"Ah, this person," someone said, "I think I saw him a few days ago, escorting a merchant caravan through Xing Tang Road." Greed is a powerful force, especially in a barren place like Xing Tang Road, where people would go to any lengths for more wealth and power.
"Yes, he disguised himself as a merchant. The goods were all fake. Inside were actually gold and silver jewels, my young lady's dowry, worth a million!" Su Su said excitedly, "Brother, please think carefully, did he truly come here? If you can find them and retrieve my young lady's dowry, we will certainly reward you handsomely."
"Little girl, if we help you find it, will you truly give us half of the dowry?"
"Of course, as long as you can help us find this million-dollar dowry, we will certainly give you half!" Su Su vowed. Shangguan Jin was not escorting a dowry at all, so how could these people possibly find it?
"Words are not enough..."
"Who says words are not enough?" Qin Xue walked in gracefully, posting a notice on the wall along with Shangguan Jin's portrait, offering a reward of ten thousand gold for his whereabouts. "This is proof. I will wait here. Whoever can help me catch that scoundrel and retrieve the dowry, I will give them ten thousand gold. Anyone who provides information, upon verification, will receive ten taels of silver!"
The inn immediately became lively. Those who had been tight-lipped now gathered around, eager to share whatever information they knew with Qin Xue. Qin Xue was not in a hurry; she had them write it down, using it as a voucher to collect their silver.
Some people tried to take advantage, but they couldn't even provide details like the number of people in the caravan and were quickly exposed. However, Qin Xue still obtained useful information from this. The provider of this information was the innkeeper.
The innkeeper played with the silver in her hand, her eyes squinting into a smile. "Earning ten taels of silver so easily. Is there anything else you want to know?"
Su Su gnawed on the brush holder. "Innkeeper, you are not being honest. You said earlier that you hadn't seen him!"
"I am old and forgetful. This is what happened, I just remembered." The innkeeper smiled brilliantly, as if she had truly just recalled it.
"Fortunately, the innkeeper remembered. Otherwise, we wouldn't have known that they had stayed at your establishment." Qin Xue asked with a smile, "Do you know which room they stayed in?"
"When they arrived, there was only one room left, the one at the very end on the second floor." The innkeeper pointed upstairs. "Do you want to take a look?"
Qin Xue nodded. "Perhaps I can find a clue."
"Ten taels of silver." The innkeeper said with a chuckle, "To let you stay for one night."
Qin Xue immediately produced another ten taels of silver. The innkeeper snatched it away and then went upstairs. In a moment, the people who had been staying in the room came down cheerfully and left the inn, heading for another street.
"Let's go, the room has been cleaned for you."
"Thank you, innkeeper." Qin Xue thanked her with a smile and then led her people into the room Shangguan Jin had stayed in. Since other people had stayed there, it wasn't easy to find any traces. However, Qin Xue believed that Shangguan Jin would leave her a clue.
Qin Xue's heavy reward in Xing Tang Road for Shangguan Jin's whereabouts attracted considerable attention.
Guo Jian sat at an outdoor tea stall, his gaze fixed on the You Jia Inn. He chewed on melon seeds and sipped his tea. "Have you found out that person's identity?"
"Not yet. He's not from this area."
"Is the You Jia Inn still fully booked?" Guo Jian asked, spitting out a melon seed shell, his voice tinged with weariness. Although he didn't understand why Lord Chang was so interested in what was happening here, he knew that Lord Chang's decisions had never been wrong.
"It's full. No one has checked out."
"Keep a close eye on every move here. Report any unusual occurrences immediately."
"Yes, Second Master."
"Also, there's a sandstorm coming in the next couple of days. Be careful yourselves." Guo Jian looked up at the sky. The air was exceptionally dry, and the sky was tinged with a faint yellow – the color of the sand being blown into the air. "Judging by the look of it, this sandstorm might last for several days."
"When the sandstorm comes, who would dare to go out?" the tea stall attendant sighed. "Going out is seeking death."
Guo Jian agreed. When sandstorms arrived, even they would hunker down in Chen Wai Dao and not venture out. During this period, no one should be coming to Xing Tang Road.
As evening approached, the wind and sand grew stronger. No pedestrians could be seen on the road. Every household closed their doors and windows, lit fires, and waited indoors for the sandstorm to pass.
Chang Yan stood by the window, looking out at the sky filled with yellow sand. Visibility was very low. Such harsh weather was unbearable for humans. Moreover, the wind was too strong; one could easily get lost in the desert, or even sink into quicksand and lose their life.
A Lan leaned against Chang Yan's back. Chang Yan's pipe was never far from his hand. His eyes were fixed on the swirling yellow sand outside. Here, sandstorms were the most common weather. For more than half of the year, the weather was like this. Merchants passing through would arrive at Xing Tang Road before the sandstorm began and leave after it stopped. Countless people had passed through here, and just as many had been lost in the sandstorms.
"When the sandstorm stops, the person who should come will also arrive, right?" Chang Yan murmured to himself.
A Lan tilted her head, as if she didn't understand what he was saying.
Chang Yan chuckled. "What am I thinking? I'm thinking that someone can travel through a sandstorm to get here. Who would be able to travel through a sandstorm... Oh, there really is someone!"
The smile on Chang Yan's face froze. In the midst of the violent sandstorm, two dark specks appeared. They were too far away, and the flying sand made them difficult to discern. It wasn't until they got closer that Chang Yan realized there were two people.
These two wore veils and were wrapped from head to toe, walking through the sandstorm as if on level ground, as if the strong winds posed no hindrance to them!
Chang Yan leaned forward, his eyes fixed intently on the two figures approaching. He tried his best to see who they were. However, when he looked closely, the two figures disappeared into the sandstorm again, as if what he had seen was a hallucination.
Chang Yan closed his eyes, then opened them again and looked outside. But there was only endless yellow sand, no people.
"Did I hallucinate?" Chang Yan asked doubtfully. But he had clearly seen two people. Had he mistaken them? Or had they been swept away by the sandstorm?
"A Lan, did you see anyone?" Chang Yan asked A Lan.
A Lan shook her head, continuing to nestle against Chang Yan. She remained silent and expressionless, like a porcelain doll, exquisite but soulless.