Oscuramente encantador

Capítulo 39

...

The next morning, Xiao Dao got up early, put on a mask, and stood in the yard urging Xiao Yue, "Xiao Yue, hurry up!"

Xue Beifan entered the courtyard with breakfast and couldn't help but laugh when he saw her attire. "What strange thing are you doing now?"

"What's going on?" Xiao Dao steadied his mask with his hand. "I'm going to see a play with Xiao Yue. Isn't Cai Bian going to draw up my portrait and arrest me?"

"The notice has been removed, don't worry." Xue Beifan smiled and lifted her mask. "As long as you're not unlucky enough to run into her directly, there shouldn't be any trouble."

"You didn't go to take down the yellow notice with Chonghua last night, did you?" Xiao Dao was quite surprised, thinking to himself that these two were too idle.

"The one who posted the yellow notice was Seventh Concubine's man." Xue Beifan raised the corner of his mouth. "I went to the Cai residence with Chonghua to eavesdrop."

"Really?" Xiao Dao was a little disappointed. "You should have called me along. I wanted to teach that lecher a lesson."

"Don't scold him. He's still thinking about you, my little beauty," Xue Beifan said with a smile. "But Seventh Concubine hates you to death."

"Why would you hate me?" Xiao Dao frowned. "I didn't fight her for anything... By the way! Did Seventh Concubine eat her maid? Is she any younger?"

When asked this, Xue Beifan became quite serious. "You know what, it really is!"

Xiao Dao stared wide-eyed, his face filled with shock.

"It's a pity, though. She dressed up beautifully last night, but Cai Bian didn't even glance at her." Xue Beifan reached out and gently tapped Xiao Dao's nose. "He commissioned an artist to paint your portrait, and he stared at it all night, saying that beauties are hard to come by and that he hadn't been so moved in a long time. He even kissed the portrait."

"Ugh!" Little Knife grinned. "Disgusting! Why didn't you take the painting back?!"

"I won't be able to get the painting back, but I did get something else back." As he spoke, he reached into his sleeve pocket and took something out.

Xiao Dao looked around and said, "What was so well hidden? Why didn't you tell me last night?"

“I was afraid it would scare you so much you couldn’t sleep,” Xue Beifan said, pulling out a wooden figure. The figure was crudely made, with no facial features, only a portrait pasted on it. The face in the portrait bore a striking resemblance to Xiaodao, clearly carved from a single image, with the neck cut off cleanly at the root. Xiaodao instinctively clutched his neck, “What is this?!”

"Seventh Concubine stole Cai Bian's portrait, cut out your face and pasted it onto a wooden dummy. It is said that if she gets your birth date and time, she can nail you to death."

Xiao Dao trembled as Xue Beifan spoke, "That vicious woman is too ruthless. I only met her once, and she was smiling at me yesterday."

“Otherwise, why would it be called ‘the most poisonous heart is a woman’s’?” Xue Beifan removed the face from the wooden figure. “Look at this wooden figure.”

Xiao Dao took the wooden figure and examined it closely. "It looks just like the one I saw that night! That one was even more detailed."

"I guess it was given to the seventh concubine by the old nun." Xue Beifan pretended to be knowledgeable. "This kind of wooden figure has another name, called Wooden Servant Tail."

Xiao Dao frowned. "What is that?"

Xue Beifan thought for a moment, but couldn't recall, so he looked at Zhonghua and asked, "What did you say last night?"

Chonghua was preparing breakfast for Xiaoyue. He had been on tenterhooks this morning, but seeing that Xiaoyue was no different from usual, he felt relieved. When Xue Beifan asked, he helped explain, "The 'Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang' records that Mupuwei is a kind of evil spirit that lives in wood and eats people."

Xiao Dao quickly put the wooden figure down. "Really?"

"It's just a legend, neither believable nor unbelievable." Chonghua smiled. "Just like the saying that eating people can keep you young forever, it's just a trick, more than enough to fool the Seventh Concubine and the like."

"What exactly is that old nun planning with her charade?" Xiao Dao frowned slightly. "Is she trying to make money?"

"Not necessarily." Xue Beifan and Chonghua exchanged a glance, still feeling lingering fear as they recalled the expression on Seventh Concubine's face last night, holding the wooden figure and cursing the knife. They had seen people love to the point of death and had seen people go mad for love, but this was the first time they had ever seen someone turn from a human into a ghost because of love turning into hatred.

"Why did the Seventh Concubine really become younger?" Xiaoyue was even more curious about this. "I've seen people who were starving to death and had no choice but to eat human flesh. I've seen many who died from eating human flesh, but I've never seen anyone become younger from it."

"Actually, if you were to say she looks young, I couldn't tell if it's because she has fewer wrinkles or a better complexion, it's just a feeling," Xue Beifan recalled, stroking his chin. "She just has that kind of eerie quality about her."

Xiao Dao found a brazier and burned the wooden figure, thinking to himself, "What bad luck! I've run into this mess."

After breakfast, the group went out to find a theatrical troupe to watch a performance.

Xiao Dao and Xiao Yue walked ahead, buying things as they went, looking like girls shopping.

Xue Beifan stood with his hands behind his back, and He Chonghua followed behind.

"I just heard someone say that Cai Lian will be arriving in Jinling in a few days."

"As expected." Xue Beifan sneered, "Cai Bian ordered the mountain to be sealed off in order to wait for Cai Lian to arrive."

"The Five Dragon Bone Diagrams are very likely in that legendary treasure cave beneath the Xianyun Mountain Waterfall," Chonghua reminded him. "Aren't you worried that if you don't go with Xiaodao to see the pool, and instead spend so much time going to the temple and watching opera, you'll run into Cai Lian?"

Xue Beifan smiled slightly, "It's alright, let that girl play for a couple of days first."

Chonghua saw Xue Beifan looking at Xiaodao in front of him with a gentle look in his eyes. Following his gaze, he saw Xiaodao holding a vase, examining it while secretly looking back.

As their eyes met, Xue Beifan's smile softened even more, and Xiao Dao quickly turned her face away, her ears turning slightly red.

Chonghua frowned, shook his head, and sighed.

"Where's Hao Jinfeng?" Xue Beifan turned his gaze back to Chonghua. "Why isn't he here?"

“He’s collecting evidence against Cai Bian right now,” Chonghua warned. “Although Hao Jinfeng is a muddle-headed guy, he’s no slouch when it comes to solving cases. And he’s Xiao Dao’s older brother. Be careful not to run into Cai Lian and let him see through your scheme.”

Xue Beifan smiled faintly and remained silent, clearly having his own plans.

Before long, the four arrived at the entrance of the theater. However, the Wen family troupe was not as glamorous as they had imagined. The door was dilapidated and seemed to have not been renovated in a long time. There were not many customers either. Could it be that no one listens to the opera during the day, and it is only lively at night?

Xiao Dao walked to the door and peered inside.

Sure enough, a servant came out to greet her, "Would you like some tea, young lady?"

"Isn't this a theatrical troupe?" Xiao Dao wondered. "The Wen family troupe, which performs 'The Phoenix Hairpin', is run by the Fourth Young Master Wen."

"Hehe." The waiter chuckled, "Miss, you're too late. Young Master Wen left a few days ago."