Chapter 20: Truly Blessed by the Mountain God’s Protection

"Hmph!" The crowd drew in a breath of indignation, but cowed by the soldiers gripping blades and spears, they dared not lash out. Yet, the fury was gathering strength.

Xu Qi scoffed, setting down the ladle, a flicker of disappointment crossing her eyes. "So, Gui Niang was telling the truth. You tricked the girls out of the village; they weren't being married into good families at all, were they? You sold them, which is why not a single one ever returned to visit their kin, isn't that so?"

A cold wind swept through the withered trees. The torches crackled, illuminating the wretched, sagging form of the witch tied to the post.

She nodded weakly.

A sharp, piercing cry erupted from the direction of Gui Niang, acting as the spark that ignited the crowd—

"Wicked woman!" "Sorceress!" "Oh! You actually... my child!" "Beat her to death! Beat her to death!" The people in the torchlight seemed to have put on new faces; like demons possessed, they looked hideous and terrifying. They shoved against the circle formed by the soldiers, like a raging flood threatening to burst its banks and surge forward!

"Silence! Men, stand your ground!" Tan Jiuding unsheathed his blade with a sharp clang and roared, "I am an Imperial Censor acting under royal decree. Anyone who dares to clamor or obstruct shall be dealt with for defying the Emperor!"

"Yes!" The soldiers drew their weapons in response, their shouts shaking the heavens. Once again, the public fury was forced back.

Xu Qi’s sharp questioning came with the frost-laden wind: "What about the five women who committed suicide one after another? Was that your doing too? Because they refused to listen to your orders to 'get married,' you killed them?"

"No, no, no!" Mother Chun shook her head violently. "I didn't... I truly didn't... I was just as baffled, and I couldn't sleep all night because of it... I was afraid there really were evil spirits..."

"Save it!"

Xu Qi pressed close to Mother Chun, grabbing her hair to force her head up, showing no mercy. "And what about Zhiwei? The woman you locked in the secret chamber and then hid inside the dowry—where was she taken?"

The witch’s eyes were filled with tears, her teeth chattering, occasionally biting her own tongue. "I... I don't know... They just told me to hide her and make her weave..."

"Weave?"

The word suddenly reminded Xu Qi of that scrap of five-colored brocade. She immediately called over Tan Jiuding and thrust the fragment in front of Mother Chun to confront her. "Even a master weaver could never produce this kind of cloth alone, let alone a woman with no experience in using a shuttle! Tell the truth!"

Mother Chun nodded and shook her head simultaneously, looking as if she might pass out at any moment. "They brought it... they brought the whole bolt of cloth... they said it had flaws and told the girl to use the Su embroidery technique of splitting threads to repair it... I don't know anything else..."

Xu Qi gasped and slapped her hard to bring her to her senses. "Who are they?!"

"...I really don't know. I was threatened by them. They said they would expose the secret of the Divine Water, so I had no choice..."

How dare this witch pretend to be an innocent victim? Xu Qi wanted to beat her to death on the spot! Her hand was raised, but Tan Jiuding intercepted her. He stepped in, gave her a reassuring look, and turned to ask Mother Chun: "Have you seen a boatman of my height, usually with his sleeves rolled halfway up?"

Mother Chun finally showed a reaction, nodding repeatedly. Tan Jiuding described Wang Cheng’s appearance, and she confirmed that as well.

He then had her describe others, but the results were vague, and she could not match them to any of the suspicious characters they had encountered. It wasn't until she suddenly said: "A few of them knew martial arts... very skilled, but they didn't look like ordinary wanderers... rather, they looked like..."

Xu Qi and Tan Jiuding followed Mother Chun's gaze, which eventually landed on the soldiers surrounding them. The two looked at each other in astonishment.

"You mean they are of military household origin?"

"...I, I don't know, I just felt that way... My Lord, please don't kill me, every word I say is the truth..."

Military households, cannons, five-colored brocade—these three things together were no good omen.

No matter how they pressed her, Mother Chun could say nothing more.

"What about the girls you sold? Do you know where they are? Is there a list?"

Mother Chun shook her head in despair once more, trembling like a leaf as she confessed: "I really don't know. They only told me to pick unmarried girls from the village who were clever with needlework... They never told me the reason or the destination... They would choose an auspicious day, have the bridal sedan chair taken onto a boat... and after that, I knew nothing..."

"...I'm so cold... I'm really so cold, please, my Lord... I don't want to die..."

"Why weren't you afraid of death when you were harming others for your own selfish desires?"

"This humble woman knows she was wrong... please, my Lord, spare my life... I... I am willing to atone for my crimes... if they come again..."

"There will be no next time." Xu Qi’s face was colder than the river water. "Do you think the fishing boats blown up on the river were the only things they destroyed? They are ruthless even to their own kind; what makes you think they would spare you after you've served your purpose?"

These words acted like a guillotine blade falling on Mother Chun's neck. She choked as if her soul had been ripped away, then bowed her head in despair, her breath fading away.

After the interrogation, although it seemed there were gains, the trail had effectively gone cold.

Xu Qi could not help but feel anxious and worried—the reason Zhou Zhiwei was abducted was even more dangerous than she had imagined. Just the task of repairing the five-colored brocade alone: if Zhiwei actually completed it according to their demands, could she possibly be allowed to live? It was impossible.

But if she refused to cooperate, death would surely follow as well.

Time waited for no one. The longer it took to find Zhiwei, the closer she drew to her demise...

Whether it was the chill on her skin or the chill in her heart, she began to tremble. A large hand rested on her shoulder, as warm as the morning sun.

"Don't worry," the man always seemed to be able to read her thoughts. "At the very least, Wang Cheng was not a man without ties; he was involved in this. Even if he is dead, there must be traces to follow. Let us return to Suzhou first..."

"My Lord, this witch seems to have stopped breathing," a soldier reported.

The two turned back to look at the witch drooping lifelessly against the tree trunk. By the light of the torches, they saw her eyes were wide and vacant, her pupils already dilated.

They both let out a sigh—using the withered tree to harm others, only to die on the same tree, pleading for mercy while scaring herself to death.

"...Perhaps the Mountain God really was watching," Tan Jiuding scoffed, gesturing for the soldiers to take her down.

With the soldiers no longer holding them back, the villagers unleashed their long-pent-up fury. Like a swarm of insects drawn to a target, they surged forward and instantly engulfed Mother Chun's corpse...

In the distance, the sky began to brighten, yet there remained shadows that could never be illuminated.

Wrapped in the first layer of morning frost, Xu Qi finally returned to Suzhou City.

Tan Jiuding escorted her personally to the Xu residence and explained the circumstances to her uncle, sparing her from family punishment and the cold mockery of her cousins.

Afterward, the man turned and left without a moment's delay, citing "a mountain of cases requiring immediate report to the Surveillance Commission." His back was swallowed by the wind in the alley, his stride long and light, vanishing in an instant. Xu Qi even forgot to remind him to see a physician.

"Well, no matter. We shall meet again."

With that thought, she collapsed into her bed, entangled in nightmares and exhaustion, and fell into a deep, heavy slumber.

When she woke up, a letter from home, sent from the capital, was waiting for her.