MOF Chapter 83
by VolareThe lights in Chunfu House were bright, the gold and jade were glittering, and the decoration was extraordinarily gorgeous. Golden snakes coiled around the vermilion lacquered pillars, and countless beauties in silk robes leaned against the layers of dark red railings.
Si Wumian shook off the womanTwisting him and followed the child up to the third floor, but the child disappeared.
He looked around, and after calming down, he felt that the atmosphere on the third floor was particularly quiet. When the sounds of joyous singing and dancing from downstairs penetrated the floor, half of the liveliness was isolated, which sounded a little unreal.
Si Wumian was sure that he was right, the child did go up to the third floor, but how could he not be found? Could it be that he hid in a room?
He raised his foot and walked into the corridor, and found that most of the rooms on the third floor were locked.
He searched to the end without success. When Si Wumian turned back, he noticed that the door of the room on his right was open. A faint, cold fragrance floated out of the room. He quickly covered his mouth and nose and took two steps back vigilantly.
This retreat allowed him to see the situation in the room more clearly.
The room was dimly lit, with only a bean-sized yellow flame on the table, and he could not see the other furnishings clearly. Light smoke was sparsely rising in the air, as if incense was burning. The wind blew in from the open window, and a woman in a purple velvet coat stood by the window, looking down at the outside. The black hair scattered around her temples blurred her snow-white profile.
The fragrance that Si Wumian smelled probably came from her and was brought to the corridor by the wind from the window.
The woman’s figure was graceful, and with the hazy light of the snowy night, she looked like a section of slender and tough purple bamboo from behind.
Si Wumian unconsciously took a step forward, and suddenly a hand was placed on his shoulder. A voice sounded behind him: “Immortal Lord Wumian?”
For some reason, hearing his name being called out at this time and place made Si Wumian suddenly feel a little guilty. He shivered all over, then turned around calmly, with a look of just the right amount of surprise: “Second Young Master Wen?”
“Why are you here?”
The two spoke at the same time, then stopped at the same time. They looked at each other, and the atmosphere was very subtle for a moment.
Si Wumian thought to himself: He must quickly explain clearly that he came here to investigate serious matters, and he must not let him misunderstand for nothing.
He glanced at Wen Rumeng, and couldn’t help but guess in his heart: But why is Second Young Master Wen here?
“I’m here to investigate something.”
The two spoke at the same time again. Si Wumian thought: Fortunately, he almost missed the opportunity.
After a moment of silence, Si Wumian smiled relievedly: “So that’s it. I wonder what Second Young Master Wen is investigating? Maybe we are investigating the same thing.”
Wen Rumeng said, “Recently, there have been strange little demons in Shuocheng. Has Immortal Lord Wumian heard of it?”
“Of course.” Si Wumian’s smile became a little more sincere when he heard this. “Isn’t this a coincidence? I’m here for this matter too.”
Wen Rumeng was about to speak when the woman in the room moved to the door at some point, looked at the two and said, “How long are you two going to stand at my door?”
Si Wumian was shocked and realized that there was a third person present. He quickly lowered his head and apologized: “I was abrupt and inadvertently disturbed you, Miss. Please don’t blame me.”
After he finished speaking, he paused deliberately for two seconds. He didn’t hear Wen Rumeng speak in the corner of his eye. Just as he was about to remind him, he turned his head and saw that this person was lowering his head, not daring to look directly at the woman in front of him, and the tips of his ears were still stained with an amazing red.
Si Wumian was strange in his heart. Could it be that Second Young Master Wen is not good at talking to women?
He turned to look at the woman, and only then did he have a chance to see her appearance clearly. She was in her early twenties, and her appearance and figure were excellent. She was one of the best in Chunfu House, but her temperament was different from other women.
Although her charm was visible to the naked eye, there was still some sharpness and coldness that she hadn’t hidden well.
At this moment, she leaned lazily against the door frame with her arms crossed, and sized them up with a pair of watery eyes. Her eyes were clear and bright, and her eyelashes were slender. The corners of her eyes were captivating, and Si Wumian felt a little familiar for a moment.
Just as he was thinking about who she resembled, Wen Rumeng finally came back to his senses and interrupted his thoughts: “Miss Nie, I… happened to pass by. I’m sorry for the disturbance.”
Si Wumian looked back at him in confusion.
How coincidental could it be to pass by someone else’s door? These words sounded too much like an attempt to cover up the truth. Moreover, they had just finished talking about searching for demons, and the door was wide open. This girl didn’t seem to have any hearing problems.
“So it’s you, Young Master Wen.” This Miss Nie smiled, and her willow leaf eyebrows lightly raised as she lifted her eyes. “You were lowering your head just now. I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“You, you know each other?” Si Wumian asked.
“Yes.” Wen Rumeng nodded reservedly. “This is Miss Nie Xiangsi, the musician of Chunfu House. Miss Nie, this is—”
“Si Wumian.” Seeing that Wen Rumeng had some concerns, Si Wumian simply introduced himself, “A disciple of the Southern Return Heavenly Pavilion.”
“Southern Return Heavenly Pavilion.” Nie Xiangsi read it softly, with no emotion in her eyes. “Since you are an Immortal Lord, why would you come here?”
“It’s a long story.” Si Wumian didn’t intend to tell the woman he had just met the reason why he came here, even though she knew Wen Rumeng. After all, even Wen Rumeng was not someone he could fully trust.
Despite his distrust, he still had to ask. Si Wumian said, “Miss Nie has been in the room all the time. Did you hear any movement outside? For example, the sound of children running.”
“I was admiring the snow, so I didn’t pay much attention. Maybe I did, but it’s too noisy downstairs, so I can’t hear clearly in the room.” Nie Xiangsi gathered her clothes. “It’s so late, I should rest too. You two have a good journey.”
Si Wumian heard the obvious intention to drive them away. He thanked her, turned around and was about to leave, when he saw Wen Rumeng still standing stupidly at the door. He pulled him away.
As soon as Nie Xiangsi closed the door, Xie Yiling and Nangong Ci came up. When he saw Si Wumian and Wen Rumeng, his expression paused: “Wumian, Second Young Master Wen.”
“Senior Brother Xie!” Si Wumian happily let go of Wen Rumeng and walked over quickly. “How did you and Daoist Fufeng come here?”
He met Xie Yiling’s eyes, and something he hadn’t remembered before suddenly flashed into his mind.
The eyes of that Miss Nie were seven or eight points similar to Senior Brother Xie’s eyes.
Xie Yiling glanced at Wen Rumeng: “Did you also find that demon?”
“No.” Si Wumian truthfully told the whole story. “So, I followed that child in. Senior Brother Xie, don’t you think something is very wrong?”
Xie Yiling nodded: “This Chunfu House is likely to have problems. Go and check who the owner of the restaurant is. That middle-aged man is likely to be a key figure in child trafficking.”
Speaking of this, he couldn’t help but think of his childhood, and his mood became complicated.
This was Si Wumian’s first time dealing with mortals. He thought that immortal magic could not be used on mortals, so he rubbed his hands, a little excited: “If the other party is unwilling to cooperate at that time, will we have to arrest him and torture him?”
Xie Yiling looked at him: “You dare to say such a thing in front of Daoist Fufeng?”
Si Wumian was immediately silenced.
“Wen has met Daoist Fufeng.” Wen Rumeng, who had been silent, finally had a chance to interject. He looked at the white cloth on Nangong Ci’s face, and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes. “Daoist, this is?”
Nangong Ci said in a warm voice: “My eyes have been inconvenient recently. I hope Young Master Wen will not be offended if I am rude.”
“How could I, how could I.” Wen Rumeng waved his hands quickly. He looked at the others and couldn’t help but twist his fingers. “Since Immortal Lord Nanguo has important matters, I won’t bother you.”
Si Wumian said “Eh” and didn’t stop him. He could only watch Wen Rumeng leave without looking back. He couldn’t understand: “Didn’t he say he was looking for the demon together just now? Why did he leave so quickly?”
Xie Yiling glanced at Wen Rumeng’s hurried disappearing back and said, “It seems that we can’t find it. Wumian has probably alerted the enemy. Master, let’s go down.”
“Was that child reporting the news?” Si Wumian was a little annoyed. “But I saw him go to this floor with my own eyes. Why did he disappear?”
“Was there someone in that room just now?” Xie Yiling suddenly asked.
“That’s right. It was a girl who knew Second Young Master Wen, named Nie Xiangsi. She is also the musician of Chunfu House.” When Si Wumian talked about this Miss Nie, he remembered his discovery and couldn’t help but smile. “Eh, Senior Brother Xie, I thought that Miss Nie looked familiar just now. Guess who she looks like?”
Xie Yiling couldn’t guess. He frowned unconsciously and asked, “Who does she look like?”
“She looks like you, Senior Brother Xie!” Si Wumian held the railings on both sides of the stairs and said as he walked, “Really, especially her eyes, they are very similar! If I hadn’t never heard of you having a sister, I would have thought you were long-lost siblings.”
Xie Yiling’s footsteps suddenly stopped, and his face suddenly became heavy: “What did you say?”
Si Wumian’s smile froze. He subconsciously looked at Nangong Ci’s face and noticed that the eyebrows above his white cloth were also twisted together at this moment.
He suddenly felt a little uncertain and his tone weakened a lot: “I said, that Miss Nie and Senior Brother Xie, you look quite similar.”
Xie Yiling’s breath tightened, and his eyes suddenly became wrong. His hands lost strength, and he almost couldn’t support Nangong Ci. He called out “Master” in his mouth.
Nangong Ci held his hand back: “Okay.”
Si Wumian was left confused, not understanding what had happened.
Could it be that Senior Brother Xie really had a long-lost sister?
He was startled by his own thoughts, but looking at the reactions of Xie Yiling and Nangong Ci, he felt that this was the only possibility.
Xie Yiling returned to the third floor and stood silently in front of the door. When he raised his hand to knock on the door, Si Wumian saw that his whole hand was shaking.
After waiting for a while, warm orange light lit up in the room, and there was a rustling sound. Then there were footsteps that were louder than this sound, and they slowly stopped in front of the door.
The person in the room asked: “Who is it?”
Xie Yiling was very unfamiliar with this female voice, and his original excitement calmed down a lot in an instant.
“Miss Nie, I am a disciple of the Southern Return Heavenly Pavilion. I have something important to ask.”
Nie Xiangsi said through the door: “Knocking on a woman’s boudoir in the middle of the night, even if you are a disciple of the Immortal Sect, I’m afraid it’s a bit inappropriate, right?”
“This,” Si Wumian thought for a while and felt that it made sense. “Senior Brother Xie, why don’t we come back during the day?”
“Today.” Xie Yiling suddenly hardened his attitude. “Miss Nie, the third floor is not low. Be careful not to break your bones.”
There was no sound behind the door.
Xie Yiling continued: “You are a woman of the red light district, not worried about food and clothing, why bother to wade into the muddy water of trafficking and theft?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened from the inside, and Nie Xiangsi looked at the three of them with her arms crossed, with a faint smile on her lips.
On the windowsill behind her, a child was lying down. It was the one that Si Wumian had lost.