klisemfg Chapter 93 Nighttime Anomalies
Chapter 93 Nighttime Anomalies
At midnight, the wilderness fell into a deep sleep.
At that moment, Mu Feng and Mu Sheng took a jar of wine and walked to the watchman's campfire.
Because of what Meng Fuqing said, Niu Er volunteered to take one of the people's place to keep watch at night. He hadn't closed his eyes and was on high alert, so he unconsciously felt sleepy. However, apart from the one named Jiang Wen, the rest of the Jiang family hadn't made any moves.
Jiang Wen made a move, but he only lingered around Xie Gongzi's men. He didn't trust Jiang Wen but trusted Mu Feng and the others, so he didn't notice anything unusual.
When they saw Mu Feng and Mu Sheng walking towards them at the same time, Niu Er and the other night watchmen were all taken aback.
"Young Master Mu, what brings you here?"
This is truly a rare occurrence.
Despite having fled together for a long time, they were not very familiar with Xie Jin and his men. The only people who were familiar with them were Doctor Zheng, Village Chief Meng, and Meng Fuqing.
Mu Sheng raised the wine jar in his hand and said gently, "It's cold, how about we have some wine to warm ourselves up?"
Although the guards didn't understand the sudden closeness between the two, they didn't put up any defenses against them.
"I'm so sorry, I'm taking advantage of you!"
"Yes, yes, do you two gentlemen really invite us to have a drink together? I can't even remember the last time we drank together!"
Mu Sheng smiled and nodded, "Since we have nothing else to do, let's not drink too much, just have a taste."
Niu Er and his friends immediately nodded eagerly; these days, wine was a precious commodity.
Mu Feng placed the wine glasses on the ground, filled them with wine, and then each of them drank from one glass.
Some people drink peony tea in one gulp, while others sip it slowly and savor it.
Niu Er, having downed his drink in one gulp, smacked his lips and, intrigued, asked Mu Sheng, "You two share the same surname, Mu, are you brothers?"
Mu Feng replied, "We're just from the same clan."
“I am from a collateral branch of the Mu family, while Mu Feng is from the main branch. According to seniority, he should indeed call me brother.”
Mu Feng did not refute this.
Niu Er suddenly realized, "I see. Aren't your families worried about you all traveling with Young Master Xie for so long?"
Mu Feng and Mu Sheng both fell silent. Finally, Mu Sheng said, "We have no parents since we were young. It was our master and mistress who took us home and raised us with great care. Young Master is our family."
"Ah..." Niu Er didn't expect that his casual question would touch on their painful memories, and he was at a loss for words. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll punish myself with three cups... ptooey!"
Drinking is not a punishment, but a reward.
He stood up abruptly, clasped his hands in a deep salute, and said, "I'm sorry, brothers, it was I, Niu Er, who misspoke!"
Mu Feng and Mu Sheng fell silent again, not quite understanding why he was so uneasy.
Little did he know that Niu Er greatly admired their martial arts skills and had always wanted to approach them to learn from them, but had never had the chance. Now that he did, he couldn't afford to mess it up.
Just then, the other watchmen suddenly felt dizzy and fell asleep before they could even speak.
Niu Er was shocked to see this. He was about to speak when someone struck his pressure points, and at the same time, a pill was thrown into his mouth.
He heard Mu Feng say in a low voice, "Pretend to faint, and do as I say."
Niu Er did not hesitate any longer and did as instructed.
For no apparent reason, he believed that Xie Jin would not harm his boss and his boss's clansmen.
Meng Fuqing slept lightly tonight, or rather, barely slept at all. She would be startled awake by any noise outside. After listening intently to the sounds from the other side for a while, she noticed something unusual about the two of them.
Putting aside Mu Sheng, how could Mu Feng be the kind of person who drinks and chats with others?
Could it be...?
In a split second, as her heart raced, a tendril extended from her fingertip, and Meng Fuqing saw two dark figures approaching her.
She closed her eyes to see what the two were about to do, but then felt two taps on her back.
Is this... acupressure? She moved her fingers under the blanket; they could move.
She heard Mu Feng say in a low voice, "Miss Meng, my young master wants to see you. Come with us."
Meng Fuqing slowly sat up and looked at the two of them, then looked around. It was the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), when people were sound asleep. The two of them moved very quietly and did not wake anyone.
Mu Sheng suddenly spoke again, "Miss Meng, do not try to call for help. We have already silenced you by striking your acupoints."
Meng Fuqing: ...
Before hearing those words, she had no intention of speaking up. After hearing them, she was quite interested in trying acupressure to see if it was really that magical.
However, she only thought about it in her mind.
When their eyes met, Meng Fuqing instinctively walked ahead, with the two following behind, and together they headed towards Xie Jin's carriage.
Jiang Wen, who hadn't slept all along, went up to them and said, "Please rest assured, both of you. I've already spoken with that person and I'll make sure that Miss Meng's family is safe and sound."
Meng Fuqing looked up at 'Jiang Wen', only to see 'Jiang Wen' smile at her, glancing meaningfully at Xie Jin's carriage, "Miss Meng is truly blessed."
After saying that, he turned and left.
Meng Fuqing boarded the carriage with a head full of questions. As soon as she entered, she saw Xie Jin with his eyes wide open and full of energy in the carriage where candles were burning all day. He hadn't slept at all.
Before Meng Fuqing could ask, Xie Jin handed her a piece of paper covered with writing.
After a quick glance, Meng Fuqing reached out to him, and Xie Jin knowingly handed her a calligraphy brush.
He scribbled a single character on the paper with a flourish, then showed it to Xie Jin—'Wait?'
The full sentence should be 'Wait for the bandits disguised as refugees to come out?', but Meng Fuqing was not proficient in calligraphy or traditional Chinese characters, so she wrote less and made fewer mistakes. Besides, she felt that Xie Jin could understand her meaning.
Then she saw Xie Jin nod at her.
It seemed that Meng Fuqing still had doubts in her heart. She knew that Xie Jin wanted to use Jiang Wen to lure out the bandits, but she didn't know why she was asked to come to Xie Jin's carriage.
She sat quietly, deep in thought, while Xie Jin simply sat beside her, feigning sleep, occasionally glancing at her as if observing whether she could guess.
Meng Fuqing quickly figured it out. Xie Jin was clearly not with the villagers. There must be a reason why he brought them along. Since Jiang Wen wanted to win Xie Jin over so that he wouldn't help the villagers, he must be trying to find out the reason.
The reason is her? Meng Fuqing's expression was somewhat strange.
She and Xie Jin were indeed close, but logically speaking, Doctor Zheng should have been closer to Xie Jin and his group. However, Doctor Zheng rarely showed himself and was not noticed by Jiang Wen, which was understandable.
But she always felt that Xie Jin played a significant role in it.
"It wasn't me, it was him who thought that way." As if knowing what Meng Fuqing was thinking, Xie Jin said softly, "I was just going with the flow."
Meng Fuqing said "Oh," then belatedly realized she could speak. She whispered, "As long as we can catch them, I don't mind."
Xie Jin: "...Miss Meng really doesn't care much about her reputation."
He even felt that he cared more about her reputation than Meng Fuqing did.
Meng Fuqing looked at him and said, "The shackles under the prosperous times, the gossip in the chaotic times. We care about it only because we find it troublesome. We don't care because there are things that are more important."
Xie Jin fell silent for a moment upon hearing this. He simply assumed that it was indeed the case.
Just as he was about to say something, a commotion suddenly came from outside.
Jiang Wen's voice came into the carriage, "Young Master Mu, let's leave quickly. Don't worry about Miss Meng's family, they'll be fine."
Meng Fuqing peered out through the crack in the carriage window. Mu Feng drew his sword with lightning speed, and Mu Sheng beside him let out a loud whistle, making a great commotion outside the carriage.