Chapter 295: New Answers
After Liu Sheng explained the effects of the weird objects on Jiang Caibin, he was filled with exclamations of awe.
“This is too powerful!”
“Yes, this is an extremely powerful weird object. Its previous owner didn't know the correct way to use it and only activated it crudely, which ended up benefiting you,” Liu Sheng recalled the Weird Domain she encountered at the Jiang Family. Although it was somewhat dangerous, for her, with her high resilience, it wasn't difficult to break.
Using it like that was truly a waste of Little Tentacle’s abilities.
No, Lu Siniang’s abilities.
She shook her head, collecting her thoughts.
“You must use it well, and not for the Evil Path,” Liu Sheng warned Jiang Caibin, seeing that he was originally a restless and profligate young man, which truly made her uneasy.
“Don’t worry, Liu Sheng Jie, aren’t you keeping an eye on me?” Jiang Caibin patted his chest, where Little Tentacle resided.
Little Tentacle was shaken awake, crawled out to take a look, then burrowed back in.
“Of course, the side effect is that your personality and preferences might be influenced by it, after all, Little Tentacle is actually a girl who loves beauty.”
Liu Sheng also stated this beforehand, to prevent Jiang Caibin from feeling that the goods didn't match the description.
However, even if he wasn't satisfied, he couldn't return it now.
Unexpectedly, the current Jiang Caibin didn't care at all: “It doesn’t matter, as long as it’s powerful.”
Then, his expression darkened.
“Moreover, there’s a feeling that I’m living for Little Tentacle.”
He had a feeling that everything Liu Sheng made him experience was very likely real.
His A-niang, and Little Tentacle, might have truly existed.
He didn't know what happened to Little Tentacle later, causing her to eventually fall into the abyss.
But now they were one, and he wanted to preserve everything of Little Tentacle.
Liu Sheng looked at Jiang Caibin; he had become much more relaxed and open, his eyes no longer confused, but rather accepting of the new changes happening to him. She finally felt relieved.
It seemed Jiang Caibin had found his anchor point.
That was—the memories of Little Tentacle.
The matter finally came to an end; the purpose of meeting Jiang Caibin today had been achieved.
Liu Sheng took out a disguise talisman, changed her appearance, and bid Jiang Caibin farewell and to take care.
Then, she pushed open the door, left the private room, and walked out of the restaurant.
She turned left and right, returning to Yunxian Residence.
Halfway there, she saw through Little Tentacle that Jiang Caibin also changed his appearance a little later and quietly left the private room.
This was also what they had agreed upon; their relationship was not good to expose at the moment, and it was best to pretend they were not familiar in public.
As soon as Jiang Caibin walked out of the restaurant, he heard a commotion. The streets on both sides were crowded with onlookers, all standing on tiptoe, craning their necks, eager to catch a glimpse.
It would be foolish not to watch gossip.
So Jiang Caibin squeezed into the crowd, also craning his neck.
In the middle of the road, a large group of Jinwu Guards passed by, making a grand display, their armor and weapons clanging with loud metallic sounds.
In the middle, two people were restraining a gloomy-looking woman in a pink dress.
The woman did not struggle; her cheeks were deeply sunken, her eye sockets extremely deep, dark and set within her eyes. She looked very haggard, as if she hadn't rested well for a long time.
As she passed Jiang Caibin, the woman, who had been looking down blankly, suddenly sensed something. She raised her head and turned towards Jiang Caibin’s direction, her gaze sweeping over the onlookers before lowering her head again.
No one knew who or what she was looking at.
Only Jiang Caibin knew that she was looking at him!
The Jinwu Guards escorting the woman seemed to sense something, keenly perceiving the direction of her gaze. Curious about what she was looking at, they turned their heads towards Jiang Caibin’s direction.
Sharp gazes were cast upon him, and Jiang Caibin’s heart pounded. He wanted to retreat.
But his mind raced, and his feet remained rooted, unmoving. He merely looked in the woman’s direction with the same gossipy curiosity as everyone else.
Little Tentacle sensed Jiang Caibin’s plea for help and silently absorbed the Guai Qi from Jiang Caibin’s body, drawing the surface Guai Qi deep within.
Soon, the Jinwu Guards, finding nothing, retracted their gazes and focused on escorting the woman. They put her into a black cloud sedan, exclusive to the Jinwu Guards, and rode away on the clouds.
Jiang Caibin finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The people around him were all discussing who this woman was and what she had done.
Since this restaurant was mostly surrounded by inns, most of the residents were Xuezis, similar in age, and many were from the same academies. Naturally, many people recognized her.
He overheard a few words and only knew that the woman seemed to be named Song Ru, a current Xuezis. It was said that based on the time she left the Tribute Yard, she had a good chance of passing the Examination and entering the Hall Examination.
But now, for some unknown reason, she was directly arrested by the Jinwu Guard.
“What do you think she did? This woman… she killed someone in the inn!” Someone, clearly an insider, shared mysteriously with everyone.
“Killed someone?”
“Killed someone in Chang’an?”
“So audacious?”
“Indeed!” The person continued, “As a result, when they checked her room, oh my, they found a pile of corpses and an incinerator!”
“Where did these corpses come from?” Someone more meticulous became suspicious upon hearing this. “I haven’t heard of so many people going missing in Chang’an recently.”
“How do you know it must be recent?”
“It’s also possible it’s not recent, which would require means to store the bodies. But given she has an incinerator, she could have easily destroyed them directly without storing them,” the person analyzed seriously. “The only possibility is that she killed too many people, too frequently, so she simply didn’t have time to dispose of them.”
Everyone thought this made a lot of sense, the only problem being, where did so many deceased come from?
If so many people had truly died silently, the public order in Chang’an would have long been in chaos.
The loophole was too big, so everyone ignored his words and paid no more attention to him.
Jiang Caibin, however, stepped forward and asked, “Brother, you are so clever! I’d like to get to know you. May I ask your name?”
This person was meticulous and seemed to have well-informed news, worthy of making acquaintance.
It would be convenient for gathering information.
This was also an order Liu Sheng gave him by poking him with Little Tentacle.
This person, seeing that his analysis was not appreciated by others, was feeling a bit down. But then he saw a “young lady” who was attracted by his talent, and his heart secretly rejoiced. He immediately cleared his throat, puffed out his chest, and spoke slowly, deliberately lowering his voice to make it charming and magnetic: “Young lady, you flatter me. I am Zhang Huaiyi. I merely enjoy reading storybooks, especially detective stories, particularly ‘The Legend of Duke Song’s Vindication.’ I’ve read it countless times, so I only know a little.”
Liu Sheng, who had already returned to Yunxian Residence, didn’t expect to see Lu Shen’s Senior Brother Zhang Huaiyi and Jiang Caibin become acquainted. She inexplicably felt a sense of the fourth wall being broken.
“Huh, where did that phrase come from?”
“It must be from watching too many bullet comments on the Star Network before, learning a lot of trendy phrases.”
“Got trendy!”
“Trendier than adding ten humidifying formations!”
Since Jiang Caibin deliberately disguised himself as a woman, it wasn't wrong for Zhang Huaiyi to mistake him for a “young lady.”
Moreover, for some reason, Jiang Caibin didn't reject the title of “young lady,” and even quite liked it.
Not to mention, as soon as he heard that Zhang Huaiyi liked storybooks, and also liked “The Legend of Duke Song’s Vindication,” his eyes immediately lit up, feeling a sense of meeting a kindred spirit too late.
“The Legend of Duke Song’s Vindication” drawn by Xiao Hanzi was the best!
The two chatted happily, and their discussion about Duke Song’s investigations was endless. They quickly exchanged spirit messages and agreed to discuss storybooks again next time.
As for the misunderstanding that this “storybook” was not that “picture book,” it was a beautiful misunderstanding for now.
Furthermore, it was unknown when Zhang Huaiyi would realize the misunderstanding that this “young lady” was not that “young lady.”
Liu Sheng temporarily withdrew her view, not wanting to watch their interaction anymore.
More importantly now, how was Song Ru discovered?