After Li Shu strode away, Zhang Xing returned beneath the tree beside the great river. The riders gathered around, and Hu Yan, his face livid, was about to speak.
"Wait a moment, Brother Hu."
Bai Yousi waved a hand, shot Qin Bao a meaningful look, then walked toward the tree. She hesitated briefly. "You there... soldier?"
"Is 'soldier' supposed to mean me?" Zhang Xing scoffed and raised his head. "And what should I call you?"
"I still don't know your real name... good fellow." The female inspector looked slightly embarrassed. "I am Bai Yousi, a Vermilion-Sash Inspector of the Jing'an Directorate."
"Just stick with soldier. 'Good fellow' sounds even stranger coming from a young lady!" Zhang Xing was naturally easygoing and could not be bothered to quibble. "Seeing that brave fellow Qin-Mr. Qin, Young Master Qin-I can more or less guess what you want to ask... Yuan Da tricked me into leaving the village at midnight, waited until I was exhausted, then gathered a mob to rob and kill me... I killed every last one of them. I deserve credit, not punishment. If this Jing'an Directorate of yours offers rewards or bounties for killing bandits, you might as well hand mine over."
"There really isn't anything like that." The female inspector grew more embarrassed, but looked toward Qin Bao again.
Now, had Qin Bao followed them here because he was truly troubled over Yuan Er? Who here knew Yuan Er better than he did? Hadn't he simply been tempted by the dazzling female inspector, like a fairy descended to earth, and by these Patrol Cavalry riders in their fine brocade, mounted on great horses, going wherever they pleased?
Of course, a graceful maiden was a gentleman's fair pursuit, and a man born into this world ought to seek rank, fame, wealth, and position. Having such thoughts did not stop this young man Qin from being an honest hero of the countryside.
So now that he had caught up, and the soldier spoke so firmly without spilling so much as a drop, this supposed temporary aggrieved party could only look sheepish for a while, then nod and accept his lot.
Seeing the matter settled so easily, Bai Yousi could only stand solemnly without speaking.
"Inspector, there are things I shouldn't say, but I have to..." Seeing this, her deputy Hu Yan hesitated no longer and stepped straight forward. "Yang Shen's rebellion shocked the whole realm. Beyond that, he threw the Central Plains into chaos, disturbed the Three Rivers region near the capital, and cut off our elite troops at the front. Every one of those is a monstrous crime. Though none of this was Li Shu's idea—indeed, things reached this point precisely because his ideas weren't followed—he was still Yang Shen's chief strategist, one of the three principal figures behind this disaster... Aren't we inviting trouble upon the Marquis of Ji'an and our Jing'an Directorate by simply letting him leave?"
"You've misunderstood, Brother Hu." Bai Yousi listened seriously until he finished before replying, her expression unchanged. "I didn't refrain from arresting him because of any personal ties or wanted notices. It was because we were no match for them."
Hu Yan froze briefly, then understood. "Was it that purple-faced fellow beside him? Is he stronger than you?"
"The big fellow beside him should be Xiong Bonan, the Purple-Faced Heavenly King, known as the peerless warrior of Heshuo. I've seen his file. He reached Great Perfection of Meridian Unblocking in his early thirties and was already attempting Condensing the Core." The female inspector's tone was rather peculiar, as though she had admitted it without admitting it outright. "My father once said that if a twelfth Grandmaster capable of advancing to the Celestial Person realm appeared in the world, he wouldn't say Xiong Bonan had an unquestionable claim to it, but he would certainly be among the ten most promising experts around thirty years of age..."
Only then did Hu Yan and the others all grow solemn.
Only Zhang Xing, beneath the tree nearby, seemed to catch something in her words and could not help curling his lip... He hadn't noticed this girl being afraid of Xiong Bonan just now. Rather, she had been exceedingly wary of that uncle of hers.
And who knew whether this "Brother Hu" truly understood nothing of politics or was pretending not to? What had just been said clearly meant that the highest nobility played by a different set of rules, yet he kept pressing, forcing his own highborn female superior to dodge the subject.
Yet with that single curl of his lip, Zhang Xing saw unmistakably in the lingering sunset that the female inspector's gaze swept straight toward him. He was secretly startled.
This girl was probably a genuine expert.
"Inspector, what's done is done. There's no need to dwell on it. The question is, what do we do next?" After a little thought, Hu Yan continued his questions. "Li Shu appeared in the Eastern Territories, claiming he was heading to the Northern Wasteland, but he's very likely going to join Dongyi... Surely that information takes priority over everything else? Now that this soldier's... this good fellow's business is settled, shouldn't we hurry to rejoin Little Li and the others?"
"Of course we must send word." Bai Yousi's expression remained unchanged, but her gaze could not help sweeping toward the tree again. "But if we're only passing along a message, why be in such a rush? There's even less need to make such a solemn business of it. With so many of us out here, are we really going to march everyone back over a single piece of news? Wouldn't the others at the directorate laugh at us?"
At first, Zhang Xing noticed nothing, because his thoughts had long since drifted to the great river before him. For all his grand manner when he had angrily returned the horse and money, he now regretted it bitterly.
Without money, how was he supposed to hire a boat across?
Without a horse, would he have to keep carrying Du Meng on his back?
How exhausting had these four or five days of hiding by day and traveling by night been?
Why had he put on that act?
Venting his anger had felt good for a moment, but what was he supposed to do now?
Just then, as the female inspector glanced over once more and let her gaze sweep across the great river below the embankment, something stirred in Zhang Xing's mind. He suddenly understood and was about to speak.
But someone was quicker.
"Inspector Bai."
His face flushed red, Qin Bao suddenly disregarded propriety and interrupted the Jing'an Directorate's internal work meeting. "Forgive my bluntness, but if we hadn't suddenly arrived and caused all that trouble, this sol... this soldier here would already have hired a boat across and been leading his horse to take his companion to Red Mountain. We can't simply abandon him."
Sycophantic admirers do have their uses... The thought inexplicably rose in Zhang Xing's mind. Especially one who knows how to read faces and take hints.
Hearing this, Bai Yousi felt thoroughly reassured. Ignoring the strange looks from the many Brocade-Clad Cavalry riders beside her, she immediately nodded. "Young Master Qin is absolutely right. Whatever we do, we ought to see it through properly. How could we cause someone trouble, then abandon him? Brother Hu!"
"Yes?"
"Set out immediately. There's no need to look for Little Li and the others. Each group can send its own report. Just follow the river upstream toward the Eastern Capital and report the matters concerning Li Shu and Xiong Bonan to the Intendant. I'll escort this soldier to Red Mountain, then return to join you... I certainly won't hold anything up."
Hu Yan paused, but soon seemed to realize something too, and gave a slight nod.
"There's no need to leave any horses either," the female inspector hurriedly added. "Too many would make crossing difficult, and too few would be useless. We'll hire a carriage or horses once we're across... I'll compensate Young Master Qin for his horse. Just take it with you... Leave now. Make haste."
From the look of her, she actually meant to chase them off at once.
Since their leader Hu Yan had understood, these Brocade-Clad Cavalry naturally had nothing to say. True to their word, they went straight to fetch their horses.
Watching coldly from the sidelines, Zhang Xing very much wanted to know whether, if he stood up now and declared that a true man would not accept food tossed to a beggar, this female inspector so desperate to avoid Li Shu's affairs would fly into a rage and throw him into the river.
Of course, when he had just learned that Li Shu was one of the causes of the defeat suffered by the two hundred thousand soldiers at the front, anger and pride welling up had been understandable. Now, though this female inspector was using him as her raft, she was still offering genuine, well-intentioned help. There was really nothing to quibble over, especially after the extraordinary hardship of carrying a corpse on his back for days...
At that thought, Zhang Xing stood and instead cupped his hands in thanks.
Within moments, the dozens of Brocade-Clad Cavalry galloped away. By then, the sun had sunk in the west, leaving only its last lingering light.
"Are you ready?"
The female inspector watched her subordinates depart and breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to look at the other two.
"Yes." Qin Bao was beside himself with delight. "Inspector Bai, are we going upstream to find lodgings, or downstream?"
Zhang Xing also made ready to shoulder Du Meng, preparing to enjoy the free ride.
"What are you talking about?"
The female inspector swept her gaze over the two men and raised an eyebrow. It was hard to tell whether there was a trace of resentment in it or whether her valiant spirit simply shone through. "There's still light left. Just right for crossing the river!"
While Zhang Xing stood as stunned as Qin Bao, the female inspector had already walked up to him. With just one hand, she took down Du Meng's powerfully built corpse and laid it on the ground. As she crouched, golden light, flowing almost like something solid, welled from her fingertips, and she continued speaking:
"Your Ice True Qi is only at the beginner's level. You've barely managed to lower the temperature through its innate properties, slowing your companion's decay as much as possible. But any kind of True Qi, once brought to a sufficiently accomplished level, can cleanse the entire body and truly preserve a corpse from decay until that True Qi dissipates."
Qin Bao had seen similar sights before and took it rather better. Zhang Xing could only nod blankly, unable to tear his eyes away... This was the first time he had seen a higher-level application of True Qi.
But that was far from the end.
The golden light vanished from the female inspector's hand, and she lifted Du Meng's corpse one-handed, looking toward Zhang Xing. "I'll take your companion across first. Please wait here a moment with Young Master Qin."
Still in shock, Zhang Xing was momentarily unable to answer.
The next instant, he simply fell into a daze-after that announcement, the female inspector, still holding Du Meng's corpse in her left hand, tapped the ground with the sheathed sword in her right and suddenly rose into the air. Wind sprang up from the level ground, currents surged, and her whole body drifted out over the river in the lingering sunset.
No, she wasn't drifting. She was flying!
Swift as a duck in flight, elusive as a spirit, treading lightly over waves, silk stockings stirring dust; over the long river beneath the setting sun, a single sword bore an immortal aloft.
The transmigrator's last shred of arrogance toward the ordinary people of this world was shattered by that leap into the air-leaving aside divine dragons like the Mountain-Splitting Lord and Sea-Averting Lord, ordinary mortals in this world could actually reach such heights through cultivation?!
Qin Bao was equally shocked. He vaguely knew what realm this was and understood the principles behind it, yet he was still shaken for a time... Of course, unlike the excitement and curiosity the transmigrator felt after recovering, what he felt now was chiefly shame at his own inadequacy, so there was no need to dwell on it.
The great river, several hundred paces wide, flowed endlessly eastward. The female inspector made the round trip in moments, then carried Zhang Xing and Qin Bao across in turn. Even then, the sun had not completely set.
When the three had gathered on the river's northern bank and were preparing to hurry off and find an inn where they could openly take lodgings... as the last ray of sunset fell, the transmigrator carrying his companion's corpse finally could not restrain himself. He suddenly stopped in the road:
"Miss Bai... are you an immortal or a monster?"
"Just a living person, only a little further along in cultivation." In the twilight, Bai Yousi, who was leading the way, turned back and smiled slightly beneath the twin moons, revealing a few white teeth. "Also, calling me 'miss' is very impolite. You may call me Inspector Bai."
She certainly likes getting her own back. Zhang Xing could only grin.
PS: Thanks to Balasen for the donation... this book's twenty-third alliance leader... and a longtime reader too.
Watching the stockpiled chapters in my drafts dwindle so quickly, I've already started to panic.
Before you continue