Chapter 72: Under the Pagoda
February 20th, 12:00 PM
There was a sound in his ears, vague and like a bell. He tried to distinguish it carefully, but couldn't tell what it was. Until a black donkey came from far away, accompanied by the sound of a clear bell, and then gradually went away.
The broken dreams kept changing, but the ringing sound remained in my mind.
He suddenly sat up in bed, feeling the ringing sound still echoing in his mind.
That shouldn't be an auditory hallucination, it was a real ringing sound, ethereal and distant but it was there. Shen Kuo opened the window, and the intermittent ringing sound was indeed in the distance, and it was clearer. He looked at the height of the moon above his head, and it was roughly midnight, and a new day had begun.
He did not forget to look at the barn in the backyard. Xu Chong's horse was not there. He did not know where he had been delayed and had not returned. So he quickly put on his clothes and opened the door, then tiptoed downstairs and quietly went out through the wooden door in the backyard. The faint bell was still ringing weakly. It was obvious that the old donkey with a bell hanging around its neck was wandering two or three blocks away.
Shen Kuo made sure that he had not disturbed anyone when he sneaked out of the yard, so he quietly closed the wooden door and chased after the bell.
In the shadow not far from him, Xu Chong was waiting in his cloak. When he saw Shen Kuo coming out under the moonlight, he threw his fur cloak aside and stood up. He did not appear from the dark, but stuck close to the wall, using the shadow to track him under the moonlight. He met the half-dressed Shen Kuo when he returned last night and asked him where he came from, but he hesitated at first and then lied to avoid the question. He realized at that time that there was a ghost. Although he was not sure that Xiao Ping's escape from being alone in a room with Shen Kuo was related to Shen Kuo, after all, it seemed that it was not possible for a human to move to the other side of the river instantly with or without Shen Kuo, but there was a high possibility that they were still connected.
So today he was waiting at the back door. Of course, he had been following Lao Bao for a longer time and had more experience. For this wait, he hid his horses in other places. Of course, due to his brotherly relationship with Shen Kuo, he did not call anyone else. So far, only he knew about this matter. He just wanted to see what happened. Even if Shen Kuo met Xiao Ping, he firmly believed that his brother must have his reasons.
While he was waiting, he had already heard the sound of bells in the distance, which came and went like a ghost, sometimes coming and sometimes not, never getting too close or disappearing. But he didn't think too much about it, and just thought it was some animal that had lost its owner and was wandering around the city at night.
It was not until Shen Kuo appeared that he realized that the bell sounded like some kind of peace. Shen Kuo was following this distant bell sound. Today was the 22nd, and it was the moment when the gibbous moon changed to a waning moon. The moonlight was neither bright nor dark, and it would leave a long shadow on the ground, so he did not dare to be careless and just followed from a distance.
Shen Kuo had no experience in countering being followed, and thought he was foolproof, so he trotted through several streets without even looking back. Nowadays, no one in Tokyo dared to go out at night, so he didn't see anyone along the way.
Gradually, he saw a white figure riding a donkey in the distance, and the figure on the donkey was still holding an umbrella. At this moment, the bell had stopped ringing, and only the crisp sound of donkey hooves could be heard in the distance. He hurried over. Seeing the woman holding an umbrella walking towards a deep alley, he followed her. At the end of the alley, under a big tree, the donkey stopped.
Shen Kuo slowly approached, and the woman on the donkey turned around. It was Xiaoping. Her pale face looked particularly haggard and fragile under the moonlight.
"Sir, you sleep so well. You must have had some wonderful dreams. I have been out for half the night and just came out now."
"Big sister, there are arrest warrants everywhere outside now, how dare you come out?"
"You also saw the document? Do you think it's similar?"
“Not really.”
"Not only does it not look like me, it makes me look ugly. That Bao Longtu is so rude. I want to have a fight with him."
"Still saying this? Aren't you afraid of being caught and beheaded?"
"Don't worry, sir. I have some magical powers that allow me to escape underground, so those police officers won't be able to catch me." Xiao Ping said, and subconsciously looked up at a bare branch above her head.
"It's better to be careful. Nowadays there are spies on the streets at night, so we can't be careless." Shen Kuo lowered his voice and said, forgetting that he had completely lost his position. These words could almost be regarded as treason and standing against Lao Bao.
Xiaoping said nothing, lowered her head and thought for a moment, then suddenly started sobbing.
"It turns out that the young master still has me in his heart. He is afraid that I will walk around the streets and be caught and beheaded. From now on, I will be left with only a cavity and will not be able to eat. Wuwuwu..."
Shen Kuo didn't know whether she was crying sincerely or not, so he could only comfort her: "I'm glad you understand my feelings. I just want you to live well..."
"Actually, I have another magic trick," Xiao Ping burst into laughter, "If my head is chopped off, I can still walk and eat, but I can't recognize the road and will hit a wall."
"What season is it now? Why are you joking, big sister?"
"Look at you, my enemy. I'm joking and you're angry again." Xiao Ping pouted and said, "In order to wait for you, I brought myself to this dead-end alley. Now I can't escape. Why don't you tie me up and take me to see that black-faced man? He can also reward you with a few hundred strings of money, and you can burn some paper money for me?"
"Hey!! I do it with all my heart, how can you not understand? I know you have some connection with the Maitreya Sect, but you must have your own difficulties. You are definitely not a bad person," Shen Kuo said.
"What a joke! How do you know I'm not a bad guy?"
"You told me that last night?"
"So you only believed my one-sided story? You are sincere to me?"
"Of course I am very kind to you... You came to me today, must there be something?"
"It is true. I have found out where Zhuge Suizhi is."
"Oh, tell me about it."
"That traitor hid behind Yu Jing. He was very cunning and treacherous, but he was on guard everywhere and always wore a mask, so it was difficult to recognize his face. However, his every move and word was like that of a monk."
“I already know this.”
"Do you know about the Maitreya prophecy?"
"This is the matter we are investigating. How is it going? Tell me quickly."
"I only know that after the traitor came, he persuaded Yu Jing to find another secret place, and concentrated on fulfilling the prophecy of King Fu Ze's glory in the sky. I just don't know where that place is. However, Yu Jing's daily trips are very short, and mostly late at night, which shows that the place is not far away, and there is no need to wait until the city gates are opened in the morning."
"The secret place must be in the city?"
"I followed Yu Jing. He was so agile that there was hardly any sign of him. However, every time he came back, his shoes would be stained with grass and horse manure. It was obvious that he had gone to a place with cattle and horses."
"The only place in this city that has cattle and horses is the cattle and horse market under the pagoda. Fine, fine, tell me anything else..."
"Hahaha," Xiao Ping laughed sweetly, interrupting Shen Kuo's greedy desire for knowledge, "Xu Jieji will still follow closely under the moon. My husband is too stupid and careless."
Shen Kuo turned around quickly and saw a man standing up from the shadows at the entrance of the alley in the distance. It was Xu Chong.
"Brother Shen, don't blame me. I'm just thinking about you. Just hand her over to me, and I'll take her to see Mr. Bao myself. I won't mention your private relationship with her, and this matter has nothing to do with you." Xu Chong said loudly.
"Now we are in this dead end, what should we do?" Shen Kuo said, turning around.
"Since you are here, I will show you how to escape underground." Xiao Ping said as she got off the donkey. She handed the reins to Shen Kuo.
"I'll give you this old donkey back. I don't need it anymore. And remember, the bell on the donkey's neck is a token of your sincerity to me."
Xiao Ping held Shen Kuo's hand with her cold hand, said such a strange thing, and then walked to the end of the alley with an umbrella, leaning the umbrella against her shoulder. Shen Kuo stood at the end, not knowing what to do for a moment. He could only turn around and try to stop Xu Chong.
Meanwhile, Xu Chong had slowly approached and saw Shen Kuo trying to block their way by leading the donkey, but he dodged and slipped away.
"Brother Xu, she is not a bad person. Please believe me this time." Shen Kuo pleaded.
"Of course I believe you, so I didn't bring anyone here today to cover up for you, but I can't trust her. I'm just afraid that you've been deceived by her seductive appearance and lost your true heart."
Xiao Ping in white laughed so hard that her body shook. "Thank you for your kind words, Xu Jieji. This foxy face is really embarrassing, but it is also useful. Do you really think I am so pretty? Do you only deceive nerds like this?"
"Come back with me. Whether you are a good person or a bad person will be decided by Prime Minister Bao and Minister Gongwenshu."
"Those two old fools only know how to use severe torture to extract a confession. I just won't go. What can you do to me?" Xiao Ping pouted and acted cute and naive.
"You have to go today whether you want to or not. I borrowed dog blood and dipped this knife specifically to break your evil magic." Xu Chong hugged the knife to his chest.
"Xu Jieji, I can't listen to you. I am most afraid of the smell of blood. I am afraid that if I get stained with dog blood, my true form will be revealed and my husband will be scared. I'm leaving first."
Xu Chong rushed forward, but saw a puff of white smoke rising around Xiao Ping. In the white smoke, Xiao Ping disappeared out of thin air, and an umbrella fell from the void. Xu Chong quickly stepped back a few steps and covered his mouth and nose, but the smoke dissipated in just a moment. Looking at the umbrella again, it was still rolling on the ground.
The two waved their hands to disperse the smoke. The smoke was not choking, and it was probably non-toxic. Xu Chong slowly walked to the front and looked around carefully. Xiao Ping just disappeared at the end of the dead end. There was no passage around, and if she could flip over the wall in an instant, her skills were indeed superb.
He then looked down at the umbrella that was still rolling, touched it with his scabbard, and picked it up only after making sure it was fine.
"Is it true that this witch knows magic? She disappeared and played the harp for a long time the day before yesterday, but she disappeared in a flash today?"
"What magic? This umbrella is also commonly used in Zoroastrian magic. On the day when the hat monster first appeared, an umbrella was left on Yulin Street. You probably forgot about it." Shen Kuo said.
"She has no magic, how can she escape?"
"She chose this place specifically. Obviously, she is wary of me. She will naturally have her own way." Shen Kuo recalled that when she showed up last night, the umbrella fell to the ground and he wanted to pick it up, which made her extra alert. It can be seen that she was definitely well prepared.
He touched the wall from all sides, and there was nothing wrong with it. Then he looked up and saw a branch sticking out from the wall, but it was not very clear under the moonlight. He squatted down and found a dead branch on the ground, which seemed to have just fallen from above, and the cross-section was smooth as if it had been cut off. He recalled that when the clouds and mist surged around Xiaoping just now, he deliberately leaned the umbrella against his shoulder instead of holding it above his head, probably because he was afraid that it would block something. Anyway, no matter what, she ran away, and he was satisfied.
"Well, are you going to Bao Longtu to report me?"
"You are being too kind-hearted when you say that." Xu Chong said with his eyes wide open, and the old donkey over there cried happily a few times.
"Me? Since you said she was a good person, I don't quite believe it, but I have to say it this way. What did he tell you?"
"She said that Zhuge Suizhi from the Maitreya sect might be the bad guy behind this."
"Isn't Yu Jing the bad guy behind the scenes? How come there is a bad guy behind the scenes?"
"This is indeed strange, but there must be someone behind Yu Jing. He said that Yu Jing admired that person very much, which shows that the person's ability is even better than Yu Jing. In such a big city like Tokyo, there is such a powerful person? I don't dare to think too much about it."
"What else did she say?"
"She said that Yu Jing's new lair was very well hidden, but he never came back for long, and he went there at night, and he didn't avoid the city gates."
"In the city?"
"Yes, that's exactly what he said. He also said that every time he saw shoes, they were stained with grass clippings and horse manure."
"Is that the Yulin Street where the hat monster was first discovered? There is a cattle and horse market under the pagoda there during the day, and there are mostly grass clippings and horse manure. Oh, right, I remember that day when I tracked the thief riding the five-colored horse from Zhongmu, he also disappeared in that area. Perhaps, there is some truth to what this witch Xiaoping said?"
"So you see, Xiao Ping is definitely not an accomplice of Maitreya. If she were, why would she risk coming out at night to tell me this?"
"You, you are so biased, but you are still bewitched by her charm."
Xu Chong shook his head and left.
"Don't say such nonsense."
"I'm not making this up. I think you're biased because you're sentimental. When Master Huailiang speculated that she was a follower of the Maitreya sect, you refused to believe it. You're not as smart as you usually are."
Xu Chong's words touched Shen Kuo's heart, and he couldn't help but stop.
"Let's go now. If you don't go back, others will get suspicious even if I don't tell them, and I can't cover it up for you."
"I thought of a person whose intelligence was superior to Yu Jing's. It makes sense why Yu Jing praised him so highly."
"Yu Jing is the descendant of Yu Hao, and his ability is superior to his. In Tokyo City, besides Master Huailiang, who else could he be? Let's go, and stop daydreaming."
Xu Chong was quite frank and pointed out what Shen Kuo feared the most. However, Xu Chong himself did not take it seriously and did not think he had hit the nail on the head.
Shen Kuo's heart was surging like a huge wave. Just now, Xu Chong was right when he said that he valued love and was partial to others. He not only partial to Xiao Ping, but also partial to Huai Liang. However, if Huai Liang was involved, this idea was still too scary. So he followed Xu Chong back to Lao Ya Lane .
The two of them sneaked into the gate together. Shen Kuo went upstairs to sleep without saying a word. He was not on guard at all and did not think about how to explain the donkey's return tomorrow. Xu Chong had no choice but to go back to the backyard, put the donkey away for him, and close the wooden door behind him again to avoid the suspicion of the messengers.
