Glimpse into a Hundred Faces (21)
The disappearance of Li Zhoubai and Qin Wenshuang came without any warning.
Even the usually carefree Wu Shao lost her smile and spent her days hunched over her desk divining. But the divination results were always unclear. After several attempts, she silently slammed the tortoise shells heavily onto the desk, making a dull thud.
"Are you really a great shaman?" Yun Yanqiu couldn't help but wonder.
Wu Shao seemed not to hear, her fingertips tracing the charred divination herbs, her lips pressed into a straight line. The more silent she was, the more anxious Yun Yanqiu became—three days had passed since the two disappeared, and not a single trace could be found.
"Brother Yan, there's no use in rushing this," Zhao Huai-ren comforted him. "Besides, with the two seniors' extraordinary cultivation, who outside could possibly harm them?"
“That’s hard to say.” Wu Shao suddenly spoke up, clapping her hands together and crushing the bu grass into powder. “Little apprentice, don’t wait any longer. They won’t be back for a while. Go home with your friend.” After saying that, she emphasized, “Go back to your own home.”
"On what grounds?"
Wu Shao raised his index finger and put it to his lips: "The less you know, the longer you live."
These words completely ignited Yun Yanqiu's anger: "What do you mean? All you do is play tricks all day long. If you don't give me an explanation..."
"Brother Yan, don't be angry!" Zhao Huai-ren hurriedly stepped between the two, genuinely worried for his brother. He could only hold onto Yun Yanqiu's arm tightly, afraid that the young man might impulsively beat someone.
In contrast, Wu Shao remained calm. Seeing that Zhao Huai Ren was still trying his best to stop Yun Yan Qiu, she neither dodged nor fled, but walked straight towards Yun Yan Qiu.
Zhao Huai Ren was terrified at the sight, unsure of what the great shaman was thinking. Yun Yan Qiu was also stunned. He saw Wu Shao raise his hand to him, revealing a blood-soaked palm—a hideous wound running across his entire hand, the flesh turned inside out, blood gushing out continuously.
"Look carefully." She held the bloody wound up to Yun Yanqiu's eyes, blood dripping down the lines of her palm. "For every divination I perform, I lose ten years of my lifespan."
The stench of blood filled the air, reaching Yun Yanqiu's nostrils, and the anger on his face involuntarily froze.
“That bastard Li Zhoubai ran away without a word. I want to find him even more than you do. But the difference in our current cultivation levels is too great. Trying to catch his movements is like looking for a needle in a haystack.” As she spoke, she shook her hand, and beads of blood splattered on the ground along her wrist bone. “I can be sure of two things: first, your master and mistress are still together; second, I will bring him back to save my daughter, even if it kills me.”
Zhao Huai-ren blinked, then asked in astonishment, "Senior, your daughter...?"
“This is none of your business.” Wu Shao’s tone turned icy. “Get out of here and stop getting in the way.”
Yun Yanqiu remained silent for a long while, then suddenly turned and left. Zhao Huai Ren was taken aback, then quickly smoothed things over, saying, "Senior, he was just worried and confused, please don't take it to heart."
Do I look like such a petty person?
"No, no, no, of course not." Zhao Huai-ren denied it repeatedly, his gaze involuntarily drifting to her still bleeding hand, a sense of awe rising within him.
“That’s good. Go after him.” Wu Shao paused, then added, “After you take him away, try to delay him as much as possible. Don’t let him come back before I find Li Zhoubai.”
"This is……"
"Don't ask any more questions, just do as I say." With that, she turned and walked into the depths of the bamboo forest without looking back.
Zhao Huai Ren sighed helplessly, feeling utterly exhausted from the trip. He went down the mountain to search for the person in Yunyan Hill's courtyard, but after circling around, he couldn't find a single person in the empty courtyard.
Slightly puzzled, Zhao Huai-ren continued walking towards the foot of the mountain, eventually spotting Yun Yanqiu at the exit. The young man stood at the crossroads with a stern face, the small blue bird perched on his shoulder. The setting sun cast a long shadow of him, intertwining with the dappled shadows of the trees, making him appear somewhat lonely.
"Too slow." Yun Yanqiu frowned, tapping his elbow impatiently with his fingertips.
Zhao Huai-ren shrugged nonchalantly, then leaned closer with a grin and said, "Oh, you're pretty eager, aren't you? So eager to go home?"
Yun Yanqiu snorted coldly and strode towards the outside of the mountain. The turmoil in the Northern Continent had gradually subsided, and the post station had resumed operation. The two quickly boarded a carriage and headed south.
On the train, Yun Yanqiu couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you encounter any demonic cultivators when you entered the Northern Continent?"
"No, I was just lucky." Zhao Huai-ren lifted the carriage curtain, gazing at the desolate white scenery outside. "I heard about what happened in the Northern Continent on my way here. By the time I arrived, those demonic cultivators had already completely disappeared." The carriage bumped along, its wheels grinding against the gravel with a rough noise. Zhao Huai-ren was silent for a moment, then asked, "Was it because of the woman we killed?"
"Hmm." Yun Yanqiu looked down at her palm, where the tangible sensation of piercing Lu Yin's throat with a sword still lingered. "She said her name was Lu Yin."
Zhao Huai-ren raised an eyebrow in surprise: "You actually remember her name?"
"I only remembered it when I heard the name 'Lu Jiuzhong'." Yun Yanqiu clenched his fists, his gaze darkening. "There must be an old grudge between Master, Wu Shao, and this Lu Jiuzhong."
How did you know?
"Intuition," Yun Yanqiu said, her eyes darkening. "If Lu Jiuzhong truly wanted revenge, why would he retreat so easily?"
“Unless…Senior Li persuaded him?” Zhao Huai-ren pondered, following his words.
“A madman wouldn’t reason with anyone, and he’s a demonic cultivator, so he’s even less likely to care about feelings or morality.”
"So what do you think...?"
"I suspect he was trying to sow discord, so he deliberately left to arouse his master's wife's suspicion."
Zhao Huai-ren gasped: "So their sudden disappearance...was it because that guy successfully instigated it?"
Although he didn't want to admit it, there was really no other possibility at the moment. Yun Yanqiu nodded heavily, his brows furrowed, as if a shadow had been cast over his face, one that he couldn't shake off.
"But how could they not see through these tricks you've described?" Zhao Huai-ren leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, and said seriously, "Perhaps they're planning to turn the tables on us?"
"If only it were like that..."
The carriage fell silent. The sound of horses' hooves outside grew clearer, and a cold wind blew in through the curtains, ruffling the stray hairs at Yun Yanqiu's temples. The disappearance of his master and mistress was too sudden, making it hard for Yun Yanqiu not to think the worst. If they could just play along, that would be fine, but he had a feeling that things weren't so simple.
Seeing his solemn expression, Zhao Huai Ren offered a different perspective: "Think about it from another angle. Given the relationship between your master and mistress, if they were really going to have a conflict, why wait until now?" He shifted his posture and leaned back. "Your mistress was willing to leave the Yanqing Sect for Senior Li. With such awareness, she wouldn't change her mind just because of a few words from a demonic cultivator, would she?"
Yun Yanqiu raised an eyebrow, finding the argument reasonable. The two discussed it for a long time without reaching a conclusion, when suddenly the carriage stopped. Yun Yanqiu lifted the curtain and looked out. He saw red silk fluttering in front of the Yun Family Winery, several gilded lanterns swaying under the eaves, the character "囍" (double happiness) prominently displayed on them, bright and dazzling. Shop assistants carried various items tied with red knots in and out, their laughter echoing from afar. Looking at all this, Yun Yanqiu suddenly felt a sense of reality—Yun Yuxi was really going to marry Zhao Huai Ren.
"How about it? Not bad, right?" Zhao Huai-ren bumped his shoulder smugly. "Your sister personally arranged this. She even made me go out to deliver the wedding invitations."
Yun Yanqiu remained silent, staring motionlessly at the scene before him. Ye Yingying shifted slightly in his arms, hearing the thunderous pounding of his heart.
As the two approached the distillery, the workers greeted Zhao Huai-ren with smiles, saying, "Brother Zhao is back!" Some of the bolder workers even gathered around to tease him, "Hey, the groom has finally shown up! We thought the manager had locked you in the bridal chamber!"
Faced with the laughter of the crowd, Zhao Huai Ren was not annoyed. He laughed and responded to everyone in turn: "I'm just going to pick up my brother-in-law!"
Upon hearing this, all eyes turned to Yun Yanqiu, and the laughter subsided somewhat. Everyone rarely saw this young master of the winery, and they already felt a sense of distance. Furthermore, when he returned last time, he had a fierce argument with the manager, naturally leading to rumors circulating in the winery that the young master possessed extraordinary magical abilities and a bad temper. Now, no one dared to be presumptuous when they saw him, only greeting him respectfully.
Yun Yanqiu saw this but didn't say anything. Zhao Huai Ren, however, noticed the awkward atmosphere and quickly changed the subject: "Where's the manager? Where did the manager go?"
"She went to the embroidery shop to try on her wedding dress," a shop assistant replied. "Judging by the time, she should be back soon."
"Who's inside that house now...?"
Before she could finish speaking, Yunmu, dressed in a formal gown, walked out from the backyard. Upon seeing the two of them, she looked stunned: "Ayan?"
“Mother.” Yun Yanqiu was slightly taken aback, then stepped forward and took her hand.
"Little Zhao really found you!" Yunmu squeezed his hand with delight.
Upon seeing this, Zhao Huai-ren immediately stepped forward to claim credit: "Auntie, didn't I keep my word?"
"Alright, alright." Yunmu smiled and patted Zhao Huai Ren, her other hand still tightly holding Yun Yanqiu's. "You must be tired from the long journey. Come with me, let's have a couple of cups of tea and get some rest."
She led the two through a series of archways, their eyes filled with a blinding crimson. Paper-cut mandarin ducks adorned the window frames, vermilion gauze wrapped the pillars, and crimson petals sprinkled the stone steps. "囍" (double happiness) characters were everywhere. Looking at this scene, Yun Yanqiu, for some reason, suddenly recalled a time when she and her sister secretly ate sweet fermented rice dumplings as children. It was during the Spring Festival, and the whole world was ablaze with this festive red, almost blinding.
“Ayu went to the embroidery shop to try on clothes today. The previous one was said to be a bit tight, and I don’t know if it will fit after it’s been altered.” As Yunmu spoke, she glanced at Zhao Huai Ren inadvertently. “That child has become greedy since he got married. He has gained a lot of weight in just one month.”
"Being able to eat is a blessing! Ah Yu looks good no matter what!" Zhao Huai Ren replied, not seeing anything wrong with it at all.
Yunmu wasn't in a hurry and continued to advise, "I'm not worried about your character, but I wonder if you'll be able to do both things well after you get married, given what you planned before."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com