Ningning had covered Pei Ji's eyes with her hands before, but as she fell more and more sleepy and had no strength left, she put her right hand on his shoulder. Now, seeing Luan Niang getting up, she subconsciously shuddered and poked his thin cheek with her finger.
“There’s something wrong with the incense.”
Pei Ji actually used his spiritual sense to transmit his voice. His cold voice sounded as cold as winter snow in the night, and inexplicably carried a hint of laziness and fatigue: "Luo Yuanming should have fallen asleep by now, so there's no need to worry about him."
The fragrance must have been mixed with sleeping pills, which was why she and Pei Ji felt suddenly sleepy.
Ning Ning slowly gathered her spiritual consciousness from her body, trying to make herself more awake. At the same time, she whispered to him, "Luan Niang has gone out - let's go out and take a look."
Pei Ji responded with a low “hmm”.
She was never vague about what she did, and after the agreement she planned to leave immediately. However, when Ningning gently pushed the cabinet door open a little and was about to leave the wooden cabinet, she found that she was tied up tightly by something and could not move forward at all.
That's right.
Her heart skipped a beat and when she lowered her head to look, she felt that Pei Ji behind her was also stunned.
At that time, she was moving around in the closet and touching his cheeks and eyes. Pei Ji suddenly lowered his head for some reason and said in her ear, "Don't move."
And as if to restrain Ningning's movements, he lowered his hand that was covering her lips when he spoke, and moved it down quickly and silently, wrapping his arms tightly around the girl's soft waist.
Later, the incense became thicker and the lights in the room were turned off. They were both preoccupied with their own thoughts and felt tired, and for a moment they even forgot about this.
Now that the cabinet door was open, the moonlight fell between the young man's brows, as cold as a transparent blade, which made Pei Ji wake up instantly.
He couldn't see Ningning's expression, but he felt the body so close to him was incredibly warm. His arms were placed extremely close to her waist and abdomen. Through the thin layer of clothes, he seemed to be able to touch her slender waistline and soft flesh as if without bones.
The heat that was irritating him surged up again.
"Pei Ji?"
The place where she was hugged felt warm and hot, and Ningning felt dizzy from the aroma lingering around her nose. Seeing that Pei Ji didn't make any move, she felt panicked and embarrassed, and blurted out subconsciously: "Let go first, we can do it again later--"
——What will you do next?
Ningning: ...
Pei Ji: ...
The sleepiness in her head disappeared instantly because of these words. Ningning was too embarrassed to face anyone. She wanted to rub her head against the ground and bury it in the earth. She was silent for a long time and covered her entire face with her trembling right hand.
Pei Ji didn't say anything either, and silently released his hand from her waist;
Chengying was silent, which was rare. He curled up his entire body like a mollusk, twisting around and making a strange "gurgling" sound of suppressed laughter from his throat.
Luan Niang put medicine in the incense and got up and went out in the middle of the night while Luo Yuanming was sleeping. Ning Ning knew that she couldn't delay any longer, and she didn't care about the shame and regret in her heart. She forced the extra emotions back into her heart and said sullenly, "Let's go."
Luo Yuanming was indeed sleeping very soundly. Through the bright moonlight, she could see the handsome face of a man who was defenseless as he slept. He fell asleep with a faint smile on his face, his body facing the inside where Luan Niang had been before, and he stretched out his hands in a hugging gesture.
It’s a pity that the person next to me ruthlessly brushed away that hand, and it disappeared long ago.
Ningning sighed in her heart and cast a simple trick on herself and Pei Ji.
To people with the same or higher cultivation level, this magic is like a chicken rib and has no effect at all. But for ordinary people like Luan Niang who have no cultivation level, it is difficult to detect them even if they are from a distance.
The woman seemed a little afraid of Luo Yuanming. After leaving the bedroom, she looked back to make sure that there was nothing unusual in the room. Ningning slowed down her pace and breathing and followed her. She saw Luan Niang walk a short distance and then stop, standing in the shadow of the corner of the courtyard wall.
The bright moonlight illuminated her profile, and her skin was truly as white as ice and as smooth as cream.
I don’t know if it’s an illusion, but at this moment, Luan Niang seems to be more beautiful and fair than the previous times. Her pair of soul-stirring eyes are full of life, and her silky and delicate skin is wet by the moonlight, like a flower tree piled with snow, just like a banshee born under the moon.
Luan Niang did not hesitate. She lowered her eyebrows and raised her sleeves, and actually took out something that Ning Ning was quite familiar with from her sleeves.
The talisman is square and thin, with the characters outlined in cinnabar. It is the communication talisman used by those who practice Taoism for instant communication.
"strangeness."
Ning Ning immediately noticed something was wrong: "The girl in Nuanyu Pavilion said that Luan Niang entered the brothel since she was young and never practiced immortal arts... How could she know how to use the communication talisman?"
Could it be true, as those girls said, that although Luan Niang's body was still there, her insides had been replaced, and she had become a completely different person?
But if this assumption is true, why did she buy the painting on purpose? Only the real Luan Niang herself would care so much about her past youth, right?
Pei Ji saw her confusion and said calmly, "Luan Niang has spiritual power in her body. Maybe someone has taught her some magic."
Even though she had a magic trick, Ningning couldn't get too close to her, and she had no way of knowing the content of the message that Luan Niang sent in the middle of the night.
She wrote hurriedly, silently chanted the incantation and sent out the spell, and soon received a reply. The reply was very short, probably only a few sentences, but after reading it, Luan Niang raised the corners of her lips and gave a satisfied smile.
This smile is somewhat creepy.
Ningning watched the woman under the moonlight finish reading the letter. At the end, she leaned against the wall thoughtfully, and a flame flashed on her fingertips.
——The dark blue flame did not seem particularly abrupt in the night. It gnawed at the bottom of the letter like a will-o'-the-wisp, then burned more and more fiercely until it swallowed up the entire page, leaving only grains of ashes blown by the wind.
Ning Ning was startled again: "Is this spiritual fire?"
Unlike the communication talisman, the spiritual fire requires a more advanced level of cultivation. Judging from the level at which Luan Niang can use it, she should have reached the initial level of foundation building.
Although foundation building is the entry level to the path of immortality, for an outsider like her who has never been exposed to immortality, it is already an incredible state.
The people of Luancheng all thought that Madam was just an ordinary person, and no one ever said that Luo Yuanming was teaching her magic. The most important point is...
Ningning frowned.
Even though Luan Niang was gifted and a rare talent in cultivating immortals, and Luo Yuanming taught her everything he had learned, the two of them had only known each other for less than a year, and it seemed unlikely that she could master the spiritual fire in such a short time.
After burning the letter, Luan Niang glanced hurriedly to both sides, then wrapped her clothes tightly and left towards the bedroom.
The city lord and his wife were both in the room, so it was naturally impossible for Ningning to go back to that bedroom. Pei Ji's voice was still a little hoarse. He glanced at her quickly while speaking, and then quickly looked away: "Shall we go?"
"There is another place that I am somewhat concerned about."
Ning Ning shook her head, a gleam in her eyes, she raised her eyelashes and smiled mysteriously at him: "Do you remember? The previous city lord's wife left nothing behind... except for a bedroom that was sealed by Luan Niang's order."
=====
Luo Yuanming's ex-wife was named Song Xianning. It was said that she had always had a distant relationship with him, and later they often quarreled. In a fit of anger, she moved into a secluded courtyard.
The relationship between the couple went up and down, sometimes good and sometimes bad, but Miss Song's illness became more and more serious day by day. She died at a young age. Until now, her name has been forgotten by the people of Luancheng.
Not long after Song Xianning's death, Luan Niang moved into the City Lord's Mansion. Luo Yuanming was a humble gentleman after all. Considering their past relationship as husband and wife, he kept the house in the corner of the mansion.
Luan Niang must have been jealous, and ordered the courtyard to be sealed off, not allowing anyone to enter or leave, including Luo Yuanming.
Pei Ji didn't quite understand why the room was searched.
"That's what I think."
Ning Ning said, "In order to prove her innocence, Luan Niang ordered people to search the bedroom and study but found nothing, so there should be nothing fishy about those two places. Don't you think it's strange that she ordered this place to be sealed off?"
"Song Xianning died unexpectedly. As the saying goes, a husband and wife are bound by love for a hundred days. It is natural for Luo Yuanming to keep her former residence. Moreover, the bad relationship between the two is well-known throughout the city. How can Luanniang be jealous?"
Pei Ji had no idea what a woman was thinking, so he quietly held his sword and listened to her continue: "Moreover, judging from the descriptions of the girls in Nuanyu Pavilion, Luan Niang is a smart woman who knows how to please everyone and is very good at getting along with everyone. She has finally become the wife of the city lord, and she has just gotten married and caused such a thing. Isn't it that she has labeled herself as petty? Whether in the eyes of Luo Yuanming or the people, her impression will be greatly reduced."
Pei Ji followed her train of thought and frowned slightly after hearing her: "So you think she has other intentions in blocking the courtyard."
Ning Ning chuckled and raised her head: "Other places in the mansion may be exposed to the public, only that place will not be disturbed. Maybe in Song Xianning's room, we can find something useful."
This was her initial speculation.
For Ningning, Luanniang's behavior of sealing off the courtyard was really illogical. Judging from the information currently available, the only feasible explanation was that the other party had ulterior motives and used this place as an unknown secret base.
As for what Luanniang did there, we will have to wait until we enter the room to find out.
Whether in character, temperament or life trajectory, Song Xianning, who was brought up in a pampered, introverted and gentle manner, is completely different from Luan Niang.
I heard that this young lady has been well-read since childhood, lived in the Song Mansion all year round, and seldom left the Song Mansion. Ningning didn't know much about her, let alone what she looked like. She could only barely form an image of a thin, frail, and indifferent sickly beauty in her mind.
She and Pei Ji easily climbed over the wall and entered the courtyard. The flowers and plants in the courtyard had not been taken care of for a long time, but they grew more and more luxuriantly, with lush branches and leaves. In the breeze and moonlight, the shadows fallen on the ground were also swaying slowly, like accumulated water, clear and dark.
The door was locked but the window was not closed. The moment Ningning climbed through the window and entered the room, the first thing she smelled was the rich aroma of old book pages.
Song Xianning's bedroom is more like a study, filled with books, forming a shelf. The air was filled with the smell of dust, and what surprised her was that there was no sign of anyone having entered or left this place.
There was a thick layer of gravel on the ground, and when Ningning walked carefully, she left very obvious footprints.
This is also the only set of footprints, no one else has been here.
All that painstaking reasoning before... no, it's all gone wrong.
Ningning felt suffocated and looked around in a daze, with even deeper doubts in her heart.
Could it be that Luan Niang really never entered this room again? She is so smart, would she actually let herself be branded as an "evil woman" in the eyes of the people for such a narrow reason?
This is too much of a love-brained wife!
She was puzzled and checked the drawers, wooden cabinets and bed in the bedroom one by one, but found nothing unusual. Just when she was feeling a little discouraged, she suddenly heard Pei Ji whisper, "Senior Sister."
"Um?"
Ning Ning turned around and saw him standing in front of the bookshelf. He handed her a copy of "Ziwei Magic Records" and said, "Open it and take a look."
His tone was very calm, but Ningning did not hesitate and did as he said.
The rest of the books were covered in dust, and Pei Ji wiped them carefully before handing them to her, so they didn't look dirty or awkward.
As she flipped through the pages carefully, she heard the young man beside her say, "Although there are many books on the shelf, they all show signs of having been flipped through many times. Only this one is still brand new. Perhaps it was purchased by Madam Song shortly before she passed away. Once it is opened——"
He paused here.
Ningning was also stunned.
He flipped through the "Ziwei Magic Record" bit by bit, and when he passed a certain page, the strength on his fingertips changed.
Just as Pei Ji said, the book showed no signs of having been read and looked very smooth, but between the pure white pages, there was a thin yellowed piece of paper.
She looked up at Pei Ji, took the note in her hand without saying a word, and with the help of the bright moonlight, she could see the words on the paper very clearly.
The words were small and beautiful, as clear and elegant as bamboo, and were written neatly: [Deep among the flowers, in the silk and silk alley, turn the corner and walk ten steps to the left, behind the curtain. ］
=====
"Lingluo Lane, turn left and walk ten steps - what could that be?"
Baihuashen was bustling late at night, but the alleys inside were dark and all the noises were gone from the doors and windows, leaving only the occasional barking of dogs.
Ning Ning walked forward along the path on the note, breathing in the quiet and cold night breeze: "Pei Ji, who do you think Luan Niang was writing to when she seduced Luo Yuanming late at night?"
She walked on a felled tree trunk, with her arms outstretched to keep her balance. Pei Ji looked to his side calmly, fearing that the girl beside him would fall.
"Luan Niang drugged Jiuzhou Chungui. If her purpose was to find a female cultivator to be sacrificed—"
He answered without hesitation: "Then she must be discussing with her accomplices when to deal with Senior Sister Zheng."
Ningning looked at him in panic, her feet slipped, and Gulu fell directly down.
Pei Ji didn't want to let her fall, but he didn't expect that his words would become the fuse. Seeing Ningning falling in the opposite direction of him, Pei Ji reached out without thinking and grabbed her wrist.
The girl's wrist was much thinner than he had imagined. He didn't dare to use force. He waited until Ningning stopped falling, then he pulled it gently upwards.
Pei Ji had never been so serious and careful when he handled the thousand-year-old jade during his previous training.
"Thank you."
Ning Ning was frightened by his words, and her heart was pounding in her throat. After thanking him, Pei Ji continued to comfort her, "Don't worry too much. Most sorcery requires human sacrifice. Since Luan Niang is still discussing with that person, it means that Senior Sister Zheng is safe and sound."
As expected of Pei Ji, even his comforting words are so logical and well-founded, it's impossible not to be convinced.
She nodded after hearing this, and was about to speak again when she realized something was wrong.
Ningning had already gotten down from the wooden stake, but Pei Ji's right hand, which had been holding her wrist before... still hadn't let go.
His hands were not like those of the children of wealthy families who had been well-maintained and flawless since childhood. Instead, they were covered with calluses and scars. When they touched Ningning's wrist, they felt a slightly rough sensation.
Pei Ji's body has always been cold, but now there is a faint warmth in his palms. Unexpectedly, she did not feel any resistance, but just felt inexplicably flustered. She looked around trying to remain calm, and finally she mustered up the courage to turn around and look at him.
Noticing Ning Ning's direct gaze, Pei Ji's strength in his right hand noticeably lightened.
He has never held hands with anyone.
Pei Ji used to think that this action was cumbersome and troublesome, and he disliked any physical contact with others. However, when I met Ningning, I couldn't help but want to get closer and closer to her.
Not removing his hand from her wrist was a gamble that exhausted all his courage.
Ning Ning might be disgusted by the hideous scars and calluses on his hands, and struggle away with disgust. She might also be unwilling to accept his touch, and withdraw her left hand after an awkward smile. But perhaps, after a brief moment of shock, she would gradually accept it.
In that case, Pei Ji would feel that perhaps the relationship between them was not that distant.
He hasn't felt at ease for a long time. Even though he has always been cold, arrogant and gloomy, deep down he still has the inferiority and self-loathing that has been spreading since he was born.
Pei Ji didn't know what she would do.
All his fingers felt like they were burning. He had never been so nervous before.
"That... Pei Ji."
Ningning's dry voice came to his ears. He suppressed his inner throbbing. When he raised his eyelids, his long eyelashes cast a thick layer of shadow under his eyes.
She hesitated to speak, as if she had made a decision, and slowly stopped.
Then he stretched out his other hand, lowered his head and placed it on Pei Ji's right hand, gently moving the boy's pale and slender hand away.
Pei Ji felt empty inside.
The feeling of loss and helplessness came overwhelming me. My heart seemed to be beating wildly, yet it seemed to be hanging motionless in my chest. The scorching heat swept over his body in an instant, causing him to droop his eyelashes in embarrassment.
"hug--"
He never thought that his voice would become so hoarse, like the sound of a stone scratching the ground, rough and unpleasant.
However, Pei Ji only said this one word.
When the word "apology" came to the tip of his tongue, he saw Ningning carefully grasping his right hand and moving it down awkwardly.
Her left hand slowly approached, first her fingertips fell on Pei Ji's protruding knuckles, and then her entire fingers pressed down, with her fingertips, finger pulps, and even the entire palm all sticking to his skin, covering most of his scarred right hand.
Like a ball of warm cotton, it wrapped around his hand tenderly.
My heart started pounding.
Filled with joy, panic and disbelief, it swept up like a tide.
Pei Ji's heart was trembling and he couldn't breathe.
Along with the sound of the heartbeat, there was also the girl's soft and gentle voice ringing in my ears.
Ningning held his hand and continued walking deeper into the alley as before. She said to him very seriously, "This is what we call holding hands."
Pei Ji: ...
Pei Ji lowered his head and used his hair to cover his red ears: "Yeah."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
