Shen Mingshu frowned and looked up at him. “It was clearly you who deliberately got so close to me.”
Pei Jingheng coughed lightly into his hand, telling a small lie. “I called your name twice just now, but you didn’t hear me. That’s why I moved closer.”
She must have been too deep in thought. Shen Mingshu believed him and responded softly, “Oh.”
Silence returned to the carriage, and both of them tacitly chose not to speak again.
Amid the quiet, something seemed to quietly grow between them.
The crackling of the charcoal fire sounded intermittently, and Shen Mingshu grew drowsy in the jolting carriage.
Pei Jingheng noticed her head nodding, about to bump against the wooden pillar beside her from the carriage’s swaying. He reached out, encircled her shoulders, and gently guided her to lean against him.
He had originally intended to ask her who her master was, but it seemed he’d have to wait until she woke up to continue their conversation.
…
As the first light of dawn broke on the horizon, the carriage stopped in front of an inn.
Pei Jingheng looked at Shen Mingshu, who was still sound asleep in his arms, then slipped an arm beneath her knees and carried her out of the carriage.
Leng Feng and Yue Ying were already used to such scenes and pretended not to notice.
Yun Niang had been tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep. When she heard the knock, she immediately sprang up.
Opening the door, she saw Pei Jingheng holding Shen Mingshu at the threshold. Her expression changed. “Shenshen…”
“Shh, she’s asleep,” Pei Jingheng interrupted, carrying her into the room.
Once Shen Mingshu was placed on the bed, Yun Niang quickly nudged him aside, scrutinizing Shen Mingshu several times to ensure she wasn’t injured before tucking her in.
The group moved to the outer room to talk. Yun Niang knelt before Pei Jingheng. “Thank you, Young Master Pei, for saving my Shenshen. Who knows how long those villagers would have tormented her otherwise…”
Pei Jingheng glanced at Leng Feng, who promptly helped Yun Niang up. “My master asks that you sit while speaking.”
Yun Niang took a seat at the table, and Pei Jingheng said calmly, “There’s no need to thank me. Miss Shen resolved the trouble in the village herself, I did nothing.”
“Even so, your guard escorted me here and then went back to bring you all over. That was no small effort.” Yun Niang was kind-hearted and knew how to show gratitude. “Young Master Pei, please accept these ten taels of silver.”
Pei Jingheng glanced at the scattered silver on the table but didn’t take it. Instead, he stood. “There’s no need for silver. I’ll go rest in the next room.”
Yun Niang wanted to stop him but feared waking Shen Mingshu, so she could only watch as he left.
…
Huaihua Village.
Yin Zhuo stared at the empty courtyard where the Yin-gathering array had been destroyed, his face dark with fury, his eyes sinister.
Shen Xiyan stood at the gate, peering around, when she spotted flames in the distance.
“Master, look over there, such a huge fire!” she exclaimed.
Yin Zhuo turned toward the direction she indicated, his eye twitching violently. His aged voice was hoarse with rage. “Let’s go see!”
Channeling his mystic energy, he strode ahead swiftly, leaving Shen Xiyan far behind.
The village chief and the villagers were gathered around the great locust tree, ensuring the fire didn’t go out.
Meanwhile, they took the opportunity to reprimand Zhang Cuilan and Zhang Dahai.
The two were currently bound by their feet and hung upside-down from a small tree, their mouths gagged as tears streamed upward from their inverted position.
When Yin Zhuo and his group arrived, the village chief immediately had them stopped. “Who are you?”
Seeing so many people gathered here, Yin Zhuo had no choice but to force a smile and said, “Everyone, I am a wandering mystic who happened to pass by. Why is this large locust tree on fire?”
At the mention of a mystic, the village chief and the others immediately changed their expressions.
Yin Zhuo initially thought they were afraid and was about to assume an air of superiority when the village chief took a step back and shouted, “Another damned mystic! Drive him out!”
“How dare another mystic show up! The last one tried to bury our entire village with him, this one must be no good either!”
“Get out! Get lost! We don’t welcome mystics here!”
A group of strong villagers surged forward, forcing Yin Zhuo to retreat in alarm.
Shen Xiyan arrived with the servants of the Anping Marquis Estate and sneered in disgust, “You filthy peasants, do you want to rebel? Beat them up for me!”
The men she brought were all guards from the Anping Marquis Estate, skilled in martial arts.
They clashed with the burly villagers but surprisingly gained no advantage.
These villagers were used to hard labor and were far stronger than the guards.
Yin Zhuo glared at the blazing locust tree and shouted sharply, “Everyone, stop!”
He turned to the village chief. “You just said the last mystic wanted your whole village to die with him. Where is that mystic now?”
“He’s dead! Burned to ashes!” The village chief pointed at the locust tree. “Right there, that’s where he died.”
Yin Zhuo’s face darkened, his eyes venomous as he stared at the villagers. “Did you do this?”
The village chief scrutinized him and asked suspiciously, “What’s your relationship with him?”
Recalling their earlier hostility, Yin Zhuo changed his words mid-sentence. “I have no connection to him. But I want to ask about someone, where is the child Shen Mingshu?”
At the mention of the name, the village chief’s eyes darted around. Could these people be Shen Mingshu’s family or friends?
They must never find out that Shen Mingshu had been forced into a ghost marriage with a corpse, if word got out, he’d lose his position as village chief.
He quickly brushed it off. “Don’t know, don’t know. Stop prying into our village’s affairs. I suggest you leave now!”
The villagers began driving Yin Zhuo and Shen Xiyan away. The guards, already bruised and battered, were no match for the sheer number of villagers.
Shen Xiyan asked, “Master, are these villagers interfering with your plans?”
Interfering? They had completely ruined them.
Yin Zhuo frowned deeply, staring blankly at the distant flames.
Chen Yang was dead, the locust tree was gone, and Zhang Dashan’s spirit must have vanished as well.
The Yin-gathering array was destroyed, and Shen Mingshu was missing.
His sixteen years of meticulous planning had gone up in smoke!
Suddenly, he recalled the charred remains of fabric, the mystic on that carriage must have been the one who ruined everything.
Yin Zhuo said grimly, “Let’s go. We must chase down that carriage immediately!”
Following the wheel tracks, they reached Huaiyang Town but lost the trail there.
Shen Xiyan sent a dozen guards to search the town for the carriage, and they soon found the rental stable.
They learned that the passengers were staying at the Fulai Inn.
Shen Xiyan relayed the news to Yin Zhuo and asked, “Master, should we stay at the Fulai Inn as well?”
Yin Zhuo wanted to find out who the other party was, so he nodded. “Yes.”
The group settled on the second floor of the Fulai Inn. By then, dawn had already broken.
Shen Mingshu woke from her sleep, feeling as though something was missing.
She glanced at Yun Niang lying beside her, who pursed her lips slightly.
No wonder she hadn’t felt particularly refreshed upon waking, it was because Pei Jingheng’s purple dragon aura was missing.
A knock sounded at the door, and Shen Mingshu hurriedly got out of bed to answer it.
Leng Feng stood at the doorway, smiling as he asked, “Miss Shen, would you like to come downstairs for a meal? My master has ordered a table full of fine dishes.”
Turning to see that Yun Niang was also awake, Shen Mingshu nodded in agreement. “Alright, we’ll tidy up and be right down.”
In a corner by the window on the first floor, Pei Jingheng sat before a table laden with dishes.
Noticing movement from upstairs, he turned his head to look.
A glimpse of a pale pink gauze skirt embroidered with gold slowly descended the stairs. The jade ornaments at the young maiden’s waist jingled softly, starkly out of place in the humble inn.
Shen Xiyan, having failed to enhance her innate talent and feeling famished, had decided to grab a bite before going back to sleep.
Little did she expect to encounter a man as breathtakingly handsome as an immortal the moment she stepped downstairs.