sbdcsierra Chapter 561 Thoughts
Chapter 561 Thoughts
A flicker of surprise crossed Li Shisan's eyes. After a moment of silence, he nodded.
"Xueyan, like you, said that she hadn't been back for many years and came specifically to pay respects to her mother. It happened last month."
last month?
Hua Rui frowned slightly. She received the order from the Crown Prince to kidnap Sheng Yunjiao at the beginning of the month. If her sister had returned to Miao territory last month, it meant that... it was possible that the whole plan was finalized after they had visited Miao territory.
Hua Rui hurriedly asked, "Who did she come back with? How long did she stay?"
Li Shisan observed her expression, hesitated for a moment, and said, "She came back alone, and only for three or five days. She said she was going to Huazhou City to find you, so we didn't pay much attention to it."
The thirteen Miao villages have a total population of several thousand. Although they rarely leave Crescent Moon Mountain, they do occasionally. It's impossible for them to investigate everyone. Therefore, they didn't take Xueyan's return to heart. However...
Li Shisan looked at the flower stamen, somewhat hesitant.
Hua Rui realized what was happening and asked softly, "Thirteenth Brother, do you suspect me?"
Li Shisan paused for a moment, then sighed, "Hua Rui, you've misunderstood. If I suspected you, why would I have brought you to Yuhua Village? I..."
“You suspect your sister,” Hua Rui said.
Upon hearing this, Li Shisan stopped beating around the bush. "The matter of Yuhua Village is of great importance, especially since the High Priest has also disappeared. We suspect there's more to the story, which is why we've been so vigilant in guarding the village these past few days, not letting any strangers slip by easily. There's been almost a month between your sister Xueyan's involvement with Yuhua Village and the events there. During this time, no one connected to Yuhua Village has left or entered Miao territory, so naturally we suspect her."
“But I know you. Whether or not the matter of Yuhua Village has anything to do with your sister, it has nothing to do with you. I... I brought you here specifically because I don’t want to hide it from you, and also so I can find an opportunity to talk to you. You’ll probably have to suffer for a few days. Once the truth is out, I’ll send you away.”
Looking at her vulnerable appearance, Li Shisan felt a pang of pity.
He had designs on the flower stamen.
A few years ago, when Hua Rui returned, he fell in love with her at first sight. So he asked someone to secretly sound out Hua Rui's feelings, hoping that she could stay in the Miao village. As long as she had the idea of staying, he would find an opportunity to propose marriage.
But Hua Rui had no intention of staying. She was preoccupied with finding her sister who had been missing for many years and had no intention of staying in the Miao village.
He felt a little disappointed when he learned of Hua Rui's feelings, knowing that he couldn't keep her. So he buried those feelings deep in his heart.
In the few times they met afterward, he would only glance at her from afar and exchange a few words with her, and that was enough for him.
When he learned that Xueyan had returned to pay respects to her mother, he felt a secret joy. Now that he had found his sister, would Huarui come back to Miao territory? Would he have a chance to express his feelings to her?
However, these thoughts were ultimately just his own.
But what happened next made him suspicious of Xueyan and worried that Huarui might be involved.
Hua Rui suddenly knelt down in front of Li Shisan.
Li Shisan was startled and quickly bent down to help her: "What are you doing?"
"Thirteenth Brother, I came here to tell you that my sister may have been implicated in Yuhua Village. I... I never expected it to be like this..." Hua Rui was somewhat incoherent, and it took her a long time to finally calm down again: "Thirteenth Brother, can you help me and take me to see the village chief? There is something I must tell him, and it may concern the entire Yuhua Village."
Li Shisan looked at her in disbelief: "You also suspect it's related to your sister? You're not..."
Li Shisan hadn't met Hua Rui many times, but he knew her feelings. Her greatest hope over the years was to find her sister and live with her. It was precisely because of this unwavering belief that he knew he couldn't express his own feelings. But she even suspected Xueyan—what had happened?
With red eyes, Hua Rui knelt on the ground and refused to get up: "It's my fault, I've dragged Yuhua Village down with me, I shouldn't have been so foolish, it's all my fault..."
If she hadn't helped her sister find the Bewitching Mandala back then, perhaps none of this would have happened, and the Miao village wouldn't have been implicated. It's all her fault...
Seeing her like this, Li Shisan hurriedly comforted her: "Hua Rui, don't be like this. Explain yourself clearly. If it concerns the Miao village, I will help you no matter what. This is not just your problem. We still have no clue about the High Priest's disappearance."
Hua Rui gritted her teeth, made up her mind, and said, "It might be related to Yuechuan Kingdom."
Li Shisan's expression changed instantly: "What did you say?"
In the Miao region, Yuechuan Kingdom is not taboo, but it is a belief.
They have always guarded the secret of Yuechuan Kingdom, which is to say, they have guarded the beliefs of Miao territory and the belief in the Gu God.
This is something etched into their very bones and blood from generation to generation, and no one would easily bring it up.
Li Shisan almost immediately realized the seriousness of the matter and hurriedly pulled Hua Rui up: "Hua Rui, tell me quickly, what exactly happened? You know, the secrets of Yuechuan Kingdom must never be revealed, or the Miao village will suffer because of it..."
Hua Rui's eyes were already blurry with tears: "I don't know, I'm just guessing. My sister mentioned the Yuechuan Kingdom to me, and I didn't suspect anything at first. I came back to confirm whether it was related to the Yuechuan Kingdom. You told me that Yuhua Village was wiped out and the High Priest disappeared. I... I can't think of any other possibility."
Li Shisan's face turned pale instantly.
“We’ve searched every possible place these past few days, turned the entire Crescent Moon Mountain upside down, and even ventured into the dense forest. We only found some suspicious footprints. Two days after the High Priest disappeared, Yuhua Village was suddenly wiped out overnight. Nobody was on guard. The patrols have been searching for the High Priest…” They could never have imagined that it was related to the Moon River Kingdom.
They had considered revenge, all sorts of possibilities, and even the imperial court's schemes to strengthen its control over Miao territory. They had been arguing about this for days, which was why they hesitated about reporting it to the authorities, worried about potential traps.
However, they never considered it from the perspective of the Yuechuan Kingdom, because keeping this secret was an instinct ingrained in the very bones of the entire Miao village.
But at this moment, everything seemed to make sense.
The only person who knew the way to Yuechuan Kingdom was the High Priest. His disappearance meant that someone wanted to pry the location of Yuechuan Kingdom out of him. The High Priest could not agree to this, and then Yuhua Village was wiped out overnight.
This is a warning.