The old man sighed and said, "My name is Jiang Mingsheng."
His expression was somewhat solemn. After saying his name, he looked at Lin Yanxi with a hint of anticipation, wanting to see her reaction after learning his identity. After all, his name was well-known within the Jiang clan and even throughout Yueyou.
Shen Muzhou raised his hand again, signaling Xiao Liu to have the Darknight Guard wait outside the inn.
After the Darknight Guard left, Lin Yanxi's gaze lingered on Jiang Mingsheng for a moment before she lightly shifted her eyes away and said, "Oh, I don't know you."
Jiang Mingsheng stomped his foot in anger. "You haven't heard of me in the Jiang clan? Even your maternal grandfather, Jiang Qi, has to call me 'brother.' I am the most talented talisman master in all of Yueyou."
In both her lives, she had never heard of her maternal grandfather having any brothers. She had cousins, though. She guessed this old man must be from a collateral branch of the Jiang clan.
"I haven't heard of you," she replied truthfully. However, she didn't want to dwell on this issue. As long as she knew he was part of the Jiang family, it was enough.
She changed the subject and asked, "Then how did you get out of the Zongzheng Temple's dungeon?"
Jiang Mingsheng let out a disdainful snort. "Tch, what's that? A mere dungeon wants to trap me?"
He suddenly seemed to think of something, stepped back a few paces, and looked at Shen Muzhou warily. "You're not going to arrest me and take me back, are you?"
Shen Muzhou also found the old man's behavior frantic and eccentric. His identity was the most suspicious. Those locked in the dungeon were all heinous criminals.
"Then what were you imprisoned for?"
Jiang Mingsheng turned and walked a few steps, unconcerned. "It was nothing, just a few dozen lives."
Dozens of lives?!
Lin Yanxi frowned and re-examined the old man. He seemed a bit guilty under her gaze. Stroking his beard, he said with an air of profound wisdom, "Your spells are all confined within the Soul Ring. With your current body's spiritual root, you can't withstand such powerful talisman energy. In other words, you, and that stinky brat behind you, are both dying."
"If your spiritual root doesn't have me teach you cultivation, you'll eventually die from the backlash of this talisman energy. Even worse than that, before you die from the backlash, the cold ailment in his body will give out first, and he'll die before you. A tragic pair of ill-fated lovers."
Indeed, she had felt a lack of control when using the Soul Ring before, unable to fully harness its power. She would feel extremely weak after each use.
But what "tragic pair of ill-fated lovers" was he talking about!
Lin Yanxi's face flushed slightly. She glanced at Shen Muzhou and said, "You're wrong about that. He won't die. I've already found a way to cure his cold ailment."
Shen Muzhou looked at her, his heart softening. Her young, delicate, and fair face was full of determination when she said, "He won't die."
Jiang Mingsheng scoffed. "Good thing you haven't gotten around to it yet. With your spiritual root, using blood as a guide? You probably won't be able to save him and will end up sacrificing yourself."
Shen Muzhou asked seriously, "Using blood as a guide? Why didn't you tell me?"
Lin Yanxi didn't understand his emotional fluctuation. What was so tense about it?
It was just a little blood.
Jiang Mingsheng asked in confusion, "Logically speaking, since Jiang Qi gave you the Soul Ring, didn't he teach you talisman arts properly? What about your mother and... your uncle? Did no one teach you?"
Mentioning her mother and maternal grandfather, her expression immediately turned somber. Her eyes glazed over for a moment, then she blinked her slightly teary eyes and said with a slightly nasal, dejected voice, "They're dead. They were killed by curse masters."
Jiang Mingsheng asked agitatedly, "Hao'er, he... he's dead?"
Why did he seem so concerned about her uncle? She nodded honestly and said, "He died when my mother was carrying me. He was also killed by curse masters."
Jiang Mingsheng was stunned into silence for a long time. He had willingly been imprisoned for 40 years to atone for his sins, and they were all dead.
He said nothing more, turning away dejectedly. He walked to the last room upstairs, leaving the door ajar. He sat quietly in the room, his fists clenched on the round table.
His usually playful and jovial face was now drawn, with wrinkles appearing, making him look several years older in an instant.
"I will study talisman arts diligently with you, cultivate my spiritual root, and kill all the curse masters to avenge the Jiang clan."
The young girl's thick, slightly curled eyelashes drooped. Her bright eyes, flowing with emotion, held a determination and hatred that sealed the dangerous path she was destined to walk, yet she would not give up.
Actually, Shen Muzhou wished she didn't have to bear all this. But if she didn't bear it, she wouldn't be herself.
Jiang Mingsheng looked up at her, his eyes moist with tears, and nodded. "Good disciple."
These 40 years, he had missed too much, unable to protect his loved ones. At least he still had a chance to protect this young girl of the Jiang clan.
Just then, a commotion downstairs attracted Lin Yanxi's attention. "Let's go take a look."
Saying this, she headed downstairs, with Shen Muzhou following closely behind her.
"You're too overbearing! You've booked this entire inn. What about my young lady?" a young maidservant unyieldingly clung to Xiao Liu's sleeve.
He had never encountered such an unreasonable girl. He said helplessly, "My lord is staying here! Miss, why don't you and your mistress find another place?"
The young maidservant grew angrier upon hearing this and cried out, "No matter how noble your lord is, he only needs one room. My young lady still..."
"Siqin, stop making a fuss. Let's go look for another place."
A gentle and warm voice, tinged with timidity, came from the carriage.
Siqin, albeit reluctant, walked back to the carriage and replied, "Miss, this county town isn't large. This is the only decent inn. Where else can we go?"
The woman in the carriage continued, "When traveling, don't cause trouble."
Siqin glared back at Xiao Liu, hesitated, and then slowly got into the carriage.
Just as she was about to climb into the carriage, Lin Yanxi called out to her, "If Miss doesn't mind, we can spare a room for you."
Siqin's eyes lit up. Smiling, she jumped out of the carriage and peered inside again. She saw a man with a stern face standing in the inn, his cold eyes fixed on them without speaking.
She shrunk her neck and asked, "Is that your lord?"
Lin Yanxi glanced back at him and nodded. Siqin gave an awkward smile and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Miss."
A young woman emerged from the carriage. She was about sixteen or seventeen years old, around Lin Yanxi's age, dressed in a green robe. Her round face was rosy, and she smiled shyly.
Her features were delicate and three-dimensional. She was curvaceous but not plump. Her beautiful eyes were as lively and charming as spring water, and she looked timidly towards the inn and then at the people in front of it. She nodded slightly and said, "I am Luo Wanwan. I apologize for the disturbance."
Siqin supported Luo Wanwan as she walked into the inn. As she passed Xiao Liu, she couldn't resist glaring at him again.
Xiao Liu shook his head helplessly. "A good man doesn't fight with a woman."
"Thank you, Miss, for resolving the situation," Luo Wanwan said, specifically walking up to Lin Yanxi to express her gratitude.
Lin Yanxi smiled and said cheerfully, "It's a small matter, Wanwan. You don't need to worry about it."
Later, after Shen Muzhou finished dealing with matters at the prison, he took Lin Yanxi to the Jiang Residence. She wanted to pay her respects to the ancestors of the Jiang Residence and to Little Stone one last time.
The Jiang Residence was still in a dilapidated state, unchanged from when they had left last time. To this day, Lin Yanxi still couldn't understand who Jiang Cong, whom they had seen that day, was, and how everything in the mansion had become like this overnight.
"You said that if the Jiang Cong we saw that day was fake, and the one in the wheelchair was the real one, but we sent so many people to search everywhere and found no news. Does this mean he's dead?" Every time Lin Yanxi entered this mansion, she would recall that day's strange events with no clue.
Shen Muzhou thought for a moment. "When I brought Little Stone's memorial tablet back to the Jiang family, I discovered that someone had been to the Jiang Residence. I sent Xiao Liu to investigate, and there were traces of someone entering only the woodshed."
"So I suspect Jiang Cong hid something in the woodshed beforehand. After everything passed, he sent someone back secretly to retrieve it, and then went into hiding."
Lin Yanxi looked around at the desolate scene of the Jiang mansion. According to what the little beggar had said, people in the county feared this mansion and dared not enter. Then the person who came could be a black-cloaked individual. But if it were a black-cloaked individual looking for something, they would have rummaged through the mansion and wouldn't have gone straight to the woodshed to retrieve it.
Shen Muzhou comforted her, "Perhaps when he's evaded the people he needs to hide from, he'll appear and seek you out himself."
She nodded, her tense heart easing slightly. "Alas, I hope so. Then the people you sent to find Jiang Cong can shift from covert to overt. Release some false information to distract the black-cloaked individuals."
Seeing her serious and slightly troubled expression, Shen Muzhou couldn't help but rub her hair, a faint smile appearing. "You're not entirely stupid."
Lin Yanxi tidied her hair and glared at him, asking who he was calling stupid!
She huffily walked towards the ancestral hall, and it wasn't until she saw Little Stone's memorial tablet that the previously eased atmosphere turned somber again.
"He didn't have to die," tears welled up in Lin Yanxi's eyes. "I killed him."
Shen Muzhou stood beside her, listening quietly. Her distressed little face was set in a pout, and she tried hard to hold back tears, but they kept falling.
Teardrops glistened on her jawline, making her look pitiful.
"I promised to take him to the capital. If only I hadn't agreed, he wouldn't have followed me, wouldn't have interacted with Shen Yu and Xiao Liu, and wouldn't have been targeted by the prison people. I am incompetent. I couldn't save him."
By the end, she was sobbing uncontrollably, her shoulders trembling slightly. Shen Muzhou reached out as if to place a hand on her shoulder, to offer some comfort, but paused in mid-air, then withdrew it.
His voice, rarely gentle, carried a warmth as he said softly, "It's not your fault. No one can predict what will happen. You did your best."
"Go! Hurry, they're inside!"
A little girl, leading a group of children, walked towards the Jiang Residence and rushed into the ancestral hall. Shen Muzhou stepped forward first, blocking their path.
The little girl pointed at Lin Yanxi and said, "You killed Brother Stone! I want your life for his!"