"Little one, do you know much about the Yunxian Poetry Gathering?"
In the room, Fang Ming was sitting cross-legged on the bed, and Xiao Nan stood below.
"I know some. What aspects would the young master like to know about?" Xiao Nan replied respectfully.
"Hmm..." Fang Ming pondered for a moment. "The venue, the organizer, and the organizer's identity."
Fang Ming asked about things that locals were well aware of. Without hesitation, Xiao Nan began, "The Yunxian Poetry Gathering is held in the nearby Yunxian Lake. It is organized by the young master of the President of the Ten Thousand Things Merchants Guild. It is held once a year at this time, and it is said that hundreds of thousands of taels of silver are invested each time."
"I heard that this poetry gathering loses quite a bit of money every year?" Fang Ming asked again.
Xiao Nan nodded. This was common knowledge for the locals, and she had indeed heard much about the Yunxian Poetry Gathering's financial losses.
"The Yunxian Poetry Gathering is always held on the Linglong Painting Boat. Only those with registration tokens can board. All expenses on board are borne by the organizer. Basically, every year, the Yunxian Poetry Gathering loses as much money as it spends."
Hearing this, Fang Ming felt something unusual. Would the son of a merchant guild president really do such a foolish thing?
There was a problem, definitely a problem!
"Do you know specifically what the Yunxian Poetry Gathering is for? What are the competition events?" Fang Ming asked again.
"The Yunxian Poetry Gathering is mainly divided into three types of competitions: poetry and song chain, chess matches, and painting duels," Xiao Nan introduced.
"Are there no other special competitions?" Fang Ming asked in confusion. This seemed too ordinary.
"No," Xiao Nan shook her head, but then cautiously added, "It's possible I only know these. Women are not allowed to participate in the Yunxian Poetry Gathering, so naturally, we don't know much."
After hearing Xiao Nan's words, Fang Ming fell into thought. His intuition told him that this Yunxian Poetry Gathering was definitely problematic, but based solely on Xiao Nan's introduction, he couldn't pinpoint the issue.
Overall, it sounded like a foolish young master from a wealthy family throwing money around. Was he misinterpreting the situation? Was the malevolent spirit unrelated to this Yunxian Poetry Gathering?
Fang Ming felt a headache coming on. Couldn't these malevolent spirits be more direct and confront him? It was the same in Baimu Village, and it was the same in this world. Finding a malevolent spirit felt like solving a puzzle.
Wait, Baimu Village?
"Take me to the venue of the Yunxian Poetry Gathering. I want to take a look," Fang Ming suddenly thought of something and quickly got out of bed, putting on his shoes, ready to go out.
Xiao Nan was startled for a moment but quickly responded, "Yes, young master."
Led by Xiao Nan, they left the inn and walked towards the venue of the Yunxian Poetry Gathering.
Soon, they passed through several streets and saw a shimmering lake in the distance. The lake was not large, perhaps only about two hundred mu. People were coming and going around it, with lanterns and banners. Some vendors had already occupied good spots and started hawking their wares.
"That is Yunxian Lake," Xiao Nan said, pointing to the lake ahead.
Fang Ming looked into the lake. A massive five-story painting boat was moored in the center of the lake, with various large and small boats coming and going around it, like diligent ants building an anthill.
The two quickly followed the street to the shore of Yunxian Lake, where the painting boat was even clearer.
"As expected..." Fang Ming frowned deeply. Standing on the shore, he could already sense a faint aura of resentment from the painting boat, even though he was more than ten li away from it!
Xiao Nan glanced at Fang Ming curiously. She always felt that Fang Ming's intentions were not simply to attend the Yunxian Poetry Gathering; this man had a deeper purpose!
However, she would not ask such things. She would dutifully be his page.
Fang Ming was also calculating in his mind. If the painting boat had such a strong aura of resentment during the day, it would likely be even heavier at night, perhaps some events would occur, similar to the ancestral worship in Baimu Village.
With this thought, Fang Ming decided to wait for nightfall here. He wanted to see what this painting boat was really up to.
"Xiao Nan, wait for me here for a moment. I'm going to pick up two people," Fang Ming said to Xiao Nan.
"Yes, young master."
After speaking, Fang Ming scanned the surroundings. Seeing a direction where the crowd was sparser, he walked in that direction until his back disappeared from Xiao Nan's sight.
A few minutes later, Fang Ming reappeared, this time with two "people" by his side.
"Let me introduce you. This is Xiao Nan, a guide I found here. Xiao Nan, this is my sister Nannan, and this is my personal guard, Qingmian."
Fang Ming introduced the three to each other.
Xiao Nan looked at Qingmian and Nannan curiously. She felt an inexplicable aura from both of them that made her heart involuntarily flutter.
Qingmian maintained a cool demeanor, glanced at Xiao Nan, and remained silent. Nannan stared at Xiao Nan for a while, then turned to look at Fang Ming. She seemed to sense a threat!
"Greetings, young lady," Xiao Nan bowed to Nannan.
Nannan ignored her, instead hugging Fang Ming's arm and threatening fiercely, "If you dare to have any thoughts about Fang Ming, I will kill you."
"Nannan," Fang Ming rubbed Nannan's head, "don't be reckless."
"Young lady, please rest assured, I will not have any thoughts about the young master," Xiao Nan said earnestly, not paying much attention to Nannan's words. What could a young girl do to her?
But she didn't know that Nannan truly would do it...
"You'd better be," a cold glint appeared in Nannan's eyes. A woman's intuition told her that this Xiao Nan was not simple.
"Alright, stop arguing. Let's go wander around those stalls. Since we're here, let's try the ancestral crafts," Fang Ming petted Nannan and led her by the hand towards the stalls along the shore of Yunxian Lake.
Qingmian followed, and Xiao Nan also trailed behind. Suddenly, Qingmian stopped and turned to Xiao Nan, saying, "You'd better not think that Nannan is just scaring you."
After speaking, he coolly followed. Xiao Nan was stunned by Qingmian's words, then smiled. What was there to fear from a little girl?
She had suffered for ten years. Why couldn't she seize this opportunity to rise? She didn't understand Fang Ming's background yet, but he was at least a straw she could grasp to turn her life around. She no longer wanted to be looked down upon, no longer wanted to disguise herself as a beggar to avoid those disgusting men!
However, she hadn't expected to have her thoughts seen through by a mere girl. But what could a little girl do? Once she had Fang Ming captivated, wouldn't everything be under her control?
Xiao Nan revealed a hint of a sinister smile. If necessary, she wouldn't hesitate to eliminate this obstacle!
At the stalls, Fang Ming was choosing some pastries with Nannan.
"Nannan, how about this one?" Fang Ming picked up a sample pastry and offered it to Nannan.
Nannan opened her mouth and ate it, then said, "It's a bit sweet, but the taste is okay."
The stall owner chuckled upon seeing this. Seeing Nannan's cute appearance, he wasn't angry. Instead, he explained, "My pastries are famous for using real ingredients. If it's sweet enough, it means I use a lot of maltose."
Fang Ming knew the stall owner was right. In this era, there were no additives. These things were the healthiest. Moreover, sugar was a rarity in this era, so this stall owner was certainly generous with his ingredients.
"Give me a pound," Fang Ming said.
"Coming right up!" The stall owner beamed with joy and quickly weighed out a pound for Fang Ming.
At this moment, Qingmian and Xiao Nan also caught up.
Fang Ming called out to them, inviting them to try and buy more if they liked it.
Qingmian tasted it and said it was acceptable. Xiao Nan was also satisfied. Fang Ming then bought another ten pounds and had Qingmian carry them all.
The group chatted and laughed as they walked. Xiao Nan chimed in occasionally, but mostly she was trying to glean information from their conversation, attempting to deduce Fang Ming's true identity.
Soon, as dusk began to fall, the stalls started to pack up one by one. By the time the sun had completely set, there were hardly any people around Yunxian Lake.
Although there was no curfew at this time, except for entertainment venues and special festivals, most common people still adhered to the habit of working at sunrise and resting at sunset.
"Chirp chirp chirp..." The sound of insects from the grass indicated that night had deepened.
Fang Ming and his group stood by the lake, observing the Linglong Painting Boat. Xiao Nan didn't understand Fang Ming's actions, but she didn't ask further, dutifully following behind them.
"Strange, why is there no movement at all?" Fang Ming looked at the painting boat, which showed no change, in bewilderment. This was different from what he had expected.
"Nannan, Qingmian, do you two feel anything different about this painting boat?" Fang Ming turned and asked Nannan and Qingmian, who were more powerful than him.
Both of them shook their heads. Apart from sensing a faint aura of resentment from the painting boat, they couldn't feel anything else out of the ordinary.
Fang Ming rubbed his chin. It seemed his guess was off. This painting boat might have issues, but it was probably not the main area. This place might be similar to the square in Baimu Village; the real "ancestral hall" was elsewhere.
"Let's go. We'll go back first. It seems we can't find any information here," Fang Ming sighed and headed back towards the inn, the three following behind.
The four returned to the inn. Fang Ming checked the number of people and suddenly remembered he had only booked two rooms. Qingmian definitely couldn't sleep with Xiao Nan.
As for Nannan... forget it. Nannan probably couldn't suppress the resentment within her if she were away from him. If he let her sleep with Xiao Nan, she might have to collect Xiao Nan's body tomorrow.
So what should he do? Should he book another room?
"Fang Ming, can I sleep with Xiao Nan?" Nannan suddenly said.
"What?" Fang Ming looked at her in disbelief. This was strange, very strange.
Qingmian, whose expression rarely changed, also showed shock. How could the bossy Nannan be willing to leave Fang Ming today?
"Are you sure?" Fang Ming confirmed again.
"Mmm-hmm." Nannan nodded obediently.
"Then don't be reckless," Fang Ming cautioned.
Xiao Nan suddenly interjected, "Young master, rest assured, I will take good care of the young lady."
Fang Ming glanced at her. This little girl had no idea who she was going to share a bed with.
"Fang Ming, you have to believe me!" Nannan said indignantly.
"Alright, alright, I believe you," Fang Ming said helplessly, stroking Nannan's head. "Let's go, Qingmian, we're going to rest."
Nannan then returned to Xiao Nan's room with Xiao Nan. Both of them wore a smile on their faces.