Chapter 71: Suspicious Signs
Before Su Mengzhen transferred Shaman back to the tower, she was the head steward in this area, and thus had many dealings with Ren Ci. Furthermore, since the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Tower and the Beggar Clan had been on good terms since Su Zhemu's generation, and Ren Ci was an upright and gentle person who often took care of her, she and Ren Ci had quite a good relationship, and their interactions were always pleasant.
Their camaraderie was evident from the moment they met. Seeing her among the assembled people, Ren Ci relaxed considerably. He hadn't expected the visitor to be Su Mengzhen's new confidant. The Beggars' Sect disciples were scattered throughout the martial world, their intelligence networks extremely efficient. He knew that meeting this person was practically the same as meeting Su Mengzhen. Only the presence of his acquaintance, Sha Man, put his mind at ease. As long as matters were discussed in the martial world, and acquaintances didn't need to avoid suspicion, the matter was almost certainly going to succeed.
In an instant, a thousand emotions surged within him. Although she was the birthday girl, Ren Ci still had to stand up to greet her and greet Xie Huailing with proper courtesy: "It is truly an honor for our gang to have Miss Xie come to celebrate my birthday. Please have a seat."
Xie Huailing glanced up, seemingly casually surveying Ren Ci. He was just as Sha Man had described, extremely amiable, perhaps the kind of quintessential chivalrous hero that Su Mengzhen would appreciate. Having gotten a sense of him, she replied, "Greetings, Chief Ren. On behalf of my brother, I wish you boundless happiness and all your wishes fulfilled. I present you with a snow scene painting; I hope you won't find it offensive."
After speaking, she sat down. Shaman folded her umbrella, turned around, and stood behind Xie Huailing, facing Ren Ci directly. Shaman then conducted the subsequent greetings and conversation. Xie Huailing was uninterested and didn't want to waste her time. Her assessment of the Beggars' Sect was that its allegiance to the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion was a foregone conclusion, and it wasn't worth her attention. She would simply listen and speak only when necessary.
Ren Ci smiled softly, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothing out slightly as he smiled, giving him an air of elderly refinement. He first caught up with Sha Man, and with Xie Huailing present, there was no need for restraint; they chatted amicably about topics from the banquet. Sha Man, wanting to create a more comfortable atmosphere, followed Ren Ci's lead, saying that although they hadn't seen each other for over half a year, they hadn't grown distant, and their conversation was quite pleasant.
Madam Ren would occasionally chime in with a few words. She was a woman whose face was covered by a black veil, and she was also an acquaintance of Yeshaman. Xie Huailing glanced at her intentionally or unintentionally while sipping tea. He noticed that she had a slender figure and was indeed a beautiful woman, but she did not show off her appearance and always covered her face with her hands when she made a move.
They talked about how the event was much grander than in previous years. Ren Ci, worried that Sha Man might not understand, kindly told her, "It was Ling'er's idea. He said we should make it even more lively. I thought we should hand over some of the gang's affairs to him now, so I simply let him take charge of the banquet."
Ling'er was referring to Ren Ci's adopted son, Nangong Ling, who was also a semi-acquaintance of Shaman: "So it was all arranged by the young master. No wonder he said it was different from before, with many more guests."
When his son was mentioned, Ren Ci was both worried and concerned. He continued, "This is also his ability. Although he sent out many more invitations, they were all accepted. Even the Lord of Baiyun City, who usually doesn't associate with the Beggars' Sect, came. Although he has become more impetuous in recent years, it's a good thing that he has made progress."
Ren Ci admired the composure of younger generations like Sha Man and hoped that Nangong Ling, who was about the same age as her, could also be more mature. Sha Man knew about this and comforted him, saying, "Young Master Ren can host such a grand banquet. He will surely achieve even more in the future. Please rest assured."
Then came other conversations, but Xie Huailing's mind wandered off somewhere else, and she stopped listening.
Even though her suspicion and caution left her with some doubts, it didn't stop her from thinking about what time she should go to bed that night, and also about the huge stack of unfinished documents and reports she had left for Su Mengzhen. She wondered if Su Mengzhen would be angry and if she would deduct her salary.
Once they were out of the main hall and in the courtyard next to the Beggars' Sect, Shaman was about to go find the main table for dinner when she grabbed Shaman's sleeve. Not worried about the timing, she had the leisure to say slowly and deliberately, "Go and ask again."
Shaman lowered his head, stopped, and whispered in her ear, "Why didn't you give me a wink earlier? Now that we're out here, what am I supposed to ask—what?"
"Ye Gucheng." Xie Huailing also lowered her voice, thinking about how she had become a thief on her very first day in her ally's territory. "With such a reputation for being aloof, what is she doing in the Beggars' Sect for no reason? Something is definitely amiss."
"We'll have to ask Nangong Ling then," Shaman said.
However, this wasn't too difficult. She already needed to socialize and cultivate relationships at today's birthday banquet. So many people were hoping to get in touch with the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion and become its ally. She would need to stay at the banquet for at least three more hours.
Xie Huailing noticed that when she mentioned Nangong Ling, her tone wasn't as warm as when she chatted with Ren Ci and Madam Ren. It sounded more like she was mentioning someone whose name she only knew. So she asked her again, "You and Nangong Ling don't get along?"
Shaman thought for a moment, then raised her beautiful, long eyebrows: "It's not that we have a bad relationship, it's just that we don't have much of a relationship. We're just acquaintances who barely know each other."
"Then ask indirectly. Friendships may be dead, but people aren't," Xie Huailing coldly and ruthlessly gave her the order.
Then she became even more bossy, and casually assigned the maid's work to Shaman, pulling her sleeve tighter and closer: "Just go to the kitchen and bring me some soup. I'll go find a place to sit in the garden."
Shaman frowned and turned away from her. Upon hearing this, she became even more agitated and asked, "Why don't you go eat by yourself?"
Without Su Mengzhen's restraint, Xie Huailing dared to say anything and do anything outrageous. The most important thing in life is to forget one's roots: "Why should I go to eat? I'm helping you, Shaman. Didn't you ask me for more work to accumulate merits?"
The boss and subordinate stared at each other. In the end, Shaman, who had never gained the upper hand with her, gritted her teeth and had no other choice but to compromise. She took one penny for doing two jobs, told Shaman to wait, and turned to leave.
However, she had no complaints about Xie Huailing's refusal to go to the main courtyard. It would really lower the status of Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou if Xie Huailing had to stay there for the time it takes to eat a meal. The fact that Xie Huailing could stay in the garden instead of lying in the house was thanks to the fact that the most remote courtyard of the Beggars' Sect had not yet been prepared. And for some reason, she insisted on only having the most remote courtyard.
Looking at Shaman's back as if she were possessed, as if she wanted to stay eight hundred meters away from her, Xie Huailing still had the mind to wave and tell the maid to go to the garden.
Ren Ci preferred tranquility and was not particularly fond of wealth. The Beggars' Sect's garden, reflecting his preferences, was naturally as simple as an ordinary world. Not a single precious flower bloomed here; instead, it presented a vibrant scene of newly sprouted greenery. The pavilions and towers were also simple and uniform. Yet, amidst the restraint and mutual reliance between them, there was no lack of refinement, which was enough to demonstrate Ren Ci's cultivation.
She randomly chose the pavilion and saw an empty wooden pavilion behind a tree with new buds, so she slowly walked over, not expecting that there was someone there.
It was a girl, not short at all, but as slender as a piece of paper innocently tossed about in the wind on a desk. She sat against a pillar in a corner of the pavilion, completely hidden by the branches, which is why she wasn't seen. Xie Huailing stopped in front of the pavilion steps and looked at the girl. She seemed to sense Xie Huailing's gaze, first lowering her head further, then pursing her lips—or perhaps biting them—before slowly raising her head.
This inexplicably reminded Xie Huailing of Di Feijing, but behind Di Feijing's introverted and seemingly shy demeanor lay the support of his talent and a touch of arrogant avoidance; his shyness was essentially a facade masking a ruthless heart. The girl appearing in the pavilion, however, embodied genuine, unfeigned timidity.
She possessed a face that could be described as breathtakingly beautiful, like peonies blooming in springtime. However, she was shrouded in a timid, clouded demeanor, which obscured the brilliance of her striking features, turning her into an ordinary pearl in a dressing box—beautiful, yes, but only fleeting and unforgettable.
Xie Huailing met her gaze, and the girl's eyes slid down before returning to Xie Huailing's face.
She was a very strange person. She was dressed in gorgeous clothes, with a gold and jade ruby hairpin in her hair and a brocade belt around her waist. Why did she have to be like this?
Before Xie Huailing could look any longer, the girl got up and left. She didn't want to talk to Xie Huailing any longer, and after a few hurried steps, she disappeared behind the corner of the alley.
"Who is that?" Xie Huailing asked the maid.
The maid who accompanied her was no ordinary person, but she couldn't answer the question honestly. She replied, "I've never heard of such a person in the martial arts world, nor have I ever seen a portrait of her. Perhaps she's a young lady from a family brought along by a guest attending a banquet."
Xie Huailing's gaze remained fixed on the path, silent for a long time. She didn't sit down, and after a few moments, shook her head, seemingly disagreeing with the maid's words.
.
As the sun rises and the moon waxes, the cold stars gradually shift.
After dinner, Shaman was about to do other things, but Xie Huailing always had plenty of things for her to do, and she would never be as idle as Xie Huailing. However, this time, Xie Huailing stopped her again.
Shaman thought that she couldn't possibly be asked to do the work of a maid again, thankfully not. Xie Huailing said, "Leave me a hidden weapon, I want the most exquisite one."
"Hidden weapons?" Shaman looked around. She had just checked and found nothing unusual.
But she obediently put the hidden arrow from her wrist onto Xie Huailing's hand and said kindly, "Just press this here. I'm right next to you. Call me immediately if anything happens tonight."
Then the bedroom door closed, leaving Xie Huailing alone in the room. She stroked the dart on her wrist, then suddenly shook out a small porcelain bottle from her sleeve, leaned against the window, and applied the powder inside.
There was only one window in the room, and she had specifically chosen the most secluded room just for this one window. While the medicine was being applied, she waited patiently until she could hear no sound outside, and the world seemed like a stagnant pool in the night.
Only after she casually set the porcelain vase aside did ripples appear in the stagnant water. A gentle breeze blew against the window.
No, it's definitely not the wind, because the wind can't open the window; it's just that people are moving too fast, and they're no different from the wind.
The person knocked on her window. The light was still on in her room, so he knew she was there and that she was right by the window.
Xie Huailing remained motionless. After a few breaths, the newcomer pushed open the window. Almost without making a sound, the refined-looking young man landed on the ground, not forgetting to close the window. It was fortunate that he had followed her all the way from Bianjing to the Beggars' Sect. It seemed that Su Mengzhen's arrangements hadn't been of much use. Oh well, she would just trust herself.
The young man didn't rush to get closer, but asked her gently, "Did you know I was coming? Were you waiting for me?"
Xie Huailing remained silent. She leaned closer, and the young man followed suit, waiting for her to speak, but the stench of blood was ever-present.
The silent hidden weapon, a masterpiece by a renowned master, was incredibly rare. It pierced his abdomen in an instant when he lowered his guard, and the powder sealed his internal energy. The young man, just as he had seen him before, slowly knelt on the ground. Xie Huailing clapped his hands, leisurely returned to his seat, and finally answered him.
"Yes, I've been waiting for you."
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Don't take me down in the next chapter, don't take me down in the next chapter...
The identity of the girl who appears in this chapter is not a mystery; she's an original character I created to advance the plot.
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