Chapter 191 Pei Chu and Lou Cangyu were the first to know.

Wushuang slowly turned around, her starry eyes expressionless. "What have you been through these past few days? Guan Ye, I kindly invited you into the house, are you going to repay kindness with enmity and drag me into this mess?"

Guan Ye clenched her fists and said proudly, "Xingguo Ward has suffered a calamity, and the people of Canglang Island will also suffer the same fate. Young Master Pei is still on the island. He will not go anywhere else but stay on the island. The government troops will definitely massacre Canglang. At that time, no one will survive. You and Young Master are deeply in love. You will never stand by and watch Young Master die tragically."

“Pei…Chu?” Wushuang hesitated before calling out Pei Chu’s name. “Is this Young Master Pei’s name?”

"Jiang Muyun." Guan Ye called out clearly, word by word, "I won't mistake you. You are Jiang Muyun. You are not dead. The young master also said that you are not dead. He said he would wait for you to come back."

"Wait... for me? To come back?" Wushuang seemed to laugh. Her eyes sparkled with tiny lights, which in the dim light were hard to tell if they were the glow of burning fire or the tears of heartbreak. "Young Master Pei said he was waiting for someone to come back?"

"He's waiting for Jiang Muyun to return, and you are Jiang Muyun," Guan Ye affirmed. "Lou Cangyu was the first to know. The Lingbo Terrace sword test was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Lou family to avenge themselves. Lou Cangyu risked his life for it. He went up to the testing ground with the belief that he would die if he didn't win. How could his sword be broken by someone's petty trick? Because of you..."

Guan Ye approached Wu Shuang, her bruised eyes fixed on that nightmarish face. But this time, Guan Ye was no longer afraid. She wanted to see Wu Shuang's face clearly, to prove that she was Jiang Muyun. "Lou Cangyu saw your face. Jiang Muyun was dragged into the cell by Lou Cangyu. He was scared, he lost his mind, that's why he fell into your trap, was tricked by you, and tampered with the sword..."

Wushuang didn't interrupt Guan Ye. She seemed curious about what else Guan Ye had figured out and how much she could say.

"The day he learned the truth, Lou Cangyu wanted to fight you to the death," Guan Ye continued. "Ajiu and I went with him. It was raining that day, and I saw... a woman holding an umbrella to see Lou Cangyu out. Her figure and face... I felt like I'd seen her somewhere before, so familiar... It took me a long time to remember... she looked exactly like Jiang Muyun. This also explains why Lou Cangyu would rather bear the humiliation of the broken sword than mention it again. Lou Cangyu also thought you were... He admired Jiang Muyun's beauty, and after Jiang Muyun's accident, Lou Cangyu felt guilty, harbored curiosity about you, and even more so, deep-seated fear. You lured him deeper and deeper into your trap, and for you, Lou Cangyu was even willing to break his blood oath..."

"For me?" Wushuang finally couldn't help but laugh. "For himself, isn't it?" Wushuang scrutinized Guan Ye with interest. "You've said so much, Jiang Muyun? Does it matter whether I am her or not? Xingguo Fang is doomed, and you risked coming to the inner district to find me, just to confirm whether I am that... Jiang Muyun? Let me tell you, I am not her, and I don't know who she is. You can leave. Everyone in the inner district will pretend you were never here tonight."

“That’s right.” Wan Qixi smoothed things over. “Guan Ye, what’s the point of all this strange talk about Jiang Muyun and Hai Muyu? Since you’re on good terms with the Crown Prince and the others, I can pretend I’ve never met you. Before your name is on the wanted list, either go find your lover or leave Rongdu as soon as possible. Who knows when disaster will strike? Protecting yourself is the most important thing. Go now.”

Guan Ye showed no intention of leaving. She had only this one chance to speak. "Xingguo Ward's three major crimes—if I can solve them one by one, the court will have no reason to kill everyone. Crime one: human smuggling. Xingguo Ward swore never to leave the island, but that didn't mean outsiders couldn't come. We are all destitute and helpless; Canglang Island took us in, and we stayed willingly. Human smuggling is absurd; Xingguo Ward doesn't accept it. Crime two: harboring wanted criminals? If the old case was a frame-up, and the wanted criminals are exonerated, this crime falls apart. Crime three: human sacrifice at the furnace, and bewitching the emperor with evil magic. I originally thought Xingguo Ward couldn't escape this, but you are Jiang Muyun. Jiang Muyun didn't die at the furnace, so there's no question of human sacrifice..."

"Since no one sacrificed themselves to the furnace, how was the meteorite melted?" Wushuang retorted. "Guan Ye, you are a skilled forge expert. Do you believe the Heavenly Furnace can melt meteorite?"

"Then I'll have to ask you, Jiang Muyun," Guan Ye said.

"That's ridiculous." Wushuang shook her head helplessly. "You keep calling me Jiang Muyun. There are plenty of people in the world who look alike. Ajiu and the Crown Prince look almost identical. I just look like the Jiang Muyun you're talking about. Don't try to mistake me for her. You have to admit what Xingguofang did. I will never help you."

"You also understand casting techniques, so you know even better that no matter how many people sacrifice themselves, you can't melt the meteorite. That so-called ancient method is nothing but a trick to deceive the ignorant." Guan Ye stared aggressively at Wushuang. "If that's the case, why did the meteorite melt? If the ancient method didn't work, then a new technique was used. Although this technique is unknown to others, someone has already succeeded. The white flames, whether you are Wushuang or Jiang Muyun, you know about it, you must know it."

"—White fireworks." Wushuang paused, stunned. "Yes, you've seen them, so you naturally know them."

“Father told me about white fireworks, but I had never seen them with my own eyes before.” Guan Ye’s eyes showed sorrow, but her expression was resolute. “Father said they had set them off before, and the fireworks looked just like thousands of pear trees in full bloom…”

"Like a big cloud, so big, such a big cloud..." Wan Qixi murmured with narrowed eyes, as if fireworks were blooming before her eyes again.

"Thousands of pear trees bloom, burning the sky and scattering across mountains and seas..." Wushuang recited in a soft voice, as if the magnificent scene of that year was unfolding before her eyes. Wushuang was filled with longing, and a dimple appeared on the corner of her lips without her even realizing it.

"What are you going to do with the white flames?" Wan Qixi asked curiously, just like Lu Xiaoyun had when she was a child.

"Father said," Guan Ye's voice choked with emotion, "that the technique of melting meteorites and burning them into white flames was only known to the young lady of Tianhu Workshop. She said she would teach everyone after melting the meteorites..."

Wushuang chuckled softly, "If I teach you all, will anyone still be alive?"

"Am I not still alive?" Guan Ye poked her chest. "My father is Guan Xiaotian of Tianhu Workshop. He's dead, but I'm not. If I'm not dead, Tianhu Workshop won't lose its ultimate technique. And you, as long as you're alive, the White Flame can reignite, and you can still produce white flames, just like Lu Chaoge did back then..."

Just like Lu Chaoge.

Upon hearing this, Wan Qixi's gaze towards Guan Ye changed somewhat. He had originally thought that Guan Ye, being just a young girl, had only managed to figure things out by sheer luck, but he never expected that she could even guess Lu Chaoge's thoughts. It seemed that Guan Ye was only one step away from the truth.

“Lu Chaoge,” Wan Qixi repeated deliberately, “is she the eldest daughter of the Lu family of Tianhu Fang that you mentioned? What, do you actually know someone like her?”

Guan Ye paused for a moment and nodded. Wan Qixi made an incredulous expression and poked Guan Ye's head with her finger. "Absurd. How old are you? You know the eldest daughter of the Lu family? People who lie and exaggerate will not leave this room. Be careful with your nonsense."

“I…I’ve seen her before.” Guan Ye pressed her head, which was throbbing from Wan Qixi’s poking. “It must be her.”

"Where is she?" Wan Qixi blurted out unconsciously.

"In..." A blue light surged before Guan Ye's eyes. It was an ancient mine, full of signs that someone had lived there. The cave walls were dyed a pure, translucent ice-blue color, which was neither a painting nor a painting. It was not a natural creation, but rather the work of a person... Guan Ye suddenly looked at the mineral pigment that Wushuang was grinding on the table. She walked towards the same ice-blue color as if possessed, and gently pressed her fingertip on it. "This is blue copper."

Wu Shuang stared intently at Guan Ye's movements. She neither said yes nor no, as if she also longed for Guan Ye to continue, as this was a past event she wanted to reminisce about.

"Where is she..." Wan Qixi asked, unable to contain herself.

Guan Ye rubbed her fingers together, finally certain that her guess was correct. "We found her in the mine on Canglang Island."

Black moss grows in the deep cave, as if drawn by a mountain spirit. Stalactites hang upside down, making it hard to distinguish between humans and ghosts. A swordsman draws his sword, startling a large swarm of bats. The fear of the deep cave draws people deeper and deeper. In the depths of the mine, the blue copper luster shines even brighter... Guan Ye recalled that scene. She was wearing Ji Yuan's old clothes, and her bare ankles were covered in frostbite. If it weren't for the four people who gave her courage, she would have fled in panic as soon as she reached the cave entrance.

"—Her?" Wan Qixi glanced at Wushuang. "She lives in the mine..."

Guan Ye closed her eyes and recalled the scene: deep in the mine, within a radius of ten meters, the ground was covered with withered grass, and firewood was piled in the corner. The supplies were simple, but enough to barely survive. She had initially thought it was the life of savages, but now she realized that the skeleton... was actually...

"When we found her, she was already dead, and had been dead for a long time," Guan Ye said slowly. "Feng Shisan could identify bones; he examined the remains and said she had been dead for about ten or eight years." Guan Ye gestured to the appearance of the remains, "The bones were about seven feet long, about my height..."

“A skeleton.” Wan Qixi asked in a trembling voice, “You young people probably can’t even tell the difference between men and women, so what makes you so sure it’s Lu Chaoge? A woman of unparalleled beauty, would she die there?”

“Everyone dies.” Guan Ye’s voice rose. “Whether you are a nobleman or a commoner, everyone will die. When a person dies, they turn to ashes. No matter how brilliant or mediocre you are, it’s all the same after you die.”

"Enough." Wan Qixi breathed heavily. "What makes you so sure that the skeleton is who it is? It's just your imagination."

Guan Ye took a few steps closer to Wushuang, "There's a pile of copper coins under her."

— Copper coins…

"Wushuang? Or Jiang Muyun?" Guan Ye asked with a smile. "You must know about those copper coins, right?"

Wanqi Xi's mind went blank—in the carriage leaving the city, her sister presented her with gold ingots, handed over a large bag of silver ingots, and removed the gold hairpin from her hair and her beloved pearl pendant… Just as A Jing touched her knife, her sister took out a handful of copper coins from her sleeve, held them in her palm, and handed them to the carriage. Her sister said that this was all she had left, and the general could take as many as he wanted, asking that she leave some for herself…

The soldiers guarding the city pushed away the sister's wrist and refused to take the copper coins, telling her to keep them for the journey... The sister sighed softly and calmly put the copper coins back into her sleeve—"Thank you, General. Ah Jing, I'm off."

Lu Xiaojun, who was hiding behind the partition, saw everything clearly that day and remembered it all.

"A pile of copper coins, perhaps for protection," Wan Qixi said, forcing himself to remain calm. "Could there be some secret hidden among the copper coins?"

Guan Ye nodded. "Those weren't ordinary copper coins. I only recently learned that the trouble in Xingguofang when they returned to the capital, as well as the old case in Tianhufang twenty years ago... were all related to those copper coins. That's when I found out... that the skeletons in the mine were from the Lu family."

—The Blood Crossbow Case, it's the Blood Crossbow Case! The truth that Wan Qixi has been searching for for twenty years is actually in the pile of copper coins that his sister holds in her hands?