A silver moon hung overhead. Ripples glittered across the silent river, and now and then a large ship with flickering lights drifted past in the distance.
Below the twenty-foot-high white stone embankment lay a stretch of knee-high reeds. As autumn deepened, they had begun turning a patchwork of green and yellow, rippling like waves whenever the breeze blew through.
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
Dressed as a wandering martial artist, Ye Jingtang walked along the edge of the reeds with a saber and sword hanging at his waist, examining the riverside mud for hoofprints.
Little Yunli, who was not particularly tall, walked beside him. She still wore a Waist-Length Ruqun, dressed like a pampered young lady, but had added a gray cloak and bamboo hat bought at random on the street. She had also retrieved her equipment from the carriage: a five-foot saber rested on her shoulder, giving her the unmistakable air of a martial wanderer.
Beneath her bamboo hat, Zhe Yunli's cheeks were still dabbed with vermilion rouge, making her look lovely and fresh-faced. Yet a stalk of grass dangled from the corner of her mouth as she chatted casually:
"Where did Niao Niao go? This should be Niao Niao's job. Fly along the river, and it wouldn't take fifteen minutes to search four or five li of riverbank..."
"Niao Niao is in the palace keeping your Master’s Wife and Third Madam company. If anything happens, Niao Niao can fly up and call a few times, and I'll be able to rush back. If we brought Niao Niao along, how would they send word?"
Finding Little Yunli's getup rather amusing, Ye Jingtang reached over and pulled the grass stalk from her mouth.
"You're a young lady. Don't copy those wanderers who chew grass stalks. If your Master’s Wife saw you, she'd