usatvline Chapter 83 083 A Glimpse of Cold Light
Chapter 83 083 A Glimpse of Cold Light
Chapter 83 083 A Glimpse of Cold Light
Two days later, after the swelling on her face had subsided slightly, Ye Bijun changed into a very inconspicuous outfit and, together with Qiaoyi, quietly left the Marquis's residence through the back gate, heading towards the South Market. As they walked, they cautiously looked around to make sure no one was following them. Just like that day, the two walked around Qinggu Lane three times before finally entering Lingyin Pavilion.
Lingyin Pavilion is a music hall run by people from Central Asia. The wooden shelves are filled with musical instruments such as the erhu, pipa, etc. The musicians and servants are all dressed in Central Asian clothing and sit on chairs playing their instruments. The whole room is full of a strong Western Region style.
The distance between Honglianfang and Lingyinge spans the Central Plains and the Western Regions. What exactly does Ronghualou do?
As Ye Bijun was wondering, someone came up and asked, "Ladies, are you here to buy musical instruments or to hire a musician?"
Ye Bijun and Qiaoyi exchanged a glance and said, "Besides musical instruments, do you have anything else for sale here?"
"What does 'young lady' mean?"
Revealing half of a bronze nine-petaled lotus token from her sleeve, Ye Bijun said, "What can make me rich and powerful? Naturally, it's buying something."
When the man saw the nine-petaled lotus, his smile deepened. He said, "Wealth and honor are not something that can be bought with external things. Miss, you must have come to the wrong shop."
Huh? Could it be that Qiaoyi followed the wrong person and chose the wrong place? Ye Bijun was very puzzled, but she didn't want to give up. She said, "Who says it can't be? A lifetime of glory and wealth is predetermined by heaven. If we don't do our best, how can we follow the will of heaven?"
“What you say makes sense, young lady, but I’m afraid our shop can’t sell what you want,” the man said.
"It can't be sold, not that it doesn't exist." Did he mean he knew where to find Ronghua Tower? Ye Bijun's eyes lit up, and she quickly asked, "Then do you know where I can buy such a thing?"
"Young lady, look at all the musical instruments we have in Lingyin Pavilion. Wouldn't you like to buy one to please your lover?" The man changed the subject.
Ye Bijun was extremely anxious. The injury on her face had been recurring and tormenting her for almost a month. If she couldn't find Ronghua Tower again, she really didn't know what to do!
"I'll buy all the instruments you have here today! Now, can you tell me where to find them?" Ye Bijun said angrily.
"I didn't expect you to be so extravagant, young lady. You truly are someone who pursues wealth and luxury." The man laughed heartily. "Please come with me, young lady."
"We made the right bet!" Ye Bijun was overjoyed and quickly followed the man deeper into Lingyin Pavilion. The interior of Lingyin Pavilion was as complex as that of Honglian Workshop. They passed through interconnected rooms and entered a secret passage hidden behind the paintings and calligraphy. They climbed the steps all the way to the top of Lingyin Pavilion.
Before Ye Bijun was a door, from which came the sound of a zither, as clear and desolate as flowing water, completely different from what she had heard when she first entered Lingyin Pavilion.
The man stepped forward and knocked on the door, saying, "Manager, an old friend has come to visit."
The music didn't stop, but a voice that Ye Bijun and Qiaoyi both recognized rang out: "Please come in."
Pushing open the door, Ye Bijun and Qiaoyi stepped inside together. Inside, a man dressed in a dark green robe sat at a table playing the zither. He was young and handsome, with an extraordinary bearing. He was none other than Ji Hongbo, who had previously served as the manager of Honglianfang.
With a slight lift of his fingers, Ji Hongbo pressed down on the vibrating strings, looked up at Ye Bijun, and smiled, "It's been a long time. How have you been, Miss Ye?"
Upon seeing him, Ye Bijun rushed forward as if she had seen a savior. She lifted the veil from her face and cried out in a shrill voice, "Mr. Ji, please, you must save me!"
The scars on her face were red and swollen, extremely gruesome, yet Ji Hongbo's expression remained unchanged: "How did Miss Ye end up like this?"
"It's all because of that little bitch in my household! She tricked me into getting 'Puppet Master' poisoned, causing me to embarrass myself at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet and even scratch my face! Mr. Ji, this wound on my face has been there for almost a month, but it just won't heal, and it itches terribly every night! If this continues, I'm afraid my face will fester and ooze pus, and it will never heal!" Ye Bijun scrambled forward in a panic, reaching out to grab Ji Hongbo's sleeve. "Mr. Ji, please ask the Master to check if there are still any 'Puppet Master' poison residues in my body! Please, please help me detoxify!"
"Miss Ye, don't panic. Once the connection between the manipulator and the poisoned person is severed, the poison will be automatically expelled from the body without leaving a trace." Ji Hongbo gently helped her up. "Miss Ye, the injury on your face seems to have another reason. I wonder what kind of medicine you've been using lately?"
Upon learning that the "Puppet Master" would not leave any residual poison, Ye Bijun breathed a sigh of relief and then said, "I have been applying the Hibiscus Regenerating Ointment bestowed by His Majesty to the wound. Oh, and there's also a miraculous healing medicine called 'essential oil' from the Western Regions."
"Essential oils?" The name made Ji Hongbo raise an eyebrow, secretly amused. This Ye Bijun was truly unlucky, falling victim to Rou'er's poisons one after another. Rou'er's poisons were so strange; it would be a miracle if she recovered.
"Does Miss Ye still have these two items?"
"I still have some Hibiscus Regenerating Cream, but I used up the 'essential oil' a few days ago, so now I only have an empty bottle left," Ye Bijun said hurriedly, and quickly asked Qiaoyi to bring out the Hibiscus Regenerating Cream and the glass bottle containing the essential oil.
Ji Hongbo stared at the glass bottle containing the essential oil for a long time before smiling and saying, "Miss Ye, please wait a moment while I present these two items to the Master of the Pavilion and then give you my reply." After he finished speaking, he turned around and walked to the back, pushing open a hidden door in the wall.
The hidden door led to another secret room. Inside, Ye Yingrou tightly gripped the glass bottle she had once given to Ye Pianran and asked, "Ji Linchuan, are you sure she came alone and had no one following her?"
Beside her, Ji Linchuan coldly uttered two words: "No."
"That's good," Ye Yingrou said with a sigh of relief. Although Ji Linchuan had successfully destroyed the Ronghua Tower's mark on the assassins, and the Ministry of Justice hadn't found any clues, she didn't feel relieved. These past few days, she had always felt a gaze watching her from the shadows, but every time she asked Ji Linchuan, she received the same answer.
Perhaps she was just overthinking it. After all, no one knew that Ronghualou had quietly moved here, yet Ye Bijun still managed to find her. It was hard to tell whether Ye Bijun was just lucky or Ronghualou was just incredibly unlucky.
Ye Yingrou took out the antidote, "essential oil," from her sleeve and threw it into Ji Hongbo's arms. She said irritably, "Give this to her and tell her to apply it to the wound every day to stop the itching."
"Just to stop the itching?" Ji Hongbo asked.
"The reason I made that thing was to make sure that Ye Pianran's facial injury would never heal. Ye Bijun was stupid and fell into Ye Pianran's trap, suffering to this point. Who can she blame?" Ye Yingrou said coldly. "She's more trouble than she's worth. Giving her the antidote to stop the itch is already my greatest act of kindness."
When Ye Yanxun mentioned that Ye Pianran had given the "essential oil" to Ye Bijun, Ye Yingrou knew that Ye Pianran must have sensed something. Otherwise, Ye Pianran wouldn't have been able to avoid the "puppet master," let alone instruct Ye Bijun to sabotage her and her brother's plans at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. Perhaps the injury on Ye Pianran's face had already healed, and she was wearing a veil merely as a disguise to deceive him and her brother.
Ye Yingrou narrowed her eyes slightly, her gaze turning extremely sinister. If she weren't currently being closely watched by the Ministry of Justice and unable to spare any attention, she would definitely send someone to investigate Ye Pianran thoroughly!
Ji Hongbo left the secret room, handed the antidote to Ye Bijun, and said with a smile, "This is an antidote specially prepared by the host for Miss Ye. Use it together with the wound medicine, and the wound will stop itching and heal completely in less than two days."
Ye Bijun was overjoyed and stuffed a lot of silver into Ji Hongbo's hands, saying, "Please thank the Master for me! I will never forget the Master's great kindness! If Ronghua Tower ever needs me in the future, I will go through fire and water without hesitation!"
At the Mountain and Sea Inn, Chunyu Yang stood by the window of a guest room, watching Ye Bijun leave from Lingyin Pavilion and gradually disappear into the crowd until she was no longer in sight. His gaze grew increasingly profound.
Ye Bijun arrived with a face full of anxiety and left with a face full of joy. Such a contrast makes it easy to imagine what she had encountered in Lingyin Pavilion. It seems that Ye Cangqiong's information was correct; Ronghua Tower was indeed hidden in Lingyin Pavilion.
Upon discovering the whereabouts of Ronghua Tower, Chunyu Yang did not rashly infiltrate it to investigate. Instead, he visited the Shanhai Inn opposite Lingyin Pavilion every day to observe Lingyin Pavilion's movements. Gradually, he noticed that every three days, a carriage would stop at the back gate of Lingyin Pavilion. Although the carriage looked inconspicuous, the security inside and outside Lingyin Pavilion would be exceptionally tight whenever it arrived.
The person who commands such protection from Lingyin Pavilion… no, from Ronghua Tower, must hold a very high position within Ronghua Tower. This person is either the owner of Ronghua Tower or has a very close relationship with the owner.
Knowing that this was the key to solving all the mysteries, on a night when the clouds were low and the autumn wind was blowing, Chunyu Yang, all alone, quietly followed the carriage that was leaving Lingyin Pavilion under the cover of night.
The whistling wind was crushed by the rolling wheels, making a "whoosh, whoosh" sound that was strangely eerie. Ye Yingrou sat in the carriage, watching the curtains fluttering in the wind outside the window, her brows furrowed tightly.
The wind is blowing fiercely tonight; it looks like it's going to rain. I wonder if the servants in the Xu household remembered to bring in the poisonous weeds that were drying in the yard. What if they get wet in the rain...
Suddenly, the wheel ran over a pebble, causing the car to shudder slightly. A chilling voice rang out from outside: "Be careful, someone is following you."
Someone was following us? Ye Yingrou was horrified and instinctively shrank back into the corner of the carriage: "Whoever it is, kill him!"
"Yes!" Ji Linchuan replied, then leaped into the darkness.
The moment Ji Linchuan set off, Chunyu Yang had already sensed it. His face turned cold, his steps quickened, and in a flash he drew the soft sword from his waist, wrapped it around the silver light that was silently attacking his throat, and flung it aside with his internal strength.
In the darkness of night, a ghostly figure was flung onto the opposite rooftop by his powerful strike. Then, with a light tap of his feet on the green tiles, he attacked again, wielding a silver hook.
Chunyu Yang dared not underestimate his opponent and focused intently on dealing with Ji Linchuan's impenetrable offensive. The silver hook and the soft sword clashed and collided incessantly, and in the fleeting moments of silver light, they reflected the opponent's cold and ruthless eagle eyes.
In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged dozens of blows. Meanwhile, in this brief moment, the carriage Chunyu Yang was trying to track traveled further and further away, completely disappearing into the night.
Chunyu Yang's heart skipped a beat. He realized that if he didn't pursue the matter now, it would be difficult to find any clues related to Ronghua Tower in the future. He immediately quickened his pace and used his soft sword to completely sever Ji Linchuan's right hand.
Ji Linchuan screamed and staggered back two steps, his severed hand, along with the silver hook, falling to the ground with a thud. Chunyu Yang turned to chase after the carriage, but suddenly felt a whooshing sound coming towards his back. He spun around and narrowly dodged Ji Linchuan's projectile, but unexpectedly ran headlong into the white powder that followed the projectile.
It was too late to dodge now. Chunyu Yang quickly held his breath to prevent himself from inhaling the powder. However, when the powder landed on his face, his eyes felt a burning pain, and his vision immediately went dark.
With his vision obstructed, Chunyu Yang's composed demeanor instantly became chaotic. Seeing this, Ji Linchuan drew a poisoned dagger from his waist and stabbed it fiercely towards Chunyu Yang's heart.
Years of battlefield experience had instilled in Chunyu Yang a keen sense of crisis, prompting him to react instantly. He leaned back, and as the dagger pierced his body, avoiding his heart, he gathered all his inner strength in his palm and struck Ji Linchuan's chest with force.
Taking advantage of the moment when Ji Linchuan was repelled, Chunyu Yang dared not linger any longer and staggered as he turned and fled.
Chunyu Yang was in excruciating pain in his eyes and had no idea which road he was on or where he was going. He could only feel blood flowing out of his body and his movements becoming increasingly sluggish. He also knew that his palm strike was not enough to kill the assassin who used a silver hook as a weapon. If he did not escape quickly, he might really lose his life here today.
How many years has it been since he was in such a sorry state? How many years has it been since he experienced this feeling of being on the verge of death?
A dry autumn breeze blew from afar, carrying with it the faint sound of wheels rolling over the ground. At the same time, Chunyu Yang keenly heard a strange noise coming from the roof tiles not far behind him. He clenched his cold hands, mustered his last bit of strength, and ran swiftly towards the direction from which the sound of wheels came.