He did not get to enter any room at all.
Of course, that was not because Fu Xi Yan had suddenly changed his mind and wanted to throw him out. Wang Yu had already paid a deposit, after all, and a person should honor his agreements. It was simply that, compared with Mo Xiao Ran, Mei Xia Ying would have to take a back seat. Their most pressing task was to catch Mo Xiao Ran. Even if they could not catch him, they should at least see him and confirm that the soul earmarked for Fireworks in an Instant was indeed within ‘stabbing’ range.
The constable led the way through the city toward the Yuebin Inn, one of the finest inns in Haojing.
The more Fu Xi Yan thought about it, the less right it seemed. “How did you establish that he’s Mo Xiao Ran?”
The constable answered, “His travel pass is forged, he knows martial arts, and he’s very good-looking. The captain says he’s a suspect.” The captain was Cen Bao En, who had almost become the Seventh Princess’s prince consort.
On hearing that the travel pass was forged, Fu Xi Yan grew doubtful again. Mo Xiao Ran’s ability to make fakes indistinguishable from genuine documents could not possibly be so poor that even the authorities would spot the deception. He looked back at Mei Xia Ying, who sat dejectedly inside the carriage. “The moment Mo Xiao Ran enters the city, you’ll hear about it?”
Mei Xia Ying was no longer quite as confident as before. Resting his cheek elegantly on one hand, he said slowly, “That should be the case.”
“…Meaning there could be times when things don’t go the way they should.”
Mei Xia Ying sighed. “The world has never lacked unreasonable happenings.”
The carriage stopped outside the inn. The coachman went to park it, and the constable led the party inside. The main hall appeared lively, with people coming and going, but apart from the proprietor, the genuine staff and guests had all been discreetly cleared away. Everyone now filling the room belonged to the Firefighting Brigade.
Seeing Cen Bao En arranging the encirclement, Fu Xi Yan could not help saying, “If that really is Mo Xiao Ran, your deployment is useless. If it isn’t Mo Xiao Ran, it’s still useless.”
Cen Bao En replied, “Forging a travel pass is a crime too.”
Fair enough. Fu Xi Yan left him to it and climbed the wooden staircase floor by floor, one hand on the banister. Cen Bao En immediately followed, walking behind Mei Xia Ying.
Mei Xia Ying had disappeared before Cen Bao En entered court service, so the two had never met. Seeing Mei Xia Ying’s dignified appearance, Cen Bao En assumed he was some expert from Immortal Treasury Palace and greeted him courteously.
The two exchanged names.
Cen Bao En’s expression immediately soured. His inner conflict was written plainly across his face. Unfortunately, Fu Xi Yan was in front, two people separated them, and Cen Bao En could not whisper privately to him. He managed a couple of dry laughs instead.
Fu Xi Yan stopped before a guestroom called ‘Traveler in a Strange Land’ and knocked softly.
Someone inside asked, “Who is it?”
The voice did not sound like Mo Xiao Ran’s. “Room inspection,” Fu Xi Yan said.
A moment later, the door opened from within.
Though Fu Xi Yan had already guessed before entering that the man inside could not be Mo Xiao Ran, confirming it was still disappointing. A delicate-featured man stood in the room. At first glance he seemed to be in his twenties or thirties, but on closer inspection he was probably older.
Fu Xi Yan asked, “Who are you? Why have you come to Haojing?”
Pei Yuan Jin frowned slightly and was about to speak when the man beat him to it. “I’m your father.” His tone was extraordinarily sincere, and his smile carried a trace of shyness and bashfulness.
Fu Xi Yan, who had just acquired another ‘father’: “!”
Before Fu Xi Yan could explode, he heard Mei Xia Ying murmur, “Could this really be Martial Uncle Mo Xiao Ran?” He knew Mo Xiao Ran could switch bodies as easily as changing clothes.
Fu Xi Yan looked at him speechlessly. If everyone in No-Return Sect had this level of intelligence, the world would have been peaceful long ago.
Pei Yuan Jin recognized the man inside and demanded coldly, “What are you doing here?”
Fu Xi Yan had already rolled up his sleeves to beat someone. Hearing that, he lowered his fists. “Who is he?”
Pei Yuan Jin looked at the young man whose constant smile made him seem mild and friendly. “Yan Xie.”
Fu Xi Yan’s pupils contracted.
Ever since learning the truth behind his mother’s disappearance, he had wanted to find Yan Xie. Later, after the full story emerged and it became clear that Mo Xiao Ran might harm his mother, he had abandoned the idea temporarily to avoid leading trouble to her. In his mind, once Mo Xiao Ran became Mo Disappeared, he would find Jin Yuan Xiu and bring her back, and then meet the little divine physician whose name he had never stopped hearing but whom he had never encountered.
He had never expected that day to arrive so early.
Yan Xie remained unruffled at being recognized. He turned a soft gaze toward Mei Xia Ying and asked with a smile, “Just now I heard this young gentleman address Mo Xiao Ran as Martial Uncle. May I ask what school you belong to?”
Mei Xia Ying bowed. “I am Mei Xia Ying. My master is Zheng Jiao Jiao. Greetings, Senior Brother Yan.” The words amounted to confirmation that Yan Ke was also one of the members of ‘Shan-Mo-Da-Yan.’
Yan Xie blinked. “Then do you know where Mo Xiao Ran is?”
Before Mei Xia Ying could make a sound, Fu Xi Yan jumped in. “He knows. As soon as Mo Xiao Ran appears in Haojing, he’ll be the first to know.”
…
Mei Xia Ying silently closed his mouth.
Yan Xie picked up the bundle sitting on the table and uttered something outrageously shameless with his bashful smile. “In that case, I shall trouble Junior Brother Mei for a few days.”
Mei Xia Ying looked at Fu Xi Yan.
Fu Xi Yan frowned. Yan Xie wanted to find Mo Xiao Ran? Why? A possibility suddenly occurred to him, and his heart sank. He turned to Cen Bao En. “Young Hero Cen, please take Court Painter Mei next door to buy a few things.”
Cen Bao En was still reeling from learning that the young man beside him was Zheng Jiao Jiao’s disciple and that the little divine physician addressed him as a fellow disciple. He instinctively asked, “Buy what?”
Mei Xia Ying tactfully replied, “Whatever they have for sale, of course.” With that, he headed downstairs first.
Cen Bao En came to his senses. Seeing that Pei Yuan Jin and Fu Xi Yan numbered two against Yan Xie’s one, he judged that they would not be at a disadvantage. He nodded to Fu Xi Yan and followed Mei Xia Ying down.
Once the upstairs room was cleared of outsiders, Fu Xi Yan strode inside with his hands clasped behind his back and asked with affected elderly sternness, “Back then, were you the one who conspired with Tang Gong to hide my mother?”
Yan Xie said gently, “Your mother and I were very happy together.”
Fu Xi Yan replied, “Were you? Then where is she?”
Yan Xie’s expression darkened.
Fu Xi Yan thought this was probably his real face. His earlier shy expression had seemed so out of place it gave him goose bumps.
“She’s gone,” Yan Xie said in a low voice. “We were living in seclusion on Nameless Mountain. One day I went into town to treat a patient. When I returned, she was missing. The formation around our home was intact, which means she walked out of it herself.”
Fu Xi Yan asked, “You suspect Mo Xiao Ran?”
Yan Xie glanced at him. “At first, I suspected you.”
“Me?”
“If it had been Mo Xiao Ran, she certainly wouldn’t have gone out. Only someone close to her could persuade her to leave me.” As he spoke, his delicate face twisted slightly.
Fu Xi Yan’s heart pounded. Mother, what kind of men did you choose for your last two husbands? In comparison, Father Fu was practically an innocent, kindhearted, honest-to-goodness saint.
Realizing he had lost his composure, Yan Xie quickly smiled. “I thought you might have come looking for her.”
Fu Xi Yan said, “So you came to Haojing looking for me?”
“I came to look around. There are only a handful of people who could make her leave voluntarily.” As though remembering something, Yan Xie’s face grew gloomy. “After arriving, I discovered that Haojing isn’t peaceful either.”
Fu Xi Yan asked, “When did you discover she was missing?”
“Two months ago,” Yan Xie replied.
“Where have you been these last two months?”
“Traveling here and there. I had to search for her somehow…” Seeing Fu Xi Yan’s obvious disbelief, Yan Xie pressed his lips together but maintained his gentle tone. “I went to Jiangcheng and climbed the Yellow Crane Tower.”
Fu Xi Yan said, “You went to see my father.”
Yan Xie looked hurt. “I’m your stepfather now.”
Ignoring the expression, Fu Xi Yan pressed on. “Did you see him? What did you do?” Outwardly he remained calm, but true qi was already gathering in his palm. If Yan Xie’s answer displeased him, his Soft-Gentle Fist would strike with very little gentleness.
Fortunately, Yan Xie knew how to read faces. “I secretly followed him for two days. When I confirmed Xiu Xiu wasn’t with him, I left. Only a handful of people in the world could lure Xiu Xiu away from me. I didn’t like the possibility of Fu Fu being one of them, but fortunately he wasn’t.”
Fu Xi Yan understood.
Jin Yuan Xiu had vanished. Yan Xie suspected someone familiar was responsible, so he had searched out Fu Fu first and was now seeking her son.
Fu Xi Yan said, “You suspect Mo Xiao Ran now? Didn’t you say Mother would never leave with him?”
“Not under ordinary circumstances,” Yan Xie said. “But Mo Xiao Ran has never been an ordinary man.”
“Do you have any other evidence?” Jin Yuan Xiu had deeply offended Mo Xiao Ran by giving birth to and protecting Fu Xi Yan all those years ago. Fu Xi Yan desperately hoped she had not fallen into Mo Xiao Ran’s hands.
Yan Xie said, “He’s been looking for us these past few months. We moved home several times to avoid him. If it wasn’t you or Fu Fu, he’s the most suspicious.”
To Fu Xi Yan, that was suspicion, not evidence, but Yan Xie seemed to be at the end of his resources. He asked, “If it really is Mo Xiao Ran, what do you intend to do?”
Yan Xie tilted his head as though the answer were obvious. “Take her back.”
Fu Xi Yan frowned. Honestly, because Yan Ke was a divine physician, he had once held some hope for Yan Ke and Yan Xie’s branch of the lineage. Now he realized how naive that had been.
There were no decent birds beneath No-Return Sect’s roof. They were all outlaws who considered themselves above the rules.
He took a step toward the door, then suddenly turned his head. “Back then, was my mother willing?”
Yan Xie said, “She was later.”
Fu Xi Yan: “…”
In the end, his fist flew. Yan Xie was unprepared and dodged too late. He took the punch squarely, flew back onto the bed, and struck his head against the wall.
Fu Xi Yan heard an unmistakable thud.
Yan Xie paused on the bed, rubbed the bruised area on his head a couple of times as though nothing had happened, then stood, slung his baggage over his shoulder, and asked, “Where is Senior Brother Mei staying?”
Fu Xi Yan answered irritably, “Count Yongfeng’s residence.”
Yan Xie smiled. “Thank you for your hospitality.”
Fu Xi Yan had a headache. His house was becoming a demon’s den, with every variety of monster turning up at the door. Gritting his teeth, he said, “If you want to stay, you pay!”