Yu Zixi already knew what she was talking about and nodded in quick succession. Seeing her dejected expression and dim eyes, he tried to amuse her. "I'd like you to embroider a sachet for me too. How about it?"
Are you short of such things?
Wei Dongling raised her head and stared at him with her beautiful eyes without blinking. Finally, she hesitated and nodded.
However, Shangguan Yun, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, spoke up. "Young Master Yu has been very busy these days. I, on the other hand, am quite idle. If Miss Dongling wants to investigate something, it would actually be more convenient to come to me."
Yu Zixi was shocked and quickly shouted, "Shut up!"
Shangguan Yun ignored him. His beautiful obsidian-like eyes turned to Wei Dongling, and he continued, "I also want a sachet embroidered by Miss Dongling herself."
Wei Dongling: ...
Yu Zixi covered his mouth. "No! You don't!"
Pin Hao, the coachman, had a vein throbbing on his forehead. His young master was usually taciturn, hardly saying three words a day. But today he was teasing Young Master Yu and pretending to be jealous?
The Penglai Restaurant in the south of the city wasn't far, but it wasn't open at this hour yet. Pin Hao stopped the carriage, went up and knocked on the door to ask for a private room. The landlady was extremely enthusiastic after receiving the silver and opened the door to welcome them in and went to make arrangements.
Yu Zixi and Shangguan Yun were half-jokingly fooling around in the carriage. Shangguan Yun sat upright, looking handsome and imposing. Although he had a cold face and didn't look at Yu Zixi, he would occasionally sneakily say something to rile him up.
Wei Dongling watched them quietly outside the carriage. These two men had their own unique good looks, both being incredibly handsome. Although their reputations were worlds apart, well, it was like comparing the sky and the mud. But their relationship seemed as good as that of brothers.
Not bad.
Just as Wei Dongling was in a daze, a thin, dirty old beggar with disheveled hair walked towards her.
The beggar shuffled up to Wei Dongling and stopped. He weakly pleaded, "Miss, please show some mercy. I haven't eaten for several days. Could you spare some money for me?"
The two men in the carriage exchanged a look and remained silent.
Seeing the beggar's emaciated and sallow face, Wei Dongling felt pity for him. Without much thought, she took out the money bag from her sleeve and grabbed a few copper coins to hand over.
Well, it would be more than enough to buy a few buns to fill his stomach.
The beggar didn't take the money from Wei Dongling's hand. Instead, he just stared at her. His long, thin eyes were clean and clear, and his gaze was strange, as if he was searching for an answer. He just stared at Wei Dongling for a while.
Just as Wei Dongling was about to ask a question, the beggar suddenly snatched her money bag and turned to run away. His speed was so fast that it took everyone by surprise.
"Hey! Stop!" Yu Zixi in the carriage was the first to react and immediately jumped out.
Shangguan Yun glanced at Pin Hao, and Pin Hao quickly ran over too.
Wei Dongling couldn't help but feel a twinge of pain. Although there wasn't much money in the bag, there was that nice jade that Yu Zixi had given her.
Wei Dongling quickly took off in pursuit. She noticed that the beggar's movement technique was quite strange and his speed was astonishing. Wei Dongling was secretly shocked. In her memory, except for her father, she had never seen anyone with such amazing lightness skills, so fast that it was hard to catch up with.
But this beggar clearly wasn't her father. His appearance and bone structure were different. His eyes also had an indescribable strangeness. She was sure she had never seen this person before.
Something inside her trembled. Wei Dongling tried hard to calm her excited emotions and chased after the old beggar with the wind at her feet.
The two of them ran past one after the other, quickly leaving Yu Zixi and Pin Hao far behind. Shangguan Yun was stunned.
Pin Hao wanted to cry. Was his lightness skill really that bad? These people were all monsters, right?
"Wei Dongling, stop chasing!" Yu Zixi shouted anxiously when he saw they couldn't catch up.
It didn't matter if the money bag was lost. When the beggar had approached, he and Shangguan Yun had noticed that the person had good martial arts skills. He was definitely not someone that Wei Dongling, a young girl who only knew a bit of lightness skills, could handle.
But Wei Dongling had just taken off after the person and disappeared from sight. How could she hear him?
Since her father had left, she hadn't had such a trial like this.
Memories in Wei Dongling's mind started to churn wildly. Her head felt like it was about to explode, and she definitely wouldn't stop. She followed the old man closely, not leaving him for a single step.
Then the man made a sudden turn. Wei Dongling couldn't dodge in time and slammed into him. Then, he grabbed her neck.
The dirty hand of the old beggar grabbed Wei Dongling's delicate neck. He just silently sized her up without saying a word.
Seeing that he wasn't using much strength, Wei Dongling didn't struggle. This person had excellent lightness skills and was so fast, but she had still managed to catch up. Just like when she had chased after her father back then, Wei Dongling's trembling heart gradually calmed down.
"Your lightness skills are good." The old beggar looked at Wei Dongling's fair face with a burning gaze. After a long while, he slowly said, "He taught you very well."
These words made Wei Dongling's blood boil and her body tremble. She was on the verge of tears. "Senior, do you know my father?"
"Where do you live?" The old beggar didn't answer her question but asked one of his own.
Wei Dongling sniffed and tried hard to calm her emotions. Without suspecting him, she replied, "General Qi's Mansion."
The old beggar let go of her slender neck and slowly asked, "What's your name?"
"Wei Dongling."
"Wei Dongling." The beggar whispered her name softly. He looked at her delicate features with a complex look in his eyes, as if he was trying hard to remember something.
Wei Dongling lowered her head to wipe away the hot tears that were about to overflow. She choked with sobs and asked, "Senior, since you're an acquaintance, do you have any news about my father?"
"No." The voice was calm, showing no emotion at all.
When Wei Dongling looked up again, there was no one in sight.
The old beggar had left silently!
Her money bag was lying on the ground, intact.
"Senior!" Wei Dongling was in a complete mess. She called out in a flurry and started searching around.
But there was no sign of the person anywhere.
When Yu Zixi and the others caught up, Wei Dongling was sitting on the ground dejectedly, with her head down, staring blankly at the money bag in her palm.
"Wei Dongling!" Yu Zixi called her name and squatted down in front of her. Seeing her teary eyes and motionless as if she had lost her soul, Yu Zixi's heart ached. He grabbed her slender hands tightly and said, "It doesn't matter if the silver is lost."
Wei Dongling held the money bag tightly, sniffed, and couldn't help but sob. Her voice was full of sobs as she said, "The money wasn't lost."
After saying that, she couldn't hold back her tears any longer and burst into tears.
Yu Zixi: ...
Shangguan Yun: ...
Pin Hao: ...
Seeing that she was crying so hard that she could hardly catch her breath and people on the roadside were frequently looking over, Yu Zixi quickly stepped forward and hugged her. He gently patted her back and comforted her in a soft voice. "It's okay, it's okay. I'll have someone go and catch that beggar right away and make him apologize to you!"