Cang Lan Dao - Chapter 38.2

Chapter 38.2 

She must find a way between them —

Li Guiyu let his servants go to the East Palace and allow himself to be tricked, so Xie Heng made Zhang Yiran the most crucial witness. He used Bai Li to threaten Xie Heng, and Xie Heng used this fake to intimidate him. It was a counterfeit; it shouldn’t affect him at all. But for some reason, perhaps she was too similar; the way she lowered her eyebrows and eyes and leaked out that timid look was like the times he spent with her. He knew she was not Luo Wanqing; she would hate him if it were her. She won’t care about him. She would stare at him with the eyes that wanted to kill him, but at least — her eyes were full of him. She wouldn’t let someone embrace her like this, much less allow another man to wantonly approach her, get close to her, and then continue the silent seduction as she did in front of him back then. She wasn’t Luo Wanqing, but it was too similar. He didn’t know where on earth Xie Heng had found the mold and how much effort he had wasted to carve out someone so nearly identical. Her voice, demeanor, appearance, and stature; If she didn’t move her hands, he could barely tell the difference. Seeing someone so similar to his Miss being touched by another man, even if he knew it was a fake, he couldn’t control himself. He knew he would lose the lead if he opened his mouth, yet still did it abruptly when Xie Heng rubbed the tip of his nose through Luo Wanqing’s hair and attempted to take another step closer, “You let go of her.” 

Xie Heng unexpectedly turned his eyes. Li Guiyu coldly said, “You let her out. I’ll tell you the truth.” 

Xie Heng did not move, seemingly waiting for his sincerity. Li Guiyu took a deep breath, then said, “Ten days later, at Fang Fei Pavilion, the Feng Yu Pavilion will set up an ambush to kill you.” 

Luo Wanqing was stunned. Then, she realized what Li Guiyu said was a lie. She hadn’t received any news from the Feng Yu Pavilion. Indeed, the Feng Yu Pavilion would set up an ambush tonight, although it might not happen, but ten days later? Is this a lie from Li Guiyu, or did the Feng Yu Pavilion not tell her? 

Luo Wanqing didn’t dare to reveal her doubts. She looked down at Xie Heng’s hand on her waist and heard Li Guiyu continue, “I want to use you as bait to set up an ambush to catch Xiang Sizi.” 

Upon hearing this, Xie Heng moved. After thinking for a moment, he let go of the hand restraining Luo Wanqing and leaned to the back of the chair. He reached out to hold Luo Wanqing’s hand and lifted her up, not as if he was addressing a subordinate but as if he was addressing a bargirl. He then commanded in a warm voice, “Go out and wait.” 

Luo Wanqing held Xie Heng’s hand and got up from him. The whole process felt a little strange. She had never had the opposite sex leaning so close to her —

Luo Wanqing couldn’t help but remember that there was Cui Heng. But Cui Heng and Xie Heng gave her a different feeling. Perhaps because of his status, she was wary of Xie Heng and would always feel he carried an overly strong sense of aggression. Every movement he made would make her tense and would always make her realize that this was a man, a gender that was very different from her own. On the other hand, Cui Heng, perhaps the boundaries he broke from the bone shaping were extreme, or he was too gentle; except for the night he cleared her of poison, she seldom realized his touch right away. 

Luo Wanqing suppressed her strange emotions and walked out of the room. She closed the door behind her and saw Zhu Que standing in the doorway. Seeing her come out, Zhu Que hurried forward and curiously said, “What are they talking about in there?” 

Luo Wanqing glanced at the door of the room. She didn’t hide it and lowered her voice, “It seems like they are discussing destroying the Feng Yu Pavilion together.” 

Zhu Que skimmed his lips, somewhat unhappy. “This kind of thing, does the Young Master need to stay and talk with him alone?” 

Luo Wanqing wasn’t very happy either but remained indifferent on her face and said, “Young Master has his considerations.” 

Luo Wanqing knew that catching Xiang Sizi would impress Xie Heng. But why was Xiang Sizi so important? And why did Xiang Sizi keep eyeing Xie Heng? 

Luo Wanqing frowned and glanced at the nearby Zhu Que, unable to resist saying, “Agent Zhu Que,” 

“Hm?” 

“Why does Young Master want to eliminate the Feng Yu Pavilion?” 

Zhu Que bristled, “Because they’re troublesome. Seeking trouble every three days, always wanting to assassinate Young Master, it’s better to end them all in one strike.” 

“Why do they want to kill Young Master?” 

“Young Master is in charge of the Qin family’s case, you know that, right?” Zhu Que lowered his voice. 

Luo Wanqing nodded but did not quite understand, “I know, but what’s the relevance?” 

“In the Qin family’s case, there is a key figure, the assassin from the Feng Yu Pavilion, Zhang Jiuran.” 

Luo Wanqing’s heart thumped, somewhat surprised, “Zhang Jiuran?” 

“That’s right,” Zhu Que nodded, then said, “Although I don’t know precisely what level of assassin this Zhang Jiuran in the Feng Yu Pavilion, she shouldn’t be an ordinary assassin. The Qin family has never been able to explain about those forged documents and the armor placed in the armory. Zhang Jiuran knows best; if we can find her, we will have a key witness. But Zhang Jiuran disappeared a long time ago, and we don’t know whether she is alive or dead. But after all, she’s only a minor general. The pavilion master should know more. If we catch Xiang Sizi, we can have a key witness and figure out who the mastermind is. Such an important figure, Young Master has to be more attentive.” 

Luo Wanqing nodded her head, understanding. Remembering Zhang Jiuran, who was hiding in the Inspection Department, she couldn’t help but ask, “You guys haven’t heard anything about Zhang Jiuran at all?” 

“I suspected it once before,” Zhu Que glanced at Luo Wanqing and said thoughtfully, “At Qin Jue’s place, he picked up an invalid from the Guardian Temple.” 

Hearing this, Luo Wanqing’s heart skipped a beat, and she didn’t dare make a sound. Zhu Que frowned, “This person has Feng Yu Pavilion’s parasites on her body. Her tendons and veins are all severed, her five senses are all gone, and she’s already dying. We couldn’t find out where she came from at all. Young Master suspected she was Zhang Jiuran, but after confronting Qin Jue, he felt it was unlikely.” 

“Why?” 

“Zhang Jiuran destroyed Qin Jue’s entire family,” Zhu Que reminded, “How could Qin Jue still keep her like this?” 

Luo Wanqing’s heart sank slightly; this was indeed the best reason. Just like there was no way she’d care for Jiang Shaoyan, no one would have thought that Qin Jue could still hide Zhang Jiuran in the Inspection Department. She didn’t know what kind of mood Qin Jue was in. Perhaps he wanted to kill Zhang Jiuran daily, but Qin Jue, this person, was far more weak-hearted than her. Zhang Jiuran’s life of misery and her using everything to pay back made him couldn’t bear to kill her. Perhaps there was no love or hate, only pity. He may also want to leave a way back for his case, so he still keeps her.

Luo Wanqing pursed her lips. Zhu Que added, “The Qin family did lose a young lady in the escort, and Qin Jue recognized that it was her. She must have been kidnapped by the Feng Yu Pavilion and tortured severely. In addition, Qin Jue is our Young Master’s Junior Brother. They are all disciples of the Dao Sect; he should not lie. We can’t find Zhang Jiuran. Isn’t Xiang Sizi the only one left?” 

“Indeed.” Luo Wanqing responded, somewhat understanding why Xie Heng had set his eyes on Xiang Sizi and why Xiang Sizi had to kill Xie Heng.  Xie Heng wanted to take Xiang Sizi to overturn the case for the Qin family, so as long as Bai Li did not get into trouble, Li Guiyu would not be Xie Heng’s first target, and it would be logical for him to cooperate with Li Guiyu. But why did Li Guiyu want to kill Xiang Sizi? 

Luo Wanqing thought about Xiang Sizi’s identity. If she wasn’t wrong, Xiang Sizi should be the Empress’s knife in the jianghu. Li Guiyu has returned to the court and now only has the support of the Zheng Family; he has been mixing with the jianghu for many years and has no roots in the court. However, he had an excellent reputation, was a young prince, and had a grudge against the Empress, which threatened the Crown Prince, making the Empress wary of him. But they were mother and son after all; if Li Guiyu had been helpful to the Empress and had a submissive heart, the Empress may have accepted him. The only usefulness he could give the Empress nowadays was the same as Xiang Sizi’s, so Xiang Sizi’s death allowed him to show his worth in front of the Empress. Having thought this way, his killing of Xiang Sizi was justifiable. He and Xie Heng had similar aims, and in turn, she, the one whom Xiang Sizi had pinched, was somewhat different from them. Her family was in Xiang Sizi’s hands, so she had to listen to Xiang Sizi’s arrangements for now. But she couldn’t let Xiang Sizi keep threatening her. This kind of thing couldn’t happen again. She had to cut the ties with her family completely. Xiang Sizi had already arranged a new identity for her family, so as long as she killed Xiang Sizi, her family would be safe, and from then on, she could kill Li Guiyu in peace. As for the Qin family’s case, Zhang Jiuran could be the most crucial witness if she got the mother parasite.