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The city gate was bustling with people, and everyone had to show their identification to enter or leave. There were also archers patrolling the city gate tower.
Mu Qing glanced at it and immediately felt a faint discomfort on the old scar on his back.
When she left the Lu family, she didn't think too much about it. But when she arrived in the city, she felt different from when she left before. Like a leaf that had fallen from a branch, she felt light and free, but also had a sense of drifting.
But right now, she had things to do and couldn't afford to be sad.
Having checked all four city gates, and without proper credentials, it would be difficult to leave the city. Therefore, it was impossible to know whether Song Baixuan, whom the Zhen family had rescued, had been taken to Bihuazhou, or what his current situation was.
But she didn’t necessarily have to go to the Zhen family to find out. Suddenly realizing this, she stopped her wandering and turned to head towards Wansong Academy.
As dusk approached, the clouds gathered and the sky brightened. Several scholars in long gowns slowly emerged from beneath the archway of Wansong Academy.
Mu Qing observed for a while, then quietly followed behind, listening to their aimless chatter. She wondered if she should go up and ask them something when one of them mentioned Song Baixuan.
"Bai Xuan must have had some terrible luck; he almost got killed. We were classmates with him, so why don't we go to Huichuntang to see him?"
The others either readily agreed or hesitated, but soon they all agreed.
Upon hearing this, Mu Qing slowed down and followed at a distance.
Huichuntang was a large medical clinic in the city, and the place was noisy with all kinds of people, men, women, young and old.
A young waiter was greeting people at the door when he saw a girl wearing a straw hat and a plain gray cloth dress walking over. Her face was hidden in the shadows, and he reached out to stop her.
"Young lady, are you here to see a doctor or to buy medicine?"
Mu Qing pointed to the scholars who walked inside, "I'm here to visit someone, just like them."
The waiter saw her raise her head; the sides of her nose and her sallow cheeks were covered with spots, like freckles, but her eyes were watery, reflecting the glow of the sunset, which was quite captivating.
He stepped aside, but still casually asked, "Who are you visiting, young lady?"
Mu Qing gave his name and went inside.
Her voice was soft, and the waiter didn't react at first. When she repeated, "Song Baixuan?" he turned around and looked at the girl who had gone inside, a look of suspicion on his face.
Mu Qing walked through the main hall to the nunnery at the back, where she saw the scholars go into one of the rooms.
A thick blue cloth curtain hung at the door of the house, and the conversation inside could be heard intermittently.
"...He's injured to the point where he can't even speak. That assailant must have wanted to kill him."
"Don't worry... the authorities will definitely investigate this thoroughly."
"...I've sent a letter to your family; your father will be here soon."
...
After the scholars left, Mu Qing lifted the curtain and went into the room.
The room was cramped, with the window facing the wall. The couch by the window was narrow and long. Song Baixuan lay on it and remained motionless when he sensed someone entering the room, until the figure beside the couch came into his view, at which point he suddenly moved.
Mu Qing looked at him as if he were a lurking beast, knowing that he would not suddenly attack and hurt people for the time being, but still remained extremely vigilant.
Seeing him sneer again, she said with disgust, "What are you laughing at?"
Song Baixuan twitched the corner of his mouth but didn't say anything.
When the scholars mentioned that he couldn't speak, Mu Qing pressed down on his neck. The gauze was wrapped very thickly and felt hard when pressed down.
Song Baixuan quickly frowned, his face contorted in pain, yet a mocking smile remained on his lips.
Seeing the blanket on him move slightly out of the corner of her eye, Mu Qing immediately withdrew her hand.
Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside. Mu Qing listened carefully, stepped onto the couch, and jumped out of the window.
She climbed onto the roof and listened to the sounds coming from inside.
"Hey, I saw that girl come in." It was the waiter who had been blocking the door earlier who spoke. "Why isn't she here?"
Someone peeked out the window, wearing a black turban like a constable's. "Suspicious people shouldn't be let in."
The man said, "You've been assigned a task, so you should stay here and keep watch."
"We need to eat and use the restroom, so we left for a little while. Who knew someone would come?"
Mu Qing lay on the roof. She had only eaten breakfast that day and hadn't felt hungry before, but now her stomach was rumbling at an inopportune moment.
Fortunately, the servants and constables inside the house complained to each other, drowning out the noise, and it took a while for things to quiet down.
She held her belly and waited until it got dark, when the stars and moon filled the night sky and all the lights in the houses went out. Then she jumped to the ground and found that the window was not closed tightly. Taking advantage of the moonlight, she quietly climbed in.
Song Baixuan was still lying stiffly, while the constables in the room were dozing off on the table. Mu Qing reached out from beside them and snatched the paper package from the table.
The scholars who came to visit Song Baixuan brought a few packets of pastries on their way, which benefited Mu Qing.
Mu Qing was initially pleased with her success, but as she closed the window and went outside, she saw Song Baixuan looking bewildered. Remembering her purpose, she glared at him.
She needed to let him know that she was no longer with the Lu family. When his father, Song Fang, arrived, she would find out exactly what had happened back then.
Although the answer seemed obvious, Mu Qing felt that something was still missing.
At night, she slept on the rooftop in a half-awake state. During the day, when the constables inside the house left, she would jump into the window like a ghost and tease Song Baixuan's wounds, making them heal more slowly.
Two days passed, and instead of Song Fang arriving, they received news of his death.
On a street not far from Huichuntang, a male corpse was found with a certificate on his body, indicating that his surname was Song and his given name was Fang. The constable brought several tokens, and Song Baixuan recognized him as soon as he saw them. After being taken to the street to see the body, he was even more excited.
It was already evening. The constable offered a few words of comfort, then sighed and left.
Mu Qing listened outside the window and thought the sound inside sounded like sobbing. The thought sent chills down her spine. Could that guy who always sneered cry?
Once it quieted down inside, she peeked out the window and saw Song Baixuan sitting on the couch against the wall. His lower body was not injured and he could move slowly, but he couldn't turn his neck. So she looked at the reddened corner of his eye, as if he were looking at her sideways.
When he was lying down, Mu Qing hated his cold smile and never looked him in the eye. But now that she did, she felt a chill and wanted to hide.
But then Song Baixuan stiffly turned around, beckoned with his hand, and then sat down at the table, using his finger to dip into the tea in his cup to write words.
Mu Qing jumped into the room and looked over at the table.
A line of words appeared on the water stains on the table: "Want to know how your father died?"
Mu Qing was stunned. When she learned that Song Fang hadn't died with her father, she guessed there was something fishy about it. She was waiting here to hear what Song Fang had to say, but she didn't expect that Song Fang would die at this time, and Song Baixuan would come to talk to her instead.
Song Baixuan erased the line of text and rewrote it with water.
“Come with me to a place, and the person who killed my father will tell you.”
After Mu Qing finished reading, she saw Song Baixuan looking at her with a smirk, as if he was certain she would agree.
She frowned, and hearing footsteps outside, she had no choice but to jump out of the window.
In the dead of night, Weizhou City was fast asleep. Mu Qing, unable to resist the urge to know the truth, gestured from outside the window and lent a hand to help Song Baixuan out.
The two walked through the silent streets, turning east and west, when Mu Qing sensed something was wrong. "Are you lost?"
Song Baixuan turned to look at her, but didn't say anything.
Remembering that his voice was damaged, Mu Qing thought sullenly, "If I had just poked him somewhere else back then, we wouldn't be unable to communicate now."
She followed Song Baixuan for most of the night until they arrived at a secluded house. The door was dilapidated, and the house smelled musty. Under the silvery moonlight, one could see that the ground was littered with overturned and broken objects, resembling ruins.
Mu Qing fanned away the acrid dust and saw Song Baixuan hiding behind the overturned broken table, so she also prepared to squat down.
Unexpectedly, Song Baixuan reached out and pushed her, causing her to kick something on the ground with a cracking sound, breaking the silence of the night.
Mu Qing was somewhat annoyed and was about to grab Song Baixuan when a figure appeared at the door. The figure was disheveled and looked unkempt. He walked in with a limp.
He seemed to have phlegm stuck in his throat, making his voice muffled and aged, but still audible.
"Young Miss, it's been a long time."
Mu Qing had disguised her face and was wearing a bamboo hat, but she didn't expect to be recognized in the dark of night.
She was startled. "Who are you?"
The man said, “I am a man who deserves to die, but there are some people who deserve to die more than me. That kid led you around the city with ill intentions.”
Song Baixuan looked up coldly from behind the overturned broken table, appearing completely unashamed.
Knowing he wasn't a good person, Mu Qing wasn't too surprised, but she remembered what he had written on the table earlier.
She looked at the person who walked in, "You killed Song Fang?"
The man staggered forward, saying, "Song Fang took advantage of the chieftain's drunkenness and cut off his head; he deserved to die."
Mu Qing listened in bewilderment, only understanding the meaning at the end of the sentence. The meaning seemed to pierce his ears and go straight to his heart.
She unconsciously took a step back, distancing herself from Song Baixuan.
Upon hearing the man's words, Song Baixuan stood up. "Uncle Wang speaks so eloquently, but I remember you used to frequent brothels with my father. Your intentions were far more wicked than his."
Uncle Wang… Mu Qing thought back and vaguely remembered a man named Wang Ji in the village. He had also been the chief of the village. When he came to Jing Lei Village, he took a seat in one of the top positions. Because he was older, the young people in the village called him Uncle Wang. He was eloquent and often told stories in the village, mostly chivalrous tales.
Upon hearing Song Baixuan mention that he and Song Fang had visited brothels, Mu Qing felt that it didn't make sense.
She quickly thought of everything, then suddenly looked at Song Baixuan. He could actually speak! So all that was an act before!
But "Uncle Wang" retorted, "My success or failure in this life is all about words. I love to show off with words. When it comes to doing those dirty things, I am far inferior to your father, and perhaps even inferior to you, you little brat."
Song Baixuan sneered, "Uncle Wang is too modest. I was able to deceive the chieftain back then thanks to your silver tongue."
Mu Qing still remembered that "Uncle Wang" was the person who went with her father to negotiate amnesty. Her father was dead, but he was alive, just like Song Fang.
Mu Qing's heart trembled as she retreated again.
For her, life in the village was a distant memory. Although there were many bad things in her memory, it wasn't all bad. She could still find some good things in it, but now some of them have been eroded.
Hearing Song Baixuan and "Uncle Wang" accuse each other, Mu Qing couldn't tell the truth from the falsehood in their words.
Understanding people's hearts requires years of experience, but she grew up in a mountain village and didn't have much of that knowledge.
The village, like the dense forest it was in, was governed by rules not unlike those of wild animals, filled with naked power struggles. Mu Qing was a sheltered young beast there, but before he could grow fangs and claws, he was released back into the human world.
When she was a young lady of the Lu family, she had some understanding of human nature, but none of the people she encountered in the Lu family were vicious.
Seeing the two cunning people approaching, their confrontation seeming like a fight to the death, she was terrified and only wanted to escape as quickly as possible. She didn't want to step into the mire to find out about any grudges, hatred, or the truth.
She rushed towards the door, only to find it brightly lit outside. Mu Qing gasped in horror and quickly moved to the wall behind the door.
Outside the door, the moonlight poured down, illuminating the soldiers' armor, spear tips, and arrowheads until they gleamed, dazzlingly white.
The two men inside were still arguing. One accused the other of killing his father, and the other accused the other of killing his son. After a barrage of sharp insults, the two men started fighting, and they fought fiercely, as if they didn't care about their lives.
Hearing the commotion, Mu Qing realized that they had no will to live, unlike her.
She was no longer a desperate criminal; she had long since found something far more important than hatred. So why did she come here and get involved with people like them?
Whether it was regret or fear gripping her, she nervously observed the house letting in the moonlight, trying to find another way out.
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