Chapter 48
Once the carriage left the city, it sped off towards Qianyi without stopping, its wheels kicking up clouds of dust as it trod the official road. At the same time, another elite force galloped towards Yaogu. Along the way, messengers carrying memorials and messages traveled back and forth incessantly, the clatter of hooves conveying a sense of oppressive urgency.
However, on the evening of the third day, the weary carriage finally arrived at Qianyi, a somewhat desolate old town.
Yin Huaisi, already dressed in mourning clothes, waited at the gate of the old house. Seeing Pei Yun's carriage stop, he rushed forward, his face a mixture of sorrow and eagerness, reaching out to help him: "Your Majesty, you have had a long journey, and you still come to mourn your grandfather, Your Majesty..."
Before he could finish speaking, Pei Yun had already stood up coldly, perched on the carriage shaft, and before even touching the ground, he commanded in a deep voice from his superior position: "Take him down!"
At a single command, the imperial guards immediately surrounded Yin Huaisi and his entourage. The servants were terrified and stood frozen in place.
Yin Huaisi was brutally bound hand and foot, struggling and shouting his grievances, his voice trembling with shock and anger: "What does Your Majesty mean by this?! What have I done wrong? Did I offend Your Majesty by escorting my grandfather's coffin back to his hometown for burial?!"
Pei Yun's face was ashen, ignoring his cries for justice, and he walked silently into the old house. The Qin family's old house in Qianyi was quite simple, consisting of only three closely spaced courtyards, appearing dilapidated and desolate. A withered tree at the entrance had roots that were clearly rotten, creaking and groaning in the wind, seemingly on the verge of collapse.
The main hall was set up as a mourning hall, with an unpainted thin coffin abruptly placed in the center. Not even the most basic white cloth for mourning was hung or laid out. The scene was so sloppy that it aroused suspicion. Anyone with eyes could tell at a glance how strange this "funeral" was.
Yin Huaisi was escorted behind, and when she saw Pei Yun's gaze sweeping around like an icy blade, she knew that this matter could no longer be kept secret.
His eyes flickered as he carefully chose his words, attempting to explain: "My grandfather is advanced in years and has long been weary of the court's intrigues. He only wishes to return to his old home and live out his remaining years in peace. However... however, the relationships in the court are deeply entrenched, and a single move can have far-reaching consequences. My grandfather has many disciples and old friends, and any action would affect the future and interests of countless people. That's why... that's why it has been delayed until now. Recently, the Xie family has repeatedly come to cause trouble because of old grudges. I... I was truly forced into a corner and had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure. I beg Miss Xi Xiao for help in faking my death, just to help my grandfather escape this vortex of trouble..."
Pei Yun listened indifferently, walked straight to the head seat and sat down, but his gaze did not fall on Yin Huaisi. Instead, he looked outside, as if waiting for something. The entire hall fell into a suffocating silence, with only the eerie sound of the wind blowing through the withered branches outside the window, sending chills down one's spine.
Yin Huaisi knelt on the cold stone slab, secretly glancing at Pei Yun's expressionless face. The more she spoke, the more guilty she felt, and finally shut her mouth.
Before long, He Ying strode in and whispered, "Your Majesty, An Qi has returned." Then, he shook his head almost imperceptibly.
This subtle movement seemed to finally touch Pei Yun. A faint smile appeared on his face, and his gaze slowly shifted back to Yin Huaisi's face, where a raging fury that Yin Huaisi could not comprehend surged deep within his eyes.
"Beat him until he tells you." Pei Yun's voice wasn't loud, but every word was like an ice bead hitting the ground.
Yin Huaisi stared in astonishment, unable to believe his ears. He tried to stand up to argue, but He Ying slapped him hard across the face, knocking him to the ground. His cheek instantly swelled up. He covered his face, staring at Pei Yun in disbelief, and roared angrily, "Are you serious?!"
Pei Yun slowly stood up and walked step by step to Yin Huaisi. His black boots stepped mercilessly on Yin Huaisi's chest, the force so great that it almost suffocated him.
He leaned down, each word piercing Yin Huaisi's heart: "Yin Huaisi, everything you have now is given to you by me. Do you think that helping her once can atone for all your sins? You personally revealed her identity to me, the Southern Frontier was destroyed because of you, and Wu Lingwei died tragically because of you. You are already deeply sinful and doomed to eternal damnation. Now you actually dare to think of clearing your name and living a peaceful life? It's utterly delusional!"
Her words shifted all the blame for this unforgivable grudge onto him, as if by repeating such statements he could deceive himself into thinking that nothing had ever happened.
A leather whip soaked in salt water lashed down with a sharp whistling sound.
"Smack—!"
With a sharp crack, the mourning clothes on Yin Huaisi's back tore open, revealing a hideous bloodstain. He clenched his teeth, letting out a suppressed groan, swallowing back any further cries of pain, his head hanging low, uttering not a word.
Pei Yun stared at him coldly, sneering repeatedly.
The second lash, the third lash... fell in succession.
The whip lashed into flesh, and blood quickly soaked through the mourning clothes. Yin Huaisi's body trembled violently, veins bulged on his forehead, and cold sweat poured down his face, but he kept his teeth clenched until his consciousness blurred and he completely fainted, without uttering a single word.
"Throw him into the woodshed." Pei Yun tossed down the whip, his tone indifferent as if he were dealing with a piece of trash. "Give him a bite to eat when he confesses; if he still refuses to talk, let him die here. Interrogate every single servant of the Qin family, inside and outside the mansion, leaving no stone unturned!"
With that cold command, Pei Yun strode out of the mourning hall and summoned An Qi, who had been waiting outside.
"How could Yunwu have lost track of him?" He pressed hard on his throbbing temples. The excruciating pain in his chest had disappeared after the Love Gu died, but this headache was getting worse day by day, as if steel needles were constantly drilling into him, making him extremely irritable, yet he could only suppress his anger.
An Qi lowered his head in shame, seemingly unable to speak: "After we escorted Miss Yunwu back to Medicine Valley last time, we have been keeping a close watch on her. That girl... on the surface, she seems extremely honest. Every day she either feeds the chickens and poultry in the yard or sits in a daze by the field that has not yet sprouted. Her words and actions are not abnormal at all."
He paused, stealing a glance at Pei Yun's increasingly gloomy face. Daring not to conceal anything further, he forced himself to continue, "Perhaps because his surveillance had yielded no results for days, An Wu had become somewhat lax, assuming she was just a little girl and her actions were uninteresting… The other afternoon, he carelessly dozed off… In that brief moment, Miss Yunwu vanished without a trace. When An Wu awoke, he immediately rushed to the market, but it was already a sea of people, and he had lost all track of her… An Wu assumed she had simply gone out to buy groceries and would return soon, so he went back to the Medicine Valley to wait… But… but since then, Miss Yunwu has never appeared again, as if she had evaporated into thin air…"
As An Qi spoke, his voice grew softer and softer. He was about to say a few more words in defense of An Wu, but before he could plead for mercy, he heard an extremely cold judgment from above. It was light and airy, yet enough to make one feel as if they had fallen into an ice cave: "Useless person, no need to stay any longer. Go and 'invite' Elder Qin out. If you can't find him... then you can go down and keep An Wu company."
An Qi shuddered, her heart clenching. When she looked up again, she saw that Pei Yun had already turned and left, leaving only a cold, distant figure.
*
The mountain road wound its way along, and a seemingly ordinary freight wagon slowly made its way towards the Taoist temple in the mountains. Inside the wagon, Xi Xiao sat in a corner some distance from Elder Qin, her brow furrowed slightly, her fingers unconsciously curling as she repeatedly went through the incomplete and obscure parts of the ancient book of the witch clan, pondering how to fill in those crucial gaps.
On the other side, Xi Yu looked much better than before. She was talking quietly with Grand Secretary Qin. When she saw that Xi Yu was silent, he pushed some fresh fruit in front of her and poured her some warm tea.
As the two were talking, Xi Xiao suddenly glanced out the carriage window and interrupted their conversation with a cold voice: "That's enough for you, Lord Qin. Thank you." With that, she raised her voice to tell the driver to stop.
Qin, the old minister, twitched his white beard in anger and snorted coldly, "Little brat, your prejudice against this old man is extraordinary."
Xi Xiao glanced at the rolling mountains outside the window and muttered in a low but clear voice, "What kind of upright official is he who aids and abets evil?"
Although the voice was soft, Grand Secretary Qin, who always complained about being hard of hearing, heard every word. He glared at her and immediately retorted, "When did I ever aid and abet evil? If it weren't for me, would you have been able to escape from the capital so easily? This little girl changes her mind faster than flipping through a book!"
Xi Xiao whirled around, retorting without hesitation, "It was clearly me who got you out!" Her voice rose sharply, even drowning out the rumbling of the carriage wheels outside, sounding utterly self-righteous. Seeing him choked and glaring, she added fearlessly, "More than half of the civil officials in the court follow your lead. Without your tacit approval and support, how could he... how could he have so quickly taken control and consolidated his power?"
Although she understood deep down that many of the things that man did might have been intended to unify Yuan Chu and stabilize the country, the methods he used were too cruel. What she couldn't accept the most was why she had to bear the cost of achieving these ambitions? Why was she the one chosen and forced to endure all of this?!
Xi Yu keenly sensed the powerlessness and grievance hidden in her words, and his heart ached. He quickly intervened gently, made a few conciliatory remarks, and then took the opportunity to ask for his leave from Elder Qin, accompanying Xi Xiao as she got off the carriage first.
The two rented another car and drove slowly along the mountain road. The atmosphere inside the car became stiff and heavy, as if shrouded by an invisible barrier. For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Xi Xiao simply turned around completely, crossed her arms over her chest, and silently watched the scenery rushing past the window, leaving him with only a tense profile.
Xi Yu stared at her silently for a moment, his eyes filled with helplessness and heartache. Finally, he gave in first, his voice low and gentle: "Xiao Xiao, don't be angry. It's your senior brother's fault."
"What's wrong with you?" She didn't turn around, her voice cold and calm.
Xi Yu carefully moved forward, getting a little closer to her, but still maintaining a distance, and whispered, "I shouldn't have...never looked for you after waking up, instead...hide from you."
"And there's more!" Xi Xiao suddenly turned her face back, her bright eyes already red, glistening with tears that seemed to be gathering into pearls, hanging on her long eyelashes, about to fall. Her red lips were slightly pouting in grievance, and the sight made Xi Yu's heart tighten.
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