Peaceful Jianghu

Chapter 57

Before he could finish speaking, Xue Beifan pulled her into a tight embrace and lifted her up, exclaiming, "My good girl, you're amazing!"

Xiao Dao was dumbfounded for a moment. He looked down at Xue Beifan, who was looking up at him, and only had one thought in his mind—a bright smile, no... a really silly smile!

Xiao Dao quickly shook his head and kicked him with his toe, yelling, "Let go!"

Xue Beifan put her down, and Xiao Dao's face turned red again. She gave Xue Beifan a light push and muttered, "Stop pulling and tugging."

Xue Beifan put away the dragon bone, but his joyful expression remained on his face. He asked, still holding the small knife, "When did you get it?"

"secret."

"I'm going to reward you properly!"

Xiao Dao was quite pleased to hear this and reached out, "Give it to me!"

Xue Beifan grabbed her hand and lowered his head to kiss her palm.

"Ah!" Xiao Dao screamed in pain, raising his foot to kick, "You lecherous scoundrel!"

Xiao Dao chased after him, and just when he thought Xue Er looked pretty cool fighting, he instantly reverted to his old ways and became a hooligan again.

Xiaoyue followed behind, smiling. From any perspective, the two were quite a good match.

The three returned to the Chong Mansion, and Chonghua and Hao Jinfeng breathed a sigh of relief after successfully obtaining the Dragon Bone Five Diagrams.

That night, Xue Beifan took Xiaodao out for a wild night. Whatever Xiaodao looked at, he wanted to take back; he wouldn't go west if told to go east, and he wouldn't chase chickens if told to chase dogs. Xiaodao's lips were always curled up; her mother was absolutely right—regardless of whether a man is a hero or a coward, the most important thing is that he's obedient!

Chonghua and Xiaoyue followed along. Chonghua's head was shaking so much that he was a little dizzy. He had known Xue Beifan for so long, and this was the first time he had seen him so happy. He wondered if it was the effect of the Dragon Bone Five Diagrams or the quirky Yan Xiaodao.

The following evening, shocking news spread throughout Jinling City: Cai Bian had been arrested, along with Cai Lian, who had just arrived. The charges against them were numerous: embezzlement, murder, cannibalism, and more. Jinling City was in an uproar.

Hao Jinfeng returned with the news from the yamen, shaking his head as he entered the courtyard. "Sigh, the truth about Granny Shan has finally come to light."

Xiao Dao and the others sat down around the table, asking him curiously, "What exactly happened?"

It turns out that this incident, which seemed most like a love triangle, had lasted for decades but had nothing to do with love or anything like that.

Those three nuns were indeed imposters; they weren't old women, but rather three eunuchs serving Cai Lian. The secret chamber beneath the Xianyun Mountain waterfall was indeed built by a master craftsman at Cai Lian's request, to hide the treasures he had amassed over the years.

The idea of creating the Mountain Woman was also Cai Lian's; by creating a ferocious demon, he could legitimately protect the treasure trove. In truth, the Mountain Woman did exist, and Cai Lian's cruelty in killing his lovers was undeniable. He not only killed those women but also used them to fabricate the Mountain Woman, thus securing his wealth. Recently, with the shift in power at court, Cai Lian felt he was losing some influence, so he ordered Cai Bian to send men to surround Xianyun Mountain and transport all the treasure away.

What followed was complicated, or rather, complicated in some ways but simple in others, all because of human desires, greed, anger, love, and delusion.

First, after the rumors about the mountain woman spread, those unfaithful men were killed.

When someone climbs the social ladder, they inevitably make a few enemies, especially those they know well. Most of the "heartless men" killed by the mountain woman had some past grudges with Cai Lian. He saw these people as potential threats to him in the future, so he used the "mountain woman's" pretext of killing heartless men to silence them.

Let's talk about the wooden figure again.

These three nuns were indeed men; to be precise, they were several eunuchs who were close confidants of Cai Lian.

That old nun was a carpenter by trade, obsessed with making wooden figures. She was also quite skilled in martial arts and mingled in the martial arts world, earning her the nickname "Wooden Puppets." She possessed an extraordinary talent; she could carve anyone she saw into a wooden figure. She used various evil spells and curses to torment these figures, casting spells and poisons, so most people in the martial arts world were wary of her. She had disappeared years ago, and it was unexpected that she was hiding here, focusing solely on making her wooden figures.

To make a good wooden dummy, the skeletal structure is crucial, and the old nun wanted to obtain a human skeleton to use as the dummy's frame. But after killing someone and taking the bones, what should be done with the human flesh?

Coincidentally, a large group of resentful women came to the Xianyun Temple, which he used as a front. He then fabricated these absurd stories, saying that eating people could make one young again, which fooled the women into killing each other and ultimately caused families with many wives and concubines to break up.

Later, he wanted to make moving wooden figures, so he had the wild idea of using living people to make them.

Seventh Concubine, Liao Xiaoqing, and others were all materials he used to make wooden figures. Liao Xiaoqing was rather special. The old nun kept her by his side because she was a bit crazy and easy to control. In addition, the old nun liked to listen to her sing operas, treating her like a caged canary, listening to her sing a few songs when he was bored, that was all.

The most absurd thing is that, logically, one shouldn't "eat the grass near one's burrow." This old nun and Cai Bian should have been family, both working for Cai Lian. The old nun even went after the seventh concubine. All this was due to Cai Lian's suspicious nature. This man, for wealth and advancement, could abandon even his beloved, let alone a mere relative. Cai Lian was ruthless and always felt that Cai Bian knew too much and was too incompetent, so he had to eliminate her after the job was done.

In the end, everyone had to admire Cai Lian. His cunning schemes had reached such a level that everyone was completely under his control, like puppets on a string. If Xiao Dao and his group hadn't barged in, he might have taken the treasure, eliminated all his rivals, and remained at large. People would have quickly forgotten him, remembering only the old woman in Xianyun Mountain who hated the unfaithful man.

"Then why do they actually look younger after eating human flesh?" Xiao Dao still couldn't understand this.

"The people at the yamen also asked the old nun about this matter, and guess what they said?"

Everyone opened their eyes wide to listen, "What did you say?"

He said that those women were originally beautiful, but unfortunately they were always thinking about harming people. Even if they stopped thinking about it for a while, they would still be beautiful.

Xiaoyue didn't quite understand. "What do you mean?"

Xue Beifan and Chonghua understood and nodded with smiles.

Xiao Dao rested his chin on his hand and said, "Sigh, is it true that one's appearance reflects one's heart? Now that I think about it, Seventh Aunt was always worried. After eating her maid, her brows relaxed and she became radiant."

"Did Cai Lian really kill all his former lovers?" Xiaoyue's concern seemed to differ from Xiaodao's. "Now that he's facing death, has he ever regretted it?"

Hao Jin remained silent for a long time before speaking, "Cai Lian knew he could not escape death, and he had only one last wish: that his body be sprinkled in the pool of Xianyun Mountain Waterfall after his death."

"Go down and apologize?" Xue Beifan sneered. "Too late."

Hao Jinfeng shook his head. "No, he said that because of the change in terrain, many treasures fell into the pool. The pool in Xianyun Mountain is very deep, and once they sink to the bottom, it is impossible to retrieve them. What is his is still his."

Everyone was stunned by these words; this person truly had no conscience!

Xiaoyue frowned deeply. "How could he be so mean?"

"Because he's a bad guy," Xiao Dao said with a faint smile.

Seeing her knowing smile, Xue Beifan asked with interest, "What profound insights did your mother teach you this time?"

Xiao Dao raised the corner of his mouth. "That's what Mother said most often."

At this moment, a gentle breeze passed by... Hao Jinfeng was wiping his knife, Xiaoyue was holding a cat, Xue Beifan was crossing his legs, Chonghua was holding a teacup, a maid was carrying a tea tray, a servant boy was holding a broom at the door, and Chongmu in the ancestral hall was striking a wooden fish... Everyone suddenly paused, as if listening intently.