Wei Shuxuan returned to her room and lay down on the inn bed. Due to extreme exhaustion, she quickly fell asleep.
When people sleep out of exhaustion, they always sink into the depths of their consciousness, which is what we call dreaming. Wei Shuxuan was also dreaming, but this dream left a rather unpleasant taste for her.
In her dream, Wei Shuxuan saw that not long after she left, several concubines appeared beside Xin Zizhao. Among them, some were as beautiful as flowers, some were both talented and beautiful, and some were highly gifted. Anyway, each one of them was much better than her.
Wei Shuxuan watched as Xin Zizhao walked past her with a beautiful woman in his arms. She kept calling his name, but Xin Zizhao seemed not to hear her. His eyes were only on the beautiful woman beside him. Clearly, this man used to only have eyes for her, but now...
All in all, Wei Shuxuan didn't sleep well all night. She sat on the bed groggily, reaching out to pat her own face, trying to wake herself up. So she was still in the inn. The dream last night... was the worst one she had ever had. She thought it was real and suddenly woke up from the dream.
"This is really a nightmare..." Wei Shuxuan came to her senses and looked out of the window. The paper window was slightly open, and the silvery white moonlight shining in could be seen. It wasn't dawn yet.
She picked up the clothes placed beside the bed and draped them over herself. She stepped bare - footed on the wooden floor. Since this inn had been around for some years, the wooden floor was somewhat cracked, making a discordant sound when stepped on.
It was mid - spring. Although it wasn't as cold as in winter, the night temperature still carried a bit of chill. Wei Shuxuan stepped on the cold floor as if she didn't feel the slightest bit of cold.
She walked to the window and pushed it open. A cool night breeze blew towards her, waking her up a great deal. The faint moonlight fell on her face. She seemed to feel the chill from the moonlight. So this was what it meant by "the moon is as cold as water".
Wei Shuxuan lowered her head, and the whole view of Bird - Chirping Town came into her sight. Suddenly, she saw a man acting furtively with a sack on his left shoulder. Judging from his figure, he should be a man. As he walked, he looked around and then looked up. Seeing that the window of the inn was open but there was no one inside, he then lowered his head with relief and continued walking.
The moment the man looked up, Wei Shuxuan quickly hid her figure in the darkness. She slightly poked her head out and looked down. Seeing that the man had withdrawn his upward - looking gaze, she then stepped out of the darkness. What on earth was this man doing? Why was he so vigilant? What was in the sack?
Judging from the size and shape of the sack, Wei Shuxuan felt that there should be a person in it. But considering the size, it wasn't very big. It was more likely to be a woman or a teenager inside.
Wei Shuxuan quickly changed into her night - clothes and covered half of her face with a black cloth. She wanted to chase after him to find out. She didn't want a murder to happen.
That man probably had no internal strength. Because Wei Shuxuan felt that she was so close to him but this man didn't notice her presence. However, it couldn't be ruled out that he was just pretending. It was better to hide aside and observe carefully.
She didn't dare to walk on the rooftops because the moonlight was too bright and she would be easily discovered. She could only use her light - body skill to quickly follow behind the man. Fortunately, the man was about to leave Bird - Chirping Town. Just outside the town was a large forest, where she could hide in the bushes.
She followed the man into the large forest outside Bird - Chirping Town. After passing through a bush, she saw an open space ahead. There was a bonfire lit on the open space, and there were two other men sitting around the fire. Hearing the footsteps, they originally grabbed the knives in their hands warily, but when they looked up and saw the man, they all let down their guard and put down the knives they had picked up.
"Back? Have you finished what I told you to do?" One of the men wearing a round hat looked at the man carrying the sack.
"I've finished it. I've brought him back."
The man carrying the sack put the sack aside and sat down beside the man with the round hat. Then the other man wearing an eye - patch said, "You're quite quick. With this child's blood, our great cause will be just around the corner."
Child? Blood? Great cause?
Wei Shuxuan was a bit confused after hearing this, but she felt that it should not be a good thing. These people wanted to use this child's blood for something. The first things that came to her mind were things like sacrifices, all superstitious stuff.
She hid in the bushes, not daring to move. The man with the round hat must not be easy to deal with. He was probably the leader of the three.
"Should we go back and report to the master now?" the man with the sack asked the man with the round hat.
"Don't be in a hurry. We can wait until dawn to leave. The journey back to Qiangfeng Country is long. We need to rest well. Go to sleep quickly."
"What about this child, big brother?" the man with the eye - patch asked.
"Tianwu, did you drug the child before bringing him back?"
"Yes, big brother. I've given him a large amount of sleeping pills. He definitely won't wake up for a while."
"I've observed the environment here. Few people pass through this forest at night. Moreover, there aren't many villagers in Bird - Chirping Town, and they rarely come to this forest. We can rest here tonight without worry."
"Yes, big brother."
The man called Tianwu was the one who carried the sack. Wei Shuxuan heard all their conversations. It seemed that these three men should be from Qiangfeng Country. The man wearing the round hat was the leader of the three. Wei Shuxuan thought this man should know martial arts and was a master. She estimated that she was no match for him.
What should she do to rescue the child in the sack?
Suddenly, she remembered that she still had a packet of sleeping incense on her. She could use it. She stood up, picked a leaf from the tree, and let it go. She saw the leaf fluttering northward.
Since the wind was blowing towards the north, she had to go to the tree on the opposite side so that the wind could blow the sleeping incense towards the three men.
She quickly left the spot and walked in a circle to reach the tree on the opposite side. She took out a fire starter from her body and lit the sleeping incense in her hand. She quickly held her breath and let the smoke blow towards the three men.