Chapter 41: The Mansion of the General Who Conquers Barbarians

  Mo Wen left the paper note without hesitation, since Lao Wu brought back Lin Ruochen's clue, he had been searching for an opportunity to leave the mountain, and now he finally waited for it. After learning the Wind Chasing Ghost Step, he went to Yan City 300 miles away, which would take at most one and a half days. The round trip took three days, leaving two days free to arrange on his own. This was undoubtedly the best opportunity to go find Lin Ruochen.

  "The cost of herbs won't be much, just bring enough for these few days' expenses, do you have any silver on you?" Yuling looked around at the crowd.

  Everyone nodded when they heard this, and there was still a small amount of silver money left among them.

  "Leave early and return early, don't provoke trouble on the road. The deadline is three o'clock every day," Yuling said, pausing slightly before adding in a heavier tone, "When you arrive at your destination, be cautious and weigh your actions carefully."

  "Yes." Everyone responded in unison.

  Yu Linglong slightly raised her hand, indicating that everyone could set off.

  Everyone bowed and left the palace, each returning to their own quarters to rest.

  "Don't ask, where are you going?" Ah Jiu quickened her pace and caught up with Mo Wen in front.

  "I'm going to Ye City and can't travel with you." Mo Xun didn't stop, earlier when distributing the paper money he saw that Jiu went to a place due west from here.

  "What kind of illness are you going to cure, can you be sure?" Ah Jiu asked anxiously.

  "Seventy percent sure." Mo Wen had no time to examine the records on the paper, and could only make a casual remark.

  "Be careful on your way." When he got to the door of his house, Ah Jiu stopped.

  "Be careful too," Mo Wen pushed the door and entered the house. After entering, he felt a bit too cold towards Ajiu, so he turned around and asked, "Do you still have enough silver on you?"

  "That's enough, put it away quickly." Ah Jiu had a scarf covering her face, so her expression couldn't be seen, but just from the tone of her voice, it was clear that she was overjoyed at this moment.

  Mo asked to turn back to the house, put up silver money and dagger immediately went out of the house, even changing clothes were not carried.

  Everyone was still gathering in the house at this time, and Mo didn't ask for a quick exit towards the main hall. However, he only took a few steps before stopping, as there were many government soldiers guarding the area around the main hall, and rushing over would likely result in being questioned.

  At a glance, Qingfeng was sweeping fallen leaves not far away, so he shouted to him to go to the cafeteria together. There were small paths and children accompanying them. Those barbarian officials did not ask questions, and Mo asked quickly arrived at the cafeteria and found Lao Wu who was washing millet.

  "Where were you when you heard the piano sound that day? Tell me in detail." Mo Wen asked hastily.

  "Old man, you want to go out?" Lao Wu asked back.

  "Yes, Li Zhenren sent us out to treat illnesses, and I got five days off, just enough time to go to Ye City," Mo Xiang said.

  "Those guards are fierce and cruel, I don't feel at ease with you going alone, I'll go with you," said Lao Wu.

  "You can't leave now that you're cooking here, quickly tell me where the piano sound is. Now I've learned martial arts and can protect myself, you don't have to worry." Mo asked again, urging him once more.

  "Alright, that evening we stayed at the Longtai Inn in the eastern part of the city. The sound of the qin came from north of the inn. After you find the inn, head north for half a street and you'll see a mansion with two large locust trees at the entrance. There are five characters on the sign above the door." Old Five stopped here, he couldn't read so naturally didn't know what was written on the sign, but this was already enough. Mo Xiang listened then turned around and left.

  "Old master, there are still some silver coins here." Lao Wu followed up and reached into his bosom.

  "I'll be back in five days with some spending money, you cook well and don't get into trouble." Mo didn't ask and quickly left. The gold ingot that Hei San had given to Lao Wu earlier was still on him, along with the gold biscuit and some loose silver, enough to buy a woman.

  "Old master, those barbarians are very fierce, be extremely careful, don't rush in." Laowu shouted anxiously from behind.

  As soon as this was said, all the Huren standing around turned their heads in anger and glared. Lao Wu was bewildered and stood there stupidly, not knowing what to do. Mo asked hastily spoke up to reprimand him, "Don't you go back and cook for our countrymen? You good-for-nothing!"

  Don't ask about the second half of the sentence, it was said to a barbarian standing next to him, a genuine veiled insult. When he saw these barbarian soldiers, he couldn't help but think of the scene in Xiyang County, and his anger was almost uncontrollable.

  That barbarian wasn't stupid, he saw that Mo Xun was scolding him, puffed out his chest and glared with anger in his eyes. Mo Xun didn't want to cause more trouble, so he quickly walked through the main road and down the small path of East Mountain.

  "Don't ask, why are you running so fast? Wait for me." Baili Kuo Feng was heading to Minzhou, and Mo Wen happened to be traveling in the same direction.

  "My journey is long, how dare I be slow?" Mo asked, and with a swift movement of his body, he quickly proceeded forward.

  "It's not urgent, you're scaring people with your rushing." Ba Li Kuang Feng shouted from behind. When the crowd used their Wind Chasing Ghost Steps, they swayed back and forth, drifting left and right, without moving in a straight line. If practiced to perfection, it would be like teleportation, elegant and free-flowing. But at this moment, the crowd's cultivation was insufficient, and as they moved, they looked like ants scurrying around chaotically. They were fast, but their posture was truly strange.

  Mo Wen felt that it wasn't quite right to rush along like this, so he slowed down and walked quickly with Bai Li.

  "It's fine that you didn't bring a dustpan, but you didn't even bring a change of clothes." Baili Kui Feng looked at Mo Wen with an empty-handed gaze.

  Mo Wen heard this and shook his head with a smile, but didn't respond.

  "Can you take a look and see what illness this might be?" Baili Kui Feng handed his own handkerchief to Mo Wen.

  Mo Wen took it and glanced at it, "It's just indigestion."

  "What's going on?" Ba Li Kuang Feng's medical skills were the worst among everyone.

  "Nowadays, gold is the best medicine." Mo Wen said.

  "There are over two hundred kinds of golden medicinal herbs, how can we administer them?" asked Baili Fengji.

  Don't ask, at this time I didn't have the heart to think about these things. Upon hearing this, I patiently took a closer look at the patient's condition again. "The patients selected by Master Li must not be ordinary illnesses. You should choose medicines with strong acidic properties, the more acidic the better. Golden medicines naturally have acidic properties, which is just right for this symptom."

  "Excellent, when we arrive at the town ahead, I'll treat you to a drink." Baili Kuangfeng took the handkerchief and tucked it into his bosom.

  "It's better to have a little less in your cup." Mo asked casually, saying that wine can both invigorate and disperse one's energy, but for cultivators, the drawbacks outweigh the benefits.

  "It's too boring to live like you, among these people, you and I are the most compatible, today we must drink a few cups." Baili Kuangfeng patted Mo Wen's shoulder.

  "Who do you least get along with?" Mo Xiang asked, The ancients said: Sit quietly and often think of your own mistakes, Idle talk should not discuss others' wrongs. Discussing others is not right, but since Ba Li Kuang Feng's heart is not heavy, being frank and open-minded is also harmless.

  "None of them are suitable, but the night is quite enjoyable. However, he's a lecher. Liu Song looks like a woman to me. Liu Shaoqian is timid and won't achieve great things. Qiansui is a dullard and very boring. Ah Jiu, right, you must have seen Ah Jiu before, quickly tell me what she looks like?" asked Bai Li Kuangfeng with a smile.

  "I've never seen it before." Mo Wen shook his head and spoke, then saw a bunch of withered yellow bamboo by the road, so he walked over and broke one off.

  "What are you doing?" Baili Kuangfeng looked at Mo Wen in puzzlement as he was whittling a bamboo stick with his dagger.

  "Be the leader of the flute." Mo Wen replied.

  "The Taoist is not allowed to blow the flute." Ba Li Kuang Feng said, except for the musical instruments used in rituals, the Taoist is not allowed to play any other music.

  Mo Wen nodded, he was not playing the flute to relieve boredom, but for another purpose. After arriving at Ye City, if there was a piano sound coming from that mansion again, he could respond with the flute sound first to confirm whether the person in the house was Lin Ruochen or not, and then find a way to rescue her. This way was better than going to knock on the door and ask questions rashly.

  Bamboo is not easy to cut, but at this time Mo Xun has already had some spiritual cultivation, and the force of using a dagger is very stable. The hole was dug without splitting the bamboo joints, and after passing through, he blew and tried the sound. Due to the lack of a flute seal, the tone color is not satisfactory, barely usable.

  Due to his anxious heart, Mo Wu didn't travel with Bai Li Kuang Feng and left ahead of time after arriving at the town. Where there were people, he walked quickly, and where there weren't, he used his movement technique. He didn't rest along the way, and even without a moon at night, it didn't affect his journey. A bit of spiritual energy cultivation allowed him to see clearly in the dark.

  At noon, they set off and arrived at the outskirts of Ye City by the fourth watch the next day. Following the sound of the night watchman's rattle, Mo asked for directions and found the Longtai Inn by the fifth watch. By this time, early risers had already begun their daily activities. Mo walked north along the street for about three or four miles and indeed found the mansion. The mansion was very large, covering an area of over ten acres. On the gate of the mansion, a plaque read "General Conquering Barbarians' Mansion".

  Mo Wen was not familiar with the official positions of Zhao Guo, so he didn't understand that the General of Conquering Barbarians was a high-ranking military officer. However, judging from the size of the residence and the eight-foot-high walls surrounding it, this General of Conquering Barbarians should be a relatively important official position; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to live in such a large mansion.

  Day and night, Mo asked to hurry, very tired. At this time, the courtyard was pitch black, extremely cold in the early winter morning. After a brief hesitation, Mo asked knocked open the inn's big door, asking for an upstairs room to avoid the cold and rest.

  Due to the weight on his mind, Mo didn't ask, although he was exhausted but hadn't closed his eyes. It had been a year since Lin Ruochen was taken away by the Hu people. During this time, she must have suffered humiliation and hardship. If they could find her this time, no matter what, they would rescue her from the fire pit, settle her down safely, and when the three-year period was over, take her back to their hometown together.

  The sky gradually brightened, and the streets became increasingly crowded with pedestrians. Mo Xun got up and went out, but Zhao Guo was a country built by foreigners, yet it revered Taoism. Ye Cheng was the capital, and Taoist priests could be seen from time to time on the streets, so Mo Xun's walk through the streets did not attract attention.

  When he arrived at the general's mansion again, the main gate of the courtyard was already open. There were no soldiers guarding the left and right sides of the gate, only a servant in his fifties sweeping the fallen leaves at the entrance. Due to the shadow wall standing inside the gate, it was impossible to see what was happening inside the courtyard.

  He didn't ask the original intention to go and inquire about the news, but he stopped as soon as he took a step. The person was a servant of the general's mansion. If he went back to tell his master that someone came to inquire about the woman in the house, it would be difficult to avoid unpredictable changes. This method is not feasible and cannot be done.

  Waiting anxiously outside the door won't do, firstly it's unavoidable to arouse suspicion, secondly the young ladies of official families rarely go out. After half a stick of incense worth of consideration, Mo Xun made up his mind, first accept the test and treat the patient, wait until sunset then change into a different attire, sneak into the general's residence at night...