Dong Huiying looked at Yue Ning and asked, "What happened?"
The two brothers, one was agitated, the other deeply concerned.
Yue Ning said angrily, "Third Brother has disappeared. Earlier, Third Brother was acting all secretive and ditched me while we were shopping. At first, I didn’t realize what had happened, but by the time I went back to look for him, he was gone. Later I heard someone mention a man who looked a lot like Third Brother, apparently he was forced into a carriage. After that, we searched everywhere but couldn’t find Third Brother, and he hasn’t returned to the inn either."
Just as Dong Huiying had received the news of Shujun’s disappearance, Shen Qiuyang, who had been out on an errand, also rushed back in a frenzy.
"This is bad, very bad!" Shen Qiuyang grabbed Dong Huiying and began to blurt out like a machine gun, "I was thinking of strolling around the town since I had nothing to do, and then, what do you know, earlier in a small teahouse I overheard them talking about your family’s Liang Shujun. A woman, probably in her early forties, holding a handkerchief that seemed to be laced with knockout drug, covered Liang Shujun’s mouth and nose with it. Once Liang Shujun had passed out, she hauled Third Brother Liang into a carriage."
Because Shujun was tall and handsome, and he hadn’t worn a veil or a hat to cover his face when he went out, and also had a striking cinnabar mole between his eyebrows, his features were conspicuous. He was the kind who would make a deep impression on anyone who saw him just once.
Since it happened in the middle of the street, there were quite a few eyewitnesses, so not only had Haoming learned about this piece of gossip, but Shen Qiuyang had also been informed, and his version was even more detailed and specific.
A few shades of murderous intent appeared on Dong Huiying’s face, and just then, Zhi Chen, who had gone out to purchase dry food, had also returned to the inn. Learning of what had happened, he spit out a word with a fierce tenacity, "Chase!"
However, they realized it too late and the perpetrators had already gone far; chasing them down would be exceedingly difficult.
Eventually, after asking around, they accidentally learned that the middle-aged woman who had kidnapped Liang Shujun had been seen together with a woman in white. But the world is vast and finding people is hard; at this point, the traces of Shujun had also been cut off.
Dong Huiying narrowed her eyes, "He Su!"
A hint of gloominess condensed in her eyes before she took a deep breath.
"The one that ran away is the monk, not the temple. Let’s head back to Taihang Town first!" A smile curved on her lips, but the smile was cold.
So, the group hurried back to Pingchang Prefecture.
Taihang Town, He Mansion.
"I’m looking for He Su!"
On this day, He Mansion welcomed a peculiar visitor. This was a young girl who seemed to be around eleven or twelve years old, her long hair very unusual, a brilliant purple, extremely enchanting, and not combed but rather casually tied at the back of her head with a hemp rope.
She was extremely beautiful, with a faint purple hue diffusing around the corners of her eyes, which made her appear stunning and enticingly seductive. However, her expression was as cold as winter frost, like frost itself.
The doorman glanced at the girl and then replied, "Our owner is not in; he’s gone on a long trip!"
A short-haired man rushed up, his temper flaring, and he impatiently grabbed the doorman’s clothing, but the young girl simply waved her hand casually and interrupted the man.
The young girl turned back towards the carriage, and the short-haired man wore a puzzled look on his face. Then, from inside the carriage, they heard another voice, cultivated and steady, "Yue Ning, come back!"
With that, the man bounded onto the carriage, and as they left, the carriage slowly receded from the doorman’s watchful gaze at He Mansion.
"Weirdo," the doorman muttered.