It was nearly noon. Sitting over tea in a teahouse, Pei Changtian looked toward the street leading from the Imperial Palace, his gaze sharpening slightly.
"Waiter, the bill!"
"Right away! Coming-"
The teahouse waiter hurried upstairs.
"Sir, your-uh..."
The waiter froze when he reached the top. The customer by the window had vanished. He walked over to the table and found the copper coins laid out, not a penny short. Looking around, he saw that the customers at the tables farther away seemed not to have noticed anything.
Instinctively, the waiter leaned toward the window and peered outside. He had been standing right by the stairs just now, yet he had seen no one come down.
Out on the street, the Chu Residence's carriage rolled slowly past, accompanied only by an elderly coachman.
The old coachman felt a gust sweep past him. He looked to either side, then behind him. The door curtain seemed to have fluttered in the wind.
A little uneasy, he tightened his grip on the reins and gradually slowed the carriage.
"My lord, is everything all right?"
"Everything is fine."
Chu Hang's voice came from inside. Only then did the old coachman relax and urge the horses onward.
Inside the carriage, Chu Hang was no longer alone. Pei Changtian now sat beside him.
"Lord Chu, you ought to have more skilled guards with you. If someone with abilities like mine wanted to harm you, no one else would even have a chance to notice."
"Heh, heh, heh..."
Chu Hang laughed but offered little more in response. He knew that Pei Changtian had been secretly protecting him for years, and he kept that friendship close to his heart.
Hearing the conversation inside, the old coachman finally realized that Hero Pei had just entered the carriage. Still, he