Lu Zhidao carried the heavy sum of ten thousand and three hundred taels. It was the first time in her life she had ever held so much money. Although she hadn’t decided what to do with it yet, the feeling of having it tucked into her robe of being a wealthy person for once was quite pleasant.
She was in high spirits, completely unaware that Chu Ning had already abandoned her and prepared to set out alone. She assumed Chu Ning was following the plan they agreed on last night: heading back to the inn to wait.
Lu Zhidao had been eager to leave as soon as she got the money, but Miss Shen claimed the three-day limit wasn’t up yet; it wouldn’t count as a full three days until noon.
Being indebted to her benefactor, Lu Zhidao figured waiting a little longer wouldn’t hurt, so she stayed at the villa to kill time. She calculated that with all this money, even if they didn’t take a boat, they could buy two good horses, making the journey to the capital much easier.
“I wonder if she knows how to ride?” Lu Zhidao muttered to herself, beginning to map out the route ahead. The waterways are faster, but the enemies think so too, which is why they’re keeping such a close eye on the docks.
Even while staying at the villa, Lu Zhidao’s heart had already followed Chu Ning. She was just waiting for the clock to strike so she could vanish instantly.
Curiously, though Miss Shen had insisted Lu Zhidao stay until noon, she left her alone in the villa, disappearing to attend to her own business.
On the other side, Chu Ning left the villa alone, feeling like her past two days had been a complete joke.
It turned out all her worries and petty emotions were redundant. In the face of a ten-thousand-tael banknote, what did those little thoughts matter?
Chu Ning looked up at the clear blue sky and sighed helplessly. “We aren’t the same kind of people after all.” If Lu Zhidao wanted to stay, let her stay; Chu Ning would continue her journey regardless.
She had to return to the inn first. She could leave everything else behind, but that copy of the Book of Documents containing the hidden evidence had to be taken.
Before she reached the inn, she heard the sound of wheels and hooves behind her. A carriage quickly caught up. Chu Ning moved to the side, but the driver pulled the reins, stopping the carriage right beside her.
“Get in,” Miss Shen said, lifting the curtain.
“No need. I can walk on my own.”
“I’ll give you a ride, otherwise you won’t make it out of here.”
Chu Ning looked toward the inn not far away. The Book of Documents was still there; if she left now, she didn’t know when she’d get it back. Furthermore, she didn’t know what Miss Shen was actually up to. After all, those hunting her right now were the Shen family’s men, so she didn’t dare board the carriage recklessly.
“I’ve told you, I have no interest in you. It was Zhidao who specifically asked me to give you a lift.”
Chu Ning: “Zhidao”? Hmph. You two deserve each other.
Hearing the intimate way she said the name, Chu Ning felt a bitter pang in her heart. she was angry at Lu Zhidao and blamed herself for misjudging the girl. She lowered her eyes for a moment, then spoke politely, “I can manage on my own. Tell her not to worry; it has nothing to do with her anymore.”
Chu Ning refused to board. In broad daylight, Miss Shen couldn’t force her. With a dark expression, she dropped the curtain and ordered the driver to move on.
The carriage sped away, soon vanishing from Chu Ning’s sight.
“Refusing a kindness only to face a penalty,” Miss Shen grumbled inside the carriage. She turned to her maid, Zhui’er. “Who were the people looking for her earlier?”
“They seemed to be officials from the Provincial Surveillance Commission of Lin’an. Since they’ve reached our Jiahe Prefecture territory and the Prefect finds it inconvenient to intervene directly, he asked Master to use his connections to find her.”
Miss Shen nodded thoughtfully and instructed, “Return to the manor and tell the butler where she is.”
“Didn’t the young mistress say we were sending her out of the city?” Zhui’er asked, confused.
“I’ve changed my mind. I only want her to disappear from Lu Zhidao’s sight forever. What does it matter if she lives or dies? I gave her a chance; she didn’t cherish it.”
“Actually, we don’t need to interfere. The butler’s men will find her sooner or later.”
“They’re too stupid. Who knows how long it would take? I don’t have that much time.”
The carriage looped back to the Shen residence to drop off Zhui’er, then headed back toward the suburban villa.
Only after confirming she wasn’t being followed did Chu Ning cautiously return to the inn.
The first thing she did was retrieve the hidden Book of Documents. Ensuring the evidence was still inside, she tucked it safely into her bundle.
Lu Zhidao had always carried this bundle. Whenever Chu Ning didn’t want to carry something, she would toss it to Lu Zhidao, who would pack it away and carry it on her back. Chu Ning had never paid much attention to it. Now, she finally had a chance to see what Lu had kept inside.
A map, a coil of hemp rope, an extremely sharp dagger, two flints, and some leftover dry rations. There were also some small iron items Chu Ning didn’t recognize—likely hidden weapons.
There was also a small porcelain bottle containing a white powder of unknown use.
Finally, there were her waist tokens. There were two of them. One was a standard token from the Prefectural Yamen; as the adopted daughter of Assistant Prefect Lu, it was only natural for her to have it.
The other token looked strange. It was a black rectangle, made of a very hard material that looked like dark iron. Carved in relief was a tiger with wings and sharp claws, though it didn’t quite look like the Qiongqi from the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
It bore no mention of any department or rank, only the name “Lu Zhidao” carved simply in small regular script.
Picking it up, Chu Ning noticed that despite its simple design, it was much heavier and more exquisite than the Yamen token.
It was clearly Lu Zhidao’s token, but its purpose was a mystery. Chu Ning had never even heard of such a thing. It meant Lu Zhidao had an identity that Chu Ning knew absolutely nothing about.
A deep sense of realization hit her: she didn’t know the girl at all.
So be it. Chu Ning put the tokens back. There was no need to understand anymore. Lu Zhidao chose to stay, and Chu Ning had to move on.
There was no point in scrutinizing her feelings further. Whether it was reliance or something else, it didn’t matter. She wouldn’t stay for Lu, and their paths would not cross again.
Chu Ning took the map and the dagger—one for guidance, one for protection—and placed the Book of Documents and the Songs of Chu into the bundle.
She neatly organized the rest of Lu’s things and put them back exactly as they were.
Before leaving the inn, she glanced at her scholar’s attire. She gave a helpless smile; even in men’s clothing, she didn’t look much like a man. No wonder Lu Zhidao saw through it at first glance. Regardless, this outfit was more practical for travel, so she didn’t change back.
She considered saying goodbye to the little beggar, but she hadn’t gone far from the inn when she was spotted by the men Zhui’er had tipped off. Leading them was Thousand-man Commander Jia, dressed in plain clothes.
Meanwhile, at the villa, Lu Zhidao was staring boredly at the bronze clepsydra in the courtyard. Water dripped steadily into the bottom vessel, raising a wooden float-arrow. The markings on the arrow showed the time.
Lu Zhidao watched the markings intently. The moment the hour struck, she stood up to leave.
“Where are you going?” Miss Shen happened to be walking in.
“Time is up. Farewell.” Lu Zhidao cupped her hands and started to walk away.
Miss Shen stepped aside with a smile. “I just sent off Young Master Bai, and now you’re leaving too. I’m truly loath to see you go.”
Lu Zhidao’s movement suddenly froze. She turned back. “You sent her off?”
Weren’t we supposed to meet at the inn?
“Yes,” Miss Shen acted completely oblivious. “For some reason, she felt it wasn’t safe out there and asked me to send her out of the city. I gave her a fast horse, and by now, she’s likely far away.”
Lu Zhidao’s first instinct was that it was impossible. They had agreed last night. But then she hesitated. Chu Ning had seemed unhappy yesterday; would she really abandon Lu just for that? Surely not? Chu Ning had no martial arts; traveling alone was too dangerous.
Filled with doubt, Lu Zhidao hurried away.
Miss Shen didn’t stop her. Watching her departing back, she muttered confidently, “I don’t believe you won’t come back.”
Before she had gone far, Lu Zhidao saw a burly man riding a tall, sturdy horse coming toward her at a leisurely pace.
Lu Zhidao stopped, took a two-step running start, and delivered a flying kick that knocked the man off. She seized the horse and galloped away…
She hadn’t gone far when she remembered that Chu Ning didn’t like her stealing. Last time she took some money, Chu Ning forced her to return it. She didn’t know how Chu Ning would react to a stolen horse.
At that thought, Lu Zhidao pulled the reins, turned the horse around, and returned to the burly man with a cold face.
“Hey! You dare come back!” The man patted the dust off himself, struggled to stand, and rolled up his sleeves, ready for a fight.
Lu Zhidao grabbed his hand, slipped the whip off his wrist, and shoved him back.
She reached into her robe, pulled out the stack of ten thousand and three hundred taels, sorted through them, and tossed him a hundred-tael note. “For your horse.”
After a brief hesitation, she tossed another hundred-tael note at him. “For your injuries.”
Then, she elegantly turned the horse and galloped off into the distance.
She only heard a curse from behind: “Dammit! Is being rich that great?!”
It was the first time in her life Lu Zhidao had been cursed at that way. It felt pretty good.
She galloped back to the inn, only to find the room empty.
She quickly checked her belongings. Chu Ning’s things were gone.
Panic surged through Lu Zhidao. She frantically opened the bundle. The two books Chu Ning cherished were gone. The rest of the items in the bundle were neatly arranged—unlike the mess Lu usually left behind. It was clear Chu Ning had organized it.
The fact that she had the mind and time to organize suggested she hadn’t left in a hurry; she was prepared.
Lu Zhidao dumped everything out to check. The map and dagger were gone. Everything else belonging to Lu was there.
All signs pointed to one thing: Chu Ning had chosen to leave on her own.
Lu Zhidao stared at the items, stunned and at a loss. She searched for any trace, trying to confirm if she truly had been abandoned…
Every detail screamed “yes.”
She didn’t understand where she had gone wrong. A wave of confusion and grievance welled up.
Lu Zhidao stood there with her face in her hands, letting the emotions drown her like a tide, before letting them recede just as quickly. She could then put back on her mask of indifference.
This had long been her way of coping. When she couldn’t hold back, she’d let her emotions run wild for a moment, but she never indulged in them. No one would empathize or care; they would only see it as a burden.
Qualities like softness and sensitivity were never allowed to exist, or she wouldn’t have survived.
Lu Zhidao quickly gathered herself, analyzing the situation with cold detachment.
Regardless, her mission was to escort Chu Ning to the capital. The mission wasn’t finished, so Chu Ning couldn’t abandon her even if she wanted to!
If she could make a selfish decision, her first instinct would be to flee, just like last night. Not because she didn’t want to find her, but because she had no idea how to face her. Whether she would regret it later was another matter.
But the mission was unfinished. Rationally, she had to find Chu Ning immediately.
Lu Zhidao began to feel that this mission was actually quite good… at least it provided an excuse to chase after her.
She shoveled her things back into the bundle, left the inn, and leaped onto her horse, determined to find her.
She had already decided: when she found Chu Ning, no matter what the woman said or how she rejected her, Lu would simply tell her: “This is my mission.”
Lu Zhidao convinced herself this was the best reason. She didn’t dare think about her true feelings, ignoring the urgent desire to be near her.
Since her mission and her heart coincided, she set off to execute her task with alacrity.