The young servant saw the man before him staring fixedly at the notice, then opening his mouth, but no sound came out.
Not only was his face ugly, but his temperament was also strange. What an odd fellow, the servant thought to himself.
The innkeeper, having seen his share of the world, asked calmly, "Guest, do you want this?"
Seeing the other standing woodenly before the counter, the innkeeper thought he might be illiterate and too embarrassed to speak, so he kindly read it out for him: "The person who posted this notice is looking for a child. The child is nine years old, named 'Qin Yanzhou', with short hair, fair skin, peach blossom eyes, and about five feet seven inches tall. Hmm, the bottom half is missing. Can't see the information of the poster or the reward amount, nor do we know where this missing person notice came from."
A moment after the innkeeper finished speaking, the young man standing before the counter finally moved. He reached out again and took hold of the notice in his hand.
The crumpled mulberry paper turned around.
The young man lowered his head, reading the contents word by word, and used his scarred fingers to repeatedly trace over that name.
The handwriting wasn't elegant, and the ink had bled considerably.
As the mulberry paper had gotten wet and dried, the characters for "Qin Yanzhou" on it had also become less clear, requiring some effort to make them out, but they were indeed there.
Others had seen it, read it aloud, and he had seen it too, and could even touch it.
It wasn't a dream.
So, it really wasn't a dream!
Only one person would use this name and this description to search for him...
A small splash suddenly bloomed on the mulberry paper, a spot the size of an ink drop getting wet.
"Ah, guest, why are you..." the innkeeper exclaimed in surprise.
"Where did this notice come from?" Quanjie looked up, his gaze fixed tightly on the two of them.
His face still showed little expression—wooden, stiff, as if wearing a carved mask. If not for the redness around his eyes, one would hardly have noticed he had just shed hot tears.
The young servant was still afraid of him, but now, looking into those dark eyes again, they seemed vastly different from before.
How to describe it?
It was as if spring had returned to the earth, and sweet rain had fallen from heaven.
Thus, in the desolate wilderness, a tiny blade of grass had sprouted. The sprout was tender and fragile, easily broken, and with a little force, it could be uprooted. But it had indeed emerged, dotting that barren, lonely world.
"I... I found it in the courtyard just now. Last night was windy and rainy, it was probably blown here from elsewhere by the storm," the servant said in a low voice.
Quanjie carefully rolled up the mulberry paper in his hand and, without a word, took it and walked out of the inn.
"Ah, guest! What about your noodle soup?"
"Uncle Ping, since he doesn't want his noodle soup anymore, can I have it?"
A heavy rain had washed away nearly two days of stifling gloom; the morning air had become incredibly fresh and clear.
The commandery was bustling early in the morning. The market was crowded and noisy, shops had their doors wide open, street vendors were out selling their wares, and customers streamed in and out continuously.
Quanjie walked along the noisy street. At first, he tried to unfold the mulberry paper in his hand to ask questions, but people, seeing his face, immediately avoided him as if he were the plague. Often, before he could even open his mouth, they had already hurried away.
Quanjie stood still, suddenly feeling a sense of bewilderment.
The passersby seemed to be wrapped in a layer of gray clothing, the shops were gray and black too, everything looked like an ink wash painting.
Everywhere was the same, utterly unremarkable, with no point of breakthrough.
"Are you waiting to buy something from my shop? If not, don't stand there blocking my business." A vendor who was late today saw a human post standing in front of his shop and immediately waved to shoo him away.
Quanjie, as if waking from a dream, took two steps to the side.
He was still somewhat dazed, his gaze unconsciously following the vendor. He saw the man open his shop door, then pull out a piece of burlap and some paste from somewhere, and with a smack, stick the burlap onto the door plank.
On the burlap were two large, clear characters: Clearance Sale.
No one noticed that the vendor's slap had shaken not only the door plank under his palm but also the young man standing not far away.
Quanjie's pupils contracted, his mind was greatly shaken, and many forgotten images resurfaced.
The pitch-black night, the patrolling guards and night watchmen on the street, the black-clad night travelers. The place where he had stood leaning against the door that night—behind him, there seemed to have been a notice.
Following his memory, Quanjie returned to the street from last night. That street had many shops; he only remembered the general area.
Holding the notice, he first went to a rice shop.
"This? I know about it, Old Gao next door posted it. Just yesterday. I even asked him in the afternoon why he posted this. He said he got advice from a wise man, might be able to win big with a small stake, get a mountain of gold for free. Probably the strong wind last night blew the notice away, and that's how you found it. You're asking where Old Gao's shop is? Go out, turn right, it's the next shop, Gao's Sauces. Just a few steps away," the rice merchant said with a laugh.
Quanjie thanked him and went out with the notice.
It was indeed just a few steps. He saw the neighboring condiment shop with its "Salty Stone" flag fluttering.
Merchant Gao had opened early to welcome customers. He had just seen off a few servants from wealthy families who came to buy Salty Stone and was about to take a sip of water to soothe his throat when he caught sight of someone else approaching from the corner of his eye.
He felt pleased—hey, probably another customer for Salty Stone. Ever since he started stocking Salty Stone, his business had been getting better and better.
So good, really, so good.
Merchant Gao was smiling as he prepared to greet the guest, but was caught off guard by the visitor's face. Before he could adjust his expression, he heard the guest ask:
"Did you post this notice?"
Merchant Gao's eyes followed the words downward and saw the familiar mulberry paper. When he opened the shop this morning and found the notice gone from the door, he had felt a bit sorry about it. He never expected it to return so soon.
"Yes, I posted it," Merchant Gao said, reaching out to take it.
Quanjie didn't hand it over, only unfolded it to show him the incomplete notice, then asked, "Who issued this notice?"
Merchant Gao replied, "It came from the North."
This answer was too vague. Quanjie unconsciously frowned.
Merchant Gao didn't forget to promote his Salty Stone. "You know about Salty Stone, right? Top-quality goods, highly favored by the noble families in the commandery. This treasure is sourced from Ying Commandery up north. When we were getting the goods, an official from Ying Commandery—I heard them call him Colonel—that person entrusted us merchants to gather information. Said he was looking for a nine-year-old child. If we could bring him back, there's a heavy reward..."
As for how heavy the reward was, Merchant Gao could recite it by heart.
Reciting the "heavy reward," he couldn't help but feel tempted. "Guest, could it be you have news about that child?"
"What is the Colonel's surname?" Quanjie asked instead of answering.
Merchant Gao: "I think it's Yan."
Quanjie calculated silently in his heart.
Setting out from here, traveling day and night without rest, with fast horses at full speed, one could reach Ying Commandery in five days at the earliest.
Seeing him persistently asking about "Jinshan" and only questioning without answering, as if money had fallen into his eyes, Merchant Gao sighed and said, "I was just like you before, thinking that finding this child would allow me to become rich overnight and secure my life for years to come. For this, I even specifically went to the slave market in our commandery, but found nothing. Later, I realized it's as difficult as reaching the heavens. If it were truly easy, the Northern Lands wouldn't be offering such a heavy reward. I might as well focus on selling my saltpeter."
Quanjie turned to leave.
"Hey, leave that notice with me. I only wrote it yesterday. Although it's a bit torn, if I fill out the rest, it'll still be usable," Merchant Gao called out.
Quanjie suddenly remembered something. He stopped, but instead of returning the notice, he asked again, "You haven't been selling your saltpeter for just one day, so you should have returned from the Northern Lands earlier. Why did you only post the notice yesterday? Is it as the rice merchant next door said, that all this was guided by a 'mastermind'? Who is this mastermind? Do they hold an official position?"
If the "mastermind" held an official position, it would mean there was someone within Guoyun Commandery who knew more about the situation. Perhaps he could inquire about his mother's recent circumstances.
A barrage of questions hit Merchant Gao, leaving him stunned. After a moment's pause, he scratched his head and said, "What official? It was a young lady. The mastermind was a young lady, incredibly sharp-witted. I hadn't even thought of this strategy myself."
An indescribable feeling coiled around his heart. Quanjie unconsciously quickened his pace of speech. "A young lady? What did she look like?"
Merchant Gao recalled, "She was wearing a veil hat at the time, so I couldn't see her face. But her voice was exceptionally pleasant, like a spring breeze. I remember she was wearing brocade from Yun. Just one gold hairpin on her head would cover several years of expenses for an ordinary family, not to mention she had several sword-bearing attendants. With such an entourage, she must be from a wealthy household."
Quanjie fell silent.
Traveling merchants are eloquent; few are introverted. With no customers in the shop at the moment, Merchant Gao decided to chat with him for a bit, hoping this person might, like the lady yesterday, buy something after their conversation.
"I heard her attendants call her 'Madam,' so she must be married," Merchant Gao said, spreading one hand and counting on his fingers. "There are only a few prominent families in the commandery: the Feng family of Prefect Feng, the Zhang family connected to Chang'an, and..."
"Quanjie."
Both men paused. Quanjie turned and saw Wang Jiang.
Wang Jiang was the companion who had infiltrated the Qin residence with him last night—his only remaining companion.
"So it really is you. What are you doing here?" Wang Jiang stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over Merchant Gao, a hint of scrutiny in his eyes.
Was this man some kind of contact?
Quanjie had no intention of explaining further to him and turned to walk out. Wang Jiang followed.
Seeing them leave the shop one after the other, Merchant Gao muttered, "How strange. Why are they all so interested in that child the Northern Lands are looking for? They came in and immediately started talking about it."
The young man's departing footsteps hesitated slightly.
Wang Jiang said in a low voice, "Quanjie, when are we returning to Gaoling Commandery? We failed last night. Although the commandery hasn't imposed a lockdown or search yet, there's no guarantee it won't happen soon. This place isn't safe to stay."
"Not returning."
Almost as soon as Wang Jiang finished speaking, Quanjie threw out these two cold, hard words without hesitation.
Wang Jiang was stunned for a moment, his expression turning odd. "Are you planning a second attempt? Don't say I didn't warn you. It's just the two of us now. After last night, their defenses will be tight for days to come. Going back rashly would just be throwing our lives away."
Quanjie remained silent.
Wang Jiang was angered by his attitude. "What exactly do you want? Neither returning to Gaoling nor continuing the mission. Don't tell me you're planning to betray our patron?"
Quanjie glanced at him coldly from the side. "Why not?"
Wang Jiang was taken aback by that look. In his memory, Quanjie was a cold, efficient blade, striking wherever its master pointed, more obedient than a dog. After all, dogs sometimes have stray thoughts, but Quanjie never did.
And now, this blade was developing distractions.
"If you dare betray our patron, you'll die without a place to bury your bones!" Wang Jiang was both shocked and furious.
If Quanjie betrayed their patron, what should he do?
As if hearing his thoughts, Quanjie said indifferently, "Do as you wish. We go our separate ways from here."
Seeming to detect a trace of killing intent, Quanjie looked directly into his eyes. "Whether you report my departure to Fan of Yanzhou is up to you. But if you think of taking my head back for a reward, you'd better weigh whether you have the skill."
A dark glint flashed in Wang Jiang's eyes. He suddenly smiled. "Quanjie, you misunderstand. Leave if you want to, what's it to me? From now on, you walk your sunny path, I'll cross my single-plank bridge. Let's not meet again."
Quanjie offered no reply.
The two parted at the intersection ahead. Quanjie went east, Wang Jiang went west.
After a few steps, Wang Jiang looked back, a strange curve twisting his lips.
Quanjie's betrayal came at the perfect time!
Since the mission failed, there had to be a reason. Why not pin everything on Quanjie? That way, the patron's wrath would surely be directed solely at Quanjie, sparing him harsh criticism.
Indifferent to Wang Jiang's sudden change in attitude, Quanjie walked down the street, taking in the surrounding houses and mansions. Merchant Gao's earlier words still echoed in his ears.
A married young lady, her voice gentle as a spring breeze, also interested in the person the Northern Lands sought...
That indescribable feeling grew stronger, completely transforming into invisible threads that entangled his legs, making it impossible for him to leave Guoyun Commandery immediately.
Forget the commandery capital; even in a county, there aren't many families that provide sword-bearing attendants for their womenfolk. He would stay in Guoyun Commandery for two more days, investigate the prominent families here, and then go to Ying Commandery.
Qin Residence, side room in the main courtyard.
"...You said there were assassins last night?" Daili asked in surprise.
Nianxia nodded emphatically. "Yes, Madam. Just now, I overheard the patrolling guards saying that several assassins in black came in the middle of the night. They sneaked into Squad Leader Bai's room, trying to kill him. Thankfully, heaven was watching over him. Last night, Squad Leader Bai happened to get up to use the privy, so the two groups ran into each other right in the room."
Daili asked, "Was Squad Leader Bai injured?"
Bipo replied, "His life is not in danger. I heard he sustained some minor wounds. The commandery hasn't been very peaceful lately, Madam. Please don't leave the residence. If there's anything you wish to purchase, just instruct me to go buy it."
Daili remembered someone coming to find Qin Shaozong late last night; it must have been about the attack on the residence. But speaking of things to buy, there actually was something.
The rain last night came at a most inopportune time, thoroughly drenching all the fish bladders she had been sun-drying on the winnowing basket.
She needed to prepare new fish bladders...
"Madam, from now on, no matter what, I should still sleep in the small side room. If we encounter villains, Nianxia and I can buy you some time," Bipo said earnestly.
Not only did they have enough to eat and wear with little work, but they also received a generous monthly reward. Serving such a master, their lives were more comfortable than those of many young women from ordinary families.
The noble person's advice back then was indeed correct. With just one kneel, the lady's heart softened immediately.
The maid Bipo beside her nodded, "My lady, both Nianxia and I have previously attended to our masters during... marital intimacy. We know what should be done."
Daili: "..."
No, that was not the reason at all.
Just as the atmosphere grew somewhat tense, a tall figure walked in from outside.
As soon as Qin Shaozong arrived, Nianxia and Bipo tacitly withdrew.
"My lord, why aren't you going to the military camp today?" Daili looked at him. Someone had infiltrated the manor, yet he seemed completely unperturbed.
"Not for now. Have you heard about the attack in the manor?" Qin Shaozong sat down beside her.
"I have," Daili asked him, "How many were captured?"
Qin Shaozong: "One was captured alive, two escaped. After interrogation, the captive claimed to be from Qingzhou."
"How could that be?!" Daili blurted out in disbelief.
"My lady finds it impossible?" He gave a slight smile.
Daili: "Naturally, it's impossible. Governor Nangong invited you here to form an alliance against the Qinglian Sect. At this critical juncture, how could he possibly turn around and attack your men? It's not as if he has secretly allied with the Qinglian Sect."
However, by the end, Daili sounded somewhat uncertain, "They shouldn't have secretly colluded, should they?"
On the surface, things were always clear-cut, black and white. But with so many versions of "Infernal Affairs" made, some things are truly hard to say.
A hint of a smile lifted the corner of Qin Shaozong's eyes, "What does my lady consider 'secretly'?"
With only the two of them in the room, Daili suddenly sensed the shift in atmosphere and became wary, looking at him. "If they were sneaking around, they certainly wouldn't do it in broad daylight, isn't that right, my lord?"
Qin Shaozong let out a soft chuckle.
This little fox always had eight hundred schemes up her sleeve when dealing with him.
He first said something similar to what Bipo had mentioned, "The commandery has been unsettled lately. Two of the thieves who infiltrated the manor last night escaped. There's no guarantee they won't return. You will move in with me."
Daili was taken aback, her first reaction being refusal. "They won't come back, will they? Having failed once, the manor's security will surely be heightened. Moreover, with only two of them left, their strength is weak. How could they succeed?"
"Assassination attempts cannot be judged by common logic. Besides, only two escaped. The total number of assassins is unknown. Who knows how many more are hidden in the commandery, yet to show themselves?" Qin Shaozong said calmly.
It was fortunate that the black-clad men last night entered other courtyards. If they had slipped into her side chamber from the eastern window, the distance was too great, and he was already asleep by then. He truly might not have heard any commotion from there.
Daili opened her mouth to speak.
But he made the final decision, "This matter is settled."
Currently, Qin Shaozong had the final say in the entire manor. At his command, Nianxia and Bipo swiftly moved Daili's belongings to the main chamber.
There wasn't much luggage, mainly a pillow and a few pieces of clothing.
Daili tried to salvage the situation: "This isn't proper, is it? It might disturb your rest."
"It's only for a few days. Once the army sets out, you'll have plenty of time to sleep alone," Qin Shaozong suddenly smiled. "Besides, you sleep quite peacefully, my lady. It's no disturbance."
It's just that when she hasn't had enough sleep, her temper flares a bit, and she extends her little fox claws to scratch.