Chapter 029: Partridge Sky (IV)
Ni Su had dealt with medicine ladies before in Que County, and she had also heard of medicine ladies who had killed people and were running away. She also knew that when poor women in the countryside were not feeling well, they would only look for the medicine ladies they knew or had referred to by their familiar neighbors or relatives, and would never easily look for those strange medicine ladies whose backgrounds they did not know.
"Did the Night Secretary release everyone?"
Ni Su looked towards the entrance of the old alley.
"What are you talking about, young lady? Do you want to buy it or not?"
The old man at the vegetable stall was quite puzzled. He saw her holding a handful of garlic but not looking at the vegetables. She tilted her head and looked at nowhere. She seemed to be talking to herself. The old man didn't hear clearly what she said.
Ni Su was watching the night watchmen coming out of the alley. When she heard this, she turned around to meet the old man's strange gaze. Her cheeks flushed slightly. She was about to put down the green sword, but she heard a voice beside her: "Ni Su, don't put it back."
She paused and met the gaze of the young man beside her.
"I'll make you some soup."
In the bright sunlight, his figure was as faint as mist.
Ni Su obediently put the bolteng into her vegetable basket.
"What did you hear?"
Ni Su gave the old man money and walked back with the vegetable basket.
This vegetable stall was carefully selected by her. It was very close to the alley entrance. Xu Ziling could go into the alley to listen to what the close officials of the Night Bureau were saying and doing without being disturbed.
But she was still a little worried, and she kept looking at him in the crowd, sizing him up, "Are you really not in pain?"
"It doesn't hurt."
Xu Hexue saw that the passers-by around him were more or less giving her a strange look as she kept looking around. He said, "Ni Su, don't look at me."
"If you are willing to show up and walk with me on the street, they won't look at me." Ni Su walked forward and whispered, "Just like in Master Jin Xiang's house, I will put a veil on you."
Xu Hexue couldn't answer her, even though they were the only two of them in Xie Chun Pavilion at Yong'an Lake that day, and even though he was painting on the boat later, he never really showed up.
"All of Azhou's neighbors have been released. Chao Yisong said that the people who were looking for the medicine woman that Azhou's mother hired were not familiar with each other, but Azhou's father said that the medicine woman seemed to have a close relationship with the midwife who delivered Azhou."
Xu Hexue responded to her original question.
"So Chao Yisong and the others went to find that mistress?" Ni Su asked.
"That lady passed away a few days ago."
Xu Hexue stood by her side, "They have checked, she died of illness, not murder."
How can we find the medicine lady? Ni Su frowned, but saw the person next to her suddenly stop, so she also stopped and looked up at him.
"you,"
Xu Hexue looked at her and pursed her pale lips. "If you are not afraid, we can go to the mother-in-law's house at night. The night watchman has finished the investigation. Maybe there will be a funeral in her family tonight."
"I'm just going to her house, why should I be afraid?" Ni Su didn't understand.
"Because we might have to open the coffin."
Xu Hexue explained, "People who have just died will have residual soul fire. As long as I see her soul fire, I..."
"You are not allowed to use your magic anymore."
Ni Su interrupted him.
Xu Hexue blinked his eyes and saw that she looked serious. He hesitated for a moment and said, "I don't need it."
"After a person dies, if the remaining soul fire is released, they will involuntarily miss their closest friends and relatives in life, just like the day I met you outside the Big Bell Temple in Que County."
Ni Su heard him talk about what happened in the cypress forest.
At that time, he was contaminated with the soul fire of her brother, and those soul fires appeared as soon as they saw her.
"This beast bead can absorb the soul fire from the dead. It is enough to use it."
Hearing his voice, Ni Su couldn't help but look at his outstretched palm, where a wooden carved animal bead was lying quietly.
…
Because the night watchman took Zuo Po's body away for inspection, the funeral banquet in her family was moved to tonight. After the banquet, her son and daughter-in-law will hold the funeral that night and send their mother out of the city for burial.
"Aren't the city gates closed at night?"
The neighbors who were eating at the banquet asked the host's daughter-in-law Pang Shi at the table, "How can you hold a funeral at night?"
Because Grandma Yang was involved in a murder case, there have been many soldiers guarding the city gates during the day, and Grandma Yang's portraits have been posted everywhere.
"If we don't hold the funeral, what will happen to my grandma? She can't wait in the coffin," Pang said, dressed in mourning, with a look of sorrow on her face. "Originally, the funeral was to be held that day, but the adults in the night office showed mercy and allowed us to bury the body overnight after checking."
"I heard that the Night Palace is a very scary place. What did you see when you went in?" an old man asked curiously, holding a wine glass.
"without……"
Pang Shi shook her head. “The adults just asked my husband and me a few questions and then released us.”
"I heard that the officials in the Night Police have been busy with a case recently! I'm afraid they don't have the time to ask you more questions. It's good that you come out now."
The old man continued, "It was that evil-hearted old lady Yang who ruined your family. If she hadn't done evil, how could you have encountered all these things?"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
When Pang heard him mention "Po Yang", something seemed wrong on her face. She forced a tug of her lips, greeted them a few words , and turned away.
Just then a girl came to the door. She had double buns on her head, no extra hair accessories, and simple and frugal clothes. She was holding a lamp and looking into the door with her eyes.
Seeing that she was a stranger, Pang went up to her and asked, "Who are you looking for, young lady?"
"I heard that Granny Qian passed away, so I wanted to come and pay my respects."
The woman said.
"Who are you?"
Pang Shi looked at her again, but still didn't recognize who she was.
"Granny Qian has delivered babies for so many families in Yunjing over the years. It's not surprising that you don't know. I heard from my mother that if Granny Qian hadn't delivered her, I'm afraid my mother and I would have been in danger. Now my mother is in poor health and can't walk well. It's inconvenient for her to come here at home, so she told me to come and burn some incense for Granny Qian."
Pang Shi was not a maid, so how could she know how many babies the old lady had delivered over the years? After hearing what the girl said, she did not doubt anything else and welcomed her in: "Since you are here, let's have a feast together."
There was a pitch-black coffin in the simple main hall, with an oil lamp burning on the incense table. Ni Su followed behind Pang Shi and breathed a sigh of relief.
Pang Shi lit the incense and handed it to her. Ni Su took it and bowed to the incense table, then inserted the incense into the incense burner.
"Come on, girl, sit here."
Pang Shi brought her to an empty table. Ni Su sat down reluctantly, despite the curious gazes of the men, women, young and old at the table, and placed the lantern beside her.
"There are so many people here now, we can only wait until the banquet is over, and then we can find a chance to open the coffin."
Xu Hexue sat on a bench with her and said.
"Then I will now..."
Everyone at the table was talking, and Ni Su tried to lower her voice.
"Eat it."
Xu Hexue raised her chin slightly.
Ni Su had not originally come to the banquet. She had already eaten cakes and pastries before arriving, but it seemed a little strange for her to sit here without eating something.
"Are the people from the Night Bureau still following me?" She picked up the chopsticks and asked in a low voice.
"Yeah, that's fine."
Xu Hexue looked around and said, "If you sit here and don't move, they won't rush in to look for you."
"Where is the girl from?"
Ni Su took a bite of the meatball absentmindedly and was about to speak again when a lady sitting on her right suddenly came over.
"From the south of the city."
Ni Su was startled, met the woman's smiling eyes and answered.
The lady smiled and said “oh” twice, then turned her head mysteriously and whispered to the other lady beside her, “She is so pretty…”
The woman had a loud voice and seemed to be very familiar with everyone. She turned around and asked with a smile: "Where are you from in the south of the city? I wonder if your family has arranged a marriage for you? If not, listen to me..."
“Yes.”
Ni Su interrupted her quickly.
"Ah?" The lady was stunned for a moment, and forgot what she was going to say next. She said awkwardly, "You have it now?"
Ni Su nodded, but fearing that she would continue to ask questions, she simply buried her head in her food.
The courtyard was filled with a mixture of funeral music and human voices.
Ni Su covered half of her face with her sleeves and secretly turned her head to meet Xu Hexue's eyes. They were sitting on the same bench. The yard was brightly lit, but only the light between them could leave a shadow in his eyes.
Ni Su opened her mouth and silently uttered three words to him.
"She lied to me."
Almost instantly, Xu Hexue's eyelashes trembled, and he immediately understood what those three words were.
Ni Su didn't realize anything at first, but when she found that he understood what she said and her eyes met his, she suddenly turned away and forgot to pick out the annoying peppercorns. She took a bite of the vegetable and her tongue became numb.
Her face wrinkled and she hastily picked up the teacup and took a sip.
Xu Hexue sat quietly beside her, looking at her shadow on the ground with his eyes lowered. When she moved, the shadow moved with her. But suddenly, he saw his own shadow.
It was white and shapeless, completely different from her.
There were too many people coming, and Ni Su and Xu Hexue could not find an opportunity to open the coffin here to absorb the soul fire. The party soon ended, and the neighbors and relatives who came to help helped Pang Shi and her husband carry the coffin for the funeral.
Ni Su followed behind, but knew that she could not leave the city. However, she did not want Xu Hexue to suffer any harm because of this. Just when she didn't know what to do, she saw Xu Hexue beside her suddenly turned into mist, and quickly condensed in front of the coffin.
He held the lantern in his hand so that others could not see it.
Xu Hexue looked at the burly men carrying the coffin, and his eyes fell on the dark coffin. After a moment, he lowered his eyes and reached out to feel the bottom of the coffin.
Sure enough, there are pores.
Ni Su followed closely behind the crowd, but unexpectedly a hand pulled her into another alley.
"Miss Ni."
When Ni Su heard the call, even though she couldn't see his face clearly in the dim alley, she recognized it as Zhou Ting, the deputy captain of the Night Police.
"Don't go any further."
Zhou Ting spoke in a solemn voice.
Suddenly, there were screams from many people outside, followed by a "bang" as something heavy fell to the ground. Zhou Ting immediately drew his knife and told her, "Don't move here."
Zhou Ting ran out quickly. Several men in black who fell from the eaves and the officials of the Night Police who suddenly appeared were fighting in the alley. Ni Su was worried about Xu Hexue and was about to lean out to look, but she heard quick footsteps on the eaves. She looked up and a dark shadow above seemed to have discovered her.
The man couldn't recognize her and seemed to think she was from the Night Watch, so he threw a dart reflexively.
Silver light flashes,
Ni Su saw that she had no time to dodge, and suddenly someone grabbed her waist from behind. A sword with a cold glow was placed in front of her, and it collided with the dart, and with a "swoosh" sound, the dart fell to the ground.
Xu Hexue stepped on the brick wall to gain leverage and easily jumped onto the eaves.
The two parties were still fighting in the alley, but this man escaped first. Xu Hexue saw that Zhou Ting below had also discovered the man on the eaves, so he immediately picked up the broken tiles and threw them, hitting the man's leg.
The man in black's knees went weak and he fell uncontrollably, landing right in front of Zhou Ting.
Zhou Ting's close followers immediately arrested the man.
Zhou Ting frowned and looked up. The bright moonlight shimmered like waves, covering the alley, but there was no one there.
"Why hide in a coffin, with a corpse that has been dead for days and has already stank? That medicine woman is really... Ugh..." Chao Yisong ran over cursing and retching a few times while talking, "Master Xiao Zhou, you..."
Before Chao Yisong could finish his words, he saw Zhou Ting walking quickly towards the alley opposite.
There was no one there.
"Who is staring at Ni Su?" Chao Yisong just followed and saw Zhou Ting turning around with a sullen face.
"ah?"
Chao Yisong was stunned for a moment, turned around and asked around, feeling a little guilty, "Sir, we were all busy arresting people just now..."
At the same time, across the wall, I don’t know whose yard it is.
The wall is covered with roses of varying shades, lush and gorgeous under the moonlight.
Ni Su was lying on the grass with her eyes open, and only later realized that she was resting her head on someone's arm.
The candle in the lantern had been burning for too long and suddenly went out. Xu Hexue was worried that Zhou Ting would find her standing on the eaves, so she hurriedly took her into the courtyard. However, without the light she had lit, everything was dark in front of him, and he was not careful and fell down with her.
He could smell the fragrance of the rose and almost instinctively held her in his arms.
"Ni Su?"
She didn't say anything. Xu Hexue's lifeless eyes moved slightly and he called her softly.
"Um."
Ni Su responded.
"Roses have thorns."
Xu Hexue explained his rudeness and tried to help her up.
Upon hearing this, Ni Su looked up at the rose bush behind her. His arms just happened to protect her carefully, avoiding the thorns.
She suddenly grabbed Xu Hexue's sleeve.
"It looks like they're gone."
Ni Su could no longer hear the sounds outside.
She refused to get up, so Xu Hexue had to maintain the original posture. However, when they moved, the trembling petals in the bush fell on their hair and clothes.
He was completely unaware.
Ni Su knew that his upbringing would not allow him to be so rude all the time, so she put his hand back and moved to the side, avoiding the bunch of thorny roses.
Sure enough, his tense shoulders and neck relaxed a little.
"Can I look at the moon for a while before going back?"
Ni Su rested her head on her arm and looked at his profile: "I'll take you back later."
Xu Hexue couldn't see the moon.
But for some reason, he could always feel that her gaze seemed to linger on his face.
The slender knuckles slowly bent.
His throat moved slightly: "Okay."
