The next morning, South Mountain of An Ding County.
Zhong Li arrived at a tombstone with a basket in her arms, taking out a silk cloth from her embrace to meticulously wipe away the dirt and mud that had smudged the inscription from the rain over the past two days.
'Tomb of Godfather Gai Chen'
Her fingertips traced the words inch by inch, as if she often did so, the ink already slightly faded.
As the morning sun, filtering through the leaves of the trees, gradually fell upon her shoulders, Zhong Li's action of wiping the tombstone finally ceased. A jade pendant with a tiger pattern lay in her palm.
This was what Lu Wu Xie had given her as promised after the case was solved the previous day. To her surprise, he hadn't made things difficult for her, and she was relieved.
Afterward, she lifted the cloth covering the basket and retrieved a small shovel from beneath a pile of yellow paper, positioning it directly below the tombstone to start digging.
Before long, she felt the shovel hit something hard. She quickly dropped the shovel and began to dig with her hands, only stopping when her palm also held a jade pendant.
She now held two jade pendants. At first glance, they appeared ordinary, with auspicious cloud patterns swirling around a tiger-shaped, palm-sized piece of jade. However, upon closer inspection...
Zhong Li's brow furrowed slightly. In fact, this was a pair of male and female jade pendants; they formed a complete jade when joined.
Following the patterns, she carefully fitted the two jade pendants together until she saw faint characters emerging on the jade. Her eyes flickered.
'Meng'
It was the character 'Meng'.
As Zhong Li looked up at the tombstone before her, puzzled, a rustling sound suddenly came from behind.
Her heart tightened, and she quickly tucked the two jade pendants into her embrace, standing up to face the approaching figure.
"Miss Zhong, you were indeed hiding here. It took this old man a long time to find you."
The newcomer was an old man dressed in a ginger-yellow satin outer robe, holding a tiger-headed cane. Following him were four or five men dressed in the attire of household servants.
"Old Master Ding," Zhong Li said, her gaze becoming wary.
Ding Liu seemed accustomed to being scrutinized by the woman before him. He smiled and said in a gentle tone, "You must know why this old man has come to find you, Miss Zhong. Speaking of which, when will the money be repaid?"
Zhong Li lowered her gaze to the faded sachet at her waist and finally shook her head in resignation. "Old Master Ding, can you extend the rent for a few more days? As soon as I get the money, I will send it to your manor with both principal and interest, alright?"
"You have no money?" Ding Liu seemed somewhat disbelieving.
Zhong Li nodded helplessly. By rights, she should have received a considerable sum for repairing Xie Xiao Yun's body. However, Magistrate Zhang, who had promised to increase her payment, was arrested, leaving her efforts in vain.
"Please don't worry, Old Master Ding. I will eventually pay you the money..."
"Who believes your nonsense!" Ding Liu interrupted her coldly and sternly said, "It's been two months. The houses where the living reside at the foot of the mountain and the grave mounds where the dead rest on the mountain were all purchased by this old man at great expense. You live here quite comfortably, don't you?
At the time, seeing that your father, Gai Chen, had saved my life, I reluctantly allowed you to bury his body here. Now, I'm not blaming the deceased for disrupting the feng shui of my South Mountain, yet you intend not to even pay the rent?"
"Old Master Ding, please don't misunderstand. You and my father were old acquaintances. You knew my father's character, and as his daughter, how could I do anything to tarnish my father's reputation? The money, it truly is..."
"No money, is that right?" Ding Liu waved his hand, stopping Zhong Li's explanation. His gaze, distant and calculating, appraised the woman before him several times. "You're a bit thin, and giving birth might be a bit difficult, but your appearance is truly rare in this world."
"What do you want to do?" Zhong Li's apprehension grew.
"Miss Zhong, I don't want the rent anymore. You will come with me and serve as a maid to warm my bed." Ding Liu said with a lustful glint in his eyes. As he spoke, he waved his hand, and the servants behind him rolled up their sleeves, chuckling slyly.
Zhong Li's brow furrowed, and she stared coldly at the servants lunging towards her.
One of them, quick on his feet, was at the forefront. He expected Zhong Li to flee, but to his surprise, she met him head-on, lightly sidestepping his lunge. The next moment, he felt a sharp pain in his neck and sprawled onto the ground.
The remaining four looked surprised and exchanged glances, as if discussing a strategy. Then, they simultaneously surrounded Zhong Li from all sides.
As if she had anticipated this, Zhong Li, after knocking over the first servant, swung her shovel at the closest one. Taking advantage of the servant's fall, she broke through the encirclement and, with a swift motion, struck the back of another's neck.
Just as Zhong Li had dealt with three of them and was preparing to launch a swift attack on the remaining two with the dissection knife she had pulled from her sleeve, a voice echoed from not far away.
"Stop!"
The shout came from Ding Liu, who had been observing the fight from the side.
He strode forward a few steps, propping himself on his tiger-headed cane, and raised something in his hand, staring intently at Zhong Li.
Zhong Li looked up. What Ding Liu held was none other than the two jade pendants she had tucked into her waist earlier.
How did that item end up in Ding Liu's hand? She thought about it and reached for her waist; indeed, it was empty. She guessed that the jade pendants had accidentally slipped out during the struggle because they were only lightly tucked away, and the sharp-eyed Ding Liu had picked them up.
"This item is very important to you, isn't it?" Ding Liu gripped the jade pendants tightly, observing Zhong Li's expression. Although she tried to conceal her worry and nervousness, he still caught a fleeting glimpse of concern in her eyes.
"If you want this thing, you'd best give up resisting," Ding Liu continued. "Otherwise..."
He paused, raising the jade pendants even higher. "I can't guarantee this item won't be smashed into powder."
Zhong Li froze, her gaze fixed on the two jade pendants. They were the only things her godfather had left behind, and she had painstakingly obtained the other half just recently. Before she could uncover any clues, she couldn't let them be lost like this.
"What, didn't you hear me?" Ding Liu sensed Zhong Li's hesitation and immediately pressed his advantage with the threat.
Finally, Zhong Li dropped the dissection knife in her hand and stared coldly at Ding Liu.
Surrendering?
Ding Liu's face lit up with joy as he gestured to the men Zhong Li had already subdued.
After exchanging glances, a few servants stepped forward and restrained Zhong Li.
"Tsk tsk!" Ding Liu, seeing Zhong Li completely cease resisting, walked up with a smile and said, "I was merely guessing, but it turns out this item is indeed very important to Miss Zhong."
As he spoke, he dangled the jade pendants in front of Zhong Li a few times.
"Give me back my things!" Zhong Li sneered.
Ding Liu ignored her, instead holding the jade pendants up to the sunlight to examine them. "In terms of water texture and translucency, they are quite good. However, the carving workmanship is indeed a bit lacking. Speaking of which, wouldn't these fetch a few taels of silver if pawned?"
"I will pay you the rent I owe you, just give me that item back!" Zhong Li said quickly upon hearing Ding Liu's intention to sell them.
Upon hearing this, Ding Liu's gaze returned to Zhong Li. He knew Gai Chen was a martial artist but had never expected his daughter to be such a hidden master. If not for the unexpected appearance of the jade pendants, Ding Liu himself might have met his end here.
If he wanted this beautiful girl to willingly serve him, then...
"I say, Miss Zhong," Ding Liu said, concealing the jade pendants in his palm, and speaking with a smile. "Let's make a deal. You want this jade pendant back, right? All you have to do is..."
As Ding Liu spoke, his hands, which had surrounded her, reached towards Zhong Li's face.
Just as he was about to succeed, a whistling sound tore through the air, followed by Ding Liu's pig-like scream.