Chapter Seventeen
"Speak freely. It is the duty of the Celestial Master to deal with matters related to subduing demons and monsters. If we can find clues and solve the case of Xiandu Prefecture as soon as possible, it will be a good thing for you, for us, and for the people of Xiandu Prefecture."
Li Zhi said he had a lead, and Pei Xuanji was not about to let it go. She spoke righteously for a while and immediately invited Li Zhi to her residence to discuss the matter in detail.
Li Zhi readily agreed and followed.
Zhang He couldn't get a word in edgewise and was left behind. Looking at the two figures ahead of him, he helplessly touched his nose and caught up with the heavy burden on his shoulders.
Upon arriving at the Celestial Masters' residence, Pei Xuanji ordered her servants to serve tea. She then took out a small booklet and a lead ingot from her satchel and began to question Li Zhi in detail.
Li Zhi had nothing to hide, so he told Li Zhi how he met his three classmates and how they parted ways. Then he felt something was wrong and went back to see what happened: a man was casting a curse at a classmate's door.
This time, not only Pei Xuanji, but even Zhang He's face became serious.
Pei Xuanji was writing something in the booklet with her head down. Zhang He stroked his chin and suddenly said, "This is indeed a strange thing, but why do you think it is related to the case in Xiandu Mansion?"
Li Zhi had already prepared his explanation: "The man who cast the curse had an extremely stiff smile on his face. Thinking about it carefully, he was quite similar to the corpse I had seen in the mountains."
"I see." Zhang He nodded. "I wonder if it's convenient for you, Young Master Li? Could you take me to your classmate's house and see if we can contact your other two classmates?"
"Naturally convenient."
The two left Pei Xuanji, who was pondering the case, and went out together.
Upon arriving at Zhou Huan's house, Zhang He first examined it with his naked eye, but finding nothing, he took out a compass. The compass needle spun twice and pointed to the mark that Li Zhi had mentioned.
Zhang He looked rather unwell, and he gestured for Li Zhi to go and knock on Zhou Huan's door.
Li Zhi did as instructed, and Zhou Huan's servants stepped forward to answer the door, saying that their young master was not at home.
"It seems he went on a lake trip out of the city with his classmates."
Zhang He clicked his tongue and said with dissatisfaction, "The autumn imperial examinations are coming up soon, and instead of studying, you're going boating on the lake."
Ignoring the servants' embarrassment, the two discussed for a few moments and decided that they should find Zhou Huan immediately. So they hurried out of the city on horseback to look for him.
However, the residents of Xiandu Prefecture have always loved to play, and the lakes outside the city are crowded with tourists all year round. Li Zhi and Zhang He circled the lake almost all the way, but still couldn't find Zhou Huan.
Li Zhi then looked at the few small boats floating on the lake.
There were only a few people on the small boat, and he looked them over one by one, but Zhou Huan was not on it.
I did spot another familiar young man.
Two days ago, Young Master Chen, whose cat had fallen into the lake, still had swollen eyes, but he couldn't wait to get on his small boat, call over his beautiful friends, and play drinking games with great laughter.
This time he didn't bring the white cat, perhaps he'd learned his lesson.
Li Zhi withdrew his gaze, discussed with Zhang He for a while, and decided to return to Zhou Huan's house in the city to wait.
"It's only been one day. Logically speaking, your classmate shouldn't be this unlucky. Don't worry," Zhang He reassured Li Zhi.
That was the only option, and the two of them rushed back despite the hardship.
After they left, Chen Yaozu, who was having a great time playing on a small boat on the lake, quietly lifted a box and stuffed a piece of roasted meat inside, coaxing, "Sai Xue, be good, don't make a fuss this time."
Sai Xue turned her head away and refused to eat, but her pair of bright green eyes remained fixed on the direction Li Zhi had left in.
It was common for the little darling to throw a tantrum, so Chen Yaozu didn't care at all and smiled as he put down the lid of the trunk.
After a while, he wanted to tease Sai Xue again, but when he opened the trunk, it was empty; Sai Xue was gone.
Sai Xue recognized Li Zhi.
Yesterday, Baozhu suddenly left without telling Saixue what golden nanmu wood or mutton fat jade was, which made Saixue very unhappy.
It had been holding its anger in all night and was determined to punish Baozhu properly today. It would not go to her and would make her think carefully about where she had gone wrong.
It happened to see Li Zhi today, and it was curious about how this mortal offered nanmu wood and white jade to the precious pearl, so it quietly followed him.
They followed each other all the way from outside the city to the city center. The two of them did nothing else but knock on the door of one house and then go to another house.
The next place we went to was a bit strange; it seemed to have a magic circle, and Sai Xue couldn't get in.
Having no other option, it had to wait outside.
When it was almost asleep, Li Zhi and another man came out and headed back to the city center.
Sai Xue followed for a while and then realized something was wrong.
This road looks familiar, yet it's also a little scary.
And so, Sai Xue watched as the two mortal men entered a building. Upon closer inspection, it was none other than the Temple of Strange People.
Sai Xue was so frightened that her feet slipped, and she ran straight towards Ruan Garden.
It's over. That stupid fox Baozhu found a wicked mortal. In fact, he didn't have any nanmu or white jade at all. He even wanted to turn Baozhu into a scarf!
Sai Xue only recovered after they arrived at the entrance of Ruan Garden.
It cleared its throat and, with graceful steps, found the small courtyard where Baozhu lived.
Baozhu was sleeping soundly on her back in her room.
Sai Xue was taken aback and asked in confusion, "Why didn't you reflect on your own actions?"
Hearing Sai Xue's voice, Bao Zhu groggily climbed up from the straw mat, rubbed her eyes, and said, "What do I need to reflect on?"
“Reflect on what you did to me!” Sai Xue said urgently.
"I've been very good to you."
Baozhu got up, stretched, walked into the courtyard, bent down and looked at Saixue in confusion, asking, "What did I do?"
Sai Xue cried out in a panic, circling around in a rage, "You blind, stupid fox! Not only do you not remember the offense you committed against me, but you've also found a wicked mortal who wants to kill you to make a scarf!"
Sai Xue rambled on without any clear beginning or end, leaving Bao Zhu completely confused.
"What are you talking about? How is he bad?"
"I saw it! He followed a Taoist master into the Temple of Strange People!"
In fact, Sai Xue didn't know who the man next to Li Zhi was; she just made it up to make her words more believable.
Baozhu stood there, stunned.
After a long while, she finally came to her senses: "Li Zhi went to the Temple of Strange People because we encountered something strange on Yonglian Mountain. He was very good to me, so stop slandering him!"
"Who's slandering him! I saw it clearly! He's only nice to you because he thinks you're a mortal. If he knew you were a monster, he would definitely have asked a Taoist priest to skin you alive!"
Seeing that Baozhu didn't believe her, Saixue stomped her foot and opened her mouth to let out a hiss at Baozhu.
"Good luck to you."
After saying that, he turned around, jumped onto the roof, and left Ruan Garden.
Sai Xue's unpredictable temper made Bao Zhu somewhat unhappy.
"Why would you say that about Li Zhi? How could he use me as a Weibo post? Sai Xue really is something else."
Baozhu sat sullenly on the threshold, hugging her knees, staring blankly at the fallen leaves in the yard.
She said this, but in her heart she became insecure. The person who loved her and cherished her was Li Zhi from her previous life. All of Baozhu's trust in him came from the long years they had spent together.
But Li Zhi didn't have those memories. To him, she was just a young lady he had known for a short time who had no family.
She was just a suspicious woman.
What would he do if he really discovered that he was a monster?
Baozhu felt a chill run through her body.
As dusk approached, Li Zhi returned carrying some things in his hands.
From a distance, the dejected Baozhu could smell the aroma of food—steamed eight-treasure duck. There was a time when she particularly loved this dish, so Li Zhi searched all over the capital for the chef who was best at making it and invited him to his home, just so she could enjoy it to her heart's content.
However, there are so many delicacies in the world that Baozhu quickly forgot about the Eight Treasure Duck after she had eaten her fill, and she hadn't had it for a long time.
The aroma, though not quite as good as the one Li Zhi had found for her, was enough to make Baozhu's mouth water.
Since her rebirth, she seems to have never eaten anything delicious. The Eight Treasure Duck that Li Zhi brought back instantly soothed Baozhu's heart, which had been filled with sorrow and distress, allowing her to forget her worries.
She excitedly went to greet him: "Young Master Li, is this for me?"
“Of course.” Li Zhi smiled and held the Eight Treasure Duck high, and Baozhu happily spun around.
He avoided Baozhu's hand as she tried to take the food, placed the Eight Treasure Duck on the table, washed his hands first, and then disassembled the duck for the impatient Baozhu.
Li Zhi was meticulous and skillful. He quickly dismantled a tender and sweet duck into a skeleton, picked out the best pieces, and placed them in Baozhu's bowl. He watched with satisfaction as Baozhu devoured the food.
The two quickly devoured the prey that Li Zhi had brought back.
With her stomach full, Baozhu's mind was no longer wandering. She patted her belly contentedly and said lazily, "I didn't go to see my family today. I've been traveling a lot these days, and I figured they couldn't have run away anyway. I just wanted to rest for a while."
Li Zhi gave a noncommittal "hmm," and by the light of the oil lamp, he bent down to mend the tear in his clothes, casually replying, "I did go to look for my classmate today."
Baozhu paused, then asked casually, "Going to see your classmates again? You're together every day, why are you coming back so late?"
Upon hearing this, Li Zhi put down his needlework, turned to look at Baozhu, and smiled, "Miss, do you wish for me to return soon?"
"Of course, Ruan Garden is so big. If it gets dark, I, a weak woman, would be terrified to be alone with it."
"Sorry, I lost track of time talking with my classmates today. I won't stay this late next time," Li Zhi replied naturally.
"I see." Baozhu's eyes flickered. "So, are you still going to see them tomorrow?"
"Maybe."
After Li Zhi finished mending the clothes, he folded them neatly and put them in the trunk. Then he leaned over and looked up at the sky.
It looks like it's going to rain tomorrow.
Are you still going out in the rain?
"Of course not."
Li Zhi blew out the oil lamp, plunging the room into darkness.
He was preoccupied with other things today. When he returned and saw that Baozhu seemed to be in good health, he focused his thoughts on other matters.
They overlooked the jewel in the darkness, who was neither asleep nor with its eyes closed.
As the night passed and dawn broke, the sky remained clear, and it did not rain as Li Zhi had predicted.
Therefore, Li Zhi got up early to take care of everything.
After finishing his work, he hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Baozhu, who had just woken up and was still a little groggy, and said softly, "Since it's not raining, I still need to go into town today."
After Baozhu agreed, Li Zhi left Ruan Garden.
As soon as he left, Baozhu's face fell.
“I know you’re lying to me, but what right do I have to question you?” Baozhu muttered to herself. “You can’t possibly be really going to turn me into a scarf, can you?”
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