In Search of Love

Translator: KongoIsamu

Editor: KongoIsamu

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The head Constable wants to see them?

Su Xiao Pei’s heart is beating rapidly, is this a good thing or a bad thing? She glanced at Ran Fei Ze, and saw that he was looking at her as well.

Whether see this Head Constable Qin is a good thing or a bad thing, they would have to go to Ning’an City, that means she is able to say goodbye to nunnery in Stone Town, right?

Su Xiao Pei looked at Ran Fei Ze and nods her head, I want to go!! Whether was it for the five tales or to continue her journey with Ran Fei Ze, it is a good choice to go to Ning’an City.

Ran Fei Ze did not mind, he looked at Liu Xiang and said, “I will wait for arrangement.”

“Good, Head Constable Qin is rushing this matter, Soldier and Miss Su should start packing and we will leave without delay”

“Wait a minute.” Su Xiao Pei saw that the pace is picking up, but the main point has not been said, she couldn’t help but interrupt, “Constable Liu, there is no problem if we leave now, but the necessity is provided by Constable Liu?”

Liu Xiang was stunned, he understood what she meant but out of all the time the government asked a citizen, this is the first time the citizen asked the government to provide the necessities for the trip. Although there is nothing wrong with it and there is not much to do in this situation, he still had never encountered it before. He was not prepared for such a question.

Liu Xiang still had not reacted, but he listened to what Ran Fei Ze said, “What Miss said is not appropriate, since Head Constable invited us, the cost of trip is definitely provided. Miss do not need to worry about this sort of unnecessary thing.”

“Oh, in that case, it is my fault. It is good that the necessities are provided, otherwise we would have no more money. We would be unable to travel anymore.”

Liu Xiang continues to swear, this and this, these two people are in cahoots, right? He was unable to reply to either of them, after thinking about it, he said, “So, the two of you should start packing, I will go and borrow a horse carriage.”

Su Xiao Pei turned to faced Ran Fei Ze after Liu Xiang left, “Borrow a horse carriage? He didn’t arrange it in the first place?”

Ran Fei Ze laughed, “We would be going to Ning’an City, passing by two temples, will Miss leave a letter?”

“Ah?” Su Xiao Pei’s eyes lit up.

“I will find Boss Song to resign, and Miss should start writing that letter.” Ran Fei Ze saw Su Xiao Pei’s wide eyes and happy expression, laughed and went out.

Su Xiao Pei was very excited after listening to what Ran Fei Ze had said. Does this mean that once they reached Ning’an City, he would not abandon her, that he will bring her along to find her Cheng Jiang Yi? She jumped up, and quickly wrote a letter, she had long known what she wanted to write in the letter. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, she had written the letter in English, telling Cheng Jiang Yi that she came from the same place as him, and asked him to find her so that they would be able to return home together. Only the real Cheng Jiang Yi is able to understand this letter, and once he had grasp it, he will find her.

Just as she had finished copying the letter five times, Ran Fei Ze entered the room, she then told him that she had finished writing her letters.

Su Xiao Pei handed over one letter to Ran Fei Ze as he wanted to take a look. He took a glance and frown, “What is this letter saying?”

Su Xiao Pei said the meaning of the letter once, and then said that this is the language of her hometown, only the person that she is looking for is able to read it.

“Good idea, save trouble.” Ran Fei Ze said, he then placed the pen and paper on the chair and wrote five letters. The letter contains the location of a certain house in a certain City, followed by a sentence informing the owner of the house to allow the person who held the letter to stay.

He wrote the letters very quickly, the words were elegant and beautiful, very beautiful. Su Xiao Pei looked at it and felt grounded. She knew that with Ran Fei Ze around, everything will be smooth.

Half an hour later, Su Xiao Pei found herself sitting in a simple horse carriage, hugging her small bag, leaning against Ran Fei Ze’s big bag.

This was her first time sitting in a horse carriage, more precisely, it was a push cart that was made with three boards and two wheels, and it is being pulled by one horse. When Su Xiao Pei sat down, she was able to hear the creaking of the boards beneath her. When the horse started moving, the whole cart would rattle. Su Xiao Pei was so nervous that she immediately hugged her bag. She was so afraid that the cart would start to fall apart once the cart begin moving.

Fortunately, the cart did not fall apart even after they had left Stone Town, or even after cart was on government-paved road. Su Xiao Pei start to relax and swayed happily with the movements of the cart, curiously watching the scenery as she went passed.

[In the past, there would be two types of road, one would be for government or the rich, where it would be shorter and safer, whereas the other road, would be for merchant, travelers, and the villagers, it would be longer and dangerous due to animals and the likes.]

The area that they had passed were full of tress, full of wild grass and mountains in the distance. The fresh air, beautiful paddy fields, listening to the songs that the farmers were singing… everything was new to her.

Su Xiao Pei was too busy absorbing everything that she saw. In the modern world, Su Xiao Pei was able to distinguish the different brands of various electrical appliances, able to identity car models, and building. But here, she was unable to recognize the type of flowers, tress, or even the crops.

She was really really far from home!

Su Xiao Pei suddenly felt a bout of sadness hit her. the horse carriage had been moving for a long time, her back was in pain and she was dizzy. After a while, the scenery around her starts to look the same, and she finally felt sleepy and uncomfortable.

Ran Fei Ze and Liu Xiang were riding horses, and another constable was in a different horse carriage. With three men surrounding her, and the cart was just a board with no cover, Su Xiao Pei was embarrassed to sleep.

Finally, Su Xiao Pei managed to take a break after riding the horse carriage for half a day. Ran Fei Ze gave Su Xiao Pei some water to drink, she shook her head, afraid that she would have to use the toilet if she drank. Liu Xiang and another Constable went to the woods to relieve themselves, but Su Xiao Pei does not dare to do the same as them. When Ran Fei Ze saw her rejection, he did not persuade her, he opened his big ban and suddenly pulled out a blanket, and flicked it open and wrapped Su Xiao Pei in the blanket. He tied his bag close and brought it to Su Xiao Pei, using the bag to cover Su Xiao Pei’s head.

Then, Su Xiao Pei heard him whisper, “Sleep for a while.”

This coverage separated Su Xiao Pei from the outside world. She heard the voices of Liu Xiang and another Constable returning, the sound of the horse’s footstep, the movement of the cart and the heavy yet light footsteps of Ran Fei Ze, Su Xiao Pei relaxed and closed her eyes.

After a while, Liu Xiang slipped on the road, and the carriage jolted heavily, Su Xiao Pei was shocked awake and she screamed out, “SOLDIER!”

“I am not far. Please relax, Miss.”

Ran Fei Ze quickly responded to her, Su Xiao Pei nodded. She remembered that he could not see her due to his big bag and the blanket, she replied, “Okay.”

She was still sleepy, and with the swaying of the carriage, she leaned back on Ran Fei Ze’s blanket and fell back to sleep.

Su Xiao Pei slept all the way. They did not stop until it was night, where they rest in the forest. Su Xiao Pei stayed vigil while the three big men was sleeping, which was strange, but she could not sleep. On the third day on the road, the carriage swayed but Su Xiao Pei began to feel sick and sleepy. This was when she realized that she had motion sickness.

Su Xiao Pei was used to sitting in a car and airplane, but was it strange that she will get motion sickness from sitting in a horse carriage? She tried to fall asleep while feeling uncomfortable. Bai Yu Lang said before that to and fro from Ning’An City would take three days. Su Xiao Pei thought that it would not be too far but once she had experienced the journey, she found out that because the horse carriage was too slow, it took them 2 days to travel from Stone City to Ning’An City.

The regrettable thing was that when they had passed the temple, Ran Fei Ze called out for them to stop, he woke Su Xiao Pei up and brought her inside to tour around. But there was no news of Cheng Jiang Yi, no one in the temple had seen him or heard of him. Ran Fei Ze left Su Xiao Pei’s letter with them and asked the monks for help. If they had meet him, asked them to show Cheng Jiang Yi the letter. The monks agreed.

Su Xiao Pei was surprised by the portholes on the road, and her mood diminished by the unsuccessful attempts in finding Cheng Jiang Yi. Even after hearing Ran Fei Ze and Liu Xiang discussing on ways to find Cheng Jiang Yi, even after the promised from Liu Xiang to help her find him, Su Xiao Pei’s mood did not improve. Eventually, they had reached Ning’an City.

The horse carriage drive straight to the door of the Yamen. Su Xiao Pei was woken up in advance, she drank some water and rubbed her face, but from the expression of Ran Fei Ze, she knew that her appearance was quite bad. But after appearing in this world for so long, she had long given up on her appearance.

When the horse carriage stopped, Su Xiao Pei thought that they would be immediately taken to see the Head Constable Qin. One of the servants that was guarding the door usher them to a house in one of the courtyard. Liu Xiang and the other constable did not follow them in, nor did she saw them anywhere.

Ran Fei Ze stood at the door and look around before returning to his seat.

Su Xiao Pei asked, “What did you see?”

“I saw a woman with face that is similar to a ghost.”

Su Xia Pei pout, knew that he was ridiculing her, “Soldier is lying, where did Soldier seen a real ghost?”

Ran Fei Ze laughed out loud and Su Xiao Pei ignored him. She knew that her current state is not suitable to meet people, so she quickly walked around the house, doing some activities, moved her arms around, did some stretching exercise with a smile. She did a few rounds and felt better and more fresh.

Ran Fei Ze stared at her and waited for her to finish and asked, “Just like how you are able to make me angry without reason, you are able to make me happy without reason as well?”

“It is just a small and simple technique.” Su Xiao Pei pinched her thumb and forefinger near each other to gesture a small procedure that was done. “Since Soldier is willing to take me in, I will slowly teach Soldier.” Just as they had converse a few sentences, a person came into the room, Su Xiao Pei looked up and saw that it was Bai Yu Lang.

“Uncle Ran!” Bai Yu Lang called out just as he stepped through the door.

Su Xiao Pei was shocked, just how long had they not seen each other, the position of Ran Fei Ze in Bai Yu Lang’s eyes has been changed from brother to uncle?

Bai Yu Lang smiled and rushed to Ran Fei Ze, but still maintain an appropriate distance, “I’ve met my second brother in Ji City and talked to him about Uncle Ran. I only remember it once he had said that Uncle Ran had been to my house before. My second brother and I looked alike, I’m sure Uncle Ran is able to recognize me. If I was rude to you earlier, please forgive me.”

Bai Yu Lang’s father recognized Ran Fei Ze as his brother, he also called Ran Fei Ze ‘brother’, which result in a mess.

Ran Fei Ze smiled, Bai Yu Lang allowed Ran Fei Ze to call him Lao Liu (sixth).

[Bai Yu Lang is the sixth child in his family, thus, his family called him lao liu<老六, lǎo liù>. It is a nickname that close members would use.]

At this time, Bai Yu Lang turned to Su Xiao Pei and said, “Big sister had worked hard, Constable Qin went and investigate the case. Big sister, just take a seat, once Head Constable Qin have arrived, he will call for Big sister.”

Su Xiao Pei nodded her head and agreed, she felt a bit awkward being called Big sister. Especially, when Ran Fei Ze had been upgraded to Uncle. Now their identity has a big gap.

Bai Yu Lang said his second brother had gave him a small gift to pass to Ran Fei Ze. The gift was in Bai Yu Lang’s room, thus, he asked Ran Fei Ze to follow him to his room. Ran Fei Ze glanced at Su Xiao Pei and agreed with Bai Yu Lang’s request.

Bai Yu Lang led Ran Fei Ze through the courtyard towards his own room. Bai Yu Lang closed the door and asked Ran Fei Ze to sit down. Bai Yu Lang did not bring out the gift but instead said, “Uncle Ran, you have been with this lady for a while, did you notice anything suspicious about her?”

Ran Fei Ze raised his eyebrows and was not surprised by Bai Yu Lang, “Why? Did she guess correctly? Is Head Constable suspicious?”

Bai Yu Lang nod his head, “What Miss said was correctly, I followed according to what Miss had said, I had found a clue in Ji City. I quickly report this to Head Constable Qin as his had more experienced and knowledgeable. He reminded me that theories are not facts. Uncle Ran met her by chance, you do not know her true self, the timing of her appearance coincides with the timing of our trap to catch the criminal. All of this is too coincidental. We are not able to make a conclusion. Therefore, we asked Uncle Ran and Miss to come over. Head Constable Qin wants to see Miss. If Miss is related to the criminal, then Miss is another lead for us to follow. If they are not related, Head Constable Qin would want to meet Miss.”

“Lao Liu, in Head Constable Qin’s mind, he actually believed that Miss Su and that criminal is related, right?”

“Uncle Ran, there is solid proof to Head Constable Qin’s thought and reasons, I think it all makes sense. Head Constable Qin would not hastily accuse people, he would investigate properly before delivering justice. He just wants to observe Miss Su.” Just as he spoke of this, he suddenly remembered, “Didn’t Uncle Ran said before, that Miss Su had forgotten her memory?”

“She remembered it later.”

Bai Yu Lang was shocked, “Look! Such a coincidence, how easy for her to suddenly got back her memories.”

Ran Fei Ze nodded, “Yes, such a coincidence.”

Bai Yu Lang looked at the expression on Ran Fei Ze, and frowned, “Uncle Ran, Head Constable Qin just want to see her, observe her. But things are not that simple. Last night, the murderer committed a crime in Ning’an City. The eldest daughter of the Sima family was found dead in her home. She was not properly attired, she was stabbed multiple times, and her hair was shaved. Head Constable Qin is still at the Sima house investigating, I heard that Uncle Ran would arrive at the Yamen today and came back first.”

There is another murder? Ran Fei Ze was so stunned that he did not move. That murderer is too much!

“Uncle Ran, are you suspicious of Miss Su?”

“Lao Liu, you have already called me Uncle Ran, I need to talk to you about some things.”

Bai Yu Lang looked at his face, and said, “Uncle Ran, please tell me.”

“You’ve said so much to me, how do you know that I am indeed the same ‘Ran Fei Ze’ that your family knows?”

“Ah?” Bai Yu Lang never expected such a sentence to come out of Ran Fei Ze, he got such a big shock.

“But you are lucky, I am indeed that Ran Fei Ze.”

Bai Yu Lang breathe out a relieved sigh, his face showed a disappointed face. Uncle Ran ah Uncle Ran, why are you teasing me?

“You, as a government worker, will have many secrets that are not able to be leaked. This is one of them, you should not do this again.”

Bai Yu Lang’s expression was still disappointed, this is indeed a lesson, but where did it go wrong?

Ran Fei Ze did not wait for Bai Yu Lang to ponder over his words, said, “If based on ordinary people, Miss Su is really weird, but she is only weird. I believe that she is harmless. Lao Liu, you’ve heard a lot of rumors, you’ve must have heard of me. I am a person who acts rebelliously, always works against people. If I feel like it, I would do against what was told. You can investigate what you want, should do the things that need to be done. You must catch the murderer and bring him to justice. Should not miss the chance. Miss Su was brought by me; her safety is my responsibility.”

Bai Yu Lang understood what Ran Fei Ze said, “Please be at ease, Uncle Ran. Head Constable Qin is an honorable man, he would not randomly suspect people. I, as a constable, is also doing my job to bring justice to the citizens, I would not randomly accuse people without evidence. If Miss Su really have the ability, she will be able to help us catch the murderer, it is also a good thing. We won’t take the fame and frame the innocent.”

Ran Fei Ze showed a comforting look and patted Bai Yu Lang’s shoulder, believing that Bai Yu Lang is a righteous person. “Lao Liu is young and has promise, your family head must be happy? That’s good. Since our conversation has ended, let me see Lao Er’s present.”

[Lao Er<老二, lǎo èr> is the second brother, not his actual name but rather a nickname.]

“Ah?” Bai Yu Lang was dumbfounded. How can Ran Fei Ze not know that the gift was just an excuse to bring him out of the room. There was no gift, how was Bai Yu Lang suppose to get a gift from?

Ran Fei Ze laughed, “Where is the gift? Made me get my hopes up. If that is the case, then, Lao Liu, why don’t you just prepare a good meal for us to eat, we had a long and tiring journey, we need to boost our energy.”

Bai Yu Lang’s expression fell again. This Uncle of mine, sigh…

Bai Yu Lang had nothing to say other than agreeing to Ran Fei Ze ‘request’. After sending Ran Fei Ze back to room with Su Xiao Pei, he ordered the servants to bring some dishes of food and alcohol. Of course, he had to pay for their meals. After paying for the food, he suddenly realized that something was wrong. Ran Fei Ze taught him to not leak out secrets and to not do it again, but from the beginning, wasn’t it Uncle Ran who tricked him to reveal the information.

Heh, this unruly Uncle.

At the same time, in the Sima household at Ning’an City, Sima Wan Ru held onto her sword, with a determine face, walked out of the house.

Sima Wan Ru’s elder sister, Sima Wan Qing and her childhood sweetheart, Chang Ji Cheng, were engaged. Sima Wan Ru and her friends quickly rushed back to congratulate the bride but upon reaching the house, she had heard the news that her sister had been killed the night before. The Magistrate and Head Constable Qin, personally, came to inquire and investigate the case. But everyone knew about the wanted man notice as it is being circulated in the surrounding cities, but till now, he has not been caught. Depend on the government? Once the government officials had left, Sima Wan Ru sneer, and have a stern face. She faced her family and said that she wanted to investigate by herself, and kill the murderer. The whole family was grieving, and no one told her persuaded her to change her mine.

Sima Wan Ru settled the friends to rest at the house, and left the house to seek answers.

At night, Head Constable finally finished with the case, met Liu Xiang and the others to talk about Ran Fei Ze and Su Xiao Pei. After asking some questions, he went to the courtyard that they were in to talk to them.

In the Sima resident, Sima Wan Ru had returned home and found her senior. This senior and Sima Wan Ru had the same Master.

“I’ve heard that there was a weird priest who had just entered the city today. She had revealed to the government the whereabouts of the murderer.”

“But the government officials didn’t catch anybody recently, right?”

“It’s definitely that this lady is cunning, the government is doing things too slow, and they are not able to give me any answers.”

“What does Junior mean?”

Sima Wan Ru looked up and whispered, “If she falls into my hands, I will definitely make her spill the whereabouts of the murderer.”

With a bang, the teacup was crushed in her hands, “I must avenge my sister!”