Wen Chaoshen left the county office and imdiately spotted a woman standing by the wall not far away, arms crossed, leaning against the wall.
He walked towards her and said, "Did you hear everything?"
A Shui glanced at him, "Do you really think I have ears like the wind, able to hear everything?"
As Wen Chaoshen and A Shui walked back, he recounted the murder on the snowy night.
"But that night, you really did hear it, and so clearly too."
A Shui lazily replied, "Rather than hearing, it was more like sensing the killing intent."
"And now I'm in a bustling market, but that night there was only the sound of wind and snow. How can it be the sa?"
Wen Chaoshen coughed, feeling a slight disillusionnt with this world's martial power system.
He truly believed that cultivators in this world could fly and escape like in the novels of his past life, but it turned out that even strong individuals like A Shui didn't have hearing much sharper than ordinary people.
"By the way, Wen Chaoshen, how did your conversation with Chun Qiong go?" A Shui's question brought Wen Chaoshen back to reality, and he smiled, "Let's just say, we hit it off right away."
A Shui's eyes flickered. "Really? How co it sounded like you two were arguing?"
Wen Chaoshen pointed at her, "Hey, you said you couldn't hear, that's too much!"
A Shui coughed lightly and gently brushed his hand away. "I didn't hear exactly what you were saying, it was too noisy outside... tell about it."
"It's too noisy outside, I'll tell you when we get back."
Wen Chaoshen and A Shui returned to Osmanthus Alley, to Lü Zhiming's small courtyard, where he recounted the day's events to A Shui.
After hearing the details of Wen Chaoshen's conversation with Chun Qiong, A Shui's gaze towards him subtly changed, her tone showing surprise and amazent for the first ti: "Wen Chaoshen, with your eloquence and thoughtfulness, you rank among the top three people I know. You could easily beco an envoy, and even if you can't cultivate, you could still make a na for yourself in history."
Wen Chaoshen scoffed at this, laughing, "But what about the path?"
"Check my past, I'm a refugee."
"Who would dare let soone with such an unclear background beco an official?"
A Shui leaned against the loquat tree, the falling strands of her hair rustling with the leaves, and she said seriously, "This position is different from those in the Royal City or palace. For most people, it's not a desirable job, so as long as you're willing to pay so money and pass the assessnt, you can take the position."
Wen Chaoshen poured himself a cup of cold tea, drank it down, and headed towards the woodshed. "If I had that money, I'd rather treat you to a drink."
Then he added, "I need to finish my work quickly, have lunch, and take advantage of the Mandarin Duck Tower girls' nap ti to thank Xiaohong. If it weren't for her last night, I wouldn't have survived."
"In the afternoon or evening, let's go to the county office and examine the corpse with Chun Qiong."
"I have a feeling there might be more clues on Liu Jinshi's body."
A Shui watched Wen Chaoshen's figure disappear into the woodshed, her gaze gradually becoming distant, her thoughts wandering off to who knows where...
A quick look at "pawread" will leave you more fulfilled.
...
At noon, Madam Lü prepared a table full of delicious dishes.
Since Wen Chaoshen arrived, she had intentionally changed the diet to help him make up for the past three years of deprivation.
After the al, Wen Chaoshen washed the dishes and then left Osmanthus Alley, heading to the Mandarin Duck Tower. To prevent any accidents, A Shui accompanied him. On the way, Wen Chaoshen asked A Shui if her injuries had improved, and she replied, "Flesh wounds heal quickly, in half a month they'll be mostly recovered, and the scars will fade in a few months. But so hidden injuries left by experts are hard to say, maybe when I break through in martial arts, I can cleanse them."
She seed to know what Wen Chaoshen was worried about and added softly, "Though I'm seriously injured, it doesn't affect my normal activities much, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to kill Chun Qiong's guard with one strike."
"As long as we don't leave the city, what happened outside the county that night won't happen again."
"If it weren't for the previous exhaustion, Bai Youyu's sword wouldn't have been able to touch that night."
Wen Chaoshen glanced at A Shui, nodded, and said no more. As they neared the Mandarin Duck Tower, A Shui told Wen Chaoshen to go in by himself, and she would wait outside.
Inside, after so twists and turns, Wen Chaoshen slipped so copper coins to a young-looking girl to notify Si Xiaohong. With Si Xiaohong's consent, the young girl nad 'Lu Zhu' gave Wen Chaoshen a surprised look, wondering why Si Xiaohong, who never easily t guests privately, had suddenly changed today.
But she didn't ask much, simply leading Wen Chaoshen to Si Xiaohong's small building.
The most endearing quality of the girls at the Mandarin Duck Tower was that they never pried into matters they shouldn't.
This was a residence specially arranged for Si Xiaohong by Madam Song Chennan, the manager of the Mandarin Duck Tower. It was usually quiet and secluded, so others wouldn't disturb her while she practiced the zither, and she wouldn't disturb others.
"Brother Chaoshen, last night... are you alright?"
Seeing Wen Chaoshen, Si Xiaohong, who was playing the zither in the courtyard, let out a breath, the worry on her brow easing a bit.
"Of course I'm fine, Xiaohong. I really owe you for last night. I don't have much money or anything to repay you with, but now that I have Qi Kingdom citizenship and am staying in the seventh courtyard in Osmanthus Alley, if you ever need a new tune or any other help, feel free to co to ."
Si Xiaohong nodded, hesitated for a mont, and then asked sowhat awkwardly, "Brother Chaoshen, what exactly happened on your side last night?"
Madam Song had certainly warned Si Xiaohong not to easily inquire about anything other than romantic matters from the guests at the Mandarin Duck Tower.
Don't ask, don't inquire, just make money.
But to Si Xiaohong, Wen Chaoshen clearly wasn't just a 'guest.'
The two were considered friends.
Although they hadn't spent much ti together, their relationship was quite good.
Especially for soone like Si Xiaohong, who had a strong social anxiety trait, a friend she could talk to was even more precious.
Reviews
All reviews (0)