Jiang Yan had coincidentally met the courtesan of the Nanfeng Pavilion. This courtesan, however, was a man with feminine features. He had been raised as a girl since childhood, so everyone assumed the courtesan was a woman.
To make money, the madam of the Nanfeng Pavilion, coveting the courtesan's beauty, had concealed the truth.
The Nanfeng Pavilion was too peculiar. Although not many people entered or left, it remained open every night. If there were no profits, why would it operate like this?
However, the most urgent matter was to find the princess's whereabouts!
Upon returning to the inn, Qin Jiujiu immediately asked Jiang Yan, "Young Master Jiang, have you seen the princess?"
Jiang Yan shook his head and then said, "The princess went with you all to Chunfeng Du before, and then returned to Xiliu City. However, I am not very clear about what happened afterward..."
After all, it was a matter of the City Lord's mansion, and he truly had no reason to pay constant attention to it.
"Qin Qing, if my father arrives in Xiliu City, tell him we have gone to the Xie family in Huayang for urgent matters. Tell him to go home first. I will return home after I've finished my business..."
Just as they were at a loss, Xie Yun sent a message saying that something had happened at the Xie family and that Xie Jing needed to return quickly.
Qin Jiujiu naturally knew what this was about—the entire Xie family had been annihilated overnight. By the time Xie Yun returned to the Xie family, it was already a pile of ruins.
The perpetrators had not only killed more than a hundred members of the Xie family, from the oldest to the youngest, but had also set fire to their home.
"Miss, why are you going to the Xie family? Master had previously sent a letter to me, saying he was coming to Xiliu City to arrange your marriage with the City Lord's son..."
Qin Qing was naturally surprised. Clearly, Master Qin had mentioned the marriage between Miss and the City Lord's son in his letter, but Miss was now inseparable from the second young master Xie, and was now even going to the Xie family in Huayang!
At this moment, Xie Jing appeared at the door.
But Xie Jing was always elusive, and his movements were silent, so Qin Jiujiu did not know when he had entered. She only knew that when she saw him, his face was dark and terrifying.
"Xie Jing?" Qin Jiujiu looked at him. Their conversation was interrupted, and Qin Qing suddenly dared not continue speaking.
"Get ready to go!" Xie Jing said to Qin Jiujiu and then, without waiting for her, he left.
"Xie Jing, why are you leaving in such a hurry?" Qin Jiujiu found it strange. They had just finalized their plan to go to Huayang, and now Xie Jing was here to tell her they had to leave immediately.
Qin Jiujiu was caught off guard, and seeing Xie Jing's expression, she felt that something was not quite right.
"If you don't want to go, then stay here!" His tone was filled with intense displeasure, and he had stopped walking as he spoke, causing Qin Jiujiu to run straight into his chest.
She rubbed her forehead, frowned, and said, "Of course, I'm going... Let's go now!"
Qin Jiujiu walked ahead. Seeing that Xie Jing did not follow, she looked back at him and saw his eyes were dark, staring intently at her.
"Let's go!"
Xie Jing then stepped forward, and they were soon on their way.
The journey from Xiliu City to the Xie family in Huayang was long, but fortunately, the road was smooth, and they arrived quite quickly.
Qin Jiujiu looked at the ruins before her, somewhat surprised.
"This is the Xie family?" She imagined it must have been a very large estate before.
"Where are brother Xie and the others?" Qin Jiujiu had not seen the letter, so she did not know what Xie Yun had told Xie Jing. However, looking at the estate before her, Qin Jiujiu naturally assumed Xie Yun was not inside.
Xie Jing's expression was profound. He looked at the estate, once prosperous but now a ruin, with no trace of sadness in his eyes, only a strange expression.
It seemed almost excited!
She felt a shiver of dread at the thought of how many corpses lay beneath these ruins, and the longer she stayed there, the more eerie and terrifying it felt.
Xie Jing finally withdrew his gaze from the ruins, turned, and said to Qin Jiujiu, "No rush, let's go inside first!"
Before Qin Jiujiu could react, Xie Jing forcibly dragged her into the courtyard.
Looking at the dark objects around, Qin Jiujiu's heart became extremely anxious. No one knew if the dark masses were burnt items or burnt corpses.
"Xie Jing, why are we coming in here?" She couldn't see the original main gate from where she stood. She presumed they were inside one of the rooms.
"Guess what this place is, and if you guess correctly, I'll take you out."
Qin Jiujiu blinked. She didn't understand Xie Jing's perverted sense of humor, but seeing his serious expression, it seemed that if she didn't guess correctly, she might have to spend the night here.
"System, quickly help me locate this place. What is it?"
"Host, it's the Xie family's basement... Hmm... the villain was often locked up here..."
So it was the basement. No wonder the light was so poor, and the atmosphere felt even colder.
"Is it the basement?"
Xie Jing's eyes suddenly changed, a flash of madness appearing in them. A strange light flickered in his eyes. He suddenly turned to Qin Jiujiu and said, "Congratulations, Miss Qin, you guessed correctly!"
Qin Jiujiu inexplicably found the person before her somewhat strange. It seemed that after arriving in Huayang, Xie Jing had undergone some changes, such as this peculiar look in his eyes and his sarcastic words.
"Xie Jing, did something happen here? You seem... not quite right!"
He looked at her, his eyes filled with madness.
"Miss Qin, you can try to guess why I brought you here..."
Qin Jiujiu shook her head. He refused to answer her questions and kept asking her strange ones.
Qin Jiujiu felt a chill down her spine. The place was very cold, and the chill crept up from her skirt, seeping into her every inch of skin.
She was trembling with fear now and cautiously asked, "You weren't locked up in here when you were a child, were you?" She was only testing him, but she didn't expect Xie Jing to be looking at her with a serious expression, "You guessed correctly!"
His tone was calm, but Qin Jiujiu could tell that he was clearly not himself at the moment.
It seemed to be related to this matter.
Suddenly, he leaned close to Qin Jiujiu's ear and said, "If Miss Qin does anything to displease me behind my back... I will lock you in here! You'll never get out!"
Qin Jiujiu shuddered, looking at Xie Jing with an incredulous and confused expression.
"System, has the villain blacked out?"
The Xie Jing before her was vastly different from the one she knew a while ago. Qin Jiujiu instinctively took a step back. Xie Jing's voice, however, reached her ears.
"If Ah Jiu runs off with someone else, I'll break your legs and lock you in here, chained with iron... I'll make everyone in the Xie family watch you..."
His voice sounded chilling. Qin Jiujiu's face changed, and she cautiously said, "How could that be... Young Master Xie, where are you getting these ideas from?"
It seemed Xie Jing must have overheard her conversation with Qin Qing that day, which was why he had been so strange these past few days.