Chapter 193: Confusing The Enemy

“Fine, I’ll leave! So what if you lost a game of Gomoku?”

After getting off Xie Wei’s carriage, Jiang Xuening grew angrier the more she thought about it. She gritted her teeth and muttered under her breath, then kicked the carriage shaft in frustration before stomping back to her own carriage.

Jian Shu, who was driving the carriage, didn’t dare to speak.

Dao Qin, seeing her, also lowered his head, avoiding her gaze.

Jiang Xuening yanked open the carriage curtain and plopped down inside, still seething with indignation. Back in the capital, how had she ever thought Xie Wei had a decent temper? From the moment they met in Jinling until now, his mood swings had been utterly unpredictable! One moment he was smiling, seemingly in a good mood, almost making her forget who he really was, what he had done, and what he was capable of. But then, with just one sentence, he could turn cold and heartless!

It was just a game of Gomoku!

It wasn’t like she would die from boredom on this journey. Once they reached the border and settled matters, she would get as far away from him as possible!

Jiang Xuening muttered to herself, lying down and pulling the blanket over her head, trying to sleep. But no matter how hard she tried, Xie Wei’s infuriating face kept flashing in her mind. Instead of feeling sleepy, she became more and more agitated.

She had truly developed a grudge against Xie Wei.

For the rest of the journey, she didn’t even need Xie Wei to give her the cold shoulder—she gave it to him first. She avoided speaking to him as much as possible, and when communication was necessary, she relied on Dao Qin and Jian Shu to relay messages. It was as if they were completely cutting ties.

On the first day of the ninth month, they arrived in Jinan.

After some discussion, they decided to enter the city to rest and regroup.

As the carriage passed through the city gate, it had to stop for inspection. Jiang Xuening heard some pleading voices outside.

She lifted the curtain to take a look.

Under the city wall, a group of ordinary people, both men and women, had gathered around a monk carrying a box, questioning him relentlessly. The monk’s robe had been torn in the scuffle, and he kept explaining and begging. However, the more he spoke, the angrier the crowd seemed to become. Finally, a woman holding a child spat in his face, and a burly man nearby punched the monk.

The situation quickly spiraled out of control.

The crowd, filled with a mix of fear and anger, began to attack the monk. Once one person started, others followed, and soon fists and kicks were raining down on him.

The commotion was impossible to ignore.

Jiang Xuening frowned as she watched.

The guards at the city gate quickly intervened, shouting and trying to stop the chaos.

Xie Wei, sitting in the carriage ahead, had a clearer view.

A guard was inspecting their documents before allowing them to enter the city.

Xie Wei asked casually, “What’s going on over there?”

The guard, having verified their travel permits and noting that these people were clearly wealthy and influential, didn’t dare to be dismissive. However, recalling recent events in the city, he shook his head and said, “What else? It’s about ‘soul-stealing.’”

Xie Wei raised an eyebrow. “Soul-stealing?”

The guard explained, “You’re from out of town, so you wouldn’t know. A while ago, they were building a bridge outside the Wufu Temple, and some wicked monks wrote people’s names on paper and pasted them on the bridge piers that were to be driven into the ground. The Taoist priests from the Tai Xu Temple said this was demonic sorcery—that writing someone’s name on paper would steal their soul and trap it in the bridge pier. A bridge built with human souls would be stronger. Well, just now, this monk was walking around with his alms bowl, and someone found hair hidden in his box. What else could it be for but sorcery?”

Another group of guards had already gone over to stop the situation.

But the crowd’s anger was too intense to be quelled.

Especially the woman clutching her child, her voice shrill and piercing: “If you weren’t trying to steal my son’s soul, why did you ask for his name? And why were you hiding hair in your box? Don’t you dare deny it! If anything happens to my son, I’ll make sure you pay with your life! Take him to the authorities, take him to the authorities!”

The monk, already bruised and battered, cried out, “This humble monk only wished to bless your son for his kindness…”

But no one listened to his pleas.

The guards finally managed to stabilize the situation, quickly tying him up and dragging him off to the authorities. The woman, now holding her child, burst into tears, while the rest of the crowd followed the guards, heading toward the magistrate’s office.

Xie Wei watched for a moment.

Dao Qin and Jian Shu couldn’t help but glance back at him.

But he merely smiled faintly, showing no intention of intervening. He gently lowered the carriage curtain and said, “Let’s go.”

At this moment, Jiang Xuening’s carriage had drawn closer, allowing her to witness the scene.

She couldn’t quite describe what she felt.

Xie Wei’s gaze lingered on the crowd, his eyes dark and inscrutable. It was hard to tell whether his expression was one of pity or mockery. But as he lowered his eyelids, all emotion vanished, replaced by an almost chilling…

Indifference.

Writing someone’s name on paper could steal their soul?

Anyone with sense knew that was impossible.

Yet the common people, having heard the Taoist priests’ claims, believed it wholeheartedly and were consumed by fear. This woman, merely because the monk had asked for her child’s name, had caused such an uproar. The surrounding crowd, filled with both fear and anger, had chosen to believe the worst, attacking the monk without question and dragging him to the authorities…

A cold shiver ran through Jiang Xuening.

Especially when she recalled Xie Wei’s expression earlier.

As they passed through the city gate, the noise of the commotion faded into the distance. Yet, for some reason, she was reminded of the story Lu Xian had told her about the petition to reduce grain taxes in Yin County—

What did Xie Wei truly think of people, of the world?

The frustration she had accumulated over the past few days out of boredom was suddenly overshadowed by something else.

When they arrived at the inn, everyone settled in.

During dinner, Jian Shu went out for a while and returned to speak with Xie Wei. Jiang Xuening, sitting some distance away, couldn’t hear clearly but gathered that the “soul-stealing” incident seemed to be part of a conflict between the Heavenly Sect and the Buddhists, with someone secretly fanning the flames and stirring up trouble.

She thought Xie Wei might take action.

But to her surprise, after listening, he showed no intention of getting involved.

They only rested at the inn for half a day, feeding the horses, eating, and stocking up on dry rations and water before setting out again in the afternoon, heading north on the official road.

She couldn’t help but wonder, “Why leave in the afternoon instead of resting for the day?”

Dao Qin, as usual, rode alongside her carriage and explained, “The further north we go, the colder it gets. Winter is approaching, and we need to reach the border before the snow falls.”

Jiang Xuening frowned.

After some thought, she realized this made sense and decided not to dwell on it.

As the sky gradually darkened, she began to feel drowsy in the carriage.

After traveling about seven or eight miles, she yawned, feeling sleepy, and was about to lie down under a thick woolen blanket. But just as she was about to move, the carriage curtain was suddenly flung open in the darkness. A gust of wind blew in, followed by another shadow slipping into the carriage!

Jiang Xuening was instantly terrified!

With Dao Qin, Jian Shu, and over a dozen skilled guards accompanying them, how could there have been no sound at all? And for someone to enter the carriage while it was still moving—what kind of terrifying person could this be?

In that moment, her entire body tensed, and she was about to scream.

But the intruder moved with lightning speed, pressing close and covering her mouth with a firm, cool hand.

The touch was steady and powerful.

The person’s face drew near, their breath warm against her ear, sending shivers down her spine. Only then, by the faint light filtering through the lifted curtain, did she recognize the familiar outline.

It was Xie Wei?!

Jiang Xuening blinked in shock, finally daring not to move.

Of course.

With so many people outside, how could there have been no commotion unless it was Xie Wei?

But what was going on now?

She felt a wave of confusion.

Xie Wei’s refined features, shadowed in the darkness, seemed almost predatory, exuding a sense of lurking danger. His thin lips were pressed tightly together, and his eyes peered silently through the narrow gap in the carriage curtain, watching intently.

Jiang Xuening followed his gaze.

With great effort, she barely made out a fork in the road ahead. Their carriage continued north, while Xie Wei’s original carriage silently turned west at the fork, disappearing into the overlapping shadows of the trees!

Though Jiang Xuening wasn’t the sharpest, seeing this, she understood—they were being followed.

Her heart pounded like a drum.

She didn’t dare move, afraid of accidentally ruining Xie Wei’s plan. She allowed him to press her into the soft blanket, his hand covering her mouth, not even daring to breathe too loudly.

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