After Yang Qing and the others finished their discussion, they each retired to rest.
The city they were staying in stood at a three-way crossroads. Travelers passing through, no matter their destination, had to stop here for meals and lodging and replenish their food and water.
Thus, although it was a nameless city, it still bustled with people coming and going.
Having settled on their route, Yang Qing and the others decided to rest in the city for a few days, then move on once they had gathered enough information.
They had planned to head west from the outset, but now they had a new direction.
As Mo Beixing was the only woman in their party, being constantly in Yang Qing and the others' company often proved rather inconvenient.
Yet throughout their journey, they had scarcely had time to concern themselves with such matters, and had muddled their way through.
Now that they finally had a chance to rest, Mo Beixing told Yang Qing and the others that she wanted to go out and buy a few necessities.
Yang Qing naturally agreed.
No one in this small city knew them, so there should have been little danger in Mo Beixing going out.
Still, he had Pei Buji follow her at a distance.
It was a precaution against anything unexpected.
Although Pei Buji was tall and powerfully built, he was a thoroughly upright man. When he saw Mo Beixing enter a women's dressmaker's shop, he did not follow her inside.
Such shops catered exclusively to women; men were not permitted to enter.
What Pei Buji had not expected was that several hours would pass without Mo Beixing emerging from the shop.
Growing puzzled, he approached the shop to make inquiries.
Only then did he learn that Mo Beixing had left an