Chapter 300
Chapter 300
As they walked, the group kept a careful eye on their surroundings.
“Whatever else you can say about this place, it’s huge,” Yellow Hair remarked.
And size wasn’t its only distinguishing feature. The entire residence had an antique elegance to it, reminiscent of the old architectural styles of Jiangnan. There were little bridges, artificial hills, flowing streams, and all the other hallmarks of a classical Suzhou garden.
Jian Fan continued onward.
It wasn’t long before they reached a pavilion.
A plaque hanging from it read “Lotus-Viewing Pavilion.” Presumably, it was a place where people came to admire the lotus flowers in summer.
When Jian Fan saw nothing unusual, he continued farther inside.
Beyond the pavilion lay a small garden.
Behind the garden was a drooping-flower gate. Once they passed through it, they encountered a maze of winding covered corridors. After navigating those corridors, they finally reached the residential part of the estate.
First came a study. Beside it was a courtyard that appeared to be the main courtyard. Beyond that lay the inner residence, which contained seven or eight smaller courtyards. Behind those was a row of servants’ quarters. On the other side was the kitchen. Farther back, they found a stable and what appeared to be a laundry room, followed by the rear gate.
In addition to its main and rear gates, the residence also had side entrances to the left and right.
Jian Fan did not linger anywhere for long. He led the group on a full circuit of the estate, familiarizing himself with most of the Xie Residence’s layout.
“This place really is enormous,” Yellow Hair marveled. His thoughts promptly wandered. “If this were back in ancient times, what kind of status would a residence like this represent?”
No one answered him.
Once Jian Fan had completed the circuit, he began retracing his steps.
This time, he intended to conduct a thorough search.
His first targets were the main courtyard and the study.
Judging by the current situation, this world was inextricably connected to the Xie Residence. Miss Xie was the primary NPC, but there were far too many small courtyards for them to know which one belonged to her. Aside from Miss Xie, Squire Xie was clearly another key NPC, and figuring out where Squire Xie lived was much easier.
It had to be the main courtyard, didn’t it?
The study was also somewhere Squire Xie would surely spend a great deal of time.
They might be able to find clues in those two places connected to Squire Xie, or even to the entire story behind this world.
The group entered the study first.
Without Jian Fan needing to say a word, everyone split up with practiced coordination and began searching for clues.
Well, not quite everyone.
Xia Zeqin had come with them, but he merely walked over to a bookcase, casually pulled out a book, and flipped through it at his leisure. He looked as though he might be searching for clues, yet also as though he wasn’t doing anything at all.
Qin Nan glanced at him.
His brows furrowed slightly.
That Xia Zeqin…
Forget it.
He wasn’t worth paying attention to.
Qin Nan immediately looked away and threw himself into the search.
The group had arrived brimming with enthusiasm, only to come away empty-handed.
After searching the entire study, they gathered together.
“Did you find any clues over there?”
“No. What about you?”
“Nothing.”
“…”
Once everyone had compared notes, they all turned to Jian Fan.
Faced with so many expectant gazes, Jian Fan paused before shaking his head.
He hadn’t found any clues either.
The group deflated somewhat.
“This was only the first place we searched. No need to rush. Let’s keep going,” Qin Nan immediately encouraged them.
Jian Fan said nothing, responding with action instead.
He headed straight for the nearby main courtyard.
Naturally, everyone followed him.
The main courtyard was much larger than the study. The group spent more than twice as long searching it, yet when they regrouped, they could only look from one person to another before shaking their heads in turn.
Nothing. Still no clues.
“Could Squire Xie not be an important NPC after all?” Yellow Hair asked, puzzled.
Qin Nan immediately nodded when he heard that. “We should look for Miss Xie’s courtyard.”
With that, Qin Nan turned to Jian Fan.
After finding nothing in either the study or the main courtyard, Jian Fan had already begun to suspect there might not be any clues left in the residence. But when Qin Nan looked at him, he decided it was better to be safe than sorry and nodded in the end.
The group immediately threw themselves back into the search.
Unfortunately, it yielded no surprises.
They spent several hours turning the residence upside down. Aside from the strange stone statue at the entrance and the strange noises in the courtyard, they found absolutely nothing.
There wasn’t even anything that might qualify as a useful clue.
Because this was nothing more than an empty residence!
There weren’t even any belongings or luggage left behind by the people who had lived here.
The place was beautifully furnished, but that turned out to be completely useless.
“What do we do now?” Yellow Hair asked again.
Lin Junruo followed up with a question of her own. “There isn’t a single clue here. What do we do next?”
They had assumed they would find something in the residence, but after searching the entire place, they had come up empty-handed. They didn’t even know the identities of Miss Xie and her father.
All they knew was that this was Leqing Town and that the Xie Family belonged to the local gentry. That was it.
“Let’s take a look outside,” Qin Weiyi said. He hadn’t expected the residence to truly contain no other clues whatsoever.
Since there was nothing here, they could only search elsewhere.
Qin Nan sighed. “I guess that’s our only option.”
Jian Fan said nothing, but he didn’t object.
The group left the Xie Residence.
Although the front gate had been shut, when Lu Jing gave it a push, it opened with ease.
They stepped out of the Xie Residence and prepared to continue along the main road.
The buildings lining the road looked much the same as the ones they had passed before, and several narrow alleys branched off between them.
No one knew where those alleys led. This was an entire town, after all. There was no way they could explore every inch of it in a single day. They decided to stick to their original plan and finish following the main road first.
The group pressed on without stopping. After walking for about an hour, they finally reached the end of the road.
But when they saw what lay there, their expressions turned strange.
At the very end of the road stood a large ceremonial archway. Beyond it was a stone stele, its inscribed face turned away from them, so they couldn’t see what was written on it. Farther ahead was a small bridge, and then… the grove of scholar trees.
“Does this place look kind of familiar to any of you?” Yellow Hair asked, swallowing hard.
Lin Junruo nodded silently.
Of course it looked familiar. Including this time, they had already seen it three times.
This was the entrance to Leqing Town!
It was the first place they had seen after getting off the bus. It was the scene that had suddenly appeared when everything changed after their narrow escape that morning. And now, after walking for what felt like forever and finally reaching the end of the town’s main road, they were seeing it yet again.
They had followed a single road the entire way without making even one turn, yet they had somehow ended up right back where they started.
Jian Fan clearly hadn’t expected this either.
He abruptly turned and examined the buildings on both sides of the road.
In his mind, he began reconstructing the scenes they had passed earlier. He couldn’t be completely certain, but based on what remained in his memory…