At the first quarter of the Hour of the Pig.
Miss Shu dragged Ning Shisi to Xunyang Marquis Manor.
Zhao Si pushed open the door and said, "Pass through the corridor, then count five courtyards to the right. That is where Jiang Wang is. I'm going to sleep. Make yourselves at home."
Watching Zhao Si leave without another word, Miss Shu and Ning Shisi exchanged a glance, thinking the rules of the marquis manor truly were strange.
Walking along the corridor, Miss Shu said nervously, "Could that Jiang Wang be plotting something?"
Ning Shisi reassured her, "Do not be afraid, Junior Sister. If Mr. Jiang meant to make things difficult for us, we would not have made it out of the marquis manor back then. Why would he invite us now? Perhaps he truly has something he needs our help with."
Miss Shu shot him a sidelong glance. "You certainly call Mr. Jiang rather nicely."
Ning Shisi smiled awkwardly.
As they passed a certain spot, a mournful sigh suddenly drifted over.
Miss Shu cried out in alarm, "Could there be a monster?"
Ning Shisi stopped and looked around. "If there were a monster, Junior Sister should be able to sense it."
Miss Shu immediately shook her head.
Ever since arriving in Hun City, it seemed her courage had grown smaller and smaller. She truly hated this place.
Driven by curiosity, Ning Shisi followed the sound.
"A woodshed?" Seeing the pile of firewood by the door, Ning Shisi found it increasingly strange.
In order to draw out the old man in coarse hemp clothes, Jiang Wang had directly withdrawn even the Black Flame Army soldiers guarding Su Lingyi, giving the old man every possible chance to make a move.
And with only one steamed bun a day, no physician summoned to treat Su Lingyi's wounds, and merely some simple bandaging, there was no need to worry that Su Lingyi could escape.
Summoning her courage, Miss Shu peered inside through the crack in the door.
"Who is it..." Lying atop a pile of firewood, Su Lingyi, who had lost all will to live, heard the movement outside and asked in a hoarse voice.
His hair was disheveled, his face bloodless, and he was weak to the extreme.
Had he not already completed Foundation Establishment and been able to draw upon the Qi of heaven and earth to cling to life, Su Lingyi would have long since had no life left to cling to, given the way Jiang Wang treated him.
And that was precisely what Jiang Wang had calculated.
"Who are you? Why are you staying in the woodshed?"
Su Lingyi frowned slightly. "You are not from the marquis manor?"
Without waiting for those outside to answer, he continued in a hoarse voice, "No matter who you are, please save me. That thief Jiang Wang is detestable. He locked me up here and has ignored me entirely..."
Struggling to shift himself toward the woodshed door, he said again, "I am a disciple of Fish Abyss Academy. So long as you save me, I will surely reward you handsomely."
Ning Shisi had originally intended to pull Miss Shu away. Seeing Jiang Wang as a cultivator at the peak of Dongming, he had no desire to meddle in idle affairs. But upon hearing the identity of the person inside the woodshed, his body stiffened slightly.
"Fish Abyss Academy?"
Ning Shisi did not actually like the people of Fish Abyss Academy in the Divine Capital very much, but a disciple of the academy being imprisoned in Xunyang Marquis Manor in Hun City was an extremely serious matter.
"Why did he imprison you?" Ning Shisi did not act rashly, instead asking for the reason.
Su Lingyi said bitterly, "Jiang Wang wants to use me to coerce Fish Abyss Academy. His purpose is as clear as day. The Grand Sacrificer of the Divine Capital is revered as the Confucian Saint and is also the Imperial Tutor. What Jiang Wang has done is no different from treason. Once I get out, I will report this to His Majesty and have that thief Jiang Wang sliced into a thousand pieces!"
Ning Shisi's expression turned solemn.
If the person in the woodshed spoke the truth, Jiang Wang's crimes were indeed monstrous.
Just as he was about to open the woodshed door.
A light cough suddenly sounded behind him.
Jiang Wang looked at them with a smile and said, "You two, I invited you into my manor, so you are guests. But guests should also understand the rules. How can you run around my manor at will?"
Miss Shu immediately said, "That one-armed man told us to make ourselves at home!"
Ning Shisi pulled Miss Shu back and said gravely, "Mr. Jiang, is the person locked in the woodshed truly a disciple of Fish Abyss Academy?"
Though he feared Jiang Wang's strength at the peak of Dongming, he still possessed a chest full of hot blood when it came to crucial matters.
"That is correct." Jiang Wang nodded and said with a smile, "Miss Shu should know that I once defeated Cai Tanggu on Qixia Street. You can easily inquire into the cause of the matter. Cai Tanggu intended to take revenge, so it was not excessive for me to keep a safeguard for myself, was it?"
Miss Shu seemed to recall it only then. The people at Garrison Headquarters had explained the full course of events very clearly, and she immediately repeated it all to Ning Shisi.
"Even so..." Ning Shisi hesitated. "It is still inappropriate for Mr. Jiang to detain a disciple of Fish Abyss Academy. Moreover, there seems to be some misunderstanding in this matter. If Cai Tanggu truly comes for revenge, I can help explain things for Mr. Jiang. I believe Fish Abyss Academy will show some consideration. Why not release this person..."
Jiang Wang looked deeply at Ning Shisi. For this fellow to make Fish Abyss Academy show consideration, his identity was not simple.
Yet his heart was exceedingly vicious.
He actually wanted to plead my case?
I cursed for tens of thousands of words and painstakingly waited for Cai Tanggu to return for revenge. Wouldn't what you are doing make all my efforts go down the drain?
Is this something a human being could do?
Jiang Wang's expression turned cold as he said in a deep voice, "I invited Miss Shu into the manor. Where did you pop out from? Be careful, or I'll accuse you of trespassing into a private residence!"
Ning Shisi stood there in a daze.
What was going on?
I was clearly acting out of goodwill.
Miss Shu could not help saying, "Jiang Wang, are you really sick? How can you not distinguish good words from bad?"
The coldness on Jiang Wang's face instantly turned gentle, and he said with a smile, "Miss Shu, there are some matters that are not for you to handle. And as for matters that should be handled, who knows? Sometimes good intentions can do bad things. Let us pretend nothing happened just now. Come, I'll treat you to tea."
Miss Shu said in amazement, "You changed your face quickly indeed."
Jiang Wang cupped his hands. "You flatter me, you flatter me."
Miss Shu curled her lip. "I have never seen such a shameless person."
Jiang Wang waved his hands repeatedly. "Stop praising me. Please, stop praising me."
Miss Shu: "..."
"Evil thief! Do not use your glib tongue and fair words to deceive others!" Su Lingyi's voice came from the woodshed, brimming with hatred. "When the Grand Sacrificer comes to Hun City in person, you will have no good fruit to eat. Keep being pleased with yourself. We shall see who has the last laugh!"
Jiang Wang said helplessly, "There you go again. If you truly have any brains, shut your mouth. If you threaten me again, I will not be able to keep you alive."
Su Lingyi obediently fell silent.
Having been locked up for so long, he was indeed close to going mad, but he also understood what it meant to recognize the times. He did not dare truly stake his life here.
Jiang Wang led Miss Shu and Ning Shisi away from the woodshed.
"The woodshed is crude, secluded, and unguarded. Mr. Jiang speaks harshly, yet there is no real fact of imprisonment. That person may be injured, but it should not be enough to keep him from leaving. Is that not very strange?"
Following behind, Ning Shisi whispered to Miss Shu.
Miss Shu lowered her voice as well. "This marquis manor is strange to begin with. Jiang Wang looks so weak he could barely withstand the wind, yet he has a lame butler who is actually an expert, a one-armed servant, and a maid who carries a huge sword all day long. Which one of them is not strange?"
"Whispering right in front of me? Do you think I cannot hear just because you lowered your voices?"
Jiang Wang turned back to look at them, thinking their minds were not especially quick.
Ning Shisi felt somewhat awkward.
Miss Shu, however, said directly, "Then tell us. What were you thinking, locking someone in a woodshed in such a secluded place without a single person guarding him?"
Jiang Wang said, "There were originally people watching him, but they were withdrawn due to other matters. I am also curious. Why did that fellow not escape? Was he injured too badly to even push open the door, or did he foolishly think the guards were hiding in the shadows and simply not dare risk escaping?"
Miss Shu froze for a moment.
Ning Shisi said suspiciously, "Could it be that he is overly cautious? Even with an opportunity to flee placed before him, he does not dare take the risk lightly?"
Jiang Wang smiled. "That is why caution is not always a good thing. Just as the clever are often misled by their own cleverness, he is trapped in the woodshed only because he thinks too much."
He did not care much whether Su Lingyi left the woodshed.
Though the woodshed was in a secluded spot, leaving the manor required passing through many places. Given Su Lingyi's current condition, he could not climb over the walls either. And on the necessary route out of the manor, Xiaoyu was practicing her sword.
When it came to martial training, Xiaoyu was very serious.
Other than when she ate and slept, or when Jiang Wang needed Xiaoyu to accompany him, she was basically always practicing her sword.
And within the marquis manor, Xiaoyu had always risen the earliest and slept the latest.
Now that she had truly stepped onto the path of a martial artist, not even the rustle of wind or grass within the marquis manor could escape her notice.
Whether Su Lingyi was in the woodshed was not important, so long as he had not left the marquis manor.
After returning to Jiang Wang's courtyard, he immediately lay down in a wicker recliner and gestured for Miss Shu and Ning Shisi to sit.
Getting straight to the point, he said, "There are reports that a great monster may have appeared in Hun City. I invited you two into the manor because I want you to help find the monster's trail."
Ning Shisi looked around. Aside from the wicker recliner, there was nothing else in the courtyard to sit on. He could only remain standing as he asked in confusion, "Mr. Jiang, I have seen your actions in slaying monsters. If it is merely to search for a monster, why ask us for help?"
He also thought to himself that Jiang Wang had just said he had invited only his junior sister, yet now he changed his words very quickly.
Jiang Wang said with a smile, "Because I am lazy."
Ning Shisi widened his eyes. He truly had not expected that reason.
Miss Shu still suspected Jiang Wang of being a monster and asked warily, "Could you be using the excuse of searching for monsters to harm us?"
Jiang Wang said with amusement, "Miss Shu, your caution truly rivals Su Lingyi's. One should indeed be cautious when walking the mortal world, but do not be cautious in everything, or you will miss many opportunities. If you find the monster's trail, simply lure it here. There is no need for you to fight the monster head-on."
Ning Shisi nodded. "If a great monster has truly appeared in Hun City, then it is our bounden duty."
Though Su Lingyi's case stood before her as a warning, Miss Shu remained very cautious.
She looked at Jiang Wang with a face full of suspicion. She had originally thought that someone good-looking should not be bad, but reality had proven that Jiang Wang was rotten to the core.
Even if she had to be more cautious, she did not want to be deceived again.
"Miss Shu... what is your name?"
Jiang Wang suddenly asked.
Miss Shu was stunned. "I did not call out?"
Jiang Wang fell silent, then asked again, "I mean, what is your name?"
Miss Shu snorted coldly. "Why should I tell you?"
But before her words had even faded, Ning Shisi had already said, "My junior sister's surname is Shu, given name Ni. I am Ning Shisi, from the Divine Capital."
Miss Shu immediately said resentfully, "Your mouth moves far too quickly!"
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