Ch. 088.4: Searching for Medicine in the North (4)
Ch. 088.4: Searching for Medicine in the North (4)
Translator: MoonWhisperer, TWIP | Editor : TWIP
At another corner of Feng Huang, there was a room filled with gold and jade in glorious splendor, and inside it was a woman reclining in a rocking chair. While looking at her long fingernails, she asked nonchalantly, "She left the city? Have you looked into when she's returning?"
"News came from the Emperor's side that it will be after three days," one of her subordinates reported.
Then the other said, "Master, should we...?"
The woman picked up a fruit, and her long fingernails stabbed into its flesh. She said, "Since we've been given this opportunity, won't we be letting down the heavens if we don't take hold of it?"
"This servant will go arrange it now."
After getting their orders, the two people who were kneeling on the floor left swiftly.
"Go. This woman truly is truly dislikable! Although she's very capable, it actually makes her like a flower that others want to pluck and pick apart."
An hour had passed by, and Fu Wan San was currently waiting extremely anxiously at Sui Yuan's back gate. When he saw Xia Yuan emerge, he asked her urgently, "Young lady Xia, where's Mistress?"
Seeing Fu Wan San's anxious expression, Xia Yuan brought him to the woods by the lakeside and said, "Mistress has left the city. She's already been traveling for more than an hour now."
"What?" Uncle Fu uttered, blanking out upon hearing Xia Yuan's words. Then he slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Why did Mistress leave at such a critical time?!"
"Uncle Fu, what's going on?" Xia Yuan asked.
Fu Wan San was so anxious that his cheeks were flushed as he said, 'We've got a big problem! There are people who have been secretly investigating Feng Xue House 1. I previously thought they were working for someone in the imperial household, but this is completely not the case. These people have powerful skills, so my guess is that it's some influential force from Jiang Hu! I'd already noticed them before the Mid-Autumn Festival, but they never really did anything all this time, so I thought we could deal with them. However, I can see now that they clearly came here for Mistress!"
Xia Yuan's expression turned into one of shock. A powerful force was looking for Du Xiao Li... Could it be because of that secret martial art book?
Didn't that mean it was dangerous for Du Xiao Li to leave this time?!
"Uncle Fu, which force do you think is looking for Mistress?"
"They managed to break through our barrier, which means their power is not at all weaker than ours. And since they're able to rival Four Seas Manor, that leaves Moon Water Paradise and Yu Sword Pavilion as the only possibilities. I feel like Moon Water Paradise has a greater possibility of being the one," Fu Wan San analyzed.
“Moon Water Paradise..." Xia Yuan murmured as she thought of how Du Xiao Li mentioned Fairy Shui Qing previously and then also thought about Feng Li Shang, a teacher in the institute who knew how to attack with sound. Her heart dropped, and she looked at Fu Wan San anxiously while saying, "Uncle Fu, Mistress went to Mount Yin to find Luo Di Hua. You need to send people out to find her. If necessary, utilize the strength of the Four Seas Manor. I don't think Young Master Luo Qi will disapprove of it. Ying Ge and I can't leave this place. If something happens here, Mistress will be punished. So I'll have to trouble you to dispatch people to search for her. If things are really as we've guessed, then the people you send out need to be of a higher skill level."
"I know. Then I'll go arrange it now." Fu Wan San finished talking and left.
Meanwhile, Xia Yuan looked in all directions to make sure there was no one around, then she returned to Sui Yuan.
On the mountain range of Mount Yan, several white-clothed women were standing in the wind.
Feng Li Shang soon approached and greeted them in high spirits: "Fairy, Senior Sisters, and Junior Sisters."
Seeing him, Fairy Shui Qing asked, "We heard your news and rushed over. You said someone used Sound Arts. Is that true?"
"I've already confirmed it. It's the Du family's third young miss," Feng Li Shang said. "I was passing through a mountain near her manor and just happened to overhear her using Sound Arts to play a bamboo flute."
"Du Xiao Li?" Fairy Shui Qing had a rather deep impression of Du Xiao Li. That dance during the feast... Du Xiao Li's figure had slowly engraved into the hearts of the audience with each beat of the drum. "Didn't she grow up in the mountains and fields? How can she be so multi-talented? If it is her, I don't know if it's possible. Go invite her over-no. It will be better if we pay her a visit personally."
"Fairy, Miss Du isn't in the city currently," Feng Li Shang said to stop her.
"I heard that she's the one managing the school's big competition. Why is she not in the city?"
"An hour ago, she left the city with Northern Qi's prince. They were carrying bundles on their back. It seemed like they're going somewhere far away," Feng Li Shang answered. “I've already sent people out to follow them."
"Since this is the case, let's just go find her ourselves." Once Fairy Shui Qing finished talking, she left with the women behind her, as well as Feng Li Shang. Mounted on horses, they went chasing toward the north.
Currently, Du Xiao Li and Beiling Yi Cheng were rushing along their journey, completely unaware that her departure from the city this time had garnered the attention of so many people.
Beiling Yi Cheng's martial arts skills were pretty good, so the two people had not rested even for a moment during the whole afternoon. When they arrived during the evening at a small town in the north, they casually found an inn to rest for the night. Then they continued on their journey early in the morning the next day.
The north certainly had a much flatter terrain than the south. Additionally, the distance to their destination wasn't actually very far away, so they could now already see an outline of Mount Yin from afar.
As it was presently already October, it was somewhat frigid in the north. The mountains making up Mount Yin's mountain range were taller than the average mountain, so their peaks were now largely covered in brilliantly white snow.
When they reached below the mountains, Du Xiao Li and Beiling Yi Cheng left their horses with a family of farmers situated there. The two people were unfamiliar with the terrain, so they planned to have the family's male head be their guide and take them into the mountains to search for the herb. As such, they gave the family some silver as a recompense.
However, when the family found out that Du Xiao Li and Beiling Yi Cheng were doing this in order to save someone, these farmers became very passionate to help them and were unwilling to accept the silver. It was only due to Beiling Yi Cheng's insistence and Du Xiao Li's persuasion that the farmers finally accepted the recompense. Following that, the female head of the family served up a lunch filled with local specialties for the two people. After eating lunch, Du Xiao Li and Beiling Yi Cheng left as a party of three with the guide and entered the mountains.
References
1. - Previously: Feng Xue Lou