Only two small pieces of charcoal remained in the bamboo basket near the fire pit, huddling together in isolation.
Cai Zhao sat on a small stool by the fire, absentmindedly tossing scattered bamboo cards into the flames to stoke the weak fire.
Meanwhile, Qi Yunke had ordered another thorough inspection of the Tian-numbered room. Despite being deliberately cleaned, there were no signs of a struggle. The floorboards, wall tiles, tables, chairs, and bed frame showed no evidence of being moved or replaced.
With no leads, Zeng Dalou instructed the disciples to search the entire Yuelai Inn once more. Yet again, they found nothing.
At this point, everyone couldn’t help but wonder if Cai Pingchun had indeed left the inn of his own accord.
Qi Yunke coughed lightly, his brow furrowed. “Could Pingchun have encountered something extremely urgent, forcing him to leave immediately? Otherwise, given Xiaochun’s skills, who could have overpowered him without a trace?”
Cai Zhao seemed not to hear, spreading her fingers and bowing her head to warm herself by the fire.
As daylight began to break, the unsuccessful search party had no choice but to return to the compound. Just before leaving, Cai Zhao burned the last bamboo card, and the flames gradually weakened as the cold crept into the room.
On the journey back, Cai Zhao noticed many unfamiliar faces among the group. She had seen some of them in town just yesterday.
These newcomers moved in unison, their breathing measured and deep. They remained silent and vigilant like gray sand slowly seeping in unnoticed.
“Who are these people?” Cai Zhao asked.
Fan Xingjia answered quietly, “I don’t know them either. A few days ago, Master said that the demons have been increasingly active lately, with grand ambitions. He feared the martial arts world would soon become turbulent. So he instructed Senior Brother to use his token to recruit some help from outside and told me to prepare the guest quarters quickly.”
“Help?” Cai Zhao questioned skeptically. “Are they all disciples of our sect?”
Fan Xingjia first said he didn’t know, then leaned in closer and whispered, “But I don’t think so. I’ve seen the inner and outer disciples before. These people are gloomy and barely speak. They look eerie.”
At that moment, Zeng Dalou approached. “What are you two whispering about?”
Fan Xingjia relayed Cai Zhao’s question. Zeng Dalou smiled and lowered his voice mysteriously, “As the leader of the Six Major Sects, Master can’t rely solely on his public forces. He must keep some hidden cards up his sleeve.”
Seeing the girl blink her big eyes in partial understanding, Zeng Dalou continued, “In the past, Sect Leader Yin nurtured many talented individuals. Master’s group is still quite small in comparison.”
Chang Ning turned his face away, a faint mocking smile on his lips.
Cai Zhao asked, “Did Senior Brother know about Master’s secret forces in the sect all along?”
Zeng Dalou hesitated, then replied sheepishly, “I only found out recently. Ah my martial skills are lacking, so Master probably didn’t want me to take risks.”
Cai Zhao fell silent.
Suddenly, Chang Ning pointed to the distance. “Who are those people over there?”
The group looked up to see Song Yuzhi surrounded by a group of martial artists. They were all alert and steady, dressed in scarlet robes embroidered with golden sun emblems.
Zeng Dalou sighed and explained, “Those are people from Guangtian Gate. Master Song has learned about Yuzhi’s injury. He sent a letter saying he fears another demon attack, so he’ll come after arranging Guangtian Gate’s defenses, which might take a few days. These guards were sent ahead to serve Yuzhi.”
“Serve?” Chang Ning’s tone was playful.
Zeng Dalou, also irritated, sighed, “I think Master Song is displeased. What’s the point? Even though Yuzhi’s powers are diminished, the Qingque Sect wouldn’t let anything happen to him. Why send Guangtian Gate’s people?”
After he walked away, Fan Xingjia dared to speak, “If I were Master Song, I’d be angry too. He has three sons, and Third Brother Yuzhi is the most promising. Elder Brother Xiuzhi has average talent, and Elder Brother Maozhi’s temper… well, no need to elaborate. Now his most talented son, entrusted to our sect, might lose all his martial arts skills. I bet Master Song will have a big fight with Master when he comes!”
Chang Ning, clearly enjoying the drama, smiled with feigned sincerity, “Weapons have no eyes. Our sect didn’t intentionally harm Young Master Song. Let’s hope Master Song doesn’t harbor any grudges against Sect Leader Qi.”
Fan Xingjia was moved by this sentiment. “I hope it turns out as Brother Chang says.”
Finally reaching Qingjing Study, daylight had fully broken. Before leaving, Fan Xingjia tried to comfort Cai Zhao, “Sister, don’t worry too much. Your father might have truly encountered some urgent matter that forced him to leave quickly. Just wait a while; Master will surely have an explanation.”
Cai Zhao remained silent, but Chang Ning smiled and thanked Fan Xingjia for his concern, then eagerly saw him out.
Once inside, Chang Ning’s smile vanished. “Zhaozao, let’s rest well during the day to regain our strength. When everyone goes for dinner in the evening, we’ll go down the mountain.”
Cai Zhao seemed not to understand. “Down the mountain? Didn’t we just come up? The inn has been thoroughly searched, so there likely won’t be any more clues. Why go down?”
Chang Ning, seeing the girl’s innocent expression, grew more anxious. “Can’t you see? Something’s not right with the sect. I have a bad feeling. We should leave early. Once we’re away, we can slowly investigate your father’s whereabouts.”
To his surprise, Cai Zhao remained unmoved. She slowly sat down and poured herself a cup of cold tea. “Didn’t you hear what they said? My father might have left on his own for some important matter.”
Chang Ning studied her for a moment. “Are you wary of me?”
Cai Zhao stared back at him silently.
Chang Ning conceded, sighing, “Don’t be suspicious of me. I would never harm you or your family.”
Cai Zhao slowly turned her head back. “You’re right. I shouldn’t doubt everyone.”
She continued, “So, tell me, do you also think my father left on his own?”
Chang Ning smiled scornfully. “If Valley Master Cai left of his own accord, then who cleaned the entire room so thoroughly?”
A faint smile appeared on Cai Zhao’s lips. “It seems this person is a fool. If they wanted others to believe my father left on his own, they should have left the bed half-slept in and a half-empty teacup. Making everything so clean only raises suspicion.”
Chang Ning raised an eyebrow. “What are you trying to say?”
Cai Zhao spoke slowly. “Usually, I listen to you. This time, please hear me out, Brother Chang.”
Chang Ning arched his brow. “I’m all ears.”
Cai Zhao set down her teacup. “First, I don’t believe my father encountered something so urgent that he left on his own. In our family, only my aunt is completely passionate. My mother is about half passionate, while my father is probably only two or three-tenths passionate, reserved only for close family and a few old friends.”
“My mother and Xiaoyao are now in a safe place, and I’m here at Qingque Sect. Our family is complete, so my father has no truly urgent matters. Extremely urgent? HAh even if the jianghu turned upside down or Luoying Valley burned to the ground, my father wouldn’t be in a rush. To say something you might not like to hear, even if someone lured him with clues about the Chang family incident, he would never leave without saying a word to me.”
Chang Ning was surprised, his thoughts racing. “So, Valley Master Cai did indeed meet with misfortune!”
“Is there anyone in this world who could subdue my father without giving him a chance to fight back?” Cai Zhao countered.
Chang Ning immediately denied it. “I’ve witnessed your father’s skills. I dare not say he’s reached the pinnacle, but he rarely meets his match in this world. In a fight, it wouldn’t be hard to kill or injure him, but to render him completely powerless? Even if Nie Hengcheng were reborn, he couldn’t manage it.”
“Yes, that’s what I think too,” Cai Zhao said, gazing at the sunlight streaming through the window cracks.
Chang Ning continued, “Then there’s only one possibility: the person was someone your father knew very well and even trusted, who struck when he was off guard.” He glanced at the girl and added acidly, “But the people your father knows well are surely people you know well too. I’m afraid if I say the wrong thing, you might turn against me, so I’d better not mention any names.”
Cai Zhao glanced at him. “Who do you want to mention?”
“During the ceremony, I observed that your father was distant with everyone. Even with Sect Leader Qi, he was respectful but not close. Only with Master Zhou did he treat him like an elder brother,” Chang Ning said, deciding to speak his mind.
Cai Zhao thought for a moment. “That’s natural. My father grew up in Peiqiong Manor, and Uncle Zhou is truly like a brother to him. But isn’t Uncle Zhou seriously injured?”
“If we haven’t seen it with our own eyes, it could be a deception.”
Cai Zhao smiled and changed the subject. “Did you notice a very faint fragrance in the Tian-numbered room?”
Chang Ning frowned.
“Luoying Valley is full of flowers and leaves. My mother loves to make and blend fragrances, so I’ve been accustomed to them since childhood,” Cai Zhao explained. “That scent was so faint that even I took a while to notice it. Perhaps it doesn’t need to be someone my father knows well or trusts deeply. Just an acquaintance could secretly release a sedative while talking to him and then capture him easily.”
“But my father must have noticed eventually. Before losing consciousness, he probably overturned the teapot, brazier, or fire pit, making a mess of the room. That’s why those people had to thoroughly clean the entire room. And because they were afraid of complications, they rushed to silence him, forgetting to leave traces of my father having rested there.”
Chang Ning was half-convinced, half-skeptical. “You speak as if you witnessed it yourself.”
“Not only did my father know those people, but the innkeeper must have known them too,” Cai Zhao added.
Chang Ning sensed something unusual in the girl’s tone. “What have you noticed?”
Cai Zhao asked, “Did you notice the wall behind the innkeeper? There used to be many bamboo tags hanging on red strings.”
Chang Ning recalled the scene from yesterday’s visit to the inn. It was indeed so.
Cai Zhao continued, “These are used for running an inn. Each small bamboo tag is inscribed with a room number and hung on the wall. When a room is rented out or reserved, its tag is flipped over, making it clear how many vacant rooms are left.”
Chang Ning suddenly remembered, “Yesterday, the tag for your father’s room wasn’t flipped over. Could there be some hidden meaning?” He recalled the innkeeper pointing to the Tian-numbered room.
“No, that was just because the innkeeper was lazy.”
Chang Ning: …
“These bamboo tags need to be sun-dried, then shade-dried, then oiled, then shade-dried again… This way, when hung on the wall, exposed daily to alcohol fumes and constant traffic, they don’t easily grow mold. More particular innkeepers might even go through several rounds of drying and oiling,” Cai Zhao explained in detail.
Chang Ning smiled. “How do you know all this?”
“Because when I was eight, I vowed to open an inn someday.”
“Didn’t you want to open a restaurant when you were little?” Chang Ning couldn’t help but ask.
“Opening a restaurant was my dream at six. Later, I realized that an inn offers both food and lodging, so running an inn is better,” Cai Zhao answered seriously.
Chang Ning: …
“Bamboo tags prepared this way aren’t easily damaged,” Cai Zhao concluded.
Chang Ning suddenly remembered the girl burning bamboo tags earlier and had a flash of insight. “Was it that fire pit? Did you find clues on the bamboo tags on the ground?”
Cai Zhao tilted her head slightly as if recalling something. “When we entered, the fire pit was already cold. It had been burning all night, and everything inside was ash. But I could still see small, charred bamboo fragments mixed with the charcoal ashes.”
She tapped the table lightly. “I believe the innkeeper threw those in just before he died.”
Chang Ning listened, barely breathing.
Cai Zhao continued, “I’ve stayed at that inn before and remember some details. The inn had about twenty rooms, numbered using the characters for heaven, earth, mystery, yellow, sun, moon, Qian, Kun, plus fu, lu, and show.”
“The innkeeper was quite whimsical in assigning room numbers. There were three ‘heaven’ rooms, but only one ‘earth’ room. Two each for ‘mystery’ and ‘yellow’. Five ‘kun’ rooms, but only one ‘qi’ room, which was used for storage.”
“Earlier, I pretended to warm myself while burning the bamboo tags one by one to avoid drawing attention. After burning them all…” Her eyes brightened. “I discovered that indeed, one tag was missing.”
Chang Ning tensed. “Which one?”
“Moon Room Number Three.”
The girl’s delicate face flushed slightly. “I remember clearly that although the innkeeper assigned room numbers randomly, he didn’t skip numbers. Moon rooms two and four were there, but number three was missing—the innkeeper must have thrown it into the fire himself.”
“Moon Room Three?” Chang Ning was puzzled. “What does this mean?”
Cai Zhao dipped her finger in the cold tea and wrote ‘三’ (three) on the table, with ‘月’ (moon) below it.
Chang Ning exclaimed, “Third month? Is someone’s name or birthday related to the third month? Ah… the innkeeper’s blood writing…” He finally understood!
Cai Zhao nodded, looking into his eyes. “It’s the vertical stroke the innkeeper drew on the ground.”
Then she drew a short vertical stroke in the middle of the ‘三’ character.
It formed the character ‘青’ (qing)!
Chang Ning’s brow darkened. “So, it was someone from Qingque Sect.”
Cai Zhao watched the dust motes dancing in the light and spoke slowly. “Do you remember what that fool Dai Fengchi said this morning? He said my father was caught revealing secrets by a servant and killed his way out from the door to silence him.”
“He was half right. Someone did kill their way out from the Tian-numbered room, but it wasn’t my father. It was the real culprit.”
“Soon after we left yesterday, it got dark. My father once told me that the innkeeper had suffered severe internal injuries when he was young, making him particularly sensitive to cold. He would always light a fire at night for warmth. Last night, I believe he did the same, lighting the fire pit early.”
“Around midnight, with only two small pieces of charcoal left in the basket, the innkeeper was probably about to go to bed. Just then, a guest arrived—someone from the sect whom the innkeeper recognized, so he had to stay up to attend to them. That person…” Cai Zhao shook her head. “No, those people. He must have had accomplices.”
“One stayed downstairs in the lobby while the other went upstairs to see my father—they couldn’t kill the innkeeper and servant beforehand, as it would have raised my father’s suspicions.”
“When the person attacked my father in the room, it made a noise. The servant ran upstairs to check, and the accomplice downstairs caught him. At this point, the attacker came out of the room and, right at the doorway, face-to-face, ripped out the servant’s heart!”
Chang Ning suddenly understood. “That’s why the wounds on the body were slightly slanted.”
“Exactly,” Cai Zhao said. “The ‘Plucking Flowers and Leaves’ technique is formidable because it can accurately extract a person’s heart and liver even in intense combat. But if the servant and innkeeper were restrained, anyone with enough brutal skill could break through the chest and dig out the heart. Elder Chen’s Great Compassion Hand or Elder Ouyang’s Vajra Finger could both accomplish this.”
“The innkeeper had once escaped death, and when he saw the servant killed upstairs, he immediately realized he couldn’t escape either. So, while the attackers were distracted, he first plucked the ‘Moon Room Three’ tag and threw it into the fire pit. Then, during the fight, he knocked over the counter, ink and brushes, account books, and all the bamboo tags on the wall…”
“They killed the servant, killed the cook who came to investigate, and finally subdued the innkeeper. They might have broken his limbs before digging out his heart face-to-face—or it could have been the other way around. With his last breath, the innkeeper drew a short vertical stroke on the ground. The attackers didn’t understand its meaning and thought it was just a random scratch made in his final agony, so they paid it no attention.”
“That’s all I have to say.”
Cai Zhao slowly stood up, her gaze calm yet determined. “Therefore, I will not leave Jiuli Mountain. You don’t need to try to persuade me; I know what I must do.”
Of course, she could flee back to Luoying Valley, then seek help from all directions and safely wait for news.
But no.
At fifteen, Cai Pingxu had already made a name for himself throughout the world.
At fifteen, she only wanted to protect her family.
Before today, all the decisions in her life had been made by her parents and aunt.
This was the first time she had chosen her path.
“Aunt would approve of me,” she said, lifting her young face as if looking to the heavens. “Aunt will watch over me from above.”