Chapter 200 - 125: Please, Sir
「That night.」
There was no wind, nor were there any stars. Dark clouds shrouded the sky, casting an oppressive gloom over the world.
A figure moved stealthily through the darkness, darting and weaving with incredible speed.
With every step, a trail of afterimages followed in his wake.
In just a few moments, he had arrived before a village.
At the village entrance stood a stone tablet, upon which were carved three large words... Sun family Manor!
The man looked up and pulled off the cloth covering his face. It was Jiang Ran.
"The eastern edge of the village, the third house..."
He muttered to himself, getting his bearings before counting the houses one by one.
When he reached the third house, he vaulted inside.
This house was unoccupied, yet the courtyard was not overgrown with weeds. On the contrary, it was kept very clean.
It was clear that someone tended to it regularly.
Ye Konggu and Liu Wenshan had hidden something here; of course they wouldn’t leave the house completely unattended.
Otherwise, it might be fine for a day or two, but any longer and someone might have just moved in and claimed it.
They had to have someone maintain it properly to show that even though no one lived here, it still had an owner. This would prevent anyone from getting any covetous ideas.
The house wasn’t large. After a brief search, he found the study.
’Liu Wenshan said that behind the bookshelf in the study, there’s a secret passage.
’In the secret chamber below lies the Jiaowei zither.
’But where is the mechanism?’
Jiang Ran pondered, looking at the bookshelf before him.
This bookshelf wasn’t placed against the wall, but was built directly into it.
Jiang Ran ran his fingers over it, inch by inch.
He possessed the Deft Hands of Heavenly Craft. As he circulated his internal energy, his fingertips received incredibly detailed feedback from every surface they touched.
’This bookshelf isn’t made of wood.’
The hardness and temperature he felt weren’t enough for Jiang Ran to identify the exact material.
But it was clearly forged from metal.
Suddenly, as Jiang Ran’s fingertips slid across one of the horizontal shelves, his expression faltered for a moment.
’I thought it would be a candlestick, a decorative piece, or something similar... This is a bit unexpected.’
Muttering to himself, he placed his palm on the shelf and pressed down firmly.
With a CLICK, the sound of a mechanism whirring could be heard. Immediately after, the entire bookshelf began to slide to one side.
The sound was deep and heavy.
A secret passage was thus revealed before Jiang Ran.
Jiang Ran casually picked up an oil lamp from the table, took out a flint, and lit it. The pea-sized flame illuminated his surroundings, pushing back the darkness.
He glanced down and saw a set of gently sloping steps appear before him.
He descended the stairs, rounded a corner, and after walking just a few meters, another door appeared before him.
The mechanism for this door wasn’t hard to find; it was on the candlestick to the side.
He gave it a casual twist, and with a RUMBLE, the stone door automatically lifted upwards.
Light shone from within the room. Jiang Ran peered inside and saw a Luminous Pearl resting on a stand in the very center of the room.
"...Does this thing have radiation?"
Jiang Ran muttered under his breath and walked into the room.
Piles of gold, silver, and jewels were stacked casually around the room, glittering brilliantly under the light of the Luminous Pearl.
And beneath the Luminous Pearl’s stand, in the very center of the room, was a table.
An unremarkable-looking guqin was placed squarely upon it.
"So this is the Jiaowei?"
Those words were not spoken by Jiang Ran.
The voice—old, low, and hoarse—came from behind him.
Jiang Ran whirled around.
He saw a disheveled old man with messy hair and ragged clothes, his gaze fixed on the Jiaowei zither behind Jiang Ran with intense curiosity.
He licked his lips.
"To wear out iron shoes in a fruitless search, only to find it effortlessly.
"I thought the one who knew the Jiaowei zither’s location would be Ye Jingshuang.
"I never expected it would be you...
"How did you know this thing was hidden here?"
He looked at Jiang Ran, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
Jiang Ran came to a realization.
"You thought Ye Jingshuang was the one who knew its location. That’s why you fled so quickly when Shuang’Er and I appeared while you were trying to kill Cheng Tianyang.
"Your goal was to avoid harming her?"
"If I had harmed her, where else would I look for the Jiaowei?"
Shi Pingzhang nodded.
"After all, she is the sole heir of the Ye family."
"Then why did you try to kill me?"
"Your martial arts are quite good. You could have easily ruined my plans."
At this, Shi Pingzhang suddenly cupped his hands in a salute.
"I just never expected that the one to lead me here in the end would be you...
"Thinking about it now, my previous actions were indeed unfair to you."
"So you really didn’t know where the Jiaowei zither was hidden."
Jiang Ran sighed.
"Was this your way of casting a brick to attract a jade?"
"You’re fairly clever."
Shi Pingzhang nodded.
"Not many people know that the Ye family possesses the Jiaowei zither.
"At the time, I considered that to find this zither, first, I could not harm Ye Jingshuang.
"Otherwise, the zither’s location might have been lost forever.
"But I never imagined that the one who truly knew its whereabouts was you...
"Second, I had to let you know that I currently lack a zither.
"The Dirge of the Chaotic Heart is activated through musical rhythm. While it is not limited to the zither, the zither is all I know how to play.
"Therefore, I used this technique in front of Red Maple Manor to incite a chaotic battle between the four sects, not just to kill you.
"It was also to get rid of my zither.
"A broken string is by no means difficult to replace. Why would I abandon the instrument over it?
"Naturally, it’s because a better replacement has been found.
"But where would this replacement come from?
"I have been secluded from the martial world for decades. Upon my return today, why would I come to Red Maple Manor of all places?