Anti-Bone Scarlet Song

Chapitre 14

"Maybe."

Chu Xia swallowed hard, making a loud gulp: "Then let's hurry up. The sooner we get it... the sooner we can finish this."

The young master did not answer, and after a long while he said, "If you don't go to sleep now, be careful not to fall off the horse again tomorrow."

"Young Master, do you think the person who killed Madam is a traitor within the Jun family?" Chu Xia couldn't sleep and sat up, wrapped in her blanket. "I'll feel uneasy until that person is caught..."

The young master responded lazily, sounding quite perfunctory.

Chu Xia also found it boring. After a moment of silence, she asked again, "Young master, what is hidden in 'The Ballad of Mountains and Rivers'?"

"Treasure, or martial arts manual, isn't that what you said?"

"I'm just guessing," Chu Xia said, sniffling. "What do you hope for, young master?"

"Gold and silver jewels are things you can't take with you when you die, so I don't care for them. As for martial arts manuals, those who fight over them are laughable," the young master said coldly. "You should know that someone with exceptional martial arts talent can turn even the most ordinary moves into something extraordinary. Qiao Feng, the former leader of the Beggars' Sect, used a set of Taizu Long Fist techniques that made every hero in the martial world submit. As for profound martial arts techniques, even if you threw them in front of a mediocre person and let them study them for ten years, they probably wouldn't learn anything. As for true masters, their martial arts styles are unique, so why would they covet what belongs to others?"

Chu Xia pondered these words several times and found them quite reasonable. But then she thought about it again and felt something was amiss, so she couldn't help but ask, "Then why are so many people going to steal the treasure?"

The young master snorted lightly: "Greed and anger, the desire to gain without effort, are inherent in everyone. When one is blinded by a leaf, one is naturally capable of anything."

When Chu Xia tried to speak again, she felt a heat in her throat. The young master had somehow pressed her acupoint to silence her, rendering her unable to speak.

She was immediately furious and wanted to jump up, but then she heard the young master say leisurely, "You can't speak, but you still want to move your body—do you want me to hold you while you sleep?"

Upon hearing the last sentence, Chu Xia immediately lay down and remained motionless.

Young Master Fang smiled lightly: "If you won't listen to a polite toast, you'll have to drink a penalty cup."

She slept until the sun was high in the sky. When Chu Xia woke up, she felt a sense of dread. What if she overslept and caused them to miss their trip?

She hurriedly got up to wash and dress, but met Bai Xue at the door. She bowed and said, "Good morning, Miss."

Bai Xue looked her up and down several times, then said with a half-smile, "Chu Xia, did you hear anything last night?"

Chu Xia's heart skipped a beat, and she asked, "What did you hear, Miss?"

Bai Xue furrowed her brow: "Perhaps it's the sound of a bell... or maybe a stray cat stepped across the eaves..."

Chu Xia was puzzled as to why she was bringing these things up, and just stared blankly at her bright face.

"I mean, if these noises hadn't disturbed your sleep, why did you sleep until now?" Bai Xue smiled slightly, turned around to go back to her room, but then seemed to remember something, "Oh right, Chu Xia, my cloak was torn yesterday, could you mend it for me?"

Chu Xia sighed and said, "Miss, wait a little longer. I'll go to town and buy some needles and thread."

After going downstairs, he saw the young master sitting and drinking tea. As soon as Qinglong saw Chuxia, he said, "I have never seen such a lazy girl."

Chu Xia asked the waiter for a steamed bun, ate it casually, and then mumbled, "Aren't we leaving right now?"

“Young Master said the scenery in this town is very beautiful, so we’ll stay a few more days,” Qinglong said. “Chuxia, what’s wrong with your throat? There’s a piece of wax stuck there.”

Chu Xia reached out and touched it; sure enough, there was still a piece of wax stuck to it. She took it off and threw it on the ground, giving the young master an angry look, but said to Qinglong, "Then I'll go buy some needles and thread; Miss Bai Xue's clothes are torn." Without saying anything more, she borrowed a straw hat and raincoat from the shop assistant and went out.

Qinglong was a little confused: "Young Master, what's wrong with Chuxia? Did you see her glare at you like you were an enemy?"

The young master squinted, gazing at the gentle spring rain outside the window, but remained silent.

"Ha, I know. You must have thought she was too noisy last night, so you sealed her speech acupoint with wax!" Qinglong's mind worked quickly, and he immediately burst into laughter. "Next time she argues with me, I'll do the same thing."

The young master finally glanced at him, his phoenix eyes slightly cool.

Qinglong's heart skipped a beat, and he whispered, "Young Master, I was just joking. Chuxia is such a well-behaved girl, of course I wouldn't bully her..."

The young master placed the teacup on the table and said indifferently, "Aren't you going?"

"I'm going right now." The boy chuckled, but before he could finish speaking, he had already vanished.

This Daliuzhuang is located east of Luoyang, the capital of China. A branch of the Luo River flows through this area, where the scenery is shrouded in mist and rain, and is quite beautiful, reminiscent of the Jiangnan region.

In early summer, I asked someone on the street for directions and found the nearest fabric shop. Sure enough, it was just around the corner.

She waited intentionally at the corner for a while, and after a moment, Qinglong came over with an embarrassed smile: "Why did you stop?"

The boy wore a dark green long robe but no straw hat. Because his clothes were wet, he stood tall and straight like a bamboo shoot. Chu Xia curled her lips and said, "Let's see how long you can stay in the rain."

Qinglong scratched his head: "Let's hurry back."

The cloth shop was small. When Qinglong entered, he glanced around. It was an ordinary front hall with a small room on the side and a door at the back, presumably leading to the backyard.

In early summer, as Chu Xia carefully selected some silk threads, she heard the shopkeeper laugh and say, "Young lady, your clothes are quite old. Would you like to choose a new one? We have many clothes in the shop that were just sewn yesterday."

As I looked in the direction the shopkeeper pointed in early summer, I saw a number of new clothes on display. The fabric was soft and the styles weren't new, but they would be fine to wear on the street.

She looked at Qinglong and whispered, "Qinglong, shall I try on the clothes?"

Qinglong nodded, but walked ahead of her and went into the small room first. After looking around and finding nothing amiss, he said, "You may go."

Chu Xia carried several sets of clothes inside.

After a while, a muffled voice came from inside: "Auntie, how do you put on this dress? The belt... is so complicated."

The shop owner chuckled and said, "Don't worry, young lady, let me come in and help you."

Qinglong rolled his eyes, thinking to himself: Stupid.

After waiting a while longer, no one came out. Qinglong's heart tightened, and he called out, "Chuxia?"

There was still no response. Qinglong took a few steps forward and finally heard a rustling sound. Then Chuxia lifted the curtain and complained, "These clothes are so hard to wear."

Qinglong felt relieved, but then he noticed that Chuxia was wearing a purple vest over a light blue long dress, with a silk sash tied around her waist, which perfectly complemented her skin tone.

The old lady praised it highly, but then Chu Xia asked, "Do you think it looks good?"

Qinglong looked away somewhat uncomfortably and said, "The clothes are prettier than the person."

Chu Xia wasn't angry: "Of course. I bought it for Miss Bai Xue. She's very particular about cleanliness and gets upset if she doesn't change her clothes every day. I'm about the same size as her, so I'll try it on for her first. But Miss Bai Xue doesn't seem to like the pale yellow ribbon..."

Upon hearing this, Qinglong frowned, as if he wanted to say something, but finally said, "Don't you want to buy it yourself?"

Chu Xia smiled and said, "I have enough clothes to wear."

She tried on several more outfits, but with her back to Qinglong, she didn't ask for his opinion. When she finally came out, she had changed back into her own clothes, put on a bamboo hat, paid the money, and left.

Little did they know that Qinglong had been dawdling behind them for a while before finally catching up.

"Hey, this is for you." Qinglong handed the package in his hand to the girl beside him and said directly.

The person beside her hesitated for a moment before reaching out. Qinglong glanced down, suddenly sensed something was wrong, and abruptly pulled off her bamboo hat: "Who are you?"

A dark cyan light flashed, and the Azure Dragon dodged the hidden weapon. Instead of advancing, it retreated and seized the man's vital point with a single move. It then casually struck the pressure point and carried him straight towards the cloth shop.

After a few leaps, they returned to the cloth shop. Qinglong slammed the person in his hand to the ground, and when he looked up, the shop was empty.

Qinglong knew things were going badly. He leaped onto the roof and looked around. The rain was misty and hazy, but there was no sign of Chuxia!

He then examined the changing room, carefully looking at the four walls, and realized something was amiss. He pressed his hand against the wall and exerted a little force; a section of the seemingly sturdy wall collapsed.

Qinglong's eyes darkened, and he kicked the wall open, revealing a secret passage inside. A few steps further, it led directly to the backyard.

He carefully examined the secret passage and found a twisted silver bracelet on the ground.

It was worn on the wrist in early summer. The bracelet was very delicate, originally with a small opening in the middle to adjust to the size of the wearer's wrist. But now it was crookedly bent into a straight line and fell to the ground.

Qinglong picked it up and put it in his pocket, then picked up the person disguised as Chuxia and hurried back to the restaurant.

Spring rain poured down on his head and face, but Qinglong seemed oblivious. He entered the shop, ignoring the stares of others, and carried the man directly into the young master's room. He knelt on one knee and said, "Young master, Chuxia... has been kidnapped."

The young master was practicing calligraphy when his brush paused slightly, and a drop of ink, thick and still, fell.

This one point completely ruined the entire piece of calligraphy.

His long eyelashes fluttered, he paused for a moment, and his breathing quickened slightly.

When he spoke again, Young Master Ye An had clearly calmed down, his brows furrowing slightly: "What happened?"

Qinglong raised his head and looked intently at Bai Xue, who was grinding ink for the young master. He sneered, "You should ask Miss Bai Xue that question."

Chapter Fourteen

Meanwhile, Qinglong raised his head and looked intently at Bai Xue, who was grinding ink for the young master, and sneered, "You should ask Miss Bai Xue that question."

Seeing the fierce look in his eyes, Bai Xue couldn't help but take a half step back: "What...did you say?"

"Was it you who sent Chuxia to buy needles and thread this morning?" Qinglong stood up and took a step forward. "If it weren't for your inside-outside cooperation with the enemy, how would they have known we were going to the cloth shop and set up the traps and secret passages so early?"

Bai Xue's expression changed slightly, and she looked at the young master to explain, "Young master, I only asked Chu Xia to mend my cloak, I didn't ask her to go to the cloth shop—"

"You knew perfectly well that you were traveling light, yet you hinted to Chuxia that you didn't bring enough clothes. That kind girl naturally went to buy some for you. Being unfamiliar with Daliu Village, she would naturally ask about the nearest cloth shop once she left, thus falling right into your trap." Qinglong gritted his teeth. "What else do you have to say?"

Bai Xue trembled slightly and knelt down, saying, "Young Master, I didn't do it."

The young master neither agreed nor disagreed, but simply stood up and released the pressure points on the person on the ground.

The person was a woman in her early twenties, who cowered on the ground, trembling as she said, "Don't... kill me."

Qinglong threw the hidden weapon that had just been shot at him to the ground and angrily said, "Tell me, who sent you?"

The young master reached out to stop him, saying, "Qinglong, she doesn't know martial arts." He then spoke gently to the woman, "Don't be afraid. Who told you to dress like this?"

The woman said haltingly, "Someone gave me twenty strings of cash and told me to hide in that cloth shop for half a day, and then come out wearing a straw hat and raincoat. They also said... they also said that if anyone took off the straw hat, I should throw the knife."

Qinglong recalled the hidden weapon; when it was thrown, it was weak and powerless. He realized that in his haste, he hadn't noticed, just as she had said.

"What kind of person was the one who gave you twenty strings of cash?"

“He…he was wearing a black cloak, I…I don’t know.”

After hearing this, the young master waved his hand and said, "Let her go. This matter has nothing to do with her."

The woman, as if granted a pardon, scrambled out of the house. Three people remained inside, with Bai Xue kneeling, not rising.

The room was deathly silent. Qinglong stared coldly at her, one hand resting on the Fengchuan Sword, clearly furious.

"Bai Xue, you may leave now," the young master said calmly, rubbing his temples.

Qinglong stood up, shifted half a step, and said urgently, "Young Master!"

The young master raised his eyebrows and said calmly, "What? I asked you to watch over Chu Xia, but you were incompetent and let someone kidnap her. Now you want to shift all the blame onto others?"

Veins bulged on Qinglong's forehead, but he had no way to defend himself. He could only watch Baixue leave, then kneel heavily on the ground and say, "It is Qinglong's incompetence."

The young master remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "You may get up."

"Was there anything unusual when she was abducted in early summer?"