Disappearance

Winter had arrived, and the temperature in the mountains had plummeted. Occasionally, slivers of ice could be seen floating atop the water Ruan Su drew from the well each morning.

However, as their cooperation steadily progressed, the old proprietor's side thoughtfully sent Qin Yi a great many warming furnishings, bedding, and padded winter clothes.

They had even sent so much that the little house lacked space. Ruan Su simply dismantled the small bed Qin Ke had once slept in and used it for firewood.

These things were not part of their cooperation, nor were they particularly valuable, but they truly were charcoal delivered in the snow.

This year's harsh winter was finally no longer so difficult for the siblings to endure.

It was another early morning.

Outside, the cold wind howled bleakly. Inside the little house, warmth billowed. Coal briquettes burned beneath the earthen kang bed, while two charcoal braziers in the corner also gave off heat.

Hearing waves of footsteps outside the door, Qin Yi shakily climbed out of bed. As he pulled aside his fur-lined quilt, he accidentally flung out the warming stove inside. It rolled several meters across the floor before stopping against a pair of long boots embroidered with gold thread.

Nie Junyue bent down to pick up the warming stove. He glanced at it in his hand, then looked toward the pale boy on the bed, who was coughing softly without pause. His expression turned strange.

"Have you... caught a cold?"

Half a fortnight ago, the old proprietor had already sent Qin Yi a "calling card" through Ruan Su. But the newly developed Violent Soul Secret Art had damaged his body even more severely than expected, so his visit had been delayed until today.

Qin Yi picked up the small fur coat by his bed and draped it over himself. He had no intention of telling the other man that he had already begun cultivating, and merely followed his lead.

"I had my sister fetch some medicine. It should be nothing serious."

Nie Junyue walked to the kang and handed back the warming stove. He swept his gaze across the dilapidated little house and suggested softly, "This winter is far harsher than previous years. If you truly do not wish to move to Yellow Bamboo Town, should I call some craftsmen to repair this little courtyard? A house built like this simply does not retain warmth well enough."

"Thank you for your kindness, Proprietor, but there is no need yet."

Qin Yi's face was pale as he gently shook his head. Rising, he walked to the newly added low table in the room and sat cross-legged before it. A stack of rice paper and the warm inkstone sent by the proprietor lay atop the desk. He picked up a wolf-hair brush, dipped it in ink, and said, "Because of my head ailment, I only woke yesterday. I have not yet had time to begin the documents I promised you, so I may have to ask you to wait a while."

Nie Junyue slowly followed him to the cushion opposite the low table. He smoothed his robes and knelt to sit. "I did not come today to urge you to complete the framework laws. There is another important matter I wish to discuss with you."

Qin Yi lifted his eyes, somewhat surprised.

According to Ruan Su, after conducting several transactions with him, the old proprietor had directly begun implementing pilot reforms in several branches of the Immortal Guest House. The old proprietor should have been very anxious at this point.

Nie Junyue smiled and explained, "I came today because of the matter I previously wrote to you about by carrier pigeon."

Qin Yi raised a brow. He was not particularly flustered. After all, he had already pinned the Disrupted Scripture on Meng Peijiu. Setting down the wolf-hair brush, he sat upright and tested, "The matter of finding someone?"

"Yes."

Nie Junyue considered his wording before murmuring, "There are some matters on which I need to first seek your opinion."

Seek his opinion...

Hearing that subtle difference in phrasing, Qin Yi immediately realized that this matter likely concerned him directly, rather than the proprietor wishing for him to offer advice.

What did that mean?

Were those people from the Central Plains not looking for some wealthy young woman?

Suppressing these questions in his heart, Qin Yi stared into Nie Junyue's eyes and asked bluntly, "Those people came looking for me?"

Nie Junyue froze slightly, but soon understood. He nodded seriously. "Yes. Only you fit the conditions."

As he spoke, Nie Junyue stared at Qin Yi for several breaths before hesitantly asking, "But you do not seem surprised by this?"

Qin Yi tucked the warming stove into his clothes, wrapped his fur coat tighter around himself, and looked up in return. "Do you need me to put on a performance of shock or wild joy right now?"

Nie Junyue was rendered speechless.

Qin Yi exhaled, and the breath turned into white mist before dispersing. "It would certainly be false to say I am not surprised. I thought those people had come looking for the girl who died that night. But if they truly came looking for me, it is not shocking enough to make me lose my composure."

Nie Junyue probed, "You... know about your family background?"

Qin Yi raised a hand and tapped his head. "Though I have a head ailment, my memory is still fairly good. I still remember certain scenes from my childhood."

Seeing his calm, unruffled manner, Nie Junyue suddenly did not know what to say. Was it worthy of someone born to a great clan?

"Proprietor, did you come today merely to notify me of this?"

More than ten breaths later, Qin Yi took the initiative to break the silence. A trace of teasing entered his voice. "I do not think that was all of it."

Nie Junyue had long since grown accustomed to his ability to read expressions and observe people. He slowly explained, "Indeed, that was not all. Or rather, the main reason I came today was to seek your opinion on what comes next."

Hearing the sudden change in address, Qin Yi said with interest, "I would like to hear the details."

"I... actually made a deal with your family. The terms were very simple. In exchange for finding you, they will help me kill the Mountain Lord within Compassion Mountain, and..."

At this point, Nie Junyue paused. Only after lifting his eyes to cautiously gauge Qin Yi's expression did he continue.

"...they will also provide Hongyi with a cultivation path called the Soul Mound."

Hongyi was the young proprietor's courtesy name.

Was the young proprietor also a Calamity Seed?

No.

That should mean ordinary people could cultivate as well.

The information he had gleaned flashed rapidly through his mind. Qin Yi narrowed his eyes and asked, "The Soul Mound path... Given your caution, Proprietor, what he showed you should not have merely been verbal claims, should it?"

Nie Junyue fell silent, seemingly considering how to describe it. After a moment, he said in a low voice, "That man directly summoned three ghostly blue phantoms before me. Two were beast-shaped, while one was humanoid. That humanoid phantom..."

He paused, placed his hand upon the low table before them, and tapped lightly.

"...merely tapped like this, and the table immediately caught fire. In only several breaths, it was reduced to ash."

After listening carefully, Qin Yi's brows furrowed slightly.

He could not make sense of it. He did not even have a line of thought to pursue.

After pondering for a while, Qin Yi set it aside. Taking a deep breath, he said slowly, "This is a deal between you and him. It has nothing to do with me. If you managed to obtain it through negotiation, that is your own ability, Proprietor."

Nie Junyue immediately felt the tension in his heart ease. He knew the other party was tacitly approving it.

The transactional relationship between himself and Qin Yi had, from the moment people from the Central Plains arrived, already changed into one between a superior and an inferior.

Those people called Qin Yi the Eldest Young Master.

If Qin Yi objected, Nie Junyue had absolutely no ability to ensure that he could receive the remaining payment from this deal.

At that thought, Nie Junyue slowly rose to his feet and smoothed his robes. With utmost solemnity, he bowed deeply to Qin Yi.

"Thank you, Young Master."

"..."

Qin Yi was not surprised. It would have been strange if the other man still put on the airs of a proprietor. After calmly accepting the bow, he smiled. "There is no need to be so formal, Proprietor. Sit down. Today, I will finish writing the documents I promised you in their entirety."

Nie Junyue was stunned for a moment.

Qin Yi gave a soft laugh. "Was that not why you delayed for so long?"

His thoughts having been seen through, Nie Junyue looked somewhat embarrassed. He tugged at the corner of his mouth and sat back down. "That was not entirely why... If I gave them the result too early, they might think my search work here was far too easy and reclaim the reward."

Qin Yi smiled faintly without committing himself. As he wrote out the framework laws, he said quietly, "Proprietor, there are several things I would like to ask you."

"Please ask."

"Roughly how long until my family comes to take me back?"

"They are in Feng Commandery. Ordinarily, traveling here on horseback would take about half a fortnight. I simply do not know whether they have other means of travel."

"I see..."

Qin Yi considered it for a while, then suddenly asked again, "The mother and daughter at Meng's Cloth Workshop..."

"Little Yi!"

A voice from the courtyard interrupted their conversation, accompanied by the commotion of guards trying to stop someone. But after recognizing who it was, the guards let her through.

Ruan Su, who should have been working her shift in Yellow Bamboo Town, appeared in the doorway. Bracing herself against the doorframe, her flat chest heaved as she gasped for breath. Looking at Qin Yi, she spoke rapidly between pants.

"Little Yi, Meng Peijiu... is gone."

"This morning... when I went to make the rounds, she even gave me a bag of candied fruit. But when I went back just now... she... she and Granny Meng were both gone."