Chapter 62: White Bone Hairpin 17 Night
After returning to the inn from Shou's residence, Xun Shu felt so sleepy that she thought she could fall asleep instantly. However, when she actually lay down on the soft bedding and her head hit the pillow, her body was exhausted, but her mind was clear and active, her thoughts racing, and she couldn't fall asleep.
As the fog around Anning Village neared its end, and the passage leading out of the village on the north side was about to be cleared, it was finally time for her and Li Xuanhe to part ways, their romance fading. Afterward, she headed east to find Jiang Zheng, while he headed north to take up his post as Junior Official in the Dali Temple. They didn't know when they would meet again.
I don't even know if there will be a chance to meet again.
Xun Shu sighed, resigned himself to his fate and got up from the bed, walked to the window and pushed it open.
The wind from the valley dispelled the stuffy air in the room, ruffling his loose hair, and the gloom in Xun Shu's heart also dissipated a little with the breeze. The moon was bright in the sky, and everything was clearly visible. The whole village seemed to have fallen asleep, and there was a quiet and peaceful atmosphere.
Xun Shu let out a long breath.
Everything has its own trajectory, so how could she go backwards as she lived? She actually began to obsess over these empty things.
Xun Shu figured out his worries and finally felt a little sleepy. Just as he was about to go back to bed, he heard the sound of wooden stairs outside the door, as if someone was heading straight to the third floor of the inn, where Xun Shu and others were.
There were six people living on this floor. Besides her and Li Xuanhe, Yu Chang, who was out on the lookout, and Ge Qi, who was hiking in the mountains, there were two more. These two people took turns keeping watch, staying in different rooms. It was impossible for anyone to eliminate them both at the same time without alerting the others.
Since they didn't react, the person who came must be one of Yu Chang and Ge Qi who suddenly returned to the inn. He is absolutely safe.
Xun Shu opened the door and peeked outside. Almost at the same time, Li Xuanhe walked out of the room with disheveled hair and wearing comfortable underwear. He tilted his head and saw Xun Shu, with only his head showing.
He didn't expect Xun Shu to still be awake at this late hour. He was stunned for a moment: "You haven't rested yet?"
Xun Shu had no intention of hiding, so he walked out of the room openly upon hearing this, and said slowly, "I'm afraid you'll do something bad behind my back."
Li Xuanhe was about to say something when he saw her loose hair and thin clothes. He couldn't help but frown: "I see you want to drink more medicine for the cold."
Xun Shu ignored him: "I'm not a three-year-old child who doesn't know the cold or the warmth." She glanced at Ge Qi who was walking hurriedly, and looked thoughtful. "He's in such a hurry, it seems he has found an important clue."
When Ge Qi was walking towards Li Xuanhe, he happened to pass by Xun Shu's door. He caught a glimpse of her disheveled hair and hurriedly turned his head away, quickening his pace, not even daring to glance at her.
Li Xuanhe moved aside to make way for Ge Qi, telling him to wait in the room first. Turning around, he saw Xun Shu's piercing gaze and sighed, "You come too." He paused and added, "Tie your hair up so you don't scare others."
There were only a few of them on this floor, who could they possibly scare? Xun Shu was puzzled, but nodded obediently. He went back to his room to get a hairband, and tied his long black hair loosely behind his head, leaving a few unnoticed strands at his temples. Then he slowly walked into Li Xuanhe's room.
There was no light in the room. There was a thumb-sized night-shining pearl on the table, barely illuminating the area around the round table.
Xun Shu closed the door, turned around, and saw the beads. He hesitated. "I thought the princess was very wealthy, and the salary of the Dali Temple Junior Official should be quite high. I didn't expect her to be so... frugal."
Ge Qi still didn't dare to look up at her, and only retorted in a muffled voice: "Miss, don't look at this night pearl because it is small. It is very expensive and there is no market for it."
Xun Shu blinked and stopped talking.
Is there no demand for it? The Sitian Pavilion's collection of books is filled with countless books, each as big as a baby's fist, but she never took them seriously. If she had known they were so expensive, she should have stolen a few and sold them. Then she and Uncle Jiang could live a good life without worrying about money.
Although Li Xuanhe didn't know about the Night Pearl in the Sitian Pavilion, he knew from Xun Shu's look of regret and annoyance that she was up to no good. He cleared his throat and asked Ge Qi, "Why did you rush back? Did you find anything?"
Ge Qi straightened his expression and told the person in front of him everything he had discovered.
"I followed the instructions and climbed up the cliff before dark, reaching the spot Miss Xun mentioned. As expected, I could overlook the entire Wei residence. The residence was extremely quiet. I only saw the five concubines I had seen during the day, along with Wei Wulang and his six masters, as well as the servants and maids. Apart from the rooms occupied by these people, no one else moved around, and there were no lights on at night, so no one was living there. The concubine's claim during the day that someone was recuperating in the backyard and couldn't see guests was probably a lie.
"After midnight, Wei Wulang left the Wei residence first. Shortly thereafter, the concubines emerged from their rooms, changed into dark clothes, and dressed as men. They went together to a room in the backyard, carried out a box, and headed towards the back door, where two carriages were already waiting. I couldn't see what was in the box, but it looked very large, so it must be quite heavy, requiring five people to carry it together. They walked slowly, going back and forth twice, placing the boxes they carried on different occasions onto different carriages. Afterwards, the five of them boarded the carriages and drove away from the vicinity of the Wei residence, heading west. I couldn't follow them any further, and I'm not sure if they went to the shrine.
"After they left, I, remembering what the master had ordered, found a few large rocks and was about to push them down the cliff to smash the altar when I saw Wei Wulang. He walked into the courtyard from the main gate with a man wearing a dark robe with a Tai Chi diagram painted on the back. He looked like a Taoist priest. After Wei Wulang and the Taoist priest entered the house, they went straight to the altar and stayed there for a long time. Then Wei Wulang left for a while and went to the room in the backyard where the concubines were carrying boxes. He came out with another small box and returned to the altar. A moment later, the two of them left together empty-handed.
"I am worried that if I rashly push the stone down, it will destroy important evidence. So I decided to return and report to you first before making a decision."
Altar...Taoists...
It can’t be such a coincidence that it is related to Sitian Pavilion again, right?
Xun Shu lowered her eyes, carefully recalling her years in the Si Tian Pavilion. She was absolutely certain that her master had never taught her or her fellow disciples how to set up a formation. Her master had said that mortals no longer possessed divine powers and could not communicate with the gods. Setting up formations was a deceptive trick, and disciples of the Si Tian Pavilion were absolutely forbidden to engage in such deceptive practices.
Although the master refused to teach, the brothers and sisters went to the cave where the books were kept out of curiosity. They dug out some tattered bamboo slips and found various incomplete magic arrays on them.
They were just curious and did not really learn, and it was even more impossible for them to disobey their master after leaving Sitian Pavilion.
Wei Wulang's Taoist guests should have nothing to do with Sitian Pavilion, right?
Li Xuanhe's fingers tapped unconsciously on the table beside him, his thoughts elsewhere. "It seems these were the concubines who delivered the gunpowder to the secret passage last night. The gunpowder was light, and they didn't want to alert the rest of the village, so they walked. Today, I don't know what was in the box; they couldn't lift it, so they had to take a carriage." He pondered for a moment and, seeing that it was getting late, said to Ge Qi, "You've been guarding for most of the night. Go back and rest first. When Yu Chang comes back, we'll see what those concubines have done in the shrine, and then we'll make plans."
After Ge Qi left the room, Xun Shu felt as if his spine had been pulled out in an instant. He lay limply on the table, too sleepy to move or walk back to the room.
Li Xuanhe thought about what happened just now and asked curiously, "Why haven't you slept yet?"
Xun Shu squinted his eyes: "I can't sleep..."
Li Xuanhe looked her up and down, seeing that her eyelids were barely holding up, his eyes were full of suspicion.
Xun Shu didn't even raise his eyelids, but seemed to understand what he was thinking, and murmured: "I can't sleep in my room..."
Everything in her room was unfamiliar, and her nerves were tense, unable to calm down. But here, with familiar people and familiar smells, she seemed to relax all of a sudden.
Li Xuanhe looked at her, his heart sank, and he softened his voice unconsciously: "Why can't you sleep?"
"I can't sleep because I'm thinking that in a few days I'll have to go east to find Uncle Jiang..."
Xun Shu's voice gradually became unclear, and she had gradually fallen asleep. Li Xuanhe held his breath and concentrated, finally hearing what she said clearly.
He suppressed the smile on his face, looked at her peaceful face, and sighed softly after a while.
It's really difficult.
It was late at night. Li Xuanhe leaned over and picked up the sleeping Xun Shu, carefully moved her to the bed beside him, and carefully covered her with the quilt and lowered the bed curtain.
He opened the window and stood by it, staring at the moon as bright as jade and the sky as dark as the abyss. His brows were tightly furrowed, like a stone sculpture, and he did not move for a long time.
What should I do...
Yu Chang returned at daybreak. Unlike Ge Qi, he was not as reserved. He announced at the door and after receiving permission, he strode in and said loudly, "I wuwuwu——"
As soon as he opened his mouth, Li Xuanhe quickly covered his mouth. His powerful words were muffled in his throat and turned into struggling whimpers.
Li Xuanhe only released his hand after Yu Chang calmed down. He wiped his body and gently reminded him, "Keep your voice down."
Wasn't Sanlang already awake? Why was he speaking so cautiously? Yu Chang was puzzled, but he obeyed silently. He was about to speak when he shifted his ears and clearly heard a rustling sound from the bedside.
The bed curtains were tightly closed, and I couldn't see what was inside... Was Sanlang hiding someone in the room?
Before Yu Chang could ask, the curtains were pulled back from the inside. Xun Shu rolled out of bed and sat down beside the couch. She smoothed her tangled hair, her eyes hazy and her thoughts still hazy. She stared at Yu Chang for a moment before she realized something and asked, "Did you find anything?"
Yu Chang opened his eyes wide in shock, looked at Xun Shu, then at Li Xuanhe, all kinds of guesses flooded into his mind, his expression changed in an instant, and he seemed to be hesitant to speak.
The windows were wide open, and a breeze kept blowing into the room. There was obvious dark circles under Li Xuanhe's eyes, his eyes were bloodshot, and his hair was stained with the moisture of the morning. It was obvious that he had been standing by the window for a long time.
The beauty is in the bed, and you are blowing the breeze under the bed. Third Young Master, are you a little bit out of it?
Li Xuanhe looked at his shifty expression and wondered what he was thinking. His face darkened and he shouted, "Don't waste your time."
Yu Chang straightened his expression, gathered up the chaotic thoughts in his head, and honestly recounted what he had seen last night: "Last night after midnight, five men appeared outside the shrine in two carriages. They carried two very heavy boxes off the carriages, then entered the shrine and disappeared. While they were gone, I snuck into the carriages and found them empty, but with a strong stench of blood. Unfortunately, it was dark, and I didn't want them to notice, so I didn't light a lamp and couldn't get a good look.
"Perhaps because the boxes were heavy and difficult to carry, they stayed in the shrine for a full half hour before leaving. I initially thought they were going to raze the entire mountain to the ground, so I sent new gunpowder into the shrine. But after they left, I went into the secret passage and found nothing.
"Just as I was about to leave, I saw a few drops of blood on the ground. I followed the trail and came to the underground river we visited that day. The river was fast-flowing and bottomless. I couldn't find the two boxes, but I have a guess." Yu Chang's face was serious and his voice was low. "The smell of blood is too familiar... I suspect the two boxes contain corpses."
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