Chapter 36
Chapter 36
Lin Zhu ran back, panting. His bundle bulged with whatever he had bought, but he said nothing and simply stood behind Cheng Miao to catch his breath.
Cheng Miao looked at Li Cheng. “How was he injured?”
Jiang Qi jumped in, his face full of indignation. “I don’t know! We entered the instance at a Taoist temple. Our master told us, ‘Rest for tonight, disciples. Tomorrow, you will go out and gain experience.'”
“We followed the map here and had just found the temple where we were supposed to stay. Before we could even go out and investigate, that monster attacked us. It made no sense!”
Li Cheng’s expression was grim as well. He had never encountered such a strange instance. He was certain neither he nor Jiang Qi had violated a taboo, yet the monster had somehow been able to attack them.
Cheng Miao’s gaze moved between their faces. She did not ask about their mission or hint, merely offered a meaningful observation. “If it wasn’t triggered by something you did, then it may have been triggered by your identities.”
“Our identities…” Li Cheng struck one fist into his palm. “I considered that. Taoist priests attracting a demon makes sense, but that would be obviously unfair.”
Cheng Miao shrugged. “An instance must be fair. It surely gave you some advantage to offset the inconvenience of your roles. You just haven’t discovered it yet.”
The two men frowned in thought. Sudden understanding crossed their faces, followed by a flash of delight that they immediately suppressed. Cheng Miao acted as if she had seen nothing and looked toward the Taoist temple behind them.
Following her gaze, Li Cheng glanced back. “Servants from the Chang Residence invited us inside today. Once we’re there, come to me if you need help with anything.”
Cheng Miao was unimpressed by the empty promise. Li Cheng smiled helplessly. She was young, but extremely guarded.
He could also see that Cheng Miao did not trust him and had no need to form a group merely for a sense of safety.
“My other two teammates discovered something while treating Second Master Chang. He’s at death’s door, withered almost to a skeleton. The illness is strange. It’s dragged on for two or three years. He barely looks human anymore, yet he stubbornly refuses to die.”
Cheng Miao unconsciously touched the sachet at her waist. “Did they meet the Second Madam?”
Li Cheng nodded, curiosity entering his eyes. “I heard she’s a beauty straight out of a painting. She seems extremely devoted to Second Master Chang.”
Jiang Qi looked openly eager. “Zhang Yang and the others are so lucky. I’d like to see her too. I heard she only recently had a child, but still has the figure of a young maiden.”
Li Cheng cut him off with a frown, glaring at his teammate in exasperation. “Put away those filthy thoughts.”
Jiang Qi clutched his head and wailed, “I’m innocent! I don’t mean anything filthy. I just appreciate beauty and want one look!”
Cheng Miao ignored their internal disciplinary lesson. Her thoughts had drifted to something else Li Cheng had said.
Second Master Chang was little different from a man in a vegetative state, while Chang Dayong feared Gejin so much that he stayed away at night. Then how had those two children been conceived…?
They would encounter one another after returning to the Chang Residence anyway, so Cheng Miao and Li Cheng did not linger in the alley. Li Cheng’s group needed to prepare for entering the residence, while Cheng Miao and Lin Zhu had their own purpose for coming out.
Cheng Miao told Lin Zhu what Li Cheng had shared while he was gone. The shoulder-to-shoulder crowd jostled the boy from side to side, but he kept a firm grip on the bundle and walked ahead of her, blocking some of the people surging their way.
Sister Miaomiao was a girl. A boy ought to clear the path for her.
Cheng Miao found his efforts amusing, but silently followed behind and accepted his kindness.
“So there’s only one pair whose location we still don’t know.” As the crowds around the Taoist temple thinned, Lin Zhu breathed a sigh of relief.
Cheng Miao straightened her clothes and made sure no one had pickpocketed her or planted anything on her. Then she brushed nonexistent dust from her sleeves. “Did you buy everything?”
Lin Zhu nodded. He started to open the bundle for her, but worried someone might be watching and quickly tucked the exposed corner back inside. “I bought plenty of snap poppers, plus several strings of firecrackers as backup.”
Cheng Miao patted his shoulder and praised him twice. Then her gaze shifted. “Found it.”
Lin Zhu looked up. Several stately characters were carved across a fine rosewood signboard: Zhengyuan Hall.
“What can I get for you two?” The pharmacy’s shopkeeper was over seventy, but still hale and energetic.
“Sir, we’d like to buy some musk,” Lin Zhu said first. Cheng Miao stood behind him with a smile.
“Musk?” The shopkeeper’s cloudy eyes passed over Lin Zhu and settled on Cheng Miao. “What do you need musk for? Mishandled, it can kill.”
Lin Zhu scratched his head. This NPC was awfully nosy. Why not simply sell customers what they requested?
He took from his robe a heavy gold ingot conjured by his book and placed it on the counter. “We would never use it for anything immoral. We truly need the musk. Please give us your finest.”
The ingot flashed before the old shopkeeper’s eyes. He studied Cheng Miao, then Lin Zhu, deep furrows gathering between his brows as though he still wanted to object.
“Musk opens the senses, clears the meridians, counteracts alcohol poisoning, and relieves indigestion. It has countless uses.” Cheng Miao stepped forward with a smile, but warning entered her eyes. “Why must you worry so much, Shopkeeper?”
The old man stared at her for a long moment. As though he had finally recognized something, he smiled in relief and beckoned to an assistant. “Wrap up the premium stock from the top shelf for this young lady.”
Lin Zhu exhaled and accepted the medicine packet, stuffing it into his bundle.
Cheng Miao nodded and was about to leave when the old shopkeeper sighed meaningfully. “Young lady, now that you’ve stepped closer, I can see that you truly do need this musk. If it takes effect within two days, you may still be able to save a life.”
Cheng Miao paused but offered no answer. She led Lin Zhu out of the pharmacy.
Lin Zhu had not understood their cryptic exchange. Seeing her dark expression, he puzzled over it for a long time before asking, “Sister Miaomiao, what did he mean? What life can still be saved within two days?”
Cheng Miao looked up at the brilliant blue noon sky and stretched her tense neck. After steadying her emotions, she asked, “Do you know the most widely known use of musk?”
Lin Zhu answered instantly. “Causing miscarriages!”
Cheng Miao fell silent. “…Excellent. Watch fewer palace dramas.”
Lin Zhu wilted.
Returning to the subject, Cheng Miao recited solemnly, “It chiefly expels evil qi and destroys ghostly entities… Worn around the neck or placed beneath a pillow, it wards off nightmares and corpse-borne ghostly miasma.”
Lin Zhu stared at her. Cold sweat drenched his body despite the midday sun. “Th-then the shopkeeper meant…”
Cheng Miao glanced toward the visible signboard of the Chang Residence and sneered. “I thought this instance offered suspiciously generous freedom, and last night’s attack wasn’t even certain death. It seemed far too easy. Now we know why. Anyone who stays in the Chang Residence becomes tainted by demonic and ghostly qi. Remain too long, and even completing the mission may not be enough to get you home.”