TGCFNM -Chapter 140 Leaving

Chu Ling went to Taoniang’s memorial hall, lit an incense stick, and bowed deeply.

“Taoniang, I’ve caught the culprit,” Chu Ling whispered. “I promised you that the evil would stop with you.”

“Sir…” Xu Gensheng returned the bow, his eyes slightly red. “Thank you, sir.”

Chu Ling looked at the two children, both not even as tall as her thighs, and patted their heads. Then he said to Xu Gensheng, “Take this jewelry as some money—buy books for the children, let them study.”

“Yes, sir,” Xu Gensheng choked back his emotion.

“Don’t hesitate to spend it, don’t feel reluctant. It was meant for you,” Chu Ling said, then bid farewell to Xu Gensheng and left the Xu household.

Wan Sanjin was waiting at the alley entrance. When Chu Ling arrived, he helped her into the carriage.

“It’s been busy these past few days. Steward Zhu hasn’t had time to speak with us. Actually, Lu Zheng has already written an IOU and even found some work copying books to earn a bit himself. He should be fine for next year’s imperial examination in spring,” Wan Sanjin said.

Chu Ling thought back to the students she had met along the way and smiled. “There should be plenty of promising candidates for next year’s imperial exam.”

“By the way, sir, this is a letter Lord Mei wanted to hand to you personally.” Wan Sanjin handed over the letter, then hurried the carriage toward the Wan residence.

Chu Ling opened the letter, read it in a glance, then lifted the curtain and tapped Wan Sanjin on the shoulder. “Qinglong sent a message—someone has seen Bai Zhuoxing traveling in Dongle City. It seems Prince Rui plans to send someone over.”

Wan Sanjin took the note, hesitating. “Should we tell Su He?”

Chu Ling held the envelope, noticing it felt a bit thick. She opened it and found another sheet inside, with a simple message: the new prefect of Changzhou has been confirmed—she can leave.

Holding the unfolded letter, Chu Ling looked at Wan Sanjin, eyes sparkling with anticipation. “We can go to Dongle City.”

Wan Sanjin paused briefly. “Sir, without official orders, shouldn’t we return to Sìshui County first?”

“What’s there to fear?” Chu Ling raised an eyebrow, a smug grin on her face. “I have the token from Prince Rui.”

Wan Sanjin thought it over carefully for a moment and then was convinced. “You’re right, sir. We’ll go to Dongle City. If anyone asks, we’ll just say we got lost and took a detour.”

When they arrived at the Wan residence, Wan Xíng was about to ask when they planned to leave, only to learn it would be the next day.

“So soon?” Wan Xíng was momentarily stunned. Regretfully, he said, “I was going to personally see you off to Sishui County after everything here was arranged.”

“No need, big brother,” Wan Sanjin said with an awkward smile. “We want to leave quietly.”

Wan Xíng looked at Chu Ling, understanding her reasoning. “That’s right. If the townsfolk knew, they’d be upset about letting you go. I’ll prepare your things and take them outside the city first. You’ll travel light, easier that way.”

Chu Ling thanked him. “Much obliged.”

Wan Sanjin looked at Wan Xíng. “By the way, big brother, did you want to see us for something?”

Wan Xíng’s expression turned serious. He nodded to Steward Zhu to bring something over, then handed it to Chu Ling.

Chu Ling unwrapped the outer cloth and stared up at Wan Xíng in surprise. “A Tianjian Sect invitation?”

Wan Xíng nodded. “The very invitation you gave me back then.”

Chu Ling didn’t understand. Why was this invitation being returned to her?

Wan Xíng explained, “I checked. The reason this invitation sparked such competition isn’t just what the Tianjian Sect said about finding treasure. Another reason is that whoever holds the invitation receives a bottle of divine water.”

“Divine water?” Chu Ling frowned, thinking it all sounded far-fetched.

Wan Xing said, “The matter of Your Excellency handling the case at the inn and successfully obtaining the invitation has already been spread throughout the jianghu by the all-knowing informants. Therefore, this invitation can only belong to you.”

Chu Ling raised a brow. “So I’m the only one who can take the invitation and go ask for the Divine Water?”

Wan Xing nodded. “Yes.”

“And what if I don’t want it?” Chu Ling held up the invitation and joked, “What if I burn it?”

Wan Xing smiled helplessly. “That is naturally up to Your Excellency. In any case, the mountain gates of the Heavenly Sword Sect will only open in two months. You can take your time to consider.”

Wan Sanjin suddenly suggested, “Your Excellency, after we get the Divine Water, we could sell it.”

Right—sell it!

Chu Ling’s eyes lit up. “I think that could work.”

After giving them the address of Heavenly Sword Mountain, Wan Xing saw them out. Upon returning, he instructed Steward Zhu to make proper arrangements for Chu Ling and her group.

Only then did Wan Xing belatedly look at Steward Zhu. “Steward Zhu, did I forget to tell them that this invitation will likely be snatched?”

Steward Zhu smiled. “Young Master worries too much. When they were investigating the case, they already learned that as long as the Heavenly Sword Sect hasn’t opened its gates, the invitations are constantly being fought over.”

Wan Xing thought that made sense. “Besides, who knows—maybe Her Excellency won’t even want it. She did say she might burn it.”

“Her Excellency indeed doesn’t like wading into muddy waters,” Steward Zhu said with a smile. After bowing, he withdrew to prepare travel rations and other necessities for Chu Ling’s group to return to Sishui County.

After Chu Ling and Wan Sanjin returned to the yamen, the group began packing their clothes and loading them onto the carriage in advance.

“Your Excellency, what about the death-row prisoner in the jail?” Zhang Dong asked.

Chu Ling thought for a moment. “Entrust him to Master Mei. When the new prefect arrives, have him inform the newcomer.” After all, the incoming prefect was Prince Rui’s man, so there shouldn’t be any problems.

Su He spoke lazily at that moment. “Don’t worry. I’ve already been to the prison and poisoned him. He’ll die in half a month.”

Hearing that, Chu Ling finally relaxed. “Then the matters in Changzhou are settled. We leave for Dongle City tomorrow.”

“There’s just one problem,” Zhang Dong said. “Your Excellency, where exactly is Dongle City?”

Chu Ling shook her head. She didn’t know. Then she turned to look at Wan Sanjin.

Wan Sanjin immediately shook his head as well. “How would I know the way? I’ve never been there. What about Su He? Do you know?”

“…Before I met you all, the farthest place I’d ever been was Qingning County,” Su He replied.

Chu Ling suddenly realized a serious issue—they genuinely had no sense of direction.

Wan Sanjin let out a breath. “We’ll have to rely on the map.”

So they spread out the map, studied the location, and chose the shortest route—by boat.

Bai Su lowered her eyes to glance at it, then pointed to a spot. “Depart from Changzhou by land to Linzhou. Stop here to retrieve something. Then take the water route by boat to Changhe County. Judging by the timing, we should be able to pick the Poison Insect Grass. Finally, travel by land again, and we’ll reach Dongle City in a day.”

Chu Ling cleared her throat and looked at the others, pointing to several places on the map. “We’ll first go by land to Linzhou—I need to retrieve something. Then we’ll take the water route to Changhe County. Finally, we’ll head to Dongle City.”

Wan Sanjin looked at her blankly. “Your Excellency, you have something in Linzhou?”

“Yes,” Chu Ling replied seriously. “A mysterious person told me about it, so I must go get it.”

Wan Sanjin suddenly understood. “The mysterious person who taught you medicine, right? Who would’ve thought, Your Excellency—you were criticized so harshly in the capital, yet all along you were secretly studying.”

Chu Ling: “…Yes. I’ve been studying.”