Chapter 24: Meeting the Host Again, You Are His Target!
Yao Ji appeared at just the right moment, bringing the prepared honey water and water. Her arrival was too timely, and the things she prepared were too timely, even though the ceremony had just ended and Hua Biezhi hadn't done anything yet.
Whether it was because Hua Biezhi had a way to send a message to Yaoji, or because there was some consensus here that honey water could nourish the soul, Jiang Geyun recalled Pei Xueyi's intentional or unintentional hints on the way, and seemed to be deep in thought.
If there were means of communication, why didn't Hua Biezhi use them in the mountain god temple before?
Ignoring whether Jiang Geyun was lost in thought, Hua Biezhi continued after seeing Yao Ji hand over the necessary items to Jiang Geyun, "I need you to deliver a letter for me."
Jiang Geyun lowered her head and took a sip of honey water, feeling the dryness in her mind gradually become richer, and even experiencing the drowsiness brought on by the sense of relief that came after escaping danger.
She forced herself to stay alert and repeated, still puzzled, "Deliver a message?"
Hua Biezhi nodded, "Unlike you, I can't leave Yunling Manor at will. Of course, if you stay a few more days..."
Before Hua Biezhi could finish speaking, Jiang Geyun already understood her meaning.
Presumably, it's because the classics have been assimilated and can't escape it.
Jiang Geyun asked, "So, the master needs me to deliver a message. Where should it be sent?"
Hua Biezhi said, "The Hua family of Jingzhou."
After saying that, Hua Biezhi took out the prepared letter from the tray that Yao Ji had presented and handed it to Jiang Geyun.
Jiang Geyun looked down and examined the envelope. It was plain white with gold flecks, and there was not a single word written on it, except for a peony-shaped emblem stamped in one corner.
Jiang Geyun did not take the envelope immediately. After reading it, she looked up and said, "But I have to go to the capital."
Hua Biezhi didn't change her actions. Seeing that Jiang Geyun didn't take it, she impatiently handed it to Jiang Geyun again, saying, "It's fine to have someone else do it, or you can send it after leaving the capital. I only care about the result."
Is it okay to have someone else do it for me?
Jiang Geyun thought that Hua Biezhi had deliberately kept her behind because she didn't want others to know about it, or rather, she didn't want others to deliver the message.
She hesitated for a moment, and seeing that Hua Biezhi's impatience was becoming more and more obvious, she finally reached out and took the letter.
Hua Biezhi put down her hand and said quietly, "I have a way of finding out who opened the envelope and whether the letter was actually delivered to the Hua family. I don't care whether you ask someone to help or not, but if the result is not to my liking, I will not let you off the hook."
That's a blatant threat... Jiang Geyun's expression remained unchanged, and she smiled faintly, "I'm doing my duty as a servant entrusted to me. Rest assured, Master."
“You’d better put my mind at ease,” Hua Biezhi said noncommittally, then added in a low voice, “Zhengyi might really like you.”
Jiang Geyun didn't hear what Hua Biezhi said after that, nor did she ask for any other information. She silently put the letter away and only asked, "How will the master send me away?"
"I won't go," Hua Biezhi waved wearily. "Yaoji, please see her off."
Yao Ji accepted the order and looked at Jiang Geyun.
Jiang Geyun got up and left the room with Yao Ji.
The two returned to the plum garden.
Unlike the bustling atmosphere when we arrived, the snow had almost stopped, and the roads were deserted. The mountain villa was now as silent as if it had been abandoned for a long time.
The villa remained magnificent, and the night seemed to have deepened, but in this brightly lit place, the true darkness of the night was not very clear.
The vanished vortex was revived by Yao Ji.
While waiting, Jiang Geyun briefly reviewed her experience here. She really didn't expect that what she thought would be a boring and tedious journey would turn out like this.
The butler politely said to Jiang Geyun, "Miss Jiang, please."
Jiang Geyun stepped towards the vortex next to Yao Ji.
Standing before the whirlpool, she thought of the eerie town below the mountain, and of the deceased Master Bai. Many problems had been solved, but many others remained.
To maintain the vortex's existence, Yao Ji did not dodge when Jiang Geyun approached this time. Taking this opportunity, Jiang Geyun asked, "Miss Yao Ji, why are you more loyal to Master Hua?"
This was a question that Jiang Geyun found difficult to answer through observation and deduction. It couldn't possibly be because the Hua family was richer, could it?
Seeing that Jiang Geyun had already stepped halfway into the vortex, Yao Ji relaxed considerably and replied rather kindly, "When the Master was young, Yao Ji knew she would come. Yao Ji has been looking forward to it for a long time, and it is only right that she should come—"
As she spoke, Yao Ji seemed to get a little excited, but she quickly calmed down and said politely, "Although there were some twists and turns, fortunately the theft was useless, and everyone eventually returned to their rightful place."
“Miss Jiang, it’s time for everyone to return to their rightful place.”
This was a signal to see the guests off, and Jiang Geyun nodded.
She wasn't so fixated on exploring all the information about Yunling Manor, since this wasn't some kind of endless flow quest that didn't prioritize exploration rewards.
For Jiang Geyun, their storylines were ultimately not as important as Su Guang's.
At the last moment before turning and stepping into the vortex, Jiang Geyun looked at Yao Ji.
The two were closer than ever before, and Jiang Geyun suddenly noticed that the peach-pink color on Yao Ji's clothes didn't seem to be the original color of the fabric, but rather something that had faded. Although she had suspected it before, she was surprised that it could fade to this state over time...
How long has Yao Ji stayed in Yunling Manor? Or rather, what exactly is she?
A chill ran through her, and in the end, Jiang Geyun said nothing, letting herself sink into the vortex.
...
A slight dizziness spread from between my eyebrows, as if a breeze was blowing, or perhaps it was just an illusion.
No one warned her, but her intuition told Jiang Geyun that she couldn't open her eyes, or something terrible would happen.
Once that subtle sense of wariness subsided, Jiang Geyun opened her eyes.
She had imagined what she would see when she opened her eyes again, what the government would be like in this world, and that the Xuandu Bureau would be a unique government, not an ordinary one. In the end, what she saw when she opened her eyes still exceeded Jiang Geyun's expectations.
It's not that it's too unique, but rather that it's too ordinary.
The first thing that appeared before Jiang Geyun was a wooden counter with a cat lying on it. The cat had sparse fur, dull color, and eyes like cloudy jade. It was a very old cat.
Old Cat showed no emotion towards the person who suddenly appeared in front of him.
The old cat gave Jiang Geyun a very composed look, then turned its head away and continued its low purring.
As the snoring sound entered my ears, other sounds also appeared at once.
Footsteps, laughter, voices, the clinking of beads on an abacus, the excited chatter of diners, and the sounds of shop assistants introducing dishes and rushing off.
Besides sound, light and shadow are also like this. The night disappears completely, the sky brightens, and the world unfolds from a corner of a wooden counter, stairs, tables and chairs, the lobby, and everything else.
Before Jiang Geyun could react and check her surroundings, a greeting came from her right front side: "Is that Miss Jiang?"
The sentence is in the form of a question, but the tone is almost affirmative.
Jiang Geyun looked toward the source of the sound and saw a woman in her thirties, dressed in simple brown clothes, smiling at her.
Jiang Geyun nodded.
The woman in brown was not surprised by Jiang Geyun's answer. She walked to the side of the counter, opened a small door, and gestured to Jiang Geyun.
Jiang Geyun looked around.
Just as the sounds she heard indicated, she was in an inn, specifically in the main dining hall on the first floor, which was packed with guests.
Her appearance did not disturb the guests in the lobby; only the woman in brown and the old cat noticed her.
Running away was clearly an irrational decision, so Jiang Geyun no longer hesitated and obediently walked towards the woman in brown.
After entering the space behind the counter, we followed the woman in brown through a small door, and then walked a winding path.
Unlike the spacious Yunling Manor, the indoor area where guests are not allowed to enter is already small, and after taking so many detours, Jiang Geyun was completely confused.
Before a spiral wooden staircase, the woman in brown stopped, turned to Jiang Geyun, and said, "Miss Jiang, please proceed from here."
Jiang Geyun looked up, but the ceiling of this floor blocked her view, and she couldn't see the end of the stairs clearly for the time being.
The entire route was a one-way street, leaving Jiang Geyun with little choice. After calming herself down, she stepped onto the stairs.
Halfway down the stairs on the first floor, Jiang Geyun didn't hear a second set of footsteps, so she turned around and looked downstairs. Sure enough, the woman in brown hadn't followed her upstairs.
Seeing Jiang Geyun turn around, the woman in brown looked up and said, "Miss Jiang, just walk to the end."
Jiang Geyun thought for a moment and then asked, "May I ask, are you the owner of this shop?"
The woman in brown shook her head. "There's no need to address me as 'Your Excellency.' I am the accountant. Miss Jiang has met the shop owner."
Jiang Geyun was stunned for a moment. Since arriving at this restaurant, she had not seen a second person from the restaurant... Ah, she remembered the cat.
Jiang Geyun smiled and said, "I wonder if I could pay another visit to the shop owner?"
The woman in brown did not answer. She was plain-looking and hard to remember. Her expression remained unchanged, like a drop of water that could disappear at any moment.
Okay, looks like I can't get anything out of them...
Jiang Geyun turned around helplessly and went up the steps.
Upon entering the second floor, the spiral staircase no longer opens up, resembling a small, enclosed tower, with only the entrance being brightly lit.
Further up, only small windows spaced at intervals provide light, and the windows are positioned in rather awkward ways, requiring one to twist their body into an odd shape to look out.
Jiang Geyun carefully climbed the seemingly endless staircase.
In the dim light, one's sense of time becomes somewhat confused, and she loses track of how much time has actually passed. After silently counting more than eighty steps, her vision clears up again.
Compared to the lobby, the interior space in front of me is even more spacious and brighter.
A layer of light gauze is hung at intervals, fluttering gently in the wind, dividing the space into a central passageway and "rooms" on both sides. However, the gauze does not provide much concealment, and the things behind it can still be clearly seen through the shadows.
Jiang Geyun walked along the corridor, glancing occasionally at the spaces separated by sheer curtains. Very few of these spaces were occupied; most were empty.
In one of the rooms, veiled by sheer curtains, a young man was playing chess with an older man in front of him.
Jiang Geyun's footsteps weren't loud. The old man was focused on the chessboard, but the young man seemed to sense something and looked up.
The two looked at each other for a moment through the thin veil.
...Jiang Geyun couldn't see anything clearly.
The old man placed a chess piece down and tapped the chessboard, causing the young man to look away.
It seemed this wasn't her final destination, and Jiang Geyun withdrew her gaze.
Just as Jiang Geyun was wondering if she had reached the end, she suddenly heard cheers, like a long-awaited explosion, like bubbles that had been subtly boiling suddenly turning into boiling water, the sound waves reaching the top.
The cheers came from one side separated by the sheer curtain, sounding somewhat distant, presumably from the street on that side.
Jiang Geyun pondered for a moment, then followed the sound into the adjacent "room" area and looked out through the open window—
The sky was clear and blue, the streets were bustling with noise, and the city was deserted.
Below is a main road, quite wide, with a gap in the middle. Many people are blocking the road on both sides, and many others are looking out from the windows of various buildings along the street, just like Jiang Geyun at this moment.
This should be the Xuandujian, a place similar to a secret sentry post. It's easy to guess; Jiang Geyun knows this.
But what's going on now? Did she just happen to be on some holiday?
Jiang Geyun searched her memory for a while, but couldn't come up with any information that matched the criteria.
The crowd, which had been relatively quiet, suddenly erupted in a deafening roar, indicating that something was about to happen.
Jiang Geyun didn't have to wait long before she saw a group of people walking boldly along the empty main road.
The vast majority of people in the group were dressed in the same dark blue clothes, looking straight ahead, and walking in a line.
Unable to discern anything... Jiang Geyun paused for a moment, continuing to observe the queue, waiting for the main event to begin.
As time went by, the long queue moved forward a little further.
At one point, the already grand cheers became even more overwhelming.
Jiang Geyun finally saw the person in the very center of the queue—
The colors of the people on the street and others in the queue suddenly dimmed, and under the clear blue sky, the person in gold ornaments and gorgeous clothes riding on horseback naturally became the absolute center of this bustling scene.
People on the street cheered for him, and people in the procession bowed their heads in respect for him.
The distance was too great for Jiang Geyun to see his expression or his features clearly, but she vaguely felt that he was smiling.
With a refined and elegant demeanor, she moves with composure amidst the dazzling clamor.
The system had been silent for a long time. Because of the previous dispute, it was somewhat awkward for one person to unify everything, so Jiang Geyun had never taken the initiative to call it.
At this moment, this magnificent and bustling scene suddenly appeared before Jiang Geyun. The system broke the silence, its voice filled with excitement:
[It's the main villain, Su Heng! Host, he's your target!!]
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Author's Note: Suddenly appearing! This week's rankings require a higher word count, so my rankings will likely drop more. Be sure to check back! [pleading emoji]
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