Chapter 171

"Woo—"

The night wind wailed, blowing the lanterns at the entrance, causing them to sway and clatter.

In the night sky, dark clouds gathered thick.

Before one knew it, the autumn rain had begun to patter down.

It went from light to heavy.

The small path leading to the depths of the temple soon became drenched and exceptionally slippery.

The temperature plummeted, and a chill struck.

The Young Maids and servants standing in the corridor were all shivering from the cold, yet they dared not make a sound or leave.

Inside the main hall, the sound of chanting had begun to tremble.

"Respected masters, it is now a deep autumn night with rain, and the chill is biting. Why not call it a night and continue tomorrow?"

The old nun accompanying them, cold and tired, could not help but speak up to persuade them.

The heads of the Four Great Families exchanged glances, but none answered.

At this moment, Jia Zheng of the Rongguo Mansion immediately spoke with a face full of solemnity: "Since we said we would chant and pray for blessings all night, we naturally cannot give up halfway. If we cannot even persist through one night and word of it gets out, where will the face of our Four Great Families be? If the palace finds out, how will they view us?"

Once these words were spoken, everyone said: "Master Zheng is right; we certainly cannot give up halfway."

The old nun was helpless and ceased to speak.

It was miserable for the Young Maids and matrons in the corridor outside; they curled up into balls from the cold, and no one dared to go inside to speak.

The rain gradually grew heavier, splashing onto the corridor.

The previously dry ground was soon soaked by the rain, becoming a wet mess.

The large lanterns above swayed, as if mocking something.

"Chi—"

A stream of murky rainwater suddenly shot out across the small path in the garden, as a stout, bald nun fell in the rain.

The nun's head was drenched by the rain, shining and glistening.

She climbed up from the ground and hurriedly ran to the corridor, calling for the shivering Young Maids to go to the side rooms in the back to avoid the cold.

But without an order from the masters in the hall, no one dared to leave.

"Clang... clang..."

The night rain was continuous, falling all night long, and the lanterns hanging in the corridor also swayed in the cold wind all night.

The next day, the rain eased slightly.

Several Young Maids and matrons kept covering their mouths and sneezing, clearly having caught a chill the night before.

The people in the main hall were no better off.

A certain side room.

Luo Zijun lay on the ground, eyes open, gaze hollow, with an expression of utter despair. He was now starting to wonder what exactly he was working so hard to cultivate for every day?

From the Martial Artist First Realm to the Martial Artist Fifth Realm.

He worked hard to cultivate every day and every night, worked hard to level up, and trained his body to be strong.

Thinking of his tragic and humiliating fate, tears of sorrow could not help but flow from the corners of his eyes.

Outside the window, the night retreated.

When Zhiyuan woke up, she felt her head aching a bit. After lying there for a while, she finally got out of bed and came outside.

At this time, Luo Zijun had already put on his clothes and was sitting at the table reading a book.

Only, his gaze was vacant, and he had not even turned the pages of the book in his hands.

Zhiyuan was stunned for a moment, walked over, and said: "Young Master, did you really not sleep all night? You... eh? Young Master, why is your mouth broken? Your neck..."

"A bug bite."

Luo Zijun said in a flat tone.

Zhiyuan asked with concern: "Young Master, your complexion is so terrible, why didn't you sleep?"

Luo Zijun lowered his head, staring blankly at the book in his hands, and did not answer.

Sleep?

Heh, I want to laugh.

Laughing while crying.

"Let's go, let's go home."

He did not say anything more, stood up, and prepared to go home, but just as he took a step, his legs suddenly went weak, and he collapsed.

Zhiyuan hurriedly supported him and said: "Young Master, are your legs numb? Sit for a while before we go."

"Support me, we leave now!"

Luo Zijun leaned on her, his attitude resolute.

His whole body was covered in wounds, his insides were empty, his complexion was pale as paper, and his body was weak beyond measure; if he didn't leave now, when would he?

If he were seen by others, how would he explain it?

Zhiyuan agreed with a nod and hurriedly supported him as they went out the door.

At this time, the sky was not yet fully bright.

As it happened, people sent by the palace had arrived and were speaking in the main hall.

The people of the Four Great Families were all gathered there.

Luo Zijun had Zhiyuan take a detour, exit through the side gate on the right, walk out of this street circling the palace, hire a carriage, and quickly return home.

Back at Bai Mansion.

Xiaohuan had not yet returned; she should still be at Su Guo Fu.

Luo Zijun gave Ziyuan some instructions, then returned to his room. As soon as he lay down on the bed, sleepiness washed over him like a tide, and his eyes closed quickly.

Then, nightmare after nightmare followed.

When Luo Zijun woke up with a start from his dream, it was already evening.

He had actually slept for an entire day!

Covered in sweat, his heart thumping rapidly, the terrifying scenes from his dream surfaced clearly.

Then, the scenes from last night surfaced one by one as well.

After panting for a long while, he wiped the sweat from his face and sat up on the bed.

His spirit had recovered slightly.

However, he felt his body was still incredibly weak, and his kidneys were throbbing with pain.

"Hiss..."

He swallowed his saliva; his tongue was also very painful, with several wounds on it.

Hmph, but the other party didn't have it easy either.

His teeth had likewise left several deep marks on the other party.

Besides his mouth, there were other places too. Recalling last night, it felt like a nightmare.

Guanyin Temple... Inner City...

How ironic.

But that female flower-thief from last night hadn't used force; instead, she used her specialty—poisons—and released sleeping smoke while he was asleep.

Ziyuan had clearly been hit by it too.

Who could have imagined that in the Inner City, outside the Royal Palace, inside the Guanyin Temple, with so many patrolling soldiers outside and people from the Four Great Families inside, and during a period of national mourning, such an atrocious thing could actually happen?

What about the law?

What about heaven's justice?

That detestable thief, why did she always have to target him?

He had clearly been careful, careful, and even more careful.

"Young Master, are you awake?"

At this moment, Xiaohuan suddenly appeared at the doorway, looking at him with a face full of concern, and said, "Young Master, you have slept for an entire day. Are you hungry? This servant will go heat up some food for you."

"I'm hungry, go!"

Luo Zijun got up immediately; his stomach was truly growling with hunger.

Just as he stepped off the bed, his legs went soft again.

!

But fortunately, walking was not a problem. He went out to wash his face and brush his teeth, then sat in the small courtyard in a daze.

At this time, Ziyuan returned from outside. Seeing that he was up, she hurriedly said, "Young Master, the Third Miss came to look for you. After the Third Miss returned this morning, she came over. Hearing that you were sleeping, she left, and just now she sent someone to ask again."

Luo Zijun said, "Do you know what it is about?"

Ziyuan said, "This servant does not know, but this morning, those young ladies from the Jia Family also came to the manor together."

Luo Zijun was stunned for a moment and thought to himself: Could it still be about Jia Yingchun?

Ziyuan said, "Has the Young Master recovered your energy? Should this servant go notify the Third Miss that you are awake?"

Luo Zijun pondered for a moment and said, "Ziyuan, go tell her that I caught a chill last night and am afraid of passing it to her, so I want to rest at home for a few days and will not be seeing guests for the time being. If she has anything urgent, she can tell you directly, and you can come back and tell me."

"Oh."

Ziyuan agreed and went out the door again.

Xiaohuan soon finished heating up the food.

Luo Zijun's stomach was already growling with hunger, and upon smelling the food, he became even hungrier, immediately devouring it ravenously.

Seeing that Ziyuan had left, Xiaohuan asked in a low voice, "Young Master, your mouth, neck, ears, and even your chest have all been bitten by someone. Was it with Sister Ziyuan last night..."

"It was bitten by a bug."

Luo Zijun interrupted her and continued to devour his food.

Xiaohuan laughed, "That bug is quite impressive; it even had red, fragrant rouge smeared on its mouth."

"Rouge?"

Luo Zijun's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately asked, "Where is it?"

Xiaohuan pointed to his ears, neck, and chest, and laughed, "It's everywhere, but this servant already helped you wipe it off while you were sleeping."

Luo Zijun: "..."

"Xiaohuan, do you remember what it smelled like?"

Xiaohuan thought for a moment and said, "It seemed to have a faint scent of gardenia."

"Gardenia scent?"

Luo Zijun's gaze sharpened, and he immediately committed it to memory.

"Were there any other scents?"

He asked hurriedly.

Xiaohuan said, "It seems there were, but this servant cannot distinguish them."

Then she added, "But Young Master, there must be some on other parts of your body too; this servant hasn't helped you wipe those yet."

Upon hearing this, Luo Zijun immediately got up and went into the room.

"Xiaohuan! Come in!"

Xiaohuan immediately entered the room and closed the door.

At this moment, Luo Zijun had already stripped off his clothes.

He looked down from top to bottom, and sure enough, he found a few more faint traces of rouge.

One of the spots was actually in a critical place.

"Are there any on the back?"

He asked hurriedly.

Xiaohuan widened her eyes and nodded.

Luo Zijun immediately tore off a piece of paper, carefully scraped off the ones on the front, and handed it to her, saying, "Xiaohuan, use your fingernail to scrape it off gently and place it on the paper."

"Oh."

Xiaohuan agreed, took the paper, and extended her finger.

Luo Zijun jumped in surprise, turned his head, and said, "You girl, what are you scraping there for?"

Xiaohuan laughed, "Young Master, that spot is the most obvious one."

Luo Zijun: "..."

After everything was collected, a thin layer of red rouge was smeared on the paper.

Very good, there was evidence now!

Once he had rested well tomorrow, he would take it out to shops and inquire; perhaps he could trace its origin.

The other party's identity was clearly not simple; it was unlikely they would use ordinary rouge.

The better the rouge, the easier it would be to trace.

However, even if he knew what kind of rouge it was, it would likely be no different from looking for a needle in a haystack.

But having hope was better than having no hope at all.

If he were lucky and truly discovered the other party's identity, then he could take his revenge and wash away his shame!

At this moment, Ziyuan returned.

Luo Zijun hurriedly put on his clothes, put away the rouge, and went out of the room.

Ziyuan replied, "Third Miss said there is nothing important, she was just concerned about Young Master. She also said that those young ladies in the Jia Mansion are also very concerned about Young Master and seem to have something they want to say to Young Master. Third Miss said to let Young Master rest well at home and that she will not let anyone come to disturb Young Master again."

Luo Zijun nodded and looked up at the sky.

The sky was dim; it felt like it was going to rain again.

That autumn rain last night had drizzled all night long, leaving everything inside and outside the house soaking wet, and he had listened to it all night, which had left him with a shadow.

After dark, he returned to his room to cultivate.

At the same time.

Jia She took advantage of the night to go out, and the carriage stopped in front of the Sun Family's door.

He carried five thousand taels of silver banknotes in his bosom.

(End of this chapter)