Qi Buyan, who hadn’t slept all night, went to the Chang’an Tower again, using a poisonous Gu worm to search for someone. Standing atop the tower, tall and crane-like, he gazed out over the city of Chang’an.
The city lay shrouded in a gray haze, as it had been raining for two consecutive days. The temperature had dropped abnormally, and no one knew when the weather would improve. The townsfolk were all discussing this unusual weather.
When something strange happens, it must be the work of spirits.
Those who worshiped gods and Buddhas naturally wondered if something significant was about to occur.
This was what Qi Buyan overheard on his way to the tower with an umbrella. However, he didn’t care about whether the situation was strange or not; he only wanted to find He Sui’an as soon as possible.
Before he knew it, day turned to night, and the Gu worm had searched from morning till evening without any success. Qi Buyan remained expressionless, just like the previous day, descending the tower and returning to the Princess’s residence at a certain hour.
Chang’an wasn’t as lively as usual, due to the heavy rain, and vendors couldn’t set up their stalls outside.
Only those with shops were still doing business. Qi Buyan found the small shop where He Sui’an had bought stuffed buns and tried to buy a basket of them. However, the shopkeeper apologized, saying, “They’re sold out.”
Business was good even on rainy days, and only other kinds of buns were left. The shopkeeper asked if Qi Buyan wanted to try them, assuring him they were just as good.
Qi Buyan was unmoved by the shopkeeper’s words, “I only want those.”
The shopkeeper, in a dilemma, said, “But we really don’t have any stuffed buns left. How about you come back tomorrow, and I’ll save a basket for you? If you’re in a hurry, the shop next door also sells them.”
It wasn’t that the shopkeeper wanted to push business away, but he didn’t want the handsome young man to leave empty-handed after braving the rain. His good looks made people naturally take a liking to him, prompting the shopkeeper to speak honestly.
Qi Buyan chose the former, “Alright, I’ll come back tomorrow.”
The shopkeeper responded, “Got it!”
Qi Buyan stepped out of the shop. His paper umbrella was left outside, its surface continuously dripping with water. He picked up the umbrella, opened it, and walked down the steps onto the street.
By the time Qi Buyan returned to the Princess’s residence, it was early evening, and all the lamps were lit.
Princess Luoyan hadn’t gone out for the past two days, staying in the residence, so she knew roughly what time Qi Buyan went out and returned each day, but still didn’t see him coming back with He Sui’an.
Since He Sui’an and Qi Buyan moved into the Princess’s residence, their daily life had been taken care of by Zhi Mo, who reported to Princess Luoyan that Qi Buyan’s room had been lit all night last night.
A lit lamp implied he probably hadn’t rested all night, though what he was doing was unknown.
Princess Luoyan, upon hearing this, was deep in thought.
It was the second day since He Sui’an had been missing. Where could she have gone alone? Princess Luoyan picked up a piece of cake and put it in her mouth. After swallowing, she turned to ask Zhi Mo, had there been any movement from Liu Yan recently?
Zhi Mo responded, “The Prince…”
She corrected herself, “He went to East Street yesterday. Our people didn’t dare get too close, fearing they would be discovered. They confirmed he had left East Street before going to check, and found the body of a woman on the street.”
Princess Luoyan was startled and asked, “A woman’s body? Was she killed by Liu Yan?”
“I don’t know. It was raining heavily at the time, and there weren’t many people on the street. Our people intended to bring the body back, but a few others suddenly appeared and took it away first.”
Those people were from Prince Qing’s mansion, likely ordered by Liu Yan to handle the body. Zhi Mo’s men didn’t dare to alert them and hid as soon as they saw the newcomers, avoiding detection.
Princess Luoyan fell into deep thought.
Her instincts told her that Liu Yan was planning something big soon, but she couldn’t fathom what his intentions were.
*
The lights in Qi Buyan’s room burned continuously through the night and were only extinguished at dawn.
This was the third day since He Sui’an had disappeared.
Her presence was completely gone.
Qi Buyan didn’t immediately go out to the tower today. Instead, he sat by the windowsill, polishing his bone flute. Over the past two nights, he had inexplicably acquired several new cuts on his wrists.
New wounds overlaid old scars, and the delicate silver chain on his wrist couldn’t hide these marks. Qi Buyan tilted his head to look out at the heavy rain, which was louder and fiercer than in the past two days.
The bone flute was polished to a bright sheen. He put it away and extended his hand outside the window.
Large raindrops pelted Qi Buyan’s hand, hitting with a force that stung slightly but he didn’t retract his hand, allowing his sleeve to get slightly wet.
Several snakes had returned in the early morning and were now curled up on the rug, resting like ropes of different colors. Qi Buyan lazily and seemingly casually tapped the windowsill, and they abruptly woke up.
The red snake didn’t move.
The black snake, exhausted, knocked its head on the floor and quickly lifted it again.
The silver snake was also tired, but it didn’t show it. Instead, it acted energetic, as if it could continue searching for He Sui’an for Qi Buyan.
Qi Buyan watched them calmly.
Too calmly.
So calm it was eerie. The red snake realized this, its cold body temperature dropping further; the silver snake also noticed and suppressed its urge to be close to its master, clamping its tail down.
The black snake didn’t realize and, seeing Qi Buyan smiling, slithered towards him, only to have its long tail grabbed and thrown out of the window.
After tossing the snake, Qi Buyan acted as if nothing had happened and leaned halfway over the windowsill, watching the rain.
The wind blew through the silver ornaments, sending a chill to the bone.
The red snake decisively crawled out the window to continue searching, followed quickly by the silver snake, with other Gu worms in the room trailing behind them.
Qi Buyan sat quietly for about a quarter of an hour, listening to the sound of the rain outside, lost in thought. Then he got up, pushed the door open, and went out to the shop to get the stuffed buns.
*
He Hua, who was supposed to arrive in Chang’an yesterday, only arrived today because their ox cart broke down, causing significant delays on the road. The ox cart was valuable to the villagers and couldn’t be abandoned.
This morning at the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), the ox cart was finally repaired, and they entered Chang’an at the hour of Chen, shortly after dawn.
In gratitude to the two villagers who brought her to Chang’an, He Hua went to buy buns for them. They refused to take money, so she had to express her thanks this way. The buns weren’t expensive, and they would accept them.
The muddy rain made He Hua, dressed in a straw raincoat, look quite disheveled, with her skirt and shirt covered in mud.
To her great surprise, she saw Qi Buyan there. At that moment, he was taking the stuffed buns from the shopkeeper. Before He Hua could react, Qi Buyan saw her.
He Hua’s lips moved, silently forming the words, “Young Master Qi.”
Qi Buyan showed little reaction.
He nodded slightly, appearing amicable.
This was Qi Buyan’s polite manner and nothing more. He had an excellent memory and remembered that He Hua was from Fengling Town and carried an eternal Gu worm within her, allowing her to live for hundreds of years.
He Hua recalled that He Sui’an didn’t want Qi Buyan to know her whereabouts, so she stepped aside to let him pass. They had only met a few times, so a nod of acknowledgment was sufficient.
Qi Buyan walked past He Hua and left.
She took out some silver coins and pointed to the regular buns she wanted from the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper wrapped the buns in paper, but before handing them to He Hua, he saw Qi Buyan unexpectedly return. He stood before her, smiling, “Did you just arrive in Chang’an today?”
He Hua paused and nodded.
Qi Buyan, holding the stuffed buns in one hand and the bone flute in the other, continued to smile like an innocent young man, suddenly asking, “Have you seen He Sui’an? I’m looking for her.”
He Hua’s heart pounded like a drum. Why would Qi Buyan suddenly come back to ask if she had seen He Sui’an? Why did he think she might have seen He Sui’an? It was merely a coincidence that they met today.
He Hua shook her head, pretending not to know.
It was unclear if he believed her.
To make it more convincing, He Hua gestured to borrow paper and pen from the shopkeeper. Her belongings, including paper and pen, were in her bundle on the ox cart outside, making it troublesome to fetch them.
She took the paper and pen from the shopkeeper and wrote to Qi Buyan, asking why He Sui’an was not with him and so on. Generally, someone unaware would ask these questions.
She believed she didn’t reveal any flaws.
Qi Buyan quickly read through He Hua’s writing, raised his eyelashes slightly, and repeated, “Are you sure you haven’t seen He Sui’an?”
He Hua’s answer remained unchanged.
Qi Buyan made an indistinct “hmm” sound and stepped outside.
At that moment, the shopkeeper handed the buns to He Hua. As she returned the paper and pen and took her buns, the old woman who had brought her in the ox cart began to speak.
The old woman’s husband had just tried to move He Hua’s bundle to the cart to make it easier for her to retrieve later. In the process, he accidentally dropped a small pouch, which got soaked in the rainwater on the ground.
The item that fell from He Hua’s bundle was certainly hers, and the old woman tried to pick it up.
But someone was faster.
When the old woman looked up, she saw that the person who picked up the small pouch was a young man in an indigo robe. She thought he was kindly helping and thanked him, reaching out to take it back, but he dodged her.
The young man smiled and asked the old woman where the small pouch came from.
The old woman didn’t think it was a big deal and said the pouch fell from the bundle of the young lady who had just gone inside to buy buns. It wasn’t theirs and she hoped he would return it.
The young man then asked, “The young lady who went inside to buy buns? Is her name He Hua?”
Seeing that he knew He Hua’s name, the old woman wasn’t in a hurry to get the pouch back. “You know Miss He Hua?” She had heard others call He Hua “Miss He Hua,” so she assumed that was her name.
“Yes,” the young man still didn’t seem to have any intention of returning the pouch and turned back towards the shop. “I will personally return it to its owner.”
The old woman couldn’t stop him.
It seemed like the young man was going back to the shop to return the pouch to He Hua in person. The old woman couldn’t do anything but wait by the ox cart, intending to ask He Hua about it when she came out.
However, she didn’t see He Hua come out but saw the young man leave the shop without the pouch, presumably having returned it to He Hua.
When He Hua finally came out, the old woman asked her if she had gotten her pouch back.
He Hua was stunned.
She had a bad feeling, recalling how Qi Buyan had returned to the shop shortly after leaving to ask if she had seen He Sui’an. She took out paper and pen and asked, “What pouch?”
The old woman pointed to her bundle.
“The small pouch fell from this bundle, and a young man who knows you picked it up. Didn’t he tell you?”