Old Qiao came over, with a large amount of blood on his shoulder. Mu Qing had some medicine for wounds with him, so he gave it to Yu Xuanji. Yu Xuanji applied the medicine to Old Qiao and then tore off a large piece of her coat to bandage him.
Sanqiao asked, "Mu Qing, you still carry the golden medicine with you."
Mu Qing said, "Miss Fushu said it's always good to carry some medicine with you when you're away from home." He glanced at Old Qiao and said, "Coroner Qiao's injuries are quite serious. We need to find Miss Fushu as soon as possible and have her take a look."
"And Susu and the Major General." Yu Xuanji said.
When they returned to the Xiangshui Inn, they only saw the bodies of the assassins. There was no sign of Ye Zelin and Yu Chisu. They searched inside and out but still couldn't find them. However, they found the inn owner and his wife in the kitchen cellar.
Mu Qing found a silver note on the stove. It was the silver note brought by Qin Youran. He was sure that Qin Youran had been here. After asking the shop owner couple, he learned that Hua Fushu and Qin Youran had met, while Yu Chisu and Ye Zelin were captured by the bandits from Qingyun Mountain.
Upon hearing the news that Yu Chi Su was captured, Yu Xuanji suddenly became dejected.
Mu Qing checked outside the inn and found a mark in the weeds on the roadside. Five small stones were arranged in the shape of a plum blossom. This was one of the marks Qin Youran often used. He knew it, and Hua Fushu, Miao Niangzi, and Sanqiao also knew it.
The direction indicated by the mark was Qingyun Mountain. Ye Zelin was taken away by the bandits from Qingyun Mountain again. He thought that Qin Youran and Hua Fushu should have gone to Qingyun Mountain.
He returned to the inn and told Yu Xuanji and others the whereabouts of Qin Youran and Hua Fushu. Yu Xuanji then calmed down and thought. Cai Yuanchang's men wanted to kill them, but the bandits from Qingyun Mountain killed Cai Yuanchang's men and took away Ye Zelin and Yu Chi Su. He had to suspect that there was some kind of relationship between Qingyun Mountain and Cai Yuanchang.
Mu Qing took out a hundred taels of silver notes and ten taels of silver change from his pocket and gave them to the shop owner and his wife. He said to them, "Brother and sister-in-law, don't be afraid. We are not bad people. Those people outside the courtyard wanted to kill our boss's people, but the bandits from Qingyun Mountain intervened and took away my boss's distant nephew and niece. I'll ask you to help bury the bodies outside with this money."
The shopkeeper believed Mu Qing's words to a point. He glanced at the banknotes and small change for a few seconds, then took them with trembling hands. But he couldn't help but say, "Some enemy wants to kill you."
The 'boss' that Mu Qing mentioned said, "A dispute over family property."
The couple who owned the shop were not nosy people and did not dare to ask too many questions. They went to deal with the body outside before it got dark.
Sanqiao was worried about Hua Fushu, so Mu Qing said, "Young Master and Miss Fushu are not impulsive people. They should have gone to Qingyun Mountain to investigate. Let's wait here and see if they come back. If not, we will go to Qingyun Mountain again. The bandits must have other purposes for taking Miss Yu and Young Master Ye away."
Sanqiao said, "Could it be a robbery?"
Mu Qing said, "It's definitely not a robbery. The way you're dressed doesn't look like someone with a lot of money."
"..." Sanqiao hadn't expected Mu Qing to say that. She refuted, "Not every wealthy family wears brocade hats and fur coats, or lavishly dressed in fine clothes. My master is not one of them."
Mu Qing said: "Master Hua is an exception."
Sanqiao agreed with this statement. Her master was a very low-key businessman. All the wealthy businessmen wore brocade hats and sable fur coats, and were eager to tell others how rich they were and how much wealth they had. However, her master was an exception among the businessmen. He was rich but not ostentatious, and he kept a low profile.
The moon, not yet full, was not full. Its faint light shone through the forest, filtering through the branches and leaves of the trees, the bushes and weeds, and dotting the ground with spots of light. The red flames illuminated the surroundings, and two small shadows intertwined. Qin Youran handed Hua Fushu a water bag, "Drink some water."
Hua Fushu took the water bag, drank a few sips of water, and ate some roasted pheasant. Qin Youran asked her why she came to Yuezhou. Hua Fushu gave the water bag to Qin Youran and took out a letter from her arms and gave it to Qin Youran.
After seeing this, Qin Youran asked, "Is this the reason you came to Yuezhou?"
"Otherwise." Hua Fushu told Qin Youran about Bai Xingjian, and then added, "Don't worry, I've looked it up. This is all a misunderstanding. Bai Xingjian is Bai Yanlang's adopted son, and Bai Yanlang is a fellow disciple of our master. It's not surprising that he knows the 'Zhemei Sword Technique'."
Qin Youran was worried, "If you tell him Bai Xingjian's life story, will he believe it? If he doesn't, then all your efforts will be in vain."
Hua Fushu disagreed: "Bai Xingjian should have believed it. Even if he didn't, he must have had some doubts. Otherwise, your junior sister and I wouldn't be here."
Qin Youran thought so too. Hua Fushu remembered something: "By the way, how's Lanling doing?"
Qin Youran knew what she was asking, so he said, "It's not good. Han Tuizhi's illness is getting worse, and I don't know how long he can live. The only thing I'm worried about is his youngest son." He asked, "Is Bai Xingjian really Han Tuizhi's youngest son?"
Hua Fushu said, "I've asked everything I should, and it's probably true." She instructed Qin Youran, "Don't report this to Lanling yet. Han Tuizhi did something wrong, leaving Master with nowhere to seek justice. Why should I let him see his son so soon? Send a message to Mr. Chang, and tell him to treat Han Tuizhi well. Even if he can't be cured, keep him alive and don't let him die so soon. Besides, keeping Bai Xingjian by Bai Yanlang's side will be of great benefit to me."
Qin Youran wanted to tell her that Han Tuizhi's death didn't matter, as they still had the Han family's wife and the eldest son. But seeing her indignant and confident expression, she found it amusing. She couldn't help but flick her forehead and said with a smile, "You are so confident."
Hua Fushu asked Qin Youran, "Have you ever seen me fail at anything? I have confidence. If I do something, I'll do it successfully. Even if I can't persuade Bai Xingjian to rebel, and let them have a rift between them, it will only benefit me."
Qin Youran said, "I wish you success."
Hua Fushu patted his thigh and laughed, "As long as I don't die here, Bai Xingjian will definitely come looking for me."
The two men continued to discuss the current situation when two voices were heard in the distance: "Who is there? Who is it?"
It was already late at night. Apart from the two of them, who else could be wandering in the Qingyun Mountains and Forests if not the local bandits?
Hua Fushu subconsciously dropped the roasted pheasant, and Qin Youran grabbed her hand and ran away.
The moonlight was hazy, and a few paths were vaguely visible. Qin Youran ran with Hua Fushu, their cheeks, arms, and long legs inevitably scratched by branches. Soon, the bandits were about to catch up. Hua Fushu looked back and saw that the light of two torches was getting closer, but the distance was still too far to make out how many people there were.
Hua Fushu saw a small slope in front of her in the moonlight and thought that the two of them might not be able to escape, so if one could escape, then the better. So she put her hand on Qin Youran's back.
Qin Youran was pulling Hua Fushu to hide on the small slope, but unexpectedly, the next moment he was pushed by someone and rolled down the slope. His eyes followed the hazy moonlight and he saw Hua Fushu walking in another direction.
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