Li Yuanying entered the residence surrounded by eunuchs. Only after everyone around him had dispersed did Huo Qilang quietly get out of the carriage. A moment later, she discovered that Kang Simo, who had fled without a trace earlier, had slipped into the accompanying party as though nothing had happened and actually returned with them.
She grabbed him, hauled him into a corner, and pinned him against the wall. "You deserter. You still have the nerve to come back?"
Huo Qilang had already removed her disguise and returned to her own voice. Kang Simo first looked bewildered and uncertain, then declared with perfect confidence, "I'm an interpreter, not a combatant."
He patted the little dagger at his waist. "You people carrying sabers are the soldiers. Mine is just a table knife for cutting mutton. Besides, I ran out first to seek reinforcements, not to save my own skin. His Highness didn't say anything. Who do you think you are, sticking your nose into this?"
At the words "seek reinforcements," Huo Qilang's grip involuntarily loosened. The instant Kang Simo gained a little freedom, he turned and ran.
Back in the Main Hall, Li Yuanying rested briefly before summoning Yuan Shaobo alone for a private discussion, telling him about the strange behavior Huo Qi had noticed among the Yab soldiers. They conferred for nearly two hours, after which Commander Yuan dispatched several scouts.
Late that night, Huo Qilang thought she would no longer be needed and had already lain down in the Guard Captain's House, only to be summoned back to the Main Hall for night duty. Madam Li firmly believed in the occult and feared that the Aversion-Banishing Art might harm Prince Shao. Unless necessary, it was best that he not be separated from his guard.
Li Yuanying had already taken