Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 606 - 547: Stage

Manager Jin asked, "Is Mr. Li also here to stay at the inn?"

Li Ang nodded. "Yes, I haven’t been to Yizhou in several years. I came back to visit and didn’t expect to encounter such heavy rain. Does this inn still have rooms available?"

"I’ll go ask right away," Manager Jin said, hurrying toward the counter.

Manager Jin rushed to the counter, produced a jade pendant from Liu Guang Bank, and exchanged a few words with Manager Liu. The latter glanced at the jade pendant, his eyes widening instantly, and he quickly instructed the staff to prepare the rooms.

"There are still three superior rooms available." Manager Jin returned, all smiles, to report. His gaze casually swept past Song Shaoyuan and the others standing by the door. "Will that be enough?"

"Plenty. Thank you, Manager Jin."

"Oh, not at all, not at all." Manager Jin waved his hands repeatedly, then stammered slightly, "I wonder if Mr. Li is currently available? My master wishes to meet you..."

Jin Wusuan isn’t even aware of my arrival, so why would he suddenly want to see me? Li Ang understood that Manager Jin wanted him to examine Jin Wusuan’s illness. Feeling no ill will towards such a loyal servant, he nodded in agreement.

Manager Jin quickly had the guards bring up the luggage Li Ang and his party had brought. He then led Li Ang upstairs and pushed open the door to Jin Wusuan’s room.

As soon as the door opened, Li Ang was met with a strong scent of herbal medicine.

Jin Wusuan lay on the bed with his eyes closed, napping. His face was withered, and his once robust frame was now so emaciated it resembled a skeleton.

"Eldest Son, Mr. Li from Chang’an Academy is here," Manager Jin said softly, his voice tinged with sorrow as he gently woke Jin Wusuan.

Jin Wusuan barely opened his eyes. Seeing Li Ang, he managed a weak smile. "Mr. Li, we meet again."

"Yes, we meet again." Seeing Jin Wusuan so gravely ill, Li Ang couldn’t help but sigh. When I first came to Chang’an, I made my first fortune doing business with Jin Wusuan, selling degreasing cotton and soap. Later, issues involving Nie Yuhuan’s family led to conflict between us. Years have passed, and I never expected to witness an old acquaintance’s end this way.

Li Ang used the Mind Silk Surgery Technique to assess Jin Wusuan’s condition. Ravaged by cancer, Manager Jin’s body was incredibly frail; even the costliest precious medicines were useless. I’m surprised he can endure such widespread pain without fainting from it.

Thinking of repaying Lu Yunan’s kindness, Li Ang secretly used Mo Si to block the pain receptor hubs in Jin Wusuan’s body, intercepting some of the pain signals to at least make his final days less agonizing.

He then withdrew the Mo Si, shook his head, and sighed deeply.

Despite already knowing the outcome, Manager Jin couldn’t hide his grief. Following Jin Wusuan’s instructions, he politely saw Li Ang out.

Reaching the corner of the corridor, Li Ang saw several familiar figures.

Lu Qingya, Mountain Master of Lu Li Academy and a Candle Cloud Realm cultivator.

Also Ji Xingwang and Guan Anyan, whom he had met during the strange events in Qi Shui Village several years ago.

Additionally, there were over two dozen Doctors and disciples from Lu Li Academy.

Lu Qingya also noticed Li Ang. They nodded at each other but said nothing more.

Lu Qingya and the late Jianquan Monk were the closest of friends. In a way, Jianquan died at my hands, even though he had fallen to the Demon Path, implicating the Tiantai Mountain Zen Sect in his downfall. The entanglements of gratitude and resentment are truly difficult to articulate; it’s better to act as strangers, unseen by each other.

They passed each other without a word. Li Ang went to handle the check-in procedures, while Lu Qingya led his disciples to their respective rooms.

The cast is all here.

Jin Wusuan lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. With great effort, he retrieved an object from beneath his pillow.

"City gates, city gates, towering so high..."

Jin Wusuan hummed a faintly remembered nursery rhyme, caressing the object. His gaze gradually grew vacant.

It was an ancient, beast-shaped Bronze Artifact.

Elephant trunk, rhinoceros eyes, ox tail, tiger feet.

Dream Eater.

"City gates thirty-six feet high..."

The nursery rhyme’s melody continued. Jin Wusuan, as if petting a cat, incessantly stroked the back of the Bronze Artifact, completely unaware that its bronze edge had cut his palm and drawn blood.

"Riding a horse or sitting in a sedan..."

The blood flowed along the spine of the Bronze Artifact. Before it could drip onto the sheets, it was completely absorbed.

"Entering the city, circling around..."

As the last line of the nursery rhyme faded, the eyes of the Bronze Artifact suddenly flared with a crimson glow.

The Dream Eater opened its eyes.

The rain fell harder.

In the bedroom, Song Shaoyuan glanced at the downpour outside the window and yawned sleepily. He had trouble sleeping in unfamiliar beds, tossing and turning all night. Afraid of disturbing You Xiao beside him, he tiptoed out of bed.

His mother slept on another bed in the room, facing the wall, holding the cradle where the swaddled baby lay.

Perhaps because she’d slept enough during the day, the little baby was also awake, sucking her fingers and gazing up at Song Shaoyuan with big, watery eyes.

"OOH! WAH! YAH!"

Song Shaoyuan bent down over the cradle, making soft, strange noises and pulling funny faces at his daughter, which made her giggle happily.

"SHH, SHH, SHH, quieter..." Song Shaoyuan quickly pressed a finger to his lips. The baby blinked curiously but, surprisingly, didn’t fuss or cry, continuing to suck her fingers.

Song Zhilei. That’s her name. Song Shaoyuan gently caressed his daughter’s cheek with a look of tender love, sighing silently. My life is perfect. I was accepted into the Academic Palace, married a beautiful wife, and started a family. Perhaps in the future, I can even pursue a career in governance, benefiting the common people. What more could I ask for? The only real trouble might be family conflicts.

Song Shaoyuan scratched his cheek. Actually, Mother wants me to take a few more concubines and often hints at it. Although You Xiao verbally agrees, I know she harbors reservations. This must be the classic mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflict Risheng often talks about...

"COO."

The little baby treated her father’s palm as a toy, pinching it here and there. Song Shaoyuan immediately pushed his worries aside and happily played with his daughter.

Returning to Yizhou this time, dressed in success, is also a way to honor Father, who passed away many years ago...

"AAAHHHH!!!!"

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream echoed through the inn. The sound even managed to pierce the soundproof talisman Song Shaoyuan had personally applied—hoping his mother, wife, and daughter could sleep peacefully despite the rumbling thunder outside—faintly reaching his room.

Song Shaoyuan froze. Without hesitation, he thrust his daughter into the arms of his startled-awake mother, then rushed to the desk, pulling out several talismans and throwing them to the ground.

Alarm Talisman, Barrier Talisman, Prohibition Talisman.

After setting up the talismans, Song Shaoyuan felt a little more at ease. He gestured to his mother and wife not to panic, then slowly moved to the door, peering through the crack.

The scream had also awakened other guests. An inn servant, lamp in hand, ran out, pressed a button on the wall, and activated the talisman lamp.

Yuelai Inn had a classic "Hui" shape, with a central courtyard surrounded by rooms. A few doors on the second floor opened from within, and several guests poked their heads out, trying to see what had happened.

"Risheng?" Song Shaoyuan saw Li Ang step out from the adjacent room. He also pushed open his door and asked, "What happened?"

"I don’t know. Let’s go down and see," Li Ang replied, shaking his head. With a flick of his palm, the talisman plate from the table in his room flew to his wrist and secured itself.

The two men stepped into the corridor. They saw a tall, thin figure staggering out from a room at the far end of the first-floor hallway, clutching a bloody shoulder, his face a mask of terror. "Murder! Help!!" he screamed.

A short, stout figure chased after him, brandishing a knife, looking equally terrified. "He’s a demon! Catch him! Don’t let him get away!"

One pursued, the other fled, sprinting down the corridor.

Guests in the rooms on either side, bewildered by the scene and the cry of "demon," hesitated, unsure whether to intervene.

CREAK—

A door opened, and Lu Qingya stepped out. Without needing to use any Spiritual Energy, a single stern look from him rooted the two men to the spot, unable to move.

"What happened here?" Lu Qingya asked slowly, his voice filled with an undeniable authority.

The two men remained frozen, but their mouths were free. They immediately began shouting, each accusing the other.

The tall, thin man cried, "My own brother suddenly went mad and stabbed me in the middle of the night! He’s insane!"

The short, stout man yelled, "Honorable sir, don’t listen to his nonsense! He’s a demon! My mother only had me as a son; I don’t have any brothers at all!"