Yang Xiao lifted his teacup and proactively clinked it with Chang Chuchu, smiling as he said, "That’s only natural; the two of us both owe Miss Jiang a debt of gratitude."
Yang Xiao emphasized the words "Miss Jiang" quite heavily. Although he owed Jiang Qingluan a favor, he most definitely did not owe one to her Chang Chuchu.
"Yang, how can you say such things to ?" Chang Chuchu looked at him, her eyes as soft as rippling water, suddenly adopting a deanor of dependence and vulnerability.
This abrupt contrast caught Fang Zhou seated across them off guard, but it was completely ineffective against Yang Xiao. He resolutely redirected the focus onto Fang Zhou. "Miss Chang, you are beautiful, but I am not the only man here."
As Chang Chuchu turned her head, the targeted Fang Zhou promptly picked up his teacup and buried his head in his drink, adopting an attitude of disinterest.
Choosing this spot to sit down and drink tea was not arbitrary; the vantage point was excellent. With paths to the left and right, if anyone was tailing them, they would be easily spotted. However, after observing for a while, Yang Xiao and his companions had not detected any followers.
Logically, the people from the Earl Mansion would unlikely let the four of them roam outside at will, after all, they were filial guests invited over. If they were to run off, it wouldn’t only disrupt the main house’s Feng Shui and fortune; it would also delay the evil exorcism ceremony set for midnight.
"It’s silver." Yang Xiao pulled out a silver ingot from his chest, weighed it in his palm, its heft substantial. "This is a whole ingot of excellent quality; ordinary shops by the street couldn’t afford it. We’ll have to go to reputable, larger stores."
Turning the ingot over, Yang Xiao found an inconspicuous mark at the base, but it was unmistakable to the touch. His suspicions cleared at that mont; this finely crafted ingot was rarely circulated in the market, most of it ca from the Earl Mansion. The shrewd shopkeepers from the big stores could identify it at a glance; the Earl Mansion simply needed to send officers to inquire at each shop, and their entire itinerary could be traced.
With this in mind, the group borrowed a file from the tea stand owner and found a secluded spot nearby to dismber the large ingots into scattered small pieces. Then, dividing the silver pieces among themselves, they returned to the tea stand and sat down.
Yang Xiao called over a waiter with a white towel slung over his shoulder and began indirectly inquiring about Earl Mansion. To his surprise, once the waiter heard about it, he beca as excited as if injected with adrenaline, talking at length and glorifying the Earl Mansion as a paragon of great loyalty, fa, benevolence, and saintly compassion—a feeling of déjà vu struck Yang Xiao.
The last great benefactor was the elder from the Feng Family.
Seeing the waiter ready to continue, Yang Xiao suavely tossed a small silver piece onto the table, catching the waiter’s eager gaze, he patted his sleeves and stood up, "Keep this spot for . I’m going out for a spin and will be back shortly."
"Right away!" The waiter snatched the silver and, noticing the owner’s back turned, slipped it directly into his pocket.
After leaving the tea stand about ten ters behind, Yang Xiao proposed splitting up the group; four foreign-looking people together were too conspicuous. He would go with Jiang Qingluan as a team, and Fang Zhou would pair with Chang Chuchu—as one headed east and the other west, they would separately gather information along the street. This included, but was not limited to, the reputation of the Earl Mansion, events that happened in the mansion over the years, and the rundown temple not far outside the estate.
The teams agreed to reconvene back here in half an hour. Since they didn’t have tikeeping devices, they could only estimate the ti.
Yang Xiao and Qingluan chose to head east. They hadn’t gone far before they heard cries and wails ahead. Upon approaching, they discovered a group of n, dressed as governnt officers, pinning a man to the ground and subjecting him to a barrage of punches and kicks, with a nearby stall overturned.
"Sir, sir, it’s not ; it’s not !" The beaten man lay on the ground, blood streaming from his mouth and nose, yet he continued to protest.
The leader among the officers was a big, round-waisted man with a dark face and a beard. He held a piece of paper with a roughly sketched portrait. To Yang Xiao’s eye, the person in the drawing did not particularly resemble the beaten man, except for the similar hairstyle atop the head.
"Take him away!" The official with the blackened face didn’t bother to listen to the man’s explanation, and ordered his n to seize the man and drag him along the street like a dead dog.
"Everyone, listen up," the black-faced official shouted as he held up a portrait, ensuring those nearby got a good look, "open your eyes wide. If you spot this demon, you shall be handsoly rewarded!" Continuing, he warned, "And whoever dares to hide him, sharing the sa cri as the thief, will be punished accordingly!"
After finishing his speech, the black-faced official handed the portrait to his subordinates to post at the entrance of the alley before departing with his n.
The ntion of "demon" piqued Yang Xiao’s curiosity. He didn’t approach imdiately, but waited until the crowd dispersed. He and Jiang Qingluan then stepped forward to look. The portrait was undoubtedly a wanted poster, with text underneath. Yang Xiao read it and discovered it described a demon who spread rumors and belonged to a rebel party. The text nad five fugitives who had descended upon Fushou Manor with ill intent; four of the leaders had already been executed, leaving this one individual still at large. A reward of a thousand silver pieces was offered for information leading to his capture, dead or alive.
"A thousand pieces..." The amount of the reward stunned Yang Xiao, even for an accomplice it was incredibly high. He wondered what kind of rumors these supposed demons had spread to rit such treatnt.
"Since they’re part of a rebel party, they must be conspiring to rebel," Jiang Qingluan murmured quietly, "but with just five people, how much trouble could they really cause?"
They soon realized the situation was much more serious than they had anticipated. Notices were posted all over the streets and alleys; moreover, these notices were all quite new, no more than a week old at most—but they had not noticed when they had first left the manor.
Continuing their inquiry, Yang Xiao and Jiang Qingluan visited various establishnts, including cloth stores, restaurants, a theater, and so street vendors. The answers were all the sa: the Earl Mansion’s reputation was extraordinarily good. Additionally, they had little understanding of the mansion’s internal affairs, only knowing it housed an ancestor with amazing fortune and rare longevity who never stepped foot outside. The people from the Earl Mansion were all very discreet.
However, what was odd was that each ti they tried to ask more or probe deeper, these individuals would find excuses to leave. After several attempts, Yang Xiao and Jiang Qingluan hadn’t obtained much useful information, but this alone heightened Yang Xiao’s alertness.
After exiting the cloth store and turning into a less crowded alley, they walked deeper, ensuring no one was following them. Yang Xiao turned to Jiang Qingluan at his side and asked in a low voice, "Do you see it?"
Jiang Qingluan nodded, glancing warily behind, "Yes, I see it. These people are guarding against us. They beca tense when talking to us... They must have discovered our identities."
What was strange was that their clothing didn’t differ from that of anyone else on the street. Yang Xiao couldn’t imdiately determine how their identities had been exposed.
"Hee hee hee..."
Suddenly, a joyful giggle emanated from behind Yang Xiao. It sounded like a little girl, coming from behind a pitch-black broken wooden door. This was a dilapidated house in a secluded, damp, and dark part of the alley.
In the next mont, the little girl suddenly began to sing while clapping her hands, creating a beat. It was easy to imagine the girl hopping and skipping with joy behind the door.
"Every line of business is up for sale, weddings and funerals stay under veil, slaves and thieves et their plight, in the Land Temple foolish debts take flight, within the Marquis Mansion’s depth, one gate unstepped, a second not leapt, by midnight’s dark sedan they swiftly crept. Tell , isn’t Bo Mansion odd?"
The next second, accompanied by a loud slap, the girl burst into loud cries. A woman’s voice, trembling with anger, scolded, "You worthless wretch, daring to sing such a forbidden poem, do you want us all to be caught and executed?"
"I’ll make you sing! I’ll make you sing!!"
The woman, driven to madness, started to beat the girl with whatever was at hand, creating a series of slapping sounds.
User Comments
0 comments from readers