In the end, Shan Hai shamelessly continued to ask.
"He said that he missed home, and it was time to go back and take care of the children after doing business. Damn it, am I so angry? Do you think this place is a brothel where I can come and leave whenever I want?...I was really angry at the time, so angry I was going crazy. But after I calmed down and thought about it, he really treated me well this year and spent a lot of time and money on me. Apart from lying to me, he had nothing to do with me. I had no choice but to take a step back and let him go back to reunite with his family. ——Otherwise, wouldn’t I become a bad person? But I really couldn’t let go, so I told him that I would like him to spend the last day strolling with me, setting off lanterns together, and walking on the Jiangyuan Bridge together, which would be a good time to get together and relax.”
Jiangyuan Bridge...
Several people pondered this word for a long time.
Needless to say, he must have had his own thoughts and suffered retribution from Qiao Ji.
It was too late, the people in the yamen really couldn't hold on. Several people sent Jian Niang home, and it was already the fourth watch. They were so sleepy that they yawned again and again, especially Aluan, who could hardly keep his eyes open. Niang Jian thanked them, felt a little embarrassed, and apologized for her nonsense during the day. Of course they didn't mind, but were more concerned about her face. She looked so sad. In the empty home, under the flickering candlelight, her figure looked much thinner than when he first saw her.
"Either, or just to keep me company, you guys can stay overnight tonight. When it gets dark, I'll accompany you to the Yamen..."
Shanhai wanted to refuse out of affection, but Aluan slept too soundly on Miss Qi's back. Just when he was hesitating, Shi Wuqi agreed on his behalf.
"Sorry to bother you, I'm sorry for your trouble."
Jian Niang's home is indeed not big, with only two rooms. In addition to Jian Niang’s house, the other one was originally intended to be reserved for future children. She spread two blankets in the small shop, so Shanhai and the others could make do with it. She quickly spread sheets on the bed in the empty room and invited Mu Wan and the others in. The space behind the tailor shop is not large. Two walls separate the bun shop's back kitchen and the fruit shop's warehouse.
In the middle of the night, Mu Wan opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep.
Now that she mentioned the shikigami Han Shui Ji given by her senior brother, those past memories kept flooding in her mind. It is true that she likes Senior Brother Wu, she also likes Senior Sister Yan, and it is absolutely false to hope that they will be together. Although she is a demon warrior, she rarely relies on the power of shikigami. She has liked to do many things by herself since she was a child, and she will not give up until she achieves results. As for the Tengu, they are part of the blood, and although they have a very scary-sounding contract, they are still considered her family.
Among the serious shikigami, apart from Han Shui Ji, there is Shirai Ogi. Han Shui Ji was discovered by her senior brother when he was doing errands outside, but Bai Di was discovered by her and her senior sister in the Snow Inkstone Valley. Bai Di is also a water-based monster. It is better to subdue it than to save its life. It ran along the green river bank and insisted on following her. She didn't know what to do, so her senior sister taught her how to receive the talisman.
Mu Wan thought of Yingyue Jun again, that annoying little devil. The time she fought with him in the ruined temple, she didn't know who to call out. But maybe she had thought clearly at that time - neither of them were suitable. But she didn't want to summon the Tengu so easily. After a while, Lord Kutsutsuki appeared. Later, when she fought with Shi Wuqi and him in the mountains, she also felt that she was indeed no match. If she had really summoned the shikigami, she might have risked her life.
After thinking about it, she felt a little thirsty, so she got up and went to the kitchen to find some water.
She hesitated and didn't bring an umbrella. After walking out of the door, he glanced at Miss Qi sitting next to him. She always closed her eyes at night, not knowing whether she was recharging her energy or Shi Wuqi was afraid of scaring them. The door to Jian Niang's room opposite was halfway open. Mu Wan glanced at her and saw that she was lying on the bed without a quilt.
After walking a few steps to the kitchen, she found someone's shadow inside.
Mu Wan carefully pressed against the wall, tiptoeing, preparing to approach him.
"It's such a coincidence that you're here to steal something too?"
It was the voice of the Hundred Skeleton Lord.
"……Neuropathy."
Mu Wan breathed a sigh of relief, snapped his fingers, and tiny flames lit up the kitchen between his fingers. The windows were closed, but there were still a few pesky flies buzzing around, which was very annoying. Taking a closer look, I saw that there were still some pork bones with meat on the chopping board that had not been processed. I was afraid that the scissor girl was just worried and had forgotten about them. There is also a big saw leaning against the wall, which is probably used by the girl's family to process bones.
"You're kidding. If you're thirsty, find some water to drink."
"What a coincidence, isn't it?"
She rolled her eyes. Shi Wuqi picked up the bowl and pointed to the water tank next to him. Mu Wan also took a bowl to fill with water.
"It'll be cooler at night. I just don't know if the pork will stink tomorrow." She sighed.
"Are you so sure these are pork bones?"
Shi Wuqi suddenly smiled. Although he didn't make a sound, his expression made Mu Wan feel a little scared. She swallowed her water, frowned, and asked him what he said.
"I'm just kidding, I touched it, but it's not human bones anyway."
"……are you crazy!"
No, you actually touched it. This is the most nerve-wracking thing.
Early the next morning, they came to the bridge together. Everyone uses this bridge normally, and nothing strange has ever happened. There's no one around yet, just the five of them here. After getting up in the morning, Mu Wan asked Jian Niang to rest more and go directly to the prefect later in the evening. They fished out the things and went to deliver them to the government office that had just opened.
There are no people there yet, only the vendors carrying vegetables. Mu Wan stood by the river and took a deep breath.
She closed her eyes and muttered something. Small air currents emerged around her, and the moment she opened her eyes, the umbrella was propped up, and a faint light enveloped the umbrella. A charm written with strange glyphs was brought down by the breeze, folded, and fell to the water. It suddenly melted in and was swallowed by the river. Then ripples rippled from that point, and a brisk shadow poked out from it.
The human-shaped shikigami has a pair of large, pure black eyes, staring straight at you without blinking. She had no down or scales, but looked smooth and hard. She had fins on her back and elbows, flashes of rainbow light, and webbed hands. What's even more strange is probably the tail of the black fish, swinging vigorously in the water.
Aluan has seen aquatic monsters before, but this is the first time he has seen one like this. She ran to the shore and tried to stretch out her hand, but Han Shuiji dived down and came out from a farther position, like a flexible fish. Where she flicked her tail, a piece of broken ice formed and flowed down the river.
"She is timid," Mu Wan said, waving his hand to call her over, "Go to the bottom of the river and fish out all the corpses."
She immediately dove into the water and disappeared. Dai Luan regretted not being able to take a few more glances. Several people were waiting by the river, changing from standing to squatting, from squatting to sitting. When all the people woke up and walked around in the streets, no bubbles were seen.
"You're such a shikigami, don't run away."
Shi Wuqi was so idle that he drifted on the river. Mu Wan glared at him.
"impossible."
"Okay, okay, I hope the truth will come out soon. I'm tired of waiting, so I'm going to the teahouse at the back to have a rest. What's there to eat if A-luan doesn't come?"
Shi Wuqi gestured backwards with his thumb, and Aluan immediately nodded and walked in with Miss Qi. Shan Hai didn't say anything, just stared at the water. He rubbed his eyes again and again and seemed tired.
The ground gradually warmed up, and they wiped their sweat from time to time. Many people saw them, some felt strange, others went to explain, but no one bothered them rashly. After waiting for a long time, someone suddenly called them from behind:
"Hey, Taoist priest, heroine."
The two turned around, and a lean man greeted them with two loads of water. Shan Hai immediately recognized that he was the single young man who shared the table for dinner before, the one who built buildings for wealthy families. He asked what they were doing, and Shan Hai briefly explained the situation, but didn't reveal much. He only said that more than one body was fished out of the river, as well as another worker.
"Oh... you are talking about not the workers on our team."
Seeing that his complexion became very bad, Shan Hai asked further.
"Hey, we all know that he loves his mother-in-law very much, how could he abandon her? More than a month ago, he was planning how to celebrate the Chinese Valentine's Day for her. I remember correctly, he seems to be a tailor, not bad looking, but There were some sores on his face. I only saw him once. He brought food to see him, then turned and entered the employer's house. He said sadly that he knew his mother-in-law was very promiscuous, but he didn't have the ability, so he could only She swallowed her anger. Sometimes when she got angry, she would cry so miserably and act so miserably. But as soon as she said it was over, she immediately lost her tears. He disappeared three years ago, and his mother-in-law said he was talking to someone else. She ran away. Bah, I don’t believe it. It’s true that she slept with that profiteer.”
"Profiteer?" Mu Wan asked, "Did she get to know the businessman before her man ran away?"
"I can't lie to you. Oops, it's getting late. I have to carry the water quickly. You must find out..."
He muttered and carried the water away. The two of them looked at each other, frowning, with complicated emotions. I didn't know what to say for a while. At this time, Dai Luan hurriedly ran out of the teahouse. She was panting and talking intermittently. They couldn't hear clearly and asked her to take a break and speak slower. Shi Wuqi and Miss Qi also walked over with solemn expressions.
"Master Shi, just now we..."
"Listen to me first. We were in the teahouse and heard some rumors from the waiter. Jian Niang's dead husband, that is, the businessman, mentioned his wife when he was drunk and called her, but it was not Jian Niang’s name. Someone teased him to ask more, and he said that Jian Niang was not an easy person. She wanted to kill her man with her own hands in order to get his money and his people. People didn’t pay attention at the time and just thought he was drunk. Soon, her man really disappeared, she was the victim, and no one really suspected her."
At this time, bubbles suddenly appeared in the river. Several of them immediately gathered around.
