Chapter 169
Chapter 169
At that moment, I genuinely wavered.
The whole affair involving the Buddha Eyes and Gu Sorcery wouldn’t leave us alone just because we wanted nothing to do with it.
In fact, the other side had already struck twice.
The less we knew about them, the more vulnerable we would be.
Gu Die… where exactly did you come from? And who were you, really?
You truly left me with one hell of a problem. No wonder you apologized to me so solemnly before leaving for Reincarnation.
You certainly had a lot to apologize to my companions and me for.
I thought again of how Gu Die’s corpse had been controlled after her death and sent to the Pawnshop to demand the Buddha Eyes, then gone on to Niuhu Mountain in pursuit.
This Corpse-Control Technique probably shared the same roots as the Corpse-Driving Art Jiang Yingxue had encountered, didn’t it?
If we followed the clues from Jiang Yingxue’s case, perhaps we would eventually uncover Gu Die’s origins and the secret behind the Buddha Eyes.
Even so, I still couldn’t make up my mind.
After all, the Miao Frontier was far from Jiangcheng. If we truly intended to take action, there was no way I could infiltrate the place alone. That would be certain death.
And no matter whom I asked to accompany me, I had no right to make that decision for them.
“Qingying, please look after Miss Jiang for a moment,” Jin Wuya suddenly said. “Shopkeeper Xiao Jiu, could we speak in private?”
Puzzled, I led Jin Wuya to a side room in the Main Courtyard. Once we sat down, I asked, “Boss Jin, what did you want to tell me in private?”
“Some time ago, you asked me to investigate the background of the Teahouse Proprietress. Do you remember?” Jin Wuya asked.
I nodded at once. “Of course. Did you find something?”
“At first, I couldn’t find anything either,” Jin Wuya said. “Later, at Niuhu Mountain, I learned about the Buddha Eyes. Almost by accident, I followed that lead and uncovered a few clues.”
I stared at him in surprise. “The Buddha Eyes are connected to the Teahouse Proprietress?”
Those two seemed worlds apart.
But Jin Wuya gave me a definite answer. “Qingying told me that the girl who gouged out her Buddha Eyes and pawned them to the Pawnshop was named Gu Die. I discovered that before Gu Die came to the Pawnshop, she secretly visited the Teahouse and met with the Teahouse Proprietress.”
My eyes widened. “Gu Die knew the Teahouse Proprietress?”
Jin Wuya nodded. “I continued investigating along Gu Die’s trail. Starting from the Miao Frontier was too difficult because we know next to nothing about that place. But I did discover that the proprietress’s current name is an alias. Her original name was Gu Yan.”
Gu Yan… Gu Die…
Placed side by side, those two names sounded as though they came from the same family.
Sure enough, Jin Wuya continued, “While investigating Gu Yan, I remembered something that happened many years ago.
“I was only about ten at the time. I remember someone trying to sell my master a set of silver jewelry for an absurdly low price, but my master refused on the spot.
“I couldn’t understand it, so I asked him why he wouldn’t take the jewelry. The silver was excellent quality and highly pure, and every piece had been fashioned from antique silver. If he refashioned it, he was sure to make a modest profit.
“But my master gave me a pointed reply. He said it was precisely because the jewelry was too fine that he didn’t dare accept it. If he wasn’t mistaken, that silver jewelry already had an owner. There was an eyeball nestled in the center of the headdress.”
I was stunned. “An eyeball? How could that be?”
“Not a real eyeball. It was a pearl-like ornament made of silver, usually set directly in the center of the headdress.”
As Jin Wuya spoke, he stared fixedly at me.
Then it suddenly came back to me. There had indeed been an ornament just like that in the exact center of Gu Die’s headdress.
It was somewhat larger than an ordinary pearl. I asked, “Was there a pattern on the ornament too?”
“Yes,” Jin Wuya said. “A coiled centipede had been stamped into it.”
“Does that have any special significance?”
Jin Wuya shook his head. “My master only knew the barest details. He told me that somewhere in the Shiwandashan Mountains of the Miao Frontier, there are people who use young girls’ eyes to cultivate Gu. If you want to know the specifics, I think the Teahouse Proprietress should be able to give you a thorough explanation.”
At that, I looked at Jin Wuya in confusion. “Since you’ve already uncovered so much, you could’ve gone to the Teahouse Proprietress yourself for the leads you need and handled this matter on your own. Why refer Miss Jiang to the Pawnshop?”
Jin Wuya lowered his head and gave a bitter smile. “With a little effort, I could indeed resolve Miss Jiang’s problem, but… I don’t want to make too much money anymore.”
Ever since Jin Wuya established a connection with Tang Ao, his professional standing — and consequently his going rate-had skyrocketed.
When taking on jobs, charging too little would break the rules of the trade.
But charging too much… Were there really people in this world who thought they made too much money?
Actually, there were.
Hui Moqiong had once said that people like Jin Wuya were destined to suffer from the Five Disadvantages and Three Deficiencies.
Jin Wuya had no major physical disabilities and was exceptionally good at making money. Considering every aspect of the Five Disadvantages and Three Deficiencies, the misfortunes that awaited him could only be loneliness and a life without a wife.
People like him were destined to have neither a wife nor children.
Even if he defied fate and married anyway, he would only doom his wife to an early death.
Was Jin Wuya afraid that the more money he made, the lonelier the rest of his life would become?
Deep down… he still cared about that, didn’t he?
I instinctively glanced toward the living room of the Rear-facing Room, feeling both regretful and inexplicably relieved.
Some time ago, I’d watched Li Qingying and Jin Wuya grow closer, and I’d genuinely thought there might be something going on between them.
Later, Li Qingying told me she merely admired Jin Wuya and wanted to recruit him into our team.
At the time, I hadn’t entirely believed her explanation.
Fortunately, Hui Moqiong had shown up afterward.
Jin Wuya interrupted my thoughts. “In any case, I referred Miss Jiang to the Pawnshop because I knew you’d have to investigate the Buddha Eyes. I figured you could resolve her problem while you were at it. Shopkeeper Xiao Jiu, consider it a personal favor to me. Please.”
His tone was exceedingly humble.
“There’s no need to put it that way. You gave me such an important lead. I should be the one thanking you.” After a moment’s thought, I continued, “I’ll take Miss Jiang’s case. But before I can resolve it, I’ll need you to help keep her Souls anchored and watch her closely.”
Jin Wuya immediately replied, “That’s easy enough. I’ll do everything I can.”
After reaching an agreement, Jin Wuya and I returned to the Rear-facing Room’s living room.
The moment we stepped inside, we found Hui Moqiong, who had been busy outside and hadn’t returned for several days, sitting there after apparently rushing back in a hurry.
He was lounging on the sofa beside Li Qingying, one arm draped over the backrest as he leaned sideways toward her. Their heads were close together, and they were whispering about something.
At the sound of our footsteps, Hui Moqiong leaned even closer to Li Qingying before looking up at us. Then he greeted Jin Wuya with a grin. “Hey, Old Jin. Got another job, huh? May the money keep rolling in…”