diskusbooks Chapter 230 Silent Farewell
Chapter 230 Silent Farewell
Nawu was so surprised that her mouth dropped open. She looked back and forth between Baizhi and the money in her hand like a chick pecking at rice, unable to make a sound for a moment.
Before Nawu could ask her, Baizhi explained, "I sold something very important to myself and got some money. Tomorrow I'm going back to the chief. You're still young, so don't wander around alone in a foreign land while we're fighting. Tomorrow, buy some firewood, rice, oil, and salt, and then hire a carriage to go home."
Nawu carefully held the coins and asked Baizhi, "Did you sell something very important?"
Bai Zhi nodded.
Nau resolutely held the coins back: "Give me three thousand, that's enough. After you leave, I can still make money here."
"If you only earn five hundred nasu a day, you'll have trouble even with food and lodging. When will you ever be able to scrape together twenty thousand?"
“I’m not a child, I can earn money!” Nau said angrily.
Bai Zhi thought for a moment and said, "Then consider it payment for your help in translating the language of the sun god."
"It's worth that much money?"
"Brains are always more valuable than physical strength."
……
After much persuasion, Nawu finally accepted the money and promised to go home the next day, which put Baizhi at ease. Then, before dark, she took Nawu to the foreman's house in Cukenu and acted as her translator one last time.
With 30,000 yuan given as a token of respect, Su Xiaojing secured a spot to transport clothes.
Taka was some distance from the Sun God Mountains in the far east, a journey that would take about a day and a night. Cukonu decided to set off at dawn. The two had just emerged from the overseer's hut when a tear rolled down Nau's cheek.
After all, the separation was so sudden, it's normal for a child to be sad for a while. Bai Zhi was about to say a few words of comfort when Na Wu walked away without looking back.
At first they walked, but then they walked faster and faster until they started running.
Bai Zhi neither shouted nor chased after it, letting the small figure stagger and disappear into the horizon at dusk.
"...What an awkward child, just like my Chuqi," Bai Zhi muttered to herself.
The secret letter, sent from the Prince Jing's tent at the White Tiger Army's camp, arrived at the Imperial Envoy's residence in Wu County in less than half a day. Kui Fuguang, enjoying a rare moment of peace, was resting with his eyes closed in his study when he received the letter and, without even opening his eyes, tossed it to the coachman beside him: "Read it."
The coachman carefully pulled out the letter and read aloud the short sentence on it: "Lord Wei, before Bai Zhi left Wu to avoid the war, did she mention her whereabouts to you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the driver broke out in a cold sweat.
Meanwhile, Wei Fuguang lazily asked, "Did Bai Zhi mention where she was going?"
"Miss, I heard that Miss Bai was going to find His Highness Prince Jing. She has been gone for several days now. Could it be that something happened to her on the way?"
Kui Fuguang suddenly opened his eyes and sat up straight, looking at the coachman in disbelief: "She went to find Prince Jing? Didn't she leave Wuxian with the carriage?"
The driver was taken aback by the question, but still said with certainty, "On the day we left Wuxian, only the craftsman Bai, the young master Lin, and that strong man surnamed Cheng were with us. I did not see Miss Bai."
Oh no! Kui Fuguang's heart sank. Something must have gone wrong.
The two then carefully checked the accounts and discovered that the mistake lay with Lord Sun. Perhaps because the city's residents had evacuated in such a hurry that day, Lord Sun misheard the coachman's words "Miss Baizhi's two younger siblings" as "Miss Baizhi and her two younger siblings," thus mistakenly believing that Baizhi was also on that carriage, and then reported this to Wei Fuguang.
The coachman lowered his head and said, "It's my fault for not explaining things to Lord Sun in detail. The mistake was my fault."
“This Sun Yangzhi is simply senile.” Kui Fuguang laughed angrily. “...Fine, I know his capabilities perfectly well, yet I still entrusted him with such a major task as the evacuation of the entire city. I will take full responsibility. Nai’an, go and find that Qiao Banxian for me.”
"Yes."
An hour later, Qiao Banxian was invited to Wei Fuguang's study.
According to the driver, this fortune teller Qiao had never left Wuxian County and had been wandering outside the city. When the driver found him, he was already a pathetic mess on the ground.
Upon seeing the man, Wei Fuguang immediately smiled broadly and invited Qiao Banxian to take the seat of honor: "I have long admired you. I am Wei, a minor official of Ningzhou Province. I have invited you here to inquire about the whereabouts of Miss Baizhi. I heard that on the day of the evacuation, Miss Baizhi mentioned to you that she was going to see His Highness Prince Jing. Did Miss Baizhi say anything else?"
Upon hearing the name Bai Zhi, Qiao Banxian couldn't stop laughing strangely. After Wei Fuguang finished speaking, he stretched out a withered finger, raised it high, tilted his head as if he were a fool, and said, "A person from another world has already interfered with destiny."
"What do you mean by the Mandate of Heaven?"
"The fate of mortals is predetermined and cannot be changed, but the fate of those outside the world is already in chaos. If they are thrown into the predetermined fate, they may become an unknown number and save the precarious situation of the predetermined fate."
"Is Miss Baizhi the recluse you spoke of, sir? Do you know where she is?"
Qiao Banxian lowered his fingers, his calm eyes slowly closing: "It cannot be said, it cannot be said."
Kui Fuguang narrowed her eyes. She couldn't tell if this person was faking it or actually knew something, but without any evidence, she couldn't resort to torture.
Are you suggesting she should really believe in some kind of supernatural or divine belief?
“Mr. Qiao.” Wei Fuguang leaned forward, somewhat impatiently, “I am a local official, and I will not ignore someone who has lost face under my watch. Please, Mr. Qiao, be frank and tell me where Miss Bai is.”
Qiao the fortune teller, however, maintained his enigmatic tone: "The matter is already settled."
Kui Fuguang: "Nai'an, see the guest out!"
The coachman took the man out the same way he had brought him in. When he returned to the room, Wei Fuguang solemnly handed him a letter: "Send this to Prince Jing immediately, and then arrange for people to search for Bai Zhi's whereabouts with all their might."
The coachman hesitated and said, "Miss, wouldn't it be better for Prince Jing to go and search for Miss Bai?"
"On the day of the evacuation, I arranged a place for all of the more than 20,000 registered households in Wu County, but I lost this one. How can I accept this?" Wei Fuguang said through gritted teeth. "It has been almost ten days since the evacuation, and there is still no news of Bai Zhi. I am afraid that she is in grave danger. We must hurry up and find her. If Prince Jing wants to find her, I will also search for her."
The driver put away the envelope and was about to leave when Wei Fuguang suddenly called out to him, "Wait."
"Miss?"
"No, the army has just arrived. The imperial army and the garrison of the thirteen prefectures have a history of conflict, so the rendezvous may not go smoothly. If we tell Prince Jing that Bai Zhi has disappeared on her way to find him, that love-struck fool might ruin the important task of resisting the enemy for the sake of a small matter."
She snatched the envelope back, tore it to shreds in a few seconds, sat back down at her desk, and rewrote a letter. This time, it contained only a vague sentence: "Miss Baizhi did not elaborate, so I will immediately send someone to search for her."
She handed the letter to the coachman: "Just have someone deliver it anywhere, but don't let Prince Jing suspect anything."
"Yes."
After such a harrowing experience, Wei Fuguang had no desire to rest. He picked up his official hat from the table, carefully put it on, and let out a long sigh, saying, "The war is tedious. Naian, come with me to visit the common people."