Chapter 80: The first chapter is broken...it must be broken...
The next day, at Mu's house.
Mountains and rivers shift, the sun and moon remain unchanged, and as time cycles, the moonlight is replaced by morning light and the stars are blown away into flowing clouds.
When the first ray of light slowly rose from the horizon and fell on the Mu residence, everything in the courtyard woke up. Flowers of all colors were in full bloom, and all kinds of birds were singing. The servants and boys coming and going were busy like a stream of water.
Song Linsheng was dressed neatly, still wearing the same plain round-necked robe he wore the day before, with a sparrow-head colored lining underneath. A smooth white neck emerged from the collar, making her look even more slender and graceful.
But looking up, he was tired and exhausted. He knelt on the couch, bathing in the thin gold in the room.
Song Linsheng's whole body was immersed in wisps of golden light, but there was no life in him, which was completely different from his usual gentle and docile demeanor. At this moment, Song Linsheng looked so cold and elegant.
Beside him, the inkstone slept at his desk, one hand resting on his chin, the other holding a half-block of inkstone. Though his eyes were closed, the area beneath them was a dark blue.
On the other side, Mu Jingli supported his face with one hand, leaned on the table, and also closed his eyes as if to rest.
Song Linsheng was the only one awake, or to put it another way, the only one who hadn't closed an eye the entire night.
He sat upright, without even the slightest tilt, making it difficult to tell that he hadn't slept all night.
The square table in front of him was now covered with scattered rice papers, spread out in all directions without a single gap. Only a large ink stain was left where he had washed the inkstone.
Song Linsheng lowered his eyelashes and stared at the different portraits on the paper. The one at the head was a man with an extremely bad face.
The ink was still new, half dry, with some traces of moisture on it.
Song Linsheng held the brush in his right hand, the tip of the brush soaked with ink. He wrote on the rice paper neatly and without hesitation.
Suddenly, a hideous old scar appeared across the man's face, which made people feel very scared just by looking at it.
Song Linsheng picked up his brush and carefully traced every inch of the portrait, comparing it with the image in his mind. Only when there was no longer a single mistake or omission did the tension in his heart relax.
However, perhaps because Song Linsheng was too tense or had been holding on for too long, before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, the pen he was holding slipped to the ground without him noticing.
Only a slight crisp sound remained.
One sound and two people got busy.
Xiyan and Mu Tong were both startled awake by the sound of the broken pen. Mu Tong gently rubbed the blood vessel beside his ear, but before he could say anything, Xiyan opened his eyes wide and called out, "Master?"
Song Linsheng seemed to be deaf to the gentle call to wash the inkstone, and was only staring at the two wolf-hair brushes scattered below. It was really difficult to put one end at a time and the other end together.
It’s broken, the pen is broken…must it break…?
The ink splashed everywhere and spread on the ground like a black lotus blooming in the water. It was clearly a very deep black color, but Song Linsheng saw a burst of brilliance for no reason.
It seemed as if something was blocking his view, as if a misty rain had just fallen, making the pool of water misty and shrouded in layers of water vapor, covering the black lotus. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see it clearly.
Song Linsheng felt depressed and was immersed in a certain mood for a while, unable to extricate himself. He knew clearly that now was not a good time to be sad about the passing of time, but he still couldn't stop his inexplicable panic.
Everything around him seemed to be moving away at a very fast speed. Song Linsheng seemed to be in an endless wilderness, with the sound of the wind whistling past his ears, and in the distance were variables that were difficult to see. Endless crises were lurking at the end of the boundless horizon.
Song Linsheng's breathing became more and more rapid, and his chest rose and fell, and he could hardly stop breathing.
"Young Master, Young Master?"
Xiyan called out anxiously, and all of Song Linsheng's abnormalities fell into his eyes.
The young master clearly had his eyes open and should have been awake, but everything he showed was like a nightmare from which he could not escape.
Shouting alone would be useless. Xiyan became anxious and couldn't help but grab Song Linsheng's shoulders and shake him.
"Young Master!"
The sound was like a sharp blade that cut a hole in the net that trapped Song Linsheng tightly, and the cold wind rushed in.
Song Linsheng finally came back to his senses. Seeing Xiyan in front of him with a worried look on his face, he realized that he didn't know how long he had been there.
"Xi Yan..." he murmured, his eyes moving away from Xi Yan and then back to the portrait on the table.
"Master Song, it's just a pen, don't take it to heart."
Mu Tong's voice sounded from the side. He had just woken up, but seeing that Lord Song was concentrating on something, he was afraid that his words would scare him, as it would be bad if he interrupted his train of thought.
So Mu Tong had been dozing off until Song Linsheng accidentally broke the tip of the sword, and a crisp breaking sound woke him up.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Master Song looking down at the pen, which was motionless. He had originally thought it was just a pen, so if it broke, it would be fine. He was about to open his mouth to explain to Master Song, but he found that Master Song seemed to be in a trance.
After Xiyan called him several times, Mr. Song finally woke up reluctantly and began to explain.
Song Linsheng nodded and withdrew his gaze from the wolf that was split in two.
The pen may break, but it is not necessarily broken. He will not give such a chance to happen.
Song Linsheng raised his hand and gathered the rice paper spread on the table together, tidied it up a little, and then simply spread it out again.
"Master Mu, wash the inkstone. Come and see."
Song Linsheng's hand brushed across the portraits arranged in a row, instructing Mu Tong and Xi Yan one by one, not missing a single face.
"This is..." Mu Tong's eyes followed Song Linsheng's movements, scanning the portrait one by one, not missing any details.
"This is a portrait of the group during the day."
Xiyan immediately cleared up Mu Tong's doubts. He stepped forward, pushed aside the rice paper stained with ink, and put it aside so that it would not be an eyesore to the young master and Lord Mu.
"That's right." Song Linsheng nodded, then pointed to the one in the middle. "This person is the leader. His face is as if carved by a knife, and his habits are rough. The scar running through his face is very easy to identify."
Judging from his demeanor, he must be a good leader. All the subordinates behind him obey his orders, there is no doubt about that.
Mu Tong raised his hand and picked out the portrait of the scarred man and looked at it carefully.
As the saying goes, people are shaped by the land and water they live in. Throughout the world, in all prefectures and cities, except for those that are very close to each other, people in each province and five regions all have their own facial features.
Just like when people mention the south, they think of water towns, boats, and women with soft voices; when people mention the north, they think of the desert, wind and sand, and heroes with hearty smiles.
It’s just that this person…
Although Lord Song said that this scar is very easy to identify, it is only this scar that is easy to identify.
Mu Tong stared at the portrait in his hand. The man's face had been disfigured. Judging from the scar that ran through his face, it was not just a minor wound. The scar destroyed most of his face, making it difficult to identify him.
You can still get a rough look at the eyebrows and features, but it is difficult to get any other information.
Mu Tong's mind changed and he pondered.
However, apart from the leader, the rest of the people have complete faces. If we investigate based on their faces, we will surely gain something and be able to unravel the mystery and find the root of the problem.
It was worth it for Lord Song to stay up all night.
"Okay, okay, okay." Mu Tong replied loudly, his words unconsciously showing a hint of joy. "With this portrait, our investigation will definitely be much faster."
Upon hearing this, Xiyan hurriedly put the portrait together. After tidying it up, he held the stack of rice paper in his arms and stood up in a hurry.
"Sir, why don't we go to the government office now?"
Although he was sometimes a little reckless when washing the inkstone on weekdays, he was extremely careful most of the time. It was rare for him to be in such a hurry that he rushed out without waiting for Song Linsheng to reply.
"Hey, Xiyan..." It was Mu Tong who spoke. He frowned, looked between Xiyan and Lord Song, raised his eyebrows and signaled Xiyan, "You come back first, don't worry."
I've waited all night, what's the point of waiting just a moment? Since Lord Song hasn't moved, he has his reasons for not moving.
Xiyan turned around when he heard the voice, but remained where he was until he saw that his master really had no intention of leaving. He frowned, became suspicious, and then slowly turned back.
"Young Master..."
Song Linsheng made no sound, nor did he make any movement. His fingertips curled slightly, resting on the table, producing a series of intermittent, soft notes.
This voice fell into Xiyan's ears, making him anxious.
"Sir, we..."
"wait."
Song Linsheng opened his lips slightly, but only uttered one word.
This one pressed on Xiyan's head, making him confused and even more bewildered.
Last night, the young master had a discussion with Lord Mu, and it was clear that they had decided to go to the government office to question Lord Jia. However, not only did they not take any action, they also asked Lord Mu to find paper and pen to draw.
He thought he would go to the government office only after he got the portraits of the gang of villains, but now that he has them, why is the young master still not leaving?
Xi Yan glanced at Song Linsheng without knowing what was going on. He saw him kneeling on the couch with great concentration. Although his expression did not change much, there was a faint trace of sweat on his forehead.
Obviously, the Master's mood at this moment was not as light as his "wait", but...
Xi Yan was puzzled. Madam Wen was missing. He thought that the most anxious person in the room was probably the young master, but his current demeanor was really incomprehensible to him.
He immediately looked at Lord Mu standing beside him and looked at him with an inquiring look.
What caught his eye was the clear eyes of Lord Mu, who was shaking his head slightly to signal him—
Lord Mu probably doesn't know either.
The room was so silent that you could hear a pin drop. No one spoke a word. The oppressive atmosphere lingered among the three of them, reaching its lowest point when Xiyan finally couldn't hold it back any longer.
He stuck his head out to glance at the sunset outside. Yesterday was the last day of his holiday, and the young master was supposed to go to the government office to be on duty this morning. It was already quite late.
Even if you don't go to look for Lord Jia, it's time for you to set off.
If we delay any further, I'm afraid the government office will send someone to question us. If we go to the Song residence and can't find the young master, wouldn't that be even more troublesome? It would be better to go to the government office first and make a decision later.
In order to avoid letting Lord Jia notice something, after all, since the young master took office, he has never been late or absent without reason.
"Sir, how long do we have to wait?"
He finally couldn't help but ask out loud, and hurriedly said: "We have the portrait, we have the evidence, and now we have the help of Master Mu, so let's first..."
Song Linsheng curled up his fingers and couldn't help but put his hands back into his sleeves to cover up the slight chill seeping from his palms.
"When he's as anxious as you are..."
"he?"
He paused after washing his inkstone, his eyes wandering between Song Linsheng and Mu Tong, looking uncertain.
who is he?
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