Peaceful Jianghu - Chapter 40
"Gone?" Xiao Dao frowned. "Where did they go?"
"Yes, he sold the theater, and we just opened a teahouse today," the waiter rambled on. "I heard that Young Master Wen has been vomiting blood lately, and he had Madam Wen take him back home a couple of days ago."
"Vomiting blood? Are you sick?" Xue Beifan walked up.
"You've been bewitched, haven't you?" the waiter said ominously, then waved his hand, "Sigh, never mind, it's bad luck to say that!"
Chonghua slipped a silver ingot over, "Tell me in detail."
The shopkeeper accepted the money somewhat embarrassedly. "I only heard it from the servants in the Zhai residence... On the night Young Master Wen married Miss Zhai, he was haunted by the spirit of his junior sister."
Xiao Dao was startled. "Is his junior sister Liao Xiaoqing?"
"That's right!" the waiter said in a low voice. "It's said that Young Master Wen dreams every night of his junior sister wearing white clothes and a long skirt, with her hair disheveled, singing 'The Phoenix Hairpin' in the deep mountains. She's also driving iron nails into his chest, and the pain is making him sicker day by day. Recently, he's started vomiting blood, and the Zhai family has already started preparing for his funeral."
Xiao Dao and Xue Beifan immediately thought of Liao Xiaoqing, whom they had seen last night, driving a nail firmly into a tree trunk. Both of them wiped the sweat from their brows—was it really that strange?!
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30
The Omen of the Bronze Mirror
The group arrived to find nothing. Without the excuse of watching the opera, they couldn't very well go to the Zhai family to find Wen Si and ask if he was possessed.
Seeing that Xiao Dao was suspicious, Xue Beifan advised, "Forget it, this time it's a man who's suffering. You only help women, right? He's abandoned his old love, so why do you care if he lives or dies?"
Xiao Dao glanced at him and said, "It's not like he only cared because he abandoned his old love... I just think that old nun is strange."
With noon fast approaching, Chonghua said he would treat everyone to a meal at the famous Juxianju restaurant in Jinling, so that Yan Xiaodao, who had been busy and tired these past two days, could taste the delicacies of Jinling.
Seeing Xue Beifan and Chonghua's smiling faces, Xiao Dao said coolly, "There's no such thing as a free lunch."
"Xiao Dao, you're really smart!" Xue Beifan shamelessly flattered. "So after we eat, let's get to work."
Xiao Dao was annoyed by his grinning face. "Where are you going?"
"It's important business," Xue Beifan reminded Xiao Dao, arms crossed, "We should go to Xianyun Mountain Waterfall."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Dao knew that Xue Beifan couldn't hold back any longer. All his efforts to flatter and sweet-talk him were ultimately for the treasure map. Thinking of this, her mood soured. Just as her mother had said, men are only interested in what they gain; they'll only be good to you if they kill you!
After thinking it over, Xiaodao took Xiaoyue's arm and went into the restaurant. Xue Beifan scratched his head, thinking to himself that this girl was really not normal; her mood changed faster than flipping through a book. Women are said to be fickle, but this kind of sudden change was truly the first time he'd ever seen one.
It was still early before lunchtime, and Juxianju was relatively empty. Xiao Dao had just found a window seat on the second floor when he suddenly paused… and four words immediately popped into his head—"What a small world!"
If they tried to run again, their path would be blocked.
Before Xue Beifan and Chonghua could even go upstairs, they saw that the stairwell was blocked by a group of people who looked like thugs. They were all fierce-looking and shouting, "Clear the place! Lord Cai has this place reserved!"
On the second floor, Xiaodao and Xiaoyue bumped into Cai Bian, who had been waiting for them for a long time.
Why was Cai Bian here? Well, the other day he met Xiao Dao and fell head over heels for her. He had planned a grand scheme, but his plans backfired, and he even got a beating. People like Cai Bian, especially, rarely have things they can't have. The more unattainable something is, the more precious it becomes! Yan Xiao Dao's every smile and gesture kept flashing before his eyes; he was obsessed, tossing and turning at night, completely bewitched!
On one hand, he sent people to look for Xiaodao; on the other hand, based on his years of experience observing women, he felt that this girl should be a lively and active person, and he figured he could catch her on the street. So, he staked out the place where people gathered, Juxianju... As luck would have it, Xiaodao herself delivered herself to his door, which made him overjoyed!
To Cai Bian's even greater surprise, the beauty's friend was also a beauty; he immediately spotted Lou Xiaoyue, who had come up with Xiaodao. Cai Bian thought to himself—Good heavens! These two girls, one lively and clever, the other elegant and aloof, I'm in for a treat today.
Xiao Dao, who had just met him, didn't think so. Lou Xiaoyue's eyes had turned cold, and she held a dagger in her hand. If Xiao Dao hadn't been holding her arm tightly, she probably would have already gone over and taken his head.
"Hehe." Cai Bian chuckled twice. "Oh, Miss Hao, what a coincidence!"
Xiao Dao thought to himself, "Pah! Why did you send people to block the door if we just happened to run into each other?"
Cai Bian then looked at Lou Xiaoyue and asked, "And who is this young lady?"
Xiao Dao thought to himself, "Girl, my foot! You keep calling me 'girl,' it'll only make Xiao Yue suffer if you see this." He reached out and pulled Xiao Yue behind him, and Xiao Yue tried to step forward and kill Cai Bian.
Just as the two sides were locked in a fierce struggle, a voice rang out, "Lord Cai, what a coincidence!"
Judging from the voice, Xiaodao and Xiaoyue thought it belonged to a young man. Following the sound, they saw several people sitting in an inconspicuous spot near the stairwell. The man in the main seat was a young man, very refined and handsome. He was dressed in white, and unlike Chonghua's slightly sickly appearance, he looked very capable.
Opposite him sat an old man and a young man, who appeared to be his attendants, and behind them were two burly men with furrowed brows and glaring eyes. Xiao Dao secretly sized him up—this man possessed a certain official air, a balance of refinement and coldness, probably an official.
The man smiled, but it was a smile that was three parts mockery and seven parts coldness as he looked at Cai Bian.
Meanwhile, several craftsmen from the Cai family who were blocking the stairwell were kicked up by Xue Beifan and Chonghua.
As the two went upstairs, Chonghua pulled Xiaoyue aside and asked, "Are you alright?"
Xiaoyue was just feeling down; Cai Bian was really unpleasant to look at. [ ]
Xue Beifan approached Xiaodao, smiling and raising an eyebrow at her, looking incredibly irritating. Xiaodao glared back at him, and Xue Beifan squinted and nodded, signaling her not to rush—"I'll get revenge for you."
Xiao Dao's mood improved somewhat, but at this moment, Cai Bian's attention was drawn to the man who had just interrupted her.
He scrutinized the man for a moment, then looked quite surprised. “Oh my, isn’t this General Wei? Why didn’t you give me a heads-up before coming to Jinling? I could have sent someone to pick you up.”
"I'm just here to take care of some personal matters. Lord Cai is a very important person and is very busy. How could I dare to disturb you?"
Xiao Dao frowned—Lord Wei?
Xue Beifan slightly raised the corners of his mouth, pulled Xiao Dao and the others to a seat by the window, and whispered, "Cai Bian will be leaving soon."
Xiao Dao was puzzled.
Sure enough, Cai Bian exchanged a few stiff pleasantries with General Wei, then hurriedly left with his men, his manner of avoiding a plague god more like a hasty retreat, not even having time to say goodbye to Xiao Dao.
Chonghua whispered to Xiaodao and Xiaoyue, "This person is probably Wei Xinjie."
"Oh?" Xiao Dao and Xiao Yue both instinctively gaped, having heard so much about him! Wei Xinjie was the youngest general in the dynasty, said to be a scholar-general, capable of taking on a hundred men single-handedly and possessing exceptional strategic and tactical skills. Furthermore, the Wei and Cai families were sworn enemies. Unlike Cai Lian, who climbed the ranks through flattery and his wife's influence, Wei Xinjie's family had three generations of high-ranking generals, with deep roots and considerable power in the court and beyond. No wonder Cai Bian was wary of him. However, everyone was puzzled: what was Wei Xinjie, a high-ranking official in the capital, doing in Jinling?