After waiting for Chu Ning to finish tidying the room, the two sat down to discuss the plan. They decided that once darkness fell, Lu Zhidao would go out to scout the area before they chose between taking a boat or crossing the mountains.
“You didn’t sleep well in the cave last night. You should take a short nap on the bed first, then go out when it’s dark,” Chu Ning said, sitting down at the table.
Lu Zhidao was focused on wiping her sword with a cloth and didn’t look up. “I’m not tired. You go sleep.”
Chu Ning didn’t push further. With nothing to do, she watched idly as the other woman meticulously polished her blade. Suddenly remembering something, she asked, “Other people’s swords have names. Does yours?”
“No. It’s just a sword.” Lu Zhidao didn’t understand why she loved naming things so much.
A unique name is the beginning of attachment and the inability to let go—the incident with Little Grey had proven that point perfectly. Therefore, Lu Zhidao never casually named the objects around her.
“Then how do you distinguish your sword from others?”
“It’s just… my sword.” Lu Zhidao glanced at her, then returned to polishing the blade.
Chu Ning smiled helplessly and let it go. She rested her head on her hand and watched her work with such discipline for a long time.
There was something about her serious, downward gaze that made her seem incredibly reliable. Without realizing it, Chu Ning’s lips curled upward.
Lu Zhidao happened to look up and saw her staring with a slight smile and shallow dimples. She asked with total sincerity, “What are you laughing at?”
Chu Ning snapped back to reality and asked in confusion, “Was I laughing?”
“You were.”
“Oh, I was just spacing out.”
They lingered until nightfall, neither of them having rested. Lu Zhidao picked up her sword and prepared to leave. Just as she pushed the door open, she remembered her promise to “give an account of everything.” She turned back specifically and said, “I’m going to the pier to check things out.”
Chu Ning burst into laughter. Mimicking Lu Zhidao’s clumsy and deliberate manner, she nodded woodenly and replied, “Understood.”
Left alone in the inn, Chu Ning thought about washing their handkerchiefs. As she moved, she accidentally brushed against the small bamboo tube at her waist. She looked down at the tube her father had left her; its opening was tightly sealed with wax.
Gazing at the small tube, she hesitated for a moment but couldn’t suppress her curiosity. She asked the waiter for a small knife and carefully scraped away the wax seal. She pulled out the contents—the very things that had forced her into this desperate flight.
Inside were letters exchanged between the Governor of Zhejiang and others, about a dozen of them folded tightly together. Chu Ning scanned them quickly and grasped the gist.
Last year, during a period of relentless rain in Zhejiang, the canal water levels rose sharply. Instead of thinking of flood relief, the local officials plotted to blow up the dikes, allowing the floods to ravage the land and submerge the homes of multiple counties.
Tens of thousands were left homeless and in desperate need of disaster relief. However, the local officials conspired together to deceive both the throne and the people; the relief efforts were mere theater. Driven to a dead end, the local people were forced to sell the land their ancestors had relied on for generations. Through collusion between officials and merchants, the land prices were suppressed—what used to be fifty piculs of grain for an acre was forced down to less than ten.
Chu Ning remembered the accounts she had memorized: in less than half a year, nearly a million acres of land had been annexed.
In their letters, these events were passed over lightly, but reading closely, every line hid countless sufferings. Chu Ning felt a chill run down her spine. These dozen thin letters felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. she resolved that even if she died, she had to find a way to make this evidence public.
No wonder those people were searching so desperately for this. Chu Ning suddenly felt a surge of fear; this bamboo tube was too conspicuous. If she were caught, they would definitely notice it.
The letters filled her with a strong sense of unease. She didn’t dare put them back in the tube. After much thought, she called the waiter and told him she wanted some books to read, asking him to buy them immediately.
“Buy two or three based on these titles. If they don’t have these specific ones, just pick the thickest books you can find,” Chu Ning said, handing the list to the waiter along with a generous tip.
The waiter, delighted by the tip, was happy to run the errand.
He soon returned with the books, reporting with a grin, “Many shops are already closed, I almost couldn’t find them! Some were out of stock, so I followed your orders and picked the thickest ones.”
“Thank you.” Chu Ning took the books and dismissed him.
She immediately locked the door and windows. Before Lu Zhidao returned, she prepared to re-hide the letters.
She looked at the books—two completely unrelated works: the Book of Documents (Shangshu) and the Songs of Chu (Chu Ci). The Songs of Chu was slightly thicker, and Chu Ning preferred it.
After a moment’s hesitation, she opened the Book of Documents. Picking up the knife, she hollowed out a rectangular space in the middle dozens of pages. She tucked the letters into the hole.
Once finished, she closed the book. From the outside, it looked no different from a new book.
To prevent it from accidentally opening, she untied her hair ribbon and bound the Book of Documents with it, tying a careful bow on the cover.
The letters were hidden, but the table was a mess. Chu Ning thought for a moment, stuffed the useless scraps of paper she had cut out into the bamboo tube, and resealed it with wax. She kept the tube on her person as a decoy.
Only then did she feel slightly at ease. At least hidden in a book, it was less likely to draw attention; she could just keep the book with her other belongings.
She decided not to tell Lu Zhidao about this for now. Lu Zhidao’s mission was simply to escort her to the capital; she was likely entirely in the dark.
When Lu Zhidao returned, Chu Ning had already cleaned up and was casually washing the handkerchiefs.
“How was it?” Chu Ning asked, looking up.
“The pier is guarded day and night. Everyone boarding a boat is searched.”
“Then we have no choice but to enter the mountains.”
“Yes. Rest first; we move at dawn.” Lu Zhidao came over, attempting to take the handkerchiefs.
“Almost done.” Chu Ning nudged her away with her elbow, pointing at the darkened water. “Look at how dirty your handkerchief was.”
Lu Zhidao scratched her head, not knowing what to say. Feeling awkward, she just stood by and watched.
After Chu Ning rinsed the cloths and hung them side-by-side to dry, she turned to her. “Why are you just standing there? Aren’t you going to rest?”
“I am.”
Hearing this, Lu Zhidao moved a stool to the door. Holding her sword, she leaned against the doorframe and closed her eyes to sleep.
Chu Ning was baffled by this sequence of actions.
“Mumu… why don’t you sleep on the bed…”
Lu Zhidao’s brow furrowed slightly as she kept her eyes closed. She turned her head away and muttered, “No need.”
“But we have to travel tomorrow. You should rest properly.”
Lu Zhidao felt flustered. She didn’t even know how to handle someone else’s kindness, so she just kept her eyes squeezed shut awkwardly.
“Go sleep on the bed.”
“…” Lu Zhidao opened her mouth, and after a long while, squeezed out two words: “It’s not…”
“Not what?”
“I have to stand guard.”
“You don’t intend to sleep sitting up the whole way, do you? Are you trying to become an immortal?”
“I’m not… not becoming an immortal.”
“Go! To the bed!”
Lu Zhidao stood up awkwardly and remained standing to one side.
“If you’re worried, push the table against the door,” Chu Ning suggested.
“Okay.” Lu Zhidao, sensing a clear task, hurried to move the table.
Chu Ning laughed as she watched her. “You don’t listen when I speak nicely, do you? Do I have to use a commanding tone for you to hear me?”
Lu Zhidao moved the table and stood silently to the side.
Chu Ning deliberately tried a forceful tone: “To the bed.”
“I…”
“Hurry up!”
Lu Zhidao helplessly sat on the edge of the bed. She grew even more restless, resting her hands on her knees and rubbing them back and forth.
Chu Ning reached past her, grabbed a quilt from the bed, and spread it on the floor. “You sleep on the bed, and I’ll sleep on the floor. It’s not like I’m trying to bully you.”
“I’ll sleep on the floor.” Before Chu Ning knew it, Lu Zhidao was already squatting opposite her, gripping a corner of the quilt.
“You need the rest more.”
“I’m hardy.”
Chu Ning laughed and looked up at her. “Who talks about themselves like that? I’m being kind, not trying to hurt you. What are you afraid of?”
It was precisely the kindness that made Lu Zhidao so lost. If it were malice, she would just strike with her sword. But she had received so little kindness in her life that although she was grateful, she had no idea how to respond.
She could only squat there stubbornly, gripping the quilt. No matter what, she wouldn’t let Chu Ning sleep on the floor.
Chu Ning couldn’t win the argument, and since the other woman wouldn’t speak, she asked tentatively, “Then I’ll sleep on the bed?”
“Yes.” Only then did Lu Zhidao let go of the quilt.
“You sleep on the bed too.”
Chu Ning climbed onto the bed and huddled as far against the wall as possible, leaving more than half the space.
After much hesitation, Lu Zhidao finally climbed onto the bed, pressing herself as far toward the edge as she could.
On the small bed, the two managed to leave a massive gap between them.
After a while, when the sound of steady breathing came from behind her, Lu Zhidao grew bold enough to murmur, “You’re different from other young ladies.”
“What?” Chu Ning asked unclearly, her voice sounding heavy with sleep.
“Nothing!” Lu Zhidao pulled the quilt over her and turned around in a panic.
With a dull thump, she tumbled off the bed, wrapped in the quilt. In her haste, she had forgotten she was already lying on the very edge.
This time, Chu Ning was wide awake. She turned over to look at Lu Zhidao on the floor.
Lu Zhidao scrambled up, her every movement radiating embarrassment. With a dark expression, she put the quilt back on the bed and crawled in silently.
Chu Ning turned her back to her, biting her lip to stop herself from laughing. In a voice as calm as possible, she said, “Lie a bit further in.”
Before she even finished, she couldn’t hold it back anymore. She pulled the quilt over her head and shook with silent laughter.
The next morning, at the first crow of the rooster, Chu Ning woke up. Lu Zhidao was no longer beside her. Guessing she was outside practicing her sword, Chu Ning got up to wash.
Sure enough, Lu Zhidao returned a short while later with dark circles under her eyes.
She had brought back a bowl of steaming hot wontons.
“Eat up, then we set off.”
Chu Ning caught a glimpse of those dark circles and wanted to laugh again. Thinking about how she had slept early while the other must have stayed up, she teased, “It was just a fall. Was it really enough to keep you awake all night?”
“Shut up.” Lu Zhidao felt humiliated and snapped back reflexively.
“Don’t be mean! You promised just yesterday.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Uh… that was a fast apology.”
While Chu Ning ate, Lu Zhidao packed their belongings. “Are these two books yours?”
“Yes!” Chu Ning looked up. Seeing Lu Zhidao holding the Book of Documents containing the letters, she grew nervous. She stood up and explained, “I had the waiter buy them last night.”
“Oh. Are we bringing them?”
“Of course!” Chu Ning took the book and placed it in the bag along with the Songs of Chu.
She turned to Lu Zhidao. “I still want to read these books. Don’t lose them, and don’t flip through them carelessly so they don’t get damaged.”
“Okay.”
Lu Zhidao agreed seriously. Considering Chu Ning was from a scholarly family, it was only natural for her to be protective of books. She didn’t think twice, carefully arranging the books and packing the rations and other items into the bundle.
Before the sky was fully light, the two set off into the mountains.
The mountain paths were difficult, but everything else went smoothly.
There was spring water for thirst, rations for hunger, and they could sit on the ground to rest. The sounds of birds and insects surrounded them. At first, Chu Ning found it quite rustic and enjoyable, almost like an outing.
But a pair of eyes in the shadows had long since fixed upon them.
The deeper they went, the more secluded it became. The forest was vast, and the rarely trodden paths were covered in a thick layer of dead leaves that crunched softly underfoot.
In the mountains, time seemed to stand still. After walking for an unknown duration, they felt tired and stopped to rest under the shade of a tree.
Lu Zhidao opened the bundle and handed a piece of oil-paper-wrapped scallion pancake to Chu Ning, while she herself began chewing on a plain wheat cake.
“Why are they different?” Chu Ning asked, biting into the pancake.
“Scallion pancakes are more expensive.”
Chu Ning felt uneasy about this. She tore the pancake in half and handed it to Lu Zhidao. “Take it. You don’t need to give me special treatment.”
Lu Zhidao took it silently. Suddenly, she noticed the grass not far away swaying unnaturally.
“Do you eat rabbit?” Lu Zhidao asked tentatively.
Chu Ning hesitated, looking down at the pancake in her hand before deciding, “Yes!”
“Don’t give it a name.”
“Okay.” Chu Ning nodded solemnly. There was no helping it; Little Grey had been too delicious.
Lu Zhidao handed her half of the cake to Chu Ning and tiptoed toward the suspicious patch of grass. Even Chu Ning grew tense, standing perfectly still, afraid to scare away the wild rabbit.
Suddenly, Lu Zhidao lunged, pinning the rabbit beneath her.
She picked it up by the ears and turned around happily to show Chu Ning.
But she saw a figure carrying Chu Ning, running away rapidly. Chu Ning hung motionless over the person’s shoulder, seemingly unconscious.
Lu Zhidao threw the rabbit aside, grabbed her sword, and gave chase.