Seeing Qin Xiaoyou deep in thought, Zui Linglong asked, "Xiaoyou, what's wrong?"
Qin Xiaoyou came to her senses and said, "It's nothing, it's just that this sachet looks familiar, like I've seen it somewhere before, but I can't remember where."
When Qin Xiaoyou remarked that the sachet looked familiar, Wenren Qi and Xiaofeng were visibly startled, their eyes filled with undisguised surprise. Zui Linglong noticed their unusual expressions and considered finding an opportunity to privately ask Wenren Qi if the sachet had any special origin.
Seeing Qin Xiaoyou pulling her hair and trying hard to remember, Zui Linglong patted her hand and said, "Okay, stop thinking about it. Let's go to sleep. It's getting late. If you can't remember right now, that's fine. There are plenty of sachets for sale on the street. Maybe you saw something similar while shopping sometime."
Qin Xiaoyou nodded: "That's right, that's true." She then got up to say goodbye to Wenren Qi and followed Zui Linglong back to her room.
Because she had gotten up early in the morning and had been jostled around in the carriage all day, Qin Xiaoyou was exhausted. After a quick wash, she rushed to bed and fell into a deep sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Zui Linglong leaned against the headboard, exhausted but her mind was wide awake, and she felt no sleepiness whatsoever. Wenren Qi's reaction puzzled her. She couldn't help but take out the small sachet Wenren Qi had given her that evening and examine it repeatedly, but she still couldn't see anything special about it. It was just a little more exquisitely made, using high-quality materials, and adorned with a few small pearls at the four corners. After examining it for a long time, Zui Linglong still couldn't find anything special about the sachet. She held it to her nose and smelled it; it had a very pleasant, faint herbal scent, but she couldn't pinpoint the exact herb. Seeing that she couldn't find anything special, Zui Linglong placed the sachet beside her pillow, pulled the covers over herself, and fell into a deep sleep.
Su Lin, who had gone to his older brother for help, was kept there for a few days before being released back to the pharmacy. However, he discovered that Qin Xiaoyou, Ren Dong, and Qin Wu were all missing. Su Lin was so anxious that sweat beaded on his nose. He scolded his brother, "It's all your fault! You said Miss Qin was perfectly safe, and insisted I go with you to find a certain herb. Now look what's happened! Miss Qin and the others have been captured by that strange person! What are we going to do now?" As he spoke, Su Lin's eyes reddened, and he was about to cry.
Seeing this, Su Xiao quickly stepped forward and coaxed her gently, "Don't worry, Qin Qin is a cunning girl. Even if everyone else in the world is tortured to death, she won't die."
Su Lin shoved Su Xiao away, yelling, "Liar! You said everything was fine when I came to see you a couple of days ago, that the young master wouldn't hurt Miss Qin. But as soon as I came back, she was gone. Now you're saying she's alright? I don't want to believe you. If you're not going to help, fine, I'll go find her myself." With that, she turned to go back to her room to pack her things and go find Qin Xiaoyou and the others.
Just then, the shop assistant who had gone to the back to prepare the medicine came out and saw Su Lin. He hurriedly said, "Oh, shopkeeper, you're finally back! Miss Zui asked me to give you a letter before she left."
Su Lin was a little surprised: "Miss Linglong is back? When did she arrive?"
The young waiter touched the back of his neck, thought for a moment, and replied, "She returned the day before she left with Miss Qin."
"Did Miss Linglong and Miss Qin leave together?" Su Lin asked. The shop assistant nodded. Su Lin snapped, "Then hurry up and get the letter!" The shop assistant shrank back and ran quickly to the backyard, thinking to himself: Ah, it seems the old man was right; the more refined and gentle a person seems, the more terrifying they are when they get angry.
In her letter, Zui Linglong simply mentioned that she and Qin Xiaoyou had some urgent business to attend to and had to leave. She told Su Lin not to worry and that he should definitely invite her and Qin Xiaoyou to their wedding banquet, as they would make sure to come and have a drink no matter how busy they were.
After reading the letter, Su Lin blushed deeply and asked Su Xiao somewhat embarrassedly, "Brother, it seems like everyone knows about us now."
Su Xiao thought to himself, "I've made it so obvious, if you still can't see it, you must be blind." But he only thought this to himself. If Su Lin found out, she would probably ignore him for days. So he patted Su Lin's head and said, "It was probably Miss Qin who told her. They're very close."
Su Lin nodded, "So that's how it is." After a moment of silence, he reached out and tugged at Su Xiao's sleeve. Su Xiao looked down, puzzled, and then felt a warmth on his face—something soft had just lightly touched him. Su Xiao gave Su Lin a mischievous grin. Su Lin lowered his head and whispered, "I misunderstood you just now. This is to make up for it. I'm sorry." Su Lin thought for a moment. Not bad. One misunderstanding was enough to make Su Lin take the initiative. Before, no matter how he tried to coax Su Lin, he wouldn't listen. It seemed he would have to make him misunderstand a few more times in the future.
Seeing that Su Xiao remained silent, Su Lin assumed he was still angry with her and became anxious, wondering what she could do to appease him. Little did she know that she was being schemed against by a cunning wolf.
Chapter 40, Honeysuckle and Qin Wu
Over there, Qin Xiaoyou and the others were busy taking a car to Yucheng Manor, while over here, Qin Wu and Ren Dong were also struggling to move along the difficult mountain road, trying to do the thing that Wenren Qi wanted to get rid of them.
"Hey, you jerk, where are we going?" After walking for several days and still not arriving, Ren Dong rubbed her aching legs and couldn't help but ask.
Qin Wu turned around helplessly: "I told you I'm not called 'Annoying Ghost'."
"Alright, Young Master Qin Wu, where are we going?" Ren Dong chose a relatively clean rock to sit on, showing that she wouldn't leave until Qin Wu gave her a reasonable answer today.
Qin Wu frowned and said, "Forget it, just call me 'Annoying Ghost'. Hearing you call me 'Young Master' in such a sarcastic way makes me feel like my lifespan is going to be shortened by a few years."
Ren Dong rolled her eyes at him, thinking to herself that all the scions of martial arts families here were the same—pretentious and troublesome. Qin Wu saw Ren Dong purse her lips, guessing she was probably gossiping about him again, but he was used to it. Ever since he "accidentally" told Ren Dong about his past, her attitude towards him had worsened. He didn't know why, but Ren Dong was always nice to everyone else, only treating him with constant sarcasm and ridicule. Qin Wu racked his brains but couldn't figure out what he had done wrong. Now, Bai Yuxiao was nowhere to be found, and he had no one to confide in. Fortunately, Qin Wu was an optimist, and soon he forgot about it. The worse Ren Dong's attitude towards him became, the more he wanted to stick close to her.
Seeing that Qin Wu didn't answer her for a long time, Ren Dong became a little impatient. She kicked Qin Wu's shin and asked, "Where are we going? You woke me up early the day before yesterday, saying in a hurry that something big had happened, and dragged me away. Let me tell you, if you don't tell me now, I'm going back."
Qin Wu quickly stopped her, saying, "Don't be in such a hurry. This matter is too complicated. I'm just trying to figure out how to explain it to you."
Honeysuckle looked at him suspiciously: "Do you need to think about this for so long? Are you planning to come up with some excuse to fool me? Do you want to trick me into going out and selling me? Let me tell you, my medical skills are not to be underestimated. If you dare to make a move on me, be careful I'll poison you so badly that you'll be impotent for life!"
Qin Wu sniffed, thinking to himself, "Why is Ren Dong so harsh? 'Erectile dysfunction for life,' tsk tsk." Seeing Qin Wu looking at her strangely, Ren Dong thought about what she had just said and felt a little annoyed. She realized she'd picked it up from Qin Xiaoyou, who constantly threatened people with things like, "Watch out, I'll make you impotent for life!" Hearing this so often, it just stuck in her tongue, and Ren Dong had copied it.
In fact, Qin Wu only sighed and didn't take it to heart. Instead, he sat down on a small rock next to the honeysuckle, wiping his sweat as he spoke: "I don't know exactly what happened, but last night I received a message from Bai Yuxiao, telling me to go back to Cangjiu Manor immediately. Wenren Qi also told me the same thing last night, and specifically instructed me to bring you along."
Upon hearing Bai Yuxiao's name, Ren Dong was stunned for a moment, her heart filled with mixed emotions, and she forgot to ask why she had to be invited.
After resting for a while, Qin Wu got up and urged Ren Dong to hurry up, saying that they could rest on this mountain for the night and then take a carriage the next day. Ren Dong glanced at him, really not understanding why they were using such a strange way to travel, but seeing that Qin Wu had no intention of explaining, Ren Dong wisely didn't ask. She rubbed her legs and continued to trek with Qin Wu along the rugged mountain path.
Along the way, Qin Wu tried everything to coax Ren Dong into talking, but Ren Dong remained uninterested and absent-minded. Even though Qin Wu was usually careless, he guessed that Ren Dong's strange behavior was related to Bai Yuxiao, and then he recalled the night he had accidentally bumped into Ren Dong with tears streaming down her face. Qin Wu's heart skipped a beat. Could it be like those plays, where Ren Dong felt grateful to Bai Yuxiao for burying her father, and then that gratitude turned into affection, and she fell in love with Bai Yuxiao? Thinking of this, Qin Wu covered his cheek with his hand; what to do, it was so sore his teeth ached.
Ren Dong noticed Qin Wu suddenly clutching his cheek as he walked and asked curiously, "Are you alright?" Seeing Ren Dong's concern, Qin Wu immediately felt his toothache subside and replied with a grin, "I'm fine."
Ren Dong glanced at him speechlessly, thinking to herself, "What's wrong with this guy? When we first met, he always had a serious face and acted profound. I thought he was a quiet, honest, and steady person. But after spending time with him, I realized he's often incredibly silly and unreliable, acting crazy. Sometimes I can't help but want to cut open his brain to see what's inside."
After arriving at the inn that evening, Ren Dong had a simple bowl of porridge before returning to her room. Qin Wu stood outside Ren Dong's room for a long time, scratching his head, before finally going out for a stroll and buying a bowl of chicken soup noodles before knocking on Ren Dong's door.
Honeysuckle opened the door a crack and asked coldly, "What is it?"
Qin Wu rubbed his nose and said, "I noticed you only ate a little tonight, so I guessed the food at this inn wasn't to your liking. That's why I went out and bought a bowl of the most famous silver thread noodles here for you."
"No need." Before Ren Dong could finish her refusal, Qin Wu unceremoniously pushed open the door and went inside. After placing the noodles on the table, seeing Ren Dong still standing in the doorway, Qin Wu sat down and waved to her, "Why are you still standing in the doorway? Don't be shy. Come in and sit down."
Honeysuckle suppressed the urge to throw a handful of silver needles at him and turn him into a beehive. After taking a few deep breaths and telling herself not to stoop to his level, she also walked over to the table and sat down.
She hadn't had any appetite to eat; after walking all day, all she wanted to do was lie down and get some sleep. But seeing Qin Wu staring at her with wide eyes, and thinking that it wouldn't be right not to eat anything since he'd brought it especially for her, she picked up her chopsticks and started eating. And you know what? Although Qin Wu usually seemed unreliable, the noodles were actually quite delicious. Ren Dong had only planned to eat a couple of bites, but ended up finishing the whole bowl.
After taking a satisfied sip of soup, Ren Dong put down her chopsticks. Seeing that she had finished eating, Qin Wu smiled and said, "You ate my noodles, so you owe me a favor."
Ren Dong glanced at him, thinking to herself, "I knew you weren't up to any good." But seeing that the noodles did taste really good, Ren Dong cheerfully agreed, "Okay, I'll consider it a favor I owe you."
Qin Wu immediately grinned from ear to ear, moved his stool closer to Ren Dong, and asked, "How about I use this favor to get an answer from you?"
Ren Dong immediately looked at Qin Wu warily, feeling that Qin Wu's face seemed to say, "Yes, I have a scheme, so what?" Sensing Ren Dong's wariness, Qin Wu tried to appear more benevolent, coaxing her, "It's worth it to exchange a favor for an answer. I won't ask you any strange questions; they're easy to answer. If you refuse, wouldn't it be a huge loss for me to use this favor to save your life later?"
Ren Dong squinted and considered for a while, then stared at Qin Wu for a while. Unable to think of anything he could ask that she could not answer, she nodded.
Seeing that Ren Dong agreed, Qin Wu didn't rush to ask questions. Instead, he carefully scrutinized Ren Dong, as if he had never seen her before. Ren Dong felt like exploding with rage. Just as she was considering whether to poke him to pieces, Qin Wu finally spoke: "Why did you cry that night?"
Chapter 41, Past Events
"Why did you cry that night?" This question echoed in Ren Dong's mind like a thunderclap, bringing up some things she had been deliberately forgetting or avoiding.
Seeing that Ren Dong's expression wasn't good, Qin Wu thought for a moment and said, "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I was just asking casually. Don't worry, if you don't tell me, it's like you're repaying a favor to me." After saying that, seeing that Ren Dong didn't react, he rubbed his nose, got up, and prepared to go back to his room.
Just as Qin Wu stood up, Ren Dong reached out and grabbed him. Qin Wu looked at Ren Dong in surprise. Ren Dong's face remained expressionless, but she slowly said, "Don't worry, I'm not the kind of person who breaks his promise. Since I promised to answer your question, I will definitely answer it."
Qin Wu felt a pang of reluctance; he didn't want Ren Dong to bring up her painful past again, especially if the answer would truly upset her. So he said, "Then let me ask you a different question."
Ren Dong glanced at him and said, "How can a grown man like you be so fussy? I said I would tell you, so sit down and let me think about how to tell you."
Qin Wu was a little annoyed. He thought that he had changed the question because he wanted to be considerate of her, but he was still rebuffed. He sat down in a huff and said, "Since you are the one who wants to say it, don't come looking for me if you cry after you finish."
Ren Dong rolled her eyes at Qin Wu, but didn't say anything. Instead, she stared blankly at a teacup in front of her, seemingly lost in her own memories.
After a silence that lasted about half a cup of tea, Ren Dong finally spoke: "I cried that night because of Young Master Bai."
"You mean the white jade flute?" Qin Wu asked, raising an eyebrow. Ren Dong nodded. *Hiss!* Qin Wu gasped, oh no, his toothache was back, and he quickly covered his cheek with his hand.
Seeing that something was wrong with him, Ren Dong asked, "What's wrong with you again?" Qin Wu replied with a wronged expression, "My tooth hurts." Ren Dong glared at him irritably, "Bear with the toothache! If you really can't stand it, go back to your room and sleep. I won't talk about it tonight!" Qin Wu quickly waved his hand, indicating that he was fine and let Ren Dong continue, but his heart was aching terribly. He knew it was indeed related to Bai Yuxiao. However, he was only half right; what happened next was completely unexpected.
After taking his pulse and finding nothing seriously wrong, Ren Dong continued, "Actually, Bai Yuxiao and I have known each other since we were little. My master was Bai Yuxiao's father's junior brother. When we were young, my master often took me to Medicine King Valley, but Bai Yuxiao was always cold and aloof, and he rarely paid attention to me. Even so, I always looked forward to going to Medicine King Valley so I could exchange a few words with him, and that made me very happy. One year, when I was about five years old, my master said he had something to do and wouldn't be able to come to Medicine King Valley as often anymore. I cried sadly all night and wanted to say goodbye to Bai Yuxiao, but when I found him behind a snowdrift, I saw him playing happily with a little girl. I heard him call the little girl 'Qin'er,' and I had never seen Bai Yuxiao so happy before. I hid behind the snowdrift and watched for a while, and just as I was about to leave, I found a jade pendant. I knew that the jade pendant was his; I often saw him wearing it on his waist. I thought that since I was leaving anyway, I might as well take the jade pendant with me as a souvenir."
At this point, Ren Dong paused, took a sip of tea, and seeing Qin Wu's puzzled look, muttering under his breath, "It doesn't make sense," she couldn't help but ask him curiously, "What do you mean by 'it doesn't make sense'?" Qin Wu smiled awkwardly and said, "Nothing, I was saying that Bai Yuxiao was too much; he didn't even say goodbye to you." Ren Dong pressed her temples, thinking with a headache: How much of what this guy actually listened to? Seeing Ren Dong stop talking, Qin Wu urged her again, "Go on, what happened next?"
"Later," Ren Dong said, her expression darkening as if she had thought of something unpleasant. She paused for a moment before continuing, "Later, for some reason, I had to go to Qin Qin's side until I could leave after helping her accomplish something. After thinking it over, I felt the best way was to disguise myself as her maid. Later, I found out she was in Youzhou Prefecture, so I randomly found a beggar's corpse, wrapped it in a bamboo mat, and sold myself on the streets of Youzhou to bury my father. After waiting for three days, Qin Qin finally arrived. However, I never expected to see Bai Yuxiao again. Seeing the two of them together, I suddenly realized that this Qin Qin was the girl I saw playing with Bai Yuxiao when I was a child. But, something was very strange."
"What's so strange?" Qin Wu asked cooperatively.
Ren Dong tilted her head and thought for a moment before saying, "It seems that Qin Qin doesn't remember Bai Yuxiao at all, and doesn't remember that they knew each other when they were young."
"Tch, what's so strange about that?" Qin Wu took a sip of tea and then very attentively handed Ren Dong a cup before continuing, "Qin Qin was only a few years old back then, it's normal that she doesn't remember."
“But I always feel like something’s not right.” Ren Dong frowned, but after thinking for a while, she couldn’t figure it out, so she put the matter aside for the time being and continued, “You know what happened next. I became Qin Qin’s maid and stayed by her side. Then I met you, and we went to the capital together.”
Seeing that Ren Dong had finished speaking, Qin Wu looked at her with some confusion and asked, "You're done? But you haven't said why you cried that day?"
Ren Dong glared at Qin Wu fiercely and said snarlingly, "Can't you figure it out yourself? I cried because I realized that Bai Yuxiao doesn't remember me at all, and he seems to really like Qin Qin, but Qin Qin doesn't seem to care about him much. I just feel sorry for him."
Qin Wu nodded thoughtfully, "So you cried because you like Bai Yuxiao but he doesn't like you, right?"
Ren Dong was thoroughly enraged by Qin Wu's words. She immediately stood up, grabbed Qin Wu's sleeve, and dragged him out. Then, with a "bang," she slammed the door shut. Qin Wu apologized outside for a while, but seeing that Ren Dong still had no intention of opening the door, he lost interest and went back to his room.
Ren Dong returned to her bed and lay down, but for some reason, she couldn't fall asleep no matter how much she tossed and turned. She suddenly didn't understand herself. Why could she so readily confide those things to Qin Wu, these secrets she hadn't even mentioned to her respected master, whom she considered a father figure, yet she had spoken of them to this annoying guy she'd only known for a short time? Moreover, she had expected to be very sad, but surprisingly, when she spoke of those past events, she only felt a sense of melancholy and wistfulness, not much sadness. This was truly strange.
Chapter 42, Attack
Leaving aside Qin Wu and Ren Dong, let's return to Qin Xiaoyou and the others who were rushing to Yucheng Manor.
That night, after seeing Wenren Qi and Xiao Feng's strange reactions, Zui Linglong originally planned to find a quiet place to ask Wenren Qi about the sachet, but various things got in the way, and she forgot about it. Little did she know that this forgetfulness would almost lead to a major incident, but that's a story for another time.
After three days of continuous travel, Qin Xiaoyou felt her backside was about to be flattened. Finally, she couldn't stand it any longer and stopped the carriage, insisting on getting some fresh air. Seeing that they were only a day's journey from Yucheng Manor, and knowing that no one had been following them, Wenren Qi guessed that Qin Xiaoyou's identity hadn't been discovered yet. Relieved, he let Zui Linglong get off and get some fresh air too.
"Phew, I feel like I've seen the light of day again!" Qin Xiaoyou exclaimed dramatically as soon as she jumped off the carriage.
Zui Linglong chuckled, "It's not that exaggerated!"
Qin Xiaoyou pouted her chubby face, "Of course I do! If I sit in the carriage any longer, I feel like mushrooms are going to grow all over me."
Wenren Qi stepped forward and ruffled her hair. "Xiao You, I'm sorry you had to go through that." Actually, Qin Xiao You was just complaining casually, but she didn't expect Wenren Qi to say that, which made her feel a little embarrassed. Just then, Xiao Feng said he was going to the river to get some water. Qin Xiao You thought that she hadn't given Zui Linglong and Wenren Qi a chance to be alone together on the way, so she insisted on going with Xiao Feng to stretch her muscles.
Watching Qin Xiaoyou skip away, Zui Linglong chuckled and said, "Xiaoyou's always like this, like a child who hasn't grown up." After saying this, she didn't receive a response and turned around, puzzled, only to find Wenren Qi staring intently at her. Zui Linglong's face flushed slightly, but she forced herself to remain calm and asked, "Why are you staring at me like that?"
Wenren Qi laughed heartily: "I always thought you were a shrew, but I never expected you to have such a quiet and gentle side."
Zui Linglong roared in fury: "You're the shrew! You shameless scoundrel!"
Wenren Qi burst into laughter. Seeing how happily he laughed, Zui Linglong's anger flared even more. She was about to kick Wenren Qi a couple of times, but then she realized that he was teasing her. She wasn't angry anymore; instead, she was more curious. How could someone who seemed so detached from worldly affairs actually joke around?
After Wenren Qi finished laughing, Zui Linglong asked him, "Did you send someone to investigate me?"
Wenren Qi nodded, acknowledging it. Zui Linglong feigned anger: "You want to know why you didn't ask me?" Wenren Qi tilted his head and thought for a moment before replying: "I just felt that if I asked you, you might not tell me the truth. You might even think I have ulterior motives towards you."
Zui Linglong nodded. "That's true. I might actually think you have ulterior motives towards me."
After saying this, both of them fell silent, with only the sound of the wind blowing through the trees preventing the atmosphere from becoming too awkward. After sitting for a while, Zui Linglong got up. "I'll go see why Xiao You and the others haven't returned yet." Wenren Qi said, "I do indeed have ulterior motives towards you," making Zui Linglong freeze in her tracks. After a long while, Zui Linglong finally found her voice, stiffly turning back and smiling, "Why do you always joke around? You know, you can't just say things like that."
"I'm not joking." Zui Linglong looked at Wenren Qi's serious face, and her heart skipped a beat. The two of them sat and stood facing each other, as if only the two of them remained in the world. One glance, and eternity passed.
Suddenly, a scream and the sounds of fighting from the riverbank startled the two of them. Wenren Qi muttered, "Oh no!" and grabbed Zui Linglong, running towards the river. But before they had taken two steps, black-clad men appeared out of nowhere and surrounded them.
Wenren Qi glanced at the men in black surrounding him, counted them—seven in total. Their internal strength didn't seem particularly high, so dealing with them shouldn't be too difficult. However, he couldn't rule out the possibility that they were intentionally hiding their true power. He tightened his grip on Zui Linglong's hand, shielding her behind him, drew the soft sword from his waist, and without further ado, launched his attack.
However, after exchanging blows for a while, Wenren Qi sensed something was amiss. Although these seven individuals weren't particularly strong internally, their advantage lay in their agile movements and varied techniques. The most troublesome thing was that they seemed to have discovered that Zui Linglong was his weakness, and every move they made was aimed at Zui Linglong. However, they didn't seem to intend to kill him, stopping short of killing him each time.
After fighting for a while, Wenren Qi finally realized that the purpose of these people was to buy time so that he couldn't get there to save Qin Xiaoyou. Now Qin Xiaoyou only had Xiao Feng by her side, and she herself had lost her memory, so she didn't know how much of her original skill she had.
In that moment of distraction, his men inevitably made a mistake. One of the men in black seized the opportunity and stabbed at Wenren Qi's waist. Zui Linglong saw this and, without thinking, stepped forward to block the attack. With a "ripping" sound, a bloody gash appeared on Zui Linglong's arm. Wenren Qi looked at Zui Linglong with a mixture of anger and concern, and said, "Don't worry, they can't hurt me. Be careful." Zui Linglong nodded and hid behind Wenren Qi again. Wenren Qi then focused his attention and unleashed the Spring Breeze Willow Sword technique, showing no mercy and unleashing a barrage of deadly attacks.
The men in black fought and retreated, clearly unwilling to engage Wenren Qi in a direct confrontation. After a brief stalemate, a long, drawn-out crane cry suddenly rang out in the air. The men in black exchanged glances, threw down a smoke bomb, and quickly withdrew. When Wenren Qi arrived at the riverbank with Zui Linglong, besides the corpses of several men in black and some scattered weapons, they saw no one else. Qin Xiaoyou wasn't there, and neither was Xiaofeng.