"First, we'll investigate the estate and find out who else is rumored to have died. Maybe that will help us understand where she might have gone," Tao Cui explained as they left the undertaker behind and ran back to the estate. Mu Bai followed her.
When Zhao Yuan was called to the gate for the second time that day, his expression was not even half as friendly.
He gave Tao Cui an angry look, which in turn prompted Mu Bai to demonstratively reach for his moon blades. Although Tao Cui was probably the least in need of his protection, his protective instinct was too strong for him to ignore someone glaring at her angrily.
"Zhao Gongzi, I would like to continue our conversation," Tao Cui said curtly and stepped over the threshold uninvited. Zhao Yuan closed his eyes and snorted.
"From which you left in a rage," he said.
"I had to make sure first that A'Xin was not among the dead," Tao Cui defended himself, standing opposite him.
Although Zhao Yuan towered over her by at least a head, Tao Cui did not appear small in his presence.
Zhao Yuan's fingertips twitched almost imperceptibly, so he had indeed assumed that Xinxin was among the two victims. At least he hadn't lied to her about that, which made Tao Cui feel a little better.
"I want you to tell me the truth, Zhao Gongzi," she demanded. "I am originally from the White Lotus Sect!"
Zhao Yuan furrowed his brow. The White Lotus Sect was dedicated to finding the truth and acted as the emperor's personal arm of justice. It stood above even the police and the courts.
His gaze slid back to the jade seal on her hip. It was clumsily carved, but now he recognized the rough lotus flower.
"What I'm trying to say is, don't even try to talk your way out of this," Tao Cui added.
What she wisely kept from him was that she had left the White Lotus some time ago. She couldn't reconcile her conscience with the emperor's ruthlessness. The White Lotus had long since ceased to seek the truth, seeking only the emperor's favor.
Zhao Yuan, on the other hand, shifted uncomfortably. Who would have thought that the unassuming Luo Xinxin was acquainted with such people?
"To be honest, I'm surprised. The Luo Xinxin I met didn't look like she would associate with people like you," he admitted openly. Tao Cui looked at him questioningly.
Mu Bai also scratched his head, as if he didn't know how to respond.
"She didn't seem like it?" he echoed.
"A'Xin is well versed in medicine. She often made powders and tinctures that made the skin more beautiful and the hair shiny."
Tao Cui twirled her hair between her fingers, embarrassed. "He probably means that we can't measure up to her," she muttered.
Zhao Yuan and Mu Bai looked at her with their mouths open, but for two different reasons. Mu Bai couldn't relate to the concept of beauty.
He didn't find either Xinxin or Tao Cui beautiful in the sense of attractive. Both were his comrades, and he felt nothing more than deep friendship for them.
Zhao Yuan, on the other hand, questioned Tao Cui's powers of observation. How could she call the gray mouse with dull hair, a lanky body, and a completely unattractive face a beauty?
He didn't even try to unravel the mystery of women and shook his head. Something else was gnawing at him.
If Xinxin was not among the victims, then perhaps Tian Liu Yan was still alive? But that would mean rubbing the bridge of his nose and having the two of them sit down in his room again.
As soon as Tao Cui sat down, she put her sword aside and looked at Zhao Yuan.
"Are there any other employees missing besides Luo Xinxin?"
she asked bluntly.
"Yes, there are some who took advantage of the chaos and fled," he admitted.
Tao Cui frowned. Normally, employees depended on keeping their jobs. They usually needed the money to support their families who lived elsewhere.
Nevertheless, there were a few who underestimated the work and took off when the opportunity arose.
"You thought it was Xinxin who burned to death. Why, and who do you think is the second victim?" Tao Cui continued.
"Another employee," Zhao Yuan evaded. Tai Cui slammed her hand on the table.
"Don't lie to me," she warned him. The maid who had poured them tea flinched. Tao Cui looked at her.
"Do you know who it was?" she asked. The girl looked uncertainly at her master, but Zhao Yuan ignored her and stared stubbornly at the two visitors.
"N-no," the girl replied defensively.
"You want to cast a cleansing spell against bad karma. So you must have a suspicion as to who it could be. And you're afraid of evil, vengeful spirits, so who was it?" Tao Cui asked again, more sharply.
"If you are wrong and perform the ritual for someone who is not yet dead, it could outrage the actual dead and lead to even more hauntings," Mu Bai warned.
"Zhao Gongzi," the young girl pleaded. Zhao Yuan took a deep breath. Then he looked at the young girl.
He hated being questioned in front of Tao Cui and Mu Bai, but something told him that he was missing something.
He made a gesture with his hand, giving the girl permission to speak. The maid swallowed as she sank to her knees and clung to the tray she had used to serve the tea.
"I started out with a girl named Jin Zou. We were hired for the extra work during the New Year festival and were allowed to stay. She has disappeared since the fire, but she would never run away. Zhao Gongzi, she wouldn't do that. She has no one, and besides, she seemed to have fallen in love. She often raved about him, and he was also an employee," she explained hastily.
"Do you know his name?" Yuan asked calmly.
"Chun Dai," the maid replied quickly. "I already told the second young lady, but she said the two of them eloped when they saw their chance. But no one is missing except Xinxin and... except for the two of them and Luo Xinxin!"
"A'Xin and who?" Tao Cui immediately asked. She seemed on the verge of losing her patience. Zhao Yuan raised a hand and dismissed the maid.
He drummed his fingers on the table. So the two dead were a maid named Jin Zou and an employee named Chun Dai.
Xinxin's escape was annoying, but the real disaster was the disappearance of the third prince. How could he tell the emperor that his son was not dead but had fled?
He ground his jaw and looked up at Tao Cui, who was really about to beat the truth out of him.
If she followed the White Lotus code, she was bound to secrecy. Perhaps he could use her to find Tian Liu Yan again. And he swore by all the gods: everything Sister Zhao Hua had done to him would seem like a walk in the park once he was done with her. His gaze shifted to Mu Bai.
"I must ask you to keep this confidential. Whoever I tell you has disappeared with her must not be made public," he said quietly.
Tao Cui's eyes darkened. What had A'Xin done? Who had she gotten involved with? Could she still be saved? Tao Cui clenched her hands into fists. She would do anything to free her friend from the clutches of darkness into which she had strayed.
Whatever the reason for her sudden change of heart.
Tao Cui would not rest until she had found a way to bring her back to the right path. She nodded and nudged Mu Bai sharply in the side.
He nodded too, though he was a little slower to think. Zhao Yuan rubbed his fingertips together before he could bring himself to say the name.
"Tian Liu Yan!" he said finally.
"Isn't Tian an imperial...?" Mu Bai began.
"The curse shackle?" Tao Cui's eyes widened. She slumped back into her seat. Xinxin had run away with the curse shackle?
"Are there any other inconsistencies? Why did the third prince flee? Why was he here in the first place?" Tao Cui began to pepper him with questions. Zhao Yuan gave her an icy stare. "As a member of the White Lotus, you should know that the third prince came to us about a year ago. He and my older sister were betrothed to each other at birth," he said coldly.
Tao Cui nodded. Of course, but she had left the sect before that happened, so she had no idea. She straightened up and looked Zhao Yuan straight in the eye.
"That explains the purification ritual," she said.
"But I doubt it will do much good. Tian Liu Yan absorbed the corrupted qi from the environment and stored it within himself. Now that he's gone, there's suddenly a void, a hole, into which the qi continues to flow unabated, and that is your estate. If you want my advice, leave this house behind. It will be uninhabitable for many generations, even with thousands of purification rituals," she said.
No sooner had they left the city than Mu Bai frowned.
"Meimei, if the curse shackle leaves a kind of vacuum when it leaves a place it has purified, why isn't the imperial family plagued by misfortune?" he asked.
"Isn't it?" Tao Cui asked back, grinning at him. Mu Bai snorted. "The imperial family has only survived for years through tyranny and thanks to the abilities of the curse shackle. Without this leverage over the nobility, the princely houses, and the country, there would probably have been an upheaval long ago. But no one dares to overthrow the emperor and his family. Without the curse shackle, the country will not be cleansed, and karma will strike back.
This presents our corrupt politicians with an unsolvable puzzle," she replied curtly.
Tao Cui made her sword float with a finger gesture, and Mu Bai's blades whirred at his ankle, then rose with the magic of the flying sword, leaving the city and its inhabitants far below.
"Is there a chance that the third prince can also purify Xinxin's bad karma? Maybe that will bring her to her senses." Mu Bai suggested.
Tao Cui's heart clenched as they flew over a forest. A talisman in her bag at her hip struck, and the two began their descent.
"What is it?" Mu Bai looked around. The forest seemed dense and impenetrable.
"A large amount of corrupted qi was recently purified here," Tao Cui replied, stroking a purple, withered leaf. Mu Bai smelled it.
"It smells rotten," he remarked. Tao Cui nodded.
"Miasma flowers, but they're wilted!"
"Xinxin?" Mu Bai asked. Tao Cui thought about it.
"I don't know. Xinxin's abilities have been rapidly declining lately. That could be one of the possible reasons for her change of heart and the hatred that has built up inside her," Tao Cui replied.
"Should I feel bad that I didn't notice that?" Mu Bai replied.
"I'm a better fighter with blades than with spiritual qi. I didn't notice that something was wrong with Xinxin's meridians. But why have they dried up?" he asked.
Tao Cui shrugged. It was indeed unusual for spiritual veins to dry up. There were some practices, spells, and poisons that could cause temporary decay, but as long as the spiritual core was not damaged or destroyed, it was impossible to erase the internal meridians.
Tao Cui scratched her head. So much didn't add up, and she simply couldn't see the truth. What had happened to Xinxin? When had it started, and could she still save her former friend?
"If I were Xinxin, I would try to put as much distance between us as I could. She fled from us and from the Zhao family. I'm sure she'll leave the country. It's too dangerous for her here," said Mu Bai. Tao Cui looked at him with wide eyes.
"You know what, that actually sounded really well thought out," she praised him.
Mu Bai grinned from ear to ear. Suddenly, the air was filled with a buzzing sound and a bluish crackling. Mu Bai raised his palm and words formed from fine blue lines.
"Emergency, need help," was the brief message. The two looked at each other. Tao Cui nodded to him.
"As you said, no one can beat you in blade dancing. Go and help them, I'll continue the search, I'll find them," Tao Cui promised.
Mu Bai nodded. Then he let his blades fly back to his knuckles and took off. Tao Cui combed the forest floor. It took a while, but she found what she was looking for. Footprints.