coobybook Chapter 94 The Strange Mountain Villa
Chapter 94 The Strange Mountain Villa
Li Lianhua seemed a little embarrassed: "Master Jin, I have a favor to ask. My bodyguard has been unable to circulate his internal energy. I have searched everywhere but have not found a way. I have come here today to borrow the head of Bo Lan from your manor."
Upon hearing this, Jin Mantang looked wary: "What did you say? You want my Bolan head?"
Li Lianhua quickly replied, "Don't worry, Master Jin, we will return it on the spot after we use it."
Jin Mantang was somewhat displeased: "It borrows..."
"Since it's inconvenient, we'll take our leave now."
Li Lianhua turned to leave.
Thinking of his own life, Jin Mantang called out to the four people, "Wait."
"This head of Bolan is the most precious treasure of our manor. Since you gentlemen wish to borrow it, you must show some sincerity."
"If you can find out who is behind this plot against me, the matter of Bolan's head will naturally not be a problem."
After the conditions were agreed upon, it was time to set up the traps.
Afterwards, Fang Duobing first surveyed the inside and outside of Jin Mantang's room, then opened the bundle he had brought with him, took out many small objects and mechanisms, placed them on the ground, and fiddled with them by himself.
Li Lianhua, Wu You, Di Feisheng, and Jin Mantang, the owner of Yuanbao Manor, were drinking tea in the pavilion next door, watching Fang Duobing running around inside and outside the house, on and off the roof.
It wasn't that Li Lianhua and the others didn't want to help; it was just that they themselves really didn't know how and would only make things worse. Wu You had originally planned to learn and lend a hand, but Fang Duobing "persuaded" him to come back.
Half an hour later, Fang Duobing arrived at the small pavilion.
"Come on, have a cup of tea and rest for a while."
Li Lianhua poured Fang a cup of tea for him, as he was often ill.
Fang Duobing lifted up and gulped down two mouthfuls, and it was gone.
"The arrangements are complete, Master Jin, please."
Fang Duobing led the four people into the room, closed the door, and then walked to a cabinet, turned on the switch.
In an instant, all those quiet, solitary mechanisms were connected together by a thin wire, and around the wire, many bells were placed.
Even outside, the sound of bells could be heard coming in.
Professional tasks should be handled by professionals. This efficiency and quality deserve praise.
How much did Fang Duobing bring with him? I didn't notice before, and I didn't hear any noise. Where did he hide it? Did he bring a legendary storage bag from the cultivation world?
"This is the Thousand Bell Formation," Fang Duobing explained to everyone.
"The only lock for opening and closing the array is in this room. Now that the Thousand Bell Array is activated, anyone who gets close will be trapped by the sharp suspension wires, and the whole manor will soon know about it."
Oh, calling this thing "suspended wire" is much more elegant than "iron wire." Another day of learning nothing.
As they were talking, they suddenly heard a series of urgent bell sounds coming from outside the house, which startled Fang Duobing.
"Someone has already broken through the formation so quickly?"
Fang Duobing unlocked the door, and a group of people came out of the house. They saw a girl of about seventeen or eighteen years old who was trapped by wires outside and could not move.
"You are......"
Jin Mantang quickly said, "This is my adopted daughter, Zhiyu."
Zhiyu shrank back and explained, "Godfather, I was just passing by. I didn't expect you to have guests here."
"My daughter is twenty-nine years old and doesn't see many outsiders, so she's a little shy. Please forgive her."
"Go back quickly. There's a formation here. You'll need my permission to come in again. Now go down."
Zhiyu nodded, shrinking back.
Wu You clicked his tongue in amazement, wondering how much blood this girl had lost to look so pale.
Jin Mantang should have found some blood-nourishing foods for her. If someone encountered this at night, they might think they'd seen a ghost.
Fang Duobing quickly stepped forward: "Let me help you untie it."
Fang Duobing reached out and touched a thread hanging from Zhiyu's body. With a gentle press, the thread retracted into the small object in Fang Duobing's hand.
Zhiyu bowed slightly and left.
Li Lianhua said, "Your daughter is unwell and too thin."
Jin Mantang didn't take it to heart: "I'm just naturally weak. I've already found a doctor to treat me, so there's no need for Doctor Li to worry about it. Once you've caught the person who wants to harm me, we can talk about the head of Bo Nan."
After saying that, he quickly walked back into the house and closed the door. The next moment, the Thousand Bell Array was activated.
Since the host wouldn't see the guests, the group had no choice but to go outside.
Fang Duobing was furious: "I worked so hard to set up the formation for him, and he shut me out. It seems I am too honest."
"With so many guards at Yuanbao Manor, and yet Zongzheng Mingzhu still managed to break through, we must help Jin Mantang on this trip."
"Li Lianhua, what do you need Bo Lan's head from Yuanbao Manor for? Afei probably doesn't need it, does he?"
Wu You couldn't understand the thought process of intelligent people.
"This Bolan head is a treasure of Yuanbao Manor, so Luo Motian Ice must also be one of his treasures. We'll see if this Bolan head can really help Afei."
"Secondly, it's highly likely that all the treasures are stored in one place. Knowing where the Bolan head is will help us find the Luomotian Ice more easily."
Wow, that's brilliant! Wasn't the Luo Mo Tian Ice placed alongside the Bo Lan head? Wu You couldn't help but applaud Li Lianhua's ingenuity.
Wu You had good reason to suspect that the combined intelligence of himself, Fang Duobing, and Di Feisheng was probably not as high as that of Li Lianhua.
"That's a good idea. If you put it that way, it's not impossible that they're in the same box, right?"
"Youyou is right. When we see the head of the Bolan, we must examine it carefully."
Di Feisheng and Fang Duobing didn't take it seriously; after all, who puts all their eggs in one basket? But since they'd both spoken, it wouldn't hurt to take a second look later.
As they walked along, they passed a courtyard and saw Jian Lingxiao, the Ghostly Healer, watering flowers.
Since we've run into each other, let's say hello.
"So Brother Jian lives in this courtyard? I didn't expect that Brother Jian is also a lover of flowers."
"It's Brother Li. I just like using medicinal herbs in flowers. You are also well-versed in medicine, so you must know the medicinal value of these flowers."
"Of course. For example, I often use this medicine to treat patients to remove blood stasis and relieve pain."
Li Lianhua pointed to a pot of small yellow flowers and said.
You mean honeysuckle?
Jian Lingxiao was somewhat incredulous, his thoughts racing.
"Gelsemium elegans is also known as the Soul-Severing Grass. How should it be taken? I just picked it up while picking Coltsfoot and was about to throw it away."
Li Lianhua was not discouraged even after being exposed: "Everything in this world is mutually reinforcing and mutually restraining. If I remember correctly, there is a kind of grass in this world called Guanyin's Smile."
"Yes, that's it. It can neutralize the toxicity of Gelsemium elegans while retaining its medicinal properties. It's very effective after taking it. I wonder if Brother Jian remembers it?"
Li Lianhua was so earnestly trying to deceive people that if the others who came with her hadn't known the situation, they would probably have believed her just by looking at her.
However, it was quite difficult to suppress the laughter.
Jian Lingxiao seemed to be recalling something, and was about to answer.
Fang Duobing suddenly spoke.
“I suddenly remembered that we have something to do, Brother Jian. We won’t bother you any longer. You go ahead and do your work.”
With that, he pulled Li Lianhua away, with Wu You and Di Feisheng beside him, and they left together.
"You dare to say anything out of the blue, aren't you afraid of being exposed?"
Fang was often ill and short of breath.
A dark and windy night is the perfect time to stir up trouble.
A group of strangers suddenly gathered together one day and sneaked out in the middle of the night, clearly with ulterior motives.
Wu You also left his room under the moonlight, not to cause trouble, but to find Su Xiaoyong.
Wu You remembered that on this night, Jin Mantang, the owner of Yuanbao Manor, would die, and everyone who went out in the middle of the night was suspicious, including Su Xiaoyong.
Su Xiaoyong, a woman, lived in the men's quarters, which was somewhat inconvenient. She only went out to wash up, but in the end, her secret of being a woman disguised as a man and impersonating Guan Hemeng was exposed.
Since the TV series specifically mentioned that Su Xiaoyong's place was inconvenient, it must indeed be inconvenient. As for where she went to wash up after leaving the house, we don't know, but it's not appropriate for her to go anywhere.
So Wu You quietly left the courtyard, intending to "intercept" Su Xiaoyong halfway there.
Wu You's willingness to help Su Xiaoyong stems from the fact that Su Xiaoyong provides significant assistance to Li Lianhua and her group later in the series. In fact, it could be argued that without Su Xiaoyong's help, Li Lianhua and her group would have been stuck translating Nan Yinwen's text.
Unbeknownst to Wu You, Li Lianhua followed closely behind him as soon as he left the hospital, walking at a distance.
Seeing the two leave one after the other, Di Feisheng sensed something was wrong and followed them out the door. However, he went in the opposite direction, disappearing into the shadows.
Of all the people living in the same courtyard, only Fang Duobing was fast asleep in his room.
Wu You and the others waited on the path Su Xiaoyong would take to leave the courtyard. Before long, they saw Su Xiaoyong appear, acting suspiciously and carrying something in her arms.
Wu You didn't have the habit of scaring people in the middle of the night, so when Su Xiaoyong was still about ten steps away, she came out from around the corner.
Su Xiaoyong, who was in a hurry, was startled when a figure suddenly appeared in front of her, and her steps faltered.
Upon closer inspection, it appears to be Wu You, Li Lianhua's fiancée. It's unclear what she's up to in the middle of the night.
Having calmed herself down, Su Xiaoyong continued walking forward.
"Miss Wu, are you out admiring the moon tonight?"
"Yes, I'm waiting for the moon, and I'm waiting for you too."
"Wait for me? Wait for me for what?"
"Oh, it's like this. Li Lianhua took an instant liking to Doctor Guan today and wants to play a game of chess with him. It's still early, the chessboard is all set up, and she specifically asked me to come and invite Doctor Guan."
What's wrong with this guy? He's like an old friend from the first meeting. He was still being sarcastic during the day, but then he invited me to play chess at night.
"No, I have other things to attend to, so I won't bother you any longer, Dr. Li. Farewell."
Su Xiaoyong didn't want to waste words with this person; she just wanted to find a place to go. Honestly, of all times, why today of all times? She didn't even dare go to the other side of the street.
Wu You reached out to stop him: "What's the rush? We're extending a very sincere invitation."
As they got closer, Wu You smelled a faint scent on Su Xiaoyong's body. So that's why. It was indeed inconvenient to be in the boys' dormitory; one had to sneak out in the dark.
So he quickly said, "Since I know about your affairs, I naturally know about you. Let's go together. We have everything there. How long would it take you to find it in the dark?"
Su Xiaoyong understood Wu You's unspoken meaning. She had guessed that Wu You knew her this morning, but she didn't know why Wu You was showing her kindness without saying anything. Could it be that the walls were overheard?
Actually, Su Xiaoyong was overthinking it. Although Wu You knew, the reason she didn't say it was because Su Xiaoyong herself hadn't taken off that mask, so how could she directly help someone else take it off?
Searching under the moon is indeed difficult now, and with a better option available, Su Xiaoyong naturally wouldn't let it pass.
"I had intended to borrow a good chessboard from the manor lord, but since Doctor Li has already prepared one, I will humbly accept."
So the two headed toward the courtyard where Wu You lived.
Li Lianhua, who had been hiding in the shadows in the distance, slipped back into her house as the two were about to reach the courtyard.
Then he took out the chessboard that the manor owner had placed in the room and set it up properly. After all, Wu You had said so, so he naturally had to do it properly.
After bringing Su Xiaoyong back to her room, Wu You asked the servants of Yuanbao Manor to pour several basins of hot water and carry them into the room.
Su Xiaoyong hid behind a screen, with several pieces of clothing draped over it, making her completely invisible from the outside. She only emerged after everyone had left.
"Thank you, Miss Wu."
"Don't be so polite. When you're traveling, there are always times when you don't take care of things. Hurry up and wash, I'll go get what you need."
Wu You turned around and went into a small storage room next door. After closing the door, he went into the old house's interior space.
Wu You took out the sanitary products Su Xiaoyong needed, thought for a moment, and then found a small box. When she opened it, it was full of perfumes of various scents.
I found a bottle of lemongrass inside. It smelled fresh, lemony, and had a hint of herbal aroma, giving me a cool feeling.
After finding the items, Wu You returned to the room. Su Xiaoyong had already taken a shower. Wu You handed her the items and taught her how to use them.
Although Su Xiaoyong was curious about these things, she needed to use them herself right now, so she thanked them again.
"I'm waiting for you outside. I'm sure Li Lianhua is getting a little impatient."
Drinking tea so late at night isn't good; let's have some milk instead. You can't be so casual when entertaining guests; what if they don't like it?
Hehe, then let's put a little of each.
The materials were all readily available, and Wu You finished in just a few minutes.
When Wu You came out of the small kitchen carrying several cups of homemade milk tea and several plates of snacks, Su Xiaoyong had just come out of the house.
"Let's go, over there."
Wu You led the way.
When I came back just now, I saw that the candle in Li Lianhua's room was still lit, so he probably hadn't rested yet. Now that I'm asking him to have milk tea in the middle of the night, he should probably drink it.
Since he'd already drunk the milk tea, it wouldn't be unreasonable to let him play a game of chess with Su Xiaoyong. With that in mind, Wu You knocked on the door.
Good news, Li Lianhua likes to drink milk tea.
Even better news: Li Lianhua was actually playing chess all by himself.
How incredibly boring is this? Hitting yourself.
"Dr. Li the Divine Physician".
"The Heroic Doctor Guan".
Wu You spoke first, making his words a little vague: "Since the chessboard is already set up, let the two of you begin. I'll see if I can learn anything from it."
............................................................
Lotus Tower Small Theater
Wu You: Li Lianhua, how does it feel to play against yourself?
Li Lianhua: It doesn't matter, it's all about my own brain spinning and thinking.
Wu You: What are you doing in the middle of the night?
Li Lianhua: It's because someone hasn't come yet.
Wu You: What did you say?
Li Lianhua: I didn't say anything. This milk tea is so delicious. I almost threw up the first time I drank milk.