Upon hearing that he wanted to investigate this matter, Shen Lingzhen’s first reaction was somewhat hesitant. On one hand, she thought that given Huo Liuxing’s violent and domineering nature, if he truly found the person, even if he kept his previous promise to her not to harm her benefactor, he would at least harbor some resentment toward him. On the other hand, she thought that since they were now in the same boat with united hearts, they should be honest and trusting with each other in all matters.
Seeing the hesitation on her face, before she could think through to a conclusion, Huo Liuxing jerked his chin: “Go to your study.” After entering Shen Lingzhen’s study, he said again, “Prepare paper and brush, help me grind the ink.”
Shen Lingzhen didn’t know what scheme he was plotting, but she did as told. When she saw him pick up the brush and write a line on the rice paper—”The grass grows green at the riverside of Hexi”—she suddenly stopped grinding the ink.
This line of elegant and upright running script was almost identical to the handwriting she had previously seen on the silk handkerchief.
Hearing her surprised gasp, Huo Liuxing didn’t stop writing. He completed the entire poem in one breath, then looked up at Shen Lingzhen who was still in a daze, and explained: “This is my alternative handwriting, used for confidential matters. Very few people in the world know about it.”
Shen Lingzhen slowly picked up the rice paper, examining it repeatedly in disbelief: “This is truly Young Master’s own handwriting, and not Young Master copying from the handkerchief?”
Huo Liuxing continued with his brush, casually writing a few characters unrelated to the poem, and handed them to her to see: “You’re skilled in calligraphy. Whether it’s copied or not, you can tell at a glance.”
Shen Lingzhen carefully studied the brushwork of these characters.
For the same characters, if copied by reference, they might be imitated similarly, but for different characters, to replicate the spirit, form, rhythm, and meaning to perfection would be impossibly difficult.
She was skilled in this art and believed she absolutely couldn’t achieve such a level. Yet Huo Liuxing had just done it effortlessly, without the slightest difficulty, so it didn’t seem fake.
Moreover, although he had once lied to her repeatedly, there was really no need for him to deceive her about this matter.
If it were back then, faking it to impersonate her benefactor would have been understandable. But now that she already knew the truth, whether the handwriting matched or not couldn’t change the fundamental facts, so why would he expend great effort doing something meaningless?
To doubt him further would be excessive suspicion on her part.
Shen Lingzhen nodded, indicating she believed him, and understood the reason for Huo Liuxing’s obsession with this matter. She took the initiative to find a painting she had drawn before her marriage last year and handed it to him: “This shows the armor and helmet my benefactor was wearing at the time. Young Master, please take a look.”
Huo Liuxing took it and said with furrowed brows: “It’s the standard issue of Daqi armor, for ranks of general and above. The carvings on the helmet and the insignia on the cape are consistent—he should hold a position of utmost authority.”
Shen Lingzhen nodded: “Mother said the same thing. But Mother got involved in this matter even earlier than Young Master, yet has made no progress. Let me take Young Master to Peach Blossom Valley to see.”
——
In the seventh month of mid-autumn, Peach Blossom Valley was filled with sweet fragrance. Looking around, it was a sea of bright red. With a gentle shake of the branches, plump ripe peaches would fall with thudding sounds.
However, since they were there on business, they had no mind to enjoy the scenery or pick peaches, heading straight to their destination.
Shen Lingzhen led the way following her memory, while Huo Liuxing followed behind her in his wheelchair. After entering the valley, they wound through turn after turn.
The deeper they went, the more desolate it became, and his expression grew increasingly grim.
Shen Lingzhen had no eyes in the back of her head and didn’t notice his abnormality. When they reached a small hillside, she happily pointed ahead, having finally found the location, and turned back saying: “It’s here! This is where Brother A’Jie and I…”
Huo Liuxing’s face was now black as mud.
Shen Lingzhen’s pointing finger retracted. Seeing his expression as if he wanted to kill someone, she added in a small voice: “…parted ways.”
“Oh.” Huo Liuxing let out a heavy breath. For now, he wouldn’t hold her accountable for this misconduct of “secretly meeting” with her cousin while already betrothed, and redirected his attention to the matter at hand. Looking at the maze of narrow paths nearby leading in all directions, he said: “From here, abducting you onto a carriage, there are at least four routes to leave Peach Blossom Valley. After leaving the valley, each route has branches—a simple calculation shows no fewer than ten final destinations. The abductors should have set up misleading false trails on each route, which is why the Duke Yingguo’s mansion and the Xue family’s guards couldn’t pinpoint your location precisely and took so long to find you.”
“What does Young Master mean…?”
“I mean, if your benefactor discovered your abduction here and set out from Peach Blossom Valley to rescue you, it should have been very difficult to find you in such a short time. So either he happened to encounter your carriage on the road by chance, or he learned of it through some channel and had foreknowledge.”
Huo Liuxing thought for a moment on the spot, then continued asking: “Do you remember which route was taken?”
Shen Lingzhen shook her head: “I really don’t know where the carriage passed through along the way, but I remember the cliff where my benefactor rescued me.”
Jingmo and Jianjia “moved” Huo Liuxing onto the carriage. After a bumpy journey, they arrived at another barren mountain where not even birds would lay eggs.
After many days had passed, the bare cliff edge no longer showed traces of the fight, but seeing how Shen Lingzhen’s face turned deathly pale after getting off the carriage, too frightened to proceed, it wasn’t hard to imagine how terrible the situation had been at that time.
Huo Liuxing gently patted the back of her hand to comfort her, asking her to recall and describe the specific circumstances of that time. But no matter how good Shen Lingzhen’s memory was, when frightened senseless, she couldn’t pay attention to too many details of the fight. After recalling and saying a few things back and forth, there wasn’t much valuable information.
“…After killing all those people, he took me to hide in that remote cave,” Shen Lingzhen said.
“Do you still remember how to get from here to the cave?”
She shook her head: “I was dizzy and lightheaded then, feeling so nauseous. I can’t remember the specific route clearly. But if Young Master wants to know the cave’s location, you can ask Mother’s trusted confidants. They investigated this matter before and should still remember.”
“Then if I asked you to go there again, could you still recognize that cave?”
Shen Lingzhen nodded with certainty.
Huo Liuxing thought for a moment, then had Kongqing break off a thin twig and began drawing on a patch of clean sand.
The three watched his movements in confusion. After a moment, they saw the outline of a route map taking shape.
He held the twig, comparing it to the various branching lines on the map, and told Jingmo and Jianjia: “Entering from this opening, there should be a long stretch of thorny road. Walk about half a mile east, and the path will gradually widen. When you see three forks, take the middle one and walk another half mile, then go deep to the north until you see a small stream. Follow it downstream to the end… Follow this route and take the young mistress to see.”
The two memorized the route and departed on their mission.
Half an hour later, Jianjia returned supporting the breathless Shen Lingzhen: “Young Master is truly amazing!”
Shen Lingzhen was also full of surprise: “How did Young Master know that the end of that stream was the cave where my benefactor took me?”
Huo Liuxing rubbed his fingertips, slowly furrowing his brows.
Of course he didn’t know which cave Shen Lingzhen’s benefactor had taken her to.
He just happened to be familiar with the terrain in this area. Based on memory and considering distance, concealment, and safety, he had chosen the cave most likely to evade enemies—the place where, if it had been him, he would have taken Shen Lingzhen to hide.
That person even thought exactly like him.
The deeper they investigated, the more bizarre the situation became, beyond rational explanation.
This matter had exceeded Huo Liuxing’s expectations time and again, so much so that on the way back to the city, he even felt tempted by Meng Qufei’s suggestion to go to a temple and draw divination lots.
Acting on impulse, as they neared the Duke Yingguo’s mansion, he told Shen Lingzhen: “I need to go to the Meng mansion. I’ll send you home first.”
Shen Lingzhen said sullenly: “Is Young Master going to the flower houses with Cousin again?”
Huo Liuxing covered his mouth with his fist, smiling secretly. His tone carried quite a bit of smug satisfaction, like someone “riding triumphantly with spring wind”: “Not going. If I go, someone will quarrel with me again.”
“Then why specifically leave me behind…”
Naturally, it was because seeking divine guidance when at wit’s end was rather embarrassing to do in front of his wife.
But Shen Lingzhen had been hurt all along by not being trusted by the Huo family. After much thought, Huo Liuxing felt that unless it was truly critical, he shouldn’t leave her behind.
He shook his head and sighed: “Then come with me.”
——
Since Huo Liuxing wasn’t very familiar with Buddhist temples in the capital area, and Shen Lingzhen had always stayed indoors and was equally clueless, the two made a detour to the Meng mansion midway to have Meng Qufei, that know-it-all, introduce and guide them. Following him, they went to Baoxing Temple.
This Buddhist temple wasn’t particularly large—just a three-section, two-story courtyard—but because of its excellent location, built right in the outer city without requiring the labor of climbing a mountain, its incense offerings had always been very prosperous.
However, divination drawing was usually done in the early morning. By now it was nearly dusk, so there weren’t many worshippers at this hour.
The vermilion and gold buildings with upturned eaves stood before them, and inside the temple was an atmosphere of solemn quietude.
As soon as they arrived, Meng Qufei became gleeful. Lowering his voice and bending down toward Huo Liuxing, he said: “I only mentioned it casually. I never imagined that our illustrious General Huo would actually fall to the point of believing in superstition.”
Huo Liuxing kept a dark face and said nothing.
Meng Qufei also tactfully didn’t embarrass him in front of Shen Lingzhen. He patted his shoulder consolingly: “It’s alright, this is called not being ashamed to ask questions.” Then he led him into the Buddha hall, quite familiarly lit three incense sticks, and handed them to Huo Liuxing: “You just kneel here…”
Halfway through his words, he exclaimed “Oh!”: “With your legs, you can’t kneel either.”
“Is it absolutely necessary to kneel?”
“It’s not that it’s impossible otherwise, but rather it won’t be efficacious. Since we’re already here, it’s better to be more rigorous and follow the proper rules.” Meng Qufei thought for a moment and pointed at Shen Lingzhen: “How about having Sister-in-law do it?”
This was quite reasonable. After all, that benefactor was also someone Shen Lingzhen had been wanting to find.
So Shen Lingzhen took the incense and knelt properly on the prayer cushion, bowing respectfully three times. After offering the incense, following Meng Qufei’s instructions, she held the divination cylinder high above her head and shook it, silently reciting her request in her heart.
A divination stick quickly fell from the cylinder.
Shen Lingzhen picked it up and looked at it. Seeing it was marked “Number Twenty-Eight,” she stood up and handed it to the monk responsible for interpreting divination: “Please, Master, help me understand.”
The monk looked at the stick, lowered his eyes and calculated with his fingers, then nodded: “Female donor, this stick corresponds to eight characters.”
“Eight characters?”
“Far away in the heavens, yet close before your eyes.”
Shen Lingzhen was stunned, looking at Huo Liuxing, then at Meng Qufei.
Before her eyes, besides the monk interpreting the divination, there were only them.
The three couldn’t discuss this matter in detail publicly, but compared to the completely confused Shen Lingzhen, Huo Liuxing seemed to have some idea in mind and fixed his gaze on Meng Qufei.
Meng Qufei felt chills down his spine from being stared at. After a moment of confusion, he understood his meaning: “It’s not me!”
Huo Liuxing said with a somber face: “Come with me to the carriage.”
Over this past year or so, he had investigated everyone, and indeed only overlooked Meng Qufei, who was “hiding under the lamp.”
Meng Qufei jumped anxiously, cursing all the way as he followed him onto the carriage: “Where’s the trust between cousins? It’s really not me!”
Following Huo Liuxing’s instructions, Shen Lingzhen obediently waited outside the carriage, feeling as if they were slaughtering a pig inside. First came sounds of punching and kicking, then the sound of a belt coming undone.
Meng Qufei’s wailing made her heart race with alarm: “Hey, stop! Don’t strip my clothes! I swear, it’s really not me. If I’m lying, may I be impotent for the rest of my life!”
After a moment of silence, Huo Liuxing’s cold snort rang out: “Then what is this? Explain yourself.”
“It’s a scar I got from practicing martial arts two winters ago. It has nothing to do with Sister-in-law’s matter!”
Before Shen Lingzhen could react, Huo Liuxing opened the carriage door and said to her: “Come look at this scar on his waist and abdomen.”
She hesitated, standing outside the carriage without moving, her words stumbling: “This… this isn’t quite appropriate, is it?”
Huo Liuxing knew it wasn’t appropriate either, but there was no other way. He said with restraint: “Just one look. Consider it as having my permission.”
Shen Lingzhen had no choice but to enter the carriage to look. Upon inspection, she indeed saw an inch-long knife scar on Meng Qufei’s wheat-colored skin, but it didn’t align with the position of the scar on her benefactor’s waist and abdomen from her memory.
She shook her head with certainty: “It’s not like this.”
Meng Qufei felt reborn, righteously scolding Huo Liuxing: “Did you hear that? You’ve gone so crazy you’d even kill your own cousin! I think that divination stick clearly refers to you! Maybe at some point you had a mental breakdown, ran to Bianjing to save Sister-in-law, then left without a trace and forgot all about it!”
“I had a mental breakdown? I saved her? Then why don’t I have a scar on my waist?” Huo Liuxing gritted his teeth and grabbed his clothes, flinging them at his head: “Shut up and get dressed!”
Wasn’t he the one who forced Shen Lingzhen to come look at another man’s naked body? Meng Qufei was furious enough to explode. He hurriedly dressed properly, but when he turned around, he saw Huo Liuxing had stripped himself naked.
“…” Was this to cleanse Shen Lingzhen’s eyes or what?
Huo Liuxing furrowed his brows with complete seriousness, chest held high, and said to Shen Lingzhen: “What exactly did that scar look like? Come trace it on my body.”