Shen Weimu:
“Are you annoying or what?”
Song Qiyun
“Do you have any self-control?”
If Shen Weimu were to eat himself to death because of this meal, wouldn’t Song Qiyun become an indirect murderer?
Song Qiyun ordered his attendants to clean up the leftover food and send more in the evening.
Shen Weimu clenched the chopsticks tightly in his hand, his cold gaze landing on Song Qiyun’s neck.
“Still three more exquisite dishes, not interested?”
Song Qiyun stretched out a large hand.
“What are you staring at? Give them to me.”
Shen Weimu snorted coldly and tossed the chopsticks into Song Qiyun’s hand.
The usually delicate and handsome face was darkened with a terrifying gloom.
This Shen Ersan was actually angry—over a meal.
“Why don’t you come back to my place with me?”
“Fine.”
Song Qiyun: He agreed far too quickly, and suddenly he felt a bit of regret. What was going on?
Song Qiyun’s residence was small, with three courtyards in and out, and only six servants in the household.
The furnishings inside were clean and tidy, exuding simplicity everywhere.
Only the paintings on the walls were exceptional, imbued with profound artistic conception—the work of a great master.
In the study, Shen Weimu leaned by the window, fiddling with the budding orchids on the windowsill.
Seeing this, Song Qiyun immediately ordered his bookboy to move the orchids away.
Those were the black orchids he had carefully nurtured for three years, and this was the first time they were budding this year.
Shen Weimu then sat down boredly and picked up a pear from the fruit plate to bite into, only for the pear to be taken away as well.
Shen Weimu was annoyed.
“Song Xiaoyu, what do you think you’re doing?”
Song Qiyun was bent over writing official documents but was suddenly interrupted by this familiar address.
His pen tip stabbed sharply into the neatly written half-page of small regular script.
“Who told you that?”
The man looked up abruptly, a faint vein twitching at his temple.
Shen Weimu smiled and propped his chin with his hand.
“Does it really matter who told me? Everyone already knows you’re called Xiaoyu.”
Song Qiyun took a deep breath, changed the rice paper, and said,
“Tell me who and I’ll give you extra dishes tonight.”
Shen Weimu immediately said,
“Zheng Old Man.”
Thinking that tempting him with food would make him talk?
He was too naïve.
Poor Zheng Old Man was just a scapegoat.
Song Qiyun believed him without suspicion, quickly finished writing the documents, and temporarily left, citing urgent matters.
Shen Weimu didn’t care.
After all, his real purpose in coming here was the family chef.
Whether Song Qiyun was here or not made no difference.
At sunset, the afterglow reflected off the peach blossoms blooming in the backyard, serene and upright, their fragrance faintly floating, tempting one to pluck them.
Just as his long, jade-like hand reached for a branch, a man’s voice stopped him.
Song Qiyun:
“Beiguo Zhi Tao, the best peach in Deep Prefecture. This tree is a Rui Tao I specially transplanted from Deep Prefecture. If you break off one branch, it costs at least six peaches. Are you sure you want to pick it?”
“Rui Tao? What does it taste like?”
“You’ll know when autumn comes.”
Apparently, the peaches had their place.
Shen Weimu finally withdrew his hand.
“Dinner is ready.”
Song Qiyun led Shen Weimu to the side hall, where a square wooden table stood with a copper pot on it.
The soup inside was bubbling and steaming, releasing a tempting savory aroma.
Shen Weimu sniffed and immediately recognized the soup as the one made by stewing rare mushrooms at noon.
Seeing the copper pot for the first time, Shen Weimu carefully examined its structure, looking into the fire chamber and noticing the burning red coals inside.
Song Qiyun chuckled.
“Why do you look like you’re seeing this for the first time?”
He didn’t believe that young noble Shen Ersan had never seen a copper pot before.
Shen Weimu noticed many fresh green leafy vegetables, mushrooms, tofu, and meat on the table.
Watching Song Qiyun put these ingredients into the pot to cook and then dip them in sauce, he followed suit.
After briefly rolling thin slices of lamb in the boiling pot until they changed color and dipping them in the sauce, he found them incredibly delicious!
The meat absorbed the freshness of the broth, the tenderness and fragrance of the lamb itself combined with the fresh and savory seasoning, making it irresistible.
The other vegetables and mushrooms were the same—once in the mouth, it was impossible to stop.
Song Qiyun watched Shen Weimu eat seriously, chewing each bite neatly and politely.
He smiled a little but didn’t bother him, focusing on his own meal while mulling over recent cases.
If the person who killed Sun Feiyun was a righteous martial arts expert, it might be worth making contact and recruiting him into the Jianghu Xia office.
The matter with the Mushroom Sect was strange and needed further investigation.
At Duoxiaoyao’s residence, six female corpses were unearthed, all unidentifiable.
Now they could only rely on their clothes to find family members for identification.
Hopefully, all these bodies would find their loved ones.
There were three plates piled high with hand-cut lamb on the table.
Song Qiyun only cooked two slices.
After he came back to his senses and wanted to cook two more, he found that he couldn’t pick anything up—the plate was empty!
Looking around the table, except for one piece of tofu taken from one plate, the rest were completely cleared.
Shen Weimu was currently fishing out chicken and pig stomach from the bottom of the pot.
Song Qiyun twitched at the corner of his mouth, about to say something, but seeing Shen Weimu lively after eating so much, he figured it wasn’t a big deal.
If he said more, he’d just seem petty.
Song Qiyun told the servants to bring more dishes.
As soon as the lamb arrived, Shen Weimu poured all of it into the pot.
Song Qiyun quickly picked a few pieces, but the rest he could only watch Shen Weimu fish out.
He couldn’t help but study Shen Weimu eating for a while—he really was quite refined.
He didn’t eat fast and didn’t have a big mouth, but bite after bite, he had consumed a large amount of food without realizing it.
If he hadn’t seen Shen Weimu vomit blood multiple times and heard Yuchi Feng’s diagnosis with his own ears, Song Qiyun would have suspected Shen Weimu was faking weakness again.
Perhaps influenced by Shen Weimu, Song Qiyun felt a little overfull tonight and kept wanting to burp, but he held it in to avoid embarrassment, beads of fine sweat forming on his forehead.
Meanwhile, Shen Weimu, whose appetite was several times his, remained elegant and composed without any abnormality.
When leaving, he didn’t forget to remind Song Qiyun to repay the owed delicacies as soon as possible.
“I know.”
The next day, at the Dali Temple.
After Shen Weimu left, Song Qiyun couldn’t help but sigh softly,
“Devil.”
Yuchi Feng saw Song Qiyun and smiled, asking about how the meal with Shen Ersan went the day before.
“Don’t even say he’s frail; as a normal person, I can’t even eat a tenth or twelfth of what he does,”
Song Qiyun asked Yuchi Feng if this was normal.
Yuchi Feng stroked his mustache and smiled.
“Seems he naturally has a huge appetite. This kind of thing isn’t common but not too rare either. Since ancient times, the Gui Tian Lu recorded Zhang Qixian eating more than others, especially fond of fatty pork. Fatty pork is greasier, but compared to that, Shen Weimu’s appetite is actually normal.”
“The news outside has gone crazy!”
Lu Yang came in panting, took a sip of tea, and continued.
“There’s talk that a new Jianghu hero named ‘Jianghu Xia’ has appeared. He cleverly broke the silver needle and tricky arrow traps, killed the first and third assassins of the Shadow Pavilion, always acts righteously without leaving a name, dedicating himself to eradicating the Shadow Pavilion and all martial arts scoundrels.”
“Why is he called Jianghu Xia?”
“It’s short for ‘The foremost hero who restores purity and peace to the martial world.’ Bai Kaiji also came.”
Yuchi Feng nodded and praised it as a good name.
Lu Yang happily said,
“Another piece of good news: the Shadow Pavilion’s reputation in Jianghu has hit rock bottom. I heard their price for hiring assassins dropped, but no one wants to do business with them anymore.”
Bai Kaiji:
“The Gossip Tower has also become famous. Martial arts informant Shen Ersan is now well-known in Jianghu.”
Every move of the Jianghu Xia office at Dali Temple was watched closely by the martial world.
Shen Weimu had provided important information in the last two cases, so it was only natural that he and the Gossip Tower gained fame.
“Ah, now I understand why he always appears at crime scenes—just for fame!”
Lu Yang sniffed disdainfully.
“Isn’t that a good thing? It helps us solve cases. Our Jianghu Xia office is just short of such informants.”
Yuchi Feng gently expressed his disagreement.
While listening to the discussion, Song Qiyun was opening a letter delivered by a junior clerk.
His expression remained calm until he pulled out a black invitation card with golden characters, then his face changed.
“What’s wrong?”
Yuchi Feng asked softly.
Lu Yang and Bai Kaiji leaned in curiously.
“Qian Ji Shanzhuang is holding a grand ceremony to select their heir. According to the rules, they must invite someone from our Jianghu Xia office to witness it.”
“That’s simple, I’ll go,”
Lu Yang volunteered.
Normally, the Jianghu Xia office would only send one or two representatives to record such events.
“No, we’re all going,”
Song Qiyun said sternly.
Just as everyone was about to ask why, Song Qiyun ordered someone to bring a basin of water.
He tossed the invitation into the water.
Slowly, red color seeped out from the black card, dyeing the entire basin of clear water.
“It’s blood!”
At the Shen Residence, Junlan Court.
Shen Weimu was leisurely brewing Longfeng Tuan tea when Shen Yuzhang suddenly sent someone to urgently summon him.
At the main hall, Shen Weimu saw a young, beautiful woman sitting at the left lower seat.
Seeing him arrive, she immediately stood up smiling politely to greet him.
“Ah Mu, come meet your fiancée—”
Shen Yuzhang suddenly coughed.
Shen Weimu fixed his gaze on Shen Yuzhang.
“Your cousin, Shen Ting’er.”
“Hehe, Ersan ge!”
Shen Ting’er smiled and bowed to Shen Weimu.
“Ersan ge, you’re so handsome!”
Shen Weimu asked,
“Which cousin?”
As far as he knew, his two uncles only had a cousin sister.
Before Shen Yuzhang could answer, Shen Ting’er spoke first.
“My father’s third uncle and Ersan ge’s great-great-grandfather’s thirteenth son swore brotherhood and joined clans. That’s how I’m your cousin,”
Shen Ting’er explained openly.
“Oh.”
Shen Weimu had a head full of complicated relations but was too lazy to think about them.
Knowing she was a cousin was enough.
“Ting’er cousin wants to participate in the Qian Ji Shanzhuang heir selection.”
Shen Yuzhang handed Shen Weimu a black invitation card with golden characters.
“The Qian Ji Shanzhuang’s master Yin Zhuangzhu has some friendship with your father. Your father is worried about a young girl traveling alone. How about you accompany her? You can also visit Yin Zhuangzhu on his behalf.”
Shen Weimu:
“Is Third Brother not going?”
“He’s not. It’s unlucky for him—there was a murder as soon as he left. Let’s change it to another family.”
Shen Weimu took the invitation, smelled the faint blood aura from it, and smiled.
“Alright.”
Shen Ting’er’s eyes sparkled.
She quickly performed a grand bow to thank Shen Weimu.
“I didn’t expect Ersan ge to agree. Thank you so much! If Ting’er has the chance to inherit Qian Ji Shanzhuang, I’ll share all its treasures with you.”
“Just call me Ersan ge.”
“Alright, Ersan ge.”
At dawn the next day, Shen Weimu’s carriage left the East City Gate.
Shen Ting’er, dressed in men’s clothing, rode a horse beside it with ease.
Song Qiyun and the others were also riding out of the city at the same time and immediately noticed Shen Weimu’s carriage.
“Brother Shen, what a coincidence! Where are you headed?”
Bai Kaiji greeted warmly.
“We’re going to Qian Ji Shanzhuang,”
Shen Ting’er answered brightly.
Song Qiyun and the others immediately dismounted to ask about the reason, and soon all agreed to travel together.
Learning that Bai Kaiji and Lu Yang were the famed Yin-Yang Twin Heroes of Jianghu, Shen Ting’er was full of admiration, chattering and asking them many questions along the way.
Three days later, they arrived at the territory of Qian Ji Shanzhuang.
After passing through a bamboo sea, there was a horse stable where all guests’ horses and vehicles had to be parked.
They then crossed a suspension bridge over Qian Ji Xia Gu on foot and climbed three sections of ninety-nine stone steps to reach Qian Ji Shanzhuang.
By the time they arrived, it was already late, and many guests had retired.
Only six guests remained drinking wine in the reception hall.
Butler Shao Yuan smiled and explained that Master Yin Zhuangzhu had recently caught a cold and was unable to receive guests.
All hospitality matters were handled by him.
“Guests, if you need anything, just tell me. But before settling in, there are rules set by the master that must be explained clearly to everyone.”
After speaking, Shao Yuan let them read the rules written on the north wall.
Shen Ting’er eagerly ran over and read them aloud:
“Rules for selecting the heir of Qian Ji Shanzhuang. Please abide by them, or bear the consequences yourselves. Two guests share one room. The master says, ‘An heir must be self-confident without doubt,’ so please look in the mirror daily for the length of one incense stick and praise yourself. At the beginning of the night hour (Hai hour), please secure the door and extinguish all lights; do not go outside. Please rise at three quarters of the Mao hour (early morning). The butler will prepare breakfast in the hall. The master likes quiet; please do not make loud noises. The Hou Shan Forbidden Area—those who enter never return.”