Chapter 14

Zhang Jian and Zhu Yelang left the campsite and advanced along the dark mountain path, relying on a single torch. For ordinary civilians, it would have been easy to stumble and break an ankle, but the two, trained in martial arts, moved without much difficulty until dawn, when they discovered a small village.

"Great. It's over there."

"Is there any reason we have to pass through that village? We might be caught by the branch leader."

Zhu Yelang swept her hair back and replied, "We still have to go. We need to send a homing pigeon."

"To whom?"

"Who else? The people who will help us. If we're going to clash with the Ancient Three Families, they need to be prepared as well."

Zhang Jian mumbled, looking at the size of the village, "The village is small; I'm not sure if there's a post office with homing pigeons."

"There is. They're always prepared."

Zhu Yelang answered Zhang Jian's mumble in a similar manner and strode into the village. Zhang Jian watched her with a somber gaze, then led his horse, Zaozao, to follow.

"We need to be careful in the village. The branch leader might have been bribed, but from last night, it seems they might just use assassins. Do you understand?"

Zhang Jian only nodded in response to her words, which she said without turning back as she walked.

The clear and cool air descended from the mountain slopes and settled quietly in the small village. The morning sun was already shining brightly, and people were frowning at the sunlight while moving busily.

A few children who had been running around in the morning stopped abruptly when they saw Zhang Jian and Zhu Yelang enter the village. Zhu Yelang approached them with a bright smile and asked, "Hello? Can I ask you something?"

The children looked at her with a mix of curiosity and caution. Zhu Yelang knelt down to be at their eye level.

"Do you know where the post office is in this village?"

The children, who had been hesitant, all pointed in one direction. The oldest of them said, "Old Mr. Zhu runs both the clinic and the post office. Just look for the clinic sign."

Zhu Yelang smiled and patted the child's head, then took a few coins from her pocket and gave them to him.

"Thank you. Use this to buy something tasty and share it."

The children, holding the coins, shouted and ran away. Zhu Yelang slowly stood up, still watching them. Zhang Jian, also watching the children, said, "You seem to like children."

"I had younger siblings. There was quite an age gap. Two boys and two girls, all very bright and cute... If they had grown up well, they would have become good adults."

She was now looking at the children with a dazed expression. Zhang Jian, who turned to look at her, seemed not to notice her gaze. He quietly observed the sadness and longing on her face and asked, "Is this your first time in this village?"

"Yes, first time..."

Zhu Yelang answered reflexively, then stopped. She met Zhang Jian's gaze. His eyes were calm and steady, not cold like steel or an inanimate object, but like a still lake that would only ripple slightly even if a large stone were thrown in.

"...Let's go. If we send the homing pigeon now and move on, we can get help by tomorrow morning."

After a moment of being lost in his eyes, Zhu Yelang averted her gaze and said this. The two sent wary glances to the villagers who were watching them with suspicion and entered the shop with a clinic sign.

"Welcome. It's rare to see visitors this early. What brings you here?"

An old man, smoking a short pipe, scratched his head. He seemed a bit annoyed by the visitors.

Zhu Yelang approached him and said, "I want to use a homing pigeon."

"...A homing pigeon?"

"Yes, a homing pigeon."

"But this is a post office... a homing pigeon?"

The old man looked at Zhu Yelang with disbelief and asked, "Where are you sending it?"

"To the Black Family Manor."

The old man nodded as if he understood and went to the back of the shop, returning a moment later with a large birdcage containing three homing pigeons.

"What do you want to send?"

"We need help, so please write a message asking them to come and meet us."

"Who should it be addressed to?"

"Zhu Yelang."

The old man wrote the same message on three pieces of paper and tied them to the legs of the three pigeons. He then held out his hand to Zhu Yelang.

"...What?"

"Payment."

"Oh."

Zhu Yelang rummaged through her clothes and then took out a lute she had been carrying on her back. She fiddled with it, as she had done before, and pulled out a small pouch from a hidden compartment. She took out a silver coin and handed it to him.

Zhang Jian and Zhu Yelang confirmed that the old man had sent the pigeons from the back of the shop and then went to find a stable. They bought a horse for Zhu Yelang and slowly left the village, with the villagers watching them with suspicion but not causing any trouble. The branch leader of the martial arts alliance did not come looking for them.

Zhu Yelang, feeling more uneasy, looked around as they almost left the village.

"What? Why is nothing happening?"

"It's good if nothing happens."

"But... If they want to stop us, using this village would be the best option..."

Zhang Jian adjusted his tilted hat and said, "It seems that friend is more reasonable than expected."

"Which friend?"

"Ji Yuncheng."

Zhu Yelang chuckled and shook her head.

"Would a reasonable person try to kidnap someone they dislike? It's really hard to understand."

The two rode their horses and soon left the village. As they left the mountains, the dense trees thinned, and the rugged terrain became smoother. With the smoother terrain, the horses could move faster. They adjusted their speed to avoid tiring the horses too much.

After a while, Zhu Yelang raised her hand and pointed to a low mountain in the distance.

"Over there! There's a hideout I know!"

Despite having just left the forest, she suggested going back into it. However, Zhang Jian followed her without a word, leading Zaozao. They continued riding along a low river for most of the afternoon.

Zhu Yelang turned the reins and said, "This way!"

They soon found a small cave between the towering conifers. Zhu Yelang dismounted and rubbed her eyes, saying, "Let's rest here. We didn't sleep last night."

"How did you find such a cave?"

The cave had a narrow entrance but a deep interior, dark and seemingly bottomless.

"It's my secret hideout. I found it while taking shelter from the rain last time. It's too narrow to go in further, but you can stretch your waist at the entrance."

They dismounted, set up a campfire, and boiled tea to drink. As they set up their camp in the cave, the sun set, and the surroundings grew dark. Zhu Yelang held a metal cup in both hands and looked out into the darkness, saying, "They must have given up."

Zhang Jian, who was roasting dried meat, looked at her, puzzled.

"Who?"

"Ji Yuncheng. Since his skills are better than expected, he seems to have given up for now. He probably plans to wait for an opportunity to separate me from you."

She smiled at Zhang Jian.

"But by tomorrow morning, my friends will come to meet us, and that will be the end of it."

"I see."

Zhu Yelang watched Zhang Jian, who was calmly tearing the dried meat, and tilted her head.

"Since we'll see the Huang Family martial arts tomorrow, aren't you excited?"

"Of course, I am. It's a rare opportunity to indirectly experience the emperor's martial arts."

"But you don't seem very excited."

Zhang Jian, instead of answering, turned his gaze to the campfire and chewed on the dried meat. Zhu Yelang, not bothered by the lack of response, watched his face for a long time.

"Why didn't you join the martial arts alliance?"

Zhang Jian sighed and looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, with your skills, you could have settled down in the martial arts alliance or a subordinate sect. Instead, you wander around and get involved in problems."

"...I just don't like being tied down."

Zhu Yelang smiled slightly.

"Aha. You have a deep wanderlust?"

After saying this, she picked up the lute she had laid aside but then put it down and stealthily moved closer to Zhang Jian.

"Can I ask you something more?"

"What is it?"

Zhu Yelang smiled mysteriously.

"Did you help me because I'm pretty?"

"That's part of it."

She looked disappointed at his immediate answer.

"...If that's part of it, is there anything else? The Huang Family martial arts?"

Zhang Jian, chewing on the dried meat, kept his gaze on the campfire and said, "I'm just protecting myself."

"..."

Zhu Yelang looked at him with a dazed expression. He continued, without taking his eyes off the fire.

"Usually, it's as if it doesn't exist, and I can't show it to others, but there's another eye in my heart that sees the world. This eye can do nothing. It just stares blankly. Compared to the other powers in the world, it's powerless and futile."

Zhu Yelang looked at him with a dazed expression. He continued, not taking his eyes off the fire.

"But when someone falls in front of me, this eye stares at me with all its might, as if urging me to help, as if saying, 'Isn't this what you learned?' But it's just a powerless eye in my heart. I can ignore it without any consequences. So sometimes, I really do ignore it. After a few more times, the eye loses its strength, becomes blurred, and becomes even more futile. Perhaps, over time, it will disappear like adolescence."

Zhang Jian looked at Zhu Yelang, taking his eyes off the fire.

"But I can't just watch it disappear completely. It's ultimately my eye. If it disappears, I won't be able to recover my former self."

His eyes were still calm and steady, looking directly at Zhu Yelang.

"So I help you. Because that eye is looking at you now. Is that a satisfactory answer?"

Zhu Yelang, still dazed, looked at Zhang Jian. After a long moment, she slowly moved closer, as if not even aware of her own movement. She kissed Zhang Jian.

The campfire flickered, and the only sound outside the cave was the hooting of an owl. After a brief silence, Zhu Yelang pulled away and looked at Zhang Jian.

"...You are really strange. Uniquely strange, I guess."

"A pleasant strangeness."

Zhu Yelang chuckled at Zhang Jian's response and kissed him again. The campfire calmly flickered, illuminating their entwined figures.

Zaozao, outside the cave, chewed on the grass in his mouth and watched the flickering shadows intently.

* * *

Zhang Jian woke up, feeling that he had really slept well for the first time in a long time.

It was natural, given the effort he had put in all night. Rubbing his eyes, he got up and realized the campfire had gone out. He also noticed that Zhu Yelang and her belongings were gone.

But Zhang Jian got up without any concern, drank the cold tea, and put on his clothes. He then picked up a torn piece of cloth left where Zhu Yelang had slept. It had a message written in charcoal.

[Sorry. Thank you for the past few days. Don't come after me. It's dangerous.]

He neatly folded it and put it in his pocket, then picked up his sword and went outside. He muttered to himself, "Damn. Zaozao, you little bastard."

Zaozao was gone. It seemed Zhu Yelang had taken him with her, but Zhang Jian knew Zaozao wouldn't just be led away by anyone. She must have coaxed him with a smile.

Zhang Jian sighed deeply, leaning on a tree, and adjusted his sword to his back. He then squatted down and, after a moment, found the hoof prints of Zhu Yelang and Zaozao.

"It's been a while since I used lightness skills."

Muttering to himself, Zhang Jian tightened the strap of his sword and lightly hopped. In the next moment, he quickly darted in the direction of the hoof prints, moving as fast as a galloping horse.

Despite the speed, the ground and grass were barely disturbed. Only faint traces of his steps remained where he had passed.