A gentle breeze swept by, shaking down the flowering trees in the courtyard. The fallen petals drifted and swayed, landing on the longsword on the ground. To Su Xiaoning, this sight was deeply saddening.
Su Xiaoning sighed almost inaudibly, silently picked up the long sword from the ground, and turned to go to Bai Hua's room to see Feng Jiuming, when a familiar voice suddenly rang in her ears.
"If you're so upset, then go after him! You deliberately drove him away, didn't you? Why bother?"
Su Xiaoning's heart skipped a beat. She looked toward the source of the sound and saw the beggar sitting on the porch. She didn't know how long he had been watching.
She choked back a sob, then stubbornly replied, "It's none of your business."
A hint of panic crept into his voice.
The beggar was right. Another reason she couldn't say it was that she thought it would be better to let Su Qingcai misunderstand. As long as he was completely disappointed in her, he wouldn't be so heartbroken when she left later.
Even if she's in pain, she should learn to let go.
Su Xiaoning lowered her eyes and silently walked towards Bai Hua's room. Passing the beggar, she glanced at him again, then suddenly stopped, pointing to the purse at his waist and asking, "Where did this come from?"
Suddenly, the beggar was wearing a drab gray pouch around her waist. She had seen this pouch before; it was hanging on the old crane's body... Could it be...?
"—Do you know the Crane Elder of Medicine King Valley?"
Su Xiaoning's heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but ask.
The beggar gave a mysterious smile. He neither admitted nor denied it, but instead pointed to the courtyard gate and said, "If you don't chase after him now, he probably won't come back. Aren't you going to apologize to him?"
"...I'm not going. Investigating the case is more important right now." Su Xiaoning pursed her lips and resolutely refused, even coming up with a reason for herself.
The beggar clicked his tongue twice and said slowly, "A few days ago you weren't in a hurry to investigate the case, you were knocking on his door every day, and now you suddenly want to investigate the case?"
“A few days ago is a few days ago, people’s thoughts can change!” Su Xiaoning’s eyebrows twitched, forcing herself to forget about Su Qingcai’s departure just now, and calmly analyzed the case.
“We went to the village last time, but I didn’t look at it carefully enough. There might be some details we missed. Now Qin Yunyun is going to investigate the case with me, and she might send people to sabotage the scene. Why don’t you take me back to take a look? Didn’t we find something wrong with the water source last time?”
As she spoke, she walked out, seemingly in a real hurry to investigate the case.
The beggar stroked his chin and pondered for a while, but didn't say much. He jumped down from the corridor and walked up to Su Xiaoning, leading her towards the village where the incident occurred.
Anyway, she has to figure this out herself; other people can't really persuade her. He should just focus on investigating the case.
...
Su Xiaoning and the beggar walked on the road to the small village, discussing the suspicious points of the case. The more they talked, the more bizarre it seemed, and they wondered what the investigation would uncover.
Su Xiaoning was filled with anxiety, her mind preoccupied with how to solve these problems, when she unexpectedly bumped into someone.
The person next to her was as hard as iron, like a sheet of iron blocking the road, and Su Xiaoning was knocked to the ground. However, since it was her own fault for not watching where she was going, Su Xiaoning rubbed her aching body, looked up and was about to apologize when she found that the person standing in front of her was actually an old woman.
The old woman was dressed in black and wore a hood. Her eyes were grayish-white, as if she were blind. Her empty eyes were fixed on Su Xiaoning, who was lying on the ground, which made people feel uneasy.
"I'm sorry..." Su Xiaoning apologized softly, still feeling uneasy. She hurriedly got up, and the old woman suddenly approached her.
The beggar standing nearby became more alert. He frowned, glanced at the old woman, and pulled Su Xiaoning away. But the old woman reached out and pressed down on Su Xiaoning's shoulder.
"Hehehe..."
A strange laugh rang out, as if it came from a throat. The old woman stared intently into Su Xiaoning's eyes; the gray-white in her eyes was like a whirlpool, drawing Su Xiaoning deep inside.
Su Xiaoning suddenly felt dizzy and froze on the spot. Her body broke free from the beggar and walked towards the old woman.
"Good child, come here." The old woman gently beckoned, her face full of loving smiles, but to the beggar, it made him nauseous.
The beggar's face darkened. Without saying a word, he pulled out a packet of powder from his pocket and splashed it directly onto the old woman's face.
White powder drifted in the air, emitting an indescribable smell. The old woman's expression suddenly changed, and she screamed before disappearing instantly.
A living person vanished into thin air, eerie and terrifying, yet the beggar showed no surprise. He didn't bother to find out where the old woman had gone, and hurriedly grabbed Su Xiaoning's shoulders and shook her vigorously, but Su Xiaoning seemed to still be in a dazed state.
"Squeak, squeak." The mouse squeaked, and the mouse that had been nestled in Su Xiaoning's arms poked its head out, revealing its sharp teeth. Just like last time in the prison, it bit Su Xiaoning hard.
A sharp pain shot through her neck, and Su Xiaoning instinctively covered it, finally regaining her senses.
She stood there blankly, her head throbbing as if pricked by needles whenever she thought about what had just happened.
"What... happened just now?"
"Sigh." The beggar sighed, his expression filled with worry.
"Don't ask anymore. Telling you won't solve anything. It seems someone knows you're investigating this case and is trying to get you. I can handle the village investigation by myself. It's too dangerous for you to come with me. You should go back."
“That won’t do! His Majesty ordered Qin Yunyun and me to investigate this case, and I can’t hand it all over to someone else.”
Without even thinking, Su Xiaoning denied it outright.
The beggar stopped talking and simply pulled her back, seemingly determined not to let her get involved in the matter.
"Let me go, I'm not going back!" Su Xiaoning struggled desperately and managed to shake off the beggar's hand.
Seeing the beggar's gloomy expression, she pleaded, "I promise I'll stay by your side and not wander off. Please let me go with you to investigate the village, okay? I have my own responsibilities to bear, and I don't want to keep running away."
After all, this was something she had promised herself, and even if there were mountains of knives and seas of fire ahead, she was determined to brave them. Besides, she didn't know how to face Su Qingcai when she returned, so she might as well use investigating the case to numb herself.
Seeing Su Xiaoning's serious expression, the beggar frowned and said in a deep voice, "If anything happens to you, I won't take responsibility."
"I'll take responsibility for my own affairs!" Su Xiaoning patted her chest and assured him.
A hint of helplessness flickered in the beggar's eyes. He said nothing more and continued walking towards the small village. Su Xiaoning quickly followed, walking closely behind him.
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