Xiangli Mingzhu strongly suspected that Jiang Junjing had not lost the jade pendant, but rather wanted to go back to find Yuan Qi.
Jiang Juncai dismounted and walked over, looking at his waist. Sure enough, the jade pendant from that morning was gone. He wondered if the person he sent would run into Jiang Junjing.
"The Taoist priest who sold me the jade pendant said it could ward off disaster for me. If I go back too late, someone else might take it. I'm off now." Jiang Junjing turned around, took the horse brought by the guard, and left.
Xiangli Mingzhu and her son exchanged a glance, then returned to the carriage, feeling utterly frustrated.
Jiang Juncai whispered by the car window, "Mother, don't worry, I'll go and see what he's up to."
Xiangli Mingzhu nodded: "We must be flexible and not let him know about our affair."
Jiang Juncai also spurred his horse and followed.
To avoid arousing suspicion, Jiang Junjing didn't run fast, searching while riding his horse.
As he was searching, he felt a phantom shadow "whoosh" past him, followed by a gentle breeze.
Jiang Juncai, who was behind him, was highly skilled in martial arts and had a more acute sense than Jiang Junjing. He could clearly feel a martial arts master passing by with light footwork at an extremely fast speed. He didn't even see who the other person was, what they looked like, or how tall they were. He only felt a gust of wind flash by.
He turned around in astonishment, but the illusory shadow had already vanished. He stopped his horse and looked behind him for a long time, but found no trace of it, as if it had been an illusion.
"How can there be someone in the world who is so fast? Could they be a cultivator?"
He muttered something to himself and spurred his horse forward.
Before long, Jiang Juncai caught up with him: "Second brother, I'll search with you."
Jiang Junjing cursed under his breath as an old fox, then put on a smile and said, "Thank you very much, brother."
The two rode their horses for a long time but couldn't find the jade pendant anywhere. They had already reached the entrance of Wuxiang Temple but still hadn't found it.
Jiang Junjing feigned surprise: "That's impossible. I remember it wasn't fallen when we were walking back. Did you see it, brother?"
Jiang Juncai breathed a sigh of relief, having not encountered any of the men he had sent out along the way. He shook his head: "I didn't see them. How about we go back along the road and search again?"
Jiang Junjing looked around but couldn't see Yuan Qi. He was a little worried. Where could a little girl who was not even ten years old have gone? Could it be that she hadn't come out yet?
Jiang Juncai was also puzzled. Why hadn't Yuan Qi come out after so long? Logically speaking, nothing should have happened at Wuxiang Temple. Could it be that his people had already succeeded in such a short time?
He hesitated before asking, "How about we go look for it at the temple?"
Actually, he wanted to confirm whether Yuan Qi had left Wuxiang Temple.
Jiang Junjing shared the same idea and readily agreed.
The two walked the same path again, but found nothing, so they had no choice but to turn back.
On the way, Jiang Junjing "accidentally" discovered the jade pendant in the grass and was overjoyed: "So it was in the grass. I knew it was still there when I left."
Jiang Juncai smiled slightly: "It's good that you found it. Can this jade pendant really ward off disaster?"
His eyes were burning with desire.
Jiang Junjing said, "It should be possible."
The two remained silent the rest of the way, each lost in their own thoughts, and returned to the convoy one after the other.
Jiang Jun then realized that his trusted confidant had not yet returned, and he didn't know whether the matter had been successfully completed.
Jiang Junjing whispered to Jiang Junyu, "We didn't see anyone. Could they have been harmed?"
Jiang Junyu gently shook her head: "It shouldn't be. Seventh Sister is quite capable, she wouldn't be so easily harmed. Perhaps something has delayed her, or she has already gone back. Let's talk about it when she gets back."
He studied under Master Yunyi, was knowledgeable and resourceful, and knew that some reclusive masters knew some esoteric arts. Yuan Qi was able to see the dead Du Haitang, which proved that she had opened her third eye and was quite capable. Perhaps she really had already returned.
Jiang Junjing returned to the Jiang residence with a mix of anxiety and trepidation.
Xiangli Mingzhu, Jiang Bailu, and Jiang Songlu all got off the carriage. Jiang Junjing hadn't seen Yuan Qi yet, so he went up to her and asked, "Mother, didn't you say that Seventh Sister was in your carriage? Where is she?"
"She was indeed in my carriage when I first got in. I fell asleep not long after the carriage started moving, and I just woke up to find that she was gone. She knows so many evil and unorthodox spells, who knows how she escaped?"
She spoke with self-righteousness, but her tone was tinged with impatience and disgust.
Jiang Junjing knew perfectly well that the other party was talking nonsense, but he couldn't expose them. He was very anxious: "I'll go look for them."
Xiangli Mingzhu glanced at him and scolded, "What's the rush? Ask the gatekeeper if she's back yet before you go look for her."
Jiang Bailu and Jiang Songlu revealed an evil smile, "Just wait, I'll destroy you right now!"
Jiang Junjing beckoned the gatekeeper over and asked him a question.
Without a second thought, the gatekeeper replied, "In response to your question, Second Young Master, Seventh Miss has not returned."
Xiangli Mingzhu's expression changed: "Oh no, could she have gotten off the bus halfway and wandered into the woods to play? There are a lot of bad guys there, what if we run into them?"
Jiang Junjing and Jiang Junyu both felt somewhat guilty; they should have thought of this.
The eldest brother's confidant might have run into the seventh sister on the road and taken her straight to the woods to cause trouble.
The two quickly mounted their horses and called for their guards to follow.
Jiang Juncai was also worried about why his trusted confidant hadn't returned after so long, so he rode after him and summoned another group of guards to go with him.
Jiang Bailu then cried out loudly with a worried expression, "Mother, do you think Seventh Sister might have encountered bad people and lost her virginity? It's all my fault. I shouldn't have fallen asleep in the carriage and let my sister run off to play. It's all my fault, sob sob sob..."
She didn't shed a single tear; her crying looked very fake.
Xiangli Mingzhu's face darkened; she felt that her daughter would be better off not acting at all, as it was all too fake.
She loudly ordered the guards and servants who came to greet her at the door: "No one is allowed to spread the news that the Seventh Miss has run away. If she is caught by bad guys and loses her innocence, we should help cover it up. Otherwise, our reputation will also be damaged."
Jiang Jiulu and Li Guiqie exchanged a glance, both expressing their utter contempt for Xiangli Mingzhu's behavior, especially Jiang Jiulu.
Undeterred, she went directly to Shaoyaoju.
Sure enough, Yuan Qi was seen sitting quietly at the table eating horseshoe pastries, with a pot of tea beside him.
She stormed over, furious: "We've been looking for you everywhere, and you're still eating and drinking?"
Yuan Qi pushed the horseshoe-shaped pastry towards her before saying, "Didn't you also come back without knowing if I was in Xiangli Mingzhu's car?"
Jiang Jiulu felt very guilty. She admitted that she only cared about Yuan Qi a little bit, but now it was different. She was really worried that Yuan Qi would be kidnapped by bad guys.
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