Everyone in Xin Li Garden bowed and greeted Jiang Yucheng as he walked in, but the latter paid them no attention and headed straight to Thousand View Garden. Upon noting his arrival, the guards there greeted him. “Greetings, Eldest Young Master Jiang!”
After the stolen zither incident, Jiang Yucheng tightened the security by dispatching more guards to watch over Thousand View Garden both in the open and in the dark. However, he hadn’t visited this place ever since that day.
Standing by the lake, he looked at the zither room as he asked the guards, “Is there anything unusual lately?”
“No, Eldest Young Master,” replied one of the guards.
I knew it. That zither was the most valuable item in that room. Since that person has already stolen it, the odds of them returning are very low. It’s just that… Who would be interested in that antique zither? Jiang Yucheng then dismissed the guards with a wave of his hand and proceeded to walk toward the zither room, deep in thought.
While that phoenix-tailed zither is indeed quite precious and unique, it’s ultimately just a zither. Besides, almost everyone in the Tianling Dynasty knows that it was Shangguan Yue’s favorite zither. Based on this point alone, there’s no way that person will dare to take the zither out and show it to others, much less sell it. Don’t tell me they just want to keep it for themselves? Jiang Yucheng just couldn’t figure out why that person would steal the zither. On top of that, no matter how hard he tried to recall that person’s features, nothing came to mind at all. Although he once suspected Mu Hongyu to be the perpetrator, her aura seemed a little different from that person’s.
…
Dragon Teeth Mountain.
Jian Fengchi had nothing to do today, so he decided to leave the mountain. When he arrived at the foot of the mountain, he saw an average-looking young man talking to the guard at the entrance. He wasn’t very concerned about it until he vaguely heard Mu Hongyu’s name just as he was about to walk over.
Stopping in his tracks, he looked over and asked, “What’s going on?”
The guard hurriedly bowed to him and explained, “This man is here to deliver a letter from Mu Hongyu’s family, but he refuses to let us receive the letter on her behalf even after telling him that she isn’t around.”
“What’s your name?” asked Jian Fengchi while silently sizing the delivery man up. His face couldn’t be any more than ordinary. It’s a face one will instantly forget when he’s amidst a sea of people, but his eyes are so clear and resolute that they don’t seem fitting on an ordinary person. Most importantly, I find him somewhat familiar. It’s like… I’ve seen him somewhere before…
“My name is Qin Qi, and I’ve helped Ms. Hongyu deliver a letter before. It’s just that it was Ms. Liuyue I met previously.” Qi Han didn’t expect to run into Jian Fengchi—who had met him and the rest of the Thirteen Yue Guards many times in the past—so he was quite worried that the latter might recognize him. If it weren’t for the fact that Xiao Ba’s pill had changed his aura, he was sure that his identity would definitely be exposed this time.
Qi Han maintained a calm expression throughout.
Jian Fengchi instantly believed what Qin Qi said, for he remembered clearly that it was indeed Chu Liuyue who helped pass the letter from Mu Hongyu’s parents. I guess he’s one of those people in Xi Ling City who specialize in helping people to deliver messages to and from Heaven’s Canopy.
“I’m Jian Fengchi. It’s true that Hongyu isn’t back yet. Is it okay if I help keep and pass the letter to her?” Jian Fengchi smiled. “I understand that you might not trust others with the letter, but you probably know that it was I who redeemed Hongyu back then. Therefore, there shouldn’t be any problem with you passing her items to me.”
It was well-known in the entire Xi Ling City that Jian Fengchi had once splurged six million white crystals to bid for Mu Hongyu—the owner of the Faint Yuan Body. According to the Tianling Dynasty’s laws, Mu Hongyu was now Jian Fengchi’s slave, so everything that belonged to her naturally belonged to him as well. Thus, nobody was more qualified than him to keep her letter.
Jian Fengchi usually didn’t really like to mention this matter, nor did he live with Mu Hongyu as master and slave. In fact, everyone on Dragon Teeth Mountain saw Mu Hongyu as their equal and didn’t look down on her because of her identity. It was just that Jian Fengchi knew this to be the most convenient and effective excuse to use in order to get that letter.
Sure enough, the delivery man took out the letter and handed it over to Jian Fengchi after hesitating a little. “Please keep the letter well, Young Master Jian. Be sure to pass it to Ms. Hongyu as soon as you see her.”
Jian Fengchi reached out and took the letter from him while saying with a smile, “I will.”
Qi Han then hesitantly added, “If you see Ms. Liuyue, please show her this letter too.”
“Oh? Why?”
“Because… Ms. Liuyue hasn’t been receiving letters from her family lately. She used to get them quite often, so I was wondering if something had happened. Since Ms. Hongyu is friends with her, the letter might mention something,” explained Qi Han.
Jian Fengchi narrowed his eyes. “You seem to be quite concerned about Liuyue.”
“Ms. Liuyue is our regular customer and is also generous with her money, so it’s only natural that we pay more attention to her affairs,” explained Qi Han calmly.
Jian Fengchi had no doubts about this. In Qin Qi’s line of work, their efficiency tended to increase when they were paid more money. Given that it had been a few months since Chu Liuyue had come to Xi Ling, it made sense that she would pay them generously as this was the only way for her to contact her family.
“Since I’ve delivered the letter, I’ll take my leave now if there’s nothing else.” Qi Han turned around and left thereafter. He actually had no intentions of saying so much, but he had no way to contact Chu Liuyue since she was still at Dahuang Swamp. With all the rumors circulating in Xi Ling City, it was only inevitable that he was worried about her.
Jian Fengchi looked at the letter in his hand, and sure enough, the letter was addressed to Mu Hongyu. The handwriting on it was the same as the letter she had previously received, which confirmed that the letter was indeed hers. For some reason though… Something seems odd about Qin Qi…
He carefully put the letter away before looking up again. Something struck his mind right there and then when he found Qin Qi’s back view strangely familiar. “Wait a minute!”
Qi Han stopped and looked back. “Is anything the matter, Young Master Jian?”
Jian Fengchi ran over and stopped right in front of Qin Qi, his throat tightening as he stared at the young chap in front of him. “You…”
Qi Han seemed to realize that Jian Fengchi had detected that something was amiss. He slowly clenched his hands—which were hidden under his sleeves.
His face and voice are unfamiliar, but those eyes… Jian Fengchi asked, “Have we met before?”
