Cang Lan Dao - Chapter 41.1

Chapter 41.1 

She’s Luo Wanqing 

When Luo Wanqing walked out of the dungeon, the night wind blew in her face. She finally broke free from the bloody stench and sobered up a bit. Too many things happened tonight: Xie Heng ambushed Jiang Shaoyan; Jiang Shaoyan allied with Xie Heng and informed her that she was Zhang Jiuran; Xie Heng knew she joined hands with the Feng Yu Pavilion to ambush him; Xie Heng doubted her identity and wanted to use Zhang Qiuzhi’s case to make her surrender; and she, this ‘Zhang Jiuran’ promised to be helpful to be able to live. Although she did not admit to the identity of Zhang Jiuran, she and Xie Heng reached a cooperation agreement; she had to help Xie Heng find the Feng Yu Pavilion. The most important thing now was to find Xiang Sizi. She did not care about Xie Heng and Li Guiyu’s purposes, but she had only one purpose now: to keep her family safe and make them leave with new identities. 

Luo Wanqing closed her eyes and calmed down. Xie Heng’s sentence, ‘She is a doctor, what are you?’ came into her mind, making her inexplicably take a deep breath. Without overthinking, she went back to her room. She had to recuperate and prepare to find Xiang Sizi the next day. 

She gave herself sleeping medication and fell into a deep sleep for the night. When she woke up on the second day, after reporting to Xie Heng’s people, she rummaged through some of the daily items used by the agents and brought them with her before leaving. 

The Inspection Department had equipped each agent with many rare tools that were difficult to find on the market. The one she purposely brought with her today was the Feng Xun Incense, used for chasing people. This incense was special, extremely sensitive, and traceable within a hundred miles. To avoid mistracking, it came with a restrained incense. Together, the two sachets would not emit an odor, so the Feng Xun Incense couldn’t track it. If one needed to use it, one could destroy the restraining sachet, and Feng Xun Incense could track it immediately. 

Luo Wanqing put the two scented pouches on her body and went to that teahouse again. She ordered three cups of Biluochun and waited quietly before a woman pushed the door in. 

Luo Wanqing raised her eyes to look at the other party. The woman respectfully said, “It’s inconvenient for Master to come today. Let this slave, on behalf of Master, greet Miss.” 

Luo Wanqing was not surprised when she heard this. Xie Heng almost found him last night, so it was normal for him to be more cautious today. If Xie Heng’s people followed her over, there was no need for any subsequent ambush. 

Luo Wanqing nodded and watched as the woman walked to the side of the room and opened a secret room, respectfully saying, “Please follow me, Miss.” 

Luo Wanqing got up and followed the woman into the secret room, walking through a long tunnel before arriving at a dimly lit room. After arriving in the room, the woman guided Luo Wanqing to sit in front of the table. Like a dummy, she spoke fixedly, “Master asked me to ask Miss a question. Last night, why did you let Xie Heng find out?” 

“It was his stupidity.” Luo Wanqing coldly said, “Does he truly think that Xie Heng, a man from a sophisticated family, would have a wild affair with a woman out in the open and let someone kill him?” 

The woman did not speak, seemingly waiting for something. 

Luo Wanqing looked at her demeanor and knew someone else was there.  They used a unique way of communication, and this woman conveyed the meaning of the person behind her. 

The woman waited momentarily, then said, “Then last night, when Miss let Master go, did Xie Heng not notice?” 

“Of course,” Luo Wanqing said half-truthfully, “but he wasn’t sure; he liked me and is willing to trust me for the time being. But I don’t have many chances left. Next time, if he can’t kill him again,” Luo Wanqing raised her eyes, looking for someone hiding in the shadows, “I’ll die with him.”

Luo Wanqing didn’t have the patience to beat around the bush with them and directly said, “Where is my family? I proved that I could lure Xie Heng. Now it’s time for Pavilion Master to prove that my family is well, right? If I don’t see my family,” Luo Wanqing spoke in a threatening tone, “I’ll consider them dead.”

When the woman heard the words, she did not act immediately—after waiting for a moment, she seemed to have gotten an order. She stood up, walked to the front wall before her, and pulled the mechanism. The wall opened towards both sides, revealing four people lying on the bed. Next to these four people stood a woman. The woman bowed respectfully towards her and introduced herself: “This servant is Qing Lu. Greetings.” 

Qing Lu. 

When Luo Wanqing heard this name, her heart trembled. She finally met the woman Zhang Jiuran had mentioned in his letter. Zhang Jiuran had placed this woman beside her family for today’s matter. She nodded in a pretense of coldness and walked before the four people. She immediately recognized that it was her mother, brother, sister-in-law, and little niece.  They were lying quietly on the bed; their breath was steady, and their complexion was rosy. They were taking some medicine and were sleeping. They had all lost some weight but looked unharmed. Luo Wanqing looked at the people on the bed and felt a pain in her throat. But out of vigilance, she still walked up, touched these people’s appearance, checked their physical features, and even took their pulse to confirm their past illnesses before finally letting go of her worry. 

“Pavilion Master said, we will take good care of your family. There will never be negligence.” Qing Lu watched Luo Wanqing’s movements and stood aside to speak, “Please rest assured, Miss. As long as Xie Heng dies, we will immediately release them, and both your family and you can take a new identity and start a new life.” 

“What is the new identity?” Luo Wanqing silently crushed the scented pouch and wiped the incense on her body, turning her head to look at Qing Lu. 

Qing Lu glanced at the woman standing, and the latter nodded. Qing Lu told Luo Wanqing, “There’s a group of traffickers in Dongdu. We picked out the ones that matched the age of your family members from the people they trafficked, and when those people died, your family will become them.” 

Luo Wanqing’s movements slightly paused. She wanted to ask how those people died but didn’t need to; she guessed the process. She was silent, and Qing Lu continued: “Those people are not Daxia’s people. They came from other small countries and reached Daxia because of various reasons. They have road guides and immigration certificates. After we release your family, they can take these road passes to find the government. After the government formally issued an identity document, they can stay in Daxia openly.” 

Luo Wanqing listened while seemingly thinking. She walked to Qing Lu, stared at her, and said, “Who handled this matter?” 

“Me.” 

“You know their future identities?” Luo Wanqing frowned. 

Qing Lu looked down at the ground, her face calm and steady as she continued to answer, “The identity was picked by the Pavilion Master and sealed after the selection. I didn’t know about it.” 

“Give me the identity documents.” Luo Wanqing considered it and made a direct request, looking at the woman who had guided her into the room. 

The woman raised her eyes as Luo Wanqing spoke, “Give me the identity documents, and ten days later, we’ll assassinate Xie Heng together. I’ll bring Xie Heng out alone. After Xie Heng dies, you guys will release them and then set a location where I’ll personally go to pick up my family. This request is not too much, right?” 

The woman heard this and asked, “How does Miss plan for ten days later?” 

“Ten days later, I will bring Xie Heng to Fang Fei Pavilion,” Luo Wanqing said half-truthfully. “Bring your people and ambush him there. I will also try to help. When you see the two of us, Xie Heng and I, you will give me Zhang Jiuran’s mother parasites, and when I kill Xie Heng with you, you will let my family go.” 

The woman hung her eyes without saying anything as if she was listening carefully to something. After a long time, the woman raised her eyes, “You can guarantee that Xie Heng will go to Fang Fei Pavilion alone?” 

“Yes.” Luo Wanqing said, “If he is not alone, you can do nothing. However, Xie Heng is powerful,” Luo Wanqing emphasized, “I ask that Pavilion Master cherish the opportunity to strike a blow, or else, he and I will not be able to save our little lives.”

Upon hearing this, the woman nodded, then beckoned towards Qing Lu, “Give her the documents.” 

Qing Lu nodded, removing the paperwork from her sleeve and stepping forward. When Luo Wanqing received the paperwork, she unnoticeably touched the other party’s hand and wiped the Feng Xun Incense on her body. 

Qing Lu raised her eyes to look at her and didn’t say much. 

Luo Wanqing took the paperwork, put it into her bosom, and said, “If there’s nothing else, I’m leaving.” 

The people present did not stop her. The woman who led her in guided her back the way she came in. After she got the paperwork, she returned to the Inspection Department, took Feng Xun Incense and chased after it. She waited until night and saw a small courtyard under the mountain on the city’s outskirts. The courtyard was brightly lit, with people coming and going. It was obvious that there were a lot of people guarding it. 

Luo Wanqing didn’t dare get too close. She observed for a while before she saw Qing Lu taking a broom and sweeping the ground in the courtyard.

Luo Wanqing thought about it. Qing Lu must see her action today and may be waiting for her. That was why she still did things in the courtyard at this hour to facilitate her to meet her. 

 Luo Wanqing picked a leaf from the tree and blew a tune after pondering.

T/N: Another lengthy chapter. This time, it has 14801 Chinese characters. This novel is killing me #fingercrossed I can finish this novel!