Chapter 567 Turning Around Suddenly, the Embroiderer is Indeed There in the Dim Light [Seeking Monthly Tickets!]
The bathroom, behind the screen.
The steam rising slowly from the bathtub, swirling like a veil, intertwined with the warm yellow candlelight, creating a hazy, dreamlike atmosphere.
A hot towel was placed on Ouyang Rong's face.
He adjusted to a slightly more comfortable position, resting the back of his head on the edge of the tub, his long, wet, black hair loosely draped over his shoulders, soaking in a bathtub filled with warm water that was close to the outer wall of the tub.
"Phew~"
Ouyang Rong breathed a long sigh of relief under the warm towel.
Hearing the knock on the door, he didn't remove the towel from his face, and casually said:
"It's unlocked, please come in."
Ali pushed open the door, walked around the screen, and came to the bathtub, where he poured a large bucket of hot water into it.
"Young Master, Chief Secretary Yuan is drunk and resting in the main bedroom. The abbot and the guest master of Chengtian Temple are asking if you need anything else besides hot water, and if you are hungry..."
"I'm not hungry, I don't need anything else."
Having just caught a chill, Ouyang Rong's voice was a little hoarse and distorted.
At this moment, Ali said again:
"The abbot and the guest monks are very worried about the young master's health and feel guilty for not taking proper protective measures within the temple. They said they will definitely reinforce the railings of the lakeside pavilion with another layer tomorrow..."
"Alright, it's not their fault. Go thank them for me and send them away. Don't let them in."
"Yes, young master."
Ali paused, gesturing towards the table next to the bathtub.
"By the way, young master, would you like me to take this zither back to the carriage?"
"No need, I'll take him there later. You should go back to the carriage and rest. It's getting late, almost dawn. Ali, I really owe you a lot tonight."
"Young master, you're too kind. It's what I should do..."
"You must have worked hard. Put the hairpin and clothes on the table."
"Yes, young master, please take a rest."
Straightforward Ali scratched his head and left the bathroom.
Ouyang Rong did not remove the towel from his face.
On a table not far away, there was a long, rectangular violin case.
Ouyang Rong's expression was unreadable, but he leisurely raised his hand and touched his head.
Fortunately, he had prepared a backup plan for accidentally falling while drunk.
Before going to the pavilion in the middle of the lake for a drink, I changed into an ordinary jade hairpin.
[Craftsmanship] The distance between the lake and the center of the lake exceeded the range of his sword control, making it impossible for him to rise to the surface.
Unfortunately, he had no choice but to "accidentally" fall into the water.
After falling into the water, the jade hairpin on her headdress indeed slipped off and sank into the lake.
Fortunately, the [Craftsmanship] was finally retrieved without any unexpected incidents along the way.
It is now lying quietly inside the long, rectangular violin case on the table.
Ouyang Rong closed his eyes and sensed the cauldron and sword.
Just now, after he fell into the water, he took the opportunity to hide the "craftsmanship" that had risen from the bottom of the lake on his body. After being carried back to Yuan Huaimin's study by Ali, he took the opportunity to lock the "craftsmanship" back into the Mo family sword box that shielded his aura and nurtured his sword energy.
Only when you reach this point can you be considered to have accomplished your mission.
The entire process took place under the cover of darkness, without any disturbance or capture of any ambushing forces.
It seems that Granny Song and the female officials of the Imperial Observatory have indeed left.
Ouyang Rong nodded in satisfaction.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Rongzhen, but rather that he didn't quite trust Granny Song.
After all, he was Lin Cheng's teacher. The last time he bowed his head to him, it was only because of the situation. Bowing his head to a junior like him must have felt more like humiliation.
While taking a bath, Ouyang Rong reviewed the situation.
Well, the only thing I didn't expect was that Yuan Huaimin's alcohol tolerance wasn't very high; he passed out after only two drinks.
I should have brought the zither case with me. He was too drunk to see anything anyway, so after we retrieved the [Craftsmanship] from the lakeside pavilion, we could have just put it inside.
Therefore, this operation can still be improved.
"You're always bragging to me, aren't you? You pat your chest and say you can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk. It's making me a little scared... This time is special, but I won't let you have it next time."
Ouyang Rong was too lazy to even complain.
Does he even lie about his own alcohol tolerance?
As Ouyang Rong pondered amidst the mist behind the screen, he suddenly felt a chilly wind creeping towards the back of his head.
"Um?"
Ouyang Rong immediately pulled the towel off his face and looked around warily.
Behind the screen, apart from him and the bathtub, there was no one else.
What's with this cold wind?
Ouyang Rong frowned, stood up with a splash, quickly put on his clothes, and left the bathtub.
"who?"
His voice was hoarse, and his tone was earnest.
The room was quiet.
Ouyang Rong glanced sideways at the Mo family sword box on the table next to him and communicated with [Craftsmanship].
With the little guy around, I feel reassured.
He walked forward barefoot.
He moved slowly and cautiously around the screen, and then suddenly looked up at the ceiling...
It was also empty.
Looking around, the bathroom was empty.
At that moment, Ouyang Rong noticed out of the corner of his eye that the bathroom door was half-open, with a crack in it, and the early morning breeze kept slipping into the room.
He immediately breathed a sigh of relief, his brow unfurrowed, and walked over, closing the bathroom door with a "click".
"Ali, really, he didn't even close the door properly."
Ouyang Rong shook his head and turned to continue taking a bath.
...
Inside a master bedroom of a certain temple.
In the darkness, a slender girl with her eyes blindfolded by a ribbon silently emerged.
She carried a long, stick-like cloth bag in one hand.
He left the temple in silence.
The owner of the Yuan family's house, surnamed Yuan, was still fast asleep in the master bedroom, completely unaware that his home had been visited.
In the shadows at the courtyard gate, Zhao Qingxiu pulled out a cold, old seal from her sleeve.
The seal was colder than her hand.
Beneath the sky-blue satin ribbon, a pair of delicate eyebrows seemed to furrow slightly.
It disappeared.
The essence of craftsmanship has vanished.
As if isolated from the world, the Crimson Lotus Sword Seal could no longer generate any response.
"Whoosh—!"
A firework shot up into the sky not far away and exploded in the air.
The instant of light illuminated a cluster of buildings behind Zhao Qingxiu, including the Yuan Huaimin Study.
Not long ago at the Beitian Nursing Home, she felt the burning heat of the Red Lotus Sword Seal in her sleeve.
Following the vague guidance of the sword mark, we arrived at the cluster of buildings behind us.
However, not long after she arrived, before she could pinpoint a specific location, the heating phenomenon of the Crimson Lotus Sword Seal disappeared and cooled down, remaining completely still to this day.
The girl, blindfolded by ribbons, did not give up. Taking advantage of her "invisibility," she searched through the buildings again, house by house, trying to get closer and sense something.
They "walked" through the main hall, the dining hall, and the guesthouse, and even the carriages parked by the roadside were not spared.
Of course, unless it is an uninhabited house or a house where someone is sleeping, you cannot openly and meticulously search for anything.
It's true that no one can detect her presence... Having consumed half a tortoise shell longhorn beetle and combined with the tranquility of a virgin, even the old musician's music couldn't make her appear. There are very few people in the world who can discover her... But concealing one's aura is just concealing one's aura, not true invisibility.
It is visible to the naked eye.
Therefore, Zhao Qingxiu still had to move silently, walking in blind spots to avoid living people who were not yet asleep.
For example, the young man bathing in the bathroom of the temple behind us; the poor scholar studying late into the night in the study of the previous courtyard; and the middle-aged monks who just passed by carrying several buckets of hot water with a lantern and a stable boy.
These were all mortals without any spiritual cultivation, and Zhao Qingxiu easily bypassed them.
However, after a thorough search, nothing was found, and the Crimson Lotus Sword Seal no longer showed any change in temperature.
It was like a cold, lifeless object.
If it weren't for the fact that Zhao Qingxiu's right index finger was still faintly aching from the previous hot burns caused by the prolonged gripping of her hand in her sleeve, she would have been in serious trouble.
The chill in the air made her wonder if the strange phenomenon she had just witnessed was truly an illusion, or if it had never actually happened...
Logically, the closer the distance, the more violent the reaction of the Crimson Lotus Sword Seal should be.
Unless the distance is too far, or the other party has some special means to block all the energy of [Craftsmanship].
Now, what is certain is that the "craftsmanship" at the bottom of the lake has definitely been taken away.
Because once it gets close to Xingzi Lake, the Crimson Lotus Sword Seal no longer reacts at all.
It's just unknown which swordsman who hid the sword returned to retrieve it.
Or is it another Qi cultivator?
For example...those high-ranking female officials of the Imperial Observatory who wanted to embezzle the cauldron and sword?
Regardless, the Crimson Lotus Sword Seal has lost all its connection at the moment.
If the sword-taker hadn't already slipped away, and been too far away to sense, it wouldn't have been possible.
Or perhaps the person who took the sword used a special method to sever all the energy of the [Calligraphy Sword].
Zhao Qingxiu carried a long, narrow cloth bag and walked silently in the shadows of the wall, heading towards the next meditation hall.
The cloth bag in her hand
It was wrapped around a long sword.
This was left to her by her master.
Every time fireworks light up the sky, Zhao Qingxiu's thin body trembles slightly.
The sound of fireworks wasn't scary.
But the fleeting brilliance of fireworks can illuminate her.
Because the light from fireworks appears even earlier than the sound of them.
Although it was less than a tenth of a breath earlier.
But it still prevented her from avoiding it in advance.
The girl with the ribbon blindfold knew that every time she heard the sound of fireworks, she had already been illuminated by them.
There wasn't time to hide in a corner.
Zhao Qingxiu silently left the courtyard where the drunkard and the bathing youth had just been.
She continued her search in the silent shadows, unnoticed by anyone.
This is the closest they have ever come to the [Craftsmanship] level in Yunmeng Sword Swamp.
Zhao Qingxiu was unwilling to give up.
She tilted her slender neck slightly, and the sky-blue ribbon covering her eyes fluttered in the wind behind her head.
Her little face looked unusually serious.
Listen along the way,
The sounds of wind, footsteps, dripping water, snoring, creaking wooden doors and windows, and the night wind catching through the gaps in the red wall tiles.
Some say that everything has a voice!
Even liking something has a sound.
The sound of a racing heart.
etc.
No.
She was silent.
I remember my senior sister saying in a fit of pique that day that going blind is actually not so bad.
At least I won't go looking for him again.
It's better to be out of sight, out of mind.
The thought of this made my mind unsettled again.
Zhao Qingxiu was lost in thought. It took her a while to recover when she arrived at another courtyard.
Continue the search.
An hour later, nothing was gained; the Crimson Lotus Sword Seal remained cold.
Just then, the sound of a rooster crowing rang out in the distance.
From the surrounding buildings, the sounds of people getting up and dressing echoed one after another.
Zhao Qingxiu lowered her head slightly, sheathed her sword, silently turned around, and returned to the Beitian Nursing Home by the same route...
...
Ouyang Rong finished bathing and changing.
Looking in the bronze mirror, he re-inserted a white jade hairpin.
"Wow, even his way of falling into the water is so cool."
After finishing his ceremony, he picked up the zither case with a look of emotion, turned around and went out.
In the courtyard, you can hear someone snoring coming from the master bedroom.
Ouyang Rong smiled.
Looking up, the sky was dark, but there were sounds of insects chirping.
Dawn was approaching.
Dawn is approaching.
After a night of fireworks, they took a short break, which should be considered a halftime break, since today is the official start of the Lantern Festival.
Ouyang Rong yawned, picked up his zither, turned around, and walked out of the study.
A horse-drawn carriage was quietly waiting on the bluestone road not far away.
Ali, the driver, sat in the driver's seat with his hands tucked into his sleeves and his head bowed, bobbing his head up and down like a pecking motion.
Ouyang Rong chuckled, and without waking him, climbed into the carriage.
As soon as he sat down, Ouyang Rong casually stuffed the now fully filled violin case into the little guy's designated spot under the seat.
Before the expected defiant protest of the "Craftsman" could be heard, the smile on the young man's face, who was wearing a white jade hairpin, froze.
He suddenly looked down and reached out to touch the space under the seat.
Something is wrong!
It wasn't that he lost anything—he only brought an empty sword case today, and didn't bring the bronze mask or anything like that—but rather that he habitually only closed the cover under his seat halfway, not completely.
At first, it was out of caution and to keep an eye on things, but later it gradually became a detail to prevent his junior sister from checking up on him. Whenever someone opened the space under his seat, he would find out afterwards.
But right now, his junior sister can't come, and Ali can't touch his things.
There is only one explanation.
Someone got into the car and checked it while he and Ali were away!
A chill ran up Ouyang Rong's neck and coccyx as he sat upright, and he shivered!
Suddenly, the face of Granny Song flashed through my mind.
Could it be a setup?
Has he been watched ever since he left the house tonight?
The departure of Granny Song and other female officials from the Imperial Observatory from the Xingzi Lake construction site was also intentional.
To lure him out of his trap?
Why weren't they arrested immediately? Were they waiting for his carriage to leave? Are there witnesses to prove it?
Ouyang Rong's mind was like a firework exploding, a thousand thoughts swirling within him.
At the same time, I was sweating profusely.
He sat in the quiet carriage, yet felt that danger lurked all around him.
Taking a deep breath, he calmly asked:
"Ali, get into the carriage."
"Ah, no, young master, what's wrong..."
Before he could ask, Ouyang Rong picked up the zither case again and got out of the car.
"Don't go, wait where you are."
He left in a hurry.
Just then, the sound of a rooster crowing came from afar, and many people began to get up.
Taking advantage of the last darkness before dawn, Ouyang Rong quickly scaled walls and houses, passing through one grand hall after another.
Every second counts.
After quickly hiding the cauldron and sword in an inconspicuous corner.
He turned around quickly, walked onto a small path, and hurried forward with his head down, not knowing where he was going.
"Longling—Longling—"
The white jade hairpin on her head made a clear, crisp sound in the quiet alley.
Ouyang Rong frowned and quickly took it off.
"Bang--!"
A firework suddenly exploded in the sky.
Ouyang Rong was startled and turned around abruptly. When he looked up and saw that it was fireworks, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.
But at that moment, the fleeting light of the fireworks overhead illuminated a slender figure in the shadows around a corner not far behind.
This shadow, which would normally be hard to notice, was now illuminated by the fireworks overhead.
Ouyang Rong was stunned.
He stared intently at the slender girl with a ribbon blindfold who had suddenly appeared before him.
The blindfolded girl also faced him, her body seemingly trembling slightly, staring directly at the icy white jade hairpin in his hand that made a sound.
The air fell into an eternal silence for a moment.
"Longling—Longling—"
At this moment, the only sound in the world was the unique, crisp sound of the morning breeze rustling the white jade pendant at the end of the hairpin.
No.
And... the sound of a heartbeat.
This part took too long to write, I only just got to the end, I feel a little guilty, damn OCD, or 2 (the bottom position) (For those of you who are looking for the latest book, you can check out the old book "I Have a Sword Immortal Wife")
(End of this chapter)
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