Guangwu County

Guangwu County's walls were not tall.

Beneath the blue-gray stone bricks, the wind and sand had worn away their edges, exposing the mottled yellow earth within.

Guangwu County.

A group of riders arrived and stopped before the city gate.

The soldiers at the gate wore sabers at their waists and did not stand particularly straight.

Upon seeing Chen Qingyuan, one of them seemed to recognize him and stepped forward.

"Sect Master Chen, back from Upper Pan Village?"

Chen Qingyuan swung down from his horse. Not a trace of arrogance showed on his face as he cupped his hands to the soldier. "You've worked hard, brother."

The soldier's gaze passed over him and landed on Jiang Yuechu, seated upright on horseback.

"And this is...?"

Longyou Circuit was swept by fierce wind and sand. The women here generally had wheat-colored skin and more defined features.

But this woman on horseback...

Her skin was delicate, her features refined. She was truly a rare sight.

Fortunately, Chen Qingyuan had somehow found a loose hemp robe for her, covering the eye-catching black garments patterned with red.

Chen Qingyuan lowered his voice, and a timely hint of pity appeared on his face. "This girl was abducted by some demon from who knows where. She's a pitiful soul. I thought I'd bring her into the city and see whether I could find her some work in the sect."

Hearing that, the soldier nodded, with little surprise on his face.

These days, demons passing through and destroying homes and families was hardly uncommon.

He merely grumbled to himself.

That old bastard sure got lucky.

If he'd known Upper Pan Village had such a fine piece of goods, he would have gone along to hunt demons too.

Maybe he could have picked one up to warm his bed.

They entered the city.

There were few pedestrians on the streets. Each hurried along with lowered heads, as though afraid of inviting trouble.

Most shops on either side were open. Tavern banners fluttered listlessly in the wind, but there were no cries of hawkers, making the place seem desolate.

Now and then, yellowing talismans could be seen pasted in corners, or a peachwood sword hanging above someone's doorway.

It was nothing more than a bit of reassurance.

After all, when demons came to kill, who the hell cared about any of that?

The place was deathly still.

That was Jiang Yuechu's first impression of the county town.

The group stopped before a residence.

Its frontage was small, but it looked clean.

Chen Qingyuan dismounted first and waved at the dozen or so men behind him.

"Dismissed."

The men answered in unison, then led their horses away without asking a single question.

Only then did Chen Qingyuan turn and bow to Jiang Yuechu on horseback. "My lady, this is one of Flying Eagle Sect's lodgings. We usually host friends traveling far and wide here. It's fairly quiet."

He pushed open the courtyard gate and made an inviting gesture.

Jiang Yuechu dismounted and walked straight inside.

Beyond the gate lay a clean courtyard.

A gray-haired old woman stood beneath the eaves with two maids who looked no older than fifteen or sixteen, already waiting.

At the sight of Chen Qingyuan, they merely bowed without speaking.

Chen Qingyuan coughed and instructed the old woman, "Prepare hot water, a clean set of women's clothing, and some food and wine."

The old woman acknowledged him. She glanced at Jiang Yuechu behind her master, surprise flashing through her eyes before she quickly lowered her head.

Chen Qingyuan turned back to Jiang Yuechu and gave another deep bow. "I still need to report to the county magistrate and explain what happened in Upper Pan Village. Please rest here for now. Do not stand on ceremony. If you need anything, simply instruct the servants."

Jiang Yuechu gave a soft grunt in response.

Chen Qingyuan said no more. He turned and withdrew, pulling the courtyard gate shut behind him.

Only Jiang Yuechu and the three servants remained in the courtyard.

Though the old woman was surprised by Jiang Yuechu's identity, seeing how respectfully her own master treated her, she too bowed. "Miss, this way, please."

Before long, a huge wooden tub had been placed in a room filled with mist.

Bucket after bucket of hot water was poured into it, along with some unidentified herbs that gave off a faint fragrance.

"My lady, the clothes will be delivered shortly."

After saying that, the old woman led the two young maids out and closed the door.

Jiang Yuechu did not move, remaining silently where she stood.

A maid carrying a folded set of clothes poked her head inside. Seeing Jiang Yuechu still wearing the robe, she froze for a moment.

"Miss..."

Jiang Yuechu turned half her face toward her. "Put them there. Without my orders, no one is allowed to enter."

"Yes."

The door was gently shut.

Only then did Jiang Yuechu move.

She dragged over the narrow bench used to hold washbasins, turned it sideways, and jammed it firmly behind the door.

After doing all that, she removed the loose hemp robe and casually tossed it onto the floor.

Beneath it were the black clothes patterned in red, mottled with bloodstains.

She undid her belt, removed her saber, then stripped off her clothing piece by piece, revealing a lean yet well-proportioned body.

She lifted a foot and stepped into the tub.

"Hiss~~~"

The hot water made her skin go numb.

"Oh~~~~~~"

She slowly sat down and sank her entire body beneath the water, leaving only her head exposed.

She let out a long breath.

Her constantly taut nerves finally loosened a little.

She looked at the blurry outline reflected on the water's surface.

Lean and pale.

Her looks were fairly good, at least.

More importantly, this body was not overly ambitious in the chest department. They were only about the size of buns, hardly an obstacle when running, jumping, or fighting.

Her legs, however, seemed longer than they had been in her memories.

Could it be...

Could martial training make someone taller?

She closed her eyes and silently scrubbed herself.

Suppressing the inexplicable restlessness within her, her thoughts gradually cleared.

There was still no lead on the household registration matter, so she would set it aside for now.

But another matter was worth considering.

What crime had her father committed?

Though the Jiang Household was not among the capital's foremost noble families, it was still a scholarly household. They had served as officials for generations, a family of refined standing.

The original owner's father was named Jiang Xun. He held the post of Vice Minister of Rites, Subordinate Third Rank.

In her memories, Jiang Xun was a somewhat rigid scholar. He loved tending flowers and plants and was never without a book in hand.

Jiang Yuechu frowned.

Something was wrong.

Great Tang's laws were strict. Crimes that implicated an entire family had to be monstrous cases like treason or collusion with the enemy.

But Jiang Xun was merely a Vice Minister of Rites. He handled sacrifices, ceremonies, and the imperial examinations. He held no military power above and touched no money or grain below. What could he use to commit treason?

Even taking a step back, even if the Jiang Household truly had been convicted.

Under Great Tang law, the female relatives should have been consigned to the Music Office.

So why had she, a woman incapable of even trussing a chicken, been escorted all the way to the frontier with such great effort?

Even stranger were the people escorting her.

Ordinarily, documents for exiled criminals were issued by the Ministry of Justice, while runners from the local government offices handled the transport.

Even in a major case, where the criminals were vicious enough to require soldiers, it should have been the Ministry of War's responsibility.

Yet her group had been personally escorted by the Demon Suppression Office.

Since when had the Demon Suppression Office had so much manpower to spare?

Jiang Yuechu slowly opened her eyes, droplets of water sliding down her eyelashes.

Damn it.

She had thought her greatest problem at the moment was merely household registration and travel papers.

As long as she solved that, with her cheat ability, the world was vast—where couldn't she go?

But now, it seemed that every aspect of the original owner's identity was strange.

"Ah... This is hard. Really hard..."