After Hongxiu left, I returned to my quarters and shut the door.
Afu was still asleep, his blanket curled up by his feet and his wine gourd having rolled beneath the bed. I walked over and kicked him. He turned over, muttering, "Let me sleep for one more incense stick," while his hand groped beneath the pillow.
"Get up," I said. "We're going on a long journey."
He snapped his eyes open. Once he saw it was me, he immediately sat upright. "A long journey? Where to? Why?"
"Don't ask what you shouldn't." I placed the Fragmented Jade on the table. "Just prepare supplies. Rations, water skins, tinderboxes, rope, medicine for wounds, and hemostatic powder. The more, the better."
He stared at the jade fragment for two seconds, then looked up at me. "Young Master Ji, we're not going herb-gathering this time, are we?"
"No."
He swallowed, lowered his head, picked up the wine gourd, and dusted it off. "Then... should I bring the account book? What if we pick up a job along the way?"
"Bring it." I nodded. "You're an accountant. If you don't carry an account book, who would believe you're here to work?"
He grinned and began rummaging through the chests. The abacus clattered as he muttered and stuffed things into a bundle: three hard cakes, five packets of salt, two bottles of inferior pills, a small knife, and half a roll of bandages.
I sat on the edge of the bed without speaking again.
Once he was nearly done, I said, "Buy these through Crimson Flame's channels. Place the orders under other people's names. Leave no traces."
"Understood." He wiped his hands. "What happened last time isn't over yet. There must be people watching us outside."
I did not deny it. Mo Xuan's people would