Having made a decision? Meng Qi felt slightly puzzled, not understanding what kind of decision could make Jiang Zhiwei feel melancholy. But since she said they would talk after the mission and she wasn’t evading or hiding things, willing to face matters honestly, there was no need for him to press her now, lest he spoil her mood and prevent the team’s main fighting force from performing at full capacity, leading to failure at the final moment and total annihilation.
“Alright, if there are difficulties, we will go through fire and water without hesitation.” Meng Qi nodded, then turned back with Jiang Zhiwei toward the retained mansion. As the head responsible for patrolling outside the mansion, his brief disappearance would go unnoticed; people might assume he had gone elsewhere for inspection.
The next night, Meng Qi took Ruan Yushu on patrol, helping her gradually become familiar with the terrain of the mansion.
The mansion of Zuo Hanfeng was very large, with many areas featuring winding corridors, lotus ponds reflecting the moonlight, and towering artificial hills. Walking within felt like strolling through a picturesque landscape.
A cool breeze blew gently. Meng Qi glanced at Ruan Yushu beside him, who appeared as an ordinary young girl. Her cheeks moved slightly, as if chewing something.
“Have you noticed that Zhiwei has seemed troubled lately?” He knew that after their journey to Jiangdong, the two girls had become quite close, almost like confidantes.
Ruan Yushu stopped chewing and swallowed: “She hasn’t mentioned it, and I haven’t asked.”
She always followed the principle of respecting others’ privacy; even with close friends, she wouldn’t pry into personal matters, believing that anything meant to be shared would naturally be revealed.
“She said she would tell us after the mission; it shouldn’t be anything too serious,” Meng Qi comforted himself. “She’s nearly attained the state of unity with heaven—could it be she’s conflicted about choosing her own path?”
“Perhaps it’s something related to the Xi Jian Ge, like giving up some secular rights to focus entirely on sword cultivation.”
Ruan Yushu remained silent, turning her head to look at Meng Qi. Her otherwise plain features were highlighted by a pair of dark, bright eyes, deep and cold, captivating and mesmerizing.
After staring at him until Meng Qi felt slightly uneasy, she finally said softly, “Anything is possible.”
“Alright then, pointless guessing won’t help,” Meng Qi sensed her meaning and took a few deep breaths to calm himself.
At this moment, a faint and melancholic zither sound drifted over, tender and entangled, almost like flute music.
Following the sound, Meng Qi looked toward the three-story building inside the mansion, surrounded by parasol trees, as if a phoenix had landed there.
“Hehe, sounds like the young Miss Zuo has some girlish worries,” Meng Qi remarked without using the derogatory term “falling in love” since Ruan Yushu was present.
Ruan Yushu paused, listened intently for a while, then said, “The zither’s tone is sincere, seemingly from the heart, not fake.”
“Uh, she really has someone she’s missing?” Meng Qi had only meant it as a joke but was surprised when Ruan Yushu, the zither expert, confirmed it.
Ruan Yushu gazed at the moonlit lotus pond, thinking as she spoke: “The music sounds sweet yet sorrowful, full of hesitation and inner conflict. Perhaps she has fallen for someone she shouldn’t have…”
“Can you really tell that from the music?” Meng Qi was astonished.
“People may lie with their words, but the music poured out in solitude won’t deceive one’s heart,” Ruan Yushu said coldly, like the moonlight.
“I see…” Meng Qi chose to trust the “professional,” secretly wondering what kind of zither music she would play when alone.
His mind always wandered, and he began speculating about Zuo Yiqian behind her back: “Could it be she’s fallen for a poor scholar or a common soldier, but her family opposes it? She wants to elope but fears the chaos outside?”
…
“Or maybe she’s fallen for an enemy, caught in a love-hate relationship?”
Thanks to the influence of the tragic soap operas from his previous life, he knew too many melodramatic plots. As he kept expanding on possibilities, even the usually composed Ruan Yushu couldn’t help but twitch her eyes.
“An enemy…” Meng Qi suddenly froze, repeating his words. He and Ruan Yushu locked eyes, both seeing surprise in each other’s gaze.
“Could it be Du Huaishang?” Meng Qi instinctively lowered his voice.
Ruan Yushu hummed in agreement, seemingly considering the possibility.
“With the city locked down and all local gangsters under control, it’s almost unbelievable that Du Huaishang, who was severely injured and afflicted by witchcraft, still hasn’t been found. He must be right under our noses. Could it be that Du Huaishang, like us, is hiding in the Retained Mansion…” The more Meng Qi thought about it, the more convinced he became of the truth.
“But he’s her father’s killer…” As the legitimate daughter of a noble family, eighteen-year-old Ruan Yushu found it hard to understand, showing rare confusion.
Meng Qi mused thoughtfully: “Perhaps she fell for him before knowing his identity. Besides, back then, it was her father who attacked the Red Army first, and Du Huaishang wasn’t even present—he didn’t command or act in that battle…”
“I need to investigate,” Meng Qi, always action-oriented, immediately prepared to sneak into the inner mansion and climb up to the embroidered building upon suspecting Zuo Yiqian.
Ruan Yushu gave an almost imperceptible nod: “I’ll cover you from outside.”
In recent days, Meng Qi had already familiarized himself with the mansion’s layout. After slightly determining his current position, he transformed into a shadow, directly stepping on lotus leaves, gliding silently across the water, then stealthily climbing over the courtyard wall.
“Late at night, a young lady’s private quarters…” Ruan Yushu muttered softly, seemingly thinking about some “special profession.”
Following the zither sound, Meng Qi ghosted past guards and soon reached the embroidered building.
He knew there must be high-level nannies guarding Zuo Yiqian, and any noise here would alert Zuo Hanfeng. Therefore, he carefully circled to a shadowy corner, pressed his body against the outer wall, and climbed upward like a gecko, completely silent.
The small building was shrouded in darkness, except for one room where dim light seeped out, mingling with faint zither sounds, like a stream of spring water flowing eastward.
Meng Qi paused by the window, sticking to it like a piece of paper, his mind as clear as a mirror, observing every detail inside the room as if seeing it clearly.
Zuo Yiqian sat behind the desk, lost in thought, randomly playing the zither. As Ruan Yushu had said, her emotions were both sweet and sorrowful.
She had sent the nanny beside her to rest in the adjacent warm pavilion, unwilling to reveal her innermost thoughts, preferring solitude in the spacious room.
Meng Qi didn’t make a move because he sensed a powerful secret treasure on Zuo Yiqian, which posed a significant threat to him. It could definitely create a loud commotion, drawing Zuo Hanfeng and Yin Lenghui.
He stayed outside, patiently waiting to see if Zuo Yiqian would show any abnormal behavior.
After playing the zither for a long time, Zuo Yiqian sighed softly, stood up, and called her maids to help her undress.
Meng Qi, not wanting to intrude on impropriety, retracted his sensing ability. After waiting a while and finding Zuo Yiqian had already gone to bed, with two maids sleeping in the outer room, he realized she couldn’t do anything secretive anymore. Thus, Meng Qi quietly slid down and returned along the same path.
“No abnormalities…” He slightly frowned, looking at Ruan Yushu.
“How was her mood?” Ruan Yushu asked directly.
Meng Qi described in detail: “…She definitely has emotional troubles. But if we focus too much on her and finally find out it’s just some girl’s romantic worries unrelated to Du Huaishang, wouldn’t that be a waste of time?”
“At least this is the only clue we have for now.” Ruan Yushu said coolly.
“That’s true.” Meng Qi nodded slightly.
Ruan Yushu was speaking the truth. Originally, Meng Qi and others had planned to find an opportunity to assassinate Zuo Hanfeng, but he had always stayed inside the inner courtyard, no one knowing exactly what he was doing. Only Yin Lenghui could approach him, while even Jiang Shenghong could only report from a distance outside the room, leaving Meng Qi and others unable to find a good chance to strike openly inside the inner courtyard.
Another day passed. Meng Qi was patrolling the outer mansion with Zhao Heng when suddenly he saw Jiang Shenghong hurrying by, his expression dark and his eyes filled with anger.
“Commander, what’s wrong?” Meng Qi “concernedly” approached.
Jiang Shenghong slowly exhaled: “Yin Lenghui has brought his sect leader into the mansion. The Retained Master is very pleased and has rushed out to greet him.”
As more and more individuals with extraordinary abilities gained his trust and continued to arrive, he felt an overwhelming sense of crisis.
“Sect leader?” Meng Qi half-truthfully exclaimed.
The blindfolded sect leader who could communicate with the “Ancestor” had entered the mansion too?
Regardless of whether this event concealed other secrets, the mere increase in the number of powerful experts made their plan increasingly difficult!
Yin Lenghui, as a master at the Half-Step Beyond Scenery level, might not be as formidable as the Queen Mother of the West, but he could likely defeat Jiang Zhiwei in a one-on-one duel. With the addition of witchcraft, he could at least hold back two of their members. The blindfolded sect leader was roughly on par with him in strength—no easy adversary—and as a reincarnated warrior, he might possess hidden treasures. Handling just him and Lan Die alone would already pose a considerable challenge for their team, let alone with the presence of Zuo Hanfeng, an expert at the Beyond Scenery level.
Even if they tried to lure someone away, they might only manage to draw one of them.
“To think Yin Lenghui’s sect leader is also in Daning, sneaking around so mysteriously!” Jiang Shenghong said through clenched teeth.
Meng Qi no longer wrapped white cloth around his face, which was now covered with scars, making him look fierce: “Such a sect must have ulterior motives. We can’t let the Retained Master be deceived. We must find out what they’re planning.”
“Hmph.” Jiang Shenghong nodded darkly, tacitly allowing Meng Qi to secretly investigate Yin Lenghui and others.
After Jiang Shenghong left, Meng Qi paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, using secret sound transmission: “We can’t wait any longer. The longer we delay, the more unpredictable things become regarding Zuo Hanfeng.”
“Two people lure them away, three go for Zuo Hanfeng?” Zhao Heng, calm and composed, showed signs of a leader.
“First, let’s ‘pressure’ Zuo Yiqian to see if we can find Du Huaishang. After all, he’s at least at the Beyond Scenery level. If we can find a way to heal him, things will go much smoother.” Meng Qi didn’t act rashly despite the tense situation.
“How do we pressure her?” Zhao Heng was quite puzzled.
Meng Qi pondered: “Wait until Zuo Yiqian goes out for a stroll…”
The next day, after staying indoors for a long time, Zuo Yiqian went out with her nannies and maids.
Meng Qi said to Qi Zhengyan beside him: “Brother Qi, please take this opportunity while the embroidered building is empty to hide inside in advance and check for any secret passages or hidden doors. When Zuo Yiqian returns, you can observe her actions.”
“Alright.” Qi Zhengyan didn’t refuse.
Looking at Qi Zhengyan’s serious, expressionless face, Meng Qi suddenly smiled: “A noble lady’s private quarters aren’t just anyone’s to enter. Brother Qi, you must keep your composure.”
Qi Zhengyan’s eye twitched slightly before he turned and walked away.
Smiling, Meng Qi turned around, went into the shadows, quickly sneaked out of the mansion, changed his disguise, and applied medicine paste to cover his scars.
Zuo Yiqian aimlessly wandered the most prosperous street in Daning, occasionally picking up small ornaments, then blankly putting them down. Her maids knew their young mistress was in a bad mood and dared not speak, only following closely with the nannies.
Suddenly, Zuo Yiqian’s vision blurred, and she saw a “middle-aged man” with dog-skin plasters on his face appear before her. He held a bamboo pole with a white cloth hanging from it, both sides inscribed with:
“Predicting life and death but not my own, speaking truthfully without hesitation.”
“Divining fate and romance but not the heart, words that come true.”
Zuo Yiqian was about to instruct her nanny to drive away the wandering fortune-teller when she suddenly saw him glance at her and shake his head repeatedly: “Tragic, tragic. A heart of seven openings, wrongly given to the wrong person.”
Zuo Yiqian felt as if struck by lightning, standing there stunned. When she regained her senses, she saw the middle-aged man with dog-skin plasters on his face walking away.
“Master, Master, wait!” She blurted out.
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