The flower sprout in the flowerpot shook twice, her voice tinged with sadness.
“All the silver is kept in my space. Usually, I stay in the brothel where there’s food and drink, but since my shop has only been open for two months, I haven’t saved much money.
“The brothel wasn’t actually mine; I forcibly controlled the original Madame to take the establishment for myself. Now that I’ve left, the two of them should have returned to normal.”
Gu Qingyun forcibly suppressed the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Roughly how much is there? Give me an estimate.”
“There should be a few thousand taels, I suppose.”
My goodness, this flower demon really knows how to make money. Gu Qingyun gave a dry cough.
“How about this: I’ll take half, and I’ll donate the other half. We’ll buy clothes and food for the poor, which can be considered accumulating merit for you. This way, your future path will be smoother.”
“Decide however you wish.” After the flower demon said this, she fell directly into a deep sleep. Her injuries were somewhat severe, and she could only rely on sleep to repair her original form.
...
In the pitch-black night, fog gradually rose within the continuous mountain range. Frost began to condense on the grass and flowers. In the depths of the mountains, faint flickers of light could be seen and the sounds of frolicking could be heard.
Several horses carrying riders galloped through the mountains, bursting through the thick fog as they sped away. Leading the group was a sturdy man, while a young person brought up the rear. The night was too dark to discern if the latter was male or female; the figure was dressed in black, blending perfectly into the night, making them hard to see clearly.
In the midst of this silent night, an old woman sat under a tree by the mountain road, wailing.
Her appearance was obscured by the darkness, but upon hearing the sound of approaching hoofbeats, a look of excitement crossed her face. She struggled to stand, stretching her arms and waving them in the air.
“Help!”
Leading the way, Head Constable Liu felt his hair stand on end when he heard the voice. He slowed down, looking back at the group with a grim face.
“I must be hallucinating. I actually heard an old person’s cry for help in the middle of the night.”
Wu Yong was so scared he was nearly in tears. He twitched his lips and said, “Head Constable, I heard it too. Look at this fog; it’s so terrifying. Could there be…”
He had heard the elders say that fog was the best tool for those unclean things to travel. They hid within the mist, drifting to various places. Some of the more malevolent ones would even bewitch people to find a substitute.
Head Constable Liu gritted his teeth, his face turning an ashen green. “Don’t talk rot. Have the elders in your family never warned you not to speak carelessly when walking at night?”
Another cry for “help” reached Zhao Si’s ears, making his scalp go numb. He widened his eyes and turned to look at the person behind him.
“Qingyun, do you think this is a person or...?”
Gu Qingyun let out a light laugh. “No need to fear; it should be a human. We’ll know once we head over and check.”
Head Constable Liu slapped himself in frustration. If he had known they would run into more troublesome matters on the way back, he wouldn’t have traveled through the night. It would have been much better to just find a spot to build a fire and rest for the night before setting out. It would have been safer and they wouldn’t have had to suffer the cold.
He sighed. “Fine, let’s not waste time. Let’s head over and see what the situation is.”
“Even if there really is something, we don’t need to be afraid. We have an expert on our side; there’s no way we’d be afraid of whatever’s over there.”
After saying all that, Head Constable Liu heard no response. He frowned. “What’s wrong with you all? Why aren’t you speaking?”
He turned to look at Wu Yong, who was not far away, only to see him pointing at a tree with wide, terrified eyes.
“Look, what is that?”
Head Constable Liu’s heart skipped a beat. Through the light of the fire starter in his hand, he saw only a dark figure slowly shuffling toward them. It was truly a shuffle; the pace was slow and somewhat strange.
He drew his saber and shouted sharply, “Who goes there?”
“It’s me.”
A faltering old woman appeared in their line of sight. She was wearing a padded jacket with several holes, her hair was white, and her wrinkled face was red from the cold. She walked up to Gu Qingyun and the others, stiffening for a moment when she saw their attire before quickly kneeling and bowing to them.
“I beg you, sirs, please save me. This old woman came up the mountain to pick mushrooms and accidentally injured my leg. I thought I would freeze to death here today, but I never expected to encounter you, sirs.”
Head Constable Liu and the others looked at each other. They dismounted and helped the old woman up.
“Old lady, where do you live?”
The old woman pointed down the mountain. “I live at the foot of the mountain. I ventured a bit too deep today and lost my way in a moment of inattention.”
Head Constable Liu’s expression wasn’t great. He looked at Gu Qingyun. “Qingyun, look at this...”
Without a word, Gu Qingyun stepped forward and hoisted the old woman onto her horse.
“Uncle Liu, let’s go directly down the mountain to deliver her to her village before we continue. We can’t just let her freeze to death here.”
Head Constable Liu nodded. “Fine, let’s hurry. we still have to get back.”
The group fell silent as they traversed through the mountain forest in the direction the old woman pointed. Finally, nearly two hours later, the silhouette of a small mountain village appeared below.
“Woof! Woof! Woof!”
Before they even entered the village, they heard the sound of barking dogs. Villagers who heard the hoofbeats came out of their houses; some held torches in their left hands and shovels in their right, some held bows and arrows, and others held axes. They surrounded Gu Qingyun and her group.
“Who goes there?”
Gu Qingyun and the others came to a halt. “Jiangyin County constables. We were passing by and brought this old lady back to you.”
Gu Qingyun expressionlessly leaped off her horse and gently placed the old woman on the ground to let her stand firm. “Two of you come and help her back; she twisted her leg.”
Two women stepped out from the crowd and supported the old woman. “Mother, where have you been all day? We’ve been worried sick at home, and we didn’t know where to look for you in the middle of the night,” one of the women said.
The old woman gave a bitter smile. “Sigh, Mother went to pick mushrooms. Who would have thought I’d sprain my ankle and almost get lost? Fortunately, these kind officers brought me back.”
The old woman then turned to look at Gu Qingyun and the others, greeting them warmly. “Sirs, if you don’t mind, please rest at this old woman’s house for the night. I’ll have my daughters-in-law prepare some food to fill your bellies. It’s too cold; eat something warm and drink some of our homemade fruit wine to warm up your bodies.”
The surrounding villagers also chimed in, “Aunt Zhao is right. You are all our saviors. My family has chickens; I’ll go kill one and boil some chicken soup for you. Our village isn’t a stingy one; we must treat our saviors well.”
“Exactly! My family even has a fish; I’ll bring it out to thank our benefactors as well.”
Head Constable Liu and the others were a bit tempted. Just as they were about to agree, Gu Qingyun spoke up first.
“Our thanks to everyone, but perhaps another time. We are on official duty, and we’ll be punished if we return too late. We can only decline your kind intentions.”
After saying that, she didn't wait for a response. She turned her horse around, lightly patted its back, and Little Brown leaped forward, galloping toward the village entrance and vanishing into the vast night.
Head Constable Liu and the others snapped back to their senses and hurriedly followed behind.
“Qingyun, wait for us!”
Rate on N.U.
