Chapter 282: Yinyang

Bowang Prefecture City.

A three-story inn. The noisy street side during the day was now left with only silence. Inside the closed doors and windows, the man sat before the table, the map of Bowang City still spread out on the table.

The map was still the same map, but in just three days, it seemed to have become much more withered. At a glance, a sense of desolation filled the eyes.

The man's thin, long fingers slowly stroked the scroll, murmuring softly: "All autumn is sad, who is successful?"

The autumn air rolled up.

The young man stood quietly to the side. He could not see any change in this map, but mysterious changes were already surging in the man's pupils.

After a moment, the man picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and made a hook on a residence in the southeast corner of the city, leaving a bright red circle.

Looking at this result, the young man's knife-carved face became even colder and harder.

"It is indeed here." The man put down the brush, "You searched very correctly—what kind of place is this?"

"The manor of the local sect, Qijiaodong. This sect was in its prime a month ago, but now, because it is involved in the Huan Si Lou case, it has almost collapsed under the pressure of Tianshan, and this manor has also been sealed by the Immortal Platform."

"An empty manor?"

"Someone lives there." The young man said, "This is precisely the reason he is staying here."

"Hmm?"

"Qijiao true disciple Shang Huaitong, a Sixth Life swordsman, used half a sword of intent in the autumn competition that just passed, but was broken by this year's autumn champion using a Fourth Life clumsy sword, and was returned a complete sword of intent." The young man's tone had no fluctuations, "The news I heard is that this person is extremely dark and paranoid, so his state of mind is broken, and he dares not use his sword."

"Then you mean it can still be repaired and restored?"

"Presumably."

The man nodded: "What is the background of this autumn champion?"

"Pei Ye, said to be a local—he is with Ming Qitian."

"Hmm... what about the Immortal Platform side?"

"Tianshan Sifeng, Prefecture Inspector Wu He Jian, should both be Second Rank."

The man nodded and was quiet for a while: "Then don't let the night be long and full of dreams—tomorrow night, then."

". Good." The young man looked at the window with an expressionless face, the autumn chill pouring deep into his heart and lungs.

The man slowly rolled up the map under his hand, tilted his head, and said softly: "Meng Li... calm your heart."

The man lowered his eyes: ". Hmm."

——

The scroll slowly unfolded.

The warm scene was reflected under the moonlight, placed before the man's ghostly cold gaze.

Bixiao Pavilion, the dangerous man and the young girl who seemed ignorant stood opposite each other.

"It's just this one." Li Piaoqing poked her head out from behind the scroll, "Placed on that table, I saw it at a glance—it's not that I intended to move my hands and feet and flip through it randomly."

The man still did not say a word.

". Then I'll go first?" Li Piaoqing revealed a somewhat bored smile, "If it's really inconvenient, I'll just put this painting down and won't take it to joke with your head manager."

No response.

The man did not say a word, just looking at her quietly.

In such an atmosphere, the young girl felt her throat go hoarse, and a sense of suffocation began to bite at her throat.

The man's cold and dangerous gaze did not dissipate in the slightest from beginning to end, as if it had penetrated all her acting and defenses, seeing through her cold hands and feet.

Under the dark room and cold moon, a ghostly blade was slowly drawn from behind the man's waist: "The guards between the front pavilion and the backyard are tight, how did you stroll over here?"

"." Li Piaoqing's heart sank to the bottom.

She was about to grit her teeth and draw her sword when a gentle and harmonious voice suddenly appeared behind her: "Why is sister here?"

Li Piaoqing turned her head and was stunned. The young girl she had met twice was holding a lantern, standing quietly at the door of the small pavilion, her slender and upright figure just like the theater stage yesterday.

Yi Chengxin walked over, looked at the scroll, and smiled lightly: "It's just this one, Mr. Zhang."

She reached out to Li Piaoqing with a smile: "This one is not for sale, sister, it's left for me."

Li Piaoqing handed the painting to her.

"Sorry to trouble you, Mr. Zhang." Yi Chengxin nodded and looked at Li Piaoqing again, "Are you going back with me, sister?"

Li Piaoqing nodded.

Early the next morning.

A faint tune drifted outside the house. Li Piaoqing sat upright at the table, before her were three sheets of paper with scattered ink.

The young girl supported her forehead with one hand, staring at these blanks with her brows tightly furrowed. When she opened the ledger last night, she only browsed the key points once, but many details would also hide a lot of information she hadn't discovered yet, which was why she tore off those few pages, both as evidence and as a basis for further development. However, having burned them all at once, she only started to write them down from memory after returning last night, and could only write down so much.

The longer she racked her brains, the further those blurred memories became from her.

"Can't remember?" The black cat's calm voice came from the side.

Li Piaoqing tilted her head, looked at those green eyes, and nodded.

The black cat was silent for a moment: "Calm your heart, fall onto the things you saw last night, and find their position in your memory."

Li Piaoqing smiled helplessly: "I have been thinking about it properly..."

"Do as I say."

"."

Li Piaoqing sank her heart down again. The characters that were not the focus of her vision at the time were right there, but Li Piaoqing really couldn't see them clearly no matter what—

The young girl's thoughts suddenly froze.

Everything slowed down and became clear.

Those characters in her memory were placed before her eyes one by one. The young girl could even identify their calligraphy style and see the changing color of the paper!

It was not a recollection; this was a clear rubbing.

The young girl's pupils revealed a kind of thorough clarity, filling in the missing parts one by one, restoring the contents of the few pages she burned last night without a single hair missing.

At the moment she stopped writing, she felt herself fall violently, falling back into the real world. Her memory blurred again, and her vision returned to the ordinary.

She looked at the black cat blankly.

"【Chunshou】, I'll lend it to you once. After this morning, this matter will not be passed to three mouths."

"Good, good..." Li Piaoqing nodded blankly, then suddenly pursed her lips, lowered her head, and asked cautiously, "Can't Pei, Pei Ye be told either?"

". I am not making a little secret with you."

". Oh."

After completing all this and putting the paper away properly, Li Piaoqing put on her coat and pushed the door out.

That clear and melodious tone became clear at once.

Li Piaoqing followed the sound. After passing only one archway, the young girl's figure singing lightly under the willow tree came into view. It was still the "White Snake Love" from yesterday. This tune was cold and not sorrowful in the young girl's mouth, just like the cool mist circling the flower tree at this moment.

"The immortal herb does not grow and people leave, the love souls before the painting both linger..."

Li Piaoqing still remembered the young girl's words "After this, I won't sing anymore" when she met her in the front hall yesterday.

At this time and after, there was no theater stage or audience, but the young girl was still raising her voice here.

She listened quietly for a while until Yi Chengxin stopped her voice, tilted her head to look at her, and revealed a gentle smile.

"Does sister like listening to operas very much?"

Li Piaoqing walked up close: "I have followed my master to listen since I was young. Yi sister's voice is truly the best among those I have heard."

Yi Chengxin's eyes curved: "Overpraised."

"Really." Li Piaoqing imitated her tone from yesterday, "Especially that 'Born with an immortal herb planted on my life—'"

Yi Chengxin's eyes brightened slightly: "Sister's voice is also very pleasant to hear."

"Ah..." Li Piaoqing smiled, "I am pleasant to hear but not useful. Once I start, it will pierce the ears. I don't have your skills."

"I learned for three years." Yi Chengxin smiled lightly, "If sister learns seriously, it will definitely be the best."

"I..." Li Piaoqing was a bit embarrassed, "I was greedy for play and wasted time in the past few years... Later, later I'm afraid I won't have time—by the way, have you been singing operas for three years? Didn't you practice martial arts?"

Yi Chengxin shook her head with a smile: "I don't practice martial arts. I used to just listen to operas, then I sang once and liked it immediately."

She looked at the swaying willow branches: "A good script can make people fully immerse themselves, as if they have really experienced such a story, and as if I am really such a person..."

Li Piaoqing looked at her: "Yi sister is very immersed in singing 'White Snake Love,' presumably it is the one you like the most."

Yi Chengxin was stunned for a moment, then smiled slightly: "I don't like 'White Snake Love'."

". Ah?"

"Because... it can't be called liking..." Yi Chengxin pondered with a smile, skipping this topic, "I didn't ask carefully that day. Is sister from Bowang Prefecture? What are you doing?"

Li Piaoqing paused: ". Investigating some things."

"Oh." Yi Chengxin nodded.

Li Piaoqing was silent for a while and said softly: "I haven't thanked you yet. Why did you help me last night?"

". I don't like them."

"Them? Who?"

Yi Chengxin lowered her head and smiled, saying softly: "No matter what sister wants to investigate, don't investigate them anymore, otherwise when it's too late to avoid, it will already be too late."

Li Piaoqing looked at this young girl who was about to be forced into a distant marriage and was just about to say something when a waiter walked over from the front hall, interrupting the conversation between the two.

"Miss Yi, the carriage has arrived."

Yi Chengxin nodded and bowed to Li Piaoqing: "Then, goodbye, sister."

Li Piaoqing was stunned: "Where are you going?"

Yi Chengxin smiled: "After the betrothal gifts are counted, naturally I'm going home."

"."

Yi Chengxin bowed again and turned around, but Li Piaoqing's clear and spiritual voice sounded behind her: "Can I go with you?"

Yi Chengxin turned her head in surprise.

"Meeting like old friends, I want to talk more with sister—since it's a wedding... presumably it won't be short of my pair of bowls and chopsticks."

Yi Chengxin pursed her lips and smiled: "It would be an honor."

Li Piaoqing walked to the outside with the young girl. The street was flat and bright, and three carriages were neatly parked at the door. The young, silent man sat on the shaft of the middle carriage. Until the two got on and sat down, he flicked the whip and drove forward, the hooves and wheels moving forward.

He didn't say a word from beginning to end.

". It's good that you're fine." Although he couldn't see, the youth's lingering fear seemed to be transmitted through his tone.

"Fang Xitian fell in love with a woman from the Yi family back then, and his abrupt entry into the mountains was most likely related to this woman, so we will go to the Yi family to investigate first."

". Be very careful."

"The matter of the Qiyun Merchant Alliance is not over yet. Heart Amber extends to the Qiyun Merchant Alliance, and what we encountered is not a person from the Yi family. Judging by the theater mask, it is most likely related to the Huan Si Lou. We were spotted by him, so there is no room to continue. Whatever is going on, both sides are clear anyway, just do your own thing."

"Hmm, leave this person to me."

Bixiao Pavilion, backyard small building.

A person wearing a theater mask stood before the man, handing over a piece of paper and ink with both hands.

"Li Piaoqing, young master of the Bowang Prefecture Cuiyu Sword Sect, influenced by the Xilong matter, is currently uniting with Tianshan and investigating our side together with the Immortal Platform." The theater mask said, "Coming here this time should be influenced by a lost external pawn in Bowang."

". That external pawn was also exposed strangely." The man said in a low voice, "Cuiyu young master... it's really troublesome if such a person dies here. It's just as well that she went there."

Reaching out a hand: "That copy."

The theater mask handed it over: "Pei Ye, this year's autumn champion of Bowang Prefecture, on good terms with Cuiyu, arrived in Xiangzhou City on the same day as Li Piaoqing, and has been investigating Qiyun's proprietor in Qijiu City ever since."

"Cultivation?"

"Fourth or Fifth Life."

The man handed the paper and ink back to him.

Near noon, the road the carriage traveled began to have some bumps.

The two young girls talked about operas the whole way. After learning that the young girl had bought the "White Snake Love" script and wanted to move it back to Bowang, Yi Chengxin patiently taught her several singing lyrics, and the singing voices rose and fell along the way.

Finally, the voices rested slightly, and the two were quiet for a while. Li Piaoqing looked at the quiet and thin young girl beside her, her brows slightly drooping.

Her heart had always been keen. The more vivid the young girl's sincere love when talking about drama, the more she felt a kind of sorrow.

Huan Si Lou, Zhu Shi Sect—in the cracks of these powerful and bizarre evils, the young girl was like a helpless victim. Li Piaoqing didn't know what the Yi family wanted to do, nor did she know what the exchanged 【Shuiyang Yuke】 was for. She only saw the young girl being forced to abandon everything she had and being exchanged like cargo.

"Why do you want to take this painting?" Li Piaoqing looked at the scroll in the young girl's hand, which was exactly the one from last night.

"I like it." Yi Chengxin smiled, "I plan to take it with me."

"It is indeed painted very well." Li Piaoqing nodded and finally couldn't help but speak, "Where are you going to marry?"

"Xilong."

". Why so far?"

"It's just that far."

". Can you not marry?" Li Piaoqing looked at her.

Yi Chengxin turned to look at her and smiled: "I didn't expect sister to ask this question."

"Why?"

"Because the first time I saw sister, I knew that sister is also someone who coexists with things that cannot be let go." The young girl smiled, "So... that's why I met you like an old friend, sister."

". But you don't want to do it yourself." Li Piaoqing said, "You don't have to bear it."

"It's what I want to do. I'm not like in the opera, having someone else I like." Yi Chengxin smiled and looked at her, "It's sister asking this question that seems to have something blocking your heart—do you have your own sweetheart?"

"."

"Hmm, guessed right." Yi Chengxin smiled lightly and lifted the curtain to look outside the window.

Li Piaoqing looked over and saw a city far away in the distance, which was exactly Yinyang County.

". Are we not entering the city?"

"Sorry, the family residence is remote, it's really not in the city." The young girl smiled apologetically.

Li Piaoqing looked forward. It was indeed becoming more remote and quiet, not looking like a place containing any great clan, but rather like a place for reclusive living.

Sigh, sigh, sigh, sigh, sigh, dizzy, dizzy, dizzy, dizzy, dizzy.

Why do I have to write 4000 words every day?

Who invented this rule anyway?

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 283 =====