Chapter 3: The Bloodied Warning

“Investigate together?”

At first, Xu Qi felt pleasantly surprised, but she quickly realized this man must have ulterior motives.

“Why?”

“Reluctant?”

“It’s not that I’m unwilling, but I don’t want to be a pawn for Cheng Qi.”

Tan Jiuding chuckled softly, his laughter growing.

He pondered for a moment, then took a couple of exaggerated steps forward and said, “Miss Xu, standing up for a friend is kindness; advising her family to keep the disappearance a secret and using a marriage proposal as bait to catch the thief shows cleverness; risking yourself to marry on behalf of another to capture the culprit is bravery; and designing such an exquisite crossbow bolt for defense is skillful craft.”

“Now that I’ve said this, do you understand, Miss Xu?”

“…I understand. You’re trying every trick in the book to trick me back to the capital to report.”

“Ha ha ha ha.”

Xu Qi immediately saw through his ploy, prompting his uncontrollable laughter.

She ignored him and crossed her arms, thinking carefully.

This man had said he was ordered to investigate a string of disappearances of young women. Given that, it seemed Zhiwei’s disappearance wasn’t the only one. He must have discovered some clue that brought him to Suzhou. It was no coincidence that she ran into him—it might not be a cruel joke of fate but rather a chance fate had offered her.

As long as she could find Zhiwei, she wouldn’t fear giving her life. What was there to fear about an engagement?

She struck her palm. “Alright, I’ll go with you. When do we leave?”

Tan Jiuding wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, but his mouth never drooped. “Miss, you’re quite straightforward, aren’t you?”

“I just want to find Zhiwei.”

“Heh, rather than set a date, let’s leave immediately.”

“Fine, I’ll pack my things. Sir Xiantai…”

“No rush to leave the city,” Tan Jiuding stopped her as she turned to leave. “We start from where Miss Zhou disappeared—the Zhou residence.”

“…But didn’t you just say Zhiwei wasn’t in Suzhou?”

“Cause follows effect. I’ll explain the reason on the way.”

Two people, one small boat.

Leaving the old Xu family estate, her uncle seemed to have already treated her as water spilled and not worth retrieving—he paid no heed to the impropriety of an unmarried man and woman, even waving cheerfully to see her off. It seemed he couldn’t wait for her to be taken back to the capital.

Thinking about it, it saved her from having to find an excuse.

Xu Qi calmly accepted the situation and immediately began questioning Tan Jiuding about the details of the disappearance case once aboard.

“Zhiwei’s embroidery skills are indeed superb, but you say she was abducted because of this? Why?”

“It’s only a hypothesis for now.” Tan Jiuding closed his eyes as if dozing, swaying gently with the boat, looking quite comfortable, but his words were sharp. “Among the young women missing in the jade maiden disappearance cases I’ve investigated, many were skilled embroiderers, aged between fourteen and twenty, suddenly kidnapped before marriage with their fate unknown. Being skilled in needlework may not be the only common link, but it’s certainly no coincidence.”

“How many have disappeared under your jurisdiction in Southern Zhili?”

Tan Jiuding lazily opened one eye to glance at her, then closed it again. “More than you imagine.”

He seemed unwilling to disclose details.

Xu Qi was surprised. Such a major case was unfolding outside, and she had known nothing. Her year of seclusion in Suzhou had kept her too sheltered.

Had she known other respectable young women were also being abducted, her plan to lure the snake out would have been more thorough—she wouldn’t have risked going alone or caused a misunderstanding with Tan Jiuding.

Lowering her brows, she sighed, “So what happens next?”

“What do you propose, Miss?”

“…Honestly, nothing. When Zhiwei was taken at the Zhou residence, the thieves came and left like the wind, well-coordinated, leaving no useful clues.”

“No witnesses?”

“There was one, a maid named Mingliu, but she was knocked unconscious during the incident and only woke afterward. She said two burly men broke in.”

“What about others? Did anyone else see the two men?”

Xu Qi shook her head, knowing the doubt in Tan Jiuding’s mind. “I thought it strange too. The Zhou residence isn’t a grand estate, but for two men to sneak in and take Zhiwei away should have been witnessed by more than just one maid. If only one saw them, their martial skills must be exceptional.”

“Heh, no matter how exceptional, they’d still leave clues.”

“Do you suspect Mingliu lied?”

“Tan Jiuding.”

“Huh?”

“Calling me ‘Sir Xiantai’ sounds rather formal. Just call me Tan Jiuding.”

Xu Qi glanced at him and gave a faint snort, thinking about who had shown authority yesterday. “‘Miss Xu’ also sounds odd. Just call me Xu Qi.”

The man, pretending to nap, seemed to hear her thoughts and chuckled softly.

“Alright, Xu Qi, how long has Mingliu worked with Miss Zhou?”

“We haven’t discussed specifics, but Zhiwei once said Mingliu was an orphan she found during a temple visit. They had a good rapport and seemed like sisters, so it must have been a while.”

“How is Miss Zhou’s character? Any known enemies of the Zhou family from your perspective?”

Xu Qi shook her head. “Zhiwei is the purest-hearted person I’ve ever met. Though we both studied Su embroidery under the same master, her skills already surpass mine—especially in goldwork embroidery, where even our teacher admitted she was inferior. I can tell she devoted herself wholeheartedly to her craft and would never cause trouble.”

She cast a meaningful glance at Tan Jiuding and continued, “The shopkeeper Zhou feared the Weaving and Dyeing Bureau would recruit her, making her a registered worker, so at first he disliked her associating closely with me. After all, my uncle is an official in the weaving department, overseeing workers and audits.”

“Heh, I’m also a government man. You’re quite frank.”

“There’s no need to hide anything about the case. It’s an accepted truth that being registered is akin to losing freedom—it’s no different from forced labor. Good families won’t allow their daughters to be tied up like this, nor are their descendants allowed to study or take imperial exams. For poor families, it may be a stable government position, but for families like the Zhous, they’d rather hide their daughters or destroy their embroidery than have the government come knocking.”

“I don’t know much about shopkeeper Zhou, only that he runs a fabric store called the Five Colors Shop. There might be some business disputes, but the Zhou family is known for charity and is unlikely to have enemies.”

“At first, I wondered why such a family would attract bandits. Hearing it’s a series of cases, it makes sense. Zhiwei was perhaps just an unfortunate victim.”

Tan Jiuding dragged out his words like a dream. “Hmm, really just bad luck?”

“Isn’t it?” Xu Qi was about to ask more when suddenly the black canopy boat jolted, the hull shaking.

Outside, the boatman cried out in alarm, nearly falling into the water.

Tan Jiuding’s eyes snapped open like a startled bird. He leapt out of the cabin, looking around frantically for something.

Xu Qi was puzzled and about to follow when he barked, “Stay inside and don’t move!”

“…What’s going on?”

Unable to find anything, Tan Jiuding hissed through clenched teeth, his wrist trembling as he pulled something off the canopy with a “pop,” then instructed the boatman to keep rowing and returned to the cabin.

Only then did Xu Qi see what he held—

A bundle of withered lotus stalks soaked in some dark liquid, pierced through with an arrowhead, the fresh red drops still dripping down!

The metallic scent hit her nose, still warm.

Even without knowing the ways of the martial world, Xu Qi knew they had been “warned.”

Lotus flowers and leaves are commonly used in rituals to the river gods.

“Hmph, withered lotus, death of the person, water burial in the same bed,” Tan Jiuding echoed the phrase she was thinking.

He sneered, “Quite poetic.”

Poetic? Xu Qi thought bitterly. That arrow had enough force to pierce the canopy. Someone was threatening to sink both of them to the riverbed.

Seeing her pale face, Tan Jiuding deliberately waved the “bloody withered lotus” before her, flicking off a few drops of blood, teasing, “Afraid?”

Xu Qi refused to give him the satisfaction. Gritting her teeth, she steeled her resolve. “Not afraid. This is actually a good sign.”

“Oh? How so?” Tan Jiuding smirked, eager to watch her reaction.

“Being threatened means we’re on the right track, not off course. The thieves are hit where it hurts and are reacting. Whenever they act, they’re likely to make mistakes. This is a good opportunity.”

“Ha ha ha ha!”

Tan Jiuding laughed heartily, as if the entire episode had been a prank. When he finished, he regarded Xu Qi with interest and said something suggestive: “Miss, you’re truly remarkable.”

But he quickly moved on lightly, returning to the matter at hand. “Exactly. As long as they move, they’ll leave a trace. Looks like we have to visit the Zhou residence no matter what.”