Chapter 27: Convincing People with Reason Have you seen this Embroidered Spring Knife? Its name is...
The boots landed lightly on the ground, and Lou Wanqiao walked into the house silently.
There was a person sitting at the table in the room, with his head down and his expression unclear. Lou Wanqiao walked to the table without saying a word.
After a while, Wen Xuechi, who was standing behind her, heard a suppressed, almost mournful whisper: "He's dead."
Dead.
As soon as they stepped into the room, they realized that there was no living person here.
The shopkeeper sitting in the chair is just an empty shell.
He lowered his head, his eyes were lifeless, empty and dull, and his face was pale.
He knew he should turn around and leave, but Lou Wanqiao couldn't move a step. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, his eyes fixed on the man, anger welling in his chest...
Wen Xuechi also remained silent, silently holding his sword and guarding.
She exhaled, without reaching out to touch it, and turned around: "Let's go."
There's no need to go to the second floor. The shopkeeper's death here means that this stronghold has been discovered, and the rest of the people are probably in danger. No wonder there has been less and less news coming from Youzhou recently, and even the people sent by Ayan couldn't find any news.
Youzhou is not simple.
As soon as Lou Wanqiao walked out of Yanzhifang, she noticed a pair of eyes staring at them without any reservation. She turned her head and met the gaze of the owner of the shop next door.
She was a woman in a blue and white dress. The dress was mostly white with blue-green patterns smudged through the white, which inexplicably looked like cracked porcelain.
She didn't say anything either, just stood there grinning, her mouth wide open, a quiet smile on her face, her lips as red as blood.
Lou Wanqiao frowned.
She noticed that the shop the woman was in seemed to be... a paper-making shop.
Something is wrong.
Everything here is too weird.
Wen Xuechi stood side by side with her, his arm touching hers. Lou Wanqiao put one hand behind his back and grasped the hilt of the knife.
The three of them remained in a stalemate for a few moments.
The woman was the first to speak, breaking the silence. Her mouth opened and closed, her voice light and airy: "You two guests look like new faces."
Lou Wanqiao pursed her lips and didn't respond. Wen Xuechi took a step forward and said cheerfully, "We are wandering knights, passing by here. Since it's the end of the year and it's difficult to travel, we decided to stay here for a few nights."
"Oh? Is that so?" She nodded, not sure whether she believed it or not. "So, is there anything the customer would like to buy?"
Lou Wanqiao glanced at the paper-making shop behind her, gently tugged at the corner of Wen Xuechi's clothes with his fingers, and still maintained a forced politeness on his face: "No need, young lady, can you help me point out the location of an inn?"
"Inn..." She lowered her head slightly, looking like she was thinking carefully, "Can you stay at my house for a few days..."
Both her words and actions were too abnormal. Lou Wanqiao cautiously drew out the half-broken knife and said, "By the way, young lady, I want to go to the Rouge Shop to buy some things for my wife. Do you know where the people in the room have gone?"
"Ah, Rouge Shop..." She rested her nails, painted with nail polish, against her chin. She thought seriously for a while, then suddenly smiled sadly, "All the people from Rouge Shop are gone."
! !
Lou Wanqiao had a hunch that she must know something, but this wasn't the right place to talk. The street was crowded with people, and the woman in front of him hadn't shown any aggression so far.
She walked towards the paper-making shop and said, "Okay, then I want to see your things."
"Come in."
Neither of them let their guard down and walked into the paper-making shop one after the other.
The shop was simply decorated, with red, white, and yellow dominating the view, allowing the entire room to be taken in at a glance. Lou Wanqiao glanced at Wen Xuechi, who instantly understood and stood guard not far from the door.
"What do you want to buy?"
Lou Wanqiao asked, "Miss, could you tell me how the people from Rouge Shop disappeared?"
She exclaimed, "Ah!" "Aren't you going to buy something?"
Feeling powerless and unable to communicate, Lou Wanqiao casually pointed at the stage and said, "I want these two candles. Miss, what happened in Rouge Shop?"
"My name is Lian Yuxiang." She said hesitantly, "Rouge Shop... All the people in Rouge Shop are gone. They have nowhere to go, so they can only stay there... They were targeted early on and resisted for several days, but it was useless. You shouldn't have come here. This city, once you enter, you can't leave..."
Lou Wanqiao's heart skipped a beat.
"What do you mean?" She found it too difficult to understand. "What do you mean...wait, how do you know this?"
Lian Yuxiang's eyes suddenly became clear. She stopped smiling, her expression falling as she stared stiffly at Lou Wanqiao: "I saw it with my own eyes."
This time, without waiting for her to ask, Lian Yuxiang took the white candle and continued, "This whole street is full of their people. You have just entered the city and haven't been targeted yet, so leave quickly."
Two candles were stuffed into Lou Wanqiao's hands. She paused and grasped the key point: "Who are they?"
Lian Yuxiang glanced at the door, shook his head and said nothing.
Wen Xuechi suddenly spoke up, "We are wandering warriors who love to help others. If you need any help, please tell us."
"Rogue One?" Lian Yuxiang smiled again, this time with a strange smile, "There's no such thing as a Rogue One either."
The "jianghu knight" she mentioned was probably the person who was killed in Feiying Manor, and was exactly the purpose of Wen Xuechi's trip.
Lian Yuxiang was a little tired. She lay down on the recliner and said lazily, "You guys should leave the city...it will be too late if you are any later."
Lou Wanqiao walked up to her and repeated softly, "We're passing through here to root out the evil. Miss Lian, could you please tell me everything you know?"
Without even raising her eyelids, Yu Xiang rolled over, her arm brushing against the pile of papers on the table. The bright yellow paper scatters and covers her body. Lou Wanqiao waited a moment longer, her voice soft as a mosquito's hum: "...Luo Tong Temple."
Lou Wanqiao understood and left the paper-making shop.
"Do you want to go?" Wen Xuechi asked.
"Let's go and take a look. Something is wrong here, be careful." Lou Wanqiao reminded in a low voice.
Something is wrong.
Although the Imperial City is far away, it shouldn't be like this. It feels like it's completely out of control, and it's already causing a huge impact.
But Lou Wanqiao had also made preparations. Before coming, she had instructed Ah Yan to gather all the people around her, and if there was any danger or abnormality, they would have to use force.
Going to that point would undoubtedly expose her strength too early, and Li Lianhan would be even more reluctant to let her stay. So she didn't want to break up with him too early.
When everything is still unclear, it is better to be cautious.
I don't know if Li Lie has entered the city yet. I think he's here to investigate as well, but their purposes are different. If he were here, maybe he could be of some use.
Luotong Temple... it was an unfamiliar name. Youzhou was not small, and the government had probably already fallen. I didn't know what would happen if I went there now, so I had to make some plans. So, I decided to go to Luotong Temple first.
The courtyard was deserted, with only broken snow and dead branches piled on the ground. Not even a monk sweeping the floor could be seen.
As Lou Wanqiao stepped over the threshold, he felt as if he had entered another world.
There were more people inside than outside, kneeling in the hall, kowtow and burning incense. Smoke and the smell of burning wafted everywhere.
Lou Wanqiao couldn't get used to the smell, her nose wrinkled slightly, and she consciously slowed her breathing. The scene before her was eerie. She glanced back at the empty street, then back at the hall where a row of people knelt, and she felt even more suspicious.
Since the Dengxian Sect was involved in this matter, the infiltration here should be even more serious. These past few days, Lou Wanqiao had read through the books left by Li Huanian and practiced his own skills, and he could more or less cope with the Dengxian Sect's skills.
As she was observing, the surroundings suddenly became very quiet.
Even the chanting stopped.
She looked up and saw the people in the hall turning their heads to stare at them with fixed eyes, just like... the same feeling Lian Yuxiang had given her before.
It makes people feel uncomfortable.
Lou Wanqiao felt strange. She knew something was wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She took a step back, wary. Those people didn't move, just staring. A cough came from behind her. She turned and saw a monk standing not far away, clasping his hands and bowing. "Where are you from, benefactor?"
She replied: "I came from the Jianghu."
"No." He shook his head, his tone slow, "Donor, you come from obsession."
Uh, I don’t understand.
Lou Wanqiao curled his lips and said, "I know exactly where I come from, but Master, it seems to me that you are trapped in an obsession."
He shook his head again: "Donor, your inner demons are hard to get rid of..."
"Master," Lou Wanqiao said earnestly, mimicking his tone, "Don't impose your inner demons on others. This is your karma, and you should bear the consequences yourself."
The master stopped talking.
Lou Wanqiao felt comfortable.
Wen Xuechi remained silent, but his eyes were filled with admiration, and he looked at Lou Wanqiao with a hint of respect. Lou Wanqiao felt that this seemed a bit too ostentatious, and she coughed twice, but she saw that the monk's eyes seemed to change.
If he was indifferent before, now he looks quite angry.
There were footsteps behind them, and a group of monks surrounded them.
"What do you mean?" Lou Wanqiao raised his voice, feigning surprise. "Since your inner demons can't trap me, you're trying to trap me by force?"
"Donor, I am here to guide you out of your confusion." The monk chanted the Buddha's name, and from the moment he appeared, the hall returned to normal. No one looked over and no one cared about what was happening here.
"What a coincidence, Master, it seems we should have a common topic." Lou Wanqiao pondered in her heart. She nodded modestly and drew the embroidered spring sword from her waist. "I also like to convince people with reason."
In an instant, the sword energy swept up the broken snow and rushed forward.
The monk raised his staff to block, but was knocked several meters away and thrown against the wall with another person, vomiting blood.
The monk clasped his hands together, his eyes sharp, and formed a seal to attack her, but was stopped mid-strike by a long sword. The blade was sharp, reflecting a pair of cold eyes.
Wen Xuechi gripped the hilt of his sword with a calm expression, "Isn't it a coincidence that the three of us are like this? I prefer to win people over with virtue."
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