Dihuai drove the car all the way to the grove outside the dock.

“Have all the people been arranged?” Yan Qing asked.

“Miss, rest assured. The boss of that cargo station handles things very reliably.” The person Dihuai had found was the boss of a cargo station at the dock. This cargo station had business dealings with the pharmacy, and the boss had a decent relationship with Dihuai in normal times, with a capable crew of workers under him.

While they were talking, Murong handed over several bundles containing clothing to Dihuai. “Have them change into these clothes.”

Dihuai took them and said, “Alright.”

Dihuai had the cargo station boss find two women whose figures resembled Yan Qing and Murong, then had them change into Yan Qing’s clothes and board the car, setting off along the road toward Baiyun Convent.

Baiyun Convent had no motor road, so the group hired a horse carriage partway and traveled grandly up the mountain.

Now that the boss had arranged people to go to Baiyun Convent, Yan Qing set out for Huxi Quarter.

“Miss, are you certain someone is tailing us?” Murong watched the carriage depart before finally asking.

“Qian Lan could not possibly fail to have someone watching us. Although I am going out under the pretext of burning incense for my mother, Qian Lan is suspicious by nature and will certainly have someone follow us. She wants to see whether we truly go to Baiyun Convent.” Yan Qing switched to two separate rickshaws, parting ways with the vehicle they had just ridden.

Her trip to Huxi Quarter this time could not be allowed to reach Qian Lan’s knowledge. Otherwise, Qian Lan would certainly notify Shi Guang and let him take precautions. If Shi Guang got involved, she might well accomplish nothing. Without Shi Ting here, she could not contend against Shi Guang’s influence and power.

“Miss, what about that strange fellow?” Murong suddenly remembered the person on the roof of the carriage. When they had switched vehicles earlier, she had not seen him on the roof. “Could he have fallen off halfway and died from the fall?”

Yan Qing smiled. “I just glimpsed a figure flash through the grove over there. He has probably already gone ahead of us to the dock.”

“This person is truly peculiar. I wonder if he keeps his face hidden because he is too ugly.”

“Never mind him. When we arrive, he will naturally be there.”

From Shun Cheng to Huxi Quarter required taking a boat, and Dihuai had already chartered a passenger vessel in advance. After the previous dangerous encounter on the Red River, Dihuai dared not let Yan Qing share a boat with strangers again. When the Seventh Young Master had left, he had given him countless reminders that no matter what, he must guarantee Yan Qing’s safety.

The boatman set up a boarding plank between the vessel and the dock. Murong supported Yan Qing as she crossed the plank and boarded the boat.

Once aboard, they spotted someone sitting on the vessel — a person dressed entirely in a black single-layer cloth robe and black cloth shoes, wearing not a single garment to ward off the cold.

To Yan Qing’s mild surprise, this person was exceedingly young, appearing to be no more than about twenty-five years of age, and his features were quite refined. Had she not witnessed his astonishing martial skill with her own eyes, she might have taken him for nothing more than a frail scholar.

The man lifted his eyes and looked over. When his gaze landed on Yan Qing, he merely gave a faint nod and said nothing.

Murong was instantly somewhat annoyed. “You there — how can you be so impolite? You don’t even greet Miss when you see her?”

Yan Qing waved a hand to cut off her words and walked slowly to stand before the young man. “You are Master Xie’s man, are you not?”

The young man gave a nod.

“Thank you for coming to help. Whatever requirements you have, tell Dihuai.” Yan Qing gestured toward Dihuai, who was just boarding.

At this moment the young man finally opened his mouth and said, “My name is Mu Bai.”

Yan Qing smiled lightly. “You have had to trouble yourself this time, Master Mu.”

Mu Bai merely nodded once and said nothing more.

Yan Qing and Murong made their way to the rear cabin and sat down — another arrangement Dihuai had prepared in advance, a private comfortable area.

The cabin held a bed for sleeping, a sofa, as well as various pastries and tea sets, and a small coal stove for warmth.

The stove was burning warmly at that moment, and upon entering the cabin, the chill outside was completely shut out.

“Miss, that Mu Bai is truly a peculiar person. I thought he could not speak.” Murong raised her eyebrows. “Though experts of his caliber generally do have eccentric personalities, unlike ordinary people.”

Murong poured a cup of tea for Yan Qing, and noticing that Yan Qing was gazing absently out the window, she couldn’t help but smile. “Miss, are you thinking of your husband?”

Yan Qing’s eyes revealed a trace of melancholy. “I wonder how Shi Ting is faring over there.”

“Miss, set your mind at ease. When your husband takes the field, one man is worth two. It won’t be long before he returns.”

“One can only hope.” Yan Qing lifted her teacup. The warmth of the cup traveled through her palm all the way to the bottom of her heart, and her longing for Shi Ting grew ever more intense.

From Shun Cheng to Huxi Quarter, sailing took only four hours.

During the journey, food was brought on board — a lunch consisting entirely of freshwater seafood: braised river prawns in oil, scallion-oil eel, sauce-braised river fish, and white fish egg-flower soup.

Yan Qing dined together with Murong and Dihuai. Dihuai said, “Master Mu’s portion has already been sent to him. I invited him to come eat with us, but he said it was unnecessary.”

“You heard him actually speak?” Murong asked curiously.

Dihuai shook his head, then imitated Mu Bai by giving a wordless shake of his own head. “This Master Mu — able to say one word, he won’t say two. I used to think Director Shi was a man of few words, but compared to Master Mu, he is practically a chatterbox.”

Yan Qing burst out laughing. “Master Mu is indeed sparing with words. Some people are simply born not fond of talking.”

Although Shi Ting was sparing with words, when he was with her he lacked for nothing to say — on the contrary, when he set about charming her, he was like a peerless master.

After the meal, the passenger vessel sailed on a while longer, and the silhouette of a small town began to emerge dimly ahead.

Huxi Quarter was a water town; its buildings were mostly gray-tiled with white walls. Seen from a distance, a faint haze of mist still lingered over it, as if a painting in ink and wash.

“Truly beautiful.” Murong could not help but exclaim. “It is well deserving of its fame as a celebrated water town near and far.”

The passenger vessel drew up at a dock. When Yan Qing disembarked, Mu Bai was already waiting on the dock.

Yan Qing looked down at her own figure, bundled tightly in her rabbit-fur cape, then looked at Mu Bai in his single-layer garment — not even the slightest change of color on his face despite standing in the biting wind.

Such was the difference between one person and another.

The group arrived in Huxi Town, the main settlement in Huxi Quarter, and found it bustling, just as expected.

Although it was winter and the dyeing workshops could not hang cloth out to dry, nearly all of them having shut down, the various spice shops were still thriving.

Many merchants who had come from distant places were here purchasing spices, and three-wheeled human-powered cargo carts came and went between the town streets and the docks.

“It smells wonderful here.” Murong walked along the street and could not help saying. “It is no wonder this is a place that produces all manner of spices — even the street smells this fragrant.”

The local fragrance industry was quite renowned. The local women almost all carried different scents on their persons; some of these fragrances were for beauty, others for strengthening the body and preserving health. All manner of scent sachets hung in the shops lining the street, colorful and very pleasing to the eye.

Dihuai found an inn and chose several good rooms. He had originally intended to share a room with Mu Bai, but thinking of Mu Bai’s personality, he went ahead and booked an extra room — sharing quarters with that block of ice, he feared he’d freeze to death.

Once the group had settled in, they began searching for clues concerning Chen Lingling. To make the search easier, the group disguised themselves as spice merchants looking to purchase goods.

But reality proved far more difficult than they had imagined. The local spice merchants were as numerous as the hairs on an ox, and trying to get word of Chen Lingling among them was like searching for a needle in the ocean.

Moreover, so many years had already passed. Most people probably would not remember what had happened back then, and even those who knew would likely conceal it — after all, Shi Guang was always decisive and ruthless in his methods.

By evening, the group had come up empty-handed and had no choice but to return to the inn and rest, intending to continue the search the next day.

“Miss, if we keep searching like this, there’s no knowing when we’ll find anything.” Murong said. “The Chen family members have probably already died, or left this place.”

Yan Qing took out a framed photograph of herself and Shi Ting from her luggage, held it in her hands and studied it for a moment before she spoke. “If this Chen family truly existed, they could not have left no trace at all. Even if every person in the family is gone, there will always be people who knew them who are still alive. Even if Shi Guang can clear away every person and object connected to him, he cannot clear away everyone — those ordinary people who once knew the Chen family are not something Shi Guang can erase one by one.”

“Miss is thinking of her husband again?” Murong teased. “Miss spends every day either attending to business or thinking of her husband.”

Yan Qing did not feel the least bit embarrassed. She calmly placed the framed photograph on the table in a spot immediately visible, setting it just so. “If I were thinking of someone else, that would be the problem.”

“With a husband as exceptional as yours, Miss would never look twice at anyone else.”

Yan Qing smiled. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

“Miss.” Murong grew somewhat emotional. “Ever since you fell into the lake at the Yan Mansion, I felt you had become a different person. You are nothing like the Miss of before. At the time I found it quite puzzling — why would someone’s personality change so drastically? Now that I think about it, I can no longer even remember what you were like before you fell into the lake.”

Not only did Murong feel this way — when Yan Qing herself thought back over this journey, she too could not help but sigh with emotion.

She had crossed over from that era, going from a young lady who had sat in a wheelchair for over ten years, to meeting Shi Ting. This entire journey of experiences could well be written into a time-travel novel.

“Miss, let’s sleep early. Tomorrow we still need to keep looking for clues.”

“Let’s rest.” Yan Qing lay back on the bed, and Murong blew out the kerosene lamp. That night, snow began to fall outside the window at some unknown hour, rustling softly through the whole night.

By the next morning when they woke, the ground and rooftops outside were already blanketed in a thick layer of snow.

Yan Qing had breakfast in the room, and the group was about to head out when, just as they stepped out of the inn, a commotion arose from across the street.

Directly opposite the inn was a tofu shop, and many people were gathered around it, some pointing and murmuring.

“Miss, what has happened over there?” Murong craned her neck to look.

“Let’s go have a look.” By professional instinct, Yan Qing found herself unable to ignore this sort of situation.