"I'm hungry," Rong Zhi said, releasing her lips awkwardly.
"The food will be ready soon."
Rong Zhi then realized this was likely a private room in an eatery. A large table was in front of her, holding a teapot. She instantly felt a dryness in her throat, got up, poured herself a cup, and drank it down in one go.
"What happened last night? How did you end up there?"
"I've been tracking that person from the Blood Drinking Pavilion for a long time. He was also responsible for the corpse-controlling technique before."
"Wasn't it Xia Jin's doing?"
"Xia Jin was at the General's manor, making it difficult for him to act. Li Hao's corpse-controlling technique was probably taught by Xia Jin, but his skills were lacking. Otherwise, you and those three girls wouldn't have survived this time."
Rong Zhi recalled the strange events of the past few days: the thatched cottage she couldn't escape, the girls who inexplicably hanged themselves. It turned out Li Hao was manipulating everything from behind the scenes.
They were like puppets, controlled by someone. The thought made her increasingly indignant.
"By the way, where are Dong Mei and the others?"
"They were too weak. I sent them to the medical clinic, Chu Qingze's place. He's an acquaintance, don't worry."
Xiao Jianli's tone was reassuring.
Rong Zhi put down her cup, raising an eyebrow at him. "You even know Chu Qingze? It seems you've investigated me thoroughly already."
"Xia Yunting told me," Xiao Jianli replied, his tone unchanged, though a hint of guilt flickered in his eyes.
He had indeed learned many things from Xia Yunting. After being separated for over a decade, he was desperate to know what Rong Zhi had experienced in this life.
However... thinking of the look in Xia Yunting's eyes when he mentioned Rong Zhi, he inexplicably felt annoyed.
"What about Li Hao and Xia Jin?" Rong Zhi asked again. Mentioning these two names made her recall the skeletons littering the ground last night, sending a shiver down her spine.
"Xia Jin was taken back to the General's manor. Li Hao was released."
"Released?" Rong Zhi exclaimed. "Why didn't you kill him?"
"Zhi'er, you experienced what happened at Swallow Mountain. You probably know Li Hao's position in the Blood Drinking Pavilion. Do you think he's the only one from the Blood Drinking Pavilion in the Imperial City?"
"You're planning to play the long game? Catch a bigger fish?" Rong Zhi sighed. "It seems there will be no end to trouble. I really don't want to get involved in this mess."
"If you don't want to get involved, then don't," Xiao Jianli said, his gaze filled with concern. He was still shaken from last night's events. If he had been even a moment later, who knew what would have happened to Rong Zhi.
"The food is here!"
A waiter pushed open the door, carrying a large tray with braised fish and a pork knuckle. The rich aroma of meat filled the room as soon as he entered.
Rong Zhi's eyes lit up. She was so hungry.
The waiter, with great perception, placed the dishes in front of Rong Zhi. He smiled and said, "Miss, you sure can sleep! This gentleman carried you up all the way. You both look like martial artists traveling the jianghu. This braised fish and pork knuckle are our chef's specialty dishes. We guarantee your martial power will soar after eating them."
The waiter was quite a talker. Rong Zhi unceremoniously grabbed the pork knuckle and took a bite. Her stomach instantly felt warm. She nodded, "It's indeed very good."
The waiter beamed. "It's good that you like it, Miss. This young hero, I told you your daughter would definitely love our dishes..."
"Hmm?" Upon hearing the word "daughter," Xiao Jianli's face darkened instantly. He glared at the waiter, who immediately stopped talking. "Aren't you two... father and daughter?"
"Pfft!" Rong Zhi burst out laughing. Xiao Jianli was indeed not young, and his face was weathered. He looked not just like her father, but even like her grandfather.
"This is my... brother. He just looks a bit old for his age."
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I must have been blind. I was wrong. I'll bring the dishes for you two."
The waiter bowed repeatedly in apology, not daring to say another word, and quickly left.
Rong Zhi quickly finished the pork knuckle and tossed the bone onto the table. Seeing the dark cloud above the man beside her, she patted his shoulder. "Don't be upset. It's just a waiter, why are you bothered? You should eat something too, don't just stare."
If she remembered correctly, Xiao Jianli had been busy all night and hadn't eaten anything.
Xiao Jianli obediently took a bite of fish, but the taste was lost on him. A flicker of turmoil crossed his face, and he finally couldn't help but say, "Since I found out about you... I only wished for time to pass faster, for me to grow old and die sooner, to reach the next life. Perhaps then I could meet you again. I used to live each day as if it were two. But now that I know you're alive, I... I truly regret not having aged slower."
"I... I also thought about committing suicide. But as you've said, life is the most precious thing a person possesses and should not be discarded lightly."
"Zhi'er, I've reached an age where I know the will of heaven. I don't know how much longer I can accompany you."
He wasn't one for flowery words, but facing Rong Zhi now, he wished he could pour out his heart completely, fearing he wouldn't have another chance if he didn't say it now.
Rong Zhi sighed. "Life and death are fated. That we can meet again is already incredibly precious. Don't dwell on unpleasant things."
She, Rong Zhi, had traveled all over the world in her past life and made thousands of friends. How many could she see again in this life? Some might already be gone.
"Life and death are fated, life and death are fated..." Xiao Jianli murmured, a cold smile appearing on his lips. "Zhi'er, do you believe me? Sometimes, a single person can control their own destiny, and even the destiny of others."
Rong Zhi frowned. "What do you mean?"
She felt he had something more to say.
"Nothing, let's eat!"
Xiao Jianli stopped speaking and began to serve Rong Zhi. Just as Rong Zhi was about to ask further, a commotion arose from outside, as if someone was arguing.
Just then, the waiter returned with more dishes, a few vegetable dishes and soup, and a pot of wine.
"Two esteemed guests, I apologize for my earlier rudeness. This wine is a gift for you."
Rong Zhi thanked him. The waiter was quite considerate. She asked, "What's happening outside? It's so noisy."
The waiter smiled. "Two groups of guests are arguing about the mass grave outside the city."
"The mass grave outside the city?"
Rong Zhi instinctively thought of yesterday's events. Wasn't the location of the thatched cottage a mass grave?
"What happened at the mass grave?"
"There's a guest here who specializes in collecting bodies. Some families can't afford coffins, so they hire him to bury the bodies outside the city in the mass grave. It's cheaper. That guest said he was carrying a corpse outside the city before dawn today. Just as he was about to bury it, he heard a strange noise from underground. He looked up and saw a skeleton crawling out of the ground!"
"What?" Hearing this, the previously silent Xiao Jianli's eyes widened abruptly.
"However, this guest was drunk. It's possible he was hallucinating. You see, that guest deals with corpses every day. It's normal to dream of strange things at night. He was probably drunk and couldn't distinguish between dreams and reality. The other guest didn't believe him, and that's why they started arguing."
As the waiter finished speaking, Xiao Jianli got up and left the room. "Take me to find that person."
The waiter was taken aback, but then nodded.
Rong Zhi also had no choice but to follow.
They went downstairs and found a table in the corner in disarray, with a waiter cleaning it up. A drunkard sat in the corner, while another person impatiently crossed his arms and watched the drunkard.
The waiter pointed to the drunkard. "It's him."
Xiao Jianli strode over, grabbed the drunkard from the corner without a word, and turned to head back to the second floor. The entire process was so swift that the man with crossed arms didn't even see what happened.
He exclaimed, "What are you doing? He smashed my table and hasn't paid yet."
Xiao Jianli took out a piece of silver from his怀 and threw it over. The man's eyes lit up as he took the silver and immediately fell silent. This silver was enough for him to buy several tables of food.
The drunkard was brought to the second floor, and no one paid much attention. After all, this was the largest eatery in the Imperial City, filled with officials, nobles, and many martial artists. Strange things happened daily. As long as no one was killed, people generally didn't get interested.
Xiao Jianli threw the drunkard into the private room. He glanced at Rong Zhi, who immediately understood. She took a sobering pill from her怀 and gave it to him.
The drunkard rolled his eyes twice. The flush on his face gradually faded, returning to a normal complexion. He looked at the people in front of him, still somewhat dazed.
"Who are you people?"
"It doesn't matter who we are. What were you saying just now? What did you see at the mass grave?"
"I saw... something crawl out. A skeleton. It scared the hell out of me." He was still somewhat coherent, though speaking vaguely.
"And then?"
"Then... it crawled back in."
Xiao Jianli and Rong Zhi exchanged a look. The fact that the drunkard could return alive meant nothing major had happened. However, if such a bizarre sight were seen by more people, it could easily cause a disturbance.
"Are you telling the truth?" Xiao Jianli asked.
The drunkard nodded.
Xiao Jianli turned to the waiter. "Take him down to sober up. Don't mention today's events to anyone."
The waiter nodded blankly. Xiao Jianli picked up his sword, preparing to leave. Rong Zhi saw the waiter still looking bewildered, so she patted his shoulder. "Do you know that mentioning tales of ghosts and gods near the Imperial City is punishable by beheading? If my brother hadn't brought him up here, you and this entire establishment would be in trouble."
"Ah, I see! Thank you, two valiant heroes, for saving our lives." The waiter finally understood and quickly dragged the drunkard away. As he left, he even gave Rong Zhi a grateful smile.
"Let's go, we'll go take a look." Xiao Jianli led Rong Zhi out of the eatery. Before leaving, he didn't forget to slip her two baked flatbreads. Rong Zhi suddenly felt like she was being treated like a child.
By now, the sky was bright, and more people were outside. Xiao Jianli and Rong Zhi couldn't easily use their Qinggong, so they took a shortcut to the city gate. Xiao Jianli noticed that the usually lax city guards were now a large group, strictly inspecting passing pedestrians.
He stopped, his tone darkening. "It seems others have already discovered this matter."
Rong Zhi asked, "The place the drunkard mentioned, is it near the thatched cottage?"
Xiao Jianli nodded. "It has to be there."
"Didn't you already resolve it last night?"
"There might be something we missed." Xiao Jianli looked at Rong Zhi. "It's inconvenient for you to come with me. You wait here. I'll go take a look."
Rong Zhi nodded. She knew Xiao Jianli's identity was special, and he always worked alone. It was difficult to explain her presence, so she let Xiao Jianli exit the city gate first.
As Xiao Jianli passed the city gate, he was stopped by the soldiers. He said something, and their attitude immediately became respectful.