Li Xuan also looked somewhat uncomfortable.
Both turned their heads simultaneously, stared at their own garments for a moment, then spoke again:
"That butcher is still tied up in my courtyard."
"Could you let me personally interrogate that butcher?"
They spoke in unison, yet about the same matter.
Li Xuan was momentarily stunned.
Lin Ruochu couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
The news of Tao Yuan's escape felt like a pardon to her, calming her mind completely.
She believed Tao Yuan must be living well somewhere using her skills, waiting for her to be found.
Seeing her like this, Li Xuan's furrowed brows relaxed.
Traveling by day, he hadn't worn black but changed into a dark green robe suitable for hiding in the woods.
Accustomed to being a covert agent, he never chose clothes based on mood, only on the location and time—whatever provided the best concealment.
Lin Ruochu glanced at him, noticing how he sat upright, rigid as green onion sprouting from stone, and found it somewhat amusing.
He wasn't masked today; under the dappled sunlight, she could clearly see his eyebrows, eyes, mouth, and nose.
It had been over three years since they last met.
He had tanned, and the skin on his face had roughened.
Apparently, the frontier climate wasn't kind to one's complexion.
Yet, the contours of his face had grown more resolute and sharp.
Three years ago, she was fifteen, he seventeen—both still bearing the innocence of youth when they parted.
Now reunited, his features and demeanor had become sharper and colder, like a hidden blade ready to draw blood at any moment.
Lin Ruochu's heart pounded like a drum. She averted her eyes, then looked back at her own lap.
The Female Ghost grew annoyed, muttering, "What's the use of a handsome face? He's nowhere as noble as my A'Mu."
Li Xuan also felt awkward, even tempted to pull a cloth strip from his robe to cover his face.
Having grown up together and shared countless days, neither expected their reunion to unfold like this.
After a long pause, Li Xuan asked her:
"You're staying at the temple—how can you personally interrogate the butcher with your restricted movements?"
Lin Ruochu replied, "Like last time, I can sneak out at night."
Li Xuan shook his head, "Not now. The bandits are causing havoc outside. The Military Patrol Office is patrolling the mountains all night, and even the imperial guards are mobilized. If you sneak out, you'll easily get caught."
Lin Ruochu looked at him curiously, "Then how did you get in?"
Although Li Xuan's return to the capital was clearly for official business, given his status as a Lin Family Army covert agent, he wouldn't voluntarily interact with the Military Patrol Office.
Most likely, he had sneaked in again.
Sure enough, Li Xuan answered, "My qinggong is better than yours. Sneaking up here isn't hard for me."
He boasted a little.
Lin Ruochu refused to admit this, but now wasn't the time to argue.
She rubbed her chin, pondering how to safely descend the mountain.
Seeing her serious expression, Li Xuan knew she was determined to interrogate the butcher personally.
Since childhood, she had been stubborn—once set on something, not even ten oxen could pull her back, whether it was martial arts or… Shao Mu.
Li Xuan's expression darkened slightly. Finally, he sighed softly and said:
"I'll arrange it."
As he spoke, he pulled a red cloth from his robe, waved it toward the sky, and immediately, a short, low cry echoed through the air.
Lin Ruochu looked up to see an eagle with a wingspan as wide as an arm's length piercing through the layered canopy, landing on Li Xuan's right arm, which was clad in a leather bracer.
The reddish-brown feathers trembled violently twice before the creature tilted its head, fixing its dark round eyes on Lin Ruochu.
Lin Ruochu recognized it as the red falcon used for delivering messages within the Lin Family Army's formations.
Li Xuan took a piece of meat from the pouch hanging at his waist and fed it to the bird, then said to Lin Ruochu:
"I'll leave Feiqiong with you. When you find an opportunity, blow the whistle – three short bursts – and it will come find me. Go to the back hill where we parted last time and wait for me to pick you up."
As he spoke, he removed the whistle hanging from his neck and handed it over.
Lin Ruochu accepted the whistle, holding it carefully in her hand, and replied: "Alright!"
Immediately, Li Xuan raised his arm, and Feiqiong spread its wings to take flight once more.
The Female Ghost's tone was sour: [So what if he keeps falcons? No matter how dashing he looks with them, he's still not as handsome as my A'mu…]
Lin Ruochu stood up and sincerely thanked Li Xuan: "Thank you for helping me."
Li Xuan wore a somewhat helpless expression: "I've heard that so many times it's wearing out my ears. If you truly want to thank me, just take good care of yourself."
He handed over the hairpin he had picked up earlier, speaking seriously: "The sharp edge should always face your enemy."
Lin Ruochu accepted the hairpin, thinking how her earlier actions must have seemed no different from suicide in his eyes, feeling slightly embarrassed.
"I won't… do that again…"
Li Xuan nodded.
"I'll search for Tao Yuan and let you know when I have news. You…"
"I'll be waiting for you!"
Lin Ruochu quickly finished his sentence.
Seeing the faint light rekindled in her eyes, Li Xuan smiled inwardly – his efforts these past few days hadn't been in vain.
He turned and stepped onto the green leaves, disappearing into the forest within a few steps.
Lin Ruochu stood alone for a while, gazing in the direction where he had vanished, before finally turning to head back.
The Female Ghost muttered incessantly: [You, don't drag me into having an affair! My heart belongs only to A'mu!]
[Oh no, oh no! If A'mu sees this he'll definitely misunderstand! He must never find out…]
Her words completely portrayed herself as the rightful owner of this body, entirely forgetting that she was the scoundrel who had stolen someone else's body and ruined their life!
Though Lin Ruochu didn't understand the meaning of "having an affair," she was still infuriated by what she heard.
Walking briskly through the woods, she spotted a grass snake swiftly slithering past her feet and immediately conceived a plan. Letting out a startled cry, she fell to the ground.
"Ouch! There's a snake!"
As she fell, she quickly used the hairpin in her hand to prick her calf.
The needle-like sting instantly snapped the Female Ghost out of her endless complaints.
[Ah?! A snake?! It hurts! Did the snake bite me?!]
She hadn't seen clearly, only catching a glimpse of something long and thin quickly disappearing.
Lin Ruochu's startled cry combined with the stinging pain in her leg immediately threw the Female Ghost into panic:
[Why would there be a snake here? What kind of godforsaken wilderness is this place? Sob sob, is this snake venomous? Waaah…]
Hearing her sobs, Lin Ruochu continued exclaiming as if to herself: "This snake – it's a bamboo viper! Highly venomous! One bite can kill you instantly! I… I… I can't breathe…"
As she spoke, she covered her face with her long sleeve and held her breath.
The sensation of oxygen deprivation, combined with the stinging pain in her leg, left the Female Ghost no time to hesitate. She screamed repeatedly, shouting for the System to exchange for life-saving pills.
Repeating her previous trick, Lin Ruochu swallowed the herbal pill she had prepared herself, then stored the real pill in her sleeve pocket. Simply and easily, she had obtained her second pill.
Only the Female Ghost was left behind, weeping in her heart:
[Wuwuwu, why am I so unlucky? I encounter bandits when I go out, get poisoned when I eat, and even get bitten by a snake while walking.]
[The Points I worked so hard to save are now only forty-something left. I earned every single one of them by painstakingly raising favorability.]
[Wuwuwu, I want to return to the Marquis Manor, I want to go back to Linlang Pavilion. When will Amu come to pick me up…]
These sobs refreshed Lin Ruochu's spirit and dissolved her anger completely. She stood up from the ground, brushed off the dust, and hummed a cheerful tune as she walked toward the small courtyard.
In the distance, Li Xuan jumped down from a tree. He picked up the grass stem that Lin Ruochu had tossed aside with two fingers, examining it left and right but finding nothing unusual.
Then what about earlier…
He stared in the direction where Lin Ruochu had disappeared, his eyes filled with confusion.
What exactly had happened just now?