Chapter 281
Chapter 281
“That’s Mount Ya over there…”
Early the next morning, Zhu Peng guided Ren Fengjue and the others to the foot of Mount Ya.
Zhao Wan had come with them, along with her personal maid Xiaoxizi and a contingent of Golden Plume Guards.
Lord Ren had hardly wanted such a large entourage.
But Princess Fenghua had insisted on coming, and he really could not stop her.
There was an advantage, though: they passed through every city gate and checkpoint along the way without hindrance.
After all, here in the Northern Border, no one would bar the way of anyone from Prince Wu’s Mansion.
Following the direction of Zhu Peng’s finger, they saw a chain of towering mountains. Beside Mount Ya, Mount Yuebei was plainly dwarfed.
“This is the other side of Mount Yuebei, isn’t it?”
Yu Lang squinted into the distance for a long time, finally working out where they were from the lay of the land.
Yan Zhengchu was studying it too. “It is the other side of Mount Yuebei. And…”
He suddenly asked Zhu Peng, “What’s that mountain beside it?”
Zhu Peng answered, “It used to be called Mount Yan. They say Vengeful Ghosts were once sealed inside it, so hardly anyone dared go there. Later, they renamed it Mount Buyu.”
“Mount Yan… It’s actually here?”
Yan Zhengchu had heard of the “Mount Yan Evil Ghosts” before, but had never had any idea where the mountain was…
Now, at last, he understood.
Zhu Peng continued, “I’ve only heard about Mount Yan from the village elders. Even now, almost no one dares set foot there. I don’t know how much of it is true.”
Yan Zhengchu smiled without committing himself.
They followed the small path beneath Mount Ya. There were no longer any signs of habitation around them.
When they reached a stone marker engraved with the three characters for “Zhu Family Village,” the sight before them sent a chill through their hearts.
For all the long days of heavy snow, it had failed to conceal the remains of the houses ravaged by fire.
Zhu Peng’s expression grew somber. Without speaking, he led them west along the main road through the village.
Next came what had once been the Di Slave Camp.
Like Zhu Family Village, it had been burned down. Almost nothing remained to show what it had looked like.
Zhu Peng pointed to the villages a short distance away, his eyes blurred with tears and his voice choked. “Those are Zhang Family Village and Liu Family Village. The same thing happened there…”
A month had already passed.
Ever since winter began, the Northern Border had endured one heavy snowfall after another. Finding any more clues now would be all the harder…
For once, Yu Lang grew serious. “The authorities will definitely have to get involved.”
Zhu Peng’s face was bleak. “After it happened, I took my complaint from the town office all the way to the county office. The prefectural office is the only one I haven’t been to yet.”
Yu Lang understood the interests at stake. He asked Ren Fengjue, “My lord, should I go to the prefectural office?”
Ren Fengjue shook his head. “There’s no need.”
“Do you have a better plan, my lord?”
Ren Fengjue glanced toward Zhao Wan. “With Princess Fenghua here, we don’t have to go anywhere. They’ll send someone themselves.”
Last time, a thief getting into Prince Wu’s Mansion had been enough to cause an uproar throughout Liangzhou City.
Suppose…
He walked straight over to Zhao Wan and murmured a few words to her.
The princess thought it sounded amusing. “All right. Let’s do that first.”
She immediately summoned the commander of the Golden Plume Guards and instructed him, “Take a few guards to the nearest town office. Tell them I’ve gone missing near Mount Ya, and have them send people to search for me at once.”
The commander was visibly bewildered. “Your Highness, this…”
Zhao Wan demanded irritably, “Is that so difficult?”
“Not at all, not at all. I’ll see to it right away.”
The commander dared not disobey Zhao Wan. Leaving two guards to keep watch, he took another two and rode off.
Ren Fengjue looked at the sky and estimated how long it would take.
By nightfall at the latest, people from the town and county offices would arrive in turn. As for the prefectural office, with no one currently in charge, its response would probably depend on the attitude of the Marquis of Zhenbei’s Mansion.
Princess Fenghua’s disappearance would be no small matter. Those officials’ careers would be at stake…
They would certainly not dare take it lightly.
Out here in the open countryside, everyone began to feel the cold after standing in the snow for so long.
Ren Fengjue turned to look at Xia Ximo. She stood silently in the snow like a red plum tree defying the winter.
Today, they had all put on the new clothes the princess had given them.
Xia Ximo wore a padded jacket in a rich reddish brown, woven with silver thread and edged at the collar and cuffs with white fox fur. Beneath it was a matching skirt, and on her feet were a brand-new pair of deerskin boots.
They were made of the same material as Zhao Wan’s.
Clearly, the princess already treated Xia Ximo with more regard than she did many others.
He was about to walk toward her when Zhao Wan’s maid Xiaoxizi trotted up to Xia Ximo and pressed a hand warmer into her hands.
“Her Highness sent this to warm your hands.”
Xia Ximo looked distinctly startled.
But Xiaoxizi had already dashed away.
Watching them, Ren Fengjue could not help smiling. He walked slowly over to Xia Ximo and remarked, “It seems all my earlier worries were unnecessary. The princess thinks more highly of you now.”
Xia Ximo gave him a puzzled look and blurted out, “Jealous?”
The question caught Ren Fengjue off guard too. Then he replied, “If it were some prince or heir, I might be.”
Xia Ximo’s expression remained impassive, but her gaze drifted elsewhere, as though avoiding his.
“This place is strangely clean.”
She abruptly changed the subject.
At first, Ren Fengjue did not quite understand. Then he realized what she meant by “clean”…
If so many people had truly met terrible deaths here, their resentment should have filled the sky.
Yet there was not a trace of yin energy to be seen.
“There is indeed something uncanny about this. Whatever secrets lie behind it, Jiang Ting is bound to be involved.”
Xia Ximo nodded, then added, “And I have another suspicion.”
“What is it?”
“Xiaoyun’s ghost didn’t follow Zhu Peng for no reason.”
Ren Fengjue had considered that too.
Their search for her soul last night had gone far too smoothly. The Holy Son’s sudden appearance had seemed, from every angle, like something arranged in advance.
He too had suspected that Xiaoyun’s appearance was all part of a deliberate plan.
As for its purpose, it was probably meant to intimidate them.
“I also suspect the Holy Son was involved.”
Xia Ximo said, “I’ve already had Daoist Yan temporarily seal Xiaoyun’s soul. But with the Holy Son’s abilities, using her to stir up trouble would hardly be difficult.”
She looked at Ren Fengjue again. “In any case, be careful how you handle this.”
For some reason, hearing those words pleased Ren Fengjue so much that he momentarily forgot to pursue his analysis.
Xia Ximo also felt the atmosphere turn suddenly strange. Then he said, “I knew from the start that the journey to the Northern Border would be full of dangers. How fortunate I am to have Miss Mo with me…”
“…”
Into their silence came a plaintive voice from behind them.
“My lord, surely we can’t stand around in this ice and snow the whole time we’re waiting for the officials? Could we find somewhere to light a fire and warm up? I’m almost frozen stiff.”