My Gentle and Pure Sect Leader Husband - Chapter 50

The memorial that the Emperor gave to Yan Hongyin described a disappearance case.

If it had been just an ordinary disappearance case, it certainly wouldn’t have been reported to the Emperor—but this case was different.

The previous prefect of Luoyang City had passed away, and the new prefect had taken office only three months ago. He was a talented official with great administrative skill.

His first act after taking office was to thoroughly review all the case files regarding the disappearances of women and children in Luoyang City over the past two years. After overturning his predecessor’s sloppy and flawed cover-up, he decisively combined them into a single case and submitted a memorial directly to the throne.

The disappearance of women and children was a common occurrence in every region, but Luoyang was a major city. When such disappearances continued for two consecutive years, the number of missing persons added up to a figure that could not be ignored. Moreover, no one knew in which other cities the culprits might be committing the same crimes.

When Yan Hongyin traveled from Lin’an City to Jinling, she had just one carriage, and Yu Luocha was the driver at that time. Now, as she departed from Jinling for Luoyang, the carriage not only included Wang Lianhua who had stubbornly insisted on coming along, but the driver had also been replaced by three kids who occasionally went out to keep watch.

The relationship between Yu Luocha and Wang Lianhua had reached a delicate balance during the days when Yan Hongyin was away. Though they still found each other irritating, the likelihood of them coming to blows had diminished significantly—out of respect for Yu Luocha’s responsibility for cooking, Wang Lianhua had ceased his habit of randomly slipping medicinal powders into Yu Luocha’s food.

A breeze blew by as Yan Hongyin looked at the three kids huddled together outside. After pondering for a moment, she asked Wang Lianhua, “Has Lu Xiaofeng learned horseback riding and archery?”

Wang Lianhua made a pained expression. “Learning to ride a horse is enough. Why would he need archery? It’s not as if he’s going to take the military exam for a scholarly title.”

Yu Luocha understood Yan Hongyin’s meaning to some extent. After all, Hua Manlou was the little master of the Hua family, and since Yan Hongyin had taken him under her wing, she naturally wanted to educate him properly. Given that Ah Xue was now being raised in their household, he too needed to learn the necessary skills. In any case, whether herding two or three kids, it made little difference. Lu Xiaofeng was a clever and likable youngster, so he might as well join them.

It must be said that apart from horseback riding and archery, Lu Xiaofeng was the quickest learner. However, this little fellow was also the most mischievous. He was quite diligent when it came to reading and writing, but when it came to etiquette, music, and artistic skills, he simply couldn’t sit still, as if his backside was covered in thorns.

“There’s still some distance to Luoyang. Let’s buy three horses at the next post station,” said Wang Lianhua.

For this journey, Yan Hongyin hadn’t brought many belongings, preferring to travel light. But no matter how spacious the carriage was, it was still somewhat cramped for three adults.

Yu Luocha shifted his body closer to Yan Hongyin, completely ignoring the daggers being stared at him by his father-in-law from behind.

Yan Hongyin sometimes felt that she wasn’t traveling with three kids, but with five, two of whom seemed even younger than Hua Manlou, the youngest of the actual children.

“That little fellow called Ah Lou has excellent aptitude,” said Wang Lianhua, turning his face away to avoid looking at the smug Yu Luocha. “His Flowing Cloud Flying Sleeve technique is coming along nicely. Given time, he should be able to develop some innovations.”

The Flowing Cloud Flying Sleeve technique that came from Wang Lianhua had evolved beyond a mere movement technique, though its other applications would have to wait until Hua Manlou was older to fully comprehend.

“Ah Xue is well-suited for sword practice,” Yan Hongyin said.

After returning from Jinling City, she had begun to check what Ximen Chuixue had learned from Wang Lianhua during those few days.

She discovered that, unlike Hua Manlou and Lu Xiaofeng, Ximen Chuixue hadn’t learned any martial arts skills from Wang Lianhua.

He had only asked about medical techniques and poison lore. The rest of the time, he had simply followed Yan Hongyin’s instructions from before she left: rising before dawn to practice one thousand sword strokes, studying books and calligraphy during the day, and even burning incense and playing the zither. The entire person seemed to have suddenly become calm.

Wang Lianhua closed his eyes and said languidly, “Good bamboo shoots can grow from bad bamboo.”

Yu Luocha, who was Ximen Chuixue’s uncle, was inexplicably insulted by this comment.

His pinky finger secretly hooked onto Yan Hongyin’s finger, with his eyes clearly saying, “Look at him, just look at him!”

Yan Hongyin: “……”

She suddenly felt that the saying “two tigers cannot share the same mountain” was apt, and that the wall separating their two residences at home was indeed necessary.

Compared to Hua Manlou and Ximen Chuixue, Lu Xiaofeng, who had been raised as Wang Lianhua’s disciple, had learned a much more diverse range of skills. At first glance, they seemed somewhat disorganized and lacking in system, but Wang Lianhua himself was the person in the world who best understood how to incorporate techniques from hundreds of martial arts schools into one body. He naturally had his own ideas about how to teach his disciple.

After all, even a large portion of what Yan Hongyin knew originated from Wang Lianhua.

“What’s the point of raising a boy to be so refined? In another two years, I’ll be kicking that lad out to make his own living. At that time, he can decide for himself what martial arts he wants to practice,” said Wang Lianhua, not seeing any problem with his statement at all. He then brought up another matter, “By the way, is Li Garden still in Luoyang?”

Yan Hongyin: “Li Xunhuan’s Li?”

Wang Lianhua made an affirmative sound and continued, “Before I went overseas, I gave the ‘Lianhua Treasure Mirror’ to Li Xunhuan’s fiancée. Since we’re going to Luoyang this time, let’s go see what has become of my ‘Lianhua Treasure Mirror’.”

Yan Hongyin knew about the “Lianhua Treasure Mirror.” That book reportedly contained all of Wang Lianhua’s lifetime of knowledge. It included not only martial arts techniques and internal energy cultivation methods, but also poison craft, disguise techniques, Gu control, and the mind-control arts that once struck fear in the martial arts world.

—At least that’s what the rumors said.

“You even had the interest to write a book?” Yu Luocha turned his face with curiosity. “Really?”

Wang Lianhua didn’t seem like the type of person who would regret not having disciples to pass on his legacy when he got older.

And look at that name—”Lianhua Treasure Mirror”—as if he was afraid people wouldn’t know it was written by Wang Lianhua.

As someone cut from the same cloth, Yu Luocha could swear on his face that this man definitely didn’t have good intentions!

Wang Lianhua cleared his throat lightly, glanced at Yan Hongyin, and defended himself in a low voice. “The Central Plains martial arts world was too peaceful, which wasn’t conducive to the growth of the younger generation…”

So even though you’d gone overseas, you still wanted to cause chaos in the Central Plains martial arts world?

Yan Hongyin’s expression clearly showed disapproval.

Wang Lianhua avoided the main issue. “Besides, I gave the ‘Lianhua Treasure Mirror’ to Li Xunhuan, who was a young hero in the martial arts world at that time.”

Although the Imperial Brocade Guards did not intervene in martial arts affairs, Yan Hongyin knew many secrets. She said, “Li Xunhuan doesn’t seem to have practiced the ‘Lianhua Treasure Mirror’.”

Wang Lianhua’s medical skills were well-known throughout the world. If Li Xunhuan had truly read the “Lianhua Treasure Mirror,” how could he have been deceived by someone like Long Xiaoyun pretending to be ill, resulting in the loss of his wife and mansion? And how could he still be suffering from a chronic illness to this day?

Wang Lianhua fell silent for a moment, his gaze wandering. “…I left in a hurry at that time. Li Xunhuan wasn’t at Li Garden, so I gave it to his fiancée.”

“Oh, let me guess,” Yu Luocha leaned on the low table in the carriage and said lazily. “This fiancée didn’t give the ‘Lianhua Treasure Mirror’ to Li Xunhuan?”

The answer came not from Wang Lianhua, who had gone overseas, but from Yan Hongyin.

Yan Hongyin knew the affairs of Li Garden very clearly, not because of Li Xunhuan, but because of his brilliant yet sickly older brother who died young. The Li family had produced three top scholars in one generation; apart from Li Xunhuan, the other two served as officials in the court.

“Lin Shiyin came from a scholarly family. After her family met with misfortune, she was raised in the Li family. From a young age, she was educated in zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, etiquette, music, tea, and flower arrangement. Her every movement was that of a well-bred lady. She was originally groomed by the elder Li to be a proper wife for his once mischievous younger son.”

“Such a young lady was naturally delicate and sensitive. She only hoped that Li Xunhuan would follow in the footsteps of the Li family patriarch and his older brother by entering the court as an official. She did not want her husband to practice martial arts and immerse himself in the martial arts world. So if she received the ‘Lianhua Treasure Mirror,’ she probably wouldn’t have given it to Li Xunhuan.”

Wang Lianhua curled the corner of his mouth.

He had only met Lin Shiyin once, but in that one glance, he had seen the rift between Lin Shiyin and Li Xunhuan. That was why he had given the “Lianhua Treasure Mirror” to Lin Shiyin, claiming it was meant for Li Xunhuan.

However, unfortunately…

“I waited for a long time but never heard any rumors about the ‘Lianhua Treasure Mirror’ in the martial arts world,” Wang Lianhua said with a hint of regret in his voice.

Yan Hongyin gave him a somewhat sympathetic look. “Didn’t you check on news from Li Garden afterward?”

Wang Lianhua didn’t even raise his eyes. “How can one cheat in a game?”

That’s what he said, but the truth was that he simply didn’t have the time.

During the period after his return from overseas, all his attention had been focused on the mother-daughter pair of Yan Liluo and Yan Hongyin. After transferring the poison from Yan Hongyin’s body into his own, Wang Lianhua discovered that due to the medicinal properties of the Snow Lotus from the Tian Mountain and the thousand-year-old Snow Ginseng, the poison had transformed from a fierce toxin into a cold yin poison. In order to refine and neutralize this poison within his body, Wang Lianhua had not stepped foot outside Lin’an Prefecture for three whole years.

“Lin Shiyin didn’t marry Li Xunhuan. She gave birth to a child with very ordinary martial arts talent,” Yan Hongyin said. “Clearly, that child found it extremely difficult to comprehend the ‘Lianhua Treasure Mirror’.”

Wang Lianhua: “……”

“And just this morning, I received news. Lin Shiyin’s son, Long Xiaoyun, has disappeared in the same manner as the women and children in those missing person cases.”

Yu Luocha suddenly raised his hand, showing interest. “Since this is a case of missing women and children, why don’t we split into two groups to investigate?”

Yan Hongyin raised an eyebrow.

Wang Lianhua sat up, narrowing his eyes, “What shall we bet on?”

“Let’s bet…”

Before Yu Luocha could finish, Yan Hongyin cut off what would likely have been another confrontation between the two, and made a decisive judgment. “We’ll investigate the disappearances of women, and let the three children investigate the missing children.”

“They’re at an age where they should be sent out to see the world.”

The carriage suddenly became unstable, as if the wheel had gotten stuck in something. It came to a stop amid the painful neighing of the horses.

Outside the carriage, the three kids who had been eavesdropping on the adults’ conversation had accidentally driven the carriage into a pit. “……”

Having known all along that the three curious kids were eavesdropping on the adults’ identities outside, Yan Hongyin and the other two got off the carriage. They looked at the wheel stuck in the deep pit, then at the three kids standing in a row with their heads lowered, showing a good attitude in admitting their mistake.

“Luoyang City is not far ahead. From now on, you three will work together to investigate what’s behind the disappearances of children in Luoyang City. Can you do that?” Yan Hongyin walked up to the three children and crouched down.

Entrusted with such an important task, the three children quickly nodded. Even the normally calm and composed Ximen Chuixue couldn’t help but have a glint in his eyes, not to mention the excitement written all over Lu Xiaofeng’s face.

Seeing this, Yan Hongyin held up three fingers. “Then let’s set three rules:

First, you cannot reveal the names or identities of us three adults.

Second, your own safety comes first in everything you do.

Third, regarding the mastermind behind this, you may only investigate, not approach.

Understood?”

The three children nodded immediately.

Yan Hongyin addressed Hua Manlou, the most obedient and steady of the three. “Ah Lou, promise Aunt Yan that you’ll look after your big brother and your friend, all right?”

Ah Lou blinked and obediently replied, “Yes!”

….

Left behind with the carriage and silver, the three kids watched the adults’ figures disappear. Hua Manlou whispered in amazement, “So this is what the Three Rules of Agreement are!”

“Hmm?” Ximen Chuixue heard that there was more to Hua Manlou’s words and tilted his head in confusion.

Hua Manlou secretly pulled out a reddish piece of paper from his pocket, opened it, and handed it to Ximen Chuixue. “I found this under a vase at home. The ink on the back is a bit faint and I couldn’t make it out, but the characters on the front seem to be the Three Rules of Agreement…?”

Lu Xiaofeng’s little head also leaned in, reading the contents of the paper word by word. “Three Rules of Agreement… Hmm? There’s another line of small text below?”

The characters were indeed very small. Lu Xiaofeng clung to Ximen Chuixue’s arm, bringing his entire face close to the paper before he could see clearly. “…the Yan family… house rules?”

“Your family even has house rules?!” The freely raised little phoenix looked at his two companions in horror.

Hua Manlou: “……”

Ximen Chuixue: “……”

Did they… have such a thing?