Chapter 8: 8. Chapter 8: Xiao's Real Ghost

Chapter 8: Xiao Zhen's Ghost

The resignation of Jiang Ping and his three companions did not go smoothly.

This time, although Xiao Zhen was the only one who had died, the Fourth Prince had also been seriously injured, and the four of them had been present at the scene. Even if they could testify for one another, claiming that someone had prevented them from stepping forward at the time of the incident, no one would believe them. Furthermore, they were not fools; they knew this matter had to be buried deep within their hearts and could never be spoken of.

Although Consort Xiao and Princess Jiayi had been married for many years, the husband and wife maintained separate residences. The Princess's manor and the Xiao manor were separated by only a single wall, yet they were two distinct estates.

Scholar Huang was the Chief Administrator of the Princess's manor, while Jiang Ping and the others were guards for Xiao Zhen. Although Xiao Zhen had living quarters in both manors, the salaries of the four guards were paid by the Xiao manor. This meant that the only people who could decide their fate were Consort Xiao and his son, Xiao Zhen; even Xiao Yue had a say, whereas Scholar Huang had no authority over them.

Their visit to Scholar Huang was merely a formality—to inform him that they had committed an error and were leaving the Xiao manor.

However, Scholar Huang did not want to let them go so easily. Although Xiao Zhen had not died within the Princess's manor, he had died while Princess Jiayi was away from the capital. Ultimately, it came down to Scholar Huang's failure in oversight; had he assigned more guards to accompany Xiao Zhen at the time, perhaps he would not have died.

As soon as Princess Jiayi returned, Scholar Huang would certainly have to take the blame proactively. It was possible that a memorial from the Censorate had already reached the Emperor's desk by this very moment.

Scholar Huang could not simply let Jiang Ping and the others depart. While one might not share in the rewards, one must certainly share in the punishment.

Scholar Huang immediately ordered the guards of the Princess's manor to seize the four men and lock them up.

Then, a fire broke out in the Princess's manor.

Fortunately, the fire was extinguished in time; only two rooms were burned, and there were no casualties.

However, when Scholar Huang rushed to the scene, he was met with two pieces of news that sent him into a rage.

Jiang Ping and the three others had vanished.

And the fire had been caused by the Second Young Master, Xiao Yue, practicing his fire-walking.

Scholar Huang summoned Xiao Yue for questioning. Xiao Yue acted entirely innocent: "Scholar Huang, you are a man of great experience. Surely you know some performers who can walk through fire? Could you help me find a master?"

Scholar Huang nearly coughed up blood in fury. It was one thing to spend all day mingling with actors, but now he wanted to learn fire-walking? Why didn't he just fly to the heavens?

"Where are Jiang Ping and the others? Does the Second Young Master know?"

Xiao Yue replied with utter indifference, "Them? I found them an eyesore, so I told them to get lost."

Scholar Huang's head spun. It was over; there was no one left to take the blame.

"May I ask where the Second Young Master told them to 'get lost' to?"

Xiao Yue burst into laughter, doubling over. "Scholar Huang, I heard you were a successful candidate of the imperial examinations. How can you ask such a ridiculous question? Rivers, lakes, and seas—they can roll off to wherever they please. I am not endowed with clairvoyance or divine hearing."

As he spoke, Xiao Yue's wrists flickered, pretending to hold a long water sleeve, twirling it into a flourish. Then, he raised his fingers in a delicate "orchid" gesture and pointed at Scholar Huang reproachfully, "Oh, you heartless darling—ya ya ya—"

Before Scholar Huang could react, Xiao Yue twisted his waist, took a few dainty steps, turned around, and walked away, singing "Qiang qiang qiang qiang qiang" under his breath.

Scholar Huang was speechless.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ping and the three others had used the Princess's manor's command tokens to slip out of the city overnight, reuniting with Xiao Zhen fifty miles away from the capital.

"Where is Xiao Yue?" Xiao Zhen asked.

"The Second Young Master said he has his own place to hide, so please do not worry, Eldest Young Master," Jiang Ping replied.

Xiao Zhen truly had no need to worry. He knew that although Xiao Yue was young, he was certainly capable of hiding himself perfectly.

Seeing the country boy who had come to deliver the message standing beside his master, Jiang Ping paused and asked, "Eldest Young Master, is this young man traveling with us as well?"

Seeing Jiang Ping looking at him, Da Zhuang immediately puffed out his chest. "My name is Yao Tianxiao."

Xiao Zhen nodded. "Tianxiao, stay by my side from now on. Look out for one another."

The four men greeted Da Zhuang one by one.

"Jiang Ping." "Cai An." "Li Xi." "Xu Le."

Da Zhuang was delighted. *Peace and joy.* It turned out the names of city folk were so down-to-earth. He smiled and said, "Just call me Da Zhuang. Everyone calls me Da Zhuang."

Jiang Ping and the others did not understand why Xiao Zhen would bring along this country youth, but they did not ask; the Eldest Young Master surely had his reasons.

In his past life, Da Zhuang had run away secretly, wanting to see the world. Back then, his thoughts were beautiful; he wanted to make a name for himself so he could bring his grandfather to live a life of luxury.

But that wish was never fulfilled. Three years after Da Zhuang left, Yao Shanbo was crushed to death by a falling rock from the mountain.

In this life, Xiao Zhen had not expected that Yao Shanbo would be the one to suggest that Da Zhuang follow him.

Although Yao Shanbo had not explained why, Xiao Zhen guessed it must be related to him being a member of the Xiao family. This mysterious healer living in the mountains likely had some connection to the Xiao clan. Since Yao Shanbo refused to speak of it, Xiao Zhen did not press him. He merely made a silent vow that once these matters were settled, he would have Da Zhuang bring Yao Shanbo down from Shiji Mountain.

At this moment, Xiao Zhen's body had not fully recovered. According to Yao Shanbo, he should not be riding a horse at all. However, he could not wait; he did not have much time left.

That night, they changed horses at a relay station and continued their journey. The stablehand, while lifting his head to feed the horses, happened to lock eyes with Xiao Zhen's pale, bloodless face. The stablehand was startled; it was often said that the night roads were haunted, and no one knew if the travelers arriving in the middle of the night were humans or ghosts.

This one... must be a ghost.

Terrified, the stablehand quickly averted his gaze, only daring to look back once the group had departed with their new horses.

"Oh dear, I forgot to check if they had shadows," the stablehand muttered to himself. The next day, he refused to work the night shift no matter what.

A few days later, someone arrived at the large inn carrying a portrait. They went from person to person, asking if anyone had seen the person in the painting. The stablehand took one look and began to tremble uncontrollably. The stranger, growing suspicious, asked, "Have you seen this person?"

The stablehand asked tremulously, "Is this person... already dead?"

The stranger narrowed his eyes. "How do you know he is dead?"

The stablehand's body shook even more violently. *He is dead! He really is!*

"A ghost! It's a ghost! It's a ghost!"

Despite the stranger's attempts at both persuasion and intimidation, the stablehand insisted he had seen a ghost identical to the portrait. As for where the ghost had drifted, the stablehand pointed in every direction—north, south, east, and west—concluding only that it had drifted into the darkness. As for whether there were others with the ghost, of course there were: the Black and White Impermanence, with their blue faces and fangs.

The other guests at the inn also testified that the stablehand indeed claimed to have seen a ghost.

In the end, the stablehand was slapped and kicked several times.

For some reason, the story reached the capital. Some said the ghost was Xiao Zhen, who had died young and was unwilling to accept his fate, so he wandered the official roads at night. Consequently, for a long time afterward, fewer and fewer people traveled the roads at night.

(End of Chapter)