Clouds and Moon Shadow

Chapter 48 Clues

Manager Zhang frowned. "It should be that person. However, he was dressed differently yesterday than the previous times he came. He was wearing armor yesterday, like a soldier."

"A soldier?" Gu Qingyue asked suspiciously.

After thinking for a moment, Gu Qingyue asked, "Did they mention a time and place?"

Shopkeeper Zhang stroked his small mustache. "I didn't have time to tell him, and I didn't even have time to tell him your name and address, before he was called away. I was in a great hurry."

Gu Qingyue became even more suspicious.

Who is this person?

It seems we need to investigate which group the soldiers in the city belonged to yesterday. However, Gu Qingyue thinks it's very likely that they were soldiers from Liquan Pass. Wasn't it said that the Nanzhao people were wiped out by the soldiers of Liquan Pass? Maybe they were one of those soldiers.

Thinking of this, Gu Qingyue couldn't sit still any longer.

She instructed Manager Zhang to send any news immediately, and then hurried off to the county government office.

She wanted to find Mu Bei to see if he knew which country the soldiers who entered the city yesterday belonged to.

As it turned out, both unexpectedly and predictably, there was no such person as Mu Bei in the county government office.

Gu Qingyue described the figure and appearance of the 'yamen runner' Mu Bei for a long time, but the yamen runners at the county government office were all dumbfounded, as they had never seen the person she was talking about before.

She had no choice but to ask if anyone knew where the soldiers who entered the city yesterday came from, and she made up a reason why she had to meet them to thank them. However, the constables were as tight-lipped as clams, and no amount of money could get her to open their mouths.

Gu Qingyue had no choice but to slump back to the inn. She should have just asked Mu Bei who he was and where he lived. She guessed for so long but was still wrong. Sigh, what a pig brain.

What Gu Qingyue didn't know was that even if Mu Bei were an official from the Liquan County government, he might not be able to enter the military camp at Liquan Pass. She saw Mu Bei simply wave the token in his hand and lead her in smoothly. This was because she didn't know that in ancient times, local government offices and garrisons were under the jurisdiction of different superiors, and it was absolutely impossible for an official to enter the military camp at will.

Back at the inn, seeing the young boys gathered around waiting for her to have dinner together, Gu Qingyue's suppressed emotions immediately eased. "Oh well," she thought, "I'll ask Mu Bei when I have the chance; there's no rush."

Looking at the expectant boys in front of her, Gu Qingyue raised her hand and patted their little heads. Although the children were young, they were very clever. These past few days, they had been busy in the secret passage, taking care of the immobile Sect Master Liu, just because Gu Qingyue said that this was her master, who was seriously injured.

If these children are properly trained, they should be able to become her helpers in the future, Gu Qingyue pondered.

Suddenly, the furry head in my hand disappeared, replaced by an even furryer head.

Gu Qingyue looked up and saw Xiao Nian leaning its head next to Xiao Xiao with a resentful expression, as if to say, "You actually like another dog." Gu Qingyue burst out laughing, and the tension and depression she had been feeling for the past few days suddenly vanished.

Gu Qingyue felt a sense of relief after giving her subordinate's head a good pat and pinching Xiao Nian's smooth, soft cheeks.

"It hurts, brother is naughty," Xiao Nian pouted and acted coquettishly towards Gu Qingyue.

Gu Qingyue said awkwardly, "I didn't mean to, your face just accidentally ended up in my hands." It's quite amusing to bully a child like this.

"Then you can massage me a little more, but you have to promise me one thing," Xiao Nian said, her big eyes darting around. "I want to learn martial arts. Brother, teach me. I also want a master." Her brother already has a master, so she needs one too. Otherwise, how will she protect her brother in the future?

Ha! Gu Qingyue knew that the little guy's initiative in coming over to let her rub his head was definitely not that simple.

With that serious little face and that sweet little voice, who wouldn't be confused?

“Okay, you can learn martial arts, but not from your brother. How about I find you a more powerful master?” Gu Qingyue immediately agreed.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Nian blinked her big eyes and nodded, "I want the most powerful one! When I become a master, I will protect my brother."

Gu Qingyue patted his little head, feeling a little sore in her eyes.

Last night, she discussed it with her master, Sect Leader Liu, and Rong Qingqing. From now on, these children will all learn martial arts from Sect Leader Liu and have the ability to protect themselves. This will give them a greater chance of protecting themselves in this chaotic world.

Master and the three senior brothers of the Dharma Protector Hall also tested the aptitude of the young men. They were all good candidates for martial arts, which made everyone very happy. Although some of the children were a little older, Willow Leaf Manor had its own methods to help the young men make up for this shortcoming.

"We'll start early the day after tomorrow," Gu Qingyue said, pulling Xiao Nian into her arms. Looking at the expectant eyes at the table, she quickly picked up on the important things.

"Ahhh, this is great..."

"That's awesome! I want to be a hero!"

"I want to fight those southern barbarians!"

"I want to help my fellow villagers get their things back!"

"・・・"

Gu Qingyue was instantly overwhelmed by the shouts of the teenagers.

She looked around and found that Rong Qingqing and the Wen brothers were not there. Taking advantage of the moment when the boys were cheering, she picked up Xiao Nian and quickly walked towards the back hall.

Upon entering, they found Rong Qingqing and Wen Qinghong standing outside Wen Qinglan's door, looking utterly helpless.

"What's wrong?" Gu Qingyue stepped forward.

Rong Qingqing turned around and gave Gu Qingyue a wink, and Gu Qingyue immediately understood.

"Let's sit under the tree," Gu Qingyue called out to the two of them.

After the three of them sat down at the stone table under the tree, Rong Qingqing said, "Xiao Qinghong, tell me, what's going on?"

Gu Qingyue looked up at Wen Qinghong.

“We saw recruitment notices outside the city at noon today, so we went over to ask,” Wen Qinghong paused, looking sad, “They wouldn’t accept us, saying we were too young.”

"Later, Qinglan was unconvinced and even sparred with the recruiter, but she lost." After saying this, she lowered her head, buried her face in her hands, looking a little unwilling and a little aggrieved.

Gu Qingyue understood. The two brothers were definitely unhappy that they didn't become soldiers, but losing to others might be even more upsetting.

After all, according to Wen Qinghong, they had been practicing martial arts at home all along. It was indeed hard to accept that their burning desire for revenge had been extinguished by reality.

Gu Qingyue raised her hand and patted Wen Qinghong's shoulder: "A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years. You are still young. It is more important to learn your skills first. You will definitely have a chance to take revenge in the future!"

The boy looked up and saw Gu Qingyue's encouraging gaze. The gloom in his heart dissipated a little. "I'm going to find Xiao Lan," he said, then stood up and walked towards Wen Qinglan's room.

Watching Wen Qinghong's retreating figure, Rong Qingqing asked Gu Qingyue, "What did Manager Zhang say to you? Did you make any progress on the person you were looking for?"

Gu Qingyue shook her head: "There's a little bit of progress, but... never mind, we'll talk about it when we get more news."

As she spoke, she played with Xiao Nian's little hand, and then thought of the current situation in Liquan County, "Sister Rong, should the inn continue to operate? I think the situation is not very optimistic."

Rong Qingqing picked up the teapot on the table, poured herself a cup, took a big gulp, and then sighed, "I thought I could finally settle down, but things didn't go as planned. I was naive."

This morning, she was surprised to see Manager Liu of the Liufu Inn loading his luggage onto a carriage and leaving. She thought it was just a normal outing, but in the afternoon she found that the Liufu Inn was closed and the staff had also left with their belongings.

This relieved her tension, and she hoped that the scheming Manager Liu would never come back. But then she thought, wait a minute, does the departure of the Liufu Inn, which had been open for more than ten years, mean that Liquan County is also doomed?

She started to panic, and the panic lasted all afternoon and into the evening.