Chapter 48: Tacit Understanding
On the Sixian Terrace, the heroes were in an uproar.
Taoist Yuanyi was speechless and stood there in a daze.
Hua Guimu laughed strangely, "Oh my goodness, could it be that I, the Taoist priest, prepared two boxes for my beautiful wife and moved the wrong one? Why don't you hurry up and bring another one? If you delay any longer, those shocking accusations I just made will become a joke!"
Everyone burst into laughter, and obviously lost interest in the "prince's corpse", and only talked about the strange story of the beauty hidden in the red box.
At this moment, Yun Yuan slowly "woke up" and sobbed about being kidnapped on the way. With tears in her eyes, she suddenly seemed to understand: "Could it be... that the Holy Son of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect saved this servant?"
Although the voice was delicate and subtle, it was heard by many on the stage. Someone in the crowd shouted, "Hey, being a Five Pecks of Rice believer isn't so bad, with such good fortune!" This immediately caused another round of laughter.
Feng Yanyuan was slightly stunned when he heard this. As they exchanged glances, he suddenly understood what she meant - don't get entangled, it's better to get out of it as soon as possible.
Indeed, although Yuan Yibai was unable to defend himself, he had no better evidence. Furthermore, after this incident, the fake Yue Nancang had plenty of reasons to refuse action. Furthermore, the situation King Changshan and his entourage were in was still unknown—the immediate plan was to find those two!
Yuan Yi was anxiously ordering his disciples to search, but they couldn't find the "corpse" anywhere. The old Taoist priest was stunned for a moment: "I just saw it with my own eyes, how could this be? Could someone have replaced it with something else? Master Feng San, you..."
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by some busybodies in the audience.
"Alright! You've got a big mouth anyway, so just say whatever you want to say, and we're all ears!"
Poor old Taoist Yuan Yi, his face was red and he was speechless.
Feng Yanyuan suddenly spoke in a clear voice, "The box has been opened, and the person has been examined..." He used his strength to transmit his voice, and his words were soft, but they stilled the clamor on the stage. After everyone held their breath, he looked around and said, "Everyone can testify. I wonder if this junior has any guilt to confess?"
The place was silent, and everyone looked at Yuan Yi.
"If there is no need for the time being, let me say goodbye." Feng Yanyuan lowered his head and looked at the person in his arms, "She is injured and needs to go to the city for medical treatment." After saying this, he did not wait for everyone to react, hugged Yun Yuan tightly, and jumped off the platform.
The sound of wind whistled past her ears. Yun Yuan snuggled in his arms, thinking about how to explain to him later.
When the masked figure descended from the sky and carried away the body, she immediately followed him - why bother trying so hard to recapture a silent abandoned pawn? He must have some other purpose for it!
But the man was indeed too fast. In order to avoid being discovered, she dodged and almost lost him. Fortunately, when she was close to Sixiantai, she met the wandering owl from Yuzhou - Gu Yue.
You Xiao had been keeping an eye on Yuan Yi and the fake Yue Nancang's tent. They saw the masked man sneakily throw the person in front of Yuan Yi's tent and then sneak away.
"Judging from the man's leg skills, he must be the Night Wanderer from the Ghost Head Gang," Gu Yue told her. "The lightness skills of these people are unique in the martial arts world."
It's the Guitou Gang again. Yun Yuan frowned. This bounty-based gang is truly the perfect fig leaf for all factions.
In fact, the old Taoist priest had not lied. The Five Pecks of Rice Sect had indeed only discovered the body and then panicked and went looking for Yuan Yi and Yue Nancang.
Everyone in the martial arts world knew that the Feng family was adept at using strange poisons, but they had never found any evidence. Yuan Yi couldn't identify the poison, but he recognized the traces of palm wind. With "Yue Nancang" adding fuel to the fire, it was reasonable for him to suspect the previously unknown Feng Yanyuan.
In reality, although Master Yuanyi didn't explicitly mention Feng Yanhao, he probably considered the two brothers to be one. It was just that it was more convenient to kill Feng Yanyuan at the moment.
The more he thought about it, the more doubts Yun Yuan had in his heart.
According to Gu Yue's observation, the Five Pecks of Rice Sect's arrival seemed to be a special trip to celebrate the birthday. Although the members were numerous, they were disorganized and excited, and even the patrols were careless - the Youxiao people easily blended in, without anyone being alert.
It happened that Feng Yanyuan was publicly challenging "Yue Nancang," and the cheers from the martial arts arena were deafening. The two young disciples who stayed behind at the tent were eager to join in the fun. At this moment, a "fellow disciple" came over and encouraged them with a smile. They happily ran to the front to watch.
When You Xiao carried the corpse away, Yun Yuan stared at the mahogany box in a daze.
The box was covered in brocade, meticulously crafted to adhere to the noble custom. Clearly, they had mistaken him for a prince. Coupled with You Xiao's intelligence, she couldn't help but wonder: Could it be... that Master Yuanyi wasn't aware of this?
Gu Yue's words were still ringing in his ears: "When Feng Yanyuan was trapped, it was Feng Die who came to his aid. He first delivered the message to Luo Jiangping, and then dealt with those assassins who blew poison mist. He even prepared horses. There was no need for You Xiao to intervene at all."
Let Luo Jiangping go to rescue Feng Yanyuan... What is Feng Yanhao's plan... What is his position?
It is really hard to distinguish friend from foe in this game. If you are not careful, you might be used as a knife.
Just at this moment, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the tent. She could not escape and had nowhere to hide. She suddenly had an idea and turned around and got into the empty wooden box - just to send a message to Feng Yanyuan: The situation is unclear, so don't add fuel to the fire.
The wandering owl pretending to be a believer also understood immediately and closed the lid of the box quietly.
Feng Yanyuan carried her as he sped along, the clamor fading behind him. No one dared to pursue him. With the might of that palm strike, no one present, save Yue Nancang, could withstand it. Even this "senior" remained motionless throughout, so how could anyone else risk embarrassing themselves?
Seeing no one around, Yun Yuan immediately spun around and landed on the ground. She glanced up and saw Feng Yanyuan's face, which had shifted from stunned to smiling, and she calmed herself down again—she was ready for his questions. Since she couldn't say anything with You Xiao's help, she might as well pick out what she could say and string it all together...
"Are King Changshan and Lord Luo City safe?" Feng Yanyuan asked.
Yun Yuan hadn't expected him to ask that. She was startled, then suddenly realized—he still didn't know how the "corpse" had been stolen, and his biggest concern at the moment was naturally the safety of the two people. She briefly recounted the chaotic situation.
"That's even stranger." Feng Yanyuan frowned slightly, "This group of people took the body away, and you followed them..." He looked at Yun Yuan, "Whether it's to find the body or you, the prince and City Lord Luo should have returned to Sixiantai to look for you. Why haven't you appeared yet?" Thinking of this, he was suddenly shocked, "These people are trying to frame me, they will definitely not let the prince show up, could it be..."
"My lord, that's what you're worried about, but I suspect..." Yun Yuan paused, then said with certainty, "You two won't be in danger. I'm afraid you're just trapped."
Feng Yanyuan was stunned.
"These people have excellent agility and lightness skills, but their martial arts skills are mediocre. They used treacherous tactics to seize people in the valley because they are no match for City Lord Luo and the prince."
Feng Yanyuan nodded thoughtfully.
"Besides," Yun Yuan suddenly smiled, "with your skill, you naturally disdain petty tricks. But someone like me, with my limited martial arts skills, always seeks to take advantage of the situation." She glanced at the dense trees around her. "Even a single blade of grass or tree on Bagong Mountain, leaving behind a few specious traces, would be enough to keep two masters busy for most of the day. Why risk our lives?"
Feng Yanyuan noticed the expression in her eyes and chuckled softly, "These people are quite clever, but they don't realize there's a female Zhuge Liang hiding by my side." He suddenly leaned in closer and said, "Then Yuan'er, why don't you tell me where you would lead them if it were you?"
Yun Yuan's eyelashes trembled in shock at his sudden approach. "It must be... a place that looks suitable for hiding people, but is actually very easy to get lost. This is the only way to deceive the two masters and prevent them from escaping for a while."
"Stone Forest!" A gleam of light flashed in Feng Yanyuan's eyes.
Yun Yuan nodded. "From a distance, that place looks like a forest of stone pillars, strange and magnificent. But once you go deeper, the passages are as narrow as intestines, the stone pillars are all the same, the wind is like ghosts howling, and the echoes are everywhere. Add a little fog, and no matter how powerful your martial arts are, once you enter, you won't be able to get out for an hour or two. It's easy to hide people, but it's even easier to hide corpses."
When the two arrived at the outskirts of the stone forest, the sun had already set.
The jagged rocks cast a sinister shadow in the fading light, like a dormant beast. If we rashly enter now, we're afraid we'll encounter even more trouble once night falls.
"Sound transmission won't work either," Yun Yuan frowned. "The echoes off the stone walls will only distract those in the formation."
Feng Yanyuan broke off a dead branch beside him and said, "Then show them a clear path."
In tacit agreement, the two men piled up dead branches and leaves at the exit of the stone forest. With a flick of the tinderbox, the dancing flames instantly devoured the dry branches and leaves.
The blazing fire and the setting sun in the sky complemented each other, and a column of green smoke rose straight into the twilight sky.
They stood quietly beside the fire, their robes rippling slightly in the heat. As the last rays of sunset sank behind the mountain ridge, the sound of rolling gravel finally came from the depths of the stone forest—several dark figures stumbled toward the fire, casting long shadows on the jagged path.
The group of people finally appeared in front of them, all of them were covered in dust and their clothes were tattered.
Luo Jiangping smiled bitterly and shook his head: "I was really led by the nose all the way. When I broke into the depths of the stone forest, I realized that I had fallen into a trap again." There were a few bloodstains on the torn cuffs of his sleeves, and it was obvious that he had suffered a lot.
"How is it on the Sixian Terrace?" asked King Changshan.
Feng Yanyuan couldn't help but sigh when he heard this.
The farce at Sixiantai and the powerful skills of the fake Yue Nancang, these chaotic phenomena were spoken out along with the night wind, and formed heavy dark clouds in the hearts of several people.
The night was as dark as ink, and the howling of wolves could be heard faintly from the deep mountains and forests.
Luo Jiangping sighed repeatedly, then suddenly exclaimed in alarm, "Not good! The disciples in the sect are still unaware of this. We can't delay any longer. Who knows what might happen in the dead of night. Luo needs to go back immediately to warn the public."
After he finished speaking, he bowed and said goodbye, then rode off into the night.
King Changshan looked gloomily at the bound guard—his eyes were dull, like a walking corpse. He gritted his teeth and said bitterly, "Let's go back to Shouchun."
The King of Changshan whipped his horse and rode away, followed by his personal guards.
Feng Yanyuan was about to urge his horse to catch up, but he found that Yun Yuan was still standing still, and the moonlight cast a layer of silver light on her thin figure.
"What are you standing there for?" He turned his horse, its hooves clattering against the gravel. As he approached, his voice softened unconsciously, "Are you tired?"
"Sir, don't you have anything to ask me?"
When he recounted the Sixiantai farce just now, he had only mentioned her briefly—"Fortunately, the Five Pecks of Rice Sect's patrols were lax, and Yuan'er used a little trick to replace the original with the fake."
This was her own explanation, albeit with a few convincing details. But he had come to this conclusion without questioning her, and that had inexplicably alarmed her.
Feng Yanyuan suddenly leaned forward, a smile on his face: "Yuan'er, have you thought of something else to say?"
She looked away and said softly, "No...I didn't expect to say it."
If he didn't doubt her, why would she bother to lie? To avoid making mistakes.
Feng Yanyuan stood up straight. "No problem." His smile deepened. "I'll tell you when you think of it."
Yun Yuan looked at him in astonishment - his face was obscured by the night and could not be seen clearly, only his eyes reflected the fragmented moonlight.
"What are you talking about! Hurry up and follow me!" The King of Changshan's scolding broke through the air, startling several birds roosting in the forest.
Feng Yanyuan leaned forward, wrapped his slender fingers around the reins in Yun Yuan's hand, and with a flick of his wrist, the breath of the two horses intertwined.
"Let's go." He said softly.
The two horses trotted slowly, their manes touching each other.
The moonlight stretched their shadows very long, overlapping them, and they were rolled up by the dead leaves on the roadside and scattered into the depths of the night.
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