Chapter 1343: Each One's Secret

Chapter 1329: Their Respective Secrets

He Lingchuan smiled. "Whatever the reason, it's best not to investigate this tonight."

"Oh, why not?"

"You're on their territory, and you want to unearth their secrets?" Dong Rui poked him. "I'm afraid you won't leave Chen Family Manor alive, and then your body will be abandoned in the wilderness... just like that mother and daughter."

County尉 Li flinched, wanting to say, "Do they dare?"

The words turned twice in his mouth but ultimately didn't come out.

He had only brought six or seven constables, not a large contingent. These fierce villagers might actually dare to!

Dong Rui continued, "As we investigate in the manor, someone is always watching nearby. Chen Family Manor most likely hides some secret and fears us digging it up."

Such manors are settlements of prominent clans, with land and people. They usually live their own lives behind closed doors, making it difficult for outsiders to know their secrets.

"If it weren't for the monster attack and too many deaths, Chen Family Manor probably wouldn't have reported it." Once inside the courtyard, He Lingchuan looked around to ensure no idle people were present before asking County尉 Li, "Do you know where Maodun and Xingyun Village are?"

"I know Maodun. I'll send someone to investigate it tomorrow morning." This would at least verify Ah Hui's story. However, "I truly don't know the name Xingyun Village; I don't seem to have ever heard of it."

"Liu County is not small and is predominantly mountainous. How far could that mother and daughter travel on foot without mules or horses?" He Lingchuan mused. "Perhaps County尉 Li needs to look into it thoroughly when he returns. It seems that villages and towns appearing and disappearing isn't an uncommon occurrence in your area."

"Yes, yes, I'll go through the registers when I return to the county."

He Lingchuan yawned. "Let's sleep; we'll be busy again tomorrow."

The night passed uneventfully.

The next day, the sky looked sullen, and the rain fell sporadically and unpredictably.

He Lingchuan and the others woke up early and slurped down large bowls of vegetable porridge in the courtyard. The farmers' earthenware bowls were much larger than a human face. On the dining table, there was also a stack of shepherd's purse pancakes, slightly charred. They'd take one, roll it with silver-stripe vegetables pickled in sour chili peppers, pop it into their mouths, and it would crunch and burst with juice.

County尉 Li considered himself a big eater, yet he had only swallowed three pancakes before the platter on the table was empty.

The three and the constables walked out, burping. Clan Elder Chen quickly came forward with a fawning smile and asked the officials if they had any new discoveries last night.

He Lingchuan spoke in officialese, giving evasive answers.

Clan Elder Chen personally saw everyone to the manor gate, watching them mount their horses and depart.

The group left Chen Family Manor and entered the forest. They had not gone fifty paces when a rustle came from the branches nearby.

County尉 Li was startled and was about to tell his subordinates to be alert when he saw a monkey leap from the treetop and land on He Lingchuan's shoulder.

He subconsciously glanced at the ghost ape on Dong Rui's horse's rump.

Another monkey? This one looked much nicer and wore a round bamboo hat.

As Ling Guang rejoined them, He Lingchuan asked, "How was it? Any discoveries?"

Before County尉 Li led them into Chen Family Manor yesterday, He Lingchuan had assigned Ling Guang to sneak into the manor at night to find any clandestine secrets. They communicated using eyeball spiders.

Only by them investigating openly and Ling Guang conducting a secret inquiry could this case continue.

"Following your guidance, I discovered a row of houses hidden in the dense forest north of the manor. Manor servants patrol there, and unauthorized personnel are not allowed near." Luckily, Ling Guang was not an unauthorized person and did not need the servants' permission to enter or exit. "The place wasn't difficult to find. On the surface, it's a fruit-picking and wine-making workshop, but actually, deep cellars are dug beneath the houses, concealed very well by wooden planks, tables, chairs, and miscellaneous items."

County尉 Li couldn't help but ask, "Did you go inside? What's at the bottom of the cellars?"

"Wine jars, bottles—"

County尉 Li secretly rolled his eyes, but Ling Guang immediately continued, "And weapons: swords, spears, arrows, hooks, and halberds. All types were present, large in quantity and new in appearance. The arrowheads even had the fresh scent of wood."

Weapons for Chen Family Manor's self-defense? County尉 Li frowned, sensing something was wrong.

"I only found one cellar, and there were hundreds of knives of various designs."

"Hundreds of knives?" County尉 Li sneered. "Are they planning to open a weapons shop?"

A manor of three or four hundred people possessed hundreds of knives, not to mention other weapons?

County尉 Li was not foolish; he understood after a moment's thought: "Aha, so they're illicitly trading weapons!"

The chaotic and turbulent Shanjin Plains had a demand for weapons far exceeding other regions.

Wool, fruit, wine—the Chen clan's external businesses were all a cover to facilitate their private weapon trading.

Chen Family Manor was a fortress for weapon dealers!

Of course, the exorbitant profits from illicit weapon trading also stemmed from the Pei State's strict official prohibition.

Thinking of this, a layer of cold sweat seeped from County尉 Li's back. It was fortunate they hadn't acted rashly last night, or these lawless thugs might have silenced them by killing them.

He asked Ling Guang, "How did you know there was something fishy under that row of houses?"

Ling Guang, mimicking He Lingchuan, smiled without speaking.

In reality, He Lingchuan had secretly placed an eyeball spider on Clan Elder Chen last night to monitor his words and actions. When they visited Chen's wife, Aunt Wu, and others, Chen Ling was restless and mentioned the northern workshop to his confidants several times, even ordering the workshop to extinguish its lights at night to avoid discovery by the Inspector and constables.

Chen Family Manor was not small, and the workshop was separated by trees. As long as the lights were off, people who weren't regulars wouldn't know there were buildings there.

Once Chen Ling mentioned it, He Lingchuan knew something suspicious was going on.

Indeed, when Ling Guang went to investigate secretly, he found the weapons at the bottom of the cellars.

"No wonder Clan Elder Chen concealed the mother and daughter, he just didn't want to create further complications. However, we merely visited two villagers and saw the thatched hut scene; at most, he could only confirm that we discovered the existence of Ah Hui and her mother." He Lingchuan told County尉 Li, "After we leave, Chen Family Manor might move the weapons."

He continued, "Judging from this, even if Ah Hui hadn't conflicted with Chen Fu'ang and the other five, it would have been difficult for her to leave Chen Family Manor alive anyway."

County尉 Li cursed, "These damned scoundrels!"

Dong Rui yawned. "Let's head back to Liu County quickly. County尉 Li still needs to send people to search for the bodies."

***

An tossed and turned until just before dawn when she finally fell asleep.

As soon as she entered her dream, everything was dark again.

An empty, lonely, yet familiar darkness.

Chapter 1329: Their Respective Secrets

An knew that the monster had come to catch her again.

Her eyes wide, she looked around. Running now would only needlessly expend energy; she needed to confirm her direction first.

Soon, a strange clattering sound came from behind her; something stirred the air, rushing straight toward her.

Suddenly, an arm stretched out in the darkness—pale and gaunt!

An leaped forward, and the arm swished through empty air.

Now! Run, quickly, run!

She moved her short legs, charging forward without looking back.

The monster pursued her relentlessly from behind; she could hear its heavy footsteps.

She was very familiar with the rhythm of those footsteps. An even knew that if she just kept running forward, the monster would eventually disappear.

But in recent times, the monster's steps had grown faster, and it was getting closer and closer to her.

She could even feel the monster's breath on her neck, wet and cold.

She didn't dare to look back at all, nor did she know when she would be caught!

"Run!" Her mother's voice came from somewhere, very urgent, but also very muffled. "An, run!"

The monster's low growl suddenly exploded in her ears!

An sat up with a cry, her back covered in cold sweat.

She was awake; she was finally awake.

The surroundings were no longer pitch black. Golden sunlight streamed through the small window, illuminating the dusty floor.

Even the dust seemed lovely.

She had safely passed another night.

An's breathing slowly steadied.

"Time to eat! Time to eat!" Someone knocked on the doorframe.

As soon as she woke up, there was warm vegetable porridge to drink, along with two fragrant deep-fried cakes that crumbled with a crunch when she bit into them.

Since being on the run, she had never experienced such a wonderful morning.

The only drawback was that Han Tingting, who had promised to return when she woke up, had not appeared, and the promised chicken leg naturally hadn't been brought back.

She asked the servant who brought the food, "Where's Tingting?"

"Who?"

"The one who came with me yesterday."

The servant's attitude was cold. He simply said, "I don't know," and turned to leave, as if she had a disease that he would catch if he stayed a few seconds longer.

She was small and weak, so no one could assign her chores. After eating, An had nothing to do, so she walked around the manor.

But she had not gone a hundred paces when a sturdy servant emerged from behind a tree, stern-faced, and said, "Go back! Who told you to wander around?"

This person! An recognized him; he was the sturdy servant who had led Han Tingting into the second young master's room last night.

"Where's Tingting? She was with me last night; you took her to the second young master."

"She's attending to the second young master," the sturdy servant said casually. "Don't worry, it will be your turn tonight or tomorrow night."

He blocked the long corridor, preventing her from passing, so An could only turn back.

The sturdy servant followed closely behind her. His task was to keep an eye on this little one and make sure she didn't get lost.

After all, Steward Zou had paid to bring her here, and the second young master might summon her at any time.

Afternoon arrived in the blink of an eye.

The little girl went to the outhouse and stayed for half an hour.

The sturdy servant knocked on the door but received no answer. Fearing she might have fallen in, he forced the door open.

Inside, it was empty.

"Damn it!" This little thing was quite resourceful at slipping away; he had actually lost her!

He didn't know that the little girl was nimble-footed and, taking advantage of her small size, had slipped over the loose wooden planks of the outhouse, then passed through two bushes, disappearing behind some plum trees.

The sturdy servant quickly searched everywhere.

After shaking him off, An slipped away toward the second young master's courtyard, evading many adults along the way.

There were so many trees in this manor that there was always a place for her to hide.

The second young master's courtyard was far from the servants' quarters, but luckily, her memory was good. She still remembered the route she had only walked once last night, even in daylight.

Half an hour later.

It should be this turn, then this turn… yes, the second young master's courtyard should be ahead.

An indeed saw a bluestone wall, which was the outer wall of the second young master's courtyard.

If she called out from outside the wall, would Han Tingting come out to find her?

An hesitated, about to call out, when she suddenly saw a small gate in the wall creak open.

Someone came out.

She instinctively hid behind a tree and stealthily peered out.

Two servants slipped out of the small gate, together carrying a long, rectangular object, loosely covered with white cloth.