Chapter 1: The Sleeping Flower Pavilion

  After standing still for three seconds, Xia Cao continued walking forward resolutely. Who cares who it is? The most important thing now is to find Duan Shi Yi first.

  She was the first to be imprisoned before gaining fame. Looking at the appearance of the eleven heavy and light apprentices, it's clear that there is no hope for her. She should quickly clear herself of suspicion and catch the murderer who killed Jintree.

  The night is deep and people are quiet, it's the best time to get things done.

  The Meng Hua Lou didn't light up tonight because of the murder case. Xiao Cao held his breath and concentrated, sneaking around the Meng Hua Lou as if he was a thief.

  Yin Shu sat in the room, staring blankly, as if shaken by Jin Shu's death. He seemed to be overcome with grief, muttering to himself: "He died without any warning at all... could it be that this is our retribution..."

  A maid beside her comforted her with a bowl of warm milk: "Miss, don't think too much, go to bed early."

  The little grass looked for a while and didn't feel anything unusual, then crawled back to the outside of Qian Mama's room like a gecko.

  "This man says no and it's over, how can we give an explanation to Mr. Chen?"

  Qian's mother didn't cry as she did during the day, but instead looked worried: "They gave us money, we couldn't save the person, do we still have to return the money?"

  Across from them sat an old woman, who sighed and said: "This... is really fate. Golden Tree was about to fly up the branch, but someone with malicious intentions struck her down from behind. If you don't return this money, how can the Chen family's reputation be preserved? I think that tomorrow morning we should send someone to deliver the silver ticket to the Chen estate and explain the situation. Who knows, if Mr. Chen truly likes Golden Tree, he might not even accept our returned money."

  The little grass stood up its ears, "Who is Chen Yuanwai?" Which Chen Yuanwai?

  "Alas, it can't be helped. Once we confirm that the catcher is the murderer, she'll definitely have to pay compensation!" Qian Mama muttered, discontentedly fiddling with the abacus in her hand.

  Good fellow, human life is nothing but money in her eyes.

  The little maid pressed her lips together and eavesdropped on each room along the wall, all the girls had the same reaction as Yinsu, but there were many people in the servant's quarters who were gloating over their misfortune.

  "Although it shouldn't be said, now that he's dead, our days will be better." A soft-spoken maid hiding in the quilt whispered to the person next to her: "He had such a bad temper, always beating and scolding people, now that he's gone, it's actually more peaceful."

  There were several voices in the room responding to her, and one slightly older voice said: "As soon as someone is gone, be more careful when speaking, settle down early, tomorrow the six-panel door people will come to investigate the case, be careful what you say, or you'll be mistaken for the murderer."

  "Isn't the murderer the one who was taken away today?" someone asked in a low voice.

  The old man's voice paused for a moment and said: "That's just suspicious, it doesn't necessarily mean she killed him, after all, she is also a constable, what would she do to kill someone in the Qinglou?"

  The little grass raises an eyebrow, hey, there's another smart person here.

  The room fell silent after a brief murmur, and the surroundings were quiet. The little grass crouched at the foot of the wall for a while, just about to get up and find Duan Shi Yi, but ended up squatting for too long and got leg cramps. With a thud, it fell to the ground and bumped into the nearby kimchi jar.

  He took a deep breath of cool air, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Such a big commotion in the middle of the night, wouldn't it be discovered by others?

  As expected, a maid in the house was frightened awake: "What's that noise?"

  Rubbing her numb legs, Xiaocao was about to run away when she heard the old maid say: "There's been a stray cat in the yard recently, don't be alarmed, go to sleep, I'll go take a look."

  As he spoke, Zhen got up and opened the door to come out.

  The little grass quickly climbed up the wall, but unfortunately, it didn't quite make it home, leaving only its backside for people to see.

  The maid who came out did not make a big fuss, but walked directly to the wall, took something out of her pocket and threw it into the hole in the corner.

  "Meng Hua Lou does not allow anyone in or out, you handle it."

  The little grass covered its mouth and hid on the other side of the wall, watching a bottle roll out of the cave, listening to what the maid said, and was stunned.

  What's going on?

  "Huh?" The maid on the other side of the wall hadn't heard a response, and was somewhat suspicious. Her voice wasn't daring to be too loud, so she just knocked on the wall lightly.

  The little grass quickly picked up the bottle and also knocked on the wall.

  The maid went back with peace of mind.

  What is this? Little Grass held up the bottle against the moonlight and looked at it. It seemed like a medicine bottle, and when he shook it, there were still some things inside.

  Just as I was about to open it, some unusual aura spread through the air. Relying on his years of experience traveling the world, Xiao Cao suddenly flashed into a nearby thicket.

  A shadow passed in front of her and jumped over the wall. Before long, a "Duang" sound came from inside again.

  So that's what happened. It seems she accidentally stumbled upon someone else's password and got something that was meant to be destroyed?

  Taking a deep breath of cold air, before the people inside could react, Xiao Cao quickly ran towards Gu Xianxian's room.

  The entire Sleeping Flower Pavilion had only eleven guests, and this one guest still dared to stay overnight. Gu Panpan's courage was quite large, and she was still sitting in the room playing the pipa for him.

  "Even if all the purple and red flowers are in full bloom everywhere, they can't compare to your single, delicate flower."

  Listening to it is just lewd words and beautiful music, Xiao Cao "pa" opened the window and jumped in directly.

  The music stopped, and after a glance, it turned out to be Duan Shi Yi's red beauty who had seen big scenes. Although she was startled, she didn't let out half a cry, and after staring at Xiao Cao for a while, she put away the pipa and entered the inner chamber.

  "Rubbing his temples, he said with some distress: 'How is it that even the maximum security prison can't hold you?'"

  The little grass puffed out its mouth and said discontentedly: "If I had just stayed still, I wouldn't have known how to die. Master, come over and take a look, I've gotten something incredible!"

  Section eleven glanced at the inner room, impatiently pulling Xiao Cao's collar to the window and said: "You are now a suspect, dare to escape from the big prison is an escape from guilt, hurry back for me!"

  The bottle in his hand almost shook off, Xiaocao hurriedly grasped it tightly and struggled to pick up the hem of his robe to stuff it into his waist: "You'd better take a look!"

  He glared at her movement, his face turned green, and he ruthlessly pushed the person out of the window. Only when he heard a "thud" outside did he take a deep breath and let go of her hem.

  There was something stuck on the belt, and I didn't know what she had stuffed in it. Duan Shi didn't go to look, but instead went into the inner room to coax Gu Tian Tian out: "You naughty thing, weren't you scared?"

  "It doesn't matter."

  Duan Xiaocao, covered in dust and dirt, got up from the ground, looked up at the tightly closed window, pouted her mouth, and returned to the big prison with great grievance.

  He doesn't care about her at all, he's not taking her seriously. And Li Er Gou is already on bad terms with her, if tomorrow they have a falling out and he slanders her, who will she go to for help?

  It would have been better if I had known earlier that it's more worthwhile to acknowledge a big cow outside Chang'an City as my master, at least I can drink its milk.

  Damn it!

  Cursing as he walked back, halfway through, he remembered the voice in prison mentioning roasted chicken. Xia Cao even ran back to the courtyard where he and Duan Shi Yi lived, stole the roasted chicken that Duan Shi Yi had left behind, and returned to the big prison with a huff, filling up the wall along the way.

  "Who wants roast chicken?" The fire was very big, and Xiao Cao directly shouted a sentence, then sat on the grass heap to eat by herself.

  The sleeping jailer was startled by her and rolled over.

  Next door in the cell block there was a rattling of chains, followed by a drowsy voice saying: "Mine."

  The little grass didn't even look, pushed the plate, and that person stretched out his hand from the railing, just enough to hold and eat.

  "It's the first time I've seen a jailbreak and thought it was real." The dark figure slowly ate his roast chicken, as if he had finally sobered up: "How long did I sleep? The world has changed."

  "You think I want to come back?" Xia Cao said in a huff: "It's all because of that scoundrel of a master, who not only refused to save me when I was dying but also drank flower wine while his own disciple was imprisoned!"

  "Hei Ying snorted with laughter: 'A master like this is no good.'"

  "Yes." Little Grass nodded.

  "Why don't you become my apprentice then."

  The words came out, and Xia Cao finally turned his head to look at the side: "Who are you?"

  "Heiying took a chicken leg and slowly said: 'The culprit.'"

  Nonsense, who else can be locked up here if not a prisoner? Those who can say this are unwilling to speak the truth, and Xiao Cao is too lazy to ask, humming twice before continuing to eat roast chicken.

  "Look at you getting all worked up, who's your master?" The dark figure ate comfortably and spoke more.

  "My master is a lecherous and dissolute rascal who doesn't care about his disciples' lives, only knows how to show off. His surname is Duan, and he's called Dog Egg."

  The black shadow paused for a moment, thinking for a long time before saying: "This name is unheard of, but judging from your clothes, you should be from the Six Panels Gate. Do you know a capture head named Duan Eleven?"