The bright moon hung in the sky. Those far away shared this moment.
Inside the rear tower of Jinghong Hall, Gu Qingzhao arrived upstairs unhurriedly, carrying the scent of wine. Her gaze swept across the scene. She saw Qingya, barefoot, sitting cross-legged on a large chair, admiring the moon alone with wine, picking at his toes for amusement, wondering what he was pondering.
Thinking that this fellow might soon use this same hand to peel peanuts, Gu Qingzhao felt somewhat speechless. She walked to the side and sat down before asking, “I just heard Langhuan Residence caught fire?”
Qingya lifted his head. “Yes. They said the woodshed caught fire. Nothing serious. It has been extinguished.”
Just as these words fell, a figure flew up without warning. It was Pang Chengqiu.
Qing and Gu glanced over. They immediately realised something was wrong. Under normal circumstances, Pang Chengqiu would not barge in without a sound. Something must have happened.
Sure enough, Pang Chengqiu gave a brief salute before urgently saying, “Master Qing, it is bad. Something has happened. A major incident at Langhuan Residence. It caught fire again. Wang Xueting is dead.”
Wang Xueting is dead?
These words were like thunder, startling Qingya to stand up with his bare feet landing on the ground, and startling Gu Qingzhao to stand up in astonishment.
Even though he stepped on and overturned his own wooden clogs, Qingya could not be bothered. He urgently asked, “What do you mean by caught fire again? How did Wang Xueting die? Make yourself clear.”
Pang Chengqiu said, “Master Qing, Langhuan Residence caught fire a second time. Previously it was the woodshed that burned. This time it was Wang Xueting’s guest room. By the time those outside discovered the fire and rushed to rescue, it was too late…”
Qingya scolded, “Nonsense. With Wang Xueting’s cultivation, even if the entire Langhuan Residence burned, it could not trap him, let alone burn him to death.”
Gu Qingzhao nodded upon hearing this. “Indeed. This death is probably suspicious.”
Pang Chengqiu sighed. “Master Qing, Madam, please hear me out. The informant over there reported that he was not burned to death. The corpse is still intact. Only his face showed a swollen purple state. It is estimated he was probably poisoned to death.”
Hearing of Wang Xueting’s manner of death, a scene inexplicably flashed through Qingya’s mind. That was the Tanhua Scholar’s room, which had exactly the same layout as Wang Xueting’s room. Some things that had previously felt abnormal now suddenly seemed to make sense. He could not help but grit his teeth hatefully and spit out three words, “White Gauze.”
As soon as these words came out, Pang Chengqiu nodded. “According to the described death, it resembles the death of the one previously poisoned at the Coastal Defence Bureau.”
Because of some thought flashing through her mind, Gu Qingzhao was shocked into covering her mouth with her round fan. “White Gauze… Could it be that Tanhua Scholar again? He just happened to be at Langhuan Residence…”
“What do you mean could it be? If he did not do it, I will chop off my own head and give it to your girls to toss around like an embroidered ball.”
Qingya pointed at his own neck and shouted, even somewhat hideous in appearance. Such a loss of composure showed he was truly furious.
He walked back and forth barefoot, fuming. “Just that small amount of stuff, and that dog of a Tanhua Scholar actually split it into two portions to use. Truly knows how to live thriftily. No wonder he normally saves money by living in that broken place. Or did he anticipate in advance that Wang Xueting would come back to settle accounts with him? And he fooled me by saying he had matters to attend to. This fucking matter involved running to Langhuan Residence to kill people and set fires.”
He turned back and shouted at Gu Qingzhao again. “See that? This is the kind of shit your women’s favourite number one talent in the world does.”
Gu Qingzhao sighed. “What are you so anxious about?”
Qingya spread both hands. “You ask me what I am anxious about? I am going to be imprisoned again. This time it probably will not be so easy to get out. He has only been here a few days, and he has already got me locked up twice. Who the fuck do I complain to?”
He turned back and paced back and forth, cursing. “I previously felt something was wrong. I said that dog of a Tanhua Scholar looking for me was never good news. Sure enough, I guessed right. Is this fellow sick? He actually dares to run to the Sea Market and mess around.”
Gu Qingzhao asked, “Is it that serious?”
Qingya waved his hand. The specific situation inside Langhuan Residence previously, he could not clearly explain to people for the moment. What he cared more about now was the circumstances of the incident. He asked Pang Chengqiu again, “What exactly is going on over there?”
Pang Chengqiu said, “The specific situation is still unclear. The news just now almost could not get out. Lu Wushuang has already ordered Langhuan Residence sealed. No one can get out. Anyone’s external contact must go through their hands.”
“Forget it.” Qingya sighed, raising his head to look at the bright moon. “Old Pang, you probably also need to prepare yourself to go in. This time you will probably suffer a bit. What should be said and what should not be said, weigh it carefully in your heart.”
Pang Chengqiu said, “Very well. Then I will go prepare first.”
Qingya waved his hand. Pang Chengqiu turned and left, jumping directly down.
Gu Qingzhao spoke again. “Inside Langhuan Residence, and moreover it is Wang Xueting, how could it be so easy to strike? If it really was that Tanhua Scholar who did it, how did he accomplish it?”
Qingya said, “He only met Wang Xueting once. I am afraid he did something during that meeting. I am also thinking how he accomplished it. But since I do not know the situation at the scene of the incident now, I have no way to infer. In short, that dog of a Tanhua Scholar has used me again. Is this bullying me because I dare not report him?”
Gu Qingzhao frowned. If it really was this situation, it would probably indeed be inconvenient to report. Anyone could report, but only their side was somewhat inconvenient.
“You must inform the godmother of the situation. This time the prison disaster, if not entered then so be it, but once entered it probably will not be so easy to get out. Because my suspicion is probably even greater than that dog of a Tanhua Scholar’s, and yet I simply cannot confess and expose the Tanhua Scholar. I can only tough it out. The godmother’s side needs to take action, otherwise Old Pang and I will find it hard to get out.”
“How could your suspicion be greater than his?”
“I don’t know what nerve I got wrong. I came out of Wang Xueting’s room, then later ran back in. For a bit of small money, I repeatedly entered Wang Xueting’s room. The key is who knew that dog of a Tanhua Scholar would actually dare to kill Wang Xueting? I estimate Wang Xueting himself could not have dreamed he would be preemptively struck by someone. In short, whether in terms of time spent in Wang Xueting’s room, or number of times entered, I exceed the dog of a Tanhua Scholar.”
Gu Qingzhao was somewhat speechless. Put this way, it did indeed make some sense.
Qingya did not waste words. He began to recount his situation inside Langhuan Residence, including his own suspicions about Yu Qing’s three martial brothers. He wanted Gu Qingzhao to relay all relevant information to that godmother, to prepare for unforeseen circumstances.
A large group of Coastal Defence Bureau personnel entered Langhuan Residence.
The man leading them had a sinister face, missing one ear, with rather long arms that hung down to almost knee level when at rest. He looked around like a hawk and wolf as he passed through the garden, soon meeting with Lu Wudang.
This person was precisely Xi Qingyue, the Coastal Defence Bureau’s great chief guard, who controlled the Coastal Defence Bureau’s main armed personnel. He and Lu Wudang were of the same faction, both being the Fifth Cave Master’s people.
The two met inside a pavilion, standing beside Wang Xueting’s corpse.
Xi Qingyue reached out to turn Wang Xueting’s cheek and look, his brows slightly moving. “He should have been poisoned by White Gauze, the same death as Marquis Wen.”
Lu Wudang took out a list for him. “The people on this list are all those who saw Wang Xueting yesterday and entered Wang Xueting’s room. This is all we currently know. Arrest them for interrogation first. If I think of others I will add them later.”
Xi Qingyue looked at the list for a while, discovering most were unfamiliar names, mostly disciples of Zheluo Mountain. As he looked, he suddenly raised his head and asked, “Qingya and this Yu Qing also met Wang Xueting at Langhuan Residence?”
Lu Wudang said, “They met. I even feel Qingya is the most suspicious. At the time I felt his behaviour was somewhat abnormal. The specific situation, I will have someone cooperate with you to explain clearly. Oh, this Yu Qing is actually that A Shiheng who claims to be the number one talent in the world. You should know, right?”
Xi Qingyue said, “I know. I found out during the investigation after Marquis Wen’s death. The night Marquis Wen was poisoned by White Gauze, this Tanhua Scholar and Qingya met at Jinghong Hall. Now Wang Xueting has been poisoned by White Gauze, and the two of them appeared together again. I think this is probably not a coincidence.”
Lu Wudang felt regret upon hearing this. “Hearing you say this, if it really is related to that Tanhua Scholar, it is rather a pity.”
Xi Qingyue asked, “How so?”
Lu Wudang said, “With Langhuan Residence’s style, always hanging copied paintings and calligraphy, it feels somewhat damaging to the class. I heard the Tanhua Scholar himself had come to the Sea Market, and I wanted to look for him. Who knew that by the time I learned the news, he was already involved in Marquis Wen’s death, and seemed to also be connected to a traitor inside the Coastal Defence Bureau. It was rather inconvenient for me to look for him.
Now this Tanhua Scholar has finally come to stay here, delivered to my door. I wanted to find an opportunity to speak, to see if I could obtain a few poems, lyrics, or pieces of calligraphy for a heavy price. Then I saw he was living under a false name, and truly did not know how to open my mouth. Making a guest unhappy is not Langhuan Residence’s rule. I was still pondering whether to try opening my mouth when he left, and now you suspect him of being related to Wang Xueting’s death.” He shrugged, as if giving up.
“Come in.” Xi Qingyue turned back with a shout.
Someone outside immediately came to receive orders. He handed the list to his subordinate, ordering arrests according to the list. Afterwards he ordered people to investigate the murder scene and the two fire scenes.
Before long, Yu Qing’s door was knocked open. No matter how innocent the expressions on the three martial brothers’ faces were, the room was still searched and the people were still taken away.
Over at Jinghong Hall, Qingya and Pang Chengqiu did not escape. A team of Coastal Defence Bureau personnel rushed in and directly arrested the two. This time Qingya did not dare to hard confront the arresting personnel, honestly submitting to capture.
As for those inside Langhuan Residence who had no dealings with Wang Xueting, they were also temporarily detained inside Langhuan Residence. Until the matter was sorted out, no one was allowed to leave, causing many guests to complain, but there was nothing they could do.
Haixiao Pavilion, one of the few shops in the Sea Market that mainly dealt in gauze silk woven by mermaids. On the other hand, it was also a secret outpost set up by the Jin Kingdom military in the Sea Market.
The shop was not very large, but its floors were relatively high.
On the top floor, a handsome and elegant young man stood with hands behind his back before the window. He wore a grey scholar’s robe, with fair skin, exuding a refined air. But the brilliance flashing in his eyes revealed intelligence and wisdom. He was someone who looked very comfortable at first glance.
He was gazing at the Sea Market’s colourful lights, his face showing a reminiscing expression, as if the scene stirred his emotions. He muttered repeatedly, chewing over one sentence, “The world’s prosperity has none of me, the years in the mountains are without peer…”
A knocking sound arose. After the handsome man said “Enter,” the door opened, and a graceful and charming woman in white entered, her demeanour serene and quiet.
Seeing he was still standing at the window, the woman in white said in surprise, “Young master, you have travelled long distances to arrive here. Are you not tired enough? Why have you not yet rested?”
The handsome man turned around, as if anticipating she had brought something. He reached out to her. “Give it to me.”
The woman in white smiled bitterly, and had no choice but to offer a small roll of paper with both hands.
After the handsome man spread the paper and read the densely packed contents, he could not help but shake his head and sigh. “Our number one talent in the world is still such a scoundrel.”
He finished speaking and walked to the desk to sit down. He swiftly wrote several lines with a brush, then handed it to the woman in white. “Have someone immediately deliver this letter to Sweeping Dust Temple.”
The woman in white took it and looked at the contents, surprised. “You actually want to mobilise the Nether Temple to fish people out?”
The handsome man smiled. “This time it probably will not be so easy to get out. He has his reputation to protect him, so perhaps it will not be too unbearable. But the two by his side will probably suffer. Only the Nether Temple taking action can promptly fish them out. Go quickly.”