The largest and most imposing house on the west side of Puppet Alley is Black Tiger's residence, the waiter said.
Therefore, when Xiao Nuo and I rushed to Puppet Alley, only to find a large crowd gathered outside a door pointing and whispering, our hearts, which had finally had a moment to rest, tightened again.
Could this person have also been silenced, and the trail gone cold?
I approached one of the women and asked, "Auntie, excuse me..." Before I could finish, the woman turned around, glared at me, and snapped, "Auntie? Do I look that old?"
Xiao Nuo quickly interjected, "Sister, really! You're shouting without even looking properly. Excuse me, sister, could you please tell me what happened?"
The woman glanced at him a few times before finally showing her satisfaction. She said, "Good news! Excellent news! The young master sent men to take that black-hearted tiger away. Amitabha! Truly, good deeds are rewarded and evil deeds are punished! That black-hearted tiger, relying on his wealth from selling winter clothes, used to run rampant in the village, committing all sorts of despicable acts..."
The woman was still rambling on when Xiao Nuo grabbed my hand and said, "Sister, let's go."
I asked in surprise, "Aren't you going to ask who the eldest young master is?"
Xiao Nuo smiled, turned around and said, "Within the sphere of influence of Baili City, do you think there is another young master?"
Indeed, not only in Baili Town, but throughout the entire Yunnan border region, there is probably only one person who can be called the eldest son, and that is Xiao Mo.
So we got back into the carriage.
The car bumped gently, and my thoughts seemed to fluctuate with it. It was a strange feeling. Just when you had finally found a clue and were feeling smug, you suddenly realized that someone else had gotten there first. I don’t know whether to feel discouraged or unwilling, or perhaps a little doubt and disappointment.
I couldn't help but ask, "In your opinion, why did your older brother take Black Tiger away?"
Xiao Nuo smiled and said, "Don't underestimate my older brother. What we can think of, he can definitely think of too."
"So, Xiao Mo also suspects You Li and has started investigating the source of those Cold-Resistant Powders?" Seeing him nod, I frowned even more and said, "But don't forget, no one else knew that You Li put the Cold-Resistant Powder in the food. You found that piece of duck skin, and I was the one who identified the Cold-Resistant Powder from it. From beginning to end, we were operating in secret."
Xiao Nuo continued to smile, a smile that was both lazy and playful: "What are you doubting now?"
"If a third person knows that You Li has a problem, then he is very likely the one who sneaked into my room and secretly searched through the dead rats!"
Xiao Nuo remained silent for a while, then raised his eyebrows and beckoned to me with his finger. I leaned over, just as I was about to listen to his insightful opinion, when he suddenly plucked a hair from my head, waved it around, and said, "Look, a white hair! Sister, you're just too suspicious. You see everyone as a suspect. You're wasting your time and energy like this. Be careful you don't age too quickly."
I was both amused and exasperated. I glared at him and said, "You're wrong. At least I never doubted you from beginning to end."
"You trust me that much?" Xiao Nuo's smile faded, and he looked at me with a very serious expression, making me feel extremely uncomfortable. Just as I was about to snap back, "What are you looking at?", he finally sighed and said, "Actually, my sister trusts me just like I trust my two brothers. I can't explain why, but I just wholeheartedly protect her, right?"
I froze. His words made it clear why I trusted Xiao Nuo so much, believing it had nothing to do with him, but I couldn't find a concrete reason. It was just that a corner of my heart stubbornly insisted it couldn't be him, like protecting something important, not allowing anyone, or even myself, the slightest suspicion of him. How could this be…?
I suddenly felt incredibly embarrassed. To hide it, I bit my lip and said, "No, that's not it. It's because you were with me from early morning on the day of the competition. How could you possibly be in two places at once to poison me?"
Xiao Nuo smiled slightly, but her eyes were filled with a soft light: "Wasn't it later proven that You Li was the one who poisoned me? So there was no need for me to take action personally."
"If it really was you, why did you steal that piece of duck skin, letting me know that there was cold-relieving powder in the food?"
"Haven't you heard the saying 'The thief cries 'Stop thief!' before, sister?"
"You were still with me when Youli was murdered."
"Since I can order You Li to poison Lu Shuang, I can naturally order someone else to kill You Li as well."
"You!" I was speechless with anger. I had tried so hard to defend him, but he just kept refuting my points. I really didn't know what he was thinking!
Xiao Nuo laughed even more heartily, her eyes softening as she whispered, "Thank you, Sister Feng."
I said with a straight face, "I didn't help you with anything, why should I thank you?"
"Thank you for trusting me so much." After saying that, Xiao Nuo immediately opened the carriage door and jumped out. Only then did I realize that the carriage had arrived at Baili City.
In the flower hall, the four servants, Abu, Axu, Abian, and Axin, respectfully greeted each other: "Welcome back to the manor, Third Young Master and Miss Feng."
"Where's my older brother?"
"The eldest young master is in the council chamber."
Xiao Nuo and I ran quickly to the council hall, only to find the doors wide open. Inside stood many disciples from Baili City, while in the center of the hall stood a burly man, trembling as he said, "This humble servant truly did not know that young lady was from your esteemed household. Otherwise, even if I had a hundred lives, I would never have dared to sell the goods to her! Young Master, please believe me, this humble servant was completely unaware..."
Xiao Nuo and I quietly walked up to Uncle Cai. Xiao Nuo lowered her voice and asked, "What's going on?"
"Reporting to the Third Young Master, the Second Young Master had a withdrawal attack this morning. A servant came to tell me, and when I entered the room, I found him curled up on the floor in great pain. When I asked him, he said he had never taken any Cold-Repelling Powder, and that he had stayed indoors for the past few days, eating nothing except for the three meals You Li brought him. So I reported this to the Eldest Young Master, who suspected that You Li had secretly put Cold-Repelling Powder in his food. Therefore, he sent someone to investigate the source of her Cold-Repelling Powder. The person who did this was the local bully in Baili Town. He confessed that he had been selling Cold-Repelling Powder to You Li over the past six months, but he did not know You Li's identity and only regarded her as an ordinary buyer."
So that's how it is. It seems I was really being paranoid. But who could it be that broke into my room and rummaged through the dead rats?
Xiao Mo snorted coldly and said to Black Tiger, "Although there is no explicit law in this city prohibiting your line of work, it is not exactly something to be proud of. You'd better tone it down and not act too arrogantly. I won't pursue this matter any further with you. Go on."
The black tiger hurriedly bowed and kowtowed, thanking heaven and earth as he left. After he left, Xiao Mo's face darkened, and he angrily said, "I knew my second brother wouldn't do such a despicable thing! It turns out it was all that bitch's doing! She secretly put the Cold-Repelling Powder in my second brother's food, making him addicted, and then bribed the guards to poison Lu Shuang with fungus, framing my second brother in an unjust way! That bitch, my Xiao family treated her well, and she repaid kindness with enmity!"
"It doesn't necessarily mean they're repaying kindness with enmity, does it?" I suddenly said.
Xiao Mo was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "What do you mean by that, Miss Feng?"
"You Li is just an ordinary maid, why would she frame her master?"
Xiao Mo stared at me for a few moments, then said in a deep voice, "Go and call Xiao Wan here."
One of the disciples responded and left. A short while later, the purple-clad maid Xiao Wan was brought into the hall.
Xiao Mo asked, "Xiao Wan, let me ask you, what is your relationship with You Li?"
Xiao Wan replied, "We're like sisters."
"So, in your opinion, what kind of person is You Li?"
"Sister Youli is such a kind person. She is not only skillful, but also very caring. If any of the sisters is sick, she is more worried than if she were sick herself."
"Could such a kind older sister be the kind of person who secretly poisons her master?"
Xiao Wan trembled, and when she looked up again, her eyes were full of hesitation. She whispered, "If... if that master is the second young master... then it's possible."
The crowd gasped in surprise, but Xiao Mo remained unfazed and continued to ask, "Why?"
“Because, because…” Xiao Wan gritted her teeth and said quickly, “Because Sister Youli likes the Second Young Master! She has liked him for a long time, but the Second Young Master has always been cold and indifferent to her, so Sister Youli has always been very sad. I have seen her secretly crying several times.”
"You mean, Youli likes my second brother, but he doesn't like her, so she turned her love into hate and did this?"
Xiao Wan pursed her lips, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.
Xiao Mo raised an eyebrow and said, "Speak freely."
“Reporting to the eldest young master, if the second young master had simply not responded to Sister Youli, I think Sister Youli would have shed a few tears at most, but wouldn’t have gone so far as to harm him. However…” Xiao Wan said, nervously twisting her fingers, and stammered, “However, the second young master seems to have someone else in his heart, and he even slapped Sister Youli for that person and threw away all the dishes she had painstakingly prepared. When Sister Youli came back that day, her expression was indescribably terrifying. I was terrified when I saw it.”
Xiao Nuo secretly squeezed my hand. I turned around and saw worry in his eyes. I knew what he was worried about: we both knew that Xiao Jian had a secret lover, but it seemed that no one else knew. Xiao Jian was proud and unruly; logically, he would never secretly date a girl he liked, nor would he dare to show it in public, unless there was another reason.
Now that Xiaowan has revealed this matter, the secret may no longer be able to be kept. What the consequences will be once it is exposed is unknown.
Xiao Nuo suddenly shouted, "Regardless of whether Sister Youli liked my second brother or not, and whether my second brother didn't like her or not, the fact is that she was murdered. If Sister Youli did it all by herself, she should have committed suicide at most. How could someone else suddenly appear and kill her?"
Xiao Mo's eyes flickered as she turned to him and said, "Third brother is right. There are too many suspicious points in this matter. Putting aside the fact that You Li was murdered, it's ridiculous to say that she harbored resentment because Second brother had someone else in his heart. Everyone knows that Second brother is devoted to the sword and never cares about personal feelings. How could he possibly have someone he loves? Xiao Wan, do you know the consequences of lying?"
Xiao Wan quickly defended herself, "I didn't lie, it really is the eldest young master! On the second day of the competition, after Sister Youli brought lunch to the second young master, she seemed very absent-minded and something was wrong. I asked her what was wrong, but she wouldn't say. Then that night, she secretly drank a lot of alcohol by herself. When I helped her to bed, she suddenly grabbed my hand and asked me, 'Why? What do I lack compared to her? How can you like her and not me? Second young master, so many years have passed, I've done so much for you, yet you treat me like this. I'm not reconciled, I'm not reconciled…' I was shocked when I heard this, so I asked Sister Youli who she was. Sister Youli murmured a few words, I only heard something about jade, and when I pressed her for more information, she fell asleep."
"What jade?" Xiao Mo frowned in thought. Xiao Nuo seemed to have thought of something, and his expression changed immediately. He secretly stretched out his finger and wrote something in my palm. I focused my attention to decipher it. He wrote: "Stop further investigation."
Although I didn't know what he meant, I immediately cooperated and said, "Although the source of the Cold-Covered Powder has been found out, the poisonous fungus is still a mystery."
Xiao Nuo nodded and said, "That's right, that's right. Instead of guessing who killed Sister Youli, we should investigate who brought the poisonous fungus to Baili City. Big brother, quickly send people to continue hunting down those people from Fortune Valley. Last time they escaped and even injured Second Brother. We lost face in Baili City. Hmph, we'll avenge this..."
He was speaking eloquently when a disciple hurriedly entered and whispered a few words in Xiao Mo's ear. Xiao Mo's expression changed as he asked, "When did you find out?"
The disciple said, "I didn't report back until half an hour ago because I wasn't sure."
Xiao Mo's face was ashen. After a moment's thought, he said, "First, secretly send someone to search. Also, please ask Doctor Yu and his daughter to come here."
Xiao Nuo said, "Big brother, what about Fortune Valley—" He wanted to change the subject, but Xiao Mo waved his hand and said, "Third brother, don't be in a hurry. I have my own ideas about this matter."
Xiao Nuo sighed and glanced at me, then had no choice but to give up.
About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, a disciple from Baili City led a man into the main hall. The man, dressed in a refined blue robe, was none other than Yu Yinhuai, the top physician in Baili City. However, he appeared pale, unsteady on his feet, and somewhat absent-minded.
Xiao Mo asked with a gentle smile, "Doctor Yu, how have you been lately?"
"Thank you for your concern, young master. I am perfectly fine."
"Then where is your daughter? I asked her to come with you, so why are you alone?"
Yu Yinhuai wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "My daughter is ill, so she cannot come to see the young master. Please forgive her."
"Sick? I don't know what kind of illness it is? Even you, Doctor Yu, can't cure it?"
Yu Yinhuai stammered, "Oh, it's nothing, just a minor illness. Just rest and recuperate."
"Is that so?" Xiao Mo said calmly. "It must be due to the heavy blow caused by Lu Shuang's death?"
Yu Yinhuai's expression suddenly turned somewhat awkward, and he stammered, "I... I guess so..."
Why did Lu Shuang's death have such a profound impact on Yu Yinhuai's daughter? What was her relationship with him? I frowned in thought, while at that moment, Xiao Nuo wrote in my palm: "His daughter, Yumi, is the beloved of my second brother, and is also..." He paused for a long while, his gaze flickering uncertainly, before finally letting out a dejected sigh and continuing to write—
She is also Lu Shuang's fiancée.
------------I'll divide it, I'll divide it, I'll divide it all----------
Um, it's been a long time, Youchen! I'm so happy to see you again...
As for Silly Flower, instead of wasting your time coming here to leave footprints, you should go and fill that Floating World Flower with some soil!
And then there are Meixiangdandan, Cici, Old Reader, XP, 123… I’ve known these IDs since Fengyan started writing this, especially Road, I’ll always remember you! Stop reading, I’m talking about you! You were the one who verbally abused Fengguanjia back then, leaving him utterly devastated. I’m still hurt… But thank you for continuing to follow this post.
Finally, I keep my word, so I'm posting this ahead of schedule today...
Secret Lover
dusk.
The last rays of the setting sun slanted across the corridor of the Yu Family's Jade Pavilion in Baili City.
The heavy footsteps that came from the silence were all the more noticeable; it was a noblewoman in fine clothes walking slowly towards the end of the corridor.
She was no longer young, and no matter how exquisite her makeup was, it could not hide the marks that time had left on her face. Especially now, with the setting sun reflecting on her sorrowful face, she looked at least twenty years older.
She shouldn't be like this. She should be the happiest and most content woman in the world: she is the mistress of the prestigious Yu family in Baili City, her husband is the most famous doctor in the martial arts world, and she herself is a renowned female knight-errant in the martial arts world... All of this would have been enough for a woman to feel happy and content, not to mention, she also has this Hanyu Tower.
Hanyu Tower is not only a name that all the people of Baili City are proud of, but also one of the most exciting places in the martial arts world.
For those young heroes with some reputation and skill in the martial arts world, the main purpose of participating in the annual Sword Testing Tournament is certainly to improve their own martial arts skills by watching the competition. However, there is another secondary purpose that they all know but no one is willing to admit: to try their luck at Hanyu Tower and see if they can be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Miss Yu's captivating beauty.
Miss Yu is the only daughter of Yu Yinhuai, the divine physician of Baili City, and her nickname is Mi. She is incomparably beautiful and renowned for her beauty. Those who have seen her even say that her beauty is otherworldly.
—A beauty rarely seen in the mortal world; a face that makes flowers pale in comparison, a dance that makes butterflies linger… Such praise has long been known to young and old alike in the martial arts world.
Moreover, this Miss Yu is not only a beauty but also exceptionally intelligent. By the age of twelve, she had already mastered the true teachings of the Divine Physician Yu, and could easily cure all kinds of difficult and complicated diseases. The reason she did not practice medicine was simply because she was a woman and it was inconvenient for her to show her face in public. In addition, although Miss Yu had never practiced martial arts, she had a deep understanding of the martial arts techniques of various schools. By the age of fourteen, she had comprehended the relationship between spirit, qi, and meridians, which she called the Three Elements Returning to Origin Technique. Anyone who learns martial arts can make great progress in a short period of time if they receive her guidance.
Therefore, although Miss Yu was betrothed by her father when she was still an infant, the number of martial arts heroes who came to visit her during the annual Sword Testing Tournament was still greater than ever.