Don't Sleep Too Soundly

"Don't... don't come in yet."

Through the wooden door came the sound of splashing water.

Li Yu turned away and walked over to the railing, looking downstairs. A lone lamp burned on the counter, where the old innkeeper was checking his accounts. Anfu Inn was small, a two-story building with eight rooms below and four above. When they had checked in during the day, only one upper room had been left.

To avoid attracting attention, the two had been forced to pose as husband and wife.

A moment later.

"Come in."

The door opened a crack from within. A candle burned on the table beside a teapot, its light not particularly bright. Near the bed stood a large wooden tub, steaming hot, with packets of medicinal herbs floating on the water and giving off a faint, fresh scent of plants.

"Thank you for finding all those medicinal herbs."

Qin Xiu had changed into a black brocade robe, though she still wore her veiled hat and face veil. She sat at the edge of the bed, her back ramrod straight and her legs together, stiff and proper. It was her first time sharing a room with a man; to say she was not nervous would have been a lie.

Li Yu said nothing. He sat on a wooden chair drinking tea, his brows slightly furrowed, seemingly preoccupied with something else.

Qin Xiu said softly, "You've helped me twice..."

"Do you really want to thank me?"

Li Yu suddenly looked at her and held out his right hand. His five fingers were long and slender as jade, fit to play a zither or wield a sword.

"Hand it over."

"What?"

"Those herbs weren't cheap. Ten days' worth, and all the silver's gone. Soon we won't even be able to afford an inn. Not being able to afford an inn is fine. The main problem is having no money for wine..."

"I have no money!"

Qin Xiu's voice was muffled. She lived in seclusion with her master in a deep valley, with no income, always eating away at their dwindling reserves.

"But I'll pay you back sooner or later."

Li Yu shook his head, pretending not to have heard. He shook his yellow-skinned gourd; only an ounce remained. He still regretted the Bow-Shaped Moon spilled in the ruined temple, which had only handed the Iron Spear General a windfall. Now he could only drink tea.

"Lingzhou, the sovereign, the dowager consort... First Rank Hall, Mantuo Manor, the Murong Family..."

These seemingly unrelated powers were like tea leaves churning up and down inside a single pot, dancing and unfurling.

Given a choice, he would have liked to leap out of the teapot and look after himself alone.

But with his current martial arts, that would be all but impossible.

The sovereign was constrained by the dowager consort, but his power still could not be underestimated. He had a band of loyal followers running errands on his behalf.

Even if Li Yu concealed his name and fled far away, there was no guarantee of safety.

What pleasure was there in living with his heart in his throat?

As for throwing in his lot with the dowager consort, the two factions were so thoroughly infiltrated by one another that he feared his head would roll before he even met her in person.

Besides, Helian Tieshu was obstinate and self-willed; the original owner's fate had indirectly been his doing. The imperial dowager consort was notoriously fickle, savage, and cruel. Going over to her might not end well either...

At last, he could only admit that, for now, he could be nothing more than a tea leaf inside a porcelain pot, with no control over his own fate.

"This pot is called the jianghu."

The candle flickered on the table beside him.

After a good while, when Li Yu had more or less savored the taste of the "jianghu," he slowly rose and walked toward the bed. Seeing her braced as though facing a formidable enemy, he could not help finding it amusing.

"Miss Qin, it's a long, long night. Are we just going to sit here doing nothing?"

"What do you want to do?"

"Do... what ought to be done."

Was he finally going to show his true colors?!!

Qin Xiu's brows drew level over her cold moonlike eyes, her body tensing as her hand instinctively reached for her waist. After Guo Yanzhi and Cui Jingui died, she had recovered her sleeve darts and saber. Even with her injuries unhealed, she could still defend herself.

"It's time to rest."

Li Yu walked to the foot of the bed and picked up a quilted pad. After only a few steps, he turned back and gazed at the face concealed beneath black gauze.

"You..."

The breath Qin Xiu had just released caught again. The two cold moonlike eyes visible between her hat and veil held traces of alarm beneath their resolve, like a little beast newly emerged from the mountain forest.

"What... what are you looking at?"

Li Yu's gaze was pure, without a trace of wicked intent.

That only made it feel stranger.

She felt the look from those peach-blossom eyes burn like glowing coals, unbearably hot. As though she had done something guilty, she did not dare meet his gaze at all, secretly marveling, As expected of a divine art from the Western Regions. Could the Flame Blade really become this formidable when cultivated to profound depths?

"Don't you feel stifled, wearing a veil even to sleep?" Li Yu was simply curious.

"None of your business." Qin Xiu turned her head away.

"Hahaha!"

Laughing, Li Yu walked to the other end of the room, lined up four chairs, spread the quilted pad over them, and lay down. He cradled his blue-steel sword, his head toward the window and his body turned sideways toward the door, ready to react promptly if anything happened.

"I'm a very curious person, Miss Qin. Don't sleep too soundly tonight."

"Try it, if you're not afraid of having a hole stabbed clean through you!"

She rolled onto the bed, removing only her veiled hat, and lay on her side fully dressed. Her unsheathed curved saber lay beneath her hand. With her eyes half closed and her lashes trembling slightly, she watched his figure through the gauze curtains hanging down on either side.

Just who was he...?

The candle flame trembled on the table, burning lower and lower.

Drowsiness surged like a tide.

Her lashes fluttered slightly, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and before she knew it, she had fallen fast asleep.

Impressive!

Li Yu had only just lain down, his thoughts wandering everywhere, when he heard the sound of steady, peaceful breathing.

The simple-minded really do fall asleep the moment their heads hit the pillow.

By the time the red candle on the table had burned out completely, he still had not managed to sleep. Presumably, his sleep schedule from his previous life had transmigrated along with him.

Good heavens, it's only eight o'clock!

He rolled over and sat up, glancing toward the other end of the room. Behind the gauze curtains, the curves of her body were faintly visible. A subtle fragrance drifted through the room, leaving him somewhat restless and agitated.

"It's too stuffy in here..."

Sword in hand, Li Yu walked to the door. After checking that it was bolted, he turned back and gently pushed open the window. In two or three movements, making no more noise than a wildcat padding past, he scrambled up onto the roof ridge. He slowly sat down and gazed toward the night market in the distance, its lights still burning.

The bright moon hung high overhead, reflected in the lights of the mortal world below. In the distance shone the lanterns of Cold Mountain Temple: four red lanterns hung in a row from a pole more than ten zhang tall, guiding boats that had fallen behind schedule and were sailing through the night.

"I need to find a way to get some silver."

Amid such a fine night and lovely scenery, this was the only vulgar thought that came to mind.

Other people roamed the jianghu drinking wine from great bowls and eating meat in great chunks, casually throwing away a thousand gold. When had they ever worried over filthy lucre?

For him, it was a different story.

He had traveled thousands of li from Western Xia. The moment he entered Suzhou, prices had soared, and his travel funds had soon run out. Even the thirty taels that had replenished his purse in the ruined temple were now soaking in Miss Qin's bathtub.

"Roaming the jianghu-a single copper coin can stump even a hero."

Thinking it over carefully, none of the renowned great sects in the jianghu were short of money.

Close at hand.

Mantuo Manor, with its ten thousand mu of tea plantations, was the wealthiest estate in the area.

The Murong Family descended from fallen royalty, with an estate built up over generations.

Farther afield.

The Beggars' Sect flew the banner of the greatest gang under heaven, opening branches and recruiting disciples everywhere.

Shaolin Temple was a great landlord. Its monks were like pixiu, most adept at accumulating wealth.

"The Fish-Dragon Gang!"

Li Yu took out his own token. Cast from black iron, it was satisfyingly heavy, with the three characters for "Fish-Dragon Token" engraved on its face and no other ornamentation. It looked like nothing to be underestimated, either.

"On the shores of Lake Tai, jianghu powers stand thick as trees. If they dare use that name, presumably... they can't be too weak."

Eager anticipation rose in his heart.