Chapter 3: Battle of wits

The tall man leading the way was named Bai Wu, the commander of the Third Guard of the Beizhen Prefecture. Despite his burly appearance, it was not easy to reach his position. He could see through Ji Yun's thoughts at a glance and was eager to search the place. He leaned in close to Ji Yun and whispered, "Ji Yun, you care about your reputation, but don't we, the Jin Yi Wei, care about ours? You worry too much."

Ji Yun was taken aback but quickly understood his meaning. It was not a good look for the Jin Yi Wei to be searching a Buddhist sanctuary.

Understanding this, Ji Yun nodded and smiled, "I wonder how the gentleman plans to search?"

"We followed the thief to the foot of Yuqing Mountain and saw him enter the Yuqing An from the right side of the backyard. I believe the thief is in the backyard," Bai Wu said, not entirely sure if the person was actually in the backyard, but he was short on manpower and had to narrow down the search area as much as possible.

Ji Yun nodded, but before she could speak, the nun Chen Luo, who had been following her, spoke up, "Sir, you should search carefully. Or let me assist you to avoid any confusion."

There were only twenty people in the Yuqing An, three with the surname "Ji," six with the surname "Chen," and eleven with the surname "You."

Ji Yun glanced at Chen Luo and sighed inwardly but did not object, "You can come along, just be careful not to make any mistakes."

It was a warning, but she wasn't sure if it would be effective.

Chen Luo happily agreed and bid farewell to Ji Yun, leading Bai Wu and the others into the backyard. However, she was secretly plotting. The right side of the backyard was where You Xi, a young nun, lived. She hoped something unexpected would happen there.

You Xi was the Dharma name given to Ye Qingxi by her master, Chen Xiao.

As Chen Luo led Bai Wu and the others into Ye Qingxi's solitary room, she was lying on the bed reading a book. In the dim light, her face seemed to be coated with a layer of gold, giving her a gentle and composed appearance.

"You Xi, why aren't you resting?" Chen Luo didn't see what she wanted to see and felt somewhat disappointed, but her sharp eyes couldn't help but glance around.

You Xi raised her head and glanced at Chen Luo and the others, but she didn't get up from the bed. She said indifferently, "Chen Luo, you've come."

Chen Luo's expression was also cold, in stark contrast to her demeanor when searching the other rooms earlier, "I brought some gentlemen to take a look."

Bai Wu was somewhat surprised, not by You Xi's behavior, but by her black hair. Wasn't this a nunnery? Judging by her name, she should be a young nun in the nunnery, so why did she have long hair?

But he didn't come to investigate this matter. His gaze turned cold, and he walked to Ye Qingxi's bedside. After saying "excuse me," he bent down and lifted the sheet that was draped over the side of the bed, peering underneath. After a moment, he straightened up.

"Is there anything underneath?" Chen Luo couldn't help muttering from behind.

Bai Wu pursed his lips, then turned and walked towards a wardrobe against the wall. Underneath the wardrobe was a three-foot-tall cabinet, with intricately carved lattice on top, displaying delicate porcelain and wood carvings. Bai Wu's gaze briefly swept over these exquisite items before settling on the clothes neatly folded on the left side of the cabinet and a small stack of scriptures scattered on the right side.

Chen Luo had been following Bai Wu closely and now leaned in, but she was very disappointed to find nothing. Could it be that the thief hadn't entered this young nun's room? You Xi's room was right against the wall, so it didn't make sense for the thief to go to such lengths!

Or perhaps the thief never entered the Yuqing An at all?

Recalling the scene of the search earlier, Chen Luo thought that perhaps, out of consideration for the reputation of the Yuqing An, the gentlemen had only checked a few places where the thief might be hiding, without making a big fuss. This made Chen Luo feel that these people had come here just to go through the motions.

With this in mind, Chen Luo's fleeting thoughts disappeared, but before leaving, she couldn't help but taunt Ye Qingxi, "It's good that you're willing to study the scriptures late at night, but look at the way you've placed the scriptures in your cabinet. If your master knew, he would be heartbroken!"

Ye Qingxi was used to Chen Luo's sarcasm and simply nodded, replying, "Yes."

Bai Wu, however, looked tense at her words, "Where did these scriptures come from?"

She, well, I haven't seen her work hard usually, but she just likes to buy some..." Chen Luo didn't even think before taking over the conversation, wanting to scold Ye Qingxi a few words, but before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Bai Wu.

Bai Wu waved his hand, somewhat displeased, "I'm asking her."

Chen Luo suddenly felt unhappy, but he couldn't argue with Bai Wu, so he could only glare at Ye Qingxi resentfully and fell silent.

Ye Qingxi didn't know what Bai Wu was thinking, and suddenly felt a little uneasy. As for those scriptures of hers, at least half of them were actually for the purpose of concealing her true activities. The covers were labeled with the names of certain scriptures, but inside were actually just account books.

"I usually stay in Yuclean An later than the senior sisters, so I have to work harder." But those things couldn't be said, Ye Qingxi lowered her eyebrows, looking very respectful.

Bai Wu's gaze fell on Ye Qingxi's face. At this moment, she was slightly lowering her eyes, and her long eyelashes cast a shadow, making it seem like she was hiding something, "If you really work so hard, why would you casually scatter the scriptures in the wardrobe?"

"Exactly, I think you're just pretending!" Chen Luo thought Bai Wu was going to criticize Ye Qingxi and quickly joined in.

Ye Qingxi raised her eyes again, looking very cold. She smirked at Chen Luo, "Chen Luo, you really like to meddle, but I remember it was Chen Yuan who taught me, not you. And you're not my master, do you want to take over someone else's responsibility?"

"You..." Chen Luo knew that You Xi had a sharp tongue and was eloquent, but she was not a pushover. "I am your elder after all. How can you speak to your elders like this? Where has your manners gone? Sister Ji Yun was kind enough to take you in, but you are so disappointing!"

Bai Wu, however, caught a glimpse of something from this conversation. He gazed at Ye Qingxi's shiny black hair and couldn't help but ask, "What does Chen Luo mean by this, Sister?"