Une aura glaçante

Chapitre 106

"So mysterious?" Xue Beifan became even more curious.

Xiao Dao patted the paper dust off his hands and hummed.

Seeing her expression, Xue Beifan suddenly smiled, "Let me guess, this letter was sent to Wang Bibo, wasn't it?"

Xiao Dao was slightly taken aback, looking at Xue Beifan in surprise, "You... how did you know?"

“It’s not just Wang Bibo.” Xue Beifan tapped the knife lightly with his finger. “The Queen of Ghost City also owes us a favor, so… she asked the Queen or Youyou to do some things for us, didn’t she?”

Xiao Dao tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "Keep guessing."

"Wei Xinjie is in Ghost City. Now, the Cai family has collapsed, so the Wei family is the most powerful in the court," Xue Beifan said, resting his chin on his hand. "Wei Xinjie's father was said to be a dashing and romantic figure in his youth, having fought in the north and south. When General Wei was campaigning in the west, a romantic tale circulated. It's said he was nearly killed by an assassin, but was saved by a foreign girl. This girl was extremely beautiful, and she and Wei Xinjie fell in love, soon becoming pregnant and giving birth to a daughter. They lived together for over two years, the foreign girl unaware of Wei Xinjie's identity. It wasn't until Wei Xinjie's deputy found him that she learned he was the very general who had slaughtered her people, and that he already had a wife and children in the Central Plains. So, the woman fled that very night with her daughter, disappearing without a trace. I heard that General Wei has treasured a portrait of that woman in his home for many years, keeping it in his study and looking at it every day, deeply missing her and his youngest daughter."

Xiao Dao frowned slightly and looked coldly at Xue Beifan, "Do you really need to be so clever?"

“You’re the clever one.” Xue Beifan reached out and gently pinched Xiao Dao’s nose. “I noticed before that Wei Xinjie seemed to pause when he saw Xiao Yue. Given his status, he shouldn’t have any connection with Xiao Yue. And Xiao Yue seems to have some impression of Wei Xinjie as well, which is too unusual. Thinking about it carefully, the location where Shen Xinghai bought Xiao Yue and Xiao Yue’s age both match what happened back then. And Wei Xinjie is rumored to look very similar to the old general back then. Don’t you think it’s just too much of a coincidence?”

Xiao Dao smiled faintly, "So what do you think? How will things develop from here?"

"Actually, most beautiful women look like paintings. Xiaoyue has delicate features, a graceful demeanor, and an innocent temperament, with a touch of exoticism. Everyone knows that General Wei is getting old, and apart from missing his deceased relatives and daughter, he has no regrets. Wei Xinjie is very filial. If he can find his long-lost younger sister and bring her to General Wei, it will not only relieve his father's worries but also directly place him in the position of the next generation head of the Wei family. He will also get to see his sister again. Why not? The relationship between the Northwest border and the Central Plains is very different now. Peace is the most important thing. If the Wei family can accept a sister from another ethnic group, it will be a win-win situation with no harm whatsoever."

Xiao Dao pursed his lips and said nothing more. Xue Beifan had already said everything that needed to be said; that kid was too shrewd.

Xue Beifan pondered for a moment, then said seriously, "Xiaoyue's background is tragic. Whether it is or not, it's worth investigating. You wrote this letter to ask the Queen to deliver your inquiry to Wei Xinjie, and to have Wang Bibo use all his manpower and resources to investigate. Wang Bibo has always felt indebted to you because of what happened before. You're giving him a chance to settle the score, and he will definitely do his best. How about it? You seem so happy. Has Xiaoyue really turned from a sparrow into a phoenix?"

Xiao Dao sighed softly and said, "Wang Bibo sent people to investigate what happened back then and found the trafficker who sold Xiaoyue. He still remembers some of Xiaoyue's story. The person who brought Xiaoyue to be sold was a military officer from the Central Plains. After some description, it was discovered that he was one of General Wei's deputy generals. Back then, the deputy general wanted to prevent a child born to a foreign woman from affecting the old general's career, so he hunted down the mother and daughter. He originally intended to eliminate them completely, but when he found them, he discovered that the mother was already seriously ill and dead. Faced with the lovely baby girl still in swaddling clothes, he couldn't bring himself to do it, so he gave her to a trafficker. The trafficker promised the deputy general that the baby girl would not be sold to a brothel or a poor place, so he raised her for many years and even fabricated some lies about how she was born to be sold into slavery to deceive her. In the end, he sold her to the seemingly wealthy Shen Xinghai."

Xue Beifan was greatly surprised, "So she really has risen to a high position and become a phoenix! Xiaoyue is amazing."

Xiao Dao pointed at Xue Beifan, "But there's still a chance this could change!"

Xue Beifan smiled and said, "That's right. After all, the trafficker didn't identify with his own eyes that the person who bought the girl back then was Shen Xinghai, who was with the family craftsman when he was young. Maybe he just made a mistake."

“So you’re not allowed to get involved in this.” Xiao Dao gently fiddled with the cup in his hand. “I have my own clever plan.”

Xue Beifan was puzzled. "If you tell Shen Xinghai what you've found out, he'll have the best of both worlds. He'll be willing to risk his life to pursue Xiaoyue. Xiaoyue also has feelings for him, so it's actually a case of mutual affection."

"Pah!" Xiao Dao couldn't help but spit at him, "You stinky man! You're only thinking about yourself."

Xue Beifan grinned, "Speak up if you have something to say, why are you so angry?"

"I'm not going to hand Xiaoyue over to that General Wei's mansion!" Xiaodao pouted. "I originally planned this whole thing to find happiness for Xiaoyue. Xiaoyue's happiness isn't some forgotten gem that has been discovered again!"

"What is that?" Xue Beifan couldn't figure it out.

Xiao Dao shook his head. "You shouldn't keep talking about love and romance like that anymore."

Xue Beifan was puzzled.

"What a woman calls happiness is having someone who's willing to love you unconditionally, and who's willing to give up everything for you," Xiao Dao smiled. "Whether you actually do it or not is another matter, but you must be prepared for it!"

Xue Beifan smiled bitterly, "You mean, if Xiaoyue has this identity, Shen Xinghai will be devoted to her, but once she loses this identity, Shen Xinghai will abandon her?"

"Do you know what the most common, most infuriating, and most irresponsible thing you men say is?" Xiao Dao asked, resting her chin on her hand and looking at Xue Beifan with great interest.

"What?" Xue Beifan also cupped his cheeks and looked at her.

“It’s just that—I have my own unavoidable difficulties!” Xiao Dao curled up the corners of his mouth. “Your unavoidable difficulties are none of our business, while you never care about our unavoidable difficulties.”

“So…” Xue Beifan frowned.

"So," Xiao Dao suddenly looked at the half-open window, "don't deceive yourself. Whether you're a man or a woman, indulgence and deception are always intertwined and will never lead to anything."

Outside the window, Xiaoyue clutched the mask in her hand, leaning against the window and remaining silent with her head down. Then, Xiaodao's voice drifted clearly from inside the room, "Don't wait bitterly for someone who will break your heart, and let another warm heart grow cold. Life can be exchanged for life, but life cannot be exchanged for true love."

Xue Beifan sighed, sensing that Xiaoyue had already left outside the window, and that hesitation and sadness had drifted into the cabin.

"Why are you forcing her?" Xue Beifan rubbed his temples. "Take it slow."

Xiao Dao squinted at him. "My mother said, 'A smart man won't keep a woman waiting.'"

"What brilliant ideas does the mother-in-law have?"

"Women can't wait, they don't have time, and good women are always in high demand." After Xiao Dao finished speaking, seeing Xue Beifan smiling, her face flushed, and she kicked him, "She's not your mother-in-law!"

Three days later, the group finally arrived in the picturesque Jiangnan region, returning once again to the land of fish and rice, where the feeling of small bridges, flowing water, and traditional houses was truly wonderful. Xiao Dao and his companions disembarked and found an inn to stay at, then began inquiring about this lesser-known establishment compared to the previous three—the Naihe Gate.

54

[The Outhouse Talk]

The Naihe Gate is located in Tianshui County. Near the county seat, there is a depression with long stretches of water plants, large swamps, and huge reed beds, making this area isolated from the world.

Xiao Dao and his crew's boat stopped briefly at the Tianshui County dock. The moment their feet touched flat ground, Xiao Dao jumped up and down, shouting, "Mud! It's mud!"

Xiaoyue and Hao Jinfeng quickly dragged the girl away; she was sometimes a bit uncontrollable.

After entering the largest inn in Tianshui County, the group chose a few rooms to stay in and began to inquire about the Naihe Gate.

The Naihe Sect is quite mysterious and has no reputation in the martial arts world. However, Granny Naihe, Wang Rumeng, is quite famous. But in recent years, she has stopped taking on disciples and expanding the sect, making her a kind of lone wolf.

After Xiaodao chose the house, she waited and waited, but her mother was so slow!

Xue Beifan couldn't wait that long. In the past few days, he and Hao Jinfeng had traveled through the wetlands by waterway several times and hired a guide to explore the terrain. They found that the wetlands had complicated paths, but the gate was located in the very middle of the wetlands, like a mirage, and Xue Beifan didn't want to alert the enemy, so he didn't go near it.

On the third day after arriving in Tianshui County, Xiao Dao, having had a good nap, lazily got up, massaged her legs, and felt that she had almost regained the weight she had lost on the boat. She touched her waist and decided she couldn't eat anymore. She missed the time when she was at her thinnest after disembarking, when she felt so elegant and ethereal in her flowing dress. So, she cleansed her palate and wandered around with a bowl of lotus leaf soup.

In the backyard, Xiaoyue was washing clothes for everyone as usual. Xiaodao had told her many times that this kind of work should be left to the restaurant staff, but Xiaoyue seemed to really enjoy washing clothes, and no one knew why. Sometimes she also liked to cook.