"You mean, the carefree heroine?" Isn't that Yin Wuxiao's biological mother?
"Now it seems that the murderer in the Yin family massacre may have been after the remaining one of the pair of blood jade pendants."
"The last one? Where's the last one?"
Baili Qingyi lowered his head and gently rubbed the table with his index finger, a habitual gesture when he was thinking.
"The remaining one was probably stolen along with the 'Soul-Destroying Kill' when Mu Li stole it."
Baili Hanyi remained silent.
The two jade pendants, symbolizing a marriage between two families, one in the Yin family and the other in the Qiao family, may well be the tokens of the betrothal arranged between the two families when they were still children.
Now that things have come to this, it's almost certain that the owner of "Wuhen" is Mu Li, and Mu Li is the owner of "Wuhen." When he was down on his luck, he pawned the Blood Jade Pendant in Luoyang, and years later sent someone to kill him and steal it back. It's a pity for Xu Dade, who lost his life innocently. If Xu Dade hadn't carried the Blood Jade Pendant with him, he wouldn't have met such a tragic end.
"Hanyi, how's the situation in Luoyang?"
"Tieyi has found the head clerk of the Xu family pawnshop back then. The head clerk recalled that the person who went to pawn the Blood Jade Pendant was a young man with a mask on."
"Mask?"
"Yes, it's said that he has a knife wound on his face and can't show it to others."
Baili Qingyi and Baili Hanyi exchanged a glance and suddenly thought of the same person.
Chapter Nineteen: The Brocade Zither's Startling Strings Shatter the Dream (Part Four)
As soon as he regained consciousness, Yin Wuxiao felt a burning pain in the back of his head.
However, she remained clear-headed, because she knew she had won her gamble. She had bet that Yuwen Cuiyu wouldn't dare kill her this time.
Although it was Yuwen Cuiyu who discarded the Azure Robe Absolute, she didn't initially suspect that it was Jiu'er. It wasn't impossible for the Azure Robe Absolute to fall from Jiu'er's hands to an outsider's, and the Jiu'er she knew didn't fall in love with Baili Qingyi.
However, what followed felt strangely familiar to Yuwen Cuiyu. She was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting; her words were not ostentatious but always assertive; she was skilled in negotiation and maneuvering; she was adept at verbal sarcasm; when quiet, she appeared arrogant and aloof; when laughing and talking, she was poised and graceful.
Until one day, Cui Shenghan reminded her that Yuwen Cuiyu's words and actions were exactly like Yin Wuxiao's.
This woman seemed to possess all the virtues she had, yet she also had a beauty that was unmatched by anyone else.
What alarmed her even more was Yuwen Cuiyu's familiarity with her—a deadly familiarity. She always knew how to use words to disturb her mind, and she also knew when to stop.
The only people who could understand her so well, besides her few remaining relatives, were Jiu'er, who had been by her side for two years.
Why did Yuwen Cuiyu, who clearly had no feelings for Baili Qingyi, still throw out the "Qingyi Absolute"? It was because she attracted that person's attention, making that person jealous. That person's most hated person in his life was the exceptionally talented Baili Qingyi.
In Hundred Questions Valley, the person who threw Yin Wuxiao into the battle between Rongju Peak and the Poisonous Scorpion Old Ghost was naturally Yuwen Cuiyu. She first harmed Yin Wuxiao, then turned to Baili Qingyi for help, attempting to use the injured Rong siblings to hold them back. However, Baili Qingyi keenly sensed something was wrong and arrived in time to save Yin Wuxiao.
Why did Cui Shenghan become so flustered when she saw Yuwen Cuiyu playing the zither? Because she recognized the scar on Yuwen Cuiyu's right fingertip, a mark left from years of practicing acupressure techniques. It was exactly the same as the scar left by the person who taught her the Qiong Sect's acupressure techniques to assassinate Lady Yun. The disguise covered the whole body, but not the fingertips. It was on the crumpled paper left by Cui Shenghan that this was written, allowing Yin Wuxiao to confirm that Yuwen Cuiyu was Jiu'er.
Along the way, Yuwen Cuiyu had too many opportunities to kill her silently, so why did she only secretly push things along a few times?
She didn't want anyone to suspect that she had anything to do with Yin Wuxiao's death. She still needed to use the identity of Yuwen Cuiyu to get to know and befriend that person.
As for why she repeatedly helped Baili Qingyi and Yin Wuxiao get together, it was simply because she couldn't bear to watch Yin Wuxiao form a marriage alliance with that person.
That person was Qiao Fenglang, the leader of the Qiao Gang.
On the day of the wedding banquet at Chuxiu Manor, Yuwen Cuiyu was probably certain that Yin Wuxiao was no longer alive, and she also knew that Qiao Fenglang would definitely attend the wedding banquet. That's why she boldly took out the Qingyi Absolute, which shocked the martial arts world. However, she did not expect that Qiao Fenglang had been angered and left before she even took the stage. Later, she even saw Yin Wuxiao, who should have died a violent death, in the capital.
Yin Wuxiao just couldn't understand why Yuwen Cuiyu, with her background and beauty, would be so fixated on Qiao Fenglang, whom she should have never known well.
"Awake?" A soft female voice drifted over.
Yin Wuxiao slowly opened his eyes.
“Where is this…” She reached up and touched the back of her slightly swollen head, opening her eyes to stare at the eerie ceiling carved with red crows. This unfamiliar place had an irregular structure and simple decorations, with two walls that were actually natural stone walls, making it look like a secluded dwelling built against a cliff in the mountains.
"You're so smart, why don't you tell me?" Yuwen Cuiyu sat with her back to her at a table a few feet away, taking a sip of tea.
"This is... 'Traceless'?"
“Clever. I think you guessed it, but I still don’t understand how you guessed it?” Yuwen Cuiyu’s voice was full of interest.
"If you don't kill me, you must be trying to use me to exchange for something. And who else but 'Wuhen' would value me so much?"
Yin Wuxiao composed himself and sighed, "I really can't believe that you would cooperate with 'Wuhen' just to harm me. Or are you actually a member of 'Wuhen'?"
Although she guessed that Yuwen Cuiyu was Jiu'er, she still couldn't guess the bigger secret hidden behind it.
All of this secret stems from one person: the owner of "Traceless." She always felt that the owner of "Traceless" and she, Yin Wuxiao, had a special connection.
Yuwen Cuiyu snapped her fingers, smiled, and turned around. "Don't you want to know what I'll trade you for?"
"There are too many things I want to know, it all depends on whether you're willing to tell me readily," Yin Wuxiao answered honestly.
"Yesterday, Miss Yin and I were kidnapped by 'Wuhen' before Qiao Bang's wedding banquet. After today, everyone in the world will believe that you, Miss Yin, have died at the hands of 'Wuhen's' master. As for me, although I was seriously injured, I escaped danger with your help, told the world your last words, and to repay your kindness, I will take care of your unfulfilled husband for the rest of my life."
"What a clumsy lie." Yin Wuxiao was stunned for a moment, then almost burst out laughing.
"But the world will believe it."
“Brother Fenglang wouldn’t be so easily fooled.” And Baili Qingyi.
“He will believe it. He will find your body soon.” Yuwen Cuiyu looked at her inscrutable.
Yin Wuxiao remained silent for a long time.
A woman can be very smart, or she can be very foolish.
"You still intend to kill me." Yin Wuxiao finally couldn't help but ask, "To be fair, how did I treat you during those two years you were Jiu'er?"
Yuwen Cuiyu looked at her: "You've been very good to me." She suddenly turned her face away, "But I hate you."
Yin Wuxiao choked, and said with a bitter smile, "It's true... there's nothing we can do about it being hateful."
"The first time I heard your name, I decided to hate you."
"I have had irregular meridians since childhood. According to the orthodox martial arts world of the Central Plains, I am not allowed to practice martial arts. However, I was born into a martial arts family, which made me a disgrace to the Yuwen family. But when I was eleven years old, I met a master by chance who cured my congenital disease and taught me the martial arts of the Mobei Qiong Sect."
"No wonder... Brother Fenglang only found out that Aunt Nan and the others died from the Qiong Sect's martial arts."
Yuwen Cuiyu sighed suddenly: "But my master has a strange temper. That day, I offended him slightly, and he was determined to kill me. I escaped with injuries and was rescued by someone at the foot of Yunshan Mountain."
Yin Wuxiao gasped, "I remember. So you were... the woman in black that Fenglang and I rescued back then!"
It turns out that this predestined connection extends for such a long time.
Chapter Twenty: How Many Green Lotuses Lean Against Each Other in Sorrow (Part One)
That year, Yin Wuxiao was fifteen years old.
That year, she met a mysterious young man by the Songlu Pool at the southern foot of Yunshan Mountain, and ever since then, she has been in a daze, her thoughts wandering.
Even later, when Qiao Fenglang found her, she still had a smug yet slightly shy smile on her lips.
A handsome man in a blue brocade robe and a bright young woman with red lips and white teeth walked hand in hand on a rugged mountain path, while the slender, proud branches on the cliff swayed slightly with the laughter of the couple.
"Fortunately, I haven't sent news of your disappearance for three days back to the capital, otherwise Mother and Aunt Nan would definitely be worried sick about you again." The man's eyebrows were broad and his slightly curved eyes revealed his doting affection.
"Brother Fenglang is incredibly insightful and calm in the face of adversity. He truly has the demeanor of a great general..." Yin Wuxiao flattered him guiltily.
"You little rascal, trying to dodge the question again." Qiao Fenglang shook his head helplessly. "This time, I can't let you get away with it so easily."
"Brother Fenglang..." Knowing that she was doomed, she quickly put on a begging face.
Qiao Fenglang's expression turned serious: "I let you wander alone on the mountain, but you left the safe zone on your own. For three whole days, your whereabouts were a mystery. When you finally reappeared, your clothes..." He paused, his face slightly embarrassed, "...were tattered, and you were wearing a man's outer robe..." To be honest, if it weren't for his cousin's rosy cheeks, bright eyes, and mischievous look as if she had just bullied someone, he would have searched the mountain like a madman. Until he found the owner of that robe and executed him by slow slicing.
"Also, why is the bottle of Fragrant Jade Balm that I gave you before you left gone?" All of this combined made him worry.
Yin Wuxiao chuckled and scratched her head. After Qiao Fenglang said that, she really felt as if she had been completely ruined.
It seems that it will take quite a bit of effort to dispel Qiao Fenglang's doubts this time.
"Um..." Yin Wuxiao glanced nervously at Qiao Fenglang, then hurriedly lowered his head. "I rescued someone on the mountain. The clothes... I tore them off myself to bandage his wounds, and I used the medicine on him too." Seeing the doubt on Qiao Fenglang's face, Yin Wuxiao quickly added, "Don't worry, that person was unconscious the whole time and had no idea who rescued him..."
Yeah, right.
Yin Wuxiao certainly understood that concealing his actions as much as possible was the wisest choice.
"really?"
"Really?" She blinked her innocent, watery eyes, looking utterly innocent.
Qiao Fenglang naturally knew that things were not that simple, but knowing that she was safe and sound was enough for him.
Yin Wuxiao glanced at him cautiously: "Don't tell Aunt Yun and Aunt Nan about this, lest they worry."
Then, Yin Wuxiao realized she had stepped on something, and she subconsciously looked down.
That was a hand.
Even stained with blood, the hand remained beautiful. Its owner, a beautiful young girl, lay by the roadside.
Both of them gasped.
Qiao Fenglang quickly stepped forward and checked the girl's breath.
"Still alive."
That woman likes Brother Fenglang.
Although she had just come of age, she had acquired a lot of knowledge from books and knew a bit about matters of love and romance.
Ever since she and Qiao Fenglang rescued the girl in black from the mountains, Qiao Fenglang has become exceptionally busy. Since waking up, the girl has only eaten the food Qiao Fenglang fed her and drunk the water from his hand; she seems to harbor intense hostility towards everyone else.
"What's your name?" she finally couldn't help but ask, interrupting the girl in black's reverie by the window.
The girl glanced at her sideways, but ignored her.
Unable to hide his intense curiosity, Yin Wuxiao asked with a smile, "Are you a good person or a bad person?"
The girl still ignored her.
Yin Wuxiao was annoyed.
"You know I'm going to marry Brother Fenglang in the future," she said casually.
Sure enough, this sentence successfully captured the girl's attention.
"You...aren't siblings?" the girl finally asked in a low voice. She was beautiful, and her voice was as clear as a nightingale's song, though it was slightly hoarse from her injuries.