Chapter Forty-Eight: Reunion After a Long Separation

"What? That terrifying?" As soon as Happy heard what Yubing said, she immediately threw the stuffy-headed flower far away. Even so, she still looked disgusted as she grabbed the handkerchief from Changxiao and scrubbed her hands vigorously.

"You!" Changxiao pinched the handkerchief Happy had used, walked over to the edge of the forest, and tossed it away.

"Then why are you fine?" This was what Late Autumn couldn't figure out, and it was a question shared by the others.

"An opportunity in my childhood made me immune to all poisons," Yubing's expression darkened for a moment, then she changed the subject. "Let's not talk about this. Let's look around and see if there are any other clues."

"He died here half a month ago, so who was that who received us at his house?" Did we see a ghost? Happy voiced the thought that made everyone shiver.

"Don't say it's a ghost," Late Autumn just had to make it worse. "Eek..."

"Can you stop adding to the creepy atmosphere?" Mingxia gave him a slap on the head, then turned to Yubing, "Could he have been one of the two men in black?"

"Exactly!" Yubing gave him a thumbs up.

"Then who could the other one be?" Happy rubbed her chin. "Probably not his accomplice."

"We don't know yet. But one thing's certain—he's a friend, not a foe," Changxiao said, recalling how the man had nodded to them before leaving. Even if they were accomplices, they'd eventually find out. It was only a matter of time.

"How can you be sure this isn't another trap?" Mingxia warned. "What if the two of them were putting on a show for us? Would you be able to tell?"

"The eyes are the window to the soul—they never lie," Changxiao replied, exchanging a knowing smile with Yubing; that's exactly how Yubing had come to trust him in the past.

"You and Yubing are getting more alike," a teasing voice drifted through the mist.

"Who?" Instantly, everyone tensed, hair standing on end. Happy’s words had already made their hearts pound, and with Late Autumn’s timely addition and now this sudden, ethereal voice, no one could help feeling uneasy.

"Show yourself," Late Autumn crept closer to Mingxia, trying to sound brave. "Don’t—don’t play ghost tricks. You think we’re scared of you?"

"If you’re not scared, why are you stuttering?" The voice in the mist drew nearer, clearly amused.

"You... you... If you’ve got the guts, come out!" Late Autumn assumed a fighting stance, nervous yet defiant. "Let’s settle this one on one!"

"Only a fool would take you up on that," the voice replied right by his ear, but still, no one appeared.

Mingxia remained alert, listening keenly to the rustling leaves and twigs, trying to spot any trace of the person’s movement.

Happy and Changxiao stood guard by Yubing’s side, equally on edge.

"Since you already discovered us earlier, why not join up?" Yubing, ever composed, glanced past Late Autumn. "What are you hiding from?"

"Not hiding!" A familiar figure stepped out from behind Late Autumn, eyes darting left and right as he made excuses. "Who’s hiding? I was looking for you!"

"Looking for me?" Yubing’s lips curled up. "If you were looking for me, why didn’t you show yourself earlier?" She changed the subject with a hint of mischief. "Your skills aren’t bad!"

"You noticed?" He looked a little embarrassed as he flicked open his folding fan modestly. "I just wanted to surprise you."

"Surprise?" Happy couldn’t resist a joke before Yubing could answer, "We didn’t get much surprise, but you sure startled him," she pointed at Late Autumn, who was still on guard.

"Who’s scared? Who?" Late Autumn gathered from the others’ expressions that the newcomer was an acquaintance. Dropping his guard, he stubbornly defended himself.

"And you are?" Mingxia eyed the newcomer and asked Yubing.

"He—" Yubing was about to reveal his princely identity when Zhang Huai secretly shook his head at her, quickly introducing himself, "My surname is Zhang, given name Huai. You’ve probably heard Yubing mention me."

Though Yubing was puzzled, now clearly wasn’t the time for such questions. She simply treated him as a friend, as usual, and said nothing more.

"Nope!" the group replied in unison. Indeed, Yubing had never mentioned him on the journey.

"You..." Zhang Huai was speechless, forcing a relaxed air as he flicked open his fan again, changing the subject. "The person I fought earlier wasn’t simple!"

"What did you find?" Changxiao got straight to the point.

"Not exactly a discovery—just a coincidence." He began to recount his encounter.

"I heard you were in Linhai County, so I went there, but found out you’d already come here. After much asking around, I arrived outside the courtyard and heard voices inside. I was about to check if it was you when a woman carrying a baby hurried out. I meant to ask her if she’d seen you, but she attacked me without a word. Sensing something was off, I tried to capture her, being careful not to harm the baby. Just as she was losing ground, a man in black leapt out from the side, aiming to kill! I had no choice but to watch her escape with the child.

Sensing something amiss, I lured the man in black toward the courtyard, hoping you’d spot something."

"Why didn’t you just call out to us?" Happy interrupted. "There were more of us—we might have caught them right then!"

"Sorry! I wasn’t sure you were inside," Zhang Huai replied. "I only knew there were people, but couldn’t tell friend from foe."

"Who could those two be?" Changxiao wondered aloud.

"One was the village chief’s wife. The other..." Yubing smiled and paused, knowing she wasn’t the only one who’d seen through it.

"The village chief himself!" Mingxia jumped in, not disappointing her.

"The village chief again?" Late Autumn scratched his head, bewildered by their sudden proliferation. "Exactly how many village chiefs are there?"

"There’s only one real one," Changxiao pointed at the nearby corpse. "There—him."

"Then who’s impersonating him?" Late Autumn understood, but new questions arose. "And the chief’s wife must be a fake too—who is she? And the baby, whose child is it?"

"Are you a magpie? So many questions!" Happy flicked Late Autumn’s ear.

"I honestly can’t figure it out," for once, Late Autumn didn’t argue, rubbing his ear in aggrieved resignation.

"Could he be the missing young heir?" Yubing was increasingly convinced. "If that’s the case, then the village chief is really someone from that family in disguise. And the chief’s wife—could she also be one of them?"

"Or perhaps she’s a child trafficker?" Changxiao speculated. Until they knew for sure, anything was possible.

"The person I fought had quite an air about him. His night clothes were plain, but he carried a faint, refined scent—top-grade ink. Ordinary people couldn’t afford it," Zhang Huai recalled, searching his memory.

"Ink fragrance?" Yubing’s brow lifted. "I know who he is!"

"You’ve met someone with that scent?" Mingxia was surprised. He remembered the magistrate had said Yubing hadn’t entered that house, and they’d met no one else on the journey. Where had she encountered such a man?

"Not just me," Yubing smiled, pointing at Happy and Changxiao. "They’ve seen him too."

"When?" Happy was baffled.

"It’s that young master from the family," Changxiao, ever perceptive, answered.

"Exactly!" Yubing nodded.

"No way," Happy was skeptical. "He’s just a fool!"

"I think you’re the fool!" Late Autumn seized the chance to retort. "That family has more than one young master!"

"He must be the eldest, the one the magistrate mentioned, who only rejoined the family half a year ago," Mingxia realized. "But he’s not at home now, and no one knows where he’s gone!"

"If he’s the eldest, why would he kidnap the heir? For ransom? Blackmail?" Happy ignored Late Autumn’s childishness, focusing on the case.

"That’s something only he knows," Yubing admitted, still in the dark about his motives. Most importantly, they had no idea where he’d hidden the heir.

Changxiao adjusted his sword across his chest, settling it comfortably before speaking softly, "The safest place is often the most dangerous."

"Right! They know we’d head to Jun’an County and wouldn’t double back. So the heir could very well still be in that courtyard—they tricked us!" Happy’s eyes lit up. "After all, none of us thought to go back and check, and no one actually saw the woman leave with the baby!"

"Now that you say it, I think we should go back," Mingxia gripped his spear, continuing, "Even if we find nothing, it’s just a detour—no harm done."

"You’re all making sense," Yubing tossed aside the flower in her hand. "Let’s go back and have a look."

When they returned to the village entrance, they saw from afar that the village was ablaze with light and crowded with figures. The closer they got, the more people there were. Many hurried past them, all heading into the heart of the village...