My apprentice is a little weird?

Chapter 414 Exposed, Search!

Jiang Yan and Lin Ran clinked their wine bottles together, but were secretly thinking in their hearts.

"What a coincidence! I just arrived in Yunzhou and haven't even gotten my feet on the ground yet, but I've already run into someone I know."

"I originally wanted to participate in the Qin family's lucky draw today to join in the fun. But because there were too many people, I lost interest and didn't take it seriously."

"But we just happened to meet at night. It was really... fate..."

Jiang Yan tapped the table with his index finger and turned his head to look at the quiet river outside the window.

"From what they said just now, Li Qiao'er came to Yunzhou with Qin Xiangling to visit relatives. If it was just Xiangling, it would be fine, but with Li Qiao'er... it would be a bit troublesome..."

Just now, Jiang Yan only paid a little attention and was noticed by Li Qiaoer, who almost found him by following her sense.

If they get any closer, there's no guarantee that Jiang Yan won't be discovered.

Although he was not afraid of trouble, he knew that Li Qiao'er seemed to have some psychological problems. If they bumped into each other suddenly, sparks might fly...

What should I do if I disrupt his grand plan?

Just when he was thinking about whether to run away to pee, Jiang Yan was suddenly stunned and thought of a question for no reason.

"When I first came ashore, I heard rumors that the head of the Qin family lost his daughter early in life, and out of grief he adopted a daughter. And today at Feihong Bridge, this was confirmed."

"But here comes the question. Qin Xiangling is alive and well and not dead at all? Then why did Qin Menglin spread the rumor that her daughter was dead? And he even made a daughter out of nothing?"

"The relationship between father and daughter is still the same as before, there is no reason for him to do this? It seems like... he is hiding something."

Jiang Yan seemed to have thought of something, but he quickly stopped thinking. He would not interfere in other people's affairs, as he had not yet sorted out his own affairs.

"Haha... This isn't a bad thing. We can let them test the waters and muddy the waters a little."

Da da da

The sound of footsteps was heard on the stairs. The steward walked ahead and explained everything attentively. Soon he led the group to the fifth floor where they were.

The small space on the fifth floor seems to be its own world, with obscure and luxurious carvings and a faint aroma of wine that is refreshing to the heart.

As soon as they came up, several people's eyes fell on Jiang Yan and the other two.

Mainly focused on Jiang Yan. Although he mostly just glanced at him, the curiosity in his eyes could not be concealed.

After all, Jiang Yan's appearance at the moment was really authentic at first glance, and was totally out of place in Qianyu Tower.

The steward hurriedly introduced their identities to each other. Jiang Yan and Linran stood up and saluted politely. Qin Menglin also nodded with a smile without putting on airs.

"I heard that you, Mr. Lin, have created a masterpiece. The manager of Qianyu Tower would rather give me a free meal than not let you stay. It's really true that young people are to be feared."

Lin Ran was so nervous that he bent over even more, saying that he just had occasional inspiration after drinking. If Lu Da Jiao hadn't written it down carefully, he would have forgotten it after waking up.

As soon as these words were spoken, the place suddenly became quiet.

Qin Menglin narrowed his eyes and frowned in confusion. He had just read the poem and it was indeed a masterpiece. But the artistic conception and the person in front of him... were like a mule with a saddle, which didn't fit him well no matter how he looked at it.

He originally wanted to make friends with her, but after just one glance, he no longer had any thoughts.

But the dark-skinned man next to him, although he also behaved timidly, at least he was not as frivolous as the former when facing him? Yes, this man was very steady.

Qin Menglin's gaze stayed on Jiang Yan for a few more seconds, until Jiang Yan began to doubt himself, then he looked away and waved at them.

"Qin will cover all the expenses for these two people in Qianyu Tower tonight."

"Thank you, Patriarch Qin! Patriarch Qin is truly kind and generous, spending a fortune!"

Jiang Yan didn't say anything, maybe he couldn't think of anything nice to say so he just kept thanking him, which elicited a pleasant chuckle from him.

"You farm boy, you're tanned like soy sauce, your head looks like a black preserved egg, haha..."

"Xiang Ling, don't be rude."

Qin Xiangling tilted her head and looked at Li Qiaoer beside her.

"It's just like a black preserved egg, Senior Sister, don't you think so?"

It was not until then that Lin Ran suddenly realized that there were two fairies standing next to Qin Menglin... who looked like fairies descending from the Moon Palace in the sky.

Qin Xiangling wore a pink skirt with gold butterflies adorning the hem. She also had bells and sachets hanging around her waist, which made pleasant sounds like chimes when she moved.

She is pretty and charming without any makeup, with sparkling almond-shaped eyes, which always seem to hide some mischief and cunning. It is pleasing to the eye wherever she stands.

And what was standing next to her was even more indescribable.

The moon-white dress was form-fitting, and her tall and straight figure seemed as proud as an unyielding pine tree. Her flawless white skin seemed to be covered with frost and snow. Her black hair was loosely tied up with a jade hairpin, and a few strands of hair hung beside her cold cheeks. Her cold eyebrows were like the thousand-year-old ice on Mount Tianshan!

It was freezing cold.

But at this moment, this pair of heart-moving (freezing) eyes were cast towards him!

"She...she's looking at me!"

Lin Ran suddenly tensed up at this moment, and he felt that he had behaved well and gave her a warm smile.

Then the other party paused.

"Could it be...Could it be that she is bewitched by me?!"

Lin Ran's little script in his mind began to play out again: meeting, knowing, falling in love, getting married...

"cough cough"

"Um... that lady has been staring at me. Does she want to ask something?"

"Eh?"

Lin Ran came back to his senses as if he had just woken up, and after a closer look he realized that Li Qiaoer's gaze was not on him, but on Brother Lu who was beside him!

"!! Does she like this tune?"

Li Qiaoer stared for a moment, and indeed did not find anything unusual, feeling a little disappointed. She turned around and went upstairs without saying anything.

Then the people who stayed on the fifth floor also went upstairs together. After a while, the place returned to silence, with only Jiang Yan and a few others left.

Jiang Yan sat down on the ground without any hesitation, breathing heavily.

"This Qin family master is so majestic that I dare not breathe! Fortunately, you, little brother Lin, are here to share the burden with me."

Lin Ran was stunned for a moment before he reacted and sat down.

At this time, Qianyu Jingjiang was brought over along with the food and dishes, and soon filled up a large table.

Before Lin Ran could ask what happened just now, Jiang Yan started to eat heartily. He ate so fast that it didn't seem like he was eating normally, as if someone was holding a knife to his neck from behind.

"Brother Lu, slow down. No one is trying to snatch it from you."

Jiang Yan said a few words from his bowl without even raising his head.

"We got here by cheating. What if Patriarch Qin gets in the mood and asks you to write another poem on the spot? If you can't write it, won't it be easy to be exposed later?"

"So eat more now before you get exposed."

"Ah... this does make sense..."

Lin Ran was no longer reserved when he figured out the key point. Firstly, it is important for a person to know himself. He knew that he did not have the ability to write that poem, so no matter what lies he told afterwards, it would not change this fact.

Rather than staying here to save face and being exposed by others, it is better to leave behind a reputation as a wanderer, which is worse than the former misery.

The Qin family hadn't started serving the dishes yet, only dancers and musicians were coming upstairs from time to time. However, Jiang Yan's meal was almost over.

Finally, Lin Ran picked up the pen and wrote the poem on the wall, then hurriedly left Qianyu Tower with Jiang Yan, so fast that even the manager of Qianyu Tower was a little confused.

"I was waiting for you to write a congratulatory message to Patriarch Qin, why did you run away first?"

Unable to believe it, the manager could not help but go downstairs to find out what was going on, but the place was empty and there was no way he would find Jiang Yan and the others.

"Why are you leaving so quickly? Are you intimidated by the Qin family master's aura, so you left first?"

The manager shook his head slightly. Although he was a little conflicted, it was not a big deal. He just felt a little regretful.

Thinking of this, the steward looked at the article written by Lin Ran with admiration, but for some reason, he no longer felt the same excitement when he read it again.

The poem is still a good poem, but what is missing?

"Strange... the handwriting is acceptable, but why is it different from what others have written? It doesn't taste right..."

Qin Xiangling appeared beside the manager at some point, also looking at him with curiosity and nodding thoughtfully.

"It looks like the person who wrote it hastily wrote it without even understanding its meaning. It looks more like he copied it on the spot, trying his best to cover up his own emptiness."

"Interesting, who wrote this poem?"

The steward knew that the woman in front of him was the nominal "adopted daughter" of the Qin family master, so he did not dare to neglect her. He repeated what he had just said to Qin Menglin.

Qin Xiangling's eyes lit up a little: "So, the original poem was not written by Lin Ran?"

"Well... not entirely. He said he wrote it when he was drunk and forgot everything when he woke up. He had to rely on the man next to him to remember it. This must be the reason why he is so unfamiliar with it."

"Really? Haha... then let me see the original text."

Although the steward was puzzled, he did not question it. He handed the rice paper to Qin Xiangling and commented casually:

"Although you can tell from the handwriting that the writer has tried his best to make the writing neat, it still looks messy at first glance and is not as good-looking as the one on the wall."

Qin Xiangling ignored the manager's words. As soon as she touched him, she was hooked and stood there in a daze.

Her beautiful eyes seemed to be attracted by an evil spirit and could not be shaken off. Sparks seemed to be coming out of her eyes, which made the steward think that she had said something presumptuous.

At this time, Li Qiaoer, who noticed that Qin Xiangling had not returned for a long time, got up to look for her. She saw her standing with the manager of Qianyu Tower, with her head down, doing something unknown.

She did not say a word to disturb him, but came to his side quietly like a ghost. Just as she was about to remind the other person, her attention was attracted by the rice paper in his hand.

The paper was very ordinary, and the poems of varying sizes written on it looked like children's graffiti, with no beauty at all; only the meaning of the words could be made out.

But it was such an ordinary thing that made them all stunned.

A strange yet familiar feeling lingered in my mind. The words in front of me seemed to emerge from the paper and break down into symbols that make up the words, with regular sizes and the strokes like swords.

Reassembled and integrated in my mind, gradually overlapping with a person who could not be more familiar...

hum~

It was as if her brain was going blank and she even forgot where she was at that moment. When she came to her senses and connected everything together, her mind suddenly became clear.

Then the figure suddenly disappeared from the spot!

It actually broke through the air in pursuit of the feeling just now.

Of course, she didn't really lose her mind. The small device she carried with her to conceal her body was enough to protect her from being discovered.

…………

The steward only felt a cool breeze from the river, but when he looked back, he felt nothing. The rice paper in Qin Xiangling's hand had disappeared at some point.

"Hmm? The paper was blown away? Sorry, Miss Qin, I'll go look for it..."

After searching for a long time but not finding it, seeing that Qin Menglin seemed to be in a state of trance, he comforted him:

"Miss Qin, don't worry. It's just a farmer's poor handwriting. If Miss Qin likes this poem, I can ask someone to write something better."

But Qin Menglin, who seemed to have lost his soul, sneered and looked quite contemptuous when he heard this.

"Heh... If you don't understand the Dao of literature, it's like a worn-out shoe. If you can get a glimpse of it, it's like floating on the ocean!"

"He is not trying to make the writing neat, he is trying to make it worse!"

"But no matter how bad it is, the foundation is still there, the habits are still there, and the writing style is still there. These things are a person's style and cannot be easily changed! So... Senior Brother, how did you become a black-peeled egg!"

Qin Xiangling had a strange expression on her face as she muttered something that the steward couldn't understand.

There is the joy and uneasiness of meeting again, and also the resentment and complaints of avoiding each other.

But overall, she was very happy.

And the happiest person wasn't her...but Li Qiao'er...

With nothing in her hands, Qin Xiangling also wanted to chase after him to find out what was going on, but she still had some sense. Firstly, they were restricted from going out, so they had to avoid conflicts with foreign cultivators.

Secondly, based on her understanding of the senior brother, she knew that he did not recognize her right away because he wanted to hide himself. There would be little gain in chasing him when he could no longer be found.

Li Qiaoer knew this herself, but she just couldn't calm down.

He tightly grasped the paper in his hand as if he was afraid it would fly away, and with a silver light in his eyes, he scanned the sky below Jingming Mansion wantonly...

In other words, Jiang Yan searched Jingming Mansion in advance and confirmed that no cultivators were found. If it were another place, such an action would be a provocation.

…………

In an inn, a figure leaned against the window, raised the wine jug and drank from it. The silvery white liquid flowed into his throat, and the unique mellow aroma of Qianyu Nectar burst out on the tip of his tongue. After swallowing it, the sweet aftertaste came up again, which was really endless.

The moonlight is like a veil draped over the shoulders, revealing a hint of dreaminess in the haziness.

Jiang Yan was in a casual posture, with his black hair loose, and his eyes casually glanced at the sky.

Faintly, one could see a graceful woman flash by, as beautiful as Chang'e under the moon, who was inviolable.

"The conventional search is useless, so I'd like to borrow your help to find out what's in Jingming Mansion. If there's something hidden that I don't know about, it will be exposed because of your actions..."

"I'm just a little sorry for you, Junior Sister..."

Jiang Yan's face was as calm as water, like a deep pool with no bottom. He did not feel guilty for taking advantage of Li Qiaoer at all. There was only a calmness without any ripples.

…………

The next day, outside the inn.

Lin Ran looked at Jiang Yan with an energetic look on his face.

"Brother Lu, are you still going to stay here?"

Jiang Yan chuckled: "How can I get away if I haven't found the herbs yet? As for you, you looked worried and absent-minded yesterday, why are you fine today? Why don't you stay in Jingming Mansion for a while?"

"There is a reason for this. I'm in a hurry to come to Jingming Mansion because I've been having nightmares recently and I feel exhausted when I wake up. Someone at home said that I was possessed by an evil spirit, so I should come to Jiangxue Palace in Jingming Mansion to pray."

"Hey, Brother Lu, don't say that. I'm really fine now."