âItâs been three years⊠hope youâve been well.â A cold greeting arose in the room. Jie Xiu was startled. He had been struggling to fall asleep. This voice just now belonged to the noble person he had missed all these years.
âThis benefactorâŠare you this poor monkâs savoir?â Jie Xiu put on his robe and lit up the oil lamp. He saw a man in tight, black garments leaning against a column, his face emotionless. That unchanging, ice-cold face confirmed his guess.
âThis poor monk thought thatâŠâ Jie Xiu wiped the tears from his eyes, choking on his sobs. He couldnât tell the other the thought he had kept at the bottom of his heart.
âHow has the pagoda been?â Lin Si Yao went straight to the topic. If he hadnât lived here for eight years and if he had ever wanted to destroy the old abbotâs effort, he wouldnât have needed to find and aid someone to take care of the pagoda.
As he had watched the pagoda for ten years, he had no reason to let those disabled men who were struggling before their death break the quiet, small pagoda. He wanted the old abbot to rest in peace.
âSigh, itâs a long story. Without those evil-doers out there, the Yun Luo Pagoda would have been fineâŠâ Jie Xiu told Lin Si Yao how the others occupied the pagoda and what he knew about them.
âBenefactor, from twelve years ago, this poor monk has seen through this life. This poor monk just hopes to stay here and befriend the bright light and cool moon to quietly pass the rest of my life. Unexpectedly⊠Sigh, anyway, this poor monk has failed you!â
âAlright, donât think too much. Iâll return tomorrow and resume the quietness of Yun Luo Pagoda.â Lin Si Yao listened to Jie Xiu. He nodded then turned around, hoping out through the roomâs window. âRemember, donât beat the grass and scare the snake.â
âŠ
âWhat? They wanted to lure the twelve Blood Knights to Da Hui?â Xue Li felt it hard to believe while gazing at his son who had just come back with some news. He didnât want to hold a grudge as the other had pulled him out of his warm and cozy bed at midnight. No matter what, his son didnât find him quite often. However, after listening to the news, he was completely awake.
âAccording to you, is intelligence true? Someone has used the name of the twelve Blood Knights to deceive people. They wanted to attract the real twelve Blood Knights, also to make the Da Huiâs Emperor doubt the Blood Union⊠Itâs a stone that kills two birdsâŠâ Xue Li shook his head, sighing. âI didnât expect to see Xue Yingâs remaining rebels. There were still fish that escaped the net that yearâŠâ
âTomorrow morning, Iâll take Situ Yun to the mountain.â Lin Si Yao didnât want to listen to Xue Liâs sighing. He came to see this man just to hope that the other would take care of his wife and kids while he and Situ Yun were away.
âDo you need me to mobilize more people?â Xue Li looked at Lin Si Yao with worry. âAn organization that could be able to hide for more than twenty years and distract the Twelve Blood Knights should have some capability. If you go with only two people, do you think you could fall into their trap?â
âThey said they would ask the Rong Cityâs Castellan tomorrow to recruit more able-bodied men to build the tower on the mountainâs peak. If we wait, more innocent people will be involved.â Lin Si Yao shook his head. He had roughly investigated the othersâ skills. He had stood on a big tree branch around ten meters away from the pagoda and eavesdropped on the others without being discovered. It proved the others didnât have good competences. However, he wasnât so sure if they had any weapons. That was why he plans to take Situ Yun with him. One would watch while the other attacked. No one shall escape. He wanted to finish them quickly; within half a day.
âRight⊠Okay, Iâll wait for your news. Where does the Rong Cityâs Castellan live? Iâll order Jian Heng to pay him a visit. Looking at the development of Qi Yun Town, I can say heâs a smart person.â Xue Li listened to his son and understood the reason they could not drag this matter. He nodded in agreement. And, he decided to send his subordinate to hold the Castellan back to prevent him from taking his troop to Mount Qi Yun.
Lin Si Yao nodded and returned to his own room. It looked like he had spent a lot of time traveling. Actually, he had used only two hours. He still had time to rest. Tomorrow, it will be a great battle. After the fight in the South Corridor, Si Luo was in a coma due to his severe wounds. The fight between him and Long Zu was also because of them. Very good! Itâd been a while since he had a good exercise. He missed the feeling when he wielded a weapon in his hands.
âŠ
At dawn the next day, Su Shuilian groped the spot on the bed next to her, which didnât retain any body heat. She couldnât help but frown. He forgot again! They had promised each other that every day, he must wake up with her. Moreover, they were in an inn. What kind of emergency business made him leave very early in the morning without a prior word of notification?
Anyway, since yesterday, when he suddenly suggested visiting Yun Luo Pagoda on Qi Yun Mountain, she had realized something was strange.
âBai He, did you see A Yao?â After washing her face, Su Shuilian went to the wet-nursesâ room. She picked up Lin Long, who had just woken up, and breastfeed her. When she saw Bai He bringing Lin Xiao, she asked.
âI didnât. Lady, it seems our journey changed. I heard Qing Lan said that we need to stay and rest in our room until noon. Weâre not going to climb the mountain.â Bai He reported to Su Shuilian what she had just heard. Then, as she remembered something, she added, âOh right, Young Master Situ is nowhere to be seen this morning, either. At the same time, Jian Heng, who stays with Young Master Situ, also went out after he visited the Blood Unionâs Emperorâs room.â
âYou didnât see Yun-er, either? Did he go out to do something with A Yao?â Su Shuilian pondered for a while and accurately guessed. Normally, if A Yao went out, Yun-er would stay with her and the twins. He wouldnât leave even a step away. Never had both of them disappeared at the same time. Did something really happen?
After feeding her kids, Su Shuilian returned to her room, contemplating.