Sui Zaihua and several Kongtong disciples went ahead to search and, sure enough, found the inscriptions they had left. They had gone farther ahead to scout the way. The group returned, chatting and laughing, and Sui Zaihua went back to the ox cart and sat down beside Qu Zhu again.
Everyone in this convoy was a stranger, and the two friends stayed close together almost the entire time.
"I think we'll still have to be extra careful of that Qiao Changyue once we reach the Prefectural City." "Pei Ye" knocked the snow off his boot soles and leaned against the cart, breathing out white vapor. "There are things I can't say to his lordship. He's too hard of hearing. But I hear this man has built up a formidable authority, hides dark depths, and looks down on officials from elsewhere. His lordship has taken his official hat away. Who knows what madness he might get up to?"
"What madness?" Qu Zhu seemed to smile, remaining where he lay. "With us protecting his lordship, surely he couldn't poison him?"
"Pei Ye" laughed, then fell silent for a moment. "Don't say that. Even after all this time as an official, my nerves are still on edge. I keep waking for no reason in the middle of the night, feeling as though blades are right beside me. Something like that might sound extreme, but think it through. His lordship has no powerful backer. Even if the man really killed us, so long as no one solved it for a year or so, new cases would bury the old. Would anyone still remember?"
"..."
"Pei Ye" sighed softly. "Justice has to be fought for."
Qu Zhu was silent for a while, then said quietly, "Without a backer, you can hardly move an inch along