The next morning, Jiang Chuting and Lin Zhi had breakfast on the first floor of the inn, planning to go to Misty Moon Valley after they finished eating.
Lin Zhi looked refreshed, but Jiang Chuting seemed tired, frequently rubbing his temples. He stopped eating his porridge after only a couple of sips. Lin Zhi had already noticed his poor condition and finally couldn't help but ask again, "Chu Ran, are you really not feeling unwell anywhere?" She touched his forehead again; it wasn't hot.
Jiang Chuting forced a smile, "No, I probably just didn't sleep well." It wasn't that he felt unwell, but he felt weak and heavy, lacking energy, lazy, and sleepy, and didn't want to move. Even if Lin Zhi had gone a bit too far the night before, he shouldn't feel like this. He couldn't understand why.
Although he said that, Lin Zhi was still worried and took him to see a doctor.
Before the doctor could finish taking her pulse, Jiang Chuting's eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and she couldn't stay awake any longer, so she leaned against Lin Zhi and fell asleep.
When Jiang Chuting slowly woke up, he found himself back in the inn, with Lin Zhi watching over him.
"You're awake. How are you feeling?" As soon as he opened his eyes, Lin Zhi quickly moved closer and asked.
"Much better." Jiang Chuting felt strange. He had fallen asleep on the road before, and now he had fallen asleep again today. Could it be that there was something wrong with his body?
Seeing that he was trying to get up, Lin Zhi helped him up, saying, "The doctor said you're not sick, just too tired. You'll be fine after a little more sleep."
Jiang Chuting collapsed right then and there, startling Lin Zhi, but thankfully he was alright. Although he had gotten up early today, given his physical condition, even if he was extremely tired, he shouldn't have collapsed so easily.
Lin Zhi felt a little uneasy and asked again, "Are you sure you're really much better?"
"I'm sure." Jiang Chuting wasn't lying to him; her strength had indeed returned. She originally wanted to get out of bed and walk around, but Lin Zhi fiercely pressed her down.
"Don't move! Even if you're sure, you still need to rest for another day." Lin Zhi said firmly, "Put the trip to Misty Moon Valley aside for now. No matter how urgent other people's matters are, they can't compare to your health."
"But I didn't..."
Lin Zhi looked at him solemnly, as if he were looking at a disobedient child: "No buts! Listen to me."
Jiang Chuting chuckled, unable to refuse him, and had no choice but to agree. Under Lin Zhi's watchful eye, she lay down to continue resting.
Jiang Chuting thought she wouldn't be able to stay in bed for long, but she fell asleep again and had some strange dreams.
He finally managed to wake up from the bizarre dream, and it was almost evening. You could say he had slept for a whole day, comparable to the time he was drugged with sleeping potion.
Lin Zhi wasn't asleep, but he held him close and rested. When he was woken up by the movement in his arms, he knew that he must be hungry, so he went downstairs to bring him food himself.
After sleeping twice, Jiang Chuting had fully recovered his energy. He got out of bed, washed his face, and was drying his hands with a towel when he suddenly saw a reflection in the water and was startled.
He miraculously regained his original appearance without a sound, without even realizing it.
It must have happened while Lin Zhi was downstairs getting food, but why? He had brought enough pills with him before leaving this time, and he had already taken another one before it expired, just in case something went wrong.
Logically, it should take at least another half month for it to become ineffective.
Jiang Chuting didn't have time to think about the reason. He heard Lin Zhi's footsteps going upstairs, rushed to the door, and locked it before Lin Zhi reached the door.
A moment later, Lin Zhi was heard calling from outside the door: "Chu Ran, what's going on? I can't open this door."
Jiang Chuting took out the bottle containing the disguise pill from his bundle, hurriedly poured out one pill and swallowed it.
There was no answer from inside. Lin Zhi grew anxious and knocked on the door louder. "Chu Ran, Chu Ran, are you alright?"
Jiang Chuting's heart was racing, but she spoke calmly, "I'm here, it's okay, don't worry." It usually takes about fifteen minutes for the medicine to take effect, so she needed to keep the person outside calm; it would be bad if he kicked the door open.
Unable to think of a suitable reason, and fearing that he might become suspicious and force his way in, Jiang Chuting hesitated for a moment before walking behind the door and deliberately lowering her voice: "I'm not feeling well, I'll just put some medicine on myself, don't come in yet."
Outside the door, Lin Zhi immediately understood what he meant by feeling unwell, and then said, "Why didn't you say you weren't feeling well earlier? Let me come in and wipe it for you. Can you manage by yourself?"
"I can do it," Jiang Chuting replied, forcing a smile. "You can go down and wander around for a while, then come back later."
"I'm not in the mood to shop, just let me in."
Jiang Chuting fell silent. After a moment, she heard Lin Zhi mutter, "What part of your body haven't I seen or touched? And you're still shy?"
Although she knew there was no one else outside, Jiang Chuting couldn't help but say, "You should leave quickly."
Lin Zhi was a little annoyed and also wanted to laugh after being kicked out. She acted like a spoiled child and said, "I'm not leaving. I'll wait for you outside. If you can't manage, you can let me in anytime to help you."
"You don't have to leave, as long as you're separated by a door," Jiang Chuting tacitly agreed.
But a quarter of an hour later he realized something was wrong; his appearance hadn't changed at all. This had never happened before. Had the pharmacist of the Nine Heavens changed the formula without telling him?
"Chu Ran, aren't you ready yet? Don't be stubborn, let me in." Lin Zhi was clearly impatient and urged from outside the door.
Jiang Chuting paced back and forth in the room a few times, trying to stall for time. She called out to the door, "I'm not done yet. Is the food cold? Go heat it up for me."
Lin Zhi was far more perceptive than he had imagined. He banged on the door from the outside, "Is something wrong with you? Are you deliberately hiding it from me? Chu Ran, what's wrong with you? Open the door now, don't scare me! If you don't open the door, I'll kick it down."
Lin Zhi was definitely not joking. If he really barged in now and saw his face, the two of them would be finished. Jiang Chuting hurriedly said, "Don't kick the door, I'm really fine, I just... just... anyway, please wait a little longer."
"Chu Ran, are you angry with me because I clung to you for too long last night?"
He's even starting to reflect on this, so it seems he's really anxious. Jiang Chuting was a little amused and exasperated. "No, how could that be?" She was always willing to be intimate with him. Even if he was a bit too clingy, she didn't need to get angry over something like this.
Lin Zhi was both angry and heartbroken. "Then what do you mean by locking me out? Is there something you have to hide from me? Do you treat me like an outsider?" After a pause, she said in a compromising manner, "Okay, okay, I'll listen to you. Do whatever you want. I'll wait outside until you open the door."
After that, I stopped pressuring him.
Fifteen minutes later, Jiang Chuting opened the door.
The person who had been insisting on coming inside had their arms crossed and was leaning against the wall with their back to him. The moment he came out, the person observed him for a moment, then turned their face away, snorted, and refused to move. It was as if the words "coax me!" were practically written all over their face.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Come in quickly." Jiang Chuting took his hand, but he slowly pulled it away.
Lin Zhi snorted again, "I'm not going in."
There were only the two of them in the corridor. Jiang Chuting leaned over and quickly kissed him on the lips.
Lin Zhi remained standing there, refusing to move, until Jiang Chuting kissed him twice more. Only then did his expression soften slightly, and he slowly picked up the tray placed beside him and followed him into the house.
After Lin Zhi's anger subsided, aside from forcibly pressing him down and applying some medicine that night, she didn't press him further about what he had been doing while locked in the room, and the matter was thus dropped.
Jiang Chuting felt uneasy.
If this happens again, wouldn't I be in constant danger of having my true appearance revealed when I'm with Lin Zhi?
It seems that after I finish what I'm doing, I'll need to go back to the Nine Heavens and ask the pharmacist.
After resting at the inn for a night, Jiang Chuting and Lin Zhi set off for Misty Moon Valley. As they were walking through a forest near Misty Moon Valley, they suddenly heard a sobbing sound coming from the woods.
Jiang Chuting and Lin Zhi heard the noise and went over to find an old man visiting a grave. It seemed to be a new grave, and he was burning paper money while sadly reminiscing about the past to the deceased.
Judging from his sobbing words, the person buried here seems to be his junior sister.
The two had no intention of disturbing him and were about to leave quietly when the old man seemed to sense something and turned around. When Lin Zhi saw his face, he stopped and grabbed Jiang Chuting, preventing him from leaving.
Jiang Chuting asked, "What's wrong?"
Lin Zhi had an excellent memory, and the old man's black mole near his mouth made him even more memorable, impossible to forget.
Lin Zhi spoke in a low voice, his voice rapid: "The Valley Master of Misty Moon Valley. If I remember correctly, his name should be Qin Ye."
Unexpectedly, the Valley Master squinted and recognized him after a while. He wiped away his tears, stepped forward, and looked Lin Zhi up and down, asking, "Lin Xi's son?"
Qin Ye appeared to be around fifty years old, dressed in a long, gray robe of indistinguishable color. He had slightly dark skin, an unremarkable appearance, and was not tall. He didn't look like a valley master at all, but rather like a down-on-his-luck Taoist priest.
Lin Zhi was a little surprised that he still remembered him, but he didn't deny it. "Valley Master has a good memory. It's me."
Qin Ye exclaimed, "Wow, he's grown so much, and he's become even more handsome."
Lin Zhi introduced Jiang Chuting to him, "This is my friend Chu Ran."
Jiang Chuting nodded in greeting, and Qin Ye nodded back. He then looked at Lin Zhidao again and asked, "This is already the territory of Misty Moon Valley. Did you come here specifically to find me?"
Lin Zhi nodded: "Yes, I heard from my grandmother that the Valley Master's medical skills are superb. I wanted to pay him a visit since I was passing through this place. If we don't want to disturb the Valley Master, let's leave for the time being."
“Your grandmother was a remarkable person, but unfortunately she passed away early, just like my junior sister.” Qin Ye’s face was still streaked with tears as he sighed and waved his hand, saying, “Since you have come to visit, there is no reason for you to avoid me. Please come with me.”
It is said that Qin Ye was obsessed with elixirs his whole life, and had no wife, children, relatives, or friends, yet he wept bitterly at his junior sister's grave. That must have been a very rare sentiment.
Lin Zhi hesitated for a moment before saying, "I just saw that the Valley Master was sad, so it must be inconvenient for him. Perhaps we should come back another day."
“There’s no inconvenience at all. I’ve told her everything I needed to say.” Qin Ye glanced back at the lonely grave, as if recalling something, his gaze distant. “She was my only junior sister. Her life was truly pitiful, and she did too many wrong things. Her death is actually a good thing for her. It’s just that the mistakes she made need to be made up for by me, her senior brother…” Realizing he had said too much, Qin Ye quickly stopped and led the way for them. The two did not refuse any further.
And so, because of Lin Zhi, Jiang Chuting simply entered the Misty Moon Valley with him.
However, after only a few days in the valley, they realized that the valley master was indeed as obsessed with medicine as rumored. He was either in seclusion refining medicine or studying medical books as if no one else was around. He rarely showed his face. It seemed that it was really rare to have met him before.
Although Qin Ye didn't personally entertain them, they were guests and could move freely within the valley. They had even met the drug test subjects Xie Zhen had mentioned, those who were willing to sacrifice their bodies for high rewards. The disciples of Misty Moon Valley said that even if these people encountered problems, they would receive timely treatment and rarely resigned themselves to their fate. There were already enough drug test subjects; there was really no need to look for others outside.
However, even after exploring almost the entire valley, there were still two places they couldn't enter: the alchemy room and the medicinal herb field personally tended by the valley master. It was said to contain extremely rare and expensive herbs, and the area was heavily guarded. Anyone who got too close would be driven away or even tortured.
Jiang Chuting and Lin Zhi watched from afar for a while before turning around and walking back.
“We’ve been wandering around here for days and haven’t noticed anything wrong. It seems that what Xie Zhen said must be true.” Lin Zhi saw a female disciple passing by in the distance and said, “So there are female disciples here.”
Jiang Chuting said, "Yes, Jiang Xian told me before that Qiao Xun's wife is a female disciple of Miyue Valley, so it's not surprising."
Lin Zhi hadn't been paying attention when Jiang Xian spoke, but upon hearing this, he couldn't help but say, "So, Xie Zhen and the mistress of Changliu Manor must know each other. No wonder he said he had to return to Jiangling for some unavoidable reason even though he had clearly run away." It was obvious that there was some tangled relationship between the three of them, but that wasn't his concern.
Jiang Chuting went to Qin Ye's residence to inquire for several nights in a row. Apart from discovering that he slept very late, there was nothing else unusual about him, and he did not secretly meet with anyone.
Qin Ye didn't send them away, so they continued to stay in the valley.
Besides its vast medicinal herb fields, Misty Moon Valley is also quite beautiful, with picturesque mountains and rivers and pleasant scenery. One day, while strolling through the valley, they heard several disciples huddled together behind the bushes discussing the Valley Master's junior sister, who had passed away less than a month ago. They couldn't help but stop and listen openly.
After listening for a while, I could roughly piece together what had happened. It turned out that this junior sister had once broken ties with her sect for a man, married him, and ultimately, like many others, was betrayed. That man, while having fun with a male prostitute, accidentally caused her, heavily pregnant, to fall down a building, resulting in a miscarriage and rendering her infertile. From that moment on, her personality changed drastically, and one day she personally poisoned the unscrupulous man to death. Afterwards, she became half-mad, wandering aimlessly for a long time. When the Valley Master found her again, she was already terminally ill and beyond saving, passing away a few days ago. The Valley Master felt sorry for her, seeing her with nowhere to turn, and fulfilled his duty as a fellow disciple by bringing her body back and burying her in the mountains of Misty Moon Valley.
Lin said, "Chu Ran, this story is really timely. I feel like it's related to what I'm investigating."
Jiang Chuting, who had remained silent, did not respond to his words.
The story was timely, too timely, and strangely so, as if it were waiting for them to hear it.
Lin, unaware of his thoughts, had already begun analyzing the clues revealed in the story. "Chu Ran, do you think the situation might be like this? After being harmed, this Valley Master Qin's junior sister became twisted and took her anger out on the other male prostitutes. She's a skilled healer, so she used them as test subjects to poison them, but that wasn't enough to vent her anger, so she deliberately fabricated rumors to burn their bodies, leaving them without a complete corpse. Didn't Valley Master Qin say that day that he wanted to make amends for his junior sister's mistake? Perhaps he meant saving those harmed by her. However, since his junior sister came from Misty Moon Valley, letting others know would damage her reputation, so she's been keeping it a secret. Oh, right, when Bao Qi's body was burned, the person who injured my arm during our fight was a woman. I think my guess is pretty much correct."
Jiang Chuting remained silent, then subconsciously glanced at Lin Zhi. Lin Zhi smiled at him and said, "I have a feeling this matter will be clarified soon, and then we can have some peace and quiet for a while."
Jiang Chuting continued to stare intently at Lin Zhi.
He absolutely trusted Lin Zhi, but at this moment, he couldn't help but recall Jiang Xian's words. Jiang Xian said that Lin Zhi was only trying to get closer to him and deliberately make things suspicious to continue meeting him. Now that their relationship was stabilizing, Lin Zhi would definitely find a way to end it, so things were bound to make great progress.
He was right about everything.
After Lin Zhi finished speaking, he realized that Jiang Chuting was still staring at him silently. He blinked, a hint of confusion in his clear eyes. "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that? Do you think my analysis is wrong?"
Jiang Chuting smiled and said, "No, your analysis is quite correct. I think about the same thing."
He didn't doubt Lin Zhi, but he was extremely suspicious that he had fallen into someone else's trap. From meeting Fei Ge at Changliu Manor to arriving at Miyue Valley... all the developments were too coincidental and too smooth, as if everything had been arranged step by step, just waiting for them to arrive before unfolding.
If this trip leads to the conclusion that the real perpetrator is dead and someone will handle the aftermath, then he and Lin Zhi will definitely give up and stop investigating.
Why didn't they secretly target him and Lin Zhi, but instead went to great lengths with so many people to stop them from continuing their investigation? Was the person who set this up an enemy or a friend? What were their true intentions?
Jiang Chuting's thoughts raced, and she suddenly remembered her earlier warning to him not to investigate the matter further and to stay away from Lin Zhi, the young man in black. Was it him? It didn't seem like it.
"Chu Ran, do you have any other ideas?"
Jiang Chuting said, "Let's wait patiently for a couple of days and see." If more evidence is presented to them, pointing the finger at Valley Master Qin's deceased junior sister, then his speculation would almost certainly be confirmed.
The two unknowingly walked to a mountain spring, where the water flowed gurgling and melodious.
The location was secluded, and there was no one else around. Lin Zhi stood face to face with him, took his hands in hers, and said, "Alright, alright, stop thinking about it. Let's take some time to think about our own things."
Jiang Chuting, who had been lost in thought, instantly relaxed and smiled, saying, "Our own affairs? For example?"
"for example……"
"Um?"
Lin Zhi took a deep breath, gripped his hand tighter, and looked at him earnestly, saying, "For example... after this matter is resolved, come home with me. I want to take you to see my mother and explain things to her."
Go back to see Lin Xi? Jiang Chuting's appropriate smile froze for a moment, and when she smiled again, it was somewhat forced. Her eyes flickered slightly as she met his gaze, and she asked in a low, slow voice, "Lin Zhi, have you thought this through? Are you sure you want to do this?"
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