Halfway through the conversation, Huan'er suddenly noticed a section of grass by the door that had been mostly gnawed by some animal. She went over and parted the grass for a closer look, then exclaimed in surprise, "Look! There are hoof prints in this grass! There are no villagers in Peach Blossom Village who keep horses! ...Young Master Lu, where is your horse?"
“These hoofprints weren’t left by my horse. My horse is grazing in the peach grove at the foot of the mountain!” Lu Tianlin said confidently as he strode over to take a look.
"Then whose horse left this hoofprint? It certainly wasn't Wang Er's. He's too lazy to even support himself, so how could he possibly own a horse? He's also sick; he couldn't possibly have taken Miss Yi anywhere. So where did Wang Er go? Where did Miss Yi go? And what's the deal with this box of jewels?"
As soon as Huan'er said this, the three of them fell silent, and the surroundings became quiet.
Suddenly, the little girl's legs seemed to be getting tired from standing for so long, and she wanted to find a place to sit down and rest.
So she looked around and saw a pile of unused firewood in a corner, and then limped over to it.
Just as they were about to sit down, they seemed to have discovered something by the pile of firewood and hurriedly said, "Look, there are some bloodstains and blood-soaked cloths here, as well as an empty wine jar."
Lu Tianlin strode over and examined it closely. He picked up the wine bottle and brought it to his nose to smell it. Then, his deep eyes suddenly lifted, and he stared at Huan'er for a moment before speaking seriously to her. "Now it seems there's only one possibility: the owner of this horse is indeed not from Peach Blossom Village, but a seriously injured outsider who happened to meet Wang Er after his injury and was taken by Wang Er to this stone cave he had just carved to recuperate..."
Before he could finish speaking, Huan'er interrupted him, asking with a hint of disapproval, "Why is Young Master Lu so certain that the bloodstains belong to that outsider, and not to Wang Er who accidentally injured himself while digging the hole?"
Lu Tianlin smiled, picked up the empty wine jar, and said, "The reason I say this is precisely because of this jar of wine."
"Wang Er also likes to drink, I don't know how much wine he's cheated me out of!" Huan'er said unhappily.
Lu Tianlin shook his head and smiled faintly, "But this jar of wine is no ordinary wine. It is the finest Daughter's Red wine brewed by the most famous Zuixianfang in the south of the city, reserved only for high-ranking officials and nobles. I wonder if this wine is sold in a small village like Peach Blossom Village?"
Upon hearing this, Huan'er was instantly speechless and had no further objections. But then she changed her mind and said, "Even if what Young Master Lu said is correct, what does this jar of wine have to do with Miss Yi?"
Lu Tianlin sighed, composed himself, and said quietly, "Of course there's a connection. All these signs indicate that this box of jewels should have belonged to the injured stranger. Because Wang Er saved his life, he offered this large sum of money as a reward. Judging from the value of the jewels, the man's injuries must have been severe; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so generous. However, Wang Er refused his gift, so the stranger had no choice but to place the jewels in such an inconspicuous spot. I'm afraid that if we hadn't searched carefully, only Wang Er would have known about them." "It was a place I knew. After Wang Er left, the stranger, severely injured and caught in a heavy rain in the mountains, was stranded there to rest. Perhaps while out searching for food, he happened to encounter Miss Yi, who had fallen unconscious down the slope from the western mountain. He rescued her and brought her here to take shelter from the rain. When Miss Yi awoke, she was still shaken and unfamiliar with everything in the village, so she forgot its name and couldn't go home. Her rescuer couldn't leave her alone in this deep mountain forest, so he took her with him."
"Then why didn't Uncle Wang take that stranger back to his home in the village to recover from his injuries?" Huan'er was still carefully analyzing and digesting what he had said when the little girl asked in bewilderment.
"Perhaps... his identity is special, and it's inconvenient for him to reveal it to others!" Lu Tianlin stared thoughtfully at the heavy jewelry box in his hand, lost in thought as he muttered to himself.
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly leaped up and put the box back in its original place.
"So, it seems that only by finding Wang Er can we follow the clues to find that outsider and then find Miss Yi," Huan'er said after a long period of contemplation.
"But where did Wang Er go?" Wang Er's footprints reached the entrance of the cave, as if he had never entered the cave at all, and then disappeared without a trace. Huan'er became saddened once again.
The three of them pondered for a long time before Lu Tianlin suddenly spoke up, saying, "Wang Er must have learned that the villagers had not yet found any trace of Miss Yi, so he thought of this only stone cave that could provide shelter from the wind and rain, and also thought that there was still that outsider in the mountains. He would definitely come out of the cave to find food, and was the most likely person to encounter Miss Yi, so he hurriedly came up the mountain. In other words, Wang Er must know something about that outsider, and that's why he went to find him."
"But where did that stranger go? Wang Er is so weak, how could he possibly travel such a long distance?" Huan'er asked worriedly.
After a moment's pause, Lu Tianlin seemed to have made up his mind. He then instructed the two women, "Miss Huan'er, Xiao Ni's foot is injured, and she can no longer continue. So for now, you'll have to take her back to recuperate. Leave the rest of the search for Miss Yi and Wang Er to me. Trust me, I will definitely find them."
Before she could finish speaking, Huan'er said excitedly and resolutely, "No, I want to go with you to find Miss Yi."
Seeing this, the little girl chimed in, "My foot is fine, Young Master Lu, why don't you let Sister Huan'er accompany you to find Miss Yi?"
“But what if Wang Er really finds Miss Yi and goes home before me? After all, he’s the only one who has seen that outsider!” Lu Tianlin said impatiently, as if he was in a hurry to leave.
Seeing the two women pursing their lips and looking troubled, Lu Tianlin silently placed his hands on their shoulders and said softly, "Listen to me, you two should go back and wait for news. In any case, we now know that Miss Yi is alive and well, which is the best news right now, isn't it?!"
Upon hearing this, Huan'er finally nodded gently to show her compromise, no longer insisting or causing any more trouble.
By the time Lu Tianlin escorted the two women to the village entrance, the moon was already high in the sky, and the village was completely silent.
Lu Tianlin first carried Huan'er off the horse, and then carried the little girl down.
As soon as her feet touched the ground, Lu Tianlin pulled her aside and the two whispered to each other for a long time, completely disregarding Huan'er's feelings.
Just as he finished explaining everything, stepped onto his horse, and was about to turn back and continue his journey, he suddenly seemed to remember something. He looked at Huan'er's eyes, which were filled with disappointment, and asked her, "By the way, Miss Huan'er, I would like to ask why you call Miss Yi 'Ruoxi'? Who gave her this name?"
Huan'er seemed to come alive again upon hearing this and replied, "I'm not entirely sure about that either. When the old lady first saw her, it seemed as if she had known Miss Yi for a long time and took a liking to her. She asked her if she remembered that her name was Ruoxi. Because Miss Yi had amnesia and forgot her name, and I thought the name the old lady mentioned was good, I called her Ruoxi."
Upon hearing this, Lu Tianlin didn't think too much about it, but he had a vague and inexplicable feeling. Perhaps he still didn't have a clue about the connection between everything he had encountered and experienced here.
All of this was very strange, but he just couldn't figure it out, so he could only say goodbye: "Take care, ladies, until we meet again!"
"Take care, Young Master Lu! I entrust Miss Yi to you!" Huan'er frowned, bowed, and pleaded.
Lu Tianlin nodded, then raised his whip and shouted "Giddy up!" before galloping away.
Watching his dashing figure disappear into the darkness, Huan'er tentatively asked the little girl after a long while, "Little girl, what did Young Master Lu say to you just now?"
Upon hearing this, the young girl was momentarily stunned and didn't react. After a moment of surprise, she exclaimed, "Huh? Oh... Young Master Lu asked me if the old lady's ancestors were natives who had lived in Peach Blossom Village for a long time?"
"So what did you answer her?" Huan'er asked anxiously, putting her hand on the little girl's shoulder.
"I... of course I'm telling the truth! The old lady was brought to our village by a bald monk eight years ago! Young Master Lu is a good person, how could we deceive him?" the girl stammered.
"Little girl! What nonsense are you spouting to him?!" Huan'er stomped her feet several times in anger upon hearing this.
Huan'er knew that her master was deliberately hiding something from the man who had just left, and she also knew that her words were half true and half false. Little did she know that the little girl was actually a very honest person.
As soon as he finished speaking, he quickly turned around and walked back home.
The little girl, confused, limped after her, calling out, "Sister Huan'er, Sister Huan'er, am I mistaken? But I clearly remember that the old lady came to our village eight years ago! Sister Huan'er, wait for me! In this state, you absolutely mustn't tell my mother that I went to Dongshan! Otherwise, she'll definitely break my legs. Sister Huan'er, did you hear me?"
"You'd better have your mother beat that loose mouth of yours to a pulp, so you'll never be able to talk nonsense again," Huan'er said angrily as she walked away.
"Sister Huan'er, how could you be so cruel to me? Be careful, next time I see Young Master Lu, I'll tell him you're a viper, a heartless woman..." The little girl limped after her, not forgetting to tease her.
Upon hearing this, Huan'er indeed stopped and turned around, put her hands on her hips, and glared at her angrily, saying, "Little girl, do you believe that if you don't shut up, I'll tear your lark's beak to shreds right now?"
The young girl was startled by the sudden aura of the young woman's abrupt turn and her threatening words. She froze on the spot, covering her mouth tightly, no longer daring to make a sound.
Under the quiet night sky, Lu Tianlin sped along his journey to the south of the city to search for someone, guided by the bright moonlight. He muttered to himself, "Eight years ago? Who exactly is she?"
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