The Bishui Tower was built on the hillside and was sparsely populated. Although these disciples had enough food and drink during their training, their lives were extremely monotonous.
Young people are always yearning for hustle and bustle. When Junior Sister He Ning invited Fang Miao to go down the mountain to attend the market, she was referring to the gathering held every ten days by the people living at the foot of the mountain to exchange supplies. Every time this happened, the place was crowded with people, and the young disciples in the building would go down the mountain in groups of three or five to join in the fun, and the elders in the sect would turn a blind eye.
Fang Miao recalled that the original owner would often go down the mountain with his fellow apprentice sisters to see all kinds of new gadgets at the fair.
Thinking of this, she nodded and accepted the invitation, and went down the mountain with several fellow apprentice sisters.
…
"Second Senior Sister is here. Come on, let's go into the market and take a look." Junior Sister He Ning's voice was full of excitement as she pointed to a city within their sight not far away.
It's a bit of an exaggeration to call it a city. Objectively speaking, it's a low gatehouse built with earthen walls. When you walk in, you can hear the bustling voices coming from inside. Fang Miao and several of her fellow apprentice sisters walked into the street wearing the same plain dresses.
The street was crowded with people. Fang Miao, as the senior sister, was walking in front, with several junior sisters following behind her.
"Ladies, come and take a look at our newly arrived hairpin jewelry. Don't miss them if you pass by!" The street peddler shouted to the passers-by.
The little girl had no resistance to all kinds of beautiful jewelry. Several of her junior sisters heard the hawking and walked over to pick up the jewelry on the shelves to look at them.
"Shopkeeper, are these all new? They're so beautiful!"
"Senior sister, come and see."
Hearing the voice calling her, Fang Miao turned around and looked back, and found that several fellow apprentice sisters were walking towards the stall with excitement on their faces.
She walked over and took a look.
The stall was not big, with several rows of jewelry of various styles neatly arranged. The materials were not expensive, but there were many styles, which was a novelty for several girls of different ages.
"How much are these?"
Several junior sisters picked some things and were about to pay. He Ning looked at Fang Miao who was still watching and asked, "Second Senior Sister, do you want to buy anything?"
Fang Miao shook her head and the words were on the tip of her tongue. Suddenly, she saw a rabbit hairpin carved from wood and found it particularly cute. She changed her mind and said, "I'll buy this one. How much is it? Let's pay it in one piece."
At this time, there was a noise in the distance, and several tall men on horseback ran from the street. The horses' hooves raised dust along the way, and pedestrians and vendors avoided them when they saw this.
"These gangs are getting more and more arrogant, galloping down the street with whips waving. Ugh!"
Fang Miao and a few of her fellow apprentice sisters paid the bill and quickly moved aside. She heard the peddler muttering angrily in the corner and choked on a mouthful of dirt.
"Shopkeeper, do you know who these people are?" Fang Miao asked when he saw this.
The peddler, who looked like a smart man, looked at the big man riding by on the street and saw that he had gone far away. Then he lowered his body and whispered, "Young lady, you don't know, these people are actually a bunch of hooligans. Now they have joined some kind of Holy Fire Cult and are shouting and yelling on the street all day long."
"Holy Fire Cult?" Fang Miao muttered to herself, then, as if remembering something, asked the peddler, "Shopkeeper, are you saying that the Holy Fire Cult organized some of the local thugs into a gang? Do you know what the gang's name is?"
The peddler pondered for a moment and said mysteriously, "Young lady, you've asked the right person. Others may not know this, but I happen to know it from walking the streets every day. This Holy Fire Cult has gathered people together to form a branch called the Qingyi Hall."
"Everyone inside is wearing green clothes, right?" Fang Miao added with a hint of coldness in her voice.
The peddler nodded and said, "Miss, you are right. When they have an event, they all wear green clothes. You can recognize them from a distance."
"Thank you for telling me." She clasped her fists in thanks.
The peddler said with a smile: "No thanks, no thanks, come and buy something next time, young lady!"
Fang Miao was preoccupied, so she called a few of her junior sisters and hurried back to the sect after shopping at the market.
She hadn't expected that, years later, there were already clues to the family's annihilation. The Holy Fire Cult, mentioned by the peddler, was the biggest villain in this world's plot. They were known for everything from ransacking homes and families to killing people and stealing treasures. She didn't believe that such a cult, out of nowhere, had come to the foot of Bishui Tower and recruited a bunch of hooligans to form the Qingyi Hall. She didn't believe they had any ulterior motives.
Fang Miao had seen this Qingyi Hall in the original owner's memory. When their sect was attacked, the people who came were all dressed in Qingyi. The dungeon where the original owner and everyone in the sect were imprisoned before her death was also guarded by people in Qingyi.
…
The waterside pavilion of Bishui Tower.
Fang Miao hurried over and walked to the door of an exquisite wooden building and said respectfully, "Disciple Fang Miao requests to see Master!"
"Enter."
A faint female voice came from the small building.
Fang Miao walked in upon hearing that, and went straight up the wooden stairs to the second floor. Seeing the green figure by the window, she clasped her fists and saluted: "Greetings, Master."
The figure in front of the window turned around, revealing a gentle and delicate face of a woman. She was holding a book in her hand, like a lady from a scholarly family, and her aura made people dare not underestimate her.
After seeing Fang Miao, she asked calmly, "Miao'er, what do you want to see me for?"
"Master, I found traces of a cult at the foot of the mountain. This is a matter of great importance, so I came here to report it!" Fang Miao replied respectfully.
"Cult?" The woman walked into the room and put down the scroll. She was shocked when she heard the words. She sat down in the seat of honor and asked, "What's the specific situation? Tell me in detail."
"Yes!" Fang Miao bowed and explained in detail what he had seen and heard at the market after going down the mountain.
After she finished speaking, the woman thought for a moment and said, "Miao'er, I know about this matter. I will send someone to investigate later, but you must remember not to interfere anymore, understand?"
Fang Miao: "Yes, Master, Miao'er understands."
Seeing her disciple being so well-behaved, the woman smiled and asked with concern, "How's your cultivation? Have you made any progress recently?"
"Replying to Master, I just broke through the second level."
After Fang Miao finished answering, she shared some of her insights. The woman heard that she had made great progress and gave her some pointers, which helped her gain more insights in the practice.
A few days later, the owner of the building officially ordered the disciples in the building to seal the mountain gate of Bishui Pavilion and not to go out without necessary.
When Fang Miao heard the order, she knew that the information she had mentioned had probably been revealed. Although she didn't know how her master planned to deal with the matter, everyone in the building was on alert, and the situation was definitely better than being defenseless.
"Second senior sister, why is the mountain closed all of a sudden? I wanted to go back next time to see the new jewelry, but now I can't go." Junior sister He Ning was still worried about her own affairs, with a frown on her little face.
Fang Miao smiled and consoled him, "Just wait until the lockdown is lifted. I guess there's chaos outside these days, and not letting us go out is for our own safety."
He Ning murmured after hearing this: "Okay, let's wait until the lockdown is lifted before going, hey!"
At this moment, she didn't expect that this letter would take two whole years.
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