"Tell me quickly, what clues do you have?"
As soon as Lin Zhitong met Yan Shouyi in the corridor, she asked impatiently.
In fact, she and Yan Shouyi had only parted ways that morning, but the two, still in the newlywed phase, felt as if they hadn't seen each other in a long time.
Yan Shouyi took her hand, "Come upstairs with me first, and we'll talk as we walk."
Entering Xi Hu Ya Ju, Manager Wu, with his keen eyesight, immediately recognized Lin Zhitong, the eldest daughter of the Lin family from Licheng.
He showed surprise. Lin Zhitong was a prominent figure in Rongcheng!
He hadn't expected her to be related to Yan Shouyi, and judging by their demeanor, they were quite close.
Manager Wu then stepped forward to flatter them, "Miss Lin, hello! I didn't expect you and Mr. Yan to be a couple! You truly are a perfect match, a match made in heaven!"
Lin Zhitong only liked to hear two types of things.
The first was praise for Yan Shouyi.
The second was praise for Yan Shouyi and her together.
So, Manager Wu's flattery had hit the mark. Lin Zhitong smiled, her eyes curving like the moon.
"This is Manager Wu of Xi Hu Ya Ju," Yan Shouyi introduced.
Lin Zhitong greeted him, and Manager Wu was already satisfied.
Learning that his master was actually coupled with Lin Zhitong, Manager Wu became even more confident in the Yan family.
After all, the Lin family of Licheng was already quite influential. Now, it was like adding wings to a tiger. The Yan family combined with the Lin family could likely crush the original Li family of Xi Hu.
Leading Lin Zhitong upstairs, Yan Shouyi told her his findings as they walked.
However, they had only just mentioned the ancient book having the same mark as the one on her hand before they reached the private room on the third floor.
Yan Shouyi paused the topic and said, "My sworn grandfather, Zhang Shantong, whom I mentioned before, is also inside. You can greet him later."
"Okay!"
Lin Zhitong pushed open the door and, upon seeing Zhang Shantong floating in the air, immediately called out "Grandpa" crisply.
"Hey! Good girl!"
Zhang Shantong beamed, instantly taking a liking to this girl, Lin Zhitong. He then shot Yan Shouyi a reproachful look:
"You rascal, look at her. She calls grandpa 'Grandpa' without hesitation. Unlike you, who insists on adding 'sworn'!"
Yan Shouyi was speechless. It seemed that Lin Zhitong being too popular with elders wasn't always good, as it could severely diminish his standing in their eyes!
Lin Zhitong smiled, "Thank you for coming to the rescue last time, Grandpa. If you hadn't held back Bai Muyu, I might not have been saved."
"Cough! That was a minor matter. I hadn't met you before, old man. If I had known my future granddaughter-in-law was so lovable, I could have knocked Bai Muyu down with a single punch back then!" Zhang Shantong boasted shamelessly.
"Alright, alright, let's get down to business!"
Yan Shouyi seated Lin Zhitong and then showed her the ancient book, narrating the story of the general of the Qing Jiang Kingdom and the princess of the Yu Shu Kingdom.
After listening, Lin Zhitong's eyes inexplicably welled up, looking as if she was about to cry.
She sniffled and said,
"The general and the princess shared true love, but alas, the times and their nations did not allow them to be together. I wonder if Lian He eventually found their bodies... They were truly a pair of ill-fated lovers!"
Yan Shouyi smiled, "The story is very touching, but it has nothing to do with us. What you need to look at is this page."
He handed Lin Zhitong the page with the skull marking.
Unfortunately, the content on this page was damaged. Apart from the skull marking, there were no other explanations.
Lin Zhitong spread out her palm and compared it, saying,
"The mark is indeed identical to the one on my hand, but what does this signify? Could it be that I am connected to the story recorded in the ancient book?..."
"I know!" Long Feicheng exclaimed, startling everyone as he suddenly jumped up.
Zhang Shantong coughed ominously and then remained silent, staring at Long Feicheng.
His gaze seemed to convey: If you can't explain it, you won't be leaving here alive today.
Long Feicheng said sheepishly, "I guess sister-in-law is Lian He from the story! Or perhaps Lian He's reincarnation. Think about it, this mark belongs to Lian He, but it appears on sister-in-law's hand. Doesn't this precisely indicate that sister-in-law is Lian He?"
After Long Feicheng's explanation, a silence fell upon the group.
Yan Shouyi said in a low voice,
"Could it be... that Zhitong is the reincarnation of the Yu Shu Kingdom's princess? And Lian He is the consciousness within Zhitong?"
"How is that possible!" Long Feicheng scoffed, "Brother Yan, your guess is clearly illogical. My idea is more reliable."
"Why is my guess illogical?" Yan Shouyi retorted.
Long Feicheng paused, then said, "It's very simple. At the end of the story, the Yu Shu Kingdom's princess jumped into the river, and at that time, Lian He was still in the capital of the Qing Jiang Kingdom. How could she have gone from the Qing Jiang capital into the Yu Shu princess's body and then reincarnated with her?"
"This..."
Yan Shouyi couldn't answer.
The meticulous Lin Zhitong, however, said,
"At the end of the story, Lian He escaped the capital of the Qing Jiang Kingdom and set off to find the princess. We don't know if Lian He eventually found the princess. And most importantly, the first time the consciousness within me appeared, it called me 'master'."
After Lin Zhitong finished speaking, everyone became even more confused.
Lian He in the story was a servant herself. It was unlikely for a servant to have other servants around them, right?
This implied that it was more likely that Lin Zhitong's previous life was the princess of the Yu Shu Kingdom, and the consciousness within her was Lian He.
"This is the only explanation we have for now," Yan Shouyi said. "But why Lian He appeared within you, what happened afterwards, and what other information is hidden in the ancient book, we still need to decipher slowly."
Regardless, at least there was a thread of a clue, pointing to two border small countries from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
If they could find more information about these two countries in history books, perhaps more mysteries could be solved.
Yan Shouyi suggested,
"Why don't we go back to Fei Feng Mountain now and ask my father for his opinion? There are many characters in this ancient book that I can't recognize. Perhaps my father can understand them."
No one had any objections, so they decided to leave immediately.
After packing the ancient book, the Shou Xin Jade, and other treasures, Yan Shouyi patted his satchel.
Long Feicheng had been bored in the private room and wanted some fresh air.
So he went to the door and pushed it open.
However—
The corridor, which should have been bright and spacious, had completely transformed!
Outside the door, it was pitch black, so dark one couldn't see their hand in front of their face. It was eerily quiet, with no sounds at all!
"What's going on?"
Long Feicheng poked his head out in surprise and shouted, "Hello? Is anyone there! For such a luxurious tea house, you're reluctant to turn on the lights when it's dark!"
However, before he could finish speaking, a pale hand suddenly reached out from the darkness and dragged Long Feicheng out!
Yan Shouyi and Lin Zhitong's faces changed drastically. They quickly chased after him, but when they looked out from the doorway, Long Feicheng was nowhere to be seen.
"It seems someone is acting maliciously from the shadows," Yan Shouyi said grimly.