Travel through the heavens

Chapter 304 The Brocade Box Conceals a Secret, Wan Niang Appears

Gu Yueqing's gaze swept lightly over Fang Muyi and the Fu sisters, and she said softly, "General Zhao's search may not yield immediate results. Now that the details of the painting spirit have become clear, we might as well return to the Zhenfu Division and wait for news."

Seeing that all three nodded, she turned to the two officers of the Zhenfu Division who were standing by her side and instructed them: "Zhang He, Zhou Cheng, you two carefully roll up this painting, seal it with a spirit-suppressing talisman, and take it back to the division for proper storage."

"As ordered."

Zhang He and Zhou Cheng bowed in agreement, their movements swift yet extremely careful.

They first gently rolled up the "Lady Gazing at the Moon" painting, then took out a bright yellow talisman with cinnabar runes from a specially made leather pouch at their waist, pasted it on the scroll, and then took the yellow silk that Xu Wenyuan had used to cover the painting, and wrapped the scroll properly.

"Mr. Xu, please come with us back to the Zhenfu Division. Please keep this paintbrush safe."

Gu Yueqing turned to Xu Wenyuan, whose face still showed worry, and handed back the sandalwood fox hair brush in her hand. After a brief pause, she reminded him meaningfully, "Mr. Xu, this brush is made of extraordinary material and contains a spiritual essence. It is no ordinary brush. I hope you will be careful when using it in the future. If it is not necessary, it may be more appropriate to choose another brush for ordinary practice."

Xu Wenyuan had just taken the paintbrush with both hands when he heard these words, and his heart skipped a beat.

Could it be that the source of Wan Niang's creation and the birth of the painting spirit was this paintbrush?

He looked down at the paintbrush in his hand, his mind filled with complex emotions. He even felt that the brush was a little too hot to handle. After hesitating for a moment, he handed the brush back and said respectfully, "General, although this paintbrush is no ordinary object, it is no different from any other paintbrush to me. I am willing to offer this brush to the Zhenfu Division. Please accept it, General."

Gu Yueqing waved her hand in refusal: "We appreciate Mr. Xu's kindness, but since this item was given to you by someone else, it belongs to you. We have our own rules and regulations for our conduct, how can we accept things from the common people without reason? Please take it back with peace of mind, and keep it safe and use it carefully in the future."

Seeing that Gu Yueqing's attitude was clear, Xu Wenyuan stopped insisting and carefully put the paintbrush into the cabinet. After giving a few instructions to his family members, he went to the Zhenfu Division with Gu Yueqing and her entourage.

After everyone stepped into the gate of the Zhenfu Division, the captains they encountered along the way would stop and respectfully bow to Gu Yueqing and Fang Muye, addressing them as "General" and "Son-in-law," their sincere respect clearly evident in their expressions.

Fu Qingfeng and Fu Yuechi silently followed behind, taking in everything. The captains' attitude towards Fang Muye surprised them.

If it were merely because of his status as "the general's husband," it would be reasonable for everyone to treat him with such courtesy. However, what we see now is that the enthusiasm and respect are clearly mixed with a sense of worship, which is something that cannot be easily obtained simply by being "the son-in-law of the Garrison Commander."

Those in the Zhenfu Division who knew about Fang Muye's killing of Yin Lie, the leader of Black Wind Mountain, were instructed not to spread the news for the time being to avoid unnecessary investigation. Gu Yueqing had not specifically mentioned this to the Fu sisters in the past two days, so the two of them were still unaware of it.

However, although the two were puzzled, they did not ask any questions and kept their curiosity to themselves for the time being.

Upon reaching the main hall, Gu Yueqing stopped and instructed, "Zhang He, lead Mr. Xu to the guest room to serve him tea and rest. Zhou Cheng, after you have delivered the scroll to the archives, please invite General Wang to see me at the official residence."

"Yes."

After the three left, Gu Yueqing led Fang Muye and the Fu sisters through a moon gate to her office in the back office of the Zhenfu Division.

Gu Yueqing's official residence was quite spacious and bright, with simple furnishings. A detailed map of Anping Prefecture and the surrounding mountains and rivers was hanging on the front wall, and the bookshelves next to it were filled with various volumes and books.

Gu Yueqing invited the three of them to sit down at the tea table by the window, and a servant dressed in blue served them tea.

The four had just taken a small sip of tea when steady footsteps sounded outside the door, and a burly middle-aged man strode in.

Fang Muye looked up and saw that the newcomer was wearing bright silver armor and had a powerful aura. He knew that this person must be Wang Wencai, the Left General of the Zhenfu Division, whom Gu Yueqing had just summoned.

In the past few days, Fang Muye has also gained some understanding of the structure of the Zhenfu Division.

The captains in the Zhenfu Division are divided into two types: city patrol guards and mountain forest guards, all of whom wear black armor.

Among them, the patrol guards are responsible for patrolling the city and responding to emergencies, while the mountain and forest guards are responsible for exploring outside the city and apprehending evil spirits.

Ten captains were organized into a team, led by a captain wearing bronze armor.

Above the Commandant are the Left and Right Garrison Generals, who assist the Garrison General, both clad in silver armor.

Wang Wencai, the Left General, was in charge of the Mountain Forest Guard.

General Zhao Kuo of the Right Garrison was in charge of the city patrol.

Fang Muye had met Zhao Kuo several times, but this was the first time Wang Wencai had met him. It was said that Zhao Kuo had been ordered to go out on official business and should have just returned not long ago.

Wang Wencai walked up to the desk, saluted, and respectfully said to Gu Yueqing, "General, I, Wang Wencai, have come here on orders. What are your instructions, General?"

Gu Yueqing put down her teacup and got straight to the point: "General Wang, current clues indicate that a fox demon is lurking in Yunshan County."

She briefly recounted the strange events that had occurred in Xu Wenyuan's residence, the origin of the paintbrush, and the situation of that Mr. Hu. Finally, she said, "The fox demon has been entrenched in Yunshan County for an unknown period of time, and its intentions are unpredictable. Whether the act of gifting the paintbrush was intentional or unintentional needs to be verified. This matter concerns the peace and tranquility of the area and cannot be taken lightly. You need to immediately select capable personnel to go to Yunshan County to investigate in detail."

"Understood, General!" Wang Wencai's expression turned solemn. "Please rest assured, General, I will select men and depart immediately."

After saying this, he bowed again, turned around, and strode away.

After Wang Wencai left, Gu Yueqing and Fang Muye informed each other and then sat down at their desks to review the official documents that had accumulated over the past two days.

Fang Muye and Fu Qingfeng each found a book that interested them on the bookshelf, sat back down at the tea table, and quietly flipped through it. Fu Yuechi, on the other hand, was bored, propping his chin up and looking at this book for a while and that book for a while.

Time slipped by quietly, and the sun rose higher outside.

Around noon, a series of slightly hurried footsteps finally came from under the eaves.

"General!" Zhao Kuo appeared outside the door, looking travel-worn but with a sharp glint in his eyes, holding a dark brocade box about half a foot long in his hands.

He strode in, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Gu Yueqing, and reported, "This humble servant has not failed in his mission; the jade hairpin has been found!"

Upon hearing this, the eyes of the four people in the room immediately fell on the brocade box in his hand.

Gu Yueqing stood up and gestured for Zhao Kuo to come closer.

Zhao Kuo stepped forward, gently placed the brocade box on the desk, and then opened the lid with a slight movement of his fingers.

Inside the box, lined with dark satin, lay a jade hairpin.

The hairpin is carved from a single piece of fine jade, with a delicate texture and a warm, lustrous color like a pool of spring water. The begonia flower at the head of the hairpin has layered and unfolded petals, lifelike and lively in form, with even the slight curl of the petal edges and the delicate posture of the stamens carved vividly.

Although the overall style is similar to the five hairpins that Hua Ling found, the craftsmanship is far superior to those hairpins.

After everyone had looked through the document, Zhao Kuo continued, “I searched all the way to Willow Branch Lane and, after much inquiry, finally found out where Master Zhang lived. When I found him, I mentioned the begonia jade hairpin that Mr. Xu had commissioned ten years ago, and he immediately remembered it. He said that the hairpin was made from a piece of fine green jade that he had obtained by chance back then. He had devoted his entire life's skills to carving it for a whole month, so he had a very deep impression of it. Later, Mr. Xu never showed up to pick up the goods, so he kept the hairpin carefully, always feeling that someone would come to pick it up.”

At this point, Zhao Kuo couldn't help but show a hint of emotion on his face.

Fu Yuechi exclaimed in surprise and asked, "Now that the Begonia Jade Hairpin has been found, what should we do next? How can we let the painting spirit know?"

Gu Yueqing pondered for a moment, closed the brocade box and took it in her hand. She instructed Zhao Kuo, "General Zhao, go to the guest room and invite Mr. Xu to the main hall. Also, have Zhou Cheng bring the 'Lady Gazing at the Moon' painting to the main hall."

"Yes!" Zhao Kuo accepted the order and turned to leave quickly.

Gu Yueqing looked at Fang Muye and the Fu sisters and said softly, "Let's go over there too."

The group then moved to the main hall of the Zhenfu Division.

Before long, Xu Wenyuan was led into the hall, his face filled with anticipation and trepidation. Zhou Cheng also came in, holding the scroll wrapped in yellow silk in both hands.

Zhou Cheng carefully untied the yellow silk and gently peeled off the spirit-suppressing talisman. He then slowly unfurled the painting on the long table in the center of the main hall. Gu Yueqing also took out the begonia jade hairpin from the brocade box and gently placed it next to the painting.

A short while later, a strange change occurred.

"Ah, look!" Fu Yuechi suddenly pointed at the painting and exclaimed in surprise.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound, and saw that Wan Niang in the painting, although still maintaining the quiet posture of leaning against the railing and gazing at the moon, seemed to have come alive with her sorrowful eyes. Her eyes were slightly moving, as if they were looking through the painting paper at the warm and lustrous begonia hairpin.

Immediately afterwards, the entire scroll trembled slightly without any wind, and then a soft and hazy light green halo appeared. Within the halo, a slender and clear light green phantom rose from the painting, like smoke and mist, and slowly condensed in front of everyone, finally transforming into a beautiful figure with the same appearance and clothing as the woman in the painting.

The spirit painter Wan Niang appeared before everyone at this moment.