early morning

It seemed the fall wasn't too painful. Amidst the gasps for breath, his relatives angrily cursed, but Meng Yan absorbed their curses with his left ear and expelled them with his right.

"You unlucky bastard, you really think you're something special. Now that your mother is dead, who will protect you?"

"You little brat, you're strong enough to be a servant. You were born to be a servant. After tonight, you'll be no better than a dog on the street. Nobody will treat you like a master anymore!"

"Your husband's family doesn't acknowledge you, they only say you're their junior sister, they're afraid that being associated with you would lower their status, right?"

"Look at you, so mute, you can't even cry out. We'll just lock you up inside and tell your husband's family tomorrow that you ran away in the night because you were heartbroken over your mother's death. Who would know that you're lying in this wretched place in the woodshed?"

"Yes, by then we'll have moved to a big house. Even if you die and rot into bones, attracting flies everywhere, you'll never leave this dilapidated yard again."

Meng Yan ignored their mockery, but she had a bad feeling about the content of their words.

Perhaps these people were indeed after him before, but now that they have Yue Lang, this seemingly easy target, they might have turned their attention to him instead.

This time, Yue Lang really dragged things out quite a bit.

Worried, Meng Yan paced back and forth in the room. For a few moments, she sensed the light from outside. Although it was weak, it was extremely noticeable in the completely enclosed room. Trying to see it from different angles, she found several cracks in the door panel.

The foul language outside continued unabated, but they were so engrossed in their words that they didn't notice the tiny needle peeking out from the door.

"That young master is rich, but he's also blind. How did he fall for her?"

"Shuangmei is frail; she's probably caught a lot of her 'plague' from her. Even in this state, she's still so close to her. Now, lying in that wooden cocoon, don't you think that counts as...?"

The aunt who had been calling out the loudest suddenly fell silent, followed closely by her uncle. They stared wide-eyed, looking around frantically, covering their mouths and groaning but unable to speak. Dark red blood seeped through their fingers, dripping onto the ground. The entire area outside fell silent.

Several more relatives cried out in pain and looked down at the wound, where they saw a silver needle deeply embedded in the flesh, causing blood to spurt out.

Besides them, who else was in the courtyard? Lin Yu waited for news in the backyard, while Lin Yun took the sleeping potion to find the rich young master. The servants who had come to attend the funeral had already left after leaving behind their treasures.

One of the few possibilities is that it's Meng Yan, separated by just one door.

"You wretch!" the aunt mumbled, taking a piece of dry grass from the windowsill, lighting it with the candlelight, and pressing closer and closer to the wooden gate.

The others immediately understood and echoed the curses from inside the door, their voices sounding as if they were denouncing demons and upholding justice.

Just then, Yue Lang peeked out from the crowd, a talisman flame flickering in his hand. Curious, he patted his relative on the shoulder and asked in a low voice, "Why aren't you elders here at the mourning hall or resting? What are you doing here?"

The person who should never have been there stood there impeccably dressed, with a flame burning at his fingertips, sending a chill down the spines of the group who had done wrong and were inexplicably pricked by needles.

“Let’s… take a walk, clear our heads, and get rid of the evil spirits under the cover of night. It’s normal for there to be some unclean things after someone has died.” The group’s hands and feet were ice-cold and their limbs were stiff as they gritted their teeth and replied to him.

Upon hearing this, the man opposite shook the fire in his hand: "It's fine to leave it to the junior. The air is turbid after the rain, so please don't touch anything you shouldn't touch or say anything you shouldn't say."

These were his heartfelt words; he never stopped people from rushing to their deaths.

Meng Yan listened from inside the door, feeling that he was about to say "I am a Taoist priest" next, and the knot in his heart that had been bothering him all day was eased by him.

"Okay, okay."

Everyone was intimidated by him and dragged their heavy legs in all directions. The aunt, who was holding dry grass, laughed even more heartily than the grass. Taking advantage of the crowd's panic, she straightened her back and threw the pillar of red flame in her hand into the woodshed, pulled the iron chain around and locked it, and squeezed into the scattered crowd as if fleeing for her life.

Yue Lang, who had been smiling, suddenly changed his expression. Seeing the flames erupting inside the door, he kicked it without thinking.

He couldn't tell what was in a hurry, as there wasn't even a sound coming from inside. But when he saw the red light through the crack in the door, his heart skipped a beat, and he almost unconsciously wanted to break through it.

"Clang—"

The door panel fell to the ground, half of it kicking up dust inwards and the other half splashing water outwards.

With the barrier removed, the two met, each holding up a red cloth. Meng Yan held the bundle of dry grass in his hand, burning it along with his talisman to illuminate himself and the person opposite him.

The sky was already glowing with the light of dawn, making the fire seem less necessary. So Meng Yan threw the bundle of straw into the puddle and thoughtfully kicked it a few times, and the two met eyes again.

Yue Lang: "It's good that you're alright."

Meng Yan: "You actually managed to kick the door open."

Yue Lang: "I learned from a master, but I am still not even half as good as him."

.

In less than an hour, Mother will be laid to rest, and this farce will finally come to an end today.

As the golden light broke through the clouds in the east, the two, covered in dew, left the village early, treading on the spring grass. According to their relatives, two treacherous schemes were aimed at them, but both had failed. To avoid a lose-lose situation, leaving in advance was a wise move.

Meng Yan walked ahead, clearing the way. Last year, she had taken refuge in the teahouse along this path, and this year she had a companion with her.

"Where are my junior brothers?" she asked quickly, turning around.

"You recognized them all." Yue Lang feigned surprise. "They left after putting down their things. Although we are fellow disciples, I couldn't leave so many people here with me, so I let them dress up on their own and enter without any problems."

Meng Yan nodded, focusing on clearing the weeds, when Yue Lang suddenly asked from behind, "Were you injured in the woodshed?"

Before she could answer, he continued, "I think those people are badly injured. Some of them will be able to keep their mouths shut from now on. This will cure their habit of talking nonsense and being unrestrained. What a miracle doctor, Yan Yan!"

Knowing that he was trying to calm himself down, Meng Yan didn't reply much and casually asked him how things were going on his end.

It's a long story.

"Lin Yu led me to a dark room, saying it was your former residence and that I should rest and wait for you. I had no desire to sleep, so I wandered around the room to pass the time, and sure enough, someone came."

Yue Lang handed the paper package to Meng Yan, but withdrew his hand as she reached out to take it. He explained to her, "This is a very potent sedative, usually found in doctors' rooms. I don't know where they got so much of it. Luckily, I was the one who encountered it. Luckily, I got the news and didn't wait to discuss it with you before impulsively asking for directions and following them here."

If this amount were applied to one person, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"How did you get out?" Based on Meng Yan's understanding of that group of people, their most common tactic was to lock the door. Since they were coming for him, they certainly wouldn't open the door on their own.

“You’ve seen it before,” Yue Lang said lightly.

The image of the wooden door split in two resurfaced in Meng Yan's mind, clear and magnificent.

Pushing aside the green branches blocking my way, a corner of the teahouse suddenly appeared. Emerging from the bushes, the entire bamboo building came into view.

Yue Lang was much taller than Meng Yan, so he stumbled along the way. When he finally had a chance to stretch his arms and body, he saw Meng Yan gesturing for him to lower his head.

Unaware of the situation, he did as instructed. His hair was gently brushed aside, and Meng Yan took out a few leaf buds, waved them in front of his eyes, and tossed them back into the green path he had come from.

The two sat down at the table where they first met. The waiter came to serve them with a smile, and his smile became even brighter when he recognized Yue Lang.

"Oh no, I forgot to bring my things." Yue Lang looked serious, as if he had missed something extremely important.

Meng Yan had just brought the teacup to his lips when she moved it away, flexing her fingers: "Those treasures that were moved to the Lin family, they weren't all real gold and silver, were they?"

Yue Lang nodded confidently: "I'm backing you up, how could it be fake?"

Seeing the question in Meng Yan's blank eyes, he seemed to sense it from somewhere and answered enthusiastically: "It was all put together by everyone at the last minute. I can't possibly carry this much money with me when I go out. Fortunately, there are many people, and we managed to raise it by borrowing from here and there. I'll pay them back later."

"Don't worry, I've saved up quite a bit of money over the years. Even if I pay it all back, I'll still have some left over."

Meng Yan closed his mouth again, swallowed his shock, and drank a cup of tea to prevent himself from choking.

"I've also forgotten something. I'll go back to the Lin family. You can wait for me here," she said quickly, getting up and walking towards the window.

Yue Lang could tell at a glance that she wasn't going to take the usual route, so he quickly chased after her and stuffed a thick stack of fire talismans into her hand.

Meng Yan's eyebrows twitched, and she raised her hand to confirm that it wasn't her imagination. She looked back at Yue Lang with a complicated expression, only to meet his innocent yet cunning eyes.

Why carry so many fire talismans when you go out without money? Judging from the handwriting, they were collected from scratch. This setup clearly indicates arson preparations; burning down several houses would be as easy as drinking tea for them...

She seemed to have figured something out, and as she reached the window, she turned back to look at Yue Lang one last time.

Upon noticing his gaze, he waved his hand. "Yan Yan, I still have some sleeping pills here. Do you want to give him a taste of his own medicine?"

Meng Yan shook his head, threw the mechanical kite out, turned around, jumped out of the window, and disappeared without a trace.

Yue Lang sipped his tea, tapping the table with his fingertips. The person he wanted to see was no longer by the window, but he remained lost in thought.

Yan Yan, you're too soft-hearted. They've all plotted against you, yet you still only want them to learn a lesson.

.

Half the sky was covered in crimson, as if a great fire was burning within it. The mechanical kite flashed by and plunged into the flames with a determined look.

Perhaps they thought they wouldn't come back, or perhaps they were gathered somewhere discussing the distribution of money. The room was filled with treasures and brocades lying naked, unguarded and unconcealed.

Meng Yan didn't want to make a choice, so she carried them all back to the cargo hold, returned the umbrellas at the old lady's house, and left some money on the village chief's windowsill. Apart from Yue Lang, she didn't owe him anything else.

It's time to take stock of other things too.

She watched her mother's coffin leave the house from afar, followed by neighbors and relatives, among whom only Lin Yun was present.

She gave a slight smile. "Mother, take one last look at the hustle and bustle of the world, because you really won't be able to see it again."

The mechanical kites circled the Lin family's house in large circles, and the talismans were even denser than yesterday's rain. They fell into the water, but the raging fire did not diminish in the slightest. Specks of fire fell on the eaves and in front of the house, igniting an even fiercer fire.

The wind, which had been still all night, suddenly awoke, swirling in from all directions to fuel the fire, turning the ground into a trembling sky.

Where the fiery colors intertwine, a finely carved and painted wooden bird hangs suspended between them, flapping its wings freely and flying resolutely in a certain direction.