Chapter 6: A Nuo

Sheng Yuanyao's question received no answer.

The exact date of Young Master Huo Qi's death could still be learned. But the old Daoist Priest of Danxia Temple lived secluded in the mountains, the temple's incense was sparse, and so much time had passed; no one could say clearly when the Little Daoist had appeared by the old Daoist Priest's side.

Let alone a clear time, no one could even say clearly whether he was disabled or not.

Who would remember an irrelevant person from ten years ago...

However, Lu Xingzhou had a Xiazhou accent, held the land deed to Danxia Temple, and could refine pills; he was most likely that Little Daoist from back then. If he were also Young Master Huo Qi at the same time, then the Huo family murder case could almost be declared solved. Sheng Yuanyao could almost imagine a complete drama of grudges and love.

Regrettably, no clear connection could be found between the Little Daoist and Young Master Huo Qi; solving a case could not rely on speculation.

In terms of age, there was also some difference between Lu Xingzhou and Young Master Huo Qi. If Young Master Huo Qi were alive, he would be eighteen this year; Lu Xingzhou was nineteen. He had gone to exchange the land deed, and his identity papers and travel permits were all very formal. Of course, forgery could not be ruled out, but proving that would be difficult. The key point was that Sheng Yuanyao knew many people from the Huo family, and Lu Xingzhou did not look like any of them.

Sheng Yuanyao had spent several days investigating and questioning, with progress limited to this.

In short, based on the surface evidence, Lu Xingzhou indeed had not the slightest connection to the Huo family murder case.

She stood up, somewhat weary, and went straight out of the Demon-Suppressing Bureau, heading toward the Huo residence. According to subordinates' reports, Lu Xingzhou had been doing renovations at the former Danxia Gang site there these past days. She felt she must go see Lu Xingzhou once; she had a great many things she wanted to ask.

But before she had walked two streets, she saw a chubby-faced Little Daoist sitting at the entrance of a grocery store on a street corner.

The Little Daoist had his hands tucked into his sleeves, huddled there, with two black lenses perched on his eyes, blocking nearly half his face. Beside him stood a small banner pole bearing the words "Character Reading and Divination."

Let alone divination, just looking at this scene could make people laugh out loud.

Sheng Yuanyao's mood, which had been gloomy for several days, suddenly improved greatly. She smiled and strolled over, squatting down in front of the Little Daoist: "Hey, why are you alone here?"

The Little Daoist extended his index finger, pushed the black lenses down a bit, and glanced at Sheng Yuanyao from above the lenses: "Pretty sister, it's you. Want a divination?"

Sheng Yuanyao smiled: "Come to think of it, I haven't asked your name yet. What is your name?"

"My name is A Nuo. Nuo as in glutinous rice."

"You're dressed as a Little Daoist; shouldn't you use a Daoist name?"

"A Nuo is my Daoist name! My full name is Glutinous Rice Dumpling, surname Lu!"

Sheng Yuanyao almost laughed out loud. Her greatest impulse right now was to rub this little child's face, but unfortunately, their relationship wasn't there yet; she still had to maintain the dignity of the Demon-Suppressing Bureau Commander...

Seeing her like that, A Nuo scratched his head: "What? Can't A Nuo be a Daoist name?"

"Yes, yes, of course it can. Hmm... A Nuo True Person, where is your master?"

A Nuo, addressed as "True Person," was very happy: "Master is repairing the house; I came out to earn some extra money."

Sheng Yuanyao was quite speechless: "You just had a large influx of funds; you're not poor. Why do you look like you're especially short of money, needing a child like you to come out and supplement the household expenses? Lu Xingzhou isn't afraid something bad might happen."

A Nuo put his hands on his hips: "A Nuo is very capable; I can help Master a lot!"

Sheng Yuanyao still smiled: "So how many times have you opened for business?"

A Nuo smiled apologetically: "Just waiting for a destined person."

"Then am I your destined person?"

A Nuo fluttered his big eyes.

Who knew if there was destiny or not? A Nuo only knew the "Yuan" in gold ingot, and this sister definitely had some.

Sheng Yuanyao smiled: "How much for one divination? How about you calculate mine?"

A Nuo's eyes immediately lit up: "One tael of silver, just one tael!"

One tael of silver was very expensive... Where would a fool come from to find such a child for divination and pay one tael!

But Sheng Yuanyao really took out a piece of broken silver worth one tael and said with a smile: "Calculate my marriage fate for me."

Rather than calculating marriage fate, it was more like teasing a child.

Indeed, a destined person! A Nuo snatched the silver at once and said cheerfully: "Sister simply has no intention of seeking a marriage fate. The elders in the family do want to urge sister to marry, which is also one of the reasons sister fled to Xiazhou."

Sheng Yuanyao's smile froze on her face.

She had come to Xiazhou for many reasons, but it could not be denied that avoiding her family's urging for marriage and arranging matches was absolutely an important aspect! And this reason, besides family members, no outsider knew at all!

Was it really calculated? Without even reading characters, without looking at palm lines, without even making calculations, just by looking at the facial features?

A bit outrageous...

Her expression became several degrees more serious: "Then what comes next? Where is my true fate?"

A Nuo looked Sheng Yuanyao up and down again for quite a while. The expression behind the sunglasses became somewhat strange, and his chubby little hand scratched his head in confusion.

Sheng Yuanyao's heart actually tightened: "How is it?"

A Nuo smiled awkwardly: "Sister, rest assured. The person sister marries in the future will definitely be someone sister loves. It's just, it's just that there might be a few sisters."

Sheng Yuanyao's face was expressionless.

Nonsense.

With my status and position, would my future husband dare to take a concubine?

I'd chop him to death!

A Nuo cautiously glanced at her and quietly hid the silver securely. He could guess what this sister was thinking... But sister, is there a possibility that your husband palace doesn't look like a main wife's...

Sheng Yuanyao, expressionless, took out another large silver ingot. A Nuo's eyes sparkled as he reached for it, but Sheng Yuanyao suddenly pulled it back: "Although your marriage calculation is not accurate at all, if you can calculate who the murderer in the Huo residence murder case is, this silver is yours."

A Nuo smiled apologetically: "No one can divine such a hexagram. At most, we can calculate clues."

"Then calculate clues."

A Nuo made calculations with his fingers for a long time, muttering: "A vengeful ghost seeking life... Too many evil deeds done against heaven and humanity."

Sheng Yuanyao took back that silver ingot and exchanged it for one tael of broken silver.

A Nuo was on the verge of tears: "Sister, don't rush. There are still clues, still clues... Hmm, the disaster originated from within the family walls."

Sheng Yuanyao narrowed her eyes and suddenly asked: "How much do you know about your master's past at Danxia Temple?"

A Nuo shook his head: "I don't know. I'm only six years old! Master never talked about things that long ago."

"... Didn't you also know that a mother pig named Xiao Hua was buried there?"

"That was when I overheard Master making fun of Gang Leader Liu behind his back."

"Hmm... Where have you been living these past few years?"

"In the south, at Miao Yin Mountain. My master picked me up and raised me. His legs were inconvenient, and after being bullied, he brought me back to our hometown." A Nuo looked aggrieved: "But we hadn't been back for half a year before I was bullied again."

Sheng Yuanyao said nothing.

Although Lu Xingzhou had slapped the Danxia Gang's face on the spot for betraying him after they crossed the river, he was essentially bullied.

If he had picked up A Nuo from her swaddling clothes and raised her until now, calculating the years, he himself was only thirteen then... It must have been truly difficult all these years. No wonder both master and disciple looked like they had fallen into a money pit; without finding ways to earn money, how could they have survived to this age, and how could they afford cultivation?

Sheng Yuanyao thought for a moment and felt there was nothing she needed to ask Lu Xingzhou specifically. If he were the murderer, asking him directly would surely yield nothing; that fellow was not as honest as a six-year-old child. She would have to consider indirect questioning.

Thinking of this, she said, "Then go back and tell your master I have a mad patient here. Ask him to treat it. If he can truly cure it, the price is negotiable."

A Nuo became happy: "Okay, I'll go tell master right now."

After speaking, she ran plop-plop into the general store behind, raised her hand, and placed the broken silver on the counter which was about as tall as her: "Two jin of Wives' Cakes, no wife, can I get a discount?"

Sheng Yuanyao finally laughed out loud.

Obviously, Wives' Cakes could not be discounted. A Nuo, with a tearful face, hugged the two jin of cakes and dashed back to the original site of the Danxia Gang. It had been repaired quite a bit these past few days. Since the Tianxing Sword Sect was renting it, it would likely be called the Tianxing Sword Sect starting tomorrow, or perhaps change to a merchant guild name.

As the people of the Tianxing Sword Sect had not yet moved in, the large mansion was full of workers replacing beams and painting. Lu Xingzhou had alone carved out a pill room in a corner and was currently refining pills.

A Nuo ran in and laughed from far away: "Master, we earned two taels of silver today!"

Lu Xingzhou looked at the pill fire and smiled slightly: "Sheng Yuanyao's business?"

"Yes, yes." A Nuo put the cakes aside and smiled: "Sister Sheng invited you to treat an illness. Will you go?"

"Of course I must go."

"But master..."

"What?"

"Did you leak too many clues? Aren't you really afraid of being caught and thrown in?"

"If this were a seasoned local officer, they would have already caught and imprisoned me for intense interrogation or even forced confession, but she's Sheng Yuanyao," Lu Xingzhou said calmly. "The Sheng family has served the Demon Suppression Bureau for generations. Sheng Yuanyao is just starting out—she still has some principles, cares about due process, and won't act recklessly without evidence. So as soon as I heard Sheng Yuanyao was here to gain experience, I knew my chance had come."

"Then aren't you afraid Sister Sheng will really find out it's you? I think she is very smart and very attentive."

"But you didn't kill the person, did you?"

A Nuo: "..."

Lu Xingzhou laughed: "Actually, the clues I leaked to her have little to do with us; they only serve to prove I am of the Daoist temple lineage. As for the murderer, I have always been guiding her to think of Huo Shang, precisely so she will inform the Huo family in Jingcheng that Huo Shang might not be dead."

"Why make them think Huo Shang is not dead? Just to shift the blame?"

"If only some servants died, the Huo family would likely send a steward to handle it, which means nothing. But if Huo Shang appears, it will surely be a member of the Huo family." Lu Xingzhou looked at the furnace fire; the flames reflected in his pupils as if fire burned within his eyes: "My hope to cure my legs, and the Huo family's hell, will both begin from here."

"What if they insist you are Huo Shang?"

"However, I am indeed not Huo Shang; no matter how they test, it will be useless." Lu Xingzhou smiled slightly: "Of course, if they truly believe so, there are some other benefits."

"What about Sister Shen Tang and the others?"

"If they are indeed the remnants of the Tianxing Sword Sect, they would be a very useful set of hands..." Lu Xingzhou paused here, frowning slightly: "But I strongly suspect whether they are the Tianxing Sword Sect."

(End of this chapter)