Chapter 12: Qingqing

Chapter 12: Qingqing

The golden rays of the sun were mostly blocked by the dense foliage.

A girl sat in the tree, and a monkey squatted beside her.

Xiaolian's face was filled with disbelief as she rubbed her eyes hard.

She wasn't hallucinating!

Then, she widened her eyes, watching the girl continue climbing higher under the monkey's guidance, disappearing into the leaves, and she couldn't help but rub her eyes again.

In the tree, Xin You's expression was stiff, her gaze fixed on one spot.

Two thick branches formed a sturdy fork where a person lay, no, a corpse.

The corpse's face was unrecognizable, but from the figure and clothing, it could be confirmed that it was a woman.

Xin You covered her mouth, feeling her stomach churn, and could no longer control herself as she jumped down from the tree.

Xiaolian, seeing Xin You suddenly jump down, supporting herself with both hands and trembling, was startled. "What's wrong?"

Xin You took a moment to compose herself before looking at Xiaolian.

That pale face made Xiaolian's expression stiffen, and she covered her mouth, asking tremulously, "What's up there in the tree?"

Xin You gave Xiaolian a deep look, then lowered her gaze to the ground.

Amidst the rocks, tender grass sprouted tenaciously, displaying vibrant life.

Once something unimaginable happened, avoidance was not an option.

This was true for her, and it was also true for Xiaolian.

The wind seemed to have picked up, and the girl's soft voice reached Xiaolian's ears, now calm. "There's a female corpse in the tree."

"A female corpse?" Xiaolian's face drained of color, and she instinctively took a step toward Xin You, only to fall to the ground, weak-kneed.

She clutched at the wild grass with both hands, tears streaming uncontrollably.

"Is it my lady?" Xiaolian asked desperately, already knowing the answer.

Who else could it be?

It turned out that after falling off the cliff, her lady had been caught by this tree, which was why they couldn't find her.

Was she still conscious when she fell?

It must have been painful.

Did she remain awake, waiting in vain for someone to save her?

These questions cut through Xiaolian's heart, causing her to break down in tears.

Xin You stood quietly, not answering.

The monkey looked at them curiously, seeing them standing and sitting without any other action, and called out anxiously.

Xin You sighed and reminded Xiaolian, "Now is not the time to cry; those two guards will be back soon."

Xiaolian stopped crying, got up, and stared at Xin You urgently. "Did you see clearly? Is it my lady?"

Xin You shook her head, speaking honestly. "It's too decomposed to recognize."

Xiaolian's body shook violently as she hastily wiped away her tears, pleading in a trembling voice, "I want to see for myself."

Xin You leaped up onto the nearest branch and extended her hand to Xiaolian.

Xiaolian had thought climbing the tree would be difficult, but the strength in that delicate hand far exceeded her expectations. Before she knew it, she was already in the tree.

Before her eyes lay a decomposed corpse, partially exposed bones visible.

Xiaolian drew a sharp breath, covering her mouth tightly.

Despite the difficulty in recognizing the clothing, Xiaolian, who knew her lady well, quickly identified her. "It's my lady! She wore these clothes the day she left!"

Xiaolian tried to move closer to the corpse but swayed, nearly falling from the tree.

"Be careful," Xin You said, steadying her with a sympathetic look but a calm voice. "Time is limited; we can't properly bury Miss Kou here. I have a suggestion. Listen."

"What is it?" Xiaolian's hands and feet were cold, her heart colder, and the warmth from that hand became more noticeable.

"When the monkey led me here, I saw a cave. Let's go explore it. If it's suitable, we'll temporarily place Miss Kou there until we can give her a proper burial. What do you think?"

The distraught maid nodded quickly. "I'll follow your lead."

Xin You led Xiaolian down the tree and headed straight for the cave.

Perhaps heaven pitied the unjustly deceased Miss Kou, for the cave Xin You discovered was narrow at the entrance but spacious inside, not damp. The next challenge was how to transfer Miss Kou's remains.

No matter how loyal Xiaolian was to Kou Qingqing, she understood the difficulty of moving such a decomposed body from the tree to the cave.

Xin You proposed a makeshift solution. "We'll use the carriage curtain."

"The carriage curtain?" Xiaolian was stunned. "But the carriage is at the foot of the mountain. It will take a lot of time to go back and forth. What if the guards return first?"

As for how to explain it to the driver, Xiaolian couldn't even imagine.

"I'm fast and will hurry back. If the guards return first, tell them I chased the monkey and you couldn't keep up. Ask them to find someone."

Listening to Xin You's instructions, Xiaolian nodded blankly.

After Xin You left for a while, the two guards indeed returned.

"The jade pendant wasn't found," one guard said, noticing Xiaolian's red eyes and was startled. "What happened to Sister Xiaolian?"

Xiaolian couldn't help but let her tears fall: "The young lady is gone!"

The two guards were shocked and exclaimed in unison: "How could this be!"

"It's all that monkey's fault, snatching the young lady's hairpin and running away. The young lady chased after it in a panic and disappeared in the blink of an eye."

The two guards grew anxious: "Which direction did the young lady go?"

Xiaolian pointed in one direction, then quickly pointed to another.

"Which direction exactly?"

The little maid covered her face and cried: "I forgot, I lost my sense of direction!"

The two guards winced in frustration and made a decision: "We'll search for the young lady separately. Sister Xiaolian, you stay here. We'll meet back here in half an hour no matter what."

Xiaolian nodded: "Thank you, brothers."

The two guards split up to search, and Xiaolian anxiously looked around. Finally, she saw the reassuring figure she had been waiting for and hurried over: "The two guards came back, then went to look for you. They'll return soon to meet up."

Xin You nodded in acknowledgment and headed straight for the tree.

Xiaolian quickly followed and saw Xin You climbing the tree without stopping. Worried, she called out, "Young lady."

Xin You looked down but didn't reach for Xiaolian's raised hand.

"You can't even stand steadily on the tree. Let me do it."

"Young lady—" Xiaolian was stunned, momentarily at a loss for words.

Parts of Kou Qingqing's remains were already visible as bones, and they weighed very little. Xin You covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, suppressing her urge to vomit, and carefully collected the remains before returning to the ground.

The two of them each held a corner of the carriage door curtain, which served as a shroud, and carried the remains into the cave.

Seeing the cave entrance blocked by stones, Xiaolian's eyes welled up again, and she bowed several times toward the cave.

Xin You repeatedly washed her hands by the pond, drawing the curiosity of the monkey.

One of the guards who returned first saw this scene and shouted angrily, rushing over: "Beast, you dare to tease the young lady!"

The monkey scooped up a handful of water and splashed it on the guard's face before running off.