Later, from Guo Zigui's narration of the past, Mu Qingyan guessed Wang Yuanjing's unwillingness to save Wu Yuanying, and then deduced that Wang Yuanjing was threatened by the person behind the scenes because of this, and designed to find out the location of Chang's Wubao.
So the two decided to visit Taichu Temple at night and interrogate Wang Yuanjing. Unexpectedly, the success fell short, and when Wang Yuanjing was about to reveal the identity of the person behind the scenes, he was stabbed to death.
Everyone knows what happened next.
When Guo Zigui was mentioned, Ning Xiaofeng couldn't help but feel sad again.
Cai Pingchun glanced at his daughter and suddenly asked about something unrelated, "It turns out that Mu Qingyan has invited you to investigate the Chang family's murder case. Zhou Yuqi cried out without warning that he wanted to terminate the engagement. Among them, Mu Qing Did Yan do anything?"
Cai Zhao was so embarrassed: "Oh, daddy, we are talking about business, please stop rambling!"
Ning Xiaofeng burst into tears and smiled, "You two, father and daughter, are so... Hi!"
She added, "Just now you suspected that Qi Yunke might have learned about Nie Zhe's infertility from Brother Miao, but when Yin Dai called everyone to attack Netherworld Huangdao, Qi Yunke didn't go at all, so he wouldn't have seen Wang Yuanjing enter Ba Zhao. Heavenly Prison, and then threatened him. Also, on the night Wang Yuanjing was killed, Qi Yunke kept talking to us about Zhaozhao's marriage, and said a lot of good things about Song Yuzhi, never leaving, and..."
She hesitated, "Just now I suddenly remembered. Brother Miao's mother, her surname is Zhou, and she comes from the branch of Peiqiong Villa. To elaborate, Brother Miao and Zhou Zhizhen are still cousins. Could it be...?"
Ning Xiaofeng hesitated to speak, but the father and daughter next to her knew what she meant - Zhou Zhizhen might also know that Nie Zhe was infertile. Moreover, on the night Wang Yuanjing was killed, he rested alone in his room, and there was no circumstantial evidence.
"Oh, why did it come to Uncle Zhou again?" Cai Zhao murmured, "Originally I was suspicious of the elders of the third senior brother's family. Whether it is his father, the head of Song Dynasty, or his third uncle, they are all highly cultivated. , powerful, and they look quite ambitious. Now it’s better, if they’re dead and injured, it’s definitely not them..."
The road ahead is filled with mist, and Cai Zhao just needs to keep telling the story.
This time, she revealed Yin Dai's secret collection of personal notes and deduced the final secret of the "Purple Heart Sutra" - namely, the three difficult questions at the triple pass. Only then did the Cai couple know why their daughter had to explore the blood swamp.
Hearing that Yin Dai was sitting back and watching Cai Pingshu go to Tushan to kill Nie Hengcheng alone, Ning Xiaofeng's eyes turned red with anger, and she slapped her palm on the table: "Old Yin Dai deceived the world, stole his reputation, took advantage of the situation, and forced my sister Pingshu to do so. I can only fight for my life with old thief Nie, and I will be disabled for half my life! Tell Qi Yunke and tell him to give up. Just because Song Yuzhi has half of Yin's blood in his body, he can't even think of becoming my son-in-law!"
"Okay, okay, the crime is not as bad as your parents, wife and children." Cai Pingchun comforted his wife and sat down, "If Yu Zhi hadn't selflessly handed over Yin Dai's letters, we wouldn't have known this."
He turned his head and said, "Zhaozhao, what are your plans now. Are you going to find the Purple Jade Golden Sunflower?"
Cai Zhao nodded, took out a piece of paper with a sketch of a purple jade sunflower from his waist bag and handed it over, "I never dared to look for it before. I always felt that if my aunt wanted to hide something, just let it disappear from the world. Now that all the blood swamp night orchids have been destroyed, even with the purple jade golden sunflower, it is impossible to practice the "Purple Heart Sutra". Letting people like Song Xiuzhi occupy the position of the head of the Guangtian Sect is definitely not a blessing to the world. It is better to help the three Senior brother has recovered his skills, it would be better to take back the position of leader as soon as possible."
Ning Xiaofeng looked left and right at the drawing, "Is this the Purple Jade Sunflower? Why does it look like a black stone?"
Cai Zhao quickly explained: "It is said that there was originally a circle of bright golden sunflower petals outside, but the people from the Demon Cult did not keep it properly. After a fire, all the gold melted, and this is what happened."
Cai Pingchun also looked at the drawings twice and finally made a decision: "Okay, let's dig through the town and the valley in the next few days to see if we can find this purple jade golden sunflower."
The cold water in the teapot was all finished, and the incense ashes in the small white porcelain stove were stirred until there were no sparks. Furong knocked on the door with a smile, "It's time for me to get up, little lady, the sun is shining..."
"The little lady has grown up, please stop saying such indecent words." Jade interrupted her lightly, and then banged the door loudly, "You were the one who asked us to call the door yesterday. If you don't get up, I will Come pour cold water on me!"
Cai Zhao looked up to the sky and sighed, and opened the door with a straight face: "When everything is over, I will definitely introduce you two to a girl named Xing'er from the Demon Cult - she is like a maid, with a soft voice and a soft voice. , gentle and considerate. Unlike you two, you are so vicious and arrogant. Even if you are raising pigs, the pigs will be pissed off by you!"
The two maids showed no emotion in their hearts or faces, and they clapped together.
"That's right, young lady. Thank you very much for the compliment, young lady. When I get married, I will open a pig farm. From now on, during the New Year and holidays, I will feed two more fat sausages to the young lady to try."
"It's not like the leader of the Demon Cult will have his eyes glow green when he sees a pig. It can be seen that Furong and I have raised you much better than a pig. It's just that the two of us always have to run and hide - this time I saw that something was wrong. Immediately flee back to Luoying Valley overnight."
"...Okay, let's comb our hair and get dressed." Ever since he was a child, Cai Zhao never said he could beat these two aunts.
Today the sky was gray and drizzling. Cai Zhao held an oil-paper umbrella and walked aimlessly around the town. He came to a familiar wonton shop, sat down and ordered a bowl of wontons.
After taking two mouthfuls with a spoon, she frowned: "Madam boss, the soup of this wonton is wrong. Is the bone soup mixed with water? I don't care if the stuffing is filled with front leg meat and hind leg meat, but this chopped green onion, I say How many times have I said that green onions must be cut fresh? You can’t just cut them last night and leave them alone. Look, they won’t be fresh anymore..."
The proprietress threw the big spoon into the iron pot and cursed loudly: "Xiao Zhaoer, you have been eating wontons in my shop since you were weaned. You have always said, 'Okay, okay, the wontons here are the best in the world'! Now you We are grown up, but we are disliked! Wen Dalang, who sells cooking cakes, and Zuerniang, who sells steamed buns, both came to me and cried, saying that you disliked the cooking cakes not being soft enough the day before yesterday, and the stuffing of the steamed buns yesterday. "
"Come on, everyone, please tell me. This little girl has been growing up as a child but now she is dissatisfied with one thing and the other. Isn't it the saying in the play that 'I only see the new ones laughing but don't hear the old ones cry'? I know, Xiao Zhao Son, you have gone out and seen the big world, and you no longer look down on our small town in a remote country. Oh my, I can't live this life..."
The landlady's voice was so loud that it could be heard throughout the street, so Cai Zhao had no choice but to run away.
After being scolded and feeling empty, she walked aimlessly in the drizzle again.
She could touch the smooth and flat bluestone road, every shop, and every corner with her eyes closed. This was her familiar yet unfamiliar hometown. It seemed as if everything was the same as before, but also as if everything was different.
Or is it actually her who has changed?
In the mansion in the mountains, You Guanyue and Shangguan Haonan hid far outside the door and whispered.
"The leader has been reading the files for three days, haven't you finished them yet? Didn't Elder Yan say there is only one stack?"
"Elder Yan indeed only sent one stack, but later the leader ordered us to get other files for comparison. I don't know when we will see them."
"Oh, it's raining."
"It's just a drizzle, hazy and poetic."
"What's poetic about it? It's poetic. Xing'er hates this kind of weather the most. Nothing can be dried in the sun."
"Look, look, the leader has opened the window! What is the leader looking at without moving? Is he looking at the rain? Does the leader like rainy days?"
"Won't."
"How do you know not! Are you the roundworm in the leader's belly?"
"Whether the leader likes it or not, Miss Zhaozhao doesn't like it anyway, because the rainy day prevents her from going shopping. So the leader won't like it either."
"...Okay, you're right."
Cai Zhao walked back to the valley gloomily, and bumped into Fan Xing's family reporting Song Shijun's condition to Cai Pingchun and his wife. After explaining all the needed medicinal materials in a lengthy manner, he finally said softly: After his comprehensive diagnosis and treatment, Master Song can be saved. However, excessive damage to the meridians and elixirs may lead to a shortened lifespan.
After Fan Xing's family left, Ning Xiaofeng murmured to himself: "Why do these words sound so familiar to me?"
"The doctor who diagnosed my sister said the same thing at the beginning." Cai Pingchun quickly responded.
Thinking of Cai Pingshu, Ning Xiaofeng suddenly felt hurt. She first saw Song Shijun, who was unconscious on the bed. His beard was stubbled and he was haggard and sallow. But this is what happened. Alas, they are all blood relatives, and this Song Xiuzhi is too cruel. He usually keeps quiet, but he will kill him when he comes up!"
Cai Pingchun declined to comment and instead asked his daughter: "Have you found any clues about the Purple Jade Golden Sunflower?"
Cai Zhao held out three fingers: "In the past three days, I have almost turned over the mansion in the town, and there is nothing."
Ning Xiaofeng said: "Your father has also turned over the valley in the past three days, but there is nothing. Has Purple Jade Golden Sunflower been sent out of Luoying Valley by your aunt?"
"Do you think the Purple Jade Sunflower is a good thing? As long as I live, my aunt will definitely not harm others with something that can easily cause trouble. I think she should have hidden the thing before she died, or entrusted it to someone else. Gave it to someone else? Alas, I was seriously ill for three days and didn’t know anything."
"Not only do you think so, the person behind the scenes probably also thought that my sister had entrusted the Purple Jade Golden Sunflower to her." Cai Pingchun poured a cup of hot tea for his wife, "In the past three days, I have carefully thought about the past more than a year, and finally I figured something out.”
He raised his head and asked, "Who were the people and sects who came to attend my sister's funeral?"
Ning Xiaofeng clapped her fingers: "We don't want to make any noise, so not many people came - all the five Beichen sects came, Brother Chang, the eminent monks of Changchun Temple, and the Qingzhu Gang at the door. Even my mother was very upset. Eight people came over and offered a stick of incense."
Cai Pingchun said: "The person behind the scenes knows my sister very well. I know that in order not to implicate us, my sister will definitely not leave the Purple Jade Golden Sunflower in Luoying Valley after her death. Instead, she entrusts it to someone who is trustworthy but has no one." Someone who can guess. And this person was among the people who came to attend my sister’s funeral."
Cai Zhao was shocked: "Who could it be?"
"Let me ask you, if you were my sister, to whom would you entrust the purple jade sunflower to?" Cai Pingchun asked his wife and daughter.
"Me." Ning Xiaofeng was stunned, "Well, I will entrust it to..." She rolled her eyes, "The most dangerous place is the safest place. I will secretly bury myself in that old bastard Yang Heying's house." In the ancestral graves, no one can imagine it!”
Cai Zhao burst out laughing, "Hahahaha, mother, you are so funny!"
"What's so funny? There's nothing wrong with what I said!"
"The reason why my aunt is reluctant to destroy the Purple Jade Sunflower is because she is afraid that someone will need to use it in the future. If it is buried in the Yang family's ancestral grave, then a black stone will be mixed in the soil, and even the devil will not be able to find it. It has nothing to do with destroying it. difference!"
"Then you say it!" Ning Xiaofeng said angrily.
Cai Zhao thought for a while: "Generally speaking, it is best to entrust it to the master or Uncle Zhou. They have high cultivation and power in their hands, and can protect the Purple Jade Golden Sunflower."
Cai Pingchun: "What if your aunt becomes suspicious of them?"
Cai Zhao was shocked.
Cai Pingchun said word by word: "The leader Mu said something right. The people behind the scenes went to great lengths to massacre the entire Chang family. Brother Chang must have noticed something. Although Brother Chang has no evidence, if he puts his Have you told your aunt about your concerns?"
Ning Xiaofeng was shocked: "You can't trust Qi Yunke, you can't trust Zhou Zhizhen, Song Shijun, Qiu Yuanfeng, Yang Heying, they are more unreliable than the last, that is..." She almost blurted out.
"So Brother Chang is dead." Cai Pingchun gently interrupted his wife, "On the night the Chang family was massacred, they must have searched the Chang family's Wubao to no avail."
"Who else could it be?" Ning Xiaofeng's head was full of lawsuits, and his eyes suddenly lit up, "By the way, Master Fakong!"
"So after Beichen Patriarch's ceremony, Nie Zhe sent people to intercept and kill us on the way back for no reason." Cai Pingchun said, "Among them, only Changchun Temple was attacked in front of the house. The gate of the temple was invaded, and many places in the temple were attacked. Burned."
Cai Zhao's pupils tightened: "So the other interceptions and killings were all deceptions, and only Changchun Temple was their target?"
"Yes, Zhaozhao is really smart." Cai Pingchun said, "If my guess is correct, the person behind the scenes has already taken the opportunity to search Changchun Temple, but still found nothing."
"After failing over and over again, he finally had no choice but to inflict the 'Netherworld Chill' on the third senior brother and ask us to find the Purple Jade Golden Sunflower for him." Cai Zhao was shocked, "Dad, you are so smart."
"...I've been talking for a long time." Ning Xiaofeng turned over his palms and said, "I dare to ask these two smart people where the black stone is."
Both father and daughter were silent.
After a long time, Cai Zhao sighed: "I'll look around again."
Looking at his daughter's slender figure leaving the house, Cai Pingchun suddenly said: "If Mu Qingyan has never committed any serious evil, and Zhao Zhao really likes him, let them go... elopement is not impossible."
Ning Xiaofeng almost choked on her tea: "What are you talking about! My baby Zhaozhao, when he gets married, he will have a banquet with red makeup and guests! And he elopes secretly, you are out of your mind!"
Cai Pingchun sighed: "Aren't you surprised? Song Yuzhi was struck by the cold air of the underworld more than a year ago. Why did Zhaozhao only come back to Yinggu to look for it now?"
Ning Xiaofeng's lips moved.
Cai Pingchun continued: "She knew that my sister had a deep meaning in hiding the Purple Jade Golden Sunflower. No matter how anxious Song Yuzhi was about not being able to recover, Zhao Zhao had no intention of actually helping him find the Purple Jade Golden Sunflower. Until the Blood Swamp Yelan was all over After it was destroyed and without worries, Zhaozhao really started to think about treasure hunting."
He smiled and said, "Zhaozhao is more like a person from Luoying Valley, with a coldness in his bones."
"The same goes for you. Both of you, father and daughter, only care about your own family." Ning Xiaofeng whispered, "Oh, only sister Pingshu has a warm heart."
"Those who are warm-hearted die long ago. Brother Chang's heart is not warm. Alas, only those who are cold-hearted can live long." Cai Pingchun patted his wife on the shoulder, "But Zhaozhao treats Mu Qingyan differently."
"Mu Qingyan went to the Snow Ridge with her and got the saliva of the Snow Scale Dragon Beast. They went to the blood swamp together again. Mu Qingyan could take advantage of Zhao Zhao's unpreparedness and hide a few branches of the night orchid mother plant. . If there were more purple jade and golden sunflowers, it would be enough to practice evil skills - but Zhao Zhao never had any doubts about him for a moment."
“There are some things that we can’t just ignore if we don’t think about them.”
Ning Xiaofeng was filled with worry, "...Why did I end up with someone surnamed Mu again?"
Cai Zhao wandered around in the wet valley for a long time, and finally entered Cai Pingshu's residence.
When she was alive, whenever the flowers were in full bloom in spring or the leaves were falling in late autumn, she would take little Cai Zhao back to the valley from the town to stay for a while.
Cai Zhao took off his wet coat and rolled into Cai Pingshu's bed.
Even though his late friend passed away nearly five years ago, Ning Xiaofeng still kept this room in good condition. The bedding was soft and dry, the tables and chairs were clean and bright, and even the rouge and gouache in the dowry box were fresh, as if they were waiting for Cai Pingshu to travel. Returning from the martial arts world.
I’m afraid my mother won’t be able to get used to my aunt’s death in this life——
Cai Zhao was thinking vaguely, and the fatigue of the past half month came over him. The previous scenes flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern, and finally settled on what Li Wenxun said.
"I'm afraid that the homing pigeon will leak the news halfway..."
Why does she always care about this sentence? Is there anything wrong with this sentence?
"Halfway on the wild road, the carrier pigeon leaked the news..."
