Chapter 59: Learning the Truth
When Xiao Sui was cooking for Ning Qi, she called Zhi Zhi over.
Zhizhi came in excitedly, "You and Young Master Xiao have made up, haven't you?"
Upon seeing the black, oily leather whip in her hand, his smile froze. "Princess, what have I done wrong?"
"No." Ning Qi rested her chin on her hand. "Come closer to me."
Zhizhi swallowed hard. "Are you going to hit me?"
Ning Qi raised an eyebrow. "Roll up your sleeves."
Zhizhi pouted, looking like she was about to cry, and rolled up her sleeves to reveal her fair arms.
Ning Qi raised her small leather whip.
Zhizhi turned her head away in fear, only to hear a "smack." She turned her head back in surprise, "Hey, it doesn't hurt."
Only a few red marks were left on the skin, not much harder than scratching an itch.
“Right!” Ning Xi tried it on herself again. “It doesn’t hurt at all, and it doesn’t swell up. Why did Xiao Sui react so strongly?”
Zhizhi's eyes widened. "You mean you used this on Young Master Xiao?"
“Yeah, what else?” Ning Xi leaned closer and whispered, “Is it really not appropriate?”
Zhizhi quickly shook her head, forcing a smile, "Perhaps it's because Young Master Xiao's skin is more sensitive."
Ning Qi stared at her suspiciously, then sat up from her chair. "No, I have to investigate!"
Zhizhi's face scrunched up. "It's alright, Young Master Xiao is very resilient, you don't need to worry about it."
Ning Xi glanced at her and corrected her, "I care about him a lot."
Zhizhi paused for a moment, then lowered her head and remained silent.
After Ning Qi finished breakfast, she told Xiao Sui that she was going out and that he didn't need to come with her.
She took Qianyu and Aying with her and headed straight for Yandu.
“According to what you said, the gift he prepared for me in Yandu was made by an embroidery workshop, so he most likely went there to make such an exquisite doll,” Ning Qi said to Qian Yu. “To the Brocade Embroidery Workshop.”
Qianyu nodded, lifted the curtain and told Aying their destination, then whispered, "You still won't tell Princess Xiao Sui where he went?"
Aying pursed her lips, revealing an uneasy expression, her eyes filled with hesitation, and finally shook her head.
Qianyu sighed and returned to the carriage.
Ning Xi overheard their conversation and found it strange. A Ying had always been loyal and had a rather distant relationship with Xiao Sui. What was she hiding for him?
The carriage soon arrived outside Jinxiufang. Qianyu helped Ningqi out of the carriage. As soon as they entered, a young embroiderer came to greet them, "What kind of embroidery would you like to buy? I can introduce some to you."
Ning Xi took out the doll from her arms and asked, "Is this from here?"
The embroiderer examined it and said, "The embroidery is clearly not the right style, but this fabric is indeed only available in our workshop."
It seemed Xiao Sui must have been here before. She asked, "Have you seen a man wearing an eye patch?"
"I'll go ask for you," the embroiderer said.
A moment later, the embroiderer from before came out, followed by a slightly older embroiderer. The younger embroiderer said, "This is our embroiderer Wang. She said she saw a man wearing an eye patch."
Upon seeing what she held in her hand, Wang Xiushi immediately understood and said, "You're asking about Young Master Xiao, aren't you? He did come here and asked me how to sew dolls."
Ning Xi's eyes lit up immediately after finding the right place. "Was he here the past two days?"
Wang Xiushi replied, "He's not here."
"How could that be? Could it be that Young Master Xiao lied to you?" Qianyu asked, frowning.
Ning Qi's heart sank; he was indeed hiding something from her.
"Did Young Master Xiao tell you he's been here the whole time?" Wang Xiushi smiled. "We don't allow men to enter here. He gave me a talisman, something called a communication talisman. He's been doing needlework in the restaurant across the street."
As she spoke, Wang Xiushi took out a talisman and handed it to them. "I rarely see men making dolls, especially blind men. But seeing the finished product, I can say he did a very good job."
What she held in her hand was indeed a communication talisman.
"Has he been coming to see you frequently lately?" Qianyu asked.
Wang Xiushi nodded, "Of course, this doll looks simple, but it is actually very complicated to make. Young Master Xiao also carefully selected spices to put in it, so it must have taken him more time than the average person to complete it."
"That's good." Ning Qi breathed a sigh of relief, clutching the doll tightly in her hands, inhaling the faint fragrance emanating from it.
She had been worried that Xiao Sui had done something dangerous behind her back, but it seems she had been worrying unnecessarily.
With a weight lifted from her heart, Ning Qi returned to her courtyard with a sense of relief, and slept much more soundly that night.
Late at night, Zhizhi was guarding the door. When she saw Xiao Sui come out, she whispered, "I specially switched shifts with Sister Qianyu, but she seems to be suspicious."
“You don’t need to switch with her anymore. I’ll go out the window,” Xiao Sui said.
Zhizhi nodded. "Still haven't found it?"
"No."
"Could it be that there isn't one at all...?"
Xiao Sui interrupted her quickly and urgently, "Impossible, the Ten Thousand Demon Cave covers a vast area, it's just that I haven't found it yet."
Zhizhi dared not say more. She watched him leave, then sighed deeply. She still couldn't find him and wondered how much longer she could keep it from the princess.
——
"I need ointment." On a stormy morning, the door of the Nanfeng Pavilion owner was knocked on again.
He put on his thickest coat, picked up a candle, and came out through gritted teeth. He knew who it was even with his eyes closed. "Could you come at another time? You don't need to rest, but I do!"
But when he looked closely, he was shocked. Xiao Sui's face was deathly pale, and he smelled strongly of blood. There were no visible external injuries, but there were several tears in his black clothes, as if they had been torn by a wild beast.
"Where have you been? Hunting tigers?"
"I want the ointment," Xiao Sui repeated in a hoarse voice.
The shopkeeper clicked his tongue, turned around, picked up the ointment to cover the scar, and handed him a box of wound ointment. "Treat the wound, just cover it up."
Xiao Sui didn't say anything, but took the medicine to cover the scars and turned to leave.
But after taking only a few steps, he suddenly collapsed in the snow.
The boss simply slammed the door shut. "This reckless kid, let him freeze to death!"
But the next moment, he opened the door again, sighed, and thought that he looked pitiful, so he should at least put him inside.
He called a guard and had him throw Xiao Sui into the house. The guard exclaimed as soon as he touched Xiao Sui, "Boss, he has a high fever, he's burning hot."
The shop owner touched his forehead and was startled. This person had such a high fever; had he gone mad? Would his owner have to pay compensation?
"Quickly, fetch a doctor," he ordered, then remembered that there were communication talismans in the box of props he had given to Master Xiao Sui before, and wondered if he could still make contact.
He glanced at Xiao Sui lying on the bed, then got up to find the communication talisman.
Chaos reigned in the princess's courtyard as well. As soon as Ning Qi woke up, she found that Xiao Sui was not in the room. She immediately searched the entire courtyard but could not find him. She then summoned her maids and guards, and even A Yu, who usually hid in the backyard, was called to her room.
Aying knelt in the middle, head bowed, and said, "I really don't know where Young Master Xiao went."
Qianyu said, "It was my fault. I was on night watch last night but didn't notice that Young Master Xiao went out."
"Where is everyone else? Didn't you hear anything?" Ning Xi looked around, and everyone was shaking their heads.
She was the person closest to Xiao Sui, yet she didn't know him, let alone anyone else.
Ning Qi coughed anxiously.
Qianyu patted her back to help, "Princess, don't worry, Young Master Xiao will definitely come back."
Ning Xi took a sip of hot tea, a growing unease creeping into her heart. She hadn't realized how much she cared about Xiao Sui.
"Aying, go to Yandu to look for them. Ashen, search Huaguang Sect." She instructed, "Tell me any news immediately."
The two accepted the order and left.
Yan Chongyan arrived at Ningxi at the usual time, just in time to brush past Aying and Ashen who were leaving in a hurry.
Without asking any further questions, he proudly took out an exquisite storage bag and placed it on the table next to Ning Qi. "I've collected all one hundred demon cores."
Ning Qi glanced at it with little interest. "Okay, thank you."
Yan Chongyan raised an eyebrow, "That's it?"
"That's it." Ning Qi stood up and pushed him away. "Excuse me, I'm a little busy right now. Could you please leave?"
"I found something that could save your life, and this is how you treat me?" Yan Chongyan said, finding it hard to accept.
Ning Qi was about to say something when she saw Qian Yu touch her storage bag and take out a communication talisman with unfamiliar runes. The talisman was glowing.
“This is the one we got from Nanfeng Pavilion…” she channeled her spiritual energy into it.
A voice came from the other end quickly, "Miss, we've finally got in touch with you. I'm the owner of Nanfeng Pavilion. I don't know if you remember me, but never mind. Please come and collect the body of your servant."
"What nonsense is he talking about?" Ning Qi asked, her face grim.
Qianyu shook her head in confusion.
"Let's go to Nanfeng Pavilion!" Ning Qi put on her coat.
Yan Chongyan stopped her, saying, "That kind of place is filthy and chaotic, and your servants have done some dirty things. You don't need to go there yourself."
Anger blazed in Ning Qi's eyes as she gritted her teeth and said, "Let go."
Yan Chongyan was stunned and unconsciously let go of her hand.
Ning Qi led Qian Yu through the teleportation array and quickly arrived in Yandu, entering the Nanfeng Pavilion.
The owner seemed to have been waiting for her for a long time, and led her to an ordinary room. As soon as she entered the room, she smelled a strong herbal scent.
Xiao Sui lay silently on the bed. Ning Qi lifted the blanket and saw his chest wrapped in gauze.
The shopkeeper said, "I just had a doctor examine him. He was scratched on the chest by a monster, the wound is inflamed, he has a persistent high fever, and his old injury has flared up. His condition is really critical, so I had to bother you."
"How could he have been scratched by a monster?" Ning Qi asked in surprise.
"You didn't know?" The shopkeeper was somewhat surprised. "He's been injured every day for the past two months, and he comes to me every few days asking for ointment to cover his scars. He even tried using a scab removal solution once before, and he just fainted. I thought it was you..."
"How is that possible?" Ning Xi interrupted him, utterly shocked. "Why is he injured every day?"
The boss was startled by her expression and shook his head. "I don't know."
Ning Qi closed her eyes and said to Qian Yu, "Go find Doctor Chu and bring A Ying to me."
The boss tactfully left the room.
Aying arrived very quickly. He had been lingering near Nanfeng Pavilion and guessed that Xiao Sui should be inside, but he received the princess's message talisman before he even entered.
"I want to know why he was injured." The princess's voice was authoritative, and she seemed genuinely angry.
Aying was so frightened that she knelt on the ground, "I...I promised Young Master Xiao that I wouldn't tell."
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll have no choice but to kick you out,” Ning Qi said slowly.
Aying knew this was no joke. Now that the princess had discovered Xiao Sui's injury, it was impossible to hide it any longer. He closed his eyes, steeled his resolve, and said, "Princess, Young Master Xiao was looking for life-saving medicinal herbs for you."
"Didn't I ask Yan Chongyan to look for it?" Ning Qi asked, her brows furrowed.
"Actually..." Ah Ying stammered, "those hundred demon cores were a fake prescription."
"What do you mean?" Ning Qi asked sharply.
Aying trembled in fright, "The real prescription requires a five-petaled Netherworld Flower, which can only be found in the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons. Young Master Xiao has been repeatedly going in and out of there recently, which is why he has suffered so many injuries..."
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