The bustling crowds on the Mid-Autumn Festival ensured that the incident at the Heavenly Beyond Inn quickly became common knowledge throughout the city.
Just as Qin Jiujiu expected, she soon could discern her surroundings by the faint light. Not far from where she sat lay a skull, seemingly the one she had inadvertently kicked. Looking around, she saw countless white bones, realizing she was in a pile of the dead.
Suppressing her discomfort, she looked again. Amongst the skeletal remains, something was emitting a faint glow. Qin Jiujiu peered closer, recognizing it as a dagger.
Bodies may decay, but blades endure.
The dagger was sharp, with some dark red marks that appeared to be dried blood.
It was likely that one of the deceased had struggled with their killer before their final breath. The bloodstains looked ancient.
Qin Jiujiu, ignoring her fear, was driven by an instinct for survival to inch closer to the pile of bodies. She dragged herself forward, bit by bit, drawing nearer to the dagger.
With Herculean effort, she finally managed to grasp the dagger and cut through her bonds.
Qin Jiujiu escaped from the stone cave. Guided by the system, she managed to find her way back to the marketplace by early the next morning.
The sky had not yet fully brightened, but vendors were already setting up their stalls for the market.
Her hair was disheveled, her light pink dress no longer clean, and her face, in particular, was a mess of dirt on her previously fair skin. She looked like someone who had just escaped a refugee camp!
At that moment, she resembled a completely deranged madwoman!
Qin Jiujiu knew her appearance was less than ideal, but she hadn't realized it was so alarming. She had merely stopped to listen to gossip from two elderly ladies talking in hushed tones after hearing the names "Heavenly Beyond Inn" and "Bai Yuanzheng," only to overhear something shocking.
Bai Yuanzheng was murdered!
Qin Jiujiu gasped in shock and, in her haste, couldn't help but blurt out a question.
She asked, "Bai Yuanzheng is dead? Then what about Sister Bai and Brother Xie? No, what about the guests from the City Lord’s mansion? How are they?"
The two elderly ladies, startled by the sudden voice behind them, looked back and were even more frightened. Muttering to themselves, one hand clutching her chest, they leaned on each other and walked away.
Qin Jiujiu: "..."
The City Lord’s Mansion.
Seeing the gates of the City Lord’s mansion, Qin Jiujiu rejoiced and made to enter. However, she was mistaken for a beggar and blocked by two guards at the entrance.
No matter how she explained, the two incorruptible guards remained unmoved.
With no other recourse, she suggested one guard report to the inside while the other kept an eye on her. This finally swayed the guards.
Thus, she was held under the watchful gaze of the remaining guard.
Staring at each other, Qin Jiujiu, despite telling the truth, felt a pang of guilt under his scrutiny.
"County Princess!"
Suddenly, the guard clasped his fists and bowed to her.
Qin Jiujiu turned to look behind her. It was Liu Jin!
Seeing Liu Jin, Qin Jiujiu was on the verge of tears. She hurried towards Liu Jin, but Liu Jin took a step back, her face a mask of shock.
Qin Jiujiu's joy quickly faded. She spoke, "Sister A Jin, it's Jiujiu!"
Last night, after learning that Qin Jiujiu had not returned to the mansion, Liu Jin had taken some of the City Lord’s mansion’s guards and searched for her. They learned that she had fainted on the street and was taken away by a handsome young man in blue, and that they knew each other. After that, all leads went cold.
Later, after some thought, she realized that if it was someone she knew, dressed in blue, it was likely Xie Jing. However, she heard from the mansion staff that he had gone to the Heavenly Beyond Inn yesterday and brought the injured Miss Bai back to the mansion, so it couldn't have been him.
After an all-night fruitless search, she returned to the mansion to find Xie Jing.
Hearing the voice, Liu Jin immediately recognized who was before her.
"You're Jiujiu? What happened to you?"
Liu Jin surveyed Qin Jiujiu. Her current state made her truly unrecognizable!
The guard, upon learning the truth, showed an embarrassed expression. He now envied the guard who had gone to report; alas, regret was useless now.
"Let’s go inside. Are Brother Xie and Sister Bai alright?"
Bai Yuanzheng’s death indicated that things had not gone smoothly.
Liu Jin had been at the Heavenly Beyond Inn last night and was well aware of the situation. She recounted everything to Qin Jiujiu along the way.
Xie Yun was currently swamped with problems. Bai Qianluo was still unconscious, Qin Jiujiu was missing, and even Xie Jing had disappeared. The authorities and the City Lord’s mansion staff were all busy investigating the murderer and searching for Qin Jiujiu. The City Lord’s mansion was unusually quiet.
Except for the guest rooms where they were staying.
Qin Jiujiu immediately wanted to see Bai Qianluo. She remembered that Bai Qianluo had brought back the sister of the Medical Sage before.
Perhaps only the Medical Sage could help Bai Qianluo with her current injuries.
"Sister A Jin, what about the little girl Sister Bai brought back before?"
Although Liu Jin didn't understand why Qin Jiujiu was looking for the young girl now, she still called a servant to inquire about the girl's whereabouts.
Soon, Qin Jiujiu and Liu Jin met the girl brought by the servant.
The girl looked about ten years old, frail, but with striking features.
Upon seeing Qin Jiujiu and Liu Jin, she cast a brief glance before quickly lowering her head.
Qin Jiujiu was good at coaxing children. Seeing that the girl was reluctant to speak, she didn't press further, only asking, "Little sister, do you remember the elder sister who brought you back? She has been harmed by bad people and is seriously injured. She needs to find the Medical Sage to be saved. Do you know the Medical Sage?"
She looked at the submissive girl, who visibly reacted with emotion upon hearing about Bai Qianluo and the Medical Sage. As expected, the girl soon spoke.
"Is that elder sister alright? I can take you to find the Medical Sage!"
Her head shot up, and she looked at Qin Jiujiu with an anxious expression.
Liu Jin, who had been standing by, went from confused to astonished. The amount of information was overwhelming. She had heard of the Medical Sage, but this little girl knew him? She had grown up in Willow City her whole life and had never heard any news of the Medical Sage. How could Jiujiu, who had only been in this city for a few days, know that the Medical Sage could heal Bai Qianluo's injuries, and how did she know this girl knew the Medical Sage?
None of it made sense!
But the situation was urgent. No matter how much she wanted to understand the reasons, she held back.
Qin Jiujiu couldn't ride a horse, so Liu Jin had to lead them both on horseback towards the Medical Sage’s residence.
Qin Jiujiu had expected a hermit like the Medical Sage to live in the wilderness, perhaps an old man in the mountains. She never imagined the Medical Sage would live within the city, and in its most prosperous district.
Qin Jiujiu wasn't surprised by the Medical Sage’s dwelling, as who said people with such superb medical skills must live amongst wild flowers and weeds? Nor was she surprised that the Medical Sage was a young gentleman; after all, he was someone with romantic prospects with Bai Qianluo in the original text, so he wouldn't be an old geezer, would he!
However, she truly hadn't expected that she had met this person before, and that he lived in the city with such a prominent identity.