Chapter 2301 Nobody's Home
The group stayed in the prefectural city for a day. After Meng Yunzheng realized that no one was watching them, he left a message for Qi Lie.
The next day, the group went directly to Heichang County.
Shu Yu and his two companions were revisiting a familiar place, while Ying Xi and Xia Yan were visiting for the first time. Although they had been to many places, Hei Chang County was unlike any other place they had ever been before.
The gap between rich and poor here is huge. The rich are very rich, but most people live in poverty. There are many more beggars on the streets than in other towns. Most of them look drab and are in a very low spirits.
Their carriage wasn't moving very fast, so it wasn't long before Zhao Xi frowned and said, "It seems like someone is following us."
“We were being watched from the moment we entered the city,” Meng Yunzheng said. “There were two men under the city gate who were observing the carriages entering the city. When we peeked out to guide the soldiers guarding the city, they stood up and lined up behind us to enter the city.”
"So what do we do now? Capture them and interrogate them about the abbot's whereabouts?"
Shu Yu lowered the car curtain and sat up straight. "They're just low-level thugs keeping watch; they might not know Master's whereabouts. Let's pretend we don't know anything. Following the normal route after receiving the letter, we should go directly to Master's residence after arriving in Heichang County."
The letter contained the address of the abbot of Dongqing Temple. Shu Yu was quite familiar with the layout of Heichang County, so the group headed directly to the alley mentioned in the letter.
As soon as the carriage entered the alley, the group immediately became alert, and with utmost concentration, slowly drove towards the fifth courtyard.
Then, when Yingxi arrived at the courtyard, he found that it was locked.
She turned around. "Miss, it seems no one is here."
Shu Yu thought that Shu Feng and the others would be waiting for them to walk into their trap so they could make their move, but they didn't expect them to pull off an empty city ruse.
As they disembarked from the carriage, the gate to the neighboring courtyard opened, and a middle-aged woman with somewhat dark skin emerged.
Upon seeing them, the woman paused for a moment, then asked, "Who are you looking for?"
Shu Yu and Meng Yunzheng exchanged a glance and said with a smile, "We're looking for someone who lives in this courtyard. Do you know where she went, Auntie?"
"Oh, you're here to see Master Dongqing, right? She left yesterday, saying she had some urgent business and wouldn't be back for a few days. Before she left, she told me that someone might come looking for her in the next few days, and if I ran into them, she asked me to pass on her message."
Shu Yu seemed to understand. "I see. Thank you, Auntie. We'll come back to see her in a couple of days."
"Okay, I'll tell her when Master Dongqing comes back." After saying that, the aunt smiled and went back into the courtyard.
The group got back into the carriage and exchanged glances.
"It seems they're not ready to make a move yet." Shu Yu looked at the closed gate next door. "This woman is either one of their people, or she's been bribed."
Shu Quan said that his master was controlled by Shu Feng, so how could he possibly have the opportunity to pass on a message to this woman?
Moreover, the woman was clearly waiting behind the gate on purpose, only coming out after hearing the noise; otherwise, why would she turn around and go back inside after finishing her sentence?
"I don't know where they took Master."
Meng Yunzheng held her hand. "Don't worry, now that we're here, they'll show up eventually. Let's find an inn to stay in first."
"Um."
(End of this chapter)
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