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Volume Two: Forgetting Each Other in the Jianghu, the Jade Flute Plays Its Cold Melody in the Small Pavilion

Updated on Shuxiang Chinese Website: 2008-02-26 10:50:38 Word Count: 4642

From afar, one could see Madam Leng standing at the door of the study. She didn't go in; instead, she rested her hands on the door, gazing silently inside, seemingly lost in thought.

Yang Nianqing's sense of foreboding grew stronger, but she didn't have time to think about it deeply and quickly followed the others.

The door was wide open.

Opposite, on the white wall, several striking characters were boldly displayed: Mind your own business!

.

The characters are dark red, written with some unknown material, with a hint of green within the red, as if they were somewhat viscous, and in some places they have completely solidified and turned black.

Yang Nianqing felt a chill run through her body.

Is this a warning?

She opened her mouth with difficulty, about to speak, when suddenly, a "plop" sound came, and countless white things seemed to rise up in front of her. Against the backdrop of the words on the wall, the atmosphere became even more eerie and chilling.

silence.

Everyone seemed to have stopped breathing.

Li You suddenly reached out and picked up a piece of paper from the air. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a palm-sized letter.

The paper was of excellent quality, snow-white, and finely cut. Yang Nianqing immediately looked towards the window and found that most of the paper, which had been neatly stacked on the desk and bookshelf, had been blown away by the wind.

Madam Leng stared quietly at the few words on the wall, her face as white as the small, snow-white notes.

for a long time.

She gradually regained her usual indifference, walked slowly to the desk, and bent down to pick up a calligraphy brush from the ground.

The ink on the brush had not yet solidified.

It seems that Chu Shenghan was writing something with this pen when he had the accident. Yang Nianqing looked closely at the papers that had fallen to the ground, but found that they were all blank and there was no writing on any of them.

Did he not write it, or was it too late?

.

He Bi suddenly said, "Today is the second day of the month."

At the beginning of the month!

No one went missing last month, so everyone lowered their guard, thinking that the killer was too careful to act rashly. But he still made his move!

.

Sitting on a chair in the inn, Madam Leng's expression remained unchanged. However, she stared at the bamboo flute in her hand, her gaze fixed and silent, as if deep in thought or lost in a daze.

A chill ran through everyone.

Half a day.

Nangong Xue looked up at Li You: "I'm afraid it's not Madam Ye."

Li You frowned.

Yang Nianqing said, "Not necessarily. We no longer know Madam Ye's background."

As she spoke, she paused and looked at Madam Leng, hesitating, "Could it be... to silence her?"

Although Madam Leng remained calm, she still spoke the words "silence" very softly.

Finally, Li You shook his head and said, "Senior Chu doesn't know much about this case. If it really is Madam Ye, wouldn't her doing this be tantamount to admitting that she is the murderer?"

They came here to investigate Madam Ye's background, and Chu Shenghan just happened to disappear at this exact moment. Even a fool would suspect her. A clever murderer wouldn't be so stupid.

Yang Nianqing thought it made sense: "Isn't it Mrs. Ye...?"

He Bi said coldly, "But don't forget, sometimes murderers will deliberately create a false impression."

Nangong Xue nodded: "Madam Ye is indeed suspicious and cannot be ruled out."

Li You remained silent.

"Mind your own business..." Thinking of those shocking words on the wall, Yang Nianqing's voice trembled: "It seems the murderer is warning us this time not to investigate further, otherwise..."

Otherwise, he would kill even more people, and whoever they choose will suffer misfortune.

for a long time.

Li You looked at Madam Leng with a face full of remorse and murmured, "We really shouldn't have come..."

Nangong Xue glanced at Madam Leng, her voice tinged with sadness: "There are still about ten days until the fifteenth. Although Hero Chu may not be in any danger, we are already too late to get to Tang Family Fortress, aren't we..."

Madam Leng suddenly interrupted him coldly: "Let's go back to the Nangong Villa first."

After saying that, she stood up and walked out the door without looking back.

She disappeared at the beginning of the month... On the fifteenth night, will Chu Shenghan appear in the tree at Nangong Villa, just like Zhang Mingchu and the others before her? Looking in the direction she went, Yang Nianqing felt both sad and confused—had she really forgotten?

Turning to look at Li You, she saw him slowly shaking his head at her.

.

As expected, the group headed towards the Nangong Villa. Everyone knew in their hearts that Chu Shenghan's disappearance this time was likely to be a terrible one, but no one said it out loud.

Yang Nianqing was very worried about Madam Leng and paid extra attention to her. To her surprise, Madam Leng behaved no differently throughout the journey, remaining as taciturn and indifferent as ever, without showing the slightest excitement.

Has she really forgotten?

“There aren’t many people in this world who can be easily forgotten.” Yang Nianqing began to doubt Li You’s words again.

The group traveled day and night, and by the time they returned to the Nangong Villa, it was already the fourteenth day of the month.

.

Tomorrow is the fifteenth.

Is she really as indifferent to her husband's life or death as she appears? If Chu Shenghan's body appears on the tree in Nangong Villa on time, will she be heartbroken?

Madam Leng stood motionless by the window.

Looking at that snow-white figure, Yang Nianqing hesitated for a moment, then knocked on the door: "Madam Leng?"

Madam Leng seemed to be lost in thought.

Yang Nianqing had no choice but to raise her voice and call out twice more.

Madam Leng finally came to her senses, turned her head and saw it was her, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, then frowned and asked, "Is something the matter?"

Yang Nianqing was a little nervous: "I just... came to see you."

Madam Leng did not ask any questions, but her calm gaze held a hint of doubt.

Yang Nianqing finally whispered, "Master Chu, are you really not afraid now...?"

"Afraid?" Madam Leng was taken aback, then shook her head and smiled. She turned to look out the window, her gaze distant and hazy. "It's all in the past. We already said that no matter who dies first, there's no need to be sad."

Everyone else was very careful not to mention it, but she herself said the word "death".

Yang Nianqing felt a little relieved: "That's good, the living are the most important."

She nodded without saying a word.

After a moment, Yang Nianqing remembered Li You's words and hesitated, "But... if you had been more tolerant back then, perhaps you and Hero Chu wouldn't have had to separate..."

She glanced at Madam Leng somewhat guiltily at this point and didn't continue.

.

Half a day.

Madam Leng said calmly, "Women are human too. Why should women have to swallow their pride? I have never cared about etiquette or feminine virtues."

It seems that this Madam Leng is a genuine feminist, no wonder she is called a remarkable woman in this era.

Knowing to say the right thing to the right person, Yang Nianqing didn't dare offend her, so she could only nod and say, "You're right. It's better to forget each other than to be together in hardship. Everyone has their own fun. Different personalities and different hobbies mean there's no point in forcing each other to stay together."

Seeing Madam Leng's surprised look, she smiled and said, "Actually, in our area, women can do many things they like. They can work, they can go out and play. If their husbands have mistresses, they can divorce them and kick them out. In fact, it's not necessarily good for a woman to stay with a man every day. If she loses herself, the man might get tired of her one day, and she will be even more pitiful."

Madam Leng looked at her quietly for a moment, then smiled slightly.

After a while.

She suddenly sighed softly: "If I had a child, he would probably be about your age."

All the beauty and all the indifference transformed into a thin layer of melancholy. At this moment, Yang Nianqing seemed to see her mother.

"It is better to forget each other in the rivers and lakes than to cling together in hardship."

There aren't many people in this world who can be easily forgotten.

Even if they're divorced, even if they've forgotten each other, they still care about their daughter just the same... Her mother must be heartbroken to have been missing for so long. Since the love she receives hasn't diminished, why be so fixated on an irrelevant answer?

Perhaps my obsession with this issue isn't just for them?

Yang Nianqing was somewhat bewildered.

for a long time.

Just as she was about to speak, Madam Leng suddenly said, "It's getting late, go and rest."

It seemed there was no need to comfort her anymore. Yang Nianqing turned to leave, but then she was drawn to something else.

.

The strange bamboo flute looked quite ordinary, but Madam Leng seemed to never put it down, even holding it tightly in one hand while eating.

Driven by curiosity, Yang Nianqing squinted and quietly leaned closer to take a closer look.

Madam Leng simply gazed into the distance, seemingly lost in thought, completely oblivious to her movements.

The flute is made of bamboo and is somewhat old.

Looking at the slightly yellowed flute, Yang Nianqing found it interesting—during the time she had known Madam Leng, she had never seen her play a single tune. She had heard that her special skill was "Thirty-Six Styles of Phoenix Flute Sound," so this flute was just her weapon.

As she was thinking to herself, she was about to look away when she suddenly felt a jolt.

Seven tiny characters were engraved on the flute.