Chapter 107
Xue Niang's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, and her clear black and white eyes revealed a faint sorrow.
"Really? I've heard him mention it a few times, but I didn't expect it to be this serious," she said gently.
Qin Sang sighed, "Who can argue with that? I went to the city gate and couldn't help but shed tears for a long time. I just hope that the people in the court can properly deal with the poor people and not leave the area outside the capital city littered with dead bones."
After she finished speaking, she noticed that Xue Niang's face suddenly turned pale, as if she had remembered something.
The women who come to this Worry-Free Island are certainly not lucky, and we don't know what kind of background this woman named Xue Niang has.
But since they had only met once, it was not appropriate to ask too many questions. Qin Sang thought for a moment and said, "Because of the disaster victims, the Emperor seems to be dissatisfied with the Crown Prince recently. Fourth Uncle works for the Crown Prince, so you should tell him to be careful."
Upon their first meeting, Xue Niang was unaware of Qin Sang's identity, but she knew that one could not easily admit to currying favor with a faction in the court.
She glanced at Qin Sang but didn't say anything.
After a moment of stunned silence, Qin Sang felt a little embarrassed. She thought to herself, "As expected of the woman Xie Xiao has his eye on, she's quite tight-lipped."
Just as I was about to say something more, I heard hurried footsteps outside the window, their footsteps crunching on the fine sand and gravel in the woods.
Immediately afterwards, there was a rhythmic knocking sound at the door.
Qin Sang subconsciously held her breath and listened attentively.
But Xie Xiao, who was outside, didn't open the door. Instead, he asked through the door, "What is it?"
"Master, the people locked in the cave have escaped." An old man's voice rang out from outside.
Qin Sang: "..."
Xie Xiao paused, then remained silent.
The person outside the door cautiously added, "Should we look for them? But the whole island is full of the Crown Prince's spies... If they escape, their chances of survival are slim..."
Xie Xiao glanced at Xie Sui'an indifferently, then lowered his eyes and said to the person outside the door, "I understand. You may leave."
A moment later, the footsteps outside the door returned along the path, but for some reason, they seemed to pause after a few steps.
Xie Xiao listened to the footsteps fading away, then suddenly looked up and frowned. He got up, walked to the door, opened it, and found a few weeds that shouldn't have been there in the courtyard.
It was brought by Qin Sang and the other person; they got it on themselves while climbing the mountain and left it here.
Xie Xiao quietly closed the door and gently called out to the inner room, "Xue Niang."
Qin Sang followed Xue Niang out of the inner room. Xie Xiao said, "You know that secret passage. Let's leave together."
Qin Sang: "??"
The color drained from Xue Niang's face instantly. She stepped forward, hesitated for a moment, but said nothing.
Qin Sang sensed something was wrong and quickly asked, "What's wrong?"
Xie Xiao glanced at her, his eyes filled with a hint of helplessness, and said in a cold voice, "If you don't leave, you'll stay here and become fertilizer for the fish on this island."
Xue Niang took a step forward and tugged at his sleeve, her eyes already red: "I'll stay."
Xie Xiao's gaze suddenly softened, and Qin Sang quickly pulled Xie Sui'an towards the door.
Xie Sui'an: "..."
The two of them left the cabin on their own and crossed their arms, looking at the small courtyard in front of the cabin.
Xie Sui'an raised his chin to indicate the few weeds on the gravel: "Because of this, we gave ourselves away."
But Qin Sang shook his head: "The person who knows about this cabin should be a trusted confidant. And since they know we were locked in a cave, even if they know we escaped here, they shouldn't betray us."
"Why didn't your trusted confidant remind you about these few blades of grass?" Xie Suian asked.
Qin Sang fell silent.
Both of them fell silent, recalling the figure who had opened the door for them, and feeling as if they had caused Xie Xiao a great deal of trouble.
Actually, the moonlight is quite nice tonight, but the dense bushes make the moonlight too fragmented, and with no wind, the shadows on the ground are completely still.
"What will happen to your fourth uncle if we leave? If he has already been betrayed, won't the Crown Prince cause him trouble?" Qin Sang asked, tilting her head.
Xie Sui'an pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Tell him to come with us."
"But he's from Night Owl Kingdom..."
Qin Sang couldn't bring herself to say "the leader of the remnants," so she put it another way: "He bears heavy responsibilities. If he has been plotting here for many years, he certainly cannot leave easily."
"What if the Crown Prince holds them accountable?"
Qin Sang said, "That's why we're being told to escape. If we escape, he'll be safe, since the other side won't be able to find any evidence."
Xie Sui'an nodded, but then asked, "Then why did he let his sweetheart come with us?"
Qin Sang fell silent again.
After a moment of silence, he pondered and said, "It's our own fault for not being able to find the way. Besides, this little wooden house is private, and Xue Niang is probably private too. He doesn't want his privacy to be exposed to others, so it's reasonable for him to ask her to leave."
To prove her guess was correct, she nodded and said, "Yes, that's it."
"..." Xie Sui'an sighed, "I hope so. I've dragged Fourth Uncle into this."
Qin Sang comforted him, "You came here to find the answer, and now you're very close, so don't think too much about it. Everyone in this world has their own cause and effect. If you want to find the cause, you will inevitably get involved in other people's cause and effect, unless you do nothing. But can you do that?"
Xie Sui'an stared at her, his gaze shifting from anxiety to admiration. He smiled, his eyes crinkling, and said, "Speaking Buddhist terms at such a young age, did you grow up in a Buddhist temple?"
Qin Sang thought to herself that even the monks in the temple had to worship her, so she looked at him with a particularly kind gaze, as serene as the few golden statues that mortals had sculpted for her.
Xie Sui'an: "..."
Before long, the wooden door opened again, and Xue Niang came out wiping her eyes and said, "Come on, come with me."
Although Qin Sang couldn't see clearly, she knew the other person must be crying.
What a terrible thing to do, tearing apart a loving couple.
Before they arrived, they were enjoying a blissful, idyllic time together, but now they're about to part ways. No wonder Xie Xiao's eyes held a hint of resentment when he looked at him earlier.
They've committed a terrible sin.
But she didn't have time to feel guilty and pulled Xie Suian along to follow.
Xue Niang didn't know kung fu, but she was slender and agile as a swallow. She led the two through the jungle paths with practiced ease. The only sounds were the soft, dense footsteps, the snapping of dry branches underfoot, and the occasional startled wild animal leaping up.
Before long, the group reached the edge of the cliff in the valley.
"..."
Qin Sang and Xie Suian were dumbfounded. Wasn't this the way they had come from? What? Jump back down the same way? Did Xie Xiao mean for them to go back to the cave?
But Xue Niang ignored their doubts. She walked to an ancient tree covered with vines, parted the dense branches and leaves, and pulled out a rope as thick as a small snake from a tree hole.
A stone the size of a large bowl was tied to one end of the rope, and she was clearly struggling to drag it, so the two people quickly went to help.
"Throw this rope down," Xue Niang said.
The two dared not ask and obediently did as instructed.
The stone, attached to the rope, fell downwards, making a sound like the wind whistling through the trees. The rope was clearly not long enough to reach the valley floor, so if they continued down the rope, they would only land halfway down the mountainside.
"I'll go down first, and you can go down after I swing the rope." Xue Niang pulled out another pair of thick gloves from somewhere and said, "You have skills, so you probably don't need these. But even if you wanted to, there's nothing I could do. I only prepared one set."
The two dared not complain; how could they possibly complain about the victim? The victim had just given them a warm welcome and even bandaged their wounds!
Xue Niang looked delicate, but she was quite familiar with this route. Without hesitation, she grabbed the rope and started to descend. She used the mountain wall as a stepping stone and slid very fast while wearing gloves, which showed that she had been trained regularly.
It seems that Xie Xiao had already planned a way out for her and often trained her to escape.
Qin Sang was filled with mixed feelings. After what seemed like an eternity, the rope began to sway back and forth. It was only after Xie Suian reminded her that she came to her senses.
"You go down first," Xie Sui'an said to her.
Qin Sang couldn't refuse, so in order to slide faster, she tore off a piece of her skirt, wrapped the strip of cloth around her hands twice, and like Xue Niang, pulled herself down the rope.
Although she wasn't familiar with the route, she had the advantage of being quite light-footed, so she descended relatively smoothly.
The landing site was a hidden stone platform halfway up the mountain. The platform protruded from the mountain and was hidden by dense bushes growing on the cliff edge, so it was impossible to find it from either above or below.
The stone platform extends into the mountainside, forming a dark cave that at first glance appears as an endless expanse of blackness, like the gaping maw of an abyss.
Xue Niang skillfully found a tinderbox in the crevice of the cave entrance, blew on it, and the dim, yellow light instantly illuminated the outer edge of the cave.
A moment later, Xie Suian also came down.
Xue Niang and the others gathered and prepared to go inside. Xie Sui'an pointed to the rope hanging there and asked, "What do we do with this?"
Xue Niang didn't turn her head: "He will take it."
Qin Sang: "...What if he can't accept it?"
The woman walking in front paused, then continued walking forward: "Then I will be buried with him." Her tone was calm and resolute.
Qin Sang: "..."
Xie Sui'an: "..."
Perhaps to prevent the firelight from being seen, the first torch was lit much later, and it was hidden in the cave wall beforehand.
The mountain pass is narrow and uneven, clearly carved out by human hands. However, it is located halfway up the mountain and has a damp, rotten, and fishy smell. There are occasional puddles on the ground, and water droplets fall from the cave ceiling from time to time.
Xie Sui'an took the torch and went ahead to clear the way. Because of Xue Niang's silence, neither of them dared to speak, and a feeling of sadness was brewing in the air.
After a long while, Xue Niang suddenly spoke: "After you go out, follow the path down the mountain, but be careful to stay hidden, as you may encounter patrolling soldiers. However, as long as you can get down the mountain safely, you will naturally know how to get back."
Xie Sui'an: "Why are there patrolling soldiers?"
Qin Sang: "Aren't you coming with us?"
The two of them asked at the same time.
Xue Niang walked between the two. Because the cave could only accommodate one person at a time, she remained silent for a while before saying, "You'll find out when you get out that this mountain connects to the royal hunting grounds." She did not answer Qin Sang's question.
"Nanlin Hunting Ground?!" Xie Sui'an stopped and turned around in surprise.
That mountain on Worry-Free Island is actually connected to the Royal Hunting Grounds?! Where did Xie Xiao get the ability to conduct such an absurd business in such an important location?!
If it was at the Crown Prince's behest, then everything makes sense. But the key issue, according to Xie Sui'an's analysis of the information he heard, is that he was merely a guest on this island.
So, who is this important figure in the royal family behind it all?
We'll examine these details after we leave.
They thought the cave wouldn't be very long, but to their surprise, they walked for at least two hours, bending over, in the increasingly narrow cave.
Fortunately, there were places to rest along the way, with dry food wrapped in tarpaulin and water in water bags.
In addition, there were wooden stakes, ropes, and a stone bed for practicing martial arts, clearly indicating that this was Xie Xiao's training ground.
While the group rested, Xie Sui'an curiously touched the wooden stakes and vaguely noticed some dark red bloodstains on them. Many things from his childhood came to mind.
When Xie Xiao was a child, everyone said he wasn't in good health. He was always pale, had dark circles under his eyes, and often looked listless and lacked energy. As he grew older, he got much better, and we rarely heard of him being sick anymore.
It turns out he wasn't physically weak; he had been secretly practicing his skills. This shows how high hopes Aunt Jiang and the remaining forces of the Night Owl Kingdom had for him.
Qin Sang naturally saw it too. She comforted Xie Sui'an, saying that at least he now had the ability to protect himself, and no matter what kind of danger he was in, his chances of escaping were always much greater than others.
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