Chapter 229
Chapter 229
“So the problem really is this villa!”
Yu Lang suggested, “My lord, let us leave as quickly as we can!”
Ren Fengjue glanced at the snowy scene outside. “If we could leave, we would not have ended up back here.”
He moved a vase to a different spot on the table, then turned a chair to face another way. “I have a theory. In a little while, everything we have moved will return to its original position.”
The others watched what he did and paused at his words.
Then they all stared at the vase and chair, hardly daring to blink.
Yet after only a few minutes, the vase did indeed silently return to its former place, and the chair turned back…
Yu Lang’s mouth fell open. A chill swept through him. “It really did…”
Ren Fengjue said, “From the look of things, nothing that belongs here can be taken away…”
“Not even memories.”
The more they considered it, the more terrifying it became.
Yu Lang immediately asked, “So our memories were erased after we left the villa?”
“Blurred, more likely.”
Ren Fengjue said, “People are living beings. We can think and feel. We are not like these objects, helpless to resist being manipulated.”
He looked around and gently rubbed between his brows. “It seems that if we want to escape, we must first uncover this villa’s history.”
Though frightened, Yu Lang was also intensely curious about the villa.
“My lord, are we investigating now?”
Ren Fengjue nodded. “We cannot wait until morning. We start now.”
He immediately assigned Yu Lang his task. “You, Daoist Yan, and Axia will search the eastern and southern sections.”
“Meet back here in two hours.”
“And make sure you stay together.”
Yu Lang was used to working with Yan Zhengchu and immediately pulled Daoist Yan toward the door.
Seeing them leave, Axia hurried after them.
In the hall, Ren Fengjue exchanged a glance with Xia Ximo and tried to sound as natural as possible. “We should go too.”
He led the way with the lantern. Xia Ximo was about to follow when she glanced at the drowsy Wuyou beside her.
Unable to suppress another yawn, Wuyou silently trailed after them.
Outside the windows, snow drifted like soft tufts and settled soundlessly.
Just then, a bright moon slowly rose from between the mountains into the sky, bathing the earth in its pale light.
Moonlight reflected off the snow, illuminating the entire villa as brightly as day.
Then a cold gust blew the main doors open. Amid the swirling wind and snow, a figure faintly appeared.
*
“I have made inquiries. There is an abandoned Mingyue Villa at the foot of Mount Yuebei, full of priceless treasures. Any one of them would keep us fed for half our lives.”
“Is the information reliable?”
“I do not mind telling you: I got it from Hanging Mirror Hall. What do you think?”
In an inn frequented by wandering martial artists in Liangzhou City, two suspicious-looking men in bamboo hats sat drinking and talking in a corner.
At the name “Hanging Mirror Hall,” the thin man deliberately lowered his voice almost to a whisper, though he could not hide the smugness in his eyes.
The other man, tall and powerfully built, immediately leaned closer. A scar on his right cheek made him look intimidating.
He grinned. “Not bad! You have barely arrived in Liangzhou City, and you have already made connections with Hanging Mirror Hall?”
The thin man replied, “How could anyone survive in our line of work without a few contacts?”
Their eyes met. Both lifted their wine bowls and lightly clinked them together, sealing their agreement.
Just then, a clear voice unexpectedly sounded behind them.
“I advise you both to stay away from that place.”
They turned at the same time and saw a young woman wearing a veil seated at the table behind them.
Her clothes were snow-white, and her refined, almost ethereal air was utterly out of place in this inn full of rough wanderers.
Yet strangely, no one had noticed when she appeared…
Why would the two men planning to make a haul at Mingyue Villa listen to her?
They were thieves whose reputations had risen swiftly in recent years, though they had only arrived in Liangzhou City a couple of days earlier.
The burly man with the scar was known as River-Crossing Dragon. The thin man was called Black Swallow.
“What would a little girl know?”
River-Crossing Dragon glanced at her, unwilling to waste his attention on her.
Black Swallow was more cautious. After looking her over twice, he did ask, “You know Mingyue Villa?”
The veiled young woman did not even lift her eyes. “Of course. No one who goes there comes back. If you will not listen, just make sure you have no regrets.”
She gave them a small smile, rose, and headed outside.
Black Swallow watched her leave the inn, then suddenly said to River-Crossing Dragon, “There is something odd about that woman…”
With a contemptuous look, River-Crossing Dragon picked up a peanut and tossed it into his mouth. “Sounds like you are scared,” he sneered.
Black Swallow gave an awkward laugh. “Why would I be scared? I have been inside tombs. Why fear an abandoned villa?”
River-Crossing Dragon grinned. “Good. Fortune favors those who take risks. We will go tonight and leave Liangzhou once the job is done. I hear Jiang Ting, the Marquis of Zhenbei, is not someone to cross.”
“Agreed.”
As darkness approached, the two thieves changed into dark clothes for their night’s work and made their way to the foot of Mount Yuebei.
Before long, they came upon an abandoned post station.
Black Swallow said, “My contact at Hanging Mirror Hall told me that Mingyue Villa is two li east of the deserted post station.”
River-Crossing Dragon narrowed his eyes toward the east. The night was still, with no sign of habitation.
Mingyue Villa seemed to slumber against the mountain, just as silent.
This place was far too deserted.
“What exactly is the story behind this villa? Why was it built here? Do you know?”
Black Swallow replied, “They say a family of officials from Liangzhou City built it as a retreat. Supposedly, their daughter was staying here to recover from an illness. In truth, it was used to hide treasures.”
“The young lady disappeared a year ago, and no one has lived here since. But they say the valuables are still inside.”
River-Crossing Dragon frowned. “It has stood empty for a year, and no one has come?”
Black Swallow shrugged. “People must have come. None of them succeeded…”
That made River-Crossing Dragon doubt the story too.
He stopped. “Could there be something wrong with the villa? We had better be careful.”
At last, Black Swallow had a chance to return the mockery.
“Brother, now you sound like the frightened one.”
River-Crossing Dragon had always prided himself on his courage and immediately snorted. “Frightened of what? I am only afraid someone has played us for fools and sent us on a wasted trip.”
Displeased, Black Swallow immediately used his lightness skill to leap onto Mingyue Villa’s courtyard wall ahead of him.
Only then did he turn and say coldly, “If you are scared, there is still time to go back.”
At this, River-Crossing Dragon hurriedly leaped up after him.
The two figures skimmed across the forecourt, one behind the other, and made straight for the hall.
A moment later, Black Swallow stopped in front and said with some excitement, “Brother Dragon, I think we have stumbled on a real windfall this time.”