Duan Qianyue and I chased them out of the ancestral hall’s door, only to see that person turn a corner and disappear. By the time we ran to that corner, there was no longer any trace of a shadow.
“Which way?” Duan Qianyue looked at me.
I did not know either. During the day, Senior Sister only said that her home was located near the ancestral hall, and the ancestral hall had a plaque hanging on its door. Furthermore, its structure was different from the other houses, making it easy to find.
The villagers’ houses all looked pretty much the same. I listened carefully to the left and right, but there was no sound at all, so I shook my head.
“Your hand.” He looked at me.
It had just been grazed by a scratch, and while I knew it wasn’t deep, I hadn’t expected it to bleed so much. Suddenly, an idea came to me, and I said to Duan Qianyue:
“You go back to the ancestral hall first. I am going to call for people.”
He didn’t move, but I couldn’t care about that anymore.
“Help!”
“There is a murderer!” I shouted.
As soon as the words left my mouth, Duan Qianyue knew what I was planning, yet he still didn’t leave. It wasn’t until candlelight flickered on in some of the houses and the sounds of talking and footsteps approached that he retreated a bit behind the house.
People successively came out holding torches.
“Isn’t this little Yu Li?” a middle-aged man said.
“There was a man who used sleeping powder to drug my father and mother, intending to come into the house to steal things. I caught him in the act, but he disappeared by the time I chased him here. In my panic, I had no choice but to wake everyone up.”
To increase my credibility, I even displayed my blood-stained arm.
“Check who hasn’t come out yet. They might have fallen victim to that person’s sleeping powder,” I said.
Soon, someone exclaimed, “Oh my, why hasn’t a single person from the Xu family come out? Go take a look quickly.”
With that, everyone hurried toward the Xu house. I followed along. The front door was tightly shut, and amidst everyone’s persistent knocking and shouting, the people inside were finally woken up.
I was in a rush to find Senior Sister. The front rooms were where her parents lived, and several villagers were gathered there. I found another room and was just about to open the door when it opened on its own, and Senior Sister walked out.
“Senior Sister, how are you?” I asked.
She shook her head.
“Let’s go inside to talk,” I said.
“Let’s not go in. It’s a bit messy inside,” she said.
Since she put it that way, I found it hard to insist. Looking left and right to make sure we wouldn’t be overheard, I leaned close to her ear and whispered:
“Senior Sister, check if your jade token is still there.”
She seemed to be in a daze for a brief moment before saying:
“It’s here.”
At that moment, the village chief and his wife also rushed over, hurriedly pulling me to look at my hand with an expression full of distress.
A woman brought medicine for me to apply, and a few others lingered around me while the rest had already returned. They asked me what the thief looked like.
“He was half a head taller than me, around thirty years old, with thick eyebrows, a square face, a scar at the corner of his eye, and very agile martial arts skills.”
They all looked at each other in blank dismay, feeling they had never seen such a person. They had no choice but to head back first, telling themselves to be more vigilant.
I had to head back as well. I told Senior Sister to be careful in all things.
After this commotion, the village chief and his wife acted as if nothing had happened the next day, proceeding to prepare my wedding just the same.
They brought out a set of wedding garments for me to try on before rushing off to the Xu house once again. I simply grabbed some food and went to find Duan Qianyue.
I sneaked into the ancestral hall, only to find it completely empty. It seemed the protagonist had gone off to accomplish some grand task. I put down the food and prepared to go check on Senior Sister.
Just as I was nearing Senior Sister’s house, someone grabbed me. It was Cheng Anfu, wearing an expression that looked as though he was on the verge of crying.
“Junior Brother Yu Li, my jade token has been stolen.”
We had never spoken before, so I hadn’t expected him to actually be my fellow apprentice.
“Don’t panic, Senior Brother. Junior Brother Qianyue’s jade token is missing too, so he should have a way to get us out,” I comforted him.
“That’s good.” He forced a smile that looked worse than crying.
I entered the Xu house and headed straight for Senior Sister’s room. I knocked on the door, and when it opened, Xu Qin Yi was dressed in red attire with a distinct ethnic flair, the silver ornaments on her head chiming crisply.
My eyes lit up, and I blurted out:
“Senior Sister Qin Yi looks so pretty.”
It seemed this was the local wedding attire.
I told her about yesterday’s events, as well as how I went to find Duan Qianyue today and couldn’t find him.
I noticed Senior Sister Qin Yi had grown quieter. Originally, I wanted to ask what our plans were for tomorrow, but since she didn’t speak, I dropped the matter, figuring I would still need to seek out Duan Qianyue tonight.
After dinner, I stayed in my room waiting for the dead of night. When I felt the time had come and was about to head out, I heard footsteps outside the window.
I held my breath and listened carefully. Surely it wasn’t that person from yesterday again?
I grabbed yesterday’s stick and crept out.
Before I could even catch sight of a figure, someone grabbed me from behind and clapped a hand over my mouth.
“It’s me.”
There was never a moment quite like this when seeing Duan Qianyue felt so good.
I brought him into my room with light steps and locked the door.
Impatient to see him, I asked:
“Did you find a way out?”
He stared at me without speaking, deliberately keeping me in suspense, and then smiled:
“Senior Brother’s days have been quite comfortable, haven’t they? You’ve even married Senior Sister, what else is there to go out for?”
Of all times to joke around, he was still doing it. I was genuinely a bit angry, and my expression turned cold.
“Just joking. Senior Brother sure loves to get angry.”
He put away that bantering expression and said solemnly:
“There is a boat at my place, likely built by Duan Qianyue so he could elope with Yu Li. I observed the people in this village. Although they are all fishermen, not a single one of them owns a boat, and they are terrified of the ocean. This defies logic. I suspect the exit to this illusion is on the sea. Tonight, I will drag the boat to the seaside where we entered that day, and tomorrow I will set fire to their ancestral hall. You can take advantage of the chaos and get on that boat.”
“Okay.” I nodded in agreement.
He smiled.
“Senior Brother is quite cute.”
With that parting sentence, he left.
I hadn’t slept well yesterday, but now that I knew the way out, I felt more at ease. Sleepiness washed over me, and I slept all the way until bright daylight.
I kept waiting, and finally, close to noon, someone shouted:
“The ancestral hall is on fire!”
I ran outside to take a look, and everyone was rushing toward the ancestral hall. I followed along, but instead of putting out the fire, I went to find Senior Sister Qin Yi.
I happened to run into Cheng Anfu standing in yesterday’s spot, looking completely dazed as everyone rushed to fight the fire. I told him to follow me, and he obediently tagged along.
We arrived at the Xu house. Senior Sister was still wearing yesterday’s attire, holding a wooden basin as if preparing to put out the fire.
“Senior Sister is too deep into the role as well.”
I took the basin from her hands and pulled her along as we ran toward the seaside.
Without stopping for even a moment, we ran all the way to the entrance where we had come in, both of us bent over our knees and panting heavily.
True to expectation, a boat was there, but no matter how long we waited, Duan Qianyue was nowhere to be seen. Time ticked away second by second, and the fire in the village not only failed to die down but burned even more fiercely.
By evening, the entire village was ablaze, and the heat could be felt even where we were standing.
Cheng Anfu kept questioning me. By the twenty-third time I told him to wait just a little longer, Duan Qianyue finally appeared.
He walked out from that raging sea of fire, completely unscathed. For some reason, I always felt he was a bit too ruthless, but that wasn’t something I needed to concern myself with right now.
We immediately boarded the boat. Senior Sister Qin Yi didn’t seem to have ever ridden a boat before and looked somewhat frightened, so I supported her.
The boat drifted further and further away from the fishing village. The fire consuming the entire village now looked no larger than the size of a candle flame.