The three of them were slightly startled, their eyes flickering with uncertainty.
"What exactly is wrong?"
"I can't quite put it into words. It's just a feeling. You know what I mean, right?" Xu Xian asked instead of answering.
Song Qingshu shook his head. "I don't."
Ruan Zhong rubbed his chin. "I get a bit of it, but not much."
This earned him three simultaneous eye-rolls.
Ruan Zhong tried to save face, adding, "I just thought that kid looked shifty. It made me uncomfortable. As they say, the face is the mirror of the soul. Look at our Wendao Sword Sect disciples—who among us isn't like me? Heroic brows, bright eyes, and an aura of righteousness..."
Ignoring Ruan Zhong, Nangong Ning spoke slowly. "Actually, I find it strange too. He was far too calm. Think about it—five people in a branch office, one is missing, and the Hall Master has vanished without a trace. Yet he acts as if nothing happened."
"Now that you mention it, that is true," Song Qingshu agreed.
Ruan Zhong remained unconvinced, saying carelessly, "You guys are overthinking it. You're just being paranoid. Maybe he's just like that—a steady character. Just like me: though Mount Tai collapses before me, I would not blink."
Nangong Ning looked at him with disdain. "That's enough out of you."
Song Qingshu’s face darkened. "Would it kill you to stop bragging for once?"
"A man can't even tell the truth anymore?" Ruan Zhong muttered.
Xu Xian remained silent. That wasn't what he had been referring to.
However...
Ruan Zhong did have a point; perhaps he was indeed overthinking things.
Pulling his thoughts back, Xu Xian’s gaze fell on the Xuan paper in Ruan Zhong's hand. A single word suddenly escaped his lips.
"Paper."
Hearing this, the three of them stopped their bickering and looked at him in confusion.
Xu Xian said calmly, "Find someone to ask if this paper is produced in Yecheng."
Nangong Ning and Song Qingshu were stunned for a moment before the realization hit them.
Nangong Ning nodded. "Understood."
Song Qingshu gave a thumbs up in admiration. "As expected of the Little Grand-Uncle. You've enlightened us with a single word. Impressive."
Xu Xian smiled modestly. "Let’s get the answer first."
Only Ruan Zhong looked utterly lost, glancing between Song Qingshu, Nangong Ning, and finally Xu Xian. He felt completely out of the loop.
"Are you guys talking in riddles?"
Nangong Ning heartlessly snatched the Xuan paper from his hand.
Song Qingshu gave him a meaningful look.
Ruan Zhong looked at Xu Xian. "Little Grand-Uncle..."
Xu Xian interrupted with a smile. "You'll know in a moment."
Ruan Zhong was bewildered. "You guys are really something. Aren't we on the same team? Hey... wait for me!"
A short while later, somewhere in Yecheng...
"We found it. Yunxuan Garden. It's two hundred miles north of the city, in Tianzhu County."
"Let's go."
"Right."
The four of them left the city and headed north via sword control. Xu Xian flew slowly, so he shared a sword with Ruan Zhong.
On the way, Ruan Zhong, who had finally figured it out, couldn't help but ask, "Little Grand-Uncle, how did you think to check the origin of the paper?"
Xu Xian smiled. "It was just a guess."
"How did you guess it? And so accurately! Teach me," Ruan Zhong pressed, determined to get to the bottom of it.
Xu Xian explained candidly, "On the way here, I noticed many bamboo forests within the borders of Yecheng. After entering the city, I saw a paper shop every few hundred meters along the busiest main street. It seems Yecheng’s paper is quite famous. With so many paper businesses, there must be many paper-making facilities. The Hall Master of the Supervision Hall specifically left that item for us to find; he must have wanted to convey some kind of message. Blood was spilled on the paper, yet there were no words. So, I guessed he wanted to tell us there was a problem with the place where the paper is made... Of course, it was just a guess."
Ruan Zhong was deeply impressed. He felt Xu Xian’s analysis was perfect. Lacking a more sophisticated vocabulary, he could only utter one phrase.
"That’s legendary!"
Song Qingshu laughed. "The Little Grand-Uncle isn't just exceptionally gifted; his mind is incredibly sharp as well."
Nangong Ning remained silent, but she wholeheartedly agreed with the two of them.
A mystery she had struggled to solve had been cracked with a single observation. The details were all there.
This Little Grand-Uncle was not only handsome but also brilliant and observant.
At the same time, she firmly believed Xu Xian’s guess was correct—that the Xuan paper was indeed the message.
After finishing his explanation, Xu Xian began to doubt himself. "However, I still can't figure out one thing. If my guess is right, why didn't he just write it on the paper or send the information back to the sect? Why go through such a convoluted process and make us guess?"
Nangong Ning replied, "That’s not strange. He might have been afraid of the news leaking or startling the snake by beating the grass."
Xu Xian nodded. "Perhaps."
The more Xu Xian thought about it, the more he felt something was off, so he simply stopped thinking about it. He had come along to see the world, tag along for the ride, and earn some merit points.
With two nascent soul and one core formation cultivators, they could practically walk through Yecheng unchallenged.
Why should he worry so much?
As the old saying goes: in the face of absolute strength, any scheme or plot is nothing more than a paper tiger.
The four of them soon arrived within the borders of Tianzhu County. Bamboo was visible everywhere, covering the mountain slopes and ravines.
Each stalk soared high into the clouds.
The bamboo here was massive. Standing on the ground and looking up gave one the illusion that they were piercing the heavens; the tops were nowhere in sight.
These were Giant Dragon Bamboo, a variety that could grow up to thirty meters tall—the tallest known species of bamboo.
"Tian" means heaven.
It is high.
It is vast.
The bamboo forests of Tianzhu County were both high and vast. Because they grew so tall, the locals called them "Heavenly Bamboo," which was how Tianzhu County got its name.
As they moved through the county, they encountered an old man in the mountains and approached him to ask for directions.
"Old sir, could you tell us the way to Yunxuan Garden?"
The old man looked at them with a strange expression and asked, "Are you from out of town, here to buy paper?"
"We are."
The old man said, "Go back."
The four were stunned, not understanding why.
The old man lowered his voice intentionally and explained, "Yunxuan Garden has been closed for a long time. The workers all moved away before the end of the year. Where would you find paper to buy? Going there is a waste of time."
"It’s closed?"
The four of them were bewildered. This was unexpected. They quickly asked, "Why?"
Why would such a business just close down? It didn't make sense.
The old man’s eyes darted around as he said mysteriously, "You don't know? That place is haunted. People say that in the bamboo forest behind Yunxuan Garden, you can hear infants crying at night. They say there are ghost infants. Several people have died. The workers were all scared away; no one dares to go there. The owner couldn't find anyone to work, so he had no choice but to close down."
Song Qingshu continued to probe. "How could it suddenly become haunted?"
The old man babbled on, "I wouldn't know about that. I'm just an old man reporting what I've heard. The story has spread everywhere; everyone in the surrounding villages knows..."
The four looked at each other and shook their heads...
If it truly were a case of ghosts and beasts, why hadn't the Wendao Sword Sect received any word of it?
They had only just arrived and might not have known, but Li Feng of the Supervision Hall couldn't possibly have been oblivious.
Xu Xian asked curiously, "Since people died, why wasn't it reported to the authorities?"
"Of course it was reported! I saw several groups of people from the yamen go there. But those are ghosts! Even the officials are useless against them. Everyone says the owner of Yunxuan Garden slept with one of his female workers and she got pregnant. Afraid of people finding out, he buried her alive. That child in her belly has come for his life. These rich people are so wicked; there's nothing they won't do. They committed a sin, and now comes the retribution..."
Clearly, judging by the old man’s tone, the latter part of the story was mere hearsay.
After a few more moments of gossip, Xu Xian didn't dig any further into the details. He simply asked, "We must still trouble you, old sir, to point us in the right direction."
The old man didn't think much of it.
"It’s over that way. Follow this road straight ahead, turn left at the first junction, and keep going."
"Many thanks!"
"Don't mention it. The sun sets early in these mountains and the dampness is heavy. You should head back quickly once you're done; don't invite bad luck upon yourselves."
"Understood."
They bid farewell to the old woodcutter, who hummed a folk song as he departed.
The four of them looked at each other with heavy expressions, reaching a silent understanding.
Ruan Zhong said with certainty, "There is definitely something wrong with Yunxuan Garden."
Infant cries.
Hauntings.
The authorities involved.
Yet the Wendao Sword Sect was never called upon to exorcise the ghosts.
No matter how they looked at it, something was off. Combined with the clue left by the Hall Master of the Supervision Hall, it was hard not to suspect the worst.
Song Qingshu smiled slightly. "It seems we've come to the right place."
Nangong Ning said, "Let’s go. We should get things done before it gets dark..."
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