"From whom did you get this thing? Is it from the person who stole the art of fragrance-making from your family and caused the death of your people?" Zhu Yu asked.

Mu Hong nodded without hesitation, "It should be.

The patterns commonly seen in Lan Country are generally of flowers and birds. It’s rare to use such ferocious mythical beasts, and my family has never had fabric with such patterns.

I vaguely remember that when I was preparing to flee, I didn’t know what to take with me. At that time, I only thought about saving my life, and there was no one around to discuss or give me advice.

So I stole a lot of seductive fragrance that could help me escape, thinking that if there was ever a chance to clear our village’s name, I couldn’t be accused of false charges without evidence—I’d have no way to refute it.

Therefore, during the fragrance-making process, I secretly hid some of the flowers and herbs brought by that person, fearing discovery, so I hid them in small packets on my person.

At the time, I had no fabric left to wrap things in, so I stole a piece of cloth hidden at the bottom of the box, tore it into small pieces, and tied them onto myself. I didn’t even notice if there were any patterns...

When I got here, I was afraid that if I accidentally revealed myself while eating or breathing some fresh air, I quickly sealed the windows with whatever I could find.

When I reached the upper floor, I really couldn’t find enough wooden boards or pieces, so I had to use some of the larger cloth pieces I had taken from my body.

Could it be... this thing belongs to your enemy?"

"No, not an enemy," Lu Qing shook his head, "It’s mine."

His words genuinely startled Mu Hong, making him subconsciously flinch backward.

"Your situation is somewhat like mine; the villains conspired against my family, and all the elder members were killed.

The intruder who harmed my family fled elsewhere and has not been found till this day," Lu Qing pointed to the pattern on the fabric, "And this pattern is unique to my family.

If it weren’t for this thing appearing on the window of the small wooden building, we wouldn’t have insisted on finding you to get clarity."

Mu Hong turned pale with fear upon hearing this, "So, that person is also likely the enemy who killed your family?

He would naturally recognize this pattern! I can’t believe I sealed it at the second-floor window for so long...

I’ve been wondering why such an inconspicuous, barren little wooden building had been searched so many times by large groups of people after I hid inside it.

It truly scared me half to death back then; I feared every day that I’d be found and killed here...

Thinking back now, those people must have recognized the pattern on this cloth, which is why they suspected I was hiding nearby and searched multiple times! 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

I never imagined all this trouble was stirred up by the pattern on this piece of cloth! Had I known it was drawing the wrong attention, I would have torn it down long ago!"

Why the cloth was not taken down by the others is something Zhu Yu could roughly guess.

After all, for that person, Lu Qing’s family had already faced complete annihilation, leaving no survivors, so no matter the reason for bringing such a piece of fabric initially, after defecting to a new master, it no longer mattered. Thus, his subordinates, suspecting Mu Hong’s hiding place through this object, found that without locating him personally, the cloth was inconsequential.

That person wasn’t worried that the pattern appearing in the desolate small wooden building in Lan Country would cause him any trouble.

It was indeed fortunate Mu Hong hid well. Otherwise, being exposed by this piece of cloth, once found, he wouldn’t have had a chance to survive.

The initial intensive search likely scared him significantly, leading him to even use the seductive fragrance he had hidden, to intimidate those around, fearing anyone would come near again.

"Did that villain have any easily recognizable features?" Lu Qing asked.

When his family faced massacre, he was just an infant, yet when Emperor Jin pursued the "escaped" family servant, he couldn’t obtain a precise description, only knowing that the person had a bluish birthmark on the neck.

Later, on a decayed body found by the riverbank, one could faintly see a hint of blue on the neck, but it was too decomposed to discern the shape of the birthmark. Moreover, since the body was dressed in a Lu Family servant’s clothes and had a similar build, it was assumed to be the ill-fated runaway servant.

As for any further details about the person’s appearance, neither Lu Qing nor Emperor Jin knew.

Mu Hong, upon careful recollection, although harboring immense hatred that he never dared to forget, had his once vivid memories slightly blurred due to hiding in darkness for over twenty years.

"He... was about... this tall..." Mu Hong rose from the ground, holding himself steady and indicating his forehead level, "At that time scarcely over thirty, his skin was somewhat dark yellow, short but thick eyebrows, eyes... eyes were those triangular eyes, fiercely glaring, with a long philtrum and drooping mouth corners.

This man, despite looking thin, was incredibly strong. At that time, I wasn’t this thin; I was just over twenty, with a well-built frame. But when my father initially resisted his orders, refusing to obey, and he came to take my grandparents away, I rushed to tangle with him, but his strength was enough to throw me far..."

Zhu Yu listened carefully to his description, sketching the person’s appearance in her mind. Fortunately, with Mu Hong’s effortful recollection, his initial blurry memories gradually became clearer, finally presenting a complete portrayal.

Meanwhile, watching him recalling while narrating, Zhu Yu couldn’t help feeling a bit dazed.

Though Mu Hong looked like a man in his fifties, with his long seclusion turning his beard gray and giving him a pallid, emaciated appearance, because he hid here alone for over twenty years without any contact with the outside world or experience beyond evasion, that aged face still bore expressions usually exclusive to young lads.

Zhu Yu sighed inwardly.

Simultaneously, she also realized another fact which contradicted her previous assumptions, instantly turning her expression serious.