Chapter 81: Tracing

The taxi had just come off the Eleventh Jing Road Bridge when Gu Xianwang rubbed her fingertips together and suddenly spoke up. “Driver, could you change the destination, please?”

The daytime snack street wasn’t as lively as usual. Gu Xianwang hurried into the commercial building and took the elevator straight to the hotel front desk.

The staff member was a young woman. When she heard Gu Xianwang asking about a guest’s information, she shook her head at once. “Miss, we don’t have permission to share guest details with you.”

“I don’t need her personal information. I just want to know if she’s checked out.”

The young woman grinned sheepishly. “Checking out is part of the guest information too.”

Gu Xianwang hesitated. “…Even if I’m her friend—her family?”

She had started to say “friend,” but worried that wouldn’t sway this stickler for the rules, so she amended it. “We had dinner here together the night before last. You can check the surveillance footage. She’s lost her phone now, and I can’t reach her. Her parents are really worried. I don’t need any more details—just tell me if she’s checked out and what time.”

“I promise I won’t cause you any trouble.”

She spoke with such sincerity, and with her looks giving her an extra edge, the young woman’s face flushed red. She lowered her voice. “Alright, let me check for you.”

…

Gu Xianwang emerged from the elevator back on the first floor, her expression icy and forbidding. As she pushed through the revolving door, she nearly collided with a white-collar worker heading the other way. Normally, she would have yielded, but this time she stared straight ahead as if no one else existed. The man took one look at her face and hastily stepped aside, wondering to himself if this beauty had just been chewed out by a demanding client.

Once she was in the car, she closed her eyes. A long moment passed before she finally let out a heavy sigh. Long Li had checked out early the next morning—her second day there—without telling anyone. Well, at least she hadn’t told the two of them. They’d talked things over so amicably right before parting ways, with no hint of going their separate ways. So why had she vanished without a word?

Her anger came quickly but faded just as fast. By the time she neared the entrance to her family home, worry had taken over. Long Li was always prudent in her actions. For something like this to happen, the reason she left must have been extremely urgent—either a sudden summons from the organization or her electronic devices falling under someone else’s control. Either way, the danger involved was not to be underestimated.

Moreover, Gu Xianwang couldn’t shake the feeling that Long Li’s disappearance was connected to what had happened at the Flower Fair. Whether it was the thieves’ organization or Long Li’s own memories, someone was using the Long Family’s name to thrust her into the spotlight. That meant the person behind the organization was definitely interested in the Long Family Human Skin Map too. Would their next target be the map coordinates that the hacker had leaked at the Flower Fair?

“Miss, we’ve arrived at Five Avenues. Do you need a receipt?”

Gu Xianwang snapped back to reality, quickly paid, and hurried toward home.

Guessing blindly on her own wouldn’t help. Her master had been at the Flower Fair too—he surely knew more than she did. A scolding was better than staying in the dark.

But the moment she stepped through the door, both she and Nanny Chen froze in surprise.

“Back after just a day? Have you sorted things out in Suzhou already?”

“Has Master returned yet?”

Their words overlapped. Gu Xianwang yielded first. “Yeah, Mom’s condition has stabilized, so I came back ahead of schedule. Nanny Chen, there’s something I need to discuss with Master. Is he coming home today?”

Nanny Chen came over to take her bag and gestured for her to sit. “No rush. Look at you—your body’s not fully recovered, and here you are rushing back and forth. Your face says you haven’t been sleeping well these past couple of days, hasn’t it?”

“I’ll heat up some milk for you. Have you eaten lunch?”

Gu Xianwang’s delicate brows furrowed as she grabbed Nanny Chen’s hand. “Nanny Chen, really, it’s fine. I truly have something urgent to talk to Master about.”

Her bag felt heavy and full. Nanny Chen hefted it briefly, got the sense of things, and set it on a nearby chair. She smiled faintly. “Your master went off traveling with an old friend these past few days. You know how he is—he won’t come back until he’s had his fill. I don’t know exactly when. Whatever it is, why don’t you tell me first? Maybe I can give you some advice.”

Going off on a trip at a time like this? Something didn’t feel right.

A few days ago, Master had just attended the Flower Fair. According to what Ye Zhen said, he had come to Tianjin specifically for that final Long Family Human Skin Map. If all he wanted was a quick look, there would have been no need to bring her back to Tianjin too—wouldn’t getting treatment in the Capital City have been far more convenient? Why drag the whole family along on the tiring journey?

Didn’t that precisely mean Master expected this to take quite some time? How could he possibly drop everything so abruptly and head out sightseeing right after the hacker revealed the Human Skin Map?

“Master hasn’t come back at all since Young President Ye visited that day?”

Nanny Chen paused in her work. She folded the cleaning cloth neatly and set it on the corner of the coffee table, then wiped her hands on her apron before replying in her unhurried way, “He did come back, miss. You left early that morning, and your Master returned afterward. I told him what happened with you, and he grabbed a few things before heading out again. But don’t you worry—if there’s any trouble back in Suzhou, just let me know. Nanny Chen will take care of it for you.”

Gu Xianwang stared down at the tips of her shoes, silently picking apart the flaws in Nanny Chen’s explanation. Master never packed extra luggage for his sightseeing trips; that was his habit. He had started out in the treasure-hunting trade, relying solely on the soles of his feet and a pair of sharp eyes. That was his trademark. For him, the true joy of wandering the mountains lay in testing his skills against the natural world. And after learning about her mother’s situation, would Master really turn a blind eye and go off seeking pleasure?

From what she knew of him, that seemed highly unlikely.

Nanny Chen was clearly hiding something from her. But given how well Nanny Chen knew her, any little tricks she tried probably wouldn’t get past her. Better to just lay her cards on the table.

There was no harm in speaking plainly. Gu Xianwang looked up. “Nanny Chen, you know about the Forbidden Witch Bone too, don’t you?”

Instead of the silence she expected, Nanny Chen turned around, her expression perfectly composed, her tone lifting just a touch. “What odd term have you picked up this time to quiz me with, child?”

But Gu Xianwang still caught that fleeting flicker of unease. She knew Nanny Chen as well as anyone. “You do know. Master knows too, right? Why hide it from me? Is it because of the Yang family?”

Nanny Chen’s face darkened slightly. “Why bring up the Yang family? Are you close to them?”

“Shouldn’t I be?” Heart steeled, Gu Xianwang decided to push a little harder. “I met Yang Baibai the day before yesterday. He—”

“Enough.” Nanny Chen cut her off. “I’ll go heat some milk for you.”

Gu Xianwang bit her lower lip and shot to her feet. “Fine, if you won’t tell me, that’s your choice. I only have one question: Have you noticed anything strange with your body lately? Excessive drowsiness, nosebleeds, or yellow spots on your skin?”

Nanny Chen kept her back turned. The air grew thick and stagnant. After a long moment, she finally turned around. Her expression had softened some, but she looked even more frail and aged. “Wang’er, stay out of these matters. Head back to the Theater Troupe for now. Just focus on your opera singing. You have to listen to Nanny Chen, all right?”

Seeing that look on her face, Gu Xianwang couldn’t bring herself to refuse. Back then, without Nanny Chen’s devoted care, she never would have grown the spine to stand tall and speak to her like this today. A whirlwind of thoughts churned in her mind until, at last, she could only mutter, “I’ll go out for a walk,” snatch up her backpack, and flee the house like her life depended on it.

But in this vast world, where could she go? Who could she turn to?

She shut the courtyard gate behind her with a click. Something rustled by her ear, and then someone bounced up, covering her eyes with their hands and giggling idiotically. “Hee hee, guess who!”

Gu Xianwang went rigid. “…Ye Chan, let go.”

“Oh.” The little cutie wilted in disappointment. “What’s wrong? You don’t look happy. Didn’t you say you’d be right back? I ran over here to wait for you.”

Gu Xianwang eyed her—cheeks puffed out like little steamed buns—and her heart softened on the spot. She suddenly reached up and gave the top of Ye Chan’s head a gentle ruffle. Ye Chan hurriedly shielded her head and dodged away, protesting, “Rubbing my head will stunt my growth! I still wanna shoot up to 165 cm!”

“Heh.” Gu Xianwang couldn’t hold back a soft chuckle this time. “Jump around more, and you’ll grow naturally. Come on, I’ll treat you to coffee.”

“Huh? You’re the best! Got any little cakes? I’ve been burning the brain cells these past couple days—desperate for some sugar!”

The café was right near Five Avenues. Gu Xianwang picked an outdoor seat and ordered two slices of cake for Ye Chan before asking, “About that Water Script you mentioned in the group chat—I did a quick search on my phone. It said it’s a script invented by the Water Clan themselves, only readable by their Ghost Masters, and it’s divided into White Books and Black Books. Your mentor said the two look similar—which parts exactly? Can he make out the meanings?”

Ye Chan took a bite of strawberry cream, savoring it with satisfaction before pulling her notebook out of her backpack and spreading it open. “Look, this is the first side of the stone tablet inscriptions I copied down by hand—the side with the Bronze Sword Slot.”

She flipped to the back. “These are some Water Clan ancient scripts I collected. Not all Water Clan writing consists of pictographs; parts of it resemble oracle bone script and bronzeware script. The spots most similar to the stone tablet inscriptions are these.” She pointed to a few characters that looked like drawings, flipping back and forth between pages for comparison. “See, this kind of pictograph is the oldest type of writing—essentially just painting the meaning of the word. That’s why they all look so similar, like depictions of flowers, birds, insects, or fish; they all have a comparable appearance.”

“To be honest,” she scratched her head, “most Water Clan folk can’t read Water Script themselves. Those who can are revered as Water Script Masters. The tradition of this script has already developed gaps, and my advisor says the similarities between these two types mainly center on these pictographs, which suggests they date back to a very early time. I figure the Witch Clan must be an extremely ancient tribe too, and as for the survivors… well, assuming any are left, there can’t be more than two hundred of them, just like the Chuanqing Clan and Daman Clan. There are some, but their numbers are so few they’re not listed as a separate tribe.”

Gu Xianwang understood. “So these scripts can’t be deciphered for their meaning?”

Ye Chan chewed two bites of chocolate lava cake, flashing a sly grin that revealed chocolate-stained black teeth. “Not necessarily. My advisor doesn’t specialize in ancient scripts, but over the past few days he made a point of asking around with contacts in the field. The real experts are out there among the people, it turns out. Word is there’s a folk craftsman in Shaanxi who’s got deep knowledge of these oddball ancient characters. My advisor suggested that if I pick this as my thesis topic, I should head to Shaanxi and consult him.”

Shaanxi. Gu Xianwang realized she couldn’t drag Ye Chan into this any further. The Ye Family had protected her so carefully precisely because they didn’t want her tangled up in jianghu affairs. “Mm, then you—”

“Oh, right—has Sister Long messaged you? She sent me a spider emoji out of the blue this morning, and when I replied asking what was up, nothing. It’s been a whole day now. What’s that about?”

“This morning? What time exactly?”

“Right around noon. Pretty early—I wasn’t even awake yet.”

Gu Xianwang glanced at Ye Chan’s phone. Sure enough, there was a cartoon spider in their private chat. It wasn’t one of the system’s default emojis, so it couldn’t have been an accidental tap from Long Li. What had she been trying to convey so urgently? And why send it to Ye Chan instead of her?

A spider… The gu worms in the karst cave? Some kind of code? Or a pun?

Ye Chan sipped her latte and piped up suddenly. “Could it be about that spider brooch from before?”

Gu Xianwang paused. The Red Spider Brooch? She still hadn’t returned it after the Flower Fair; it had stayed in her possession. But what did that signify?

She dug the brooch out of her bag, and the two pored over it intently for a good while, but nothing stood out.

Ye Chan said, “Maybe it’s not that complicated at all. Didn’t Third Sister Red give you this brooch? Maybe she wants us to go to the Red Pavilion and find Third Sister Red.”

Gu Xianwang’s thoughts shifted. Whether it concerned Master or Long Li, the Rat-Walkers would know the real ins and outs best. But getting information out of Third Sister Red wouldn’t be simple. After a moment’s thought, she asked, “Do you still have that map photo from the big screen at the Flower Fair?”

“Yeah, I do.” Ye Chan tapped into her photo album. “Here—I got a pretty clear shot. Though this map looks… whoa, it’s super impressionistic.”