Chapter 9: A Chance Encounter
One day of Damu’s three-day deadline had already passed. Fu Yunzhi and Qi Xiao had spent the entire day confirming that Shali was acting suspiciously, but they had found nothing else.
Until the second night…
“Shali has gone out alone, on foot.”
Upon hearing the Shadow Guard’s report, Qi Xiao and Fu Yunzhi exchanged a glance.
Alone, without a horse or carriage? Why so secretive?
Qi Xiao immediately grabbed a cloak from the wardrobe. “I’ll follow him secretly and see what he’s up to.”
“I’m going too.” Hearing this, Fu Yunzhi also opened his own wardrobe.
“I’m worried it might be dangerous. You should wait here.”
SLAM—
Fu Yunzhi slammed the wardrobe door shut and said with a deadpan expression, “I. Am. Going. With. You.”
“…”
Qi Xiao and Fu Yunzhi followed Shali all the way to the western city gate.
“Is he leaving the city?”
What puzzled them was that outside the city gate where Qi Shaoling had gone, there was at least a dilapidated inn. But to the west of the city, there was truly nothing but a dense forest.
Then again, that also made it easier to hide things.
The moon on the fifteenth day of the month was particularly bright. The moonlight had been brilliant, but once they entered the western forest, it vanished completely. Looking up, they could only see a thick canopy of leaves and branches that completely obscured the sky, creating an almost sinister atmosphere.
Qi Xiao whispered to Fu Yunzhi, “Should I carry you?”
Fu Yunzhi: “…”
What did you just say?
“The undergrowth here is dense,” Qi Xiao said seriously. “You don’t know martial arts, so you’ll make noise if you step on these things. Your footsteps are also loud, which will be very obvious in this quiet forest.”
Fu Yunzhi: “…”
“See,” Qi Xiao said, “this is why I told you to wait at the inn. But you wouldn’t listen, and you even threw a tantrum.”
Fu Yunzhi: “…”
And so, with a face as calm as a placid lake but a heart churning like a stormy sea, Qi Xiao swept Fu Yunzhi up into a princess carry.
Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!
I’m finally holding my conscious wifey!
Wifey’s body is so soft!
Oh my god, I’m going to explode into a firework! (#０Д０)
“Put me down when we get there,” Fu Yunzhi said.
“Mm,” Qi Xiao replied.
Fu Yunzhi had felt a bit awkward at first, but seeing Qi Xiao’s nonchalant expression, he decided not to dwell on it.
It seems I was overthinking it, Fu Yunzhi thought.
The two of them followed Shali, weaving through the dense forest. Qi Xiao held his breath, tracking him silently, while Fu Yunzhi helped memorize the winding path to avoid getting lost.
After an unknown amount of time, Qi Xiao saw the flicker of firelight and heard voices in the distance.
“There are people,” Qi Xiao whispered in Fu Yunzhi’s ear, his body low to the ground.
To avoid being discovered, he had used a breathy whisper, and the warm air puffed directly onto Fu Yunzhi’s earlobe.
Fu Yunzhi: !!
He looked up and saw Qi Xiao staring intently ahead, his expression serious.
Why do I keep thinking about strange things… Isn’t this perfectly normal?
Fu Yunzhi wrapped his arms around Qi Xiao’s neck and leaned in close to his ear. “Put me down.”
Qi Xiao: “…”
Talk about lifting a rock only to drop it on your own foot! This is it!
Can we even investigate properly anymore?!
Can we?!
Suppressing the wild storm in his heart, Qi Xiao set Fu Yunzhi down. They saw Shali walking towards the firelight, his figure gradually disappearing into the forest.
After waiting for some time, they dared to move forward. Pushing aside the leaves, the sight that met their eyes left both of them stunned.
It was a military camp, one large enough to house about a hundred soldiers. Earthy-yellow tents were scattered about, along with rows of torches and patrolling soldiers.
A sharp, murderous glint instantly appeared in Qi Xiao’s eyes. Even if the number was small, setting up a private military camp without permission was undoubtedly a sign of ill intent towards the Langxuan Kingdom.
“Look at the symbols on those tents,” Fu Yunzhi said. “They’re Shahan people, but they probably aren’t with the delegation Damu is leading. Otherwise, Shali wouldn’t have had to sneak out while Damu was in the palace for an audience with the Emperor.”
Qi Xiao suppressed his anger and frustration, replying perfunctorily, “Mm.”
“If I’m not mistaken, Shali fabricated those ghost stories to lure the Shahan delegation out of the city, so that the people in this camp could ambush and kill them?”
Qi Xiao paused for a moment, then stammered, “So, this is actually Shahan’s internal strife? It has nothing to do with Langxuan?”
Seeing the gloom in Qi Xiao’s eyes dissipate, Fu Yunzhi said, “It’s just a guess. We can’t let our guard down. We still need to be prepared.”
Fu Yunzhi knew that Qi Xiao would always be like this about anything involving the Emperor or himself. Especially himself. Take this incident, for example. It really had nothing to do with Qi Xiao, yet he was more invested in it than Fu Yunzhi was. It had been this way since they were children, and it had never changed.
“Why are you suddenly smiling?” Qi Xiao asked, puzzled.
“It’s nothing.”
I just think you’re a good person.
Qi Xiao didn’t mind. “Let’s go in and investigate.”
Qi Xiao led Fu Yunzhi, avoiding the guards, and slipped into the outer perimeter of the camp.
“This camp has few soldiers and lax security. They probably never expected any outsiders to break in. Let’s try to get to the main tent and find out who the leader is.”
“Mm.”
Just as they were about to move, Qi Xiao saw a familiar figure.
It was a pretty young girl, carrying a bundle and sneaking around, seemingly trying to avoid the guards. Her furtive movements were almost identical to their own.
“Miss Chen?” Qi Xiao called out softly.
The girl jumped, startled, and spun around. Seeing Qi Xiao, she said uncertainly, “General… Qi?”
Fu Yunzhi pouted. Everywhere he goes, there’s a girl who knows him. Qi Xiao really is popular.
“It is I. Miss Chen, what are you doing here?”
The girl was none other than the restaurant owner Boss Chen’s daughter, Chen Xinxin. Since Fu Yunzhi loved the food and Lan Niangzi wine from Boss Chen’s restaurant, Qi Xiao, a frequent customer, had become well-acquainted with the family.
Chen Xinxin immediately rushed to Qi Xiao’s side. “General Qi, please get me out of here first!”
Qi Xiao agreed that having a long chat in an enemy camp was not a good idea. “Follow me.”
“Yunzhi, let’s get Miss Chen out of here first. This camp isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.”
“We have no choice but to leave now anyway,” Fu Yunzhi said coolly.
Hearing this, Qi Xiao turned his head and saw dozens of soldiers charging towards them.
Fu Yunzhi smiled. “Miss Chen is truly clever. Running away without even checking if she’s being followed.”
“I… I… I’m sorry!”
Qi Xiao said helplessly to Fu Yunzhi, “She’s just a delicate young lady. Don’t blame her.” With that, he drew his sword.
“Stay close.”
Although Qi Xiao was with two people who didn’t know martial arts, thankfully, there were only about ten pursuers. They also seemed reluctant to hurt Chen Xinxin, holding back in their attacks. As a result, Qi Xiao was still able to fight his way out of the camp, leading Fu Yunzhi and Chen Xinxin into the forest.
The western forest was dense and easy to hide in, so the Shahan people had trouble catching up. The three of them ran for a good distance before stopping to rest.
Chen Xinxin caught her breath before saying, “Thank you, General Qi, for saving me.”
Qi Xiao waved his hand. “Tell me, after the restaurant burned down, wasn’t Boss Chen planning to move the whole family to Jiangnan to find his son? What are you doing here?”
“That was our plan,” Chen Xinxin said, “but we were captured by the Shahan army on the way.”
“Why did they capture you?” Qi Xiao asked.
“To cook. Although they captured us, the Shahan army actually treated our family very well and were very grateful for our cooking. But Brother Jiang said they were bad people, so he helped me escape and told me to find you, General Qi, to tell you that the Shahan army has set up camp outside the city. I can’t explain the details right now, there’s too much. I’ll tell you everything once we’re settled.”
“Who is Brother Jiang?” Fu Yunzhi asked curiously.
“Brother Jiang is one of General Qi’s lieutenants. He’s a very nice person,” Chen Xinxin said, a suspicious blush appearing on her face.
Qi Xiao: “…”
From the looks of it, there’s definitely something going on between Chen Xinxin and Lieutenant Jiang! If Lieutenant Jiang follows his wife and settles in Jiangnan, then Yunzhi still won’t be able to eat Boss Chen’s cooking!
“No, that’s not what I meant,” Fu Yunzhi pressed. “I mean, why was one of Qi Xiao’s personal guards with you?”
Qi Xiao frantically tried to signal Chen Xinxin with his eyes, but she was completely focused on her conversation with Fu Yunzhi and didn’t notice at all.
“I heard that General Qi’s beloved likes my father’s cooking, but since my father is no longer opening a restaurant in the capital, the General sent his personal guard to go with us to Jiangnan to learn his craft, so that he can cook for the General’s beloved when he returns.”
Fu Yunzhi: “…”
After finishing her explanation in one breath, Chen Xinxin finally noticed the strange silence that had fallen over the atmosphere.
After a moment, Qi Xiao shouted, “I didn’t say beloved! I said friend! Friend!”
Chen Xinxin was confused. “Eh? Our whole family thought it was his beloved. If it was just a friend, would he go to such lengths?”
“A very good friend!”
Fu Yunzhi: “…”
BOOM—
Just as they were speaking, a sudden explosion rang out. Qi Xiao and the others instinctively looked up at the sky and saw a strangely shaped firework burst open.
“That’s Shaoling’s signal,” Qi Xiao said. “He must be looking for me. We used to use this to communicate when we fought in wars together.”
“Then let’s hurry and find him,” Fu Yunzhi said. “If the Shahan people catch up, we’ll have backup.”
Qi Xiao nodded.
Although he was a little puzzled as to why Qi Shaoling would be looking for him so urgently, Qi Xiao couldn’t help but want to give his good brother a loving hug. That firework had exploded at the perfect time! It was practically a life-saving firework
