Page 144

"Oh, Shengnu, what kind of flower is this? It's so pretty." Shen Lantang changed the subject.

"Ah, this one..."

Meanwhile, Xie Jin had recovered enough to finally get out of bed. After lying there for days, he had grown thoroughly sick of it. The moment he was allowed up, he dragged his still-healing broken leg out for a look around the village.

The village lay beside the mountains, and most of its people made a living selling mountain produce or hunting. Xie Jin slowly made his way to an old, towering camphor tree at the village entrance and sat beneath it. An elderly man was there enjoying the shade.

After sitting against the tree for a while, Xie Jin struck up a conversation with him.

"Sir, do bandits cause much trouble in your village?"

The old man knew he was the outsider Uncle Gao's family had rescued. He shook his head and said:

"Can't say I've heard much of that. We're not far from Zhaojing, and quite a few imperial relatives live over in Tongxiang. The authorities often send troops through to clear out bandits. All in all, it's peaceful enough."

Xie Jin knew that too. As commander of the Outer City Command, he was responsible for security outside Zhaojing's walls, including several nearby towns. He often led troops against bandits himself. Of course he knew how strictly and frequently the route from Zhaojing to Tongxiang was patrolled.

Xie Jin set aside his doubts and smiled. "Then it seems my wife and I were unlucky enough to run into them."

"Don't take it too hard, young man. You can earn money again. What matters is that you're both alive."

"Thank you for your kind words."

They chatted now and then as Shen Lantang and Gao Shengnu returned. Shen Lantang wore