Hu Xiaotian entered the room and tended to his wound first, then found a few shabby garments in the Zhou family's wardrobe. After changing into them, he took out the Human-Skin Mask Qin Yutong had left him and fitted it over his face according to her written instructions. The West Wing appeared to be a woman's bedchamber. Finding a bronze mirror on the floor, he used it to adjust the mask carefully. Reflected in the mirror was a dark-skinned, middle-aged man who looked thoroughly weather-beaten, with numerous wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and across his forehead. It was an entirely unfamiliar face; even Hu Xiaotian could no longer recognize himself.
Only after making certain there were no flaws in his disguise did he pack everything away. The Iron Deed of Redemption that had saved his life now posed a problem. Inspections at the city gates were strict, and the soldiers might well search him from head to toe. If they discovered the Iron Deed of Redemption, he would have nowhere to hide. Yet the deed also held the lives of the entire Hu Family in the balance. Hu Xiaotian could not bring himself to leave it here merely to scrape by and save his own skin.
Taking advantage of the deserted early morning streets, Hu Xiaotian climbed out of the Zhou residence. As he emerged from Yujin Lane, he saw a night-soil cart parked nearby, its owner nowhere in sight. His brow furrowed, and an idea sprang to mind. He quietly pushed the cart away. After traveling some distance, he looked back to make sure the owner had not followed, then tossed both the Iron Deed of Redemption and his short blade into one of the manure buckets.
Pulling the night-soil cart, he headed straight for Xiezhou City's