Granny Wang froze at Xie Zhaolin's serious tone, her cloudy old eyes straining upward, the wrinkles on her face twisting as she tried to recall.
"Appearance… appearance…" she muttered, fingers nervously twisting the edge of her clothes. "It's been too long… I really can't remember… I just… I think… she seemed pretty fair-skinned, hair was long… oh! I think… she pinned her hair up with a silver hairpin with a tassel? The head of the pin… I think it had a green stone that glowed a little? The old woman thought it looked really pretty back then…"
Her memory came in fragments, a jumble of words. "Speaking… I didn't hear what she said… she hardly spoke at all… just… just when they entered the city, it was windy, she held the child closer, seemed to mutter something… something like 'we've arrived safely?' Ah, I really can't hear it clearly…"
"Other than the hairpin, did she wear anything else special?" Xie Zhaolin guided the question carefully. "Like… around her waist? On her hands? Any jade pendants, fragrant pouches, or… rarer little trinkets?"
She deliberately steered the topic toward "little trinkets," trying to link it to the demonic accessory.
Granny Wang furrowed her brows, thought for a while, then shook her head. "Master, forgive me… it's been too long… I really can't remember… just vaguely… it seemed she had… some shiny little thing hanging at her waist? It swayed… that's all I can recall."
She looked frustrated with her poor memory.
A shiny little trinket? Xie Zhaolin's heart stirred. Instinctively, she thought of that dark purple accessory fragment! Could it be something similar?
Seeing that Xie Zhaolin didn't seem upset, Granny Wang relaxed slightly and tried harder to remember. Suddenly, a memory seemed to surface. "Oh! Right! Now that you mention it, Master… not long after they returned, Li Ergou's mother from next door—always poking her nose into others' business—saw a stranger, a young unfamiliar woman, and tried to talk to her…"
Granny Wang pursed her lips, a faint fear in her expression. "I don't know what happened exactly, but Lao Zhang's face turned black as coal! Li Ergou's mother hadn't even spoken at the gate before Lao Zhang chased her away with a broom, cursing her to mind her own business and stay away… he looked terrifying! Li Ergou's mother even cried out of fright! After that, no one dared go near that place for a long time…"
Xie Zhaolin's eyes gleamed sharply.
Lao Zhang's extreme reaction clearly showed guilt. He was deliberately hiding the young woman's existence, even at the cost of angering neighbors.
She asked a few more specifics, but given Granny Wang's age and fading memory, there was little else she could provide.
Xie Zhaolin showed no disappointment, gently thanked her, gave her a reward, and let her leave.
Granny Wang gave profuse thanks, and with the help of a maid, slowly turned to exit the hall.
But just as she reached the doorway, her steps faltered. Her cloudy eyes blinked, a trace of hesitation and uncertainty crossing her face as if she'd suddenly remembered a faint detail.
She hesitated, then turned back, shifting awkwardly, looking at Xie Zhaolin and Zhou Wanru. "Um… Master… Patriarch… I think I just remembered something else, not sure if I should say it…"
Xie Zhaolin's heart stirred. She smiled gently. "Granny Wang, anything you remember could be important. Please, say it."
Zhou Wanru nodded, encouraging her to continue.
Wang licked her dry lips, forcing her memory. "It's… it's that young woman… she had… a smell…"
"A smell?" Xie Zhaolin's eyes narrowed. "What kind of smell? Can you describe it?"
"I can't really… explain it well…" Granny Wang frowned, gesturing with her hands. "Not like normal flowers, not like perfume… not like sweat… just… something unusual. Like… like old tree roots mixed with wet soil after a rain in the forest? And a bit like incense from a temple… faint, but it chills you… not exactly… ah, my tongue's clumsy, I can't describe it well."
Xie Zhaolin repeated the description silently in her mind. That scent… it sounded remarkably like some kind of yin-attribute spirit plant.
Or… maybe the lingering aura of someone who spent long periods in a yin-cold place or cultivated a special technique?!
Could Zhang Xiuxiu's birth mother be connected to some extraordinary being?
This sudden clue made the already mysterious origin even more tangled.
"Thank you, Granny Wang! This is very important!" Xie Zhaolin said solemnly, giving her another reward.
Only then did Granny Wang finally leave satisfied.
The hall was left with just Xie Zhaolin and Zhou Wanru.
Zhou Wanru spoke softly, "Master Ming Yue, it seems Zhang Xiuxiu's background is even more complicated than we thought. Should the Zhou family continue discreet inquiries? Perhaps we could start with those who were familiar with the Zhangs or Chus but have since left Qingyang City?"
Xie Zhaolin showed a faint expression of melancholy and helplessness, sighing gently. Her tone carried a mix of regret and acceptance.
"Patriarch Zhou, I appreciate your effort. But… this favor may never be personally repaid. Maybe the timing isn't right, or perhaps it's destiny at work."
She shook her head slightly, eyes distant. "Since the person is no longer here, probing further would only stir trouble, maybe even disturb the deceased's peace. This matter… will end here."
Zhou Wanru, sharp as she was, immediately picked up on the signal. Though curious, she wouldn't be foolish enough to pry into a Golden Core elder's private affairs. Her face showed understanding and regret. "Master Ming Yue's loyalty and sense of duty are admirable. It's a pity, fate is cruel. If you say so, we'll leave it be."
After a few polite words, Xie Zhaolin bade farewell and returned to her small courtyard.
Lao Zhang's unusual reaction, the mysterious woman's appearance and disappearance, the Chu family's quick involvement and engagement, the demonic accessory buried underground… these fragments were slowly forming a blurry picture in her mind.
Patriarch Chu's role likely went beyond arranging an engagement. He probably knew more, maybe even participated in some plan.
Thinking this, Xie Zhaolin cursed the Chus silently for being foolish and causing the death of the only cultivated elder because of a single evil cultivator.
Now, the trail stopped here, and the demonic accessory might be the key token or clue.
She had only intended to uncover the cause of the body she currently inhabited, but instead, she'd stumbled into such deep waters.
"Mo Yan." she whispered.