The crowd in the hall began to disperse, and the shop hands scurried about to clean up the aftermath. Xilan gave a few final instructions to the manager before the group prepared to return to the inner hall. Meng Tingwu spoke up, her voice dripping with resentment. "You certainly are clever, using the public accounts to buy yourself favors!"
Xilan, seemingly accustomed to her bitter remarks, replied with a calm, flat tone, "It was the Palace Master’s command."
Meng Tingwu let out a cold snort. "Don't keep 'Palace Master' on your lips all day long. Are you trying to show off how quickly you climbed into her bed?"
Xilan was naturally not foolish enough to respond. She walked away without a word. Meng Tingwu threw her sleeve back, gave Xilan a sharp, angry shove, and stormed inside ahead of her.
I shook my head at the display and whispered to Wei Qingming, "Should we follow?"
She nodded. "Be careful."
I cast an Invisibility Charm, and the two of us followed them openly to the entrance of the hall. Wei Qingming raised a hand to stop me. "There is a restriction." As she spoke, she professionally pulled out two trumpet-shaped objects and cast a spell. One sank into the wall beside the door, while we huddled together to listen through the other.
Inside, Meng Tingwu was speaking. "Palace Master, why did you have to come to the capital in person? The matters here are still under my control."
A coarse, piercing voice replied, "Our business has suffered significant losses recently, all starting from the failure of you three at the Imperial Tombs. Do you acknowledge your mistake?"
Meng Tingwu gritted her teeth. "It was those wretched Taoists from the Wujing Sect who interfered. Especially one fair-faced youth—he even caused Mi Toutuo to lose a hand!"
During the Palace Master's silence, I heard the fluttering of wings. I quietly used my Vision Illusion to peer inside. I discovered that the Palace Master was a figure in black with silver hair and wide sleeves, wearing a silver mask that concealed their face. It was impossible to tell if they were male or female, old or young, or what their cultivation level might be. A crow was perched on their shoulder, and the voice was actually coming from the crow’s beak.
I found it both surprising and amusing. I teased in a low voice, "They keep calling this person 'Palace Master,' but if it's a man, wouldn't that be awkward?"
Wei Qingming responded with a faint smile. Inside, the Palace Master turned to look at Xilan. Understanding the silent cue, Xilan spoke. "Sister Tingwu, do you truly believe the root of the problem lies with the Wujing Sect?"
Meng Tingwu pursed her lips. "If not them, then who?"
"Those who intercepted our business include the bandits of Nine Flame Mountain, government troops, and other merchant houses," Xilan said. "The Wujing Sect has always been aloof and self-contained, disdaining involvement in the affairs of the martial world. A few small contracts are beneath the notice of a sect supported by the entire nation's resources. This style of playing both sides of the law, however, resembles the methods of that old rogue Feng Zhen from Yingzhao Temple."
Only then did Meng Tingwu add, "Master, Prince Xuan has been pressing us hard lately because Yingzhao Temple is searching for the Feiyu Stone."
I couldn't help but feel a profound pity for Meng Tingwu's intellect. I quickly flattered Wei Qingming, "You're really striking from both sides! You've muddied two pools of water and actually forced the big players to show themselves. What do they call this—beating the grass to find the snake?"
While Meng Tingwu was busy badmouthing the 'fair-faced youth' from the Wujing Sect, Wei Qingming listened to praise with one ear and insults with the other, her expression remaining unmoved. Finally, the crow spoke again. "Xilan, give me your thoughts."
"This servant believes that since this matter involves both the Wujing Sect and Yingzhao Temple, it provides a clue," Xilan said unhurriedly. "According to Sister Tingwu, the young Wujing Sect disciple who defeated her and subsequently thwarted Huang Bulao and Mi Toutuo already knew that Prince Xuan was connected to the Feiyu Stone. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that he obtained this through interrogating Prince Xuan's men after entering the tomb. However, the Wujing Sect has always avoided overt interference in court affairs; this move is quite suspicious. Furthermore, the Wujing Sect went directly to the Ministry of Justice to report the tomb robbery, and Yingzhao Temple immediately took over the investigation. The transition was seamless, almost like a pre-planned series of moves. Therefore, the key figure in all of this must be someone with significant authority in both the Wujing Sect and Yingzhao Temple."
Xilan’s analysis hit the mark with every sentence. If I weren't afraid of annoying Wei Qingming, I would have cheered. Wei Qingming’s lips curled slightly into a cold, faint smile. "Not bad. A pity, though."
Her tone made it unclear whether she pitied Xilan for being a mere servant or because she would eventually fall by Wei's blade. It sent a sudden shiver down my spine.
The black-robed figure sat as still as a statue. The crow scratched its wing with its leg and hissed at Meng Tingwu, "After tonight's banquet is over, you are to leave the capital immediately and return to the main estate. Do not delay."
Meng Tingwu cried out in protest. "But the item hasn't been found! How am I to explain this to the Marquis?"
The black-robed figure finally moved, but only to dismiss her with a wave of the hand. Meng Tingwu was furious. Her gaze was like a blade as she glared at Xilan, who stood with lowered eyes and hands at her sides. Then, she turned and stomped out.
The black-robed figure beckoned Xilan closer. I was just about to listen in on what they were going to say in such intimacy when Wei Qingming suddenly grabbed me and rolled. In the blink of an eye, the wall where we had been hiding exploded. Flying debris and shards of stone tore through the bodies of the passing shop hands, but they couldn't catch the hem of Wei Qingming's robes.
The attack itself wasn't the most terrifying part. Immediately following it, a murky, black Nether Qi coiled toward us, as if seeking to drain the life force of all living things. For a moment, all sorts of fears and resentments flooded my heart. I hastily circulated my sect's heart manual to resist it.
Though I was startled, I didn't forget to hook my arms around Wei Qingming's neck in the chaos, allowing her to carry me as she flew steadily away.
Wei Qingming wasn't wounded, but the pressure from the Palace Master's attack had caused her blood to churn. She suppressed it with effort and used some sophisticated escape technique to silently bypass the bustling auction floor and slip back into our private booth.
Inside the booth sat a beautiful woman—it was Yindeng.
I was greatly surprised, but before I could say anything, Wei Qingming pressed my shoulder to make me sit. She thrust a long-handled lorgnette into my hand and picked up another herself, pretending to leisurely observe the treasures on the floor.
Sure enough, a squad of people poured out from the back hall, searching everywhere outside the booths. When they reached ours, Yindeng took the initiative to go out and deal with them, claiming her patron had never left the room. Once she had sent them away, she stepped back inside and bowed to Wei Qingming. "It has been many days. I trust Envoy Wei is well."
With no outsiders present, Yindeng shed her usual gentle and seductive air, her temperament becoming as cold and elegant as a red plum blossom amidst the snow. Her words sounded both familiar and somewhat arrogant, as if she, the subordinate, held little respect for her superior.
The scene made me scratch my head. To be honest, I had been quite unhappy when I first saw the two of them whispering together at the dinner table, but now that anger felt baseless. Instead, I felt a sense of admiration for a beauty of Yindeng's caliber, mixed with a bit of guilt.
Wei Qingming didn't even offer a word of thanks. She asked flatly, "What is it?"
Yindeng replied, "The Palace Master of the Palace of a Thousand Hues has arrived in person today to meet with Ling Chunan, the owner of Chunan Tower. This was sudden, and the agents I planted previously are temporarily unusable."
Wei Qingming nodded. "No matter. I have already seen the head of the Palace of a Thousand Hues."
A flash of surprise crossed Yindeng's face. "So, that explains the search and questioning just now."
"This Palace Master's cultivation should be at least in the middle stage of the Mist-Consuming Realm." Wei Qingming rubbed the ring on her finger, and her next words startled both Yindeng and me. "That move just now nearly cost me my life."
I swallowed hard. Did she look like someone who had nearly died? Looking at her current spirit, she looked like she could still take on ten thousand men.
"I understand." Yindeng gave a slight bow. Without waiting for Wei Qingming to dismiss her, she walked out of the room on her own. I was left in a daze—should I say these Yingzhao Temple agents were simply too efficient?
Once Yindeng was gone, Wei Qingming waved for Honglu to leave as well. After setting another restriction, she tugged at my sleeve and said, "I must trouble you, Miss Su."
As she spoke, she actually pulled off her belt and shed her outer robe. With a series of clatters, objects fell to the floor—it was a defensive magical artifact, shattered to pieces and drenched in blood. It turned out Wei Qingming hadn't been joking. If she hadn't used a high-level defensive tool meant for the Mist-Consuming Realm, the two of us truly would have died on the spot.
Feeling both heartache and lingering fear, I hurried behind her. My hands trembled as I cleared the fragments of the artifact embedded in her skin and applied the medicine she gave me. Fortunately, the Wujing Sect's salves were effective enough to heal such minor wounds completely, leaving not even a scar. Wei Qingming even had the leisure to turn her head and joke, "Thanks to this Thousand-Year Black Tortoise Shell. It seems being a 'shrinking turtle' isn't so bad after all."
My mind was in a mess, but her teasing got to me. I couldn't help but let out a short laugh, then straightened my face and scolded, "Turn back around and stay still!"
Wei Qingming obediently sat up straight. I was the one being truly 'obedient' now; I didn't dare look anywhere except her back, afraid I might accidentally see another secret and be silenced by her.
The fragments I picked out gradually formed a small pile on the handkerchief. Wei Qingming, however, seemed accustomed to this, her breathing steady as if nothing were wrong. Because of her height, her back was slightly broader than that of an average woman, yet it was still lean and delicate, contrasting sharply with the gruesome wounds. Thinking about how she had been injured every time we went out together since we met, a wave of sorrow washed over me, and I couldn't hold back the bitterness in my heart. Feeling a few tears fall on her shoulder, Wei Qingming quickly turned back and said softly, "What is it? If it's truly too unsightly, then don't apply the medicine."
I rubbed my eyes and sniffled. "No, I... I just feel that your life is very hard. I feel the bitterness for you."
Wei Qingming smiled, her gentle breath falling
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Dreams of the Ancient Mountain: The Cat's Masquerade | Chapter 28 | Ambition and Scars | Novela.app | Novela.app
