The young girl's fingers were fair, smooth, and glistening. She held the token carefully in her hands, clearly showing how much she treasured it.
Yun Jian couldn't help but rub his fingers and replied hoarsely, "Yes."
"Is this token yours? What on earth is its use?" Su Yuanyuan didn't notice his odd behavior. She just eagerly pressed on, "Apart from you, who else in this world holds such a token?"
Yun Jian said, "It's the token of the Floating Cloud Pavilion."
"Floating Cloud Pavilion?" Su Yuanyuan was taken aback. She didn't expect to hear another unfamiliar name from him.
What kind of place was this? In her previous life, she had also run several shops in Shengjing. She considered herself quite familiar with the city, but she had never heard of the Floating Cloud Pavilion.
Could it be that this organization had emerged in the half - year after her death?
"The 'Floating Cloud Pavilion' is an organization in the market that specializes in gathering information. Its members could be porters, peddlers, beggars outside the city gate, or even a swindler like me," Yun Jian explained.
Raising her delicate eyebrows, Su Yuanyuan said, "Just now you said you were idle, but now you claim to be a member of the Floating Cloud Pavilion. There's really not a single word of truth in your mouth."
The man gently poked her between the eyebrows and said, "Don't underestimate my words. They're worth a fortune."
Su Yuanyuan was too lazy to argue with him. She turned around huffily and said, "I'm sleepy. I'm going to bed. Find a good place to hide yourself. Don't let anyone find you."
As she turned around, she didn't notice Yun Jian's eyes following her figure. The color of his pupils faded slightly in the flickering candlelight.
Su Yuanyuan had thought she had grasped a significant clue, but then she discovered that such patterns might be everywhere in Shengjing. This outcome left her feeling dejected.
Who on earth was the person who had preserved her body in the mass grave? It seemed that she couldn't rely solely on this clue to find her benefactor. She had to think of other ways.
She wondered if she would have that dream again. She truly hoped the dream could be longer, at least long enough for her to see clearly who had saved her body so that she could properly repay this benefactor in this life.
Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks. A flash of inspiration crossed her mind, and she immediately turned around and walked towards Yun Jian.
Yun Jian didn't expect her to turn around suddenly. He quickly lowered his eyelids to hide his eyes.
The young girl walked up to him, her face full of determination. "You just said that the Floating Cloud Pavilion is in charge of gathering information, and you're a member of it, right?"
Yun Jian replied, "Yes."
"The second condition," she said, holding up a finger. "I want you to help me find someone."
Yun Jian readily agreed, "Sure. Tell me the person's appearance and characteristics. Once my injury heals and I leave, I'll look for them for you."
"As for the appearance, I don't know. All I know is that this person may also be from the Floating Cloud Pavilion. They're skilled with bows and arrows, and the arrow feathers they use are also engraved with the cloud pattern on the token. They could be male or female. The most important clue is that they were in the mass grave outside the city on the night of the sixth day of the seventh lunar month."
"So, with these clues, can you help me find this person?" Su Yuanyuan asked.
After having the poisoned and rotten flesh removed, Yun Jian had regained some strength. He flipped up onto the beam of her room. His lazy voice came from above, "I'll do my best."
With his promise, Su Yuanyuan was satisfied.
After a long and tiring night, Su Yuanyuan was extremely exhausted. She lay down on her bed. As soon as her head touched the pillow, she fell asleep.
Yun Jian, or rather Cang Xuan, on the beam, listened to the steady breathing sound coming from below. He subconsciously rubbed his fingers.
The sixth day of the seventh lunar month, the mass grave.
How did she know?
...
Su Yuanyuan's guess was right. While the Mo family was searching every courtyard in the mansion with a large number of guards to find the escaped thief, the pursuers who had been chasing Cang Xuan unceremoniously knocked on the gate of the Duke's Mansion.
Su Qing and the Mo family happened to be searching Su Huaisheng's courtyard when a guard rushed in from outside.
"My lord, my lady, it's bad! There are people outside saying that our Duke's Mansion is harboring a criminal and threatening to search the mansion!"
Su Qing and the Mo family exchanged a look. Their years of understanding made them feel that something was wrong.
The plaque on their mansion clearly read "Duke Yong's Mansion". How dare someone be so blind as to claim they were harboring a criminal and want to search the mansion? Were they out of their minds?
Su Qing said, "Let's go and have a look."
The Mo family nodded. Together with Su Qing, they led their three sons and a group of guards and headed towards the main gate of the Duke's Mansion in a grand manner.
Outside the Duke Yong's Mansion, the pursuers had grown impatient waiting for the guard who had gone in to report to return. The bearded man at the head immediately waved his hand and ordered, "Go in and search for me!"
The guards on both sides of the main gate of the Duke's Mansion immediately drew their swords and stepped forward. "This is the Duke Yong's Mansion. How dare you act so presumptuously!"
However, the pursuers were numerous and arrogant. After a few shoves, they pushed aside the gate guards and rushed in.
From afar, Su Qing saw these people enter the Duke's Mansion as if it were unguarded. They even used their spears and clubs to damage the plants along the way. The anger in his heart welled up like a tangible force.
Taking a deep breath, he unleashed the imposing manner he had used when facing the enemy on the battlefield and roared sternly, "You low - life scoundrels! Get out of my mansion!"
His roar was like a thunderclap, making the eardrums of the pursuers who had broken into the Duke's Mansion buzz and their eyes grow dizzy.
With great difficulty, they managed to regain their senses from Su Qing's powerful roar. The bearded man at the head then found that they were surrounded by the guards of the Duke's Mansion on both sides of the main gate, and the blades were even pressed against their necks.
These people had been domineering in Shengjing for years and had never suffered such a setback. The bearded man immediately started shouting abuse, "Su Qing, open your dog eyes and see who I'm from! Be sensible and order your men to back off immediately. Otherwise, if you delay my arrest of the criminal, you won't be able to bear the consequences!"
Saying this, he took out a token from his bosom and showed it to Su Qing and the Mo family.
In the flickering firelight, Su Qing clearly saw a character "Wang" engraved on the token in his hand.
There were three major noble families in Shengjing: the Wang family, the Lin family, and the Xue family. Among them, the Wang family was the most powerful. Most of its clan members served in the court, and three of their women had become queens. In Shengjing, they could be said to be all - powerful.
Seeing Su Qing frown tightly, the man thought he had intimidated him. He put away the token in his hand and walked towards Su Qing. "Duke Yong, it's not that we don't give your Duke's Mansion face. But this criminal first broke into the Wang family's residence to steal tonight and then sneaked into your mansion. His crime is extremely heinous. If we can't arrest him quickly and bring him to justice..."
Unexpectedly, Su Qing let out a cold laugh. He grabbed the man's collar and threw him out of the main gate of the Duke's Mansion with a shoulder throw.
"I don't care who you're from. No one dares to cause trouble on my territory. Guards, throw them all out of my mansion!"