A master of metaphysics is farming.

Chapter 105 Something happened

Having escaped assassination attempts and soul-summoning attempts during the night, they finally arrived in the town and found the only inn. They put aside all the questions they had asked He Lian and went straight to bed.

She didn't wake up until the afternoon. Jinghua Shuiyue sat by the bed with a worried look on her face. She was relieved to see that she was awake.

"Master, you've been sleeping for too long! You scared me to death!"

Xiang He yawned and sat up. "It's only been half a day, but I'm exhausted from not sleeping all night..."

Staying up late is definitely not good; I feel even more tired when I sleep during the day.

Jinghua brought over warm water for rinsing your mouth. "Daoist Master, the Master came by earlier and said that you should go downstairs when you wake up. He ordered meat and vegetables downstairs."

"Oh……"

Xiang He rinsed her mouth, washed her face, and dressed neatly before going downstairs. On the first floor of the inn, besides He Sui'an's table, there were several other tables occupied by young people.

After walking a few steps to the table and sitting down, Xiang He covered her mouth and couldn't help but yawn. "Why are you up so early? Where are Xing Ji and the others?"

"Let's go for a walk."

"Oh," Xiang He picked up her chopsticks and ate some food, "Are they also students taking the imperial examination?"

"Mostly."

Xiang He glanced at the group of people; they were all dressed like scholars, wearing Confucian hats, completely different from He Suian's attire.

"So many students taking the imperial examination every three years?"

“You’ll see even more when you go to the capital.”

A scholar at the next table peeked out curiously, "Are you two also students taking the imperial examination?"

Xiang He held up her index finger. "Only him." After saying that, she silently began to eat frantically again.

The student glanced at He Suian and nodded in a friendly manner. "May I ask your honorable surname, sir? My name is Qi Xin, from Yuanshan County."

"My surname is He, and I come from Shuiyun City."

"Young Master He," Qi Xin pulled the bench closer, his gaze falling on Xiang He, "Is this Young Master He's wife?"

"Cough, cough!" Xiang He choked on a mouthful of tea, turned his head and coughed lightly several times before finally calming down.

He waved his hands repeatedly, "Young Master Qi, we are just friends."

This misunderstanding had escalated significantly. Qi Xin blushed and clasped his hands in apology, "I'm sorry, I misspoke..."

He Sui'an handed her a handkerchief. "It's alright. How long has Young Master Qi been here?"

"You two have been here for two days. Did you arrive this morning?"

"Exactly."

His eyes lit up instantly. He looked around a few times, then leaned closer. "Then, when you passed by the main road last night, did you... hear anything?"

Xiang He, who was engrossed in eating, looked up and He Sui'an smiled, his eyes slightly narrowed. "I did hear some singing. Who could be singing so late at night? Does Young Master Qi know?"

When this was mentioned, Qi Xin immediately perked up, and the other two students sitting with him also struck up a conversation out of curiosity.

"We heard it when we passed by the night before last, but it wasn't very clear. We haven't heard it since we came to this town last night. Did you two hear the whole thing?"

"It's not very clear, just a humming tune."

Seeing the lively conversation, students from the other two tables came over. Some of them had indeed overheard it, while others were just curious.

Just then, the innkeeper brought over the dishes and, upon hearing their conversation, hurriedly stopped them, saying, "You students really shouldn't talk about this!"

Raising an eyebrow slightly, Xiang He patted her belly after eating, "Why?"

The shopkeeper looked mysterious, his eyes filled with apprehension. "This matter is very strange! Don't keep bringing it up. The old folks in town all say there's something strange about it. You absolutely mustn't risk going there."

These words seemed to strike a chord with the students, who were all speechless and covered their mouths, repeatedly saying they wouldn't go.

He could tell that they just wanted to find out the truth, because the more mysterious something was, the more curious people would be.

Judging from their evasive eyes, they seem to be looking for a risk.

The shopkeeper, having lived a long life, could tell from the students' appearance that they were not the type to listen to advice. In the end, he only said a few more words, sighed, and turned to leave.

After he left, the students resumed their lively chatter. Xiang He didn't interrupt, but just looked towards the door. Xing Ji and Zhu Nan walked in, and the students looked them up and down as they walked behind He Suian.

"Young Master He, these two are... your guards?"

"Ah."

Upon receiving confirmation, Qi Xin's face flashed with joy, which he quickly concealed. "Young Master He, aren't you curious why you sang so loudly in the middle of the night?"

He Sui'an said indifferently, "The shopkeeper said it's too mysterious, everyone should give up on that idea."

Qi Xin wanted to try to persuade him a little more, but a student next to him tugged at his sleeve and gestured for him to look up. Xing Ji had a cold expression on his face, and just one look from him was enough to scare Qi Xin into silence.

Qi Xin scratched his head awkwardly, "Um, then let's not disturb Young Master He and Miss's meal. Let's go for a walk... a walk..."

They hastily left the copper coins and went out the door. Xiang He rested his chin on his hand and looked outside. "These students don't know what's good for them. It seems I'll have to keep watch again tonight..."

"You can also ignore them."

Xiang He pouted, stretched her body with her arms raised, and looked at Xing Ji, "Have you two received any good news?"

"The singing started a month ago. We haven't heard of any deaths among passersby, but some have gone missing. Even when the villagers patrolled the mountains during the day, they couldn't find any trace of them."

"Has this matter been reported to the county government?"

"The people who went missing reported to the authorities, but since no trace of them was found, it was difficult to investigate the matter thoroughly. The county magistrate could only keep a close eye on it. In addition, the Liangcheng County Magistrate was arrested, so the matter was temporarily dropped, and the people of the town could only be more vigilant."

Xiang He frowned in thought, He Suian raised his hand, and Xing Ji turned around to pay for the meal.

The two got up and walked towards the gate. The town was quite large, with many people coming and going. The students who had left earlier were on the opposite street, chatting and talking in small groups.

When they saw Xing Ji and his companion, they immediately noticed their different demeanor and wanted to recruit He Suian to join them. Having more henchmen would give them more confidence, but unfortunately, He Suian didn't want to be with them.

He Suian's gaze was also on the students. He turned his head and asked, "If they really go tonight, will you go?"

"We'll see. I came out for a walk to digest my food, and then I need to go back and catch up on my sleep."

After days of traveling, her body couldn't take it anymore, and she felt she had lost some weight.

The weight I finally gained has gone down again...

Seeing her relaxed demeanor, He Suian understood her personality; she couldn't possibly be worried about these students, so she wanted to catch up on sleep tonight so she could get things done.

He Suian smiled but said nothing, and accompanied her for a short distance. The people on the street were in a hurry, either hawking their wares or selecting goods.

The students were not far from them. Xiang He followed them leisurely for a while, but when he got bored, he turned around and headed back to the inn.

"Let's go back and catch up on some sleep. These people aren't going to cause any trouble for the time being."

Sure enough, He Sui'an smiled and turned to follow her.

-

Catching up on sleep during the day is exhausting, but not catching up on sleep is even more exhausting.

When Xiang He woke up, it was already dark. She sat up abruptly and exclaimed, "What time is it?!"

The mirror in the palm shook a few times, and a voice came from the mirror, "Master, it is already the end of the Xu hour."

"Oh no! I overslept!"

She hurriedly got up and put on her shoes. A heavy knocking came from downstairs, the sound urgent and alarming.

Xiang He had a bad feeling. Before she could even get dressed, she heard a shout from downstairs, "Help! Something's happened!"

—"Tsk!"