Waves/4【Edit】
The prefect of Kanzhou.
Ye Xuanling had never seen this man, but the name of the prefect had been mentioned by Ye Qing's neighbors and fellow villagers.
Half an hour had passed, but Li Si still hadn't returned. Ye Xuanling put down her pen when suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Ye Xuanling opened the door, but the person who came was not the one she expected. She heard the child in front of her shouting.
"elder sister?"
A child in a brown-black long coat with two patches on it stood outside the door. His hair was disheveled, his face was unkempt, and his eyes were somewhat dull. She hadn't expected it to be a child. Ye Xuanling was speechless as she looked at him, and she just listened quietly to what he was going to say next.
"Sister, is your name Ye Xuanling?" The child before her was about five or six years old, her dirty hands covered in chilblains twisting her fingers nervously. "An uncle asked me to come look for you."
"Looking for me?"
"Yes, he said his name is Liu Wen, and he wants to meet you at Qinxiu Tower." The child couldn't help but look at Ye Xuanling's expression. "He said he has something important to discuss with you."
Liu Wen was looking for her, but she couldn't imagine what it was about. Aside from their trip to Dongdao Mountain and their last encounter on the street, they hadn't had any contact since. Ye Xuanling silently stroked his head, as if smoothing it. "Did that uncle tell her what it was about?"
The child in front of him looked very thin, probably because he had not eaten a full meal for a long time. He was dressed like a beggar on the street, but his dirty clothes and long hair could not hide his innocent and pure black eyes.
"Yes." The child nodded. "He said he wanted to take you to see someone."
"Meet someone?"
"Yeah, but he didn't say anything specific, just that he wanted to take you to meet someone." The boy said timidly, "Sister, don't you mind?"
Ye Xuanling waved him in: "What are you disgusted with?"
"You dislike people like me."
She found yesterday's candied fruit from her bag and handed it to him: "Sister, don't mind. Can you tell me your name?" She asked the child in front of her in a gentle voice.
"My name is Siliu."
"Four Six? Did you choose it yourself?" Ye Xuanling asked him with a smile, "Then could you please reply to my sister for me? I'll wait for her for half an hour at most. Once she's done with her affairs, I'll go, okay?"
Ye Xuanling gave the entire box of preserves to Siliu, as a token of his errand-payment. Siliu smiled and accepted, then left the room. After Siliu left, Ye Xuanling suddenly recalled how she had interacted with her master as a child. She couldn't quite recall it, but it was probably similar to what she'd experienced before.
He was cunning and cunning, a smooth talker, always lazy, and disliked reading medical books and ethics. Perhaps that was how his master saw him.
Li Si was indeed a bit slow, having already exceeded the agreed time. Si Liu had been gone for a while but still hadn't returned. Nothing was wrong, was it? He figured the documents should be in the secretarial office at the provincial government, so as long as they didn't see them, it would be fine.
But Li Si was a clerk, so he wouldn't have any problems looking through documents.
The conflicting thoughts in her head had disrupted her actions. Without realizing it, she had already left the inn and was heading towards the provincial capital. The snow had stopped snowing today, and the sun had broken through, though it was half hidden in the clouds. The streets were packed with people, and she ignored the shouts of the hawkers, focusing solely on getting on.
There weren't many guards at the provincial capital, only three or four at the gate. They wore bright red round-necked, narrow-sleeved shirts, earth-brown trousers, and black round hats. Two of them dozed with their heads tilted to one side and their eyes closed. No one without a permit or the public was allowed in, so Ye Xuanling could only wander at the other end of the bridge.
But after waiting here for an hour, there was still no sign of Li Si, so he decided to go to Qinxiu Tower to see Liu Wen first.
Qinxiu Tower was originally not far from the inn, but she was next to the government office at the moment, so she had to take a longer detour to get there. There were endless crowds of people on the street. She had never been to Qinxiu Tower, but judging from the name, it should be a theater.
Just turn the corner and walk further in.
Qinxiu Tower is the largest theater in Kanzhou. There are countless shops on this street, especially the Rouge Shop. Girls come and go all the time, so this shop must be doing very good business. Thinking of this, I walked in. There was a lot of people and the aroma of Eagle Tea wafted into my nose. There was no one singing on the stage, but someone was reading a script.
The stage was also exquisite, three feet square, and the storyteller's stories were thrilling and tearful, but she didn't care about that. Instead, she found Liu Wen on the second floor, opposite the stage, according to the location given by Siliu.
From her vantage point, she could glimpse the red sleeves of a singer dancing gracefully to the drums. Liu Wen was peeling red-skinned peanuts. Beside the wooden table stood a small potted pine plant, its blue and white porcelain pot lingering with its pine fragrance, adding a touch of artistic conception to the storybook. But a closer look revealed a thin layer of dust on the pine tree. The peeled peanuts revealed a round, plump, white interior.
"Brother Liu." Ye Xuanling called out to him.
The peanuts were just about to reach his mouth, but they fell to the ground because of the sound. He dusted off his hands and tidied the table: "Xuanling, please sit down."
Ye Xuanling sat down in response: "Brother Liu, what do you want to talk to me about?"
Liu Wen poured her a cup of tea and was silent for a long time: "Xuanling, I want to introduce someone to you."
"You're bound to run into danger when you're wandering around alone, and there's no one by your side. If there's an emergency..." He didn't say anything more, internally scolding himself for saying something wrong again. "This guy is highly skilled in martial arts, and he could teach you some self-defense techniques."
"Why is Brother Liu suddenly like this?"
Liu Wen raised his hand and waved it in front of him, "Hey, we're all friends."
Ye Xuanling's expression shifted slightly. Was Liu Wen a worm in her stomach? She really needed some martial arts skills to back her up, so she could still handle any unexpected situations. Perhaps he really considered her a friend, otherwise he wouldn't have introduced her to him.
"Okay, then I'd like to thank you, Brother Liu." Ye Xuanling clenched her fists in thanks. "Brother Liu, will you be staying in Kanzhou for a long time this time?"
She didn't expect Liu Wen to stay until today. She thought he would just exchange the herbs and leave, but then she thought that maybe it would be similar to the time at Dongdao Mountain, and he would come to Kanzhou to get something.
"I'll probably be staying in Kanzhou for the time being." He smiled and called someone over. "Ye Xuanling, this is your future teacher."
The visitor was a woman, dressed in a plum-red, cloud-patterned cotton-silk gown, resembling the most gorgeous plum blossom in the cold, snowy landscape. A light veil covered her face, obscuring her features. But judging by her features, she looked like a dashing, bold, and heroic female warrior.
"Miss Ye." The heroine called Ye Xuanling in a bold and warm voice.
Ye Xuanling nodded and smiled at her, "Hello."
Liu Wen did not interrupt, but turned his head and listened quietly to the notebook on the first floor.
The female warrior briefly introduced herself to her, saying she was Sanqi and would be there whenever Ye Xuanling needed her to teach. Ye Xuanling was surprised, not by the name, but by the fact that she would be there whenever she was called. Were all martial arts masters so quick?
Ye Xuanling cleared her throat and smiled: "Miss Sanqi, I wonder if this is too much trouble for you?" Although she said this, the whole reason was because she had no money. She was on call at any time. She thought to herself, wondering how much it would cost.
"No trouble." Sanqi stood straight, paused for a moment as if thinking about something, and then said, "Miss Ye, don't worry. Liu Wen has paid all the money."
"Yes." Liu Wen clenched his fists awkwardly, shielding his face with them and coughing. "Ye Xuanling, don't worry about that."
Wow, was she that obvious?
Ye Xuanling's brows relaxed, and the expression on her face softened from the previous stiffness to a sigh of relief. "Brother Liu, you are such a kind person. If you need any help from now on, just let me know."
Liu Wen smiled and clinked glasses with her: "It's only natural for friends to help each other."
The matter of Qinxiu Tower came to an end. Sanqi asked her which inn she was staying in, hoping to be closer to her so that it would be convenient for her to teach. Ye Xuanling thought she was right and told her the name of the inn.
But surprisingly, Sanqi stayed by her side and didn't prioritize booking a room. When the two of them left the theater, there was still a commotion outside.
"Sanqi, how much is that silver? How about I pay you and you return Brother Liu's share?"
Hearing this, Sanqi turned around and said, "It's not for money, Liu Wen..."
"Liu Wen is my benefactor. He saved my life. I have no way to repay him but to help him." Sanqi held a sword in her arms and spoke righteously, but she still felt that it was just a lie to deceive her. In the end, she didn't say anything, but just thought that he would take care of all the food, accommodation and transportation when they were together in the future.
I didn't stay in the theater for too long, I don't know if Li Si came out.
They were now on East Street, and they needed to go through two neighborhoods to return to the inn. However, Ye Xuanling didn't really want to go back yet, but she also wanted to get rid of Miss Sanqi who was beside her.
"Sanqi, I have something to do. Why don't you go back to the inn first?" Ye Xuanling asked tentatively.
"It doesn't matter. I have nowhere to go now."
Seeing that she was rejected, Ye Xuanling gave up this option. She could go back to the inn. Maybe Li Siren had already arrived.
As I walked through a neighborhood, I saw a group of people gathered in front of me, talking loudly about something.
But these people were just there to watch the fun. Maybe it was just a traveling merchant selling his wares? The people of Kanzhou really loved to watch the fun. As he was thinking this, the person behind him pushed him and Sanqi apart.
The force was so strong that Ye Xuanling's arm was bruised and painful. Her face showed no expression, but she felt extremely unhappy. She turned around and saw that it was the police. How did the police get to the neighborhood entrance?
With a curious heart, she moved forward.
"Get out of the way!! This is official business, no one is allowed to cross the line!" The group of people in front dispersed on the spot and retreated behind the officer.
The surroundings gradually quieted down. In the open space, half of a middle-aged man lay buried beneath a carriage wheel. He wore a brown-gray jacket and a wooden hairpin in his hair. Many people turned their heads away, but Ye Xuanling's eyes widened. This outfit was clearly the same one Li Si had worn this morning!
A ragged child spoke in a childish voice, "He should have told me before he died, right?"
Ye Xuanling looked over and saw Siliu. How could a child understand life and death? He had no concept of death at all.
She didn't dare to start a fight, but just watched the soldiers carry Li Si's body away. Li Si's body was pale, black blood oozing from his mouth. He died in an extremely cruel way, and his lower body was a bloody mess. Siliu ran over and grabbed her clothes: "Sister, do you know him?
Ye Xuanling's heart suddenly twitched, but her face showed no expression, and she seemed a little calmer than the others who were sighing.
After the body was carried away, she closed her eyes and stopped looking.
She had hastened his death.
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