Sueño de Jiangshan

Capítulo 31

"So what if I'm short of money? Do you really think you're a fishmonger? I really don't understand what you're after. You spend all day messing around with a bunch of fishermen. You could have just taught them how to make dried fish and helped them get through these forty-nine days. That would have been enough for them. Why did you agree to help them sell their fish long-term, and as much as they could? Do you know how much trouble that is?!" After holding back for more than half a month, Shi Yu finally let out her pent-up frustration. Her little face was flushed with anger, and her big eyes glared resentfully at Leng Jie, who was eating her meal.

Leng Jie looked up at him and smiled as she ate:

"You finally said it. You must have been holding it in for the past two weeks, right?" After a pause, Leng Jie continued, "Your thinking isn't wrong. I'm not a fishmonger, and I'm not short of money. But, with just a small act of kindness, we can help these fishermen live a life several times better than before. Don't you think it's worth it, that it's valuable? You're a prince, after all. You should have that much awareness!"

Shi Yu stared at her blankly, unsure what to say for a long time. He hadn't expected her to think so deeply. He suddenly felt ashamed. She was right; he truly lacked that kind of awareness. The only reason he agreed to help the fishermen was because he needed to remain hidden in the fishing village. He had never intended to help them simply to improve their lives.

Seeing that Xiao Shiyu remained silent, Leng Jie continued:

"Hey! What kind of enlightenment are you talking about? For a high and mighty prince like you to stay in this dirty and chaotic place for half a month and agree to help these fishermen is already quite good."

"Who exactly are you? When you're rustic, you're like a country girl; when you're noble, you're like a queen; when you're carefree, you're like a fairy; when you're playing tricks, you're like a witch," Shi Yu murmured.

“I’m a standard fishmonger now,” Leng Jie continued. “Alright, let’s not talk about that anymore. All you need to do is write a letter instructing your men to set up a salted fish sales point in Jianzhou. They can then come here directly to collect the goods. Now let’s get down to business!”

"I already sent the letter. What did you find out today?" Shi Yu immediately became serious when it came to business.

"I heard that the Green Robe Sect is still looking for us, and has expanded their search area to outside the city. There's also news related to you: on the first day of the twelfth month, a martial arts tournament to punish the Green Robe Sect will be held in your fiefdom of Jianzhou. Are you sure you'll be alright not staying home to oversee things?"

Shi Yu's face suddenly changed color, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes. Even her breathing became rapid as she urgently asked for confirmation:

Is this news reliable?

"It's all over the city, it can't be fake! What's wrong? They shouldn't dare to mess with your palace, right?" Leng Jie didn't understand why he was so flustered.

"No, I must see the Emperor immediately, or the consequences will be unimaginable," Shi Yu muttered to himself.

"What does the martial arts tournament have to do with the Emperor? What do you know?" Leng Jie pressed.

"There are some things you can't know. Knowing them will only do you harm. You're so smart, think of a way to sneak into the palace!" Shi Yu asked anxiously.

"Hmph, if you don't tell me, you can expect to be a child for life!" Leng Jie twitched her eyes and said with a forced smile:

“That’s easy. I’ll send you to be a eunuch. That way you’ll have a chance to see the emperor.”

Shi Yu's face immediately turned from white to green, and she cursed at Leng Jie:

"You're such a vicious woman! How could you come up with such a scheme?"

"My approach is to tailor it to the individual. For someone like you who doesn't tell the truth, of course, I have to use this unconventional method. If it were a gentleman asking me for a way to enter the palace, I would definitely have a suitable method for him," Leng Jie said with a smile.

"I know nothing about you except that your name is Leng Jie. Yet I told you secrets that even my family doesn't know, and you call me a dishonest person? Then what kind of person are you?" Shi Yu retorted sharply.

“Aren’t you the little man now? Of course I’m the adult!” Leng Jie pointed at his small stature and laughed, “You’re the one who wanted to stick with me, not the other way around. Why should I tell you my private affairs? Besides, you’re the one asking me for a solution now, don’t act like you’re the one who’s been taken advantage of.”

Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Unsolved Curse

In the low mud-brick house in the courtyard filled with the smell of fish, the night wind blew through the thin paper windows, making the faint candlelight flicker and sway from side to side.

Leng Jie lifted the hypnotized Xiao Shiyu onto the wooden bed and pulled the blanket over him. She murmured softly:

"Sleep well, and you'll forget everything when you wake up."

"Ha!" The mention of sleep made Leng Jie unconsciously let out a big yawn. During the day, she went out to gather information and taught fishermen who had come from elsewhere specifically to learn the techniques of fish preparation. In the evening, she used hypnosis on Xiao Shiyu after dinner. She also felt very tired and wanted to sleep.

But she can't sleep now. Because there are more troublesome things waiting for her to think about.

Ever since learning that Xiao Shiyu was the Prince of Ying, Leng Jie had been particularly careful, trying her best to appear crude and uncouth in his presence. She didn't want him to associate her with the daughters of noble families, much less with the imperial palace. She had no intention of helping him meet the emperor, because she didn't want to expose her carefully hidden identity, and even less did she want to get involved in court affairs again. She had just escaped a life of hardship; there was no reason for her to go back and walk right into a trap for a little brat she'd picked up on the street!

She had no intention of prying into Shi Yu's privacy. Although she knew that what Shi Yu said couldn't be entirely trusted, she believed he had his reasons for not telling the truth. After all, he wasn't a six-year-old; she couldn't expect an adult to be 100% honest with her, a complete stranger. As long as his lies didn't affect her, that was enough.

Over the past two weeks, she not only mingled with ordinary people and learned a great deal about Jinghe's customs and traditions, but also frequently visited teahouses and restaurants frequented by martial arts practitioners to inquire about the Green Robe Sect. She learned that the Green Robe Sect was a powerful underworld organization and understood why people turned pale at the mention of it.

An organization like theirs, which plunders and kills martial arts practitioners and imperial officials on such a large scale, couldn't possibly be simply trying to demonstrate its gangster status and rob for money, could it? She figured the emperor had the Dragon Gate as his eyes and ears, so Xuanyuan should already know about these things. The government hadn't yet sent troops to suppress the Green Robe Sect; Xuanyuan must have his reasons. When she learned that the righteous martial arts factions had issued a notice to convene a meeting to denounce the Green Robe Sect, she seemed to understand Xuanyuan's intention to sit back and watch the tigers fight.

However, Shi Yu's worried expression about the martial arts tournament being held in Jianzhou made Leng Jie realize that things were not as simple as they seemed on the surface. Since he couldn't get any answers from Shi Yu directly, he had no choice but to resort to methods, using hypnosis to uncover the truth.

However, it's not a big deal if she doesn't hear the truth; if she does, she will face the choice of whether to fall into the quagmire of politics again.

It turns out that the Shi family was one of the secret service leaders that Xuanyuan was looking for. Besides managing all affairs within their fiefdom of Jianzhou, the Shi family was also responsible for secretly monitoring officials, martial arts, agriculture, and commerce in all prefectures north of Jianzhou for the emperor. They were like the emperor's eyes and ears, constantly watching every event, big or small, happening on every inch of land north of Jianzhou. This is one of the reasons why Jinghe has never experienced internal strife in its more than one hundred years of existence.

However, since the new emperor ascended the throne three years ago, they have been unable to contact him. As one of the leaders of the secret service, the Shi family, under the dual pressure of the Taizu Emperor's curse and imperial edict, dared not betray the royal family, nor dared they fail to come to the capital when summoned. They have been waiting for the new emperor's instructions.

However, what they didn't know was that the new emperor had no secret code to contact them, and didn't even know who his agents were.

Based on Shi Yu's words, it's highly likely that the powerful families and officials wiped out by the Qingyi Sect were members of the Dark Guard. The Qingyi Sect seems to be searching for contact methods and personnel lists for the Dark Guard. Shi Yu is worried that the Qingyi Sect itself wants to control the Dark Guard's power, and if the martial arts tournament is held in Jianzhou, the Qingyi Sect will inevitably mobilize its entire force there. However, he is currently not in Jianzhou and has become a child, making it impossible for him to guarantee the safety of the Dark Guard north of Jianzhou. If the Qingyi Sect were to seize Jianzhou now, Jinghe would essentially lose half of its territory.

Leng Jie wondered if the Green Robe Sect was connected to the Dark Guard. How did they know about the Dark Guard's situation, which even the Emperor didn't know? Why didn't they just go to the Emperor directly? And what should she do? Should she go to Xuanyuan and tell him about these things? Or should she secretly send the little jade to him in the palace? Or should she pretend she knew nothing, get rid of this little trouble, and go off to live a carefree life on her own?

No, she didn't want to, and couldn't, return to the palace, because now Xiao Shiyu knew she was a woman. But she couldn't pretend not to know either; she was now part of this world, how could she completely detach herself from it? As the saying goes, when the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken.

She sat at the table, staring intently at the flickering candlelight, pondering the things that troubled and troubled her...

In the quiet night, a loud "bang" pulled Leng Jie back to reality. She turned around and saw that Xiao Shiyu, who was fast asleep on the bed, had turned over and kicked off the blanket.

"Sigh! What a child, still kicking off the blanket like that." Leng Jie got up and sighed softly, walking over to pull the blanket back over him. Suddenly, her hand holding the blanket stopped. Her gaze fell on Xiao Shiyu's back, exposed by his underwear rolled up. In the middle of the smooth, jade-like vest, there was a very peculiar pattern. The image was neither human nor flower. It felt very abstract. It was as if whatever you imagined it to be, it would become that image. The more Leng Jie looked at it, the more she felt that she seemed to have seen this image somewhere before? But, for a moment, her mind went blank, and she couldn't remember.

"Never mind, I'll ask Shi Yu what it was when he wakes up tomorrow." Leng Jie covered Shi Yu with the blanket and sat back down at the table. Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind, and she immediately got up to fetch her bundle. She then rummaged through it and found the book she had retrieved from the secret room and the map. She eagerly opened the book that she had initially thought was a martial arts manual.

Sure enough, it was filled with abstract drawings similar to the pattern on Shi Yu's back. At first glance, she mistook it for a martial arts manual, so she mistook it for martial arts moves. Later, upon closer inspection, it didn't resemble anything at all. She even thought it was some kind of code. Now it seems this thing is most likely a secret command left to him by Emperor Xuanyuan. Rather than a secret command, it's more like a spell to maintain the loyalty of the secret service members. This is understandable; the secret service is so powerful that if the emperor didn't find a way to restrain them, they would probably have overthrown the Xuanyuan clan and become emperors themselves long ago. It's just unknown how many members of the secret service have suffered the same fate as Shi Yu, shrunk by the forbidden spell, or transformed into something else entirely.

A bold idea suddenly popped into Leng Jie's mind. Since this was an heirloom left by the emperor to his son, whose use he completely misunderstood, there must be a way to break the curse within it that anyone could understand! Otherwise, what use would it be? Thinking this, Leng Jie felt a surge of excitement. If she could help Shi Yu break the curse, he could go back to deal with the Green Robe Sect's affairs. And she wouldn't have to worry about whether or not to take him to see the emperor—truly a win-win situation!

Leng Jie got up and found a bed sheet to seal the window. Then she took out a luminous pearl. Instantly, the dark little room became as bright as day. She sat down on the edge of the bed with a book, lifted the blanket, and revealed the pattern on Shi Yu's back. Comparing page by page, she found the exact same pattern on the fourth page. Leng Jie covered Shi Yu with the blanket again. She took the book back to the table and studied it carefully. Just like when she deciphered the code, she began to try various methods to unlock the secret of this forbidden spell. However, even after the sound of roosters crowing came from outside the window, she still had no clue.

Sighing, Leng Jie put away the luminous pearl and the book. To avoid arousing Xiao Shiyu's suspicion, she also took off her clothes and went to bed.

When the rooster crowed for the third time, Xiao Shiyu opened his sleepy eyes. He was momentarily stunned to find himself in bed. How did he get in bed? He remembered eating dinner and then asking her to help him find a way to see the Emperor. He propped himself up, looked up at the morning light outside the window—it was morning. He then turned to look at Leng Jie, who was fast asleep at the other end of the bed. He shook his head. Had he remembered wrong?

Shi Yu crawled to Leng Jie's side and gently pulled the blanket over her exposed hands. Then he jumped out of bed, dressed himself, washed his face, and brushed his teeth with salt using the small toothbrush Leng Jie had made for him. At first, he was disgusted by this thing called a toothbrush. Because it was made of pig bristles, the thought of putting pig hair in his mouth made him feel nauseous.

He used to always use willow twigs to clean his teeth, but Leng Jie said that willow twigs were only suitable for cleaning teeth after meals, not for cleaning and protecting teeth morning and night. She went on and on about dental care principles he had never heard of before. It seemed that if he didn't follow her instructions and use the toothbrush she made, she would keep nagging. To get some peace and quiet, he endured the nausea and brushed his teeth for the first time. He found that brushing his teeth as she instructed really made his mouth feel fresh. He could even wake up instantly from his morning drowsiness. Now he decided that once his curse was lifted and he returned to Jianzhou, he would promote this boar bristle toothbrush and have everyone use it.

Seeing that Shi Yu had already tidied herself up, Leng Jie also got up. After washing up, she went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Breakfast for two was easy to prepare. She lit a fire and boiled a pot of egg drop soup, then soaked the leftover rice from the night before in it, and that was it.

Having grown accustomed to delicacies, Shi Yu initially thought this breakfast would be unpalatable. He'd rather go hungry than eat leftovers. However, Leng Jie insisted that any uneaten food would be served at lunch, and new food wouldn't be made until it was all gone. Desperate to eat fresh food sooner, he reluctantly tried the egg drop soup breakfast. Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as he'd imagined; in fact, he found it absolutely delicious! He devoured two bowls in one go.

Leng Jie noticed he liked the taste. To make things easier, she started adding extra rice to her dinner every night. This made breakfast much easier the next day. For half a month, they ate egg drop soup with rice for breakfast.

Xiao Shiyu said to Leng Jie, who was clearing away the dishes, "I'm going out today. You can keep the dried fish at home by yourself."

Leng Jie has been out running around these days, while Xiao Shiyu waits at home for the fishermen to bring the dried fish. Now their main room is piled high with dried fish. So, they've all squeezed into the only bedroom to eat and sleep.

Leng Jie asked casually, "Have you thought of a way to get into the palace?"

When Shi Yu thought of her suggestion to send him to the palace as a eunuch, he replied irritably, "It's none of your business."

Leng Jie smiled, shrugged, and said nonchalantly:

"Fine, I won't interfere! Just make sure you don't get captured by the Green Robe Cult. If you do, I'll come and get you. After all, I'm your older brother and your guardian now. I'm responsible for your safety and upbringing."

She was clearly rubbing salt in the wound, deliberately trying to provoke him! He, the dignified Prince Ying, had been reduced to shamelessly relying on the protection of a sixteen-year-old girl. He already felt aggrieved and humiliated. Hearing her mention being his guardian only fueled his anger. But he could only helplessly accept this fact, just as he had to confront the fact that he had shrunk. At most, he could only glare at her with his still sharp eyes, then walk away without a word.

Seeing Shi Yu sway her small body and leave without a word, Leng Jie quickly finished what she was doing, wiped her hands, locked the door, and followed her out.

Seeing Yu's small figure walk, then run, and hurriedly leave the fishing village, Leng Jie noticed he was out. It was early morning, and the streets were quiet. If she followed too closely, he would notice; if she followed too far, she wouldn't feel safe. Most importantly, she couldn't see what he was doing out there. Based on Leng Jie's intuition, he must be involved with the Dark Guard. She wanted to learn more about the Dark Guard so she could quickly unravel the curse that seemed like a cryptic book. Using her light-footed skills, Leng Jie followed him from the rooftops, maintaining a distance that would allow her to rescue him immediately in case of an emergency.

Shi Yu stopped in front of a newly opened jade shop. He looked around, seemingly to make sure no one was following him, before entering. Leng Jie immediately followed, leaping onto the roof of the jade shop, lifting a tile to observe what was happening inside.

Shi Yu was holding a jade carving of a white horse, examining it closely. His eyes frequently revealed a mixture of liking and greed, much like a child seeing a favorite toy. Could it be that he wasn't here to see the Dark Guard?

At this moment, a middle-aged scholar-like man, around forty years old, approached. With a gentle smile, he said to Xiao Shiyu:

"Does the young master like this little white horse? Why don't you ask your parents to buy it for you when we get home?"

"This shopkeeper seems nice," Leng Jie thought.

Little Shiyu, with an innocent and naive expression, replied in a clear, childlike voice:

"But I've gotten separated from my master. I wonder if the shopkeeper could help me find him?" After saying this, Xiao Shiyu drew a few lines on the horse with her little hand, and then handed the horse to the shopkeeper.

Leng Jie was taken aback. He wanted him to help find a high-ranking official? Did he mean the Emperor? Was this some kind of clandestine rendezvous?

The shopkeeper also paused for a moment before taking the white horse, then scrutinized Xiao Shiyu with sharp eyes for a long time before replying inscrutably:

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint the young master. Our family members have also gone missing, and we haven't heard from them for a long time."

So this really is the midpoint of the Dark Division! I just didn't see clearly what Shi Yu was drawing earlier, otherwise she could have borrowed it and maybe learned more about the Dark Division.

Upon hearing the shopkeeper's words, Xiao Shiyu suddenly became extremely dejected. His rosy cheeks turned pale and lifeless, and his large, bright eyes, which had been shining like stars, suddenly dimmed. He bit his lower lip tightly with his upper teeth, his head drooping on his shoulders like a deflated balloon, and his hands hanging limply at his sides. He looked utterly pitiful. Anyone who saw him would think he was an abandoned child, separated from his family. Anyone would feel pity for such a child.

If Leng Jie hadn't known his story, she would have thought the same. She might even have believed he was an abandoned child, discarded by the patriarch and the emperor. But she knew he wasn't truly abandoned. Because the patriarch had been searching for them anxiously for three years.

Xiao Shiyu walked out of the jade shop without a word, his whole body floating as if his soul had remained there. The street gradually filled with pedestrians, and because Shiyu was small, he was quickly swallowed up by the crowd. Leng Jie could no longer jump down to take him away; her sudden appearance would surely cause a commotion! With so many people below, who knew if there were any members of the Green Robe Cult among them? Leng Jie had no choice but to go around to the back of the building and jump off the roof from a secluded spot.

But when she rushed into the street, there was no sign of Xiao Shiyu anywhere! Leng Jie searched all the way back to the fishing village, but still couldn't find him. Many villagers who had brought dried fish were already waiting in the courtyard. Leng Jie hurriedly asked them if they had seen her younger brother, Xiao Shiyu.

They all shook their heads, saying they hadn't seen Little Stone since early this morning.

The boy looked so lost and confused; could he be lost and unable to find his way home? Leng Jie opened the door and let the villagers put the fish in. Then she dashed out to find her younger brother.

When the villagers heard that Little Stone had gone missing, they all spontaneously helped to look for him.

Leng Jie walked back along the streets she had just passed. When she reached the second intersection, she saw Xiao Shiyu strolling leisurely across the street. She hurriedly chased after her.

Just then, a carriage came hurtling towards Xiao Shiyu at breakneck speed. Xiao Shiyu, however, remained oblivious, looking down at her toes as she walked.

"Shi Yu, watch out!" Leng Jie exclaimed, covering her mouth. It was too late to fly over; four fast horses swept past where Shi Yu stood. "Ah!" came the screams of passersby.

Oh my god! Could he have been trampled to death by the horse? Leng Jie dared not look in that direction. But her feet didn't stop; she landed where Shi Yu had been standing in an instant. Opening her eyes, she first looked at the ground, but there was no bloody mess as she had expected. Her heart, which had been pounding wildly, eased slightly, and she patted her rapidly beating heart. She began to use her sharp, eagle-like eyes to search for the little one's figure.

Are you looking for him?

A familiar voice came from above. Leng Jie was startled and looked up to see Xiao Shiyu safely in a man's arms. The man was none other than the scarred swordsman she had met twice at the inn.

"What? Don't you recognize me? I always thought my face had an unforgettable charm. It seems I was too confident!" The hero teased when he saw Leng Jie staring at him in astonishment.

"Uh! You don't need to flatter yourself, you really do have a charm that makes people remember you!" Leng Jie replied with a smile:

"Thank you for saving this brat from under the horse's hooves! I thought I was going to see a disgusting, bloody mess on the ground."

"Haha, I'm seriously doubting now if he's really your brother? Who talks about their younger brother like that?" Scarface laughed loudly.

Leng Jie denied it very seriously: "You're right, he's not my brother. How could I have such a stupid brother? He gets lost while walking, and he doesn't even know to yield to a car. He doesn't even say thank you when someone saves him, and he insists on being carried. Sigh! You know, if any family had such a bad kid, they'd be really unlucky!"

Leng Jie's denial of her brother convinced the hero that they were indeed siblings, and very close, biological siblings.

Little Shi Yu, who had been in a daze in the hero's arms, only came to his senses after hearing Leng Jie's voice. He had no idea what had just happened, let alone how he ended up in the scarred man's arms. It wasn't until Leng Jie finished recounting how shameful it was to have a younger brother like him that he realized he had taken the wrong path and almost been hit by a carriage; the scarred man had saved him. Composing himself, he pretended to be a six-year-old child and said:

"Thank you for saving my life, brother! You can put me down now."

To the scarred man, the child was incredibly cute. He bent down, placed the child on the ground, and said with a smile:

"You're welcome! Be more careful next time you walk. You're still small, and the people in the carriage can't see you. That's dangerous."