Nine Nights Owl Song

By the time the account books were handed to Xiao Yan, it was almost dawn.

In the Shili Pavilion, Xiao Yan sat at a stone table, with a blue-covered account book spread out in front of him, turning the pages one by one.

His face was expressionless, but Ah Jiu noticed that he was turning the pages slower and slower, and his fingers were gripping the pages tighter and tighter, his knuckles turning slightly white.

"These things," Xiao Yan said, closing the account book in a low voice.

"Enough to make the Second Prince lose his head three times over."

Ah Jiu leaned against a pavilion pillar, arms crossed, watching the pale dawn breaking over the distant horizon.

"Then let him fall," she said.

Xiao Yan glanced at her, the corners of his mouth slightly turned up, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"It's not that simple. The Second Prince has the Empress Dowager backing him up, half the court officials are subservient to him, and the generals of three military garrisons in the northern border obey him. A single account book can't bring him down."

"Then why do you want me to get the account books?"

"Taking the account books is not the goal, but a means." Xiao Yan tucked the account books into his sleeve.

"If the account books are in my hands, the Second Prince will panic. When he panics, he'll make a mistake. And when he makes a mistake, that's when we'll have a chance."

Ajiu remained silent. She didn't care about these power struggles and schemes; she only cared that she had completed her mission, received the money she was owed, and that the people she was supposed to kill would be killed sooner or later.

"Do you know about the matter concerning the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence?" Xiao Yan suddenly asked.

Ajiu's gaze returned from the distant horizon to Xiao Yan's face.

"What is it?"

"Lord Dingyuan, Su Zhentian, lost a daughter sixteen years ago." Xiao Yan's voice was calm, as if he were talking about something insignificant.

"The eldest daughter, born of the principal wife, died on the night of her birth. It was said that she died in the womb, but there have always been rumors in the capital that the child was switched and thrown into a mass grave."

Ajiu leaned against the pavilion pillar, motionless.

"You went to the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence tonight," Xiao Yan continued.

"You saw Su Zhentian and Lady Shen, the wife of the Marquis. Didn't you feel anything?"

"What should I feel?" Ah Jiu asked rhetorically, her voice as cold as ice.

Xiao Yan looked at her, and his lazy eyes became serious.

"Night Owl, I know about your past," he said.

"Qianji Tower has found out what happened before you were taken away by the Dark Pavilion. You were raised by an old beggar in the abandoned residential area. That old beggar is Yin Wuji. Before he died, Yin Wuji told you that you were the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Dingyuan who was switched at birth."

Ah Jiu's hand silently rested on the hilt of the knife.

"Are you investigating me?" Her voice wasn't loud, but each word seemed to be squeezed out from between her teeth.

"I'm getting to know my partner." Xiao Yan didn't back down, nor did he avoid her gaze.

"Qianji Tower will not cooperate with someone whose background is unknown. I'm investigating you not to harm you, but to help you."

"I don't need your help."

"You need it." Xiao Yan stood up, walked to her, and stopped three steps away.

"You're fighting the Dark Pavilion and the Blood Hall alone. How long do you think you can last? A year? Two years? You can kill everyone who's after you, but can you destroy the foundation of the Dark Pavilion and the Blood Hall? You can't. You need help, resources, intelligence, and a powerful backer. I can give you all of that."

Ajiu stared at him, her hand on the hilt of her knife, her knuckles turning white.

The two faced off for a moment.

Xiao Yan took a step back first. He took two steps back, sat back down on the stone bench, picked up the pot of tea that had gone cold, poured a cup, and pushed it towards A-Jiu.

"I am not your enemy," he said.

"You may not trust me, but at least you can listen to what I have to say."

Ah Jiu remained silent for a long time before loosening her grip on the hilt of the knife.

"explain."

Xiao Yan took out a file from his sleeve, placed it on the table, and opened it.

The file contained a portrait of a young woman in her early twenties, with beautiful features and a gentle demeanor.

Her eyebrows and eyes were seven-tenths similar to Ajiu's, especially her eyes, which were black and bright, like two black pebbles that had been washed by water.

"This is a portrait of Lady Shen, the wife of the Marquis, when she was young," Xiao Yan said.

"Look at it, doesn't it look like you?"

Ajiu looked at the portrait without saying a word.

She didn't need to see. She had already seen Shen tonight. In that study, under the dim light of the oil lamp, she had seen Shen's face.

That face lingered in her memory for only a moment, but that moment was enough for her to remember it for a lifetime.

That was her face, a version that looked over twenty years older.

"What do you plan to do about the matter of the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence?" Xiao Yan asked.

"There's not much we can do," Ah Jiu said.

"I have nothing to do with them."

"You have connections." Xiao Yan's voice wasn't loud, but it was firm.

"You are the biological daughter of Su Zhentian and Shen Shi, and you are the rightful eldest daughter of the Marquis of Dingyuan. Your name should be written in the Su family genealogy. You should enjoy everything that a legitimate daughter should have, instead of fighting for food with stray dogs in the abandoned housing area and being used as a murder weapon in the secret chamber."

"Name?" A-Jiu's voice carried a hint of sarcasm.

"I have no name. My name is Ajiu, given to me by the old drunkard. My name is Night Owl, given to me by Hades. I have never had a name of my own."

Xiao Yan looked at her and remained silent for a moment.

"Your name is Su Jiuge," he said.

"The eldest daughter of the Marquis of Dingyuan was born on the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month in the first year of Yong'an, and was named Jiuge. On the night of your birth, your father's concubine, Aunt Zhou, switched you with a stillborn baby and threw you into the mass grave south of the city. Your mother, Madam Shen, thought you were dead and cried until she went blind in one eye. To this day, the vision in her left eye has not recovered."

Ajiu's hand trembled slightly.

I cried until I went blind in one eye.

She didn't know about this.

The old drunkard didn't tell her that the Dark Pavilion's intelligence hadn't mentioned it.

When she saw Ms. Shen tonight, she only noticed that she was pale and had dark circles under her eyes, but she didn't notice anything wrong with her eyes.

"How did you know?" Ah Jiu asked.

"Qianji Tower has found the midwife who delivered your baby back then," Xiao Yan said.

"Her name is Granny Wang. Back then, she took money from Aunt Zhou and substituted you with a dead baby. After the deed was exposed, she fled Luoyang overnight and hid in the countryside for more than ten years. The people from Qianji Tower found her last month. She is still alive, seventy-six years old, paralyzed in bed, and can hardly speak anymore, but she remembers everything that happened back then very clearly."

A-Jiu's breathing stopped for a moment.

Midwife.

The old drunkard had told her about the midwife, but he only knew about her background and had not found the midwife herself.

If the midwife were still alive, and if she were willing to testify, she could prove that she was the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Dingyuan.

It wasn't based on looks or guesswork, but on irrefutable evidence.

"Where is she?" Ajiu asked.

"In Luoyang," Xiao Yan said.

"Qianjilou brought her from the countryside and settled her in a safe place. You can see her anytime you want."

Ajiu remained silent for a long time.

A night breeze blew in from outside the pavilion, stirring the scrolls on the table. The pages rustled and turned, revealing more information about the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion—family lineage, relationships, business distribution, and political stances—all meticulously detailed.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Ah Jiu finally spoke.

"You want me to acknowledge my family? To return to the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion as his eldest daughter? What good would that do you?"

Xiao Yan looked at her, and suddenly a light appeared in his lazy eyes that Ajiu had never seen before.

It wasn't about scheming or exploitation; it was more like understanding, more like resonance, like someone who had also walked in the darkness for a long time reaching out to another person walking alone in the darkness.

"Because you shouldn't have to bear it all alone," Xiao Yan said.

"Your life was stolen from you from birth. You had to fight for food with stray dogs in a deserted area and were trained to be a killing machine in the Dark Chamber. You did nothing wrong, yet you endured the most malice in the world. You owe no one anything, but many people in this world owe you."

He paused, then lowered his voice:

"At least, you should know your own name. At least, you should know that there is someone in this world—your mother—who thought you were dead, cried for sixteen years, and cried until she went blind in one eye. She deserves to know the truth, and so do you."

The pavilion was extremely quiet.

In the distance, the morning bell of Luoyang City rang, its deep sound echoing through the morning mist, once, twice, three times.

Ajiu stood there, leaning against the pavilion pillar, her hands hanging at her sides, not holding a knife.

Her face was expressionless, but her eyes—those eternally dark, eternally cold, eternally devoid of warmth—looked as if something had shattered within them, or as if something had melted away.

It only lasted a moment.

The next second, her eyes returned to normal.

"Take me to see the midwife," she said.

Xiao Yan nodded, stood up, and straightened his robes.

"Let's go."

The Thousand Machines Pavilion has more than just Tingyuxuan as a secret stronghold in Luoyang.

Xiao Yan led Ajiu through most of Luojing City, from the East Market to the West Market, through an inconspicuous alley, and stopped in front of a dilapidated general store.

The store's doors had been removed, and it was pitch black inside; you couldn't see anything.

Xiao Yan knocked three times on the door frame, two short knocks and one long knock, then pushed open a hidden door and went inside.

Behind the grocery store was a narrow passageway, at the end of which was an iron gate.

Behind the iron gate was a small room with a bed inside, on which lay an old woman.

The old woman looked to be in her seventies or eighties. Her hair was completely white, sparsely plastered to her scalp, and the wrinkles on her face resembled a cracked riverbed, densely packed and layered.

Her body was so thin it was like a skeleton, wrapped in a tattered quilt, with only the slight rise and fall of her chest proving that she was still alive.

Her eyes were half-closed, her pupils were cloudy and yellow, drool was dripping from the corners of her mouth, and her whole body exuded a putrid smell.

Ajiu stood by the bed, looking down at the old woman.

This is Granny Wang.

Years ago, they switched her midwife with a stillborn baby. Years ago, they took money from Aunt Zhou, wrapped her newborn in a tattered cloth, handed her to a man in black, and dumped her in a mass grave. If it weren't for the old drunkard, she would have frozen to death, starved to death, or been bitten to death by wild dogs on that snowy night.

Granny Wang's eyes twitched, her cloudy pupils turning toward A-Jiu as if trying to identify her.

"Who are you?" Granny Wang's voice was hoarse and indistinct, as if it were being squeezed out from deep in her throat.

Ajiu didn't say anything.

Xiao Yan moved a chair from the side and placed it by the bed, gesturing for Ajiu to sit down.

Ajiu didn't sit down; she stood there, looking down at Granny Wang with icy eyes.

"The ninth day of the twelfth lunar month in the first year of Yong'an," A-Jiu spoke, her voice soft but each word clear.

"At the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence, Madam Shen is giving birth. You were the midwife."

Granny Wang's body trembled violently.

The almost immobile body trembled violently upon hearing the words "the first year of Yong'an," as if struck by lightning.

Her eyes widened suddenly, and in her cloudy pupils, she saw Ajiu's face, a young face that bore a striking resemblance to Shen Shi from back then.

"You...you are..." Granny Wang's lips trembled, drool dripping from the corner of her mouth onto the pillow.

"You are that child... the one I..."

"The child you switched," Ah Jiu finished speaking for her.

Wang Pozi's tears flowed down her cheeks.

The tears were cloudy, mixed with eye boogers and secretions, streaming down her wrinkled cheeks, into her ears, and into the pillow.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." she sobbed, her voice slurred.

"I'm not human... I was bewitched... Aunt Zhou gave me fifty taels of silver... fifty taels... I've never seen so much silver in my entire life... I... I..."

Ajiu looked at her, expressionless.

"I need you to be my witness," Ah Jiu said.

"In front of the people of the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion, tell them everything you did back then. Tell them how Aunt Zhou found you, how much silver she gave you, where that stillborn baby came from, and who you gave my child to. Tell them everything."

Granny Wang nodded, weeping, "I told you... I told you everything... I don't have many days left to live... Before I die... let me do one good deed... let me atone for some of my sins..."

Ajiu turned around and walked towards the door.

"Night Owl," Xiao Yan called out to her.

Ah Jiu stopped.

"Don't you hate her?" Xiao Yan asked.

Ajiu remained silent for a moment.

"Hate," she said.

"But she's dying. Letting her live is more painful than killing her."

She pushed open the door and went out.

Outside, it was already broad daylight.

Sunlight streamed through the cracks in the general store, illuminating A-Jiu's face and casting it in half-light and half-shadow.

Xiao Yan followed her out and stood beside her.

"When do you plan to go to the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence?" he asked.

Ajiu did not answer.

She stood in the sunlight, her eyes closed, feeling the warmth of the sun on her face.

For sixteen years, she had never stood in the sunlight for so long. She had grown accustomed to the night, to the shadows, to hiding herself where no one could see her.

The sunlight made her uncomfortable, making her feel like an old garment being hung out to dry in the sun, with all its holes and patches exposed.

"Three days later," she said.

Xiao Yan nodded.

"Do you need me to go with you?"

"No need." A-Jiu opened her eyes and looked at him.

"This is a family matter, I'll handle it myself."

She turned around and walked into the shadows of the alley, disappearing into the densely packed houses behind the grocery store.

Xiao Yan stood at the entrance of the general store, watching the direction in which her figure disappeared, and remained silent for a long time.

"Bai Yu," he suddenly said.

Bai Yu emerged from behind the hidden door of the general store, still holding the unfinished cup of tea in her hand.

"OP."

"Send two people to guard Granny Wang," Xiao Yan said.

"She can't die before Night Owl needs her."

"Yes."

Xiao Yan straightened his robes and walked towards the alley entrance. After a few steps, he stopped and glanced back at the dilapidated general store.

"Sixteen years," he whispered, his voice so soft that only he could hear it.

"If someone walks in darkness for sixteen years, can they still find their way out?"

He had no answer.

But he thought that if anyone in this world could emerge from the darkness, it would be the Night Owl.

Because she herself is darkness.

Darkness will not be swallowed by darkness.