Chapter 376

One hundred and twenty, close at hand... Sister Xiuniang?

Autumn day, dawn.

White dew turns to frost.

Beads of dew condensed on the eaves or blue stone slabs of the Buddhist hall, pagoda, and fasting courtyard of this ancient temple on the top of the mountain.

The multiple strange phenomena that appeared in the sky on the southwest side of the temple in the early morning of last night seemed as if they had never happened, leaving no trace.

Frosty tiles, bell towers, ancient pagodas... it was still a day when the sun rose as usual.

As for the re-collapse of a newly built Sutra-Copying Hall on the southwest side, and the frantic state of the abbot and the morning shift monks, the pilgrims staying in the fasting courtyard of the temple did not know and not many people perceived it.

The Sanhui Courtyard, where Ah Qing's family lived, was the same.

Washing clothes early in the morning, cooking meals, everything was as usual.

Liu's mother, Ah Shan's widow Yun Niang, and Ah Qing, three women of different ages, lived together and were naturally more diligent than the men. However, this morning, the Sanhui Courtyard vaguely had an extra familiar yet strange figure.

When Ah Qing and the others, who were eating, heard the movement coming from the courtyard outside, the first ray of dawn broke through the sky, and the sky was just beginning to brighten.

They ate breakfast a bit early today.

Outside the courtyard, there was a burst of footsteps, and there seemed to be quite a few people.

"Did that little thief really stay in this courtyard?"

Outside the courtyard wall, a strange and cold female voice sounded first, as if asking a companion beside her.

"Hmm."

A gentle female voice replied, paused, and answered slowly:

"There are bloodstains on the wall, and in the grass of the courtyard, there are three places where the grass roots have been pressed and stepped on. Although there are no bloodstains, the grass has not condensed frost, which is a clear contrast to the frosted grass around it. It is obvious that after that person fell into the courtyard, he scooped a jar of water and washed it in a hurry. But the movements were hasty, the fall was urgent, and the departure later was also quite urgent...

"This Confucian scholar should have stayed in this courtyard for a while to recuperate from his injuries. He wanted to hide, but after cleaning up the loose ends, he found that it was twice the effort for half the result, so he left immediately and turned to go down the mountain...

"On that mountain road behind, there are his footprints and bloodstains, which are fresher than those in this courtyard, left when he left."

Candle in the Snow's stiff and cold voice sounded again:

"This little thief doesn't know what origin he has with the Buddhist sect. He urged the tripod sword, and every sword movement produced lotus flowers, fitting some kind of Zen principle, and the sword Qi seems endless...

"But this seat observed his spiritual energy circulation when he was running away, and he is only a mere Grade 8 Blue Qi.

"Although he luckily escaped, he was injured by this seat's sword Qi, and his injuries are not light. He can't run far, and he has to heal his injuries. But just now, when chasing down, to that pavilion halfway up the mountain, all traces were gone, as if he had disappeared into thin air. Could it be that he, a Grade 8, can still fly with the wind."

That gentle female voice pondered:

"In this way, there are only two possibilities.

"Either he used means we don't know to erase the traces and fly far away.

"Or it's a blinding trick. In fact, he is still in the temple, faking obvious traces of going down the mountain, but actually returning and hiding to heal his injuries. If so..."

Candle in the Snow didn't have the patience to listen to the specific analysis and asked directly:

"So you tend to the latter? Bringing us back, you want to check the suspicious places carefully?"

The gentle female voice didn't answer the question but smiled lightly:

"The pavilion halfway up the mountain, leave it to the Sixth Xiao Shimei to continue the investigation. She is careful and cautious, and has first-class light-body techniques, suitable for finding people along the way. The Eldest Yuan Shijie let Insect Lady follow her in the sky to help with sentry duty. If there is any change, Insect Lady can also fly back to notify us at the first opportunity.

"As for us, there is actually no need to swarm up. Too many people are conspicuous... come back and see, look to see if there are any omissions.

"This Confucian scholar seems to be very familiar with Donglin Temple. Just look at his escape route. He chose all hidden shortcuts. If you say he came for the first time, I don't believe it. If I were him, I would actually choose a familiar place to lurk. The most dangerous place is the safest place."

She smiled again and changed the subject:

"But honestly, looking all the way here, this Confucian scholar's many responses are very calm. If I were in his situation, facing the Eldest Yuan Shijie's pursuit, I might not necessarily do as well as him.

"In a crisis, one sees character. It is not without reason that this Confucian scholar can walk the absolute path of the sword-wielder."

Candle in the Snow asked coldly: "Is the Second Xiao Shimei praising this little thief?"

The gentle female voice smiled softly, "Not praising, just wanting to catch him even more, break his hands and feet, throw him into the water prison, and have a good chat when there is time."

Paused, and asked with some curiosity: "By the way, where is the Eldest Yuan Shijie's sword?"

Candle in the Snow didn't speak.

The gentle female voice asked again: "Why does the Eldest Yuan Shijie keep calling him little thief, calling him little thief... could it be that he stole something..."

Candle in the Snow suddenly interrupted, her tone firm:

"This little thief can become a sword-wielder, isn't it because he stole our Sword Sect's tripod sword? According to the induction of the Red Lotus Sword Seal, this tripod sword was left by that old guy from the Ancient Yue Sword Shop. At the beginning, he entrusted Little Seven to send a letter, and he promised to represent the sect to compensate our sect with a tripod sword, plus an exuberant Yue woman to act as a candidate for the hidden monarch... As a result, this seat fulfilled the contract and went as scheduled, but a change occurred."

That gentle female voice sighed lightly:

"It is indeed so. The identity of this fox-faced Confucian scholar is questionable. Why is the tripod sword in his hands? He might have participated in the Dragon City events on the day the tripod sword was born. I don't know what role he played. Could it be that he has entanglements or transactions with that old gentleman?"

"Playing tricks."

Candle in the Snow snorted coldly, as if remembering what happened that day.

The conversation outside the courtyard wall vaguely spread into the courtyard.

In the main room of the Sanhui Courtyard, a family was eating porridge and rice.

Except for a certain wooden man whose movements remained unchanged, the other women looked at each other.

Just at this moment, a strange and cold female voice outside the courtyard wall left a sentence: "You and Little Seven go to the side to look for it. If there are clues, report them. This place is left to me."

Hua Xuanji.

"Dong dong—!"

There was a knocking sound, and without waiting for the people in the room to react, the knocker had already pushed the door and entered. The so-called knocking was just symbolic.

He saw a tall Hu woman with golden hair reaching her waist walking straight into the room, aggressive, her pair of azure-blue eyes scanning everyone in the room.

However, after she saw the scene in the room roughly, the momentum on her body converged slightly.

There were four people in the room. An old woman with white hair lying on the bed; a young woman with a bun and an apron; a thin, bamboo-pole girl with double buns who had not yet reached the age of pinning; and a wooden man kneeling by the bed, feeding the sick mother.

The general situation of this family was clear at a glance. Candle in the Snow's gaze swept over this poor and ordinary family, suddenly gave a light "eh," and couldn't help but look twice at the thin, bamboo-pole girl with the word "Yue" tattooed on her forehead. The girl was watery, clear, and beautiful, lowering her head and not daring to look at strangers, timid and weak.

"Who are you, and what is your business?"

Liu's mother gently pushed away the hand of her son who had returned and was feeding her, braced her body, and faced the aggressive Candle in the Snow, speaking first.

Candle in the Snow didn't speak, looked around, and turned to go out, but didn't leave.

Everyone looked, and this tall Hu woman was unceremonious, strolling around the courtyard, and opening each room one by one, looking coldly.

She seemed to be observing the number of people eating in the main room, whether it matched the number of rooms for guests in this courtyard.

At the same time, she should also be observing whether the corresponding rooms were occupied.

These could not be faked in a short time.

Vaguely sensing Candle in the Snow's intention, in the main room, by Liu's mother's sickbed, the wooden man who had changed into a thick padded garment filled with reed flowers and grass fluff, lowered his eyes slightly.

Ah Qing tilted her head and shook her head imperceptibly at "Brother."

Hua Xuanji, Candle in the Snow frowned slightly and returned to the main room.

The number of people and the number of rooms matched perfectly, including this wooden man, who also had a room, which was full of the man's clean and simple daily necessities.

She pursed her lips, returned without success, and found nothing.

Candle in the Snow certainly didn't know that after Liu Ah Shan sacrificed himself heroically, Ah Qing, in order to take care of Liu's mother's emotions, specially prepared a room for her brother, putting all his belongings there and wiping them every day.

Even after Liu's mother knew about her son's sacrifice, this habit did not change, but became a silent matter for the family.

Even after moving to the Sanhui Courtyard, Ah Qing specially vacated a room, besides missing Ah Shan, it was also convenient for the "new brother" to stay when he came to visit.

Candle in the Snow suddenly walked towards Ah Qing.

The wooden man who was feeding her low-key by the bed stood up abruptly, blocking in front of his younger sister Ah Qing, looking directly at Candle in the Snow without saying a word.

Candle in the Snow looked at him coldly.

Ah Qing quietly pulled her brother's sleeve and shook her head at him, signaling it was okay.

The wooden man was silent for a while, turned slightly, and let go a little. Candle in the Snow never gave men a good face, ignoring the wooden man who looked like a brother. She walked straight to Ah Qing, took out a small bag of broken silver from her sleeve, and a piece of jade.

She held the jade in her hand, poured spiritual energy into it, and the milky white jade immediately showed a faint purple color.

Candle in the Snow put the purple jade into the broken silver bag and handed it to Ah Qing's hand together:

"This seat comes from the Lady Yunmeng Yunmeng Yunmeng Jian Ze. In that place, there are many nursery rhymes and legends in the Wu and Yue regions. You should have heard some. This seat will not explain much, just warn you of one thing. You have natural spirituality, a brilliant divine court, weak outside and strong inside. You are a treasure embryo for cultivating Qi and should not stay here for a lifetime, wasting time.

"If you are tired of this cage-like life and want to radiate light and heat, you can smash this jade. This seat will sense it and come to pick you up and accept you as a disciple."

Paused, she said coldly to the wooden man and Yun Niang:

"Next time this seat passes by, I will come again. As brothers and sisters-in-law, if you stop her for your own selfish desires and let this seat find out, I will definitely make you not see the sun of the next day. If you generously let her go, this seat will leave another piece of jade. If you encounter difficulties in the future, the Sword Sect can help once. That's all, that's all."

After speaking, Candle in the Snow turned and left with big strides.

Everyone was silent.

Yun Niang glanced at the wooden man and breathed a sigh of relief quietly.

Candle in the Snow suddenly stopped and turned back to question:

"You have your hair in a bun as a woman, and you are a couple with this man. Why do you sleep in separate rooms?"

Yun Niang was stunned and stuttered a bit.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong secretly thought it was bad, but the sick Liu's mother on the side answered instantly:

"Although our family is poor, we are also a family of etiquette. My son and Yun Niang have just been engaged and contracted. Even if they are welcomed home, they cannot break the rules. They need to be married properly before they can be in the same room."

After Candle in the Snow heard this, she looked at them, nodded slightly after a while, and turned to go out.

Walking out of the door, Candle in the Snow's face immediately turned cold. Her personal sword was actually confiscated by that little thief, which was simply a great humiliation.

Mainly, the tripod sword's path was too wild. The sword-wielder was clearly only Grade 8, but as a top-grade Purple Qi cultivator, she was actually vaguely unable to compete with his spiritual energy storage! This led to being easily disarmed by that little thing when she was exhausted and changing her breath.

The Lady Yunmeng Yunmeng Yunmeng Jian Ze is not short of famous swords in the world. Throughout the ages, in so many sword-questioning assemblies, I don't know how many sword masters in the world have left their beloved swords.

But that personal sword that was confiscated had followed Candle in the Snow for a long time, and even had mutual perception through secret techniques. So not long ago, she could still sense that the sword had been touched by the Confucian scholar's dirty hands, which made Candle in the Snow, who had mysophobia, feel a bit nauseous until now.

Now, I don't know what means that little thief used. Every time Candle in the Snow tries to sense the sword, her spiritual sense sinks into the sea.

Today is really miserable.

This little thief who stole things, don't let her catch him.

In addition, this Donglin Temple is also a place that makes her feel annoyed. Every time she comes, nothing good happens.

It was the same when she handled the secular affairs of the Xiao Shimei last time.

Candle in the Snow left the courtyard with a blank face...

After a while, movement came from outside the courtyard wall.

That tall Hu woman with aggressive momentum seemed to have met up with some "Second Xiao Shimei" and "Little Seven." The women exchanged a few words, and there should be no clues, so they greeted each other and left.

In the main room, Ah Qing looked at the purple jade, her little face hesitated for a while, looked at the wooden man, and seeing that he did not object, the clear and beautiful girl chased out of the door and shouted at the backs of Candle in the Snow and the other Yue women:

"You take it, we don't want the silver, I... I don't want to leave, I want to accompany my mother and brother and sister-in-law."

Candle in the Snow turned a deaf ear and ignored it. She turned to instruct the group of junior sisters who were curiously looking back:

"Let's go, let's go ahead and look. Hey, Little Seven, what are you doing in a daze? Let's go, are you touched by the scene again?"

"Ah... hmm."

In the crowd of Yue women, a certain girl who had been quiet from beginning to end answered in a daze.

She only opened her mouth with a single syllable.

In the main room, the wooden man who was silently waiting for the difficult Yue women to leave was stunned.

This voice... is Sister Xiuniang!

Magistrate Ouyang Rong, who was disguised with a fake mask, stood up abruptly, took two steps, but stopped, unable to step out of the door.

Even though she was close at hand, he couldn't call anyone.

After a while, Magistrate Ouyang Rong couldn't hold it anymore, went to pick up a night pot under Liu's mother's bed, and walked out of the door with big strides, pretending to pour the night pot.

Quickly arriving in the courtyard, when he passed the open courtyard gate, he turned his head and looked. What came into view were the backs of Candle in the Snow and a group of women in the same Wu skirt leaving.

And among the backs of the crowd, there was a back of a mute girl who was not very conspicuous but incomparably familiar. She was following closely by Candle in the Snow's side, without looking back...

The slender back was touching and very good-looking.

However, what is strange is that looking from behind, the slender mute girl seems to be wearing something on her head, a sky-blue ribbon wrapped around her head, and finally tied into a butterfly knot at the back of her head.

The three thousand soft and smooth green silks draped over her shoulders were set off by this sky-blue ribbon, becoming more and more black and smooth.

I don't know if it's a special female forehead ornament.

It looks good, but none of the other Yue women in Wu clothes around have it, only she has one.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong stood where he was, watching the back of the "butterfly-knot Yue woman" go further and further away, opening his mouth, but no sound came out.

Behind him came Ah Qing's cautious voice: "What's wrong with Brother?"

The wooden man holding the night pot suddenly calmed down and gently raised his hand to touch the heavy mask.

"Nothing. Just remembered an old friend."

(End of chapter)