PNB Chapter 23 The Mysterious Letter
Chapter 23 The Mysterious Letter
Although Lin Xiu said that, after taking it, he couldn't help but feel a little disgusted. Just like Yao Rongrong, he stretched out his arm and held it a little further away, pinching the corner with his fingers to open it.
"snort!"
Yao Rongrong looked at it, and couldn't help but snort, then chuckled, "Sir, let me give you a piece of advice: in this day and age, being a clean freak is not a good thing."
Lin Xiu glanced at Yao Rongrong lightly, ignored her, and focused on reading the words on the handkerchief.
The words on the handkerchief were few and appeared to be written hastily, as if in a rush. It was unclear how important they were, but the middle-aged woman had specially kept them in her shoe basket.
Lin Xiu read it word by word; it read:
"Yu Niang: "
Seeing this letter is like seeing you in person. I left the mountain a month ago and have now arrived at Xinggu Mozhuang. The village is isolated from the world, self-sufficient, and free from evil spirits; it is truly a paradise.
Liangjia Village is occupied by mountain bandits and is not a place to live for long. If you are interested, you can wait for me at Luoyan Slope outside the village when the moon is full this month. I will come in person and lead you into the valley.
This matter is of utmost importance; please do not let anyone else know.
Yao Rongrong leaned close to Lin Xiu and read the inscription on the handkerchief with him. She frowned slightly and asked, "Sir, what do you think?"
Lin Xiu said, "Let's walk and observe."
Yao Rongrong: "..."
However, they were currently on their way to seek refuge, so they were naturally observing as they went.
The two men and their donkey walked along the overgrown grassland, looking around as they went, trying to find grass with a firm texture and to leave as few or no marks as possible.
Even when leaving the place where the murder took place, Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong made a point of erasing their footprints and tire tracks. As they walked through the grass, they also helped up the weeds left behind by people, donkeys, and carts.
After walking for a while, looking back, the path I came from was nowhere to be seen, which made me feel relieved.
Yao Rongrong then asked, "Sir, what is your opinion on this matter?"
Lin Xiu said, "Is there any need to ask this again? If you didn't suspect something was amiss, why did you ask me?"
He paused slightly and said, "Putting everything else aside, just look at the meaning of the letter. They're plotting something, trying to keep it from everyone else. How did the letter reach Yu Niang when the writer was elsewhere?"
Yu Niang must be that woman...
Yao Rongrong said, "But what does this have to do with the strangeness of the matter? What if they had an agreement beforehand, and the person who wrote the letter would secretly put it somewhere?"
It might just be that Luoyan Slope.
Lin Xiu said, "That's true."
Yao Rongrong sighed softly and said, "Alas... what if the Xinggu Mozhuang mentioned in the letter is real? Wouldn't it be a pity if we missed out on that paradise-like place?"
Lin Xiu glanced at Yao Rongrong and asked, "Shouldn't I be the one more concerned about this place? So, Miss Yao, you're not planning to look for your master anymore, and want to find a place to settle down?"
Yao Rongrong winked at Lin Xiu, revealing a charming expression, and said, "I'm thinking of you, sir. Wouldn't it be a pity if you missed out on such a place?"
Lin Xiu smiled, pointed at Yao Rongrong with his finger a few times, and said, "Testing me, aren't you?"
Yao Rongrong's smile grew even more alluring: "What are you saying, sir? I'm just a lowly woman looking for a master, why would I test you?"
Lin Xiu didn't argue with Yao Rongrong, but instead asked, "Miss Yao, tell me, when is the full moon?"
Yao Rongrong said, "If I'm not mistaken, it should refer to the night of the fifteenth."
Lin Xiu asked, "What day is the fifteenth?"
Yao Rongrong fell into thought for a moment before finally saying, "We should be there soon... The moon is almost full these days."
But I have no idea which day it will be. Alas... I'm busy traveling every day, searching for my master, how could I possibly have time to look up at the sky?
In this day and age, who has the time or inclination to care about the weather or the seasons? We can't even remember which day or month it is anymore…”
Lin Xiuxin said that he could actually calculate it clearly. It was July 13th, and there were only two days left until July 15th.
In Mengzhou City, in order to avoid living a muddled life, he always tried to keep his daily routine clear, and he still kept the calendars that needed to be recorded.
However, he didn't tell Yao Rongrong right now. Instead, he asked, "And what about Luoyan Slope, Xinggu, and Mozhuang? Do you know where they are, Miss Yao?"
Yao Rongrong shook her head and said, "How would I know? I don't have a map."
Lin Xiu said, "So this is it? We don't know anything, so where are we supposed to find the place mentioned in the letter?"
If you think so much and have such high hopes, but in the end you find nothing, wouldn't that just dampen your spirits?
Let's take it one step at a time.
Yao Rongrong thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "Hmm...that's true."
Lin Xiu then asked, "Miss Yao, what do you think is the relationship between the person who wrote the letter and that woman named Yu Niang?"
Yao Rongrong laughed and said, "Who knows? Maybe it's some old flame? Otherwise, who would write letters for no reason?"
"Yeah, that's true..."
Lin Xiu nodded, but a lingering question remained in his mind.
He heard everything those four people said when they were hiding there.
According to their words, they were extremely concerned and cautious about their location and the secret of Liangjia Village, which was a trap, and would never easily let anyone know.
That's why we're having this chase today.
Judging from the meaning of the letter, the person who wrote it left the mountain more than a month ago and had no intention of returning.
So why aren't the others worried that the letter writer might reveal their whereabouts, and why are they still living peacefully in the mountains behind Liangjia Village?
Perhaps the person who wrote the letter faked his death and escaped, and the people on the mountain thought he was dead?
But these people were able to chase us this far this morning, which means they're the type to not act until they see results. Could it be that the person who faked his death found a suitable corpse to impersonate?
I couldn't figure it out, so I decided to stop thinking about it for now. This handkerchief can still be used after washing; I can just wash it a few more times. I'll just leave it in the car and weigh it down with something.
"Shh-"
"Shh-"
A whistle sounded from afar, followed by other whistles, and it was unclear what they were communicating.
Lin Xiu and Yao Rongrong determined their location and confirmed that the road to the north had been blocked, and there were indeed quite a few opponents searching for them.
"These people must have been trained, otherwise they wouldn't be able to hear whistles from this far away."
Yao Rongrong said.
So the two became more cautious and proceeded according to their original plan. They returned from the weeds to the cave where they had stayed the night before, intending to hide for two days and then continue their journey once the situation was deemed suitable.
"Sigh, it's just that there are so many mountains here. If it were still like before, with a flat road, we wouldn't need to go in this direction."
As they approached the cave, Yao Rongrong sighed.
Lin Xiu said, "It would be great if we could get a map sometime."
"Um."
Yao Rongrong nodded.