Early Spring Trip

Chapter 15

“Completely silent,” Qinglong said in a low voice. “I only found this.”

He handed the silver bracelet to the young master.

The young master took the bracelet and gently stroked it in his hand. Yesterday evening, she had even worn this bracelet while washing her face. Occasionally, the silver bracelet would clink against the copper basin, producing a pleasant, clear sound. Thinking of this, the young master was slightly taken aback.

"When it was found, it was already twisted into this state?"

"Yes," Qinglong replied anxiously. "Young Master... has Chuxia been abused? Otherwise, how could the bracelet on her wrist be twisted so badly?"

"Qinglong, you're letting your concern cloud your judgment," the young master said, his voice slightly reproachful. "Have you forgotten everything I taught you?"

Qinglong looked ashamed and said in a low voice, "Yes."

"After you were tricked and left that cloth shop, it was at most half a cup of tea's time. They were in such a hurry to take Chuxia away, why would they have abused her in the secret passage?" the young master said slowly. "Furthermore, this bracelet was twisted into a straight line, yet it couldn't be straightened. It was clearly the work of someone who didn't know martial arts. If Chuxia didn't do it herself, who else could it be?"

"Then... what is Chu Xia trying to tell us?" Qinglong's eyes lit up.

The young master did not answer, but only pursed his lips and sighed softly, "What a clever child."

He looked up and saw Qinglong's remorseful expression, so he asked, "Qinglong, how long have you been by my side?"

"Ten years."

"You are intelligent and ambitious, so it's good for you to experience some setbacks now." The young master glanced at him sideways. "Tell me about what happened today. Where did you go wrong?"

Qinglong was silent for a while: "Qinglong made three mistakes. First, I did not check the small room carefully and did not find the secret passage; second, when Chuxia changed clothes, I was less vigilant because I had checked her for the first time and saw that she was fine; third, when she went out, I was preoccupied with personal matters and did not keep an eye on her for a moment, which led to the discovery that she had been switched when we got to the street."

The young master smiled slightly: "These things are important, yet not important. Think about it carefully, since I put you in charge of the Leopard Guard, have you become a bit more arrogant than before?"

Azure Dragon remained silent.

"Alright, you can go now. I still need to think about what to do next." The young master waved his hand, looking at the increasingly heavy spring rain, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on the table, sometimes fast, sometimes slow.

Qinglong, however, did not leave. He stood in the same spot and asked, "Young Master, was Chuxia... killed?"

The young master remained silent.

“Young Master, this girl is so timid. Even if someone doesn’t kill her, just scare her with a knife would scare her to death, wouldn’t it?” Qinglong’s handsome face was full of worry. He was no longer as calm as before. He seemed to have become a child ten years ago. He had just entered the Jun Mansion and always looked up to the young master of the mansion.

"Qinglong, Chuxia is a clever girl." The young master smiled faintly. "She naturally has a way... to keep her alive as a hostage."

Since the young master said so, Qinglong's expression immediately relaxed, and his guilt lessened considerably: "What about Baixue? Young master, are you just going to keep her like this?"

The young master rested his chin on his hand, seemingly somewhat tired, and said lazily, "Don't concern yourself with Bai Xue's matter anymore. Go and see if there are any other clues outside."

Qinglong nodded and went out.

Chu Xia was jolted awake. She slowly opened her eyes, only to see the top of the carriage.

Judging from the creaking sounds, it was a very rudimentary carriage. She was bound stiffly, her back pressed against a wooden plank, wanting to move but unable to, finding it extremely unbearable.

Bang! The carriage seemed to be stopped by a large rock, and bounced up heavily. Chu Xia's waist was almost broken. With a strip of cloth stuffed in her mouth, she could only whimper.

The carriage suddenly stopped. The curtain was pulled open, letting in a gust of damp wind.

Chu Xia's eyes struggled to adjust to the bright light outside, and she squeezed them shut. Someone ripped the gag from her mouth and shouted, "Tell the leader, the girl is awake!"

The initial panic had subsided, and Chu Xia repeatedly reminded herself to stay calm. She took a deep breath before opening her eyes.

Two masked men in black stood on either side of the carriage shaft. One of them roughly pulled her out and slammed her to the ground.

Dust covered her face, and Chu Xia felt like her body was about to fall apart, but then she heard a deep male voice say, "Tell me, where exactly are you headed?"

Chu Xia felt a little more at ease. This trip to Qingtian River was known only to herself and the young master; even Qinglong and Baixue, who were traveling with her, hadn't been informed. It seemed… this was the only thing that could save her life right now.

The whip lashed down, and Chu Xia felt a sharp pain in her left shoulder. Then she heard the man's cold voice say, "Don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit."

"If you don't listen to a toast, you'll have to drink a penalty cup..." Chu Xia suddenly remembered that night when the young master sealed his mute acupoint with wax and said the same words to her... But the young master's tone was smiling and so gentle.

She shook her head vigorously, putting that night out of her mind, and raised her eyebrows again to look at the black-clad leader. This man was dressed rather cautiously in a black cloak, concealing his face so that his features were not visible.

"Tell me! Where does the painting point to?"

"How would a mere servant like me know where the young master is going?" Chu Xia sobbed softly. "What painting? I know even less about that..."

"Enough with the nonsense!" the black-clad leader sneered. "Jun Ye'an searched through all these picture books, and you're the only one who's read them all! If you don't know, who else does?"

Chu Xia's heart stirred slightly. Why did this man know so much about these situations?

Another whip lashed down, this time the tip struck her cheek, and tears immediately streamed down Chu Xia's face.

"I'll ask you one more time, will you answer or not!" The leader bent the whip in his hand and asked again.

“I recognize your voice!” Chu Xia blurted out, “You…you’re from the Jun family!”

Chapter Fifteen

Chu Xia blurted out, "You...you are from the Jun family. You...you are Tian Gang's inside mansion in the Jun family."

The leader in black chuckled softly, his voice hoarse: "Little girl, you've got some knowledge, even knowing about Tiangang. You'd better answer my questions honestly. Otherwise..." He scooped up a handful of Chu Xia's hair and played with it in his palm, "...stripped naked, strangled with a knife, and then have this handful of hair cut off, that would be quite amusing!"

Chu Xia shuddered, her teeth chattering: "You...you're the murderer who killed Madam Wangyun?"

The person did not answer, but instead twirled a strand of early summer hair with their fingers, and with a slight pull, plucked it from their hand.

Chu Xia was already terrified, and now, with a sharp pain in her scalp, she couldn't help but cry out loudly, saying intermittently, "I'll talk...I'll talk! Don't kill me!"

The man loosened his grip on her slightly: "Where are you headed?"

"Qing...Chuan River".

Why go to Qingchuan River?

"It's because the place depicted in 'Ballad of Mountains and Rivers' is extremely similar to a certain spot on the Qingchuan River that you led us there to search for it."

"Jun Ye'an seems to trust you." The black-clad leader seemed to ponder for a moment, then asked, "What secret lies behind 'The Ballad of Mountains and Rivers'?"

"I really don't know," Chu Xia said tremblingly. "Even you, young master, don't know."

The leader in black seemed to believe her and asked again, "The Qingchuan River is a branch of the Mangshan Mountains, stretching for hundreds of miles. Where are you headed?"

Chu Xia composed herself and said, "The place depicted in 'Ballad of Mountains and Rivers' has mountains and water. Our journey to Qingchuan River is to find the place depicted in the painting. However, I do not know exactly where in Qingchuan River the painting refers to."

A man in black stepped forward and whispered a few words in the leader's ear. The leader nodded and said to Chu Xia, "So, you've seen the landscape?"

Chu Xia gritted her teeth and said, "Yes. In this world, only I and you have ever met."

A sharp glint flashed in the black-clad leader's eyes: "So, only you can lead us to that Mountain and Water Ballad?"

"Yes. So...you, you'd better not kill me." Chu Xia mustered her courage and said, "If you don't kill me...I'll take you to that place."

The leader in black remained silent for a long time before coldly saying, "You'd better not try anything funny."

"I dare not... I dare not." Chu Xia felt a burning pain on her face, and timidly asked, "May I ask, Chief, what day is it today?"

Why are you asking this?

With tears in her eyes, Chu Xia said, "I... I was thinking of my own life. Young Master is unparalleled in his cunning and strategy. If he gets the treasure first... I'm afraid the first person you'll kill to vent your anger will be me."

"This young lady is quite the opportunist. No wonder Jun Ye'an wants to keep you by his side." The black-clad leader turned around coldly and said, "Today is March 24th. Tell our men to hurry and make sure we enter Qingchuan River before Jun Ye'an."

The man in black beside him said, "Don't worry, leader. Jun Ye'an and the Azure Dragon Envoy are still in Daliu Manor and haven't followed us. They're probably still looking for this girl."

When Chu Xia suddenly heard the names of the young master and Qinglong from someone else, her heart ached and she couldn't help but wonder... were the young master and the others really searching for me everywhere?

Someone threw Chu Xia into the carriage, and the horse galloped westward towards the Qingchuan River.

As Chu Xia lay on her back in the dark carriage, trying hard not to let her tears fall, she thought to herself... Young master, I will definitely live until the day I see you again.

Daliuzhuang.

This is the third time today that Qinglong has been spying outside the young master's gate.

He stood outside the window, and through the cracks in the windowpane, the faint scent of incense from the Boshan incense burner wafted out. Inside, the sound of a zither was gentle and refined; the piece being played was "Moon over the Mountain Pass." The young master's zither playing was always serene and understated; even the most powerful and ruthless instruments, under his hands, could evoke a sense of tranquility and profound peace. It was hard to believe that Ye An, the decisive and ruthless young master of the martial world, was actually such a graceful and noble gentleman.

Normally, hearing the young master's zither music would immediately wash away Qinglong's restlessness. But today, he found it increasingly difficult to suppress his anxiety, and hearing Bai Xue's cheerful laughter inside only fueled his anger. He kicked the door open and stormed in.

The young master's slender fingers paused on the zither. Seeing that it was Qinglong, he showed no surprise and simply said, "You've come at the right time, Qinglong. Listen to my new piece."

"Young Master—"

The young master leisurely finished speaking: "It's just that this zither was bought on the spot, so it's not quite satisfactory."

Bai Xue, dressed in a snow-blue long dress, was adding incense to the censer with her delicate hands. Upon hearing this, she chuckled and said, "Young master is too modest. Your musical skills... I, Bai Xue, played the zither in front of you that day. Thinking about it now, I am truly ashamed."

Qinglong gritted his teeth and said, "Young Master, Chuxia has been kidnapped for three days now. Are we just going to wait here and do nothing?"

The young master lightly plucked a string with his index finger and said casually, "Didn't I tell you to search everywhere? Did you find it?"

"I! I can't leave this Great Willow Manor, so how can I search everywhere?" Qinglong said anxiously. "Young Master, I think it would be better to send Xuan—"

The young master raised his phoenix eyes slightly and subtly increased the pitch of his zither. Qinglong immediately understood and changed his mind, saying, "I think...why don't you send me out to search along the way?"

Young Master Ye An hummed in agreement, but remained noncommittal, saying, "You think you can find it just by sending you out? Wasn't it you who lost the person?"

Someone chuckled softly. Qinglong glanced at Bai Xue, only to see her beautiful eyes slightly raised, looking completely confident.

He suppressed his anger, bowed, and left. He could still hear the young master's smiling voice behind him: "Bai Xue, this 'Autumn Night Mooring' should indeed begin like this..."

He glanced back and saw the young master standing behind Bai Xue, embracing her from behind, placing his hands on hers, and whispering in her ear, oblivious to everyone else.

"Damn it!" Qinglong cursed inwardly, but then realized he should be cursing himself! Filled with resentment, he went to the back of the inn to get his horse, spurred it on, and rode off without looking back.

Inside the room, the young master stood with his hands behind his back by the window, watching the horse carrying Qingying ride away in a cloud of dust, a mysterious smile appearing on his lips.

Bai Xue's piano music suddenly trembled slightly. He didn't turn around, but seemed to be able to sense her slightly flustered thoughts, and lazily said, "Don't stop, continue."

"Chief, is this little brat playing a trick on us?" a man in black said to the chief by the campfire. "We've been searching these mountains for days. Every time we find a waterfall, she says it's not there. How long will this search take?"

The leader held a long whip folded in his hand, his profile shrouded in shadow, exuding an extremely somber air.

“Only she has seen this painting. If she’s just spouting nonsense and pointing fingers, we won’t know,” the man continued. “Could she… be stalling for time, waiting for the Jun family to come to her rescue?”

The chieftain stood up, his eyes narrowed dangerously, and he walked heavily toward the figure bound behind the tree.

In early summer, her feet were bound, and she leaned against a willow tree, nibbling on a piece of dry bread. She had been driven to walk and search in the Qingchuan River for days, and she was already exhausted. However, being on the enemy's side, she dared not relax for a moment. Even now, a part of her mind was working tensely.

A dark shadow loomed over her, and her hands trembled in fear, causing the dry bread to fall to the ground, scattering crumbs everywhere.

The cold, hard whip tip lifted its chin, and Chu Xia heard the leader's hoarse voice: "Little girl, do you know how long we've been wandering around in this Qingchuan River?"

Chu Xia said softly, "More than five days."

"Over the course of five days, we found twenty-five places with waterfalls and rolling rocks, but you shook your head and said they weren't there every time. At this rate, the Qingchuan River stretches for hundreds of miles. When do you plan to lead us to the location of 'Ballad of Mountains and Rivers'?"