Chapter 1132 - 1134: Xiao Si Is Trapped_1
Niu Cuicui was stung by the wary look in Xiaosi’s eyes, her eyes reddened, and tears started to fall.
Her voice choked with emotion as she said, "Your master gave me this, he’s injured and hiding in a safe place, he told me to bring you to him."
Xiaosi clearly didn’t believe her words, and said with a look of disdain, "How could you have come across my master? Isn’t that a little too coincidental?"
"Xiaosi, I’m your own mother, you have to believe me. Elder Xuan Jizi only after verifying my identity, secretly arranged a place for me to stay. He was afraid of affecting your relationship with the Bai Family, so he kept it secret. Otherwise, how could I have his personal token?" Niu Cuicui glanced at the token in Xiaosi’s hand, and then looked earnestly at him.
"Impossible!" Xiaosi was somewhat shocked, he didn’t believe that Niu Cuicui was truly his mother.
Niu Cuicui suddenly stepped forward, lowering her voice, and said, "You must come with me, the Elder said there’s a traitor among the Bai Family guards. He’s seriously injured and couldn’t send you a message, so he could only send me with his token to get you out before you get hurt."
When Xiaosi heard "send a message," he semi-believed her because indeed his master had suddenly stopped sending messages while doing just that.
"I’ll go talk to my sister and ask for her help to rescue my master," Xiaosi said.
Niu Cuicui quickly said, "No, the traitor is among the dark guards close to Bai Ruozhu; they are also looking for your master. If they find out, Elder Xuan Jizi’s life will hang by a thread. I have your master’s token and verbal message, why would I deceive you? Didn’t he mention ’escape quickly’ in his message to you?"
This time Xiaosi truly believed her to a great extent; he clenched his teeth, carefully put away the token, and followed Niu Cuicui away.
The Bai Residence’s dark guard had been covertly paying attention to the two’s conversation. Seeing Xiaosi leaving, someone immediately reported to Bai Ruozhu, while two others followed them.
But not long after, those two couldn’t find Xiaosi’s tracks. They realized after wandering around for quite a while that they’d been caught in a small-scale esoteric array and thus completely lost their target.
The two cursed their bad luck and urgently sent a message to Jianqi, who was with Bai Ruozhu.
Bai Ruozhu had been checking the West Gate for quite some time with no clue in sight, when Jianqi, receiving the message, hurried over with a greatly changed expression, saying, "Master, it’s terrible, young master Xiaosi has been deceived by the Niu Family."
"What?" Bai Ruozhu was taken aback, "How did Niu Cuicui appear at this time?"
"The message was simple, two dark guards followed young master Xiaosi out and got lost due to an array," Jianqi said.
Bai Ruozhu stamped her foot in frustration, "Xiaosi isn’t reckless. How did he end up following Niu Cuicui? There must be something wrong here!"
Just then, the dark guard who had come to report arrived, quickly rehashing the conversation between Xiaosi and Niu Cuicui. After listening, Bai Ruozhu’s expression grew even grimmer.
"Niu Cuicui is probably in league with the ones who captured Elder Xuan Jizi," Bai Ruozhu gritted her teeth. Xiaosi, no matter how more steady he was compared to his peers, was after all just a seven- or eight-year-old child. In his worry, it was easy for him to be deceived.
Clearly, Niu Cuicui’s accomplices had attacked Elder Xuan Jizi while he was sending a message to Xiaosi. The message wasn’t completed, but Niu Cuicui and her group knew what Elder Xuan Jizi had said and used it to deceive Xiaosi. As for the token, it was even easier to understand; with Elder Xuan Jizi captured, obtaining his token would be effortless.
But Elder Xuan Jizi is highly skilled in martial arts, so the person who defeated him must also be very powerful. Who could it be?
"Send a message to Achun at once, tell him Xiaosi has been captured," Bai Ruozhu instructed Muyu.
Jiang Yichun received the message and quickly returned to the West City Gate to meet with Bai Ruozhu and understand the situation.
"I will first find someone knowledgeable in esoteric arrays to study the place where Xiaosi disappeared. Perhaps we can find some clues," Jiang Yichun said, his face grave. He knew how important Xiaosi was to Bai Ruozhu.
Bai Ruozhu nodded, "I will arrange for the Commerce Association to search for Niu Cuicui, and then meet up at the place where Xiaosi went missing."
After discussing their plans, they immediately split up to carry them out and soon met up in an alley not far from the Bai Family residence.
The person Jiang Yichun found was named Qiu Yun, a young array master. It was said that his master was an expert in the Qimen Dunjia Technique, but his master had gone traveling, and due to the urgency of time, they had to bring him over instead.
Qiu Yun inspected the site carefully but couldn’t help frowning. After a long while, he finally said, "Considering the timing, this array was set up last night. It seems the other party was well-prepared. However, as I am inexperienced and my knowledge shallow, I am unable to break it nor find too many clues."
Qiu Yun was young after all and had only learned the basics; he could only determine when the array was created.
Seeing the anxiety of Jiang Yichun and his wife, he added, "It will take a while to find my master, but I know the National Master is proficient in the Qimen Dunjia Technique. You might try seeking his help."
Qiu Yun excused himself with embarrassment. Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun exchanged glances. Jiang Yichun reached out to smooth her furrowed brows and said, "I’ll go and petition His Majesty."
"No, I’ll go to the Astrology Tower to seek the National Master. We can’t always trouble the emperor with our problems," Bai Ruozhu said before mounting her horse and heading towards the Astrology Tower.
Jiang Yichun hurriedly followed her on horseback.
...
In a simple room, a person in black brought Xiaosi inside. Xiaosi immediately saw Xuan Jizi lying unconscious and exclaimed excitedly, "Master, how are you? Wake up, please!"
Unfortunately, Xuan Jizi did not wake up. Xiaosi called out for a long time but received no response. If it weren’t for the slight rise and fall of Xuan Jizi’s chest, Xiaosi might have thought his master had stopped breathing.
He wanted to check on him, but he was restrained and couldn’t break free, cursing his lack of inner strength—it was no match for the person in black. He hated Niu Cuicui even more for deceiving him.
Clearly, Niu Cuicui was in league with the villains, and perhaps her capture of his master was related to her as well.
At that moment, a figure appeared, wearing a Ghost Mask. The ghostly mouth drawn on the mask was curved into a ghoulish smile, with a streak of red flowing from the corners. It was as if it were an intentional artistic depiction or perhaps stained by real blood, but either way, it looked extremely sinister.
The person wasn’t very tall, around 1.7 meters, but to the seven or eight-year-old Xiaosi, it was enough to tower over him.
Xiaosi realized this person was the leader of his captors and struggled desperately to fight back. "You bastard, let my master go, or I won’t let you off even as a ghost!"
The person wearing the Ghost Mask let out a chilling laugh. The laughter sounded feminine at first but quickly turned into a hoarse male voice, continuously changing as if there were two people hidden within that body.
"Then I shall wait for you to come at me as a ghost and see who is more formidable, you little ghost or my Ghost Mask." The voice of the Ghost Mask was just as eerie, making it impossible to discern its gender.
They walked toward Xuan Jizi step by step, lifted a hand, and with a gesture from afar, Xuan Jizi woke up. The Ghost Mask leaned close to his face, "I’m about to sacrifice your disciple right before your eyes; how does that sound?"