Lou Lianyu, upon hearing Lou Baili's words, weakly replied "Mm" and said, "Father, you should rest early too."
With that, he dragged his heavy steps back to his own room.
After washing up and lying in bed, Lou Lianyu felt his body was exhausted to the extreme, yet he tossed and turned unable to sleep. His mind kept replaying memories of that person over and over.
The second son of the Lou family, unparalleled in the world.
This was how people in the Capital City described Lou Qingzhi back then.
The entire Lou family was full of geniuses. The old Grand Preceptor Lou Yuhuan was born into a humble family but entered officialdom through the imperial examinations. Starting as a sixth-rank official with the title of Top Scholar, he overcame numerous obstacles to reach the position of the current dynasty's Grand Preceptor, adding a new noble family surnamed "Lou" to the Capital City.
Lou Yuhuan's eldest son, Lou Baili, was no less impressive. He too entered officialdom as a Top Scholar, following the path his father had paved, rising rapidly in the political arena.
When Lou Baili became the Top Scholar, Lou Qingzhi was only twelve years old. But even then, he had already shown intelligence far beyond his peers, even surpassing Lou Baili at the same age.
Lou Lianyu recalled his mother's teasing words from years ago: "Lianyu, your second uncle could recognize a thousand characters at three, recite a hundred poems at four, and by ten, he could recite the Four Books and Five Classics backwards and forwards, quoting from various classics, histories, and philosophical works with ease. Even the Emperor praised him as a once-in-a-century prodigy. You're always running after him, but don't just play around. Learn more from your second uncle, let him teach you to be smarter..."
Such a brilliant second uncle, famous throughout the Capital City in his teens, skilled in calligraphy and painting. His brushwork was worth thousands in gold, yet when Lou Lianyu tore it up in play, he wasn't angry at all. He just shook his head and laughed, "My good nephew, you only dare to be so unruly with me. If it were your elder brother, he'd surely make you kneel and copy books, haha..."
Everyone was waiting to see the second son of the Lou family enter the imperial court and stir up a storm, but unexpectedly, the Lou family's third daughter committed suicide on the eve of her wedding, and shortly after, Lou Qingzhi disappeared without a trace.
The imperial examinations were just a month away, and everyone was expecting another Top Scholar from the Lou family. But for over twenty years since then, the name "Lou Qingzhi" vanished from the world.
"Second Uncle..." Lou Lianyu called softly in the darkness, feeling a stinging pain around his eyes. He felt wetness at the corners of his eyes.
At 7:45 PM.
Jiang Ning waited for Ma Steward, who came out of Wei Fangxiong's house fuming with anger.
"That Wei Fangxiong, how dare he mock me? Tricking me by saying he had a jade gourd, but it turned out to be a shabby stone carving!"
Ma Steward walked away cursing, while Wei Fangxiong followed behind, trying to appease him with a flattering smile: "Oh my! Ma Steward, this old man made a mistake this time. I'm so sorry, truly sorry..."
"Hmph! Stop with the empty words. Even if you were blind, Wei Fangxiong, you couldn't mistake jade for stone. You're clearly just toying with me late at night!" Ma Steward didn't believe a word, his anger only intensifying at this poor excuse.
"Alas~ How could Ma Steward say such things? I wouldn't dare..."
Before Wei Fangxiong could finish, Ma Steward had already stepped out of his courtyard, flicking his sleeves and striding away.
The smile on Wei Fangxiong's face vanished in an instant. He carefully leaned against the gate, peeking out to look up and down the alley. Apart from the departing Ma Steward, he couldn't see anyone else.
"Phew~"
After closing the door, Wei Fangxiong leaned against it, rubbing his face sore from smiling, and let out a long sigh.
After catching his breath, seven or eight servants approached, asking in hushed tones, "Master, everything is packed, and the carriage is ready. Shall we leave now?"
"Go! Let's go now!" Wei Fangxiong said decisively.
The woman who came to find him the day before yesterday was terrifying. She came and went without a trace, no one saw how she arrived or left.
If it weren't for the dead large wolf and the dog blood stains on Wei Fangxiong's clothes, he might have thought it was just a nightmare.
Now that he had lured Ma Steward out as the woman requested, Ma Steward was likely in grave danger. Wei Fangxiong didn't know if that woman would come back to stab him too.
He was over sixty, with not many years left to live. He didn't want to gamble with his life.
So yesterday and today, Wei Fangxiong had been busy settling all affairs, and had someone send a letter to Blind Yang in Qushui City. He wanted to spend his remaining years peacefully in Qushui City, never again touching those shady, karma-depleting matters.
After leaving, Ma Steward grew angrier the more he thought about it. He had rushed so far late at night full of expectation, only to see a piece of broken stone.
"Damn that Wei Fangxiong!" Ma Steward couldn't help but curse.
As Ma Steward walked on, he suddenly felt someone pat his shoulder from behind. His heart leapt in shock, and he quickly turned around. In the next instant, the scene before his eyes changed dramatically.
The alley disappeared, the cold night wind vanished, and the moonlight covering the ground was gone. The even stone slabs under his feet suddenly turned into rough gravel.
The dim night abruptly became bright as day, but why was the light red?
Ma Steward looked up at the sky in confusion and saw that the sky was like an overturned bowl covering the entire world. There were no stars, no moon, no sun, and no clouds in that sky. There were only large, lush, blooming blood-red lotus flowers, both enchanting and eerie.
"What... is this?" Ma Steward's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Creak!"
The sound of a door opening came, making Ma Steward's heart pound. He turned to look towards the sound and only then noticed a small bamboo hut.
Compared to the blood-red sky, the bamboo hut wasn't much to look at.
But the problem was...
The door of the hut was slowly opening!
Ma Steward stared intently at that door. He felt his throat tighten and swallowed hard several times. His heart felt like it was being squeezed tightly by someone's hand, beating more violently with each passing moment.
Finally, the door opened completely, revealing nothing behind it.
A false alarm.
"Huff~ Huff~ Huff~"
Ma Steward panted heavily, feeling somewhat relieved. He raised his sleeve to wipe the cold sweat from his face.
However, he failed to notice that behind him, a person in tattered, blood-stained clothes with disheveled hair had curled their lips into a smile.
This person was, of course, Jiang Ning.
When people face the unknown, finding themselves in an unfamiliar environment, fear is inevitable.
However, fear can be adapted to, and it tends to diminish over time.
To fully release the fear in a person's heart, you can't give them any warning. You must catch them when their guard is down, confronting them with fear in the most unexpected way, leaving them completely unprepared.
"Which do you think is more frightening: a snake you see in the wilderness, or a snake that suddenly falls from a tree onto your neck while you're walking along?"
This was the example the woman gave when teaching Jiang Ning this lesson.
The young Jiang Ning answered without hesitation: "The second one!"
"Hehe..." The woman laughed, both alluring and charming, then continued: "Actually, the most frightening is the third snake. That's when you walk through a grove of trees, knowing snakes might fall from above. You're on edge, constantly on guard, but you make it through the grove without seeing a single snake. Just as you're sighing in relief, you hear a 'hiss' next to your ear. You turn your head to see a snake, mouth full of venomous fangs, lunging at your face..."
That woman taught Jiang Ning many things, but this passage alone Jiang Ning remembered crystal clear, word for word.
Now, she was about to become that third snake!