The large group on that side was going to return to Huai City as usual according to Baili Yu's arrangement.

  There were two disguised fakes inside the carriage. As long as they didn't leave the carriage, most people wouldn't be able to tell that they were fakes. In addition, the two of them were the only ones missing from the group so it was even less likely for a person to suspect that something was up.

  While the procession lured those tails away, Tang Doudou and Baili Yu were going to go by sea to investigate what happened to Madam Qin.

  During these past few days, Baili Yu had told her the details of what happened with Madam Qin.

  It was a story from over twenty years ago.

  At that time, in Wind Spirit Imperial Court, the old emperor had just passed away and the new emperor had just taken over, so the situation was very turbulent. The new emperor, Xiqiu Cheng, was a very indecisive person and due to brotherly affection, he let off his strongest opponent, Xiqiu Qing.

  Xiqiu Qing was the ninth son of the deceased emperor and was a very vicious and merciless person that came up with endless plots. Meanwhile, Xiqiu Cheng was the crown prince of that time, but his personality was gentle. He was oppressed by Xiqiu Qing so much that his life wasn't even as good as that of a normal prince's. Even his own mother tried to convince him to give up the struggle for the throne and seek a peaceful life instead.

  The huge disparity in strength between the two was obvious to anyone at the time. Xiqiu Qing was clearly going to win and gloriously ascend to the throne.

  However, at the very end, he lost by one move and all those plots went to waste.

  And the most crucial person in this battle was Madam Qin.

  Madam Qin wasn't someone of the imperial household, but she had a lot of ties to the imperial household. The clearest tie was that she was the biological sister of the Empress of that time, Qin Lin.

  Madam Qin and Qin Lin were very close as sisters. As the eldest daughter of the Qin family, Qin Lin became a wife of the emperor while Madam Qin the wife of Baili Feng, the Master of Dragon Blade Manor.

  Baili Feng was Baili Yu's uncle.

  "In regards to the two children Madam Qin brought out from the Imperial Palace back then, it's likely that one's Xiqiu Cheng's son and one's your younger sister, Baili Yiling?"

  Baili Yu looked towards the vast sea. "It's not 'likely,' it's definite."

  After being on the boat for about four hours, Tang Doudou finally got over her fear and sat with her back against Baili Yu's back near the head of the boat.

  There was no boatman to steer the boat, they simply drifted with the wind towards the West. Whenever they stopped moving, Baili Yu would send a strike towards the water and the boat would shoot forward like an arrow.

  "Based on the clues Feng Long brought back, that girl is definitely Yiling, but the identity of that boy isn't confirmed. Back then the Imperial Palace was a mess. People only saw that Madam Qin brought two children away, but no one know whether it's these two children or not."

  "I've investigated for many years to confirm that the infant girl was Yiling."

  Baili Yu had that same old unreadable smile on his face when he talked about his sister, so Tang Doudou couldn't tell whether he really liked that sister or not.

  However, she felt that he probably did!

  Tang Doudou asked, "Then how are you sure that Madam Qin went to the Seven Great Saint Tribes?"

  "Is there another place where one can completely disappeared off to other than where the Seven Great Saint Tribes are?"

  That made sense.

  Tang Doudou nodded, then looked towards the sea ahead as well.

  The place they were heading to was where the Seven Great Saint Tribes were.

  There were people everywhere on the continent. Even Tree Valley wasn't good enough as to be completely sealed off, so the Seven Great Saint Tribes had no choice but to retreat to the sea.

  That expanse of close islands were several thousand meters away from Ocean City and very hard for an ordinary person to reach.

  Although the boat wasn't very big, it was quite sturdy and broke through the water very quickly. From the looks of it, if no storms showed up, they'd be able to reach that island soon.

  Perhaps Baili Yu noticed that Tang Doudou was bored, because he took out a guqin from the hold of the boat. At first glance, it seemed rather similar to Mountain's Clouds, but when one looked more closely, one would find that the craftsmanship was much more delicate than Mountain's Clouds. The guqin was completely ice blue and didn't look to be made of wood. On the contrary, it resembled glass a lot.

  There were no strings on it but light seemed to be flowing on its surface. Hanging off the end was a string of white feathers that fluttered beautifully in the sea breeze.

  Tang Doudou had been too focused on talking earlier and didn't notice that this guqin was here at all. However, Baili Yu immediately attracted her attention when he took it out.

  He smiled towards her, then placed the guqin over his knees. He spread out his arms, then slowly placed his hands on the guqin.

  Then, somehow, white strings formed from the top to connect to the end of the guqin. There weren't a lot, only three strings.

  Tang Doudou was confused. This instrument looked like a guqin, but didn't seem to be one.

  Seeming to know that she was wondering about this, Baili Yu said, "The name of this guqin is Seep."

  Before she could ask anymore, he started playing.

  In order to test the sound in this open environment, he first played a very clear, resounding note. Following that, his fingers flew and the sound of the guqin flowed out like water.

  Tang Doudou's eyes lit up. Baili Yu's skill was way better than Qing Moran's. Although there wasn't that enchanting feeling Mountain's Clouds gave off, she still couldn't help but be captivated by the sound.

  By the time she came back to her senses, the music had already stopped. Baili Yu was looking at her with his head slightly tilted. "Did Wife like it?"

  Tang Doudou originally wanted to blurt out that she liked it, but though this music was pleasant, it kept reminding her of what she saw that night. She couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

  "Actually, I like singing better than guqin music!" A crafty light flashed through Tang Doudou's eyes.

  Baili Yu was surprised. "Singing?"

  Then he recalled the way she had been cursing on that particular morning. Her last sentence was that she knew how to sing?

  When his thoughts got to this point, he started to look forward to it a little. She never praised herself, but she had repeated brought up this matter, so how could he not be curious?

  __________

  Credits: Translated by Chiyomira

  [Chiyomira's Corner]

  Enjoy~