In the end, Zhao Yi’an still chose to keep his face covered.
After all, they had been traveling for so long; if he suddenly threw off the quilt covering his face, he suspected he would truly scare several passersby to death.
Inside the quilt, it was stuffy and dark. There was only the rhythmic swaying of the wooden cart beneath him and the muffled sounds of the bustling city streets drifting through the fabric.
‘This is quite a hardship for Lady Yao,’ Zhao Yi’an silently thought. ‘I’m sorry!’
Damn it!
‘I really want to go back and slap the version of me that came up with this terrible idea!’
At this moment, Liu Yao felt utterly miserable. The pitying gazes of neighbors and strangers landed on her face one after another. Cold sweat seeped from her temples, trickling down her slightly flushed cheeks.
‘Stop looking, no one in my house is dead!’
‘Hey! You over there! I’m not a widow yet!’
‘Damn it! Why is the distance from the horse gang to Doctor Niu’s clinic so far!?’
Liu Yao felt her palms sweating against the handles of the cart. She roared inwardly over and over, unconsciously quickening her pace.
Perhaps because Xiang’an town was located near the capital city of Lin’an prefecture, there was a slight chill in the shade, but the sunlight remained scorching.
The cart rolled through patches of tree shadows that blocked the warm sun, feeling both warm and refreshing.
After walking for a good while, the two of them felt they were starting to become immune to the idle gossip of the neighbors.
Just as Zhao Yi’an was feeling dazed and about to drift off to sleep with the light swaying rhythm of the cart, the vehicle gave a slight jolt and came to a complete stop.
Hmm?
What’s the situation?
Zhao Yi’an secretly lifted a tiny corner of the quilt to peek out. He saw Liu Yao frowning, her expression appearing somewhat serious.
“Lady Yao?” Zhao Yi’an asked with a hint of curiosity and confusion. “What’s wrong?”
“Ah! It’s nothing.”
Liu Yao obviously realized her expression was off. She quickly forced a smile, putting on a look of total indifference.
“It’s just that some bailiffs are posting a notice on the announcement board ahead. They’re blocking the road a bit, so let’s wait here for a moment.”
“Oh?” After hearing this, Zhao Yi’an followed her lead and tilted his head slightly, peering through a gap in the quilt.
Not far ahead, several officers dressed in black robes stood before the bulletin board, with waist tokens and short clubs hanging from their belts.
One was posting a brand-new notice on the board, while another held a document, loudly reading something to the gradually gathering crowd.
The remaining bailiffs stood on either side, their gazes slowly scanning the onlookers.
The bailiff standing at the front held a sheet of paper and shouted.
“Listen up, folks — ! Look closely — !”
“The one on this paper is the rebel who has been fleeing all over lately, Liu Yao!”
He extended one finger and jabbed it heavily at the portrait on the paper, his spit nearly flying into the faces of those in the front row.
On the portrait was a young man with sharp brows and eyes that sparkled like stars, his face as handsome as carved jade.
Although the paper was slightly wrinkled from being poked and the ink had blurred a bit because the paste was still wet, it added a hazy, almost ethereal handsomeness to his features.
“Listen well — “
With a flick of his wrist, the bailiff turned the notice toward the crowd. His other hand slapped down on the line of thick ink detailing the crimes next to the portrait.
“This person is extremely vicious! He assassinated an imperial court official and is a criminal who has committed the ten abominable crimes! Anyone who knows his whereabouts or provides information — “
After saying his piece, he looked toward the surrounding crowd.
The crowd immediately began to buzz with discussion. Some craned their necks to get a better look at the portrait, some shook their heads and sighed, and others had already begun looking around suspiciously.
“Hmph!” Seeing the crowd whispering below, the bailiff let out a cold snort. He turned and led the other officers as they pushed through the crowd and strode away.
The black-robed figures soon vanished into the alleys, leaving only a wet ink portrait on the board and a circle of townspeople who were still whispering to one another.
“Another wanted poster. How many times have they posted these this month?”
“Exactly. With that kind of time, they should worry more about how many litters my dog, Big Yellow, has had.”
Those who gathered were mostly idle busybodies, pointing and gesturing at the notice board.
Before long, the crowd of onlookers had mostly dispersed.
Liu Yao’s shoulders relaxed almost imperceptibly. She withdrew her gaze and gripped the cart handles tightly again.
“…Time to go.”
“If we delay any longer, I’m afraid we’ll miss our appointment at the clinic.”
Without waiting for Zhao Yi’an to speak, Liu Yao continued to push the cart. Her speed was slightly faster than before, as if she were trying to escape from something.
As if sensing that something was wrong with Liu Yao, Zhao Yi’an didn’t say anything. He just silently continued to play dead on the cart.
However, the sun was gradually rising higher.
The sun was like a hook. Even with the patches of tree shadows for cover, it hooked into people’s inner irritability.
“Hey, Lady Yao… Do you think the person in that portrait might be the person Old Liu at the teahouse always talks about… that ‘Cloud Bright Swordsman’?”
Eventually, unable to hold it in any longer, Zhao Yi’an finally spoke up. His muffled voice drifted out from under the quilt.
“He certainly looks like one of those handsome young masters of the Jianghu.”
“Is that so?” Liu Yao arched an eyebrow, her voice devoid of any obvious emotion.
However, the girl’s lips twitched subtly, as if she wanted to smile but forced them back into a flat, neutral line.
‘At least you have good taste, kid.’
‘You should know, being handsome is an art form.’
The girl let out a soft hum. She actually started to feel interested in chatting with Zhao Yi’an.
The slight gloom that had been triggered by the wanted poster was somewhat diluted by his unintentional words. Even her steps as she pushed the cart seemed a bit lighter.
“He’s more than just handsome,” she said, clearing her throat as if sharing some incredible Jianghu secret. “That is the famous young talent of the martial world, the ‘Cloud Bright Swordsman’ Liu Yao. Ever heard of him?”
“I heard that the great beauty of Yanyue Pavilion, Zhou Xiqian, once looked upon him with favor.”
“And you know Shu Shilan of the Shu family, one of the four great families, right? It’s rumored she also sent people to inquire about Young Hero Liu’s whereabouts… Tsk tsk.”
The floodgates of the girl’s conversation were completely open.
She spoke incessantly about Liu Yao’s charm and anecdotes, from north of the river to south of the mountains, from sword techniques to alcohol tolerance. She stopped just short of discussing the man’s private family matters.
“Wow, Lady Yao, you really know a lot.”
“Cough… R-really? Not that much, right?”
Reminded by Zhao Yi’an, she suddenly slammed the brakes on her speech. She gave a light cough and awkwardly rubbed the tip of her nose.
‘Crap.’
‘I let my tongue slip…’
‘He wouldn’t think I’m some weirdo who spends all day digging into the private affairs of Jianghu heroes, would he?’
“Really!” Zhao Yi’an seemed completely unaware of her embarrassment. Instead, his voice carried a hint of admiration.
“The moment you started talking about that young hero, you couldn’t stop. You even know exactly which shop’s wine he likes to drink… Even Old Mr. Liu the storyteller doesn’t go into as much detail as you.”
“Lady Yao, you wouldn’t happen to…”
‘Bad, bad, bad!’
‘My cover isn’t blown, right?’
Liu Yao had to admit, she could feel sweat starting to form on her forehead now.
“…also like that Young Hero Liu, would you?”
The sounds of the cart wheels continued at a leisurely pace, grinding over the cracks in the stone pavement.
The hand Liu Yao used to grip the handle shook almost imperceptibly.
“Yeah, so what? Is there a problem with that?”
“In the Jianghu, it’s perfectly normal to admire a young, promising hero with extraordinary swordsmanship, isn’t it?”
Whew.
‘Luckily, this guy is an idiot.’
The girl breathed a secret sigh of relief in her heart. She turned her head back and pushed the cart while looking straight ahead.
“Of course there’s no problem! Hey, Lady Yao, can you tell me more about things in the Jianghu? For example, those ‘four great families’ you just mentioned—what’s their deal?”
Zhao Yi’an’s voice came from under the quilt, muffled but filled with uncontrollable curiosity.
Seeing this, Liu Yao helplessly agreed. As long as this guy stopped pestering her about “Liu Yao,” it wouldn’t hurt to talk about these Jianghu legends.
“Alright… If we’re talking about the four great families, we have to mention the Tang clan of Shu…”
Amidst the sound of the wheels, the girl pushed the cart, and the boy wrapped in the quilt occasionally spoke up to ask questions.
The warm summer breeze kicked up faint dust at the street corner, brushing past the lazy willow branches by the road, quietly wrapping this journey of soft-spoken Jianghu chatter within it.
However, in the eyes of other passersby, the scene looked like this:
A clean and elegant girl was pushing an old cart all by herself, talking to herself and occasionally tilting her head toward the quilt to whisper with a smile on her lips.
Mm… Truly eerie…