Xian ascended to the throne as heir apparent.

...

The next day was a sunny day.

The sun was shining brightly just after dawn, but it was obscured by a white mist, so only the outline of the sun could be vaguely seen.

The white fog over Taoyuan Town and the nearby islands has thinned considerably.

It was a good day for sailing.

"Liu Aliang".

At the makeshift pier on the island, Madam Chen called out to Ouyang Rong, laughing as she said:

"Go and lend a hand and carry this last batch of goods upstairs. They're all herbs, don't worry, they're not heavy."

Ouyang Rong nodded silently and went to unload the goods.

Perhaps because they had witnessed Ouyang Rong's "powerful background" before, Madam Chen and the others spoke to him much more gently, without the subservient manner they used to command him.

The ship in front of us had returned with Madam Chen, and besides some cargo boxes, it also carried the Orchid Yue women who had been away for many days.

They returned together from Peach Blossom Town, and judging by their appearance, they might be heading back to Sword Swamp today.

I just don't know what they've been busy with these past few days.

Ouyang Rong couldn't ask any more questions, and it's likely that Madam Chen, who was in charge of purchasing the houses, didn't know either.

He had gone to bed late last night and was feeling a little sleepy in the sunlight, but now, as he and several other companions boarded the ship to unload cargo, he was much more awake.

Last night, he sneaked out and made some arrangements in Taoyuan Town. After returning late at night, he hid the rented boat on another small island not far away and came back by bamboo raft... He plans to go down the mountain with the purchasing agent next month to retrieve it.

Soon, Madam Chen was summoned by a Yue woman with orchid-like hairpins. She returned shortly afterward and began arranging for everyone to evacuate.

We set off in the morning to return to Jianze.

Ouyang Rong nodded calmly. Fortunately, he had taken care of everything that needed to be done the previous few nights, so going back today was exactly what he wanted.

The brilliant idea has been transformed into an ink stick, which, along with the Peach Blossom Spring painting, is hidden in a bamboo tube.

The white sturgeon did not follow; it remained on Zhuo Island, guarding the tomb passage beneath Lu Changgeng's grave, like a wandering, ever-burning lamp.

Upon receiving the returning signal, the entire island erupted in chaos.

Because the servants were not allowed to go to Peach Blossom Town on their own, everyone was stuck on the island and felt quite bored. Naturally, they were happy to hear that they were leaving.

Ouyang Rong finally understood why Li Wan had worried he would be unhappy when she told him he had been assigned to the purchasing department.

For the other menial workers in Jianze, this was indeed a tough job, not a trip down the mountain for fun.

Ouyang Rong changed into a T-shirt and, while unloading the goods onto the ship, glanced at Madam Chen, who was holding a list and taking inventory.

He recalled the scene he had witnessed last night in the Chen family's ink room.

Ouyang Rong glanced at the cargo boxes that were being moved, the last shipment that Madam Chen had brought back.

Inside, there might be a batch of stationery items, such as ink sticks, for use by the Lantang Yue women who are in charge of Jianze affairs.

Otherwise, why would I go to that ink room?

After thinking for a moment, Ouyang Rong's first thought was that he needed to keep a close eye on Miao Si.

To prevent her from turning back hungry and secretly running away to Lantang to steal ink sticks, he didn't want her to.

This little ink spirit sometimes has a sweet tooth. For a delicious bite, he becomes incredibly bold, even daring to touch a tiger's butt.

The reason I was caught by the Lady of the Palace in Hanleimoku was because of this loose tongue.

However, Ouyang Rong also bought a batch of inksticks last night and stored them in the Peach Blossom Spring Painting, which should be enough for her to use for a while... For this, the female immortal even squeezed out a few "crocodile tears," giving him a lot of positive feedback...

Soon, with Ouyang Rong and the others sweating profusely, the goods were unloaded.

After clearing the small island, the Lantang Yue women boarded the ship one by one, and everyone else followed. Once everything was ready, the ship set sail, heading into the deep white mist of Yunmeng Marsh.

Taoyuan Town was left far behind, completely unaware of their arrival.

...

During his lunch break, Ouyang Rong visited the Merit Pagoda.

Inside the Merit Pagoda, the scenery remains unchanged.

The Blessing Bell floats silently in the air, like an unchanging mountain.

The Blessing Clock has been silent for a long time since he last redeemed the two-color blessings.

The two-colored blessing remained stagnant for a long time. Even when he ventured deep into Lu Changgeng's tomb and discovered the strange blood bronze gate, it remained completely still and did not emit any new blessings.

This makes one wonder occasionally if they have accidentally redeemed a fake blessing?

Ouyang Rong approached the small wooden fish and saw the cyan-gold characters floating above it:

[Merit: 1501]

I have almost collected enough merit points to complete half of the Shangqing Secret Arts.

Ou Rong nodded slightly, quite satisfied. The merit points were slowly increasing, and after a while, he would be able to accumulate three thousand merit points.

...

The large ship arrived at Jianze at dusk.

Standing inconspicuously on the deck, Ouyang Rong once again saw the original small island where he had lived, right on the edge of the Sword Marsh.

Their return trip was quite fruitful.

The fleet anchored on the lake in the heart of Jianze, and the group prepared to part ways and return to their respective factions.

Lantang Yue Nu had to return to Lantang to report, and Ouyang Rong's purchasing unit also had to sail its own small boat back to the dining hall... The other boats did the same.

However, some cargo boxes need to be allocated, and some need to be loaded onto Lantang's large ship.

Ouyang Rong glanced at the new boxes that Chen Da Niangzi had been ordering him to move that morning, and together with his companions, prepared to carry them onto the Lantang ship.

I had only moved halfway when a voice came from behind me:

"Hey, wait a minute, we don't need to move these."

Ouyang Rong and the others stopped and turned around to see Madam Chen walking quickly towards them.

She smiled and shook her head:

"You guys are really too bright and energetic. These are the goods from our purchasing department. Why are you moving them up here? They are all fine ingredients, specially purchased. They need to be kept safe... Leave them on our ship for now. When we get to the dining hall, you can move them to the storeroom. Be careful and move them quietly."

The other servants immediately responded.

Ouyang Rong glanced at Madam Chen.

The latter seemed to notice his gaze, and with a smile on her face, turned to look at him.

The two stared at each other for about a breath and a half. Ouyang Rong nodded obediently, carried the box on his shoulder back, and put it back in its original place.

Before long, the fleet disbanded, and the ships went their separate ways.

The boats that had been purchasing houses returned to the Qingliang Valley Dining Hall before sunset.

The purchasing room and warehouse were not far from the dining hall where the food was cooked. Ouyang Rong did not go to the dining hall, as he was no longer a cook.

Before long, in front of a row of courtyards, Madam Chen directed Ouyang Rong and other servants to unload the goods and carry the boxes into the warehouse one by one.

It took about 15 minutes to move everything.

Before leaving the warehouse, Ouyang Rong glanced back at the new shipment of boxes, then left silently.

Just as they stepped outside, Madam Chen was instructing the other servants on their tasks.

The warehouse needed staff to be on duty, and Ouyang Rong was among those assigned.

After a short while, having assigned tasks, Ouyang Rong prepared to leave with the main force.

Suddenly, Madam Chen called out, "Liu Aliang."

Ouyang Rong stopped, a look of doubt on his face.

Madam Chen nodded and deliberately led him to the side.

Ouyang Rong noticed that the woman first sized him up before speaking gently:

“I’ve scheduled an early shift for you, so you don’t have to stay up all night guarding the warehouse. You can hand it over to someone else and go home earlier.”

Ouyang Rong then realized that this was to make things convenient for him.

After a moment of silence, he clasped his hands in a fist salute:

Thank you.

Madam Chen smiled and said, "You're too kind."

A short while later, Ouyang Rong watched Madam Chen leave, and then he stayed in the storeroom to begin his duty.

Ouyang Rong and another handyman guarded the storeroom, and they would probably finish get off work around nine o'clock at night. As Madam Chen said, this was indeed beneficial to him, as he didn't have to stay up all night to work.

The keys to the warehouse were in the hands of the two of them.

Ouyang Rong was not familiar with his colleague on duty, and he remained silent when the latter tried to get close to him.

Taking advantage of the other party's inattention, Ouyang Rong glanced back at the tightly closed warehouse door.

I don't know what I'm thinking.

It was late at night, and it was almost time for the shift change.

Ouyang Rong suddenly walked towards the warehouse, saying he had heard a noise.

Amid his companions' questioning gazes, he opened the warehouse door, inspected it, then returned and closed the door again.

"It's nothing, I misheard."

His companions breathed a sigh of relief.

Ouyang Rong returned with the key, his expression unchanged.

The companions did not see that the warehouse door was unlocked.

Ouyang Rong seemed to have forgotten.

At this moment, the newly relieved handyman arrived yawning. Ouyang Rong and his companion handed over the keys, said goodbye to each other, and turned to leave.

Ouyang Rong walked forward for a while, then looked back.

The two newly assigned handymen didn't approach the storeroom; they habitually stood guard at the door...

late at night.

A dark figure flashed past in front of the warehouse.

It is Ouyang Rong.

He hid in the shadows and observed the warehouse in front of him.

The small island where the kitchen storehouse was located was very close to the small island where Ouyang Rong lived as a servant. There weren't many Yue women patrolling along the way, which gave Ouyang Rong the opportunity to sneak out.

Taking advantage of the warehouse keeper's drowsiness, Ouyang Rong went around to the warehouse, pushed open the "carelessly unlocked" door, and slipped inside.

The warehouse was pitch black. Following his memory, Ouyang Rong tiptoed to a cargo box.

Upon closer inspection, the boxes in front of them were the very same batch that had been suddenly blocked by Madam Chen during the day.

Ouyang Rong gently opened the box and glanced at it.

Inside were some precious medicinal herbs and ingredients.

He reached out and rummaged through the other boxes, but didn't find any ink sticks or other writing implements.

There is nothing sold at Chen's Ink Shop.

Ouyang Rong frowned slightly.

Was his premonition wrong? Or was he overthinking it?

After a moment's hesitation, he closed the box again, retraced his steps, and prepared to turn around.

Just then, footsteps suddenly came from outside.

Ouyang Rong's expression froze.

"Why are you all dozing off? I put you on night watch, and you're all so lazy."

Chen Da Niangzi's voice came from inside.

Immediately following were the guilty murmurs of the night watchmen.

Madam Chen seemed to wave her hand:

"Never mind, you guys go back to sleep, I'll call the others."

After some initial hesitation, the night watchmen all gave in and left.

After the person left, it was quiet outside for a while.

Ouyang Rong hid in the shadows, waiting patiently for Madam Chen to call the new guard so he could slip out.

But after waiting for a while, there was still no sign of her leaving.

Just as she was frowning, Chen's footsteps suddenly sounded, getting closer and closer to the warehouse door.

Then, the sound of the door opening came from behind.

After opening the door, Madam Chen stood at the door for a while, and some sounds of checking the door lock could be heard.

The door was unlocked when he came in.

Ouyang Rong immediately held his breath and focused his attention.

"These young lads are so clumsy, they even forgot to lock the door."

Madam Chen shook her head and muttered to herself before pushing the door open and entering.

Ouyang Rong, hiding in the shadows, breathed a sigh of relief.

However, she immediately became worried. What if Madam Chen locked the door after she went out? How could she escape?

While she was pondering, Madam Chen had already walked to the spot where Ouyang Rong had just stood.

She carried a lantern, which illuminated the large cargo container in front of her.

Madam Chen opened the cargo box and, by the light, seemed to be rummaging through something.

Ouyang Rong regained his composure and watched the scene unfold without showing any emotion.

There really is something fishy going on.

He thought to himself.

He immediately became curious about what the woman had secretly brought back from the foot of the mountain.

Unfortunately, the place where he was hiding was somewhat secluded, and Madam Chen had her back to him.

For a moment, it was unclear what she was holding in her hand.

Ouyang Rong watched silently, then suddenly turned his head and looked towards the door.

Someone has come in.

Although the sound of the door being pushed open was extremely faint, it could not escape his ears.

The footsteps were so faint, so light, like those of a fawn...

(End of this chapter)