Chapter 13

“Miss, who was that young man just now? He was so handsome!”

As soon as the carriage moved away, Bai Sha couldn’t help but lift the curtain and ask. In all her years, this was the first time she had seen such a handsome person, even more handsome than those young masters in the capital. Recalling the snow-white clothes and blood jade the man was wearing, she vaguely felt like she had heard of it somewhere.

Shen Yao Xing was lying on her side on the silk cushion, pretending to be asleep. Hearing this, she squinted one eye at Bai Sha, clicked her tongue, and sat up to take out a piece of pastry from a hidden compartment and ate it in one bite. She mumbled, “What does it matter to you how handsome someone is? Besides, you can’t judge people just by their appearance. The more handsome they are, the more poisonous their hearts tend to be.”

The key point is that he’s also very good at pretending. Last night he was cutting people with an expressionless face, and today he’s acting like nothing happened, all gentle and refined. She even suspected this man might have a split personality.

How could someone have two such different faces?

Bai Sha seemed to understand but not quite. Thinking of that face, she couldn’t help but giggle, “With such good looks, it would be worth it even if it meant living a few years less to marry him!”

Shen Yao Xing widened her eyes and looked at her incredulously. They had known each other for so long, yet she never thought Bai Sha would be someone who judged people solely based on appearances, even though that person was indeed handsome.

Since they had nothing better to do anyway, Shen Yao Xing gave her an example, telling her the story of Pan Jin Lian poisoning Wu Da Lang. It was Shen Yao Xing’s first time telling a story to someone, and she narrated it vividly. Unfortunately, the two of them focused on different points of the story.

After listening, Bai Sha frowned slightly, “Miss, which story book did you read this from? How could there be such a story with reversed gender roles?”

Hei Sha, who was currently acting as the coachman, couldn’t help but speak up, “Mi… Miss… if… if… if you…”

“If the madam finds out you’re reading these kinds of books, she will surely punish you,” Bai Sha finished for her.

“……” Shen Yao Xing was very frustrated but didn’t know how to explain. She could only turn over, lying facing the inner side, her back looking resentful.

Thinking the young lady was angry at being found out, Bai Sha repeatedly assured her, “Miss, you don’t need to worry. This servant absolutely won’t tell the madam about this!”

Shen Yao Xing didn’t respond to her. Her fingers lightly tapped her leg at her side. Seeing this, Bai Sha gently lowered the curtain and returned to the coachman’s position.

At this time, the sun was at its hottest. The carriage traveled through the small forest path, with tree shadows covering the top of the carriage to keep the interior from overheating. Shen Yao Xing rolled up the cloth curtain of the carriage window. A gentle breeze mixed with a faint woody fragrance blew into the carriage, making it quite comfortable.

Shen Yao Xing leaned on the window, opening the compartment that stored tea and snacks, wanting to eat some fruit. However, she found that she had already eaten all the stock in the past two days. Only a few pieces of pastry and some tea remained inside.

“Is there a town nearby?” she asked, lifting the curtain.

Hei Sha turned her head, “No… no…”

“No?”

“Yes… yes…”

“Is there or isn’t there?”

Bai Sha turned back to explain, “There is, Miss, but that town is still far away. We probably won’t reach it today.”

Well, there was nothing to be done about it then. Shen Yao Xing leaned back, lying down again.

They didn’t find a place to stay overnight even by sunset, so the three had to spend the night in the wilderness. However, Shen Yao Xing was already used to this kind of life. Instead, it was Hei Sha and Bai Sha who felt that their young miss was suffering. They insisted on thoroughly cleaning up their resting place for the night, almost to the point of laying bricks and tiles on the muddy ground and spreading a carpet.

After the two finished tidying up, they went to look for food. Their current rations only consisted of pastries and coarse flatbread. Shen Yao Xing’s mouth felt bland after eating these for two days.

As night enveloped the earth, only the silver moon above spread its light like a lantern. Shen Yao Xing picked up a wooden stick nearby and poked at the bonfire with a bored expression. Not long after, she saw Bai Sha happily return with a sparrow only as big as a palm.

With a face seeking praise, Bai Sha said, “Look, Miss, we have meat now. I’ll roast it for you to eat.”

“……”

Seeing her so happy, Shen Yao Xing didn’t have the heart to pour cold water on her enthusiasm. She took the sparrow from her hand, squinted as she examined it, and without saying a word, directly stuck a wooden stick through the bird’s beak and placed it next to the bonfire to roast.

“Miss, we haven’t plucked the feathers yet. Eating it like this will prick your mouth.”

The young lady pouted, muttering softly, “It’s barely visible even with the feathers on. If we pluck them, there’ll be nothing left to eat.”

It wasn’t even enough to fill the gaps between her teeth.

Fortunately, Hei Sha, who returned later, didn’t disappoint her. She was holding a plump wild rabbit. Shen Yao Xing was overjoyed at the sight, quickly handing the stick to Bai Sha and walking over to take the rabbit.

“How cute~” Shen Yao Xing vigorously rubbed the long ears in her arms.

……

……

……

Half an hour later, the young lady had carved up the roasted rabbit meat into eight pieces, and the three of them had a hearty meal.

Shen Yao Xing, fully satisfied after eating, returned to the carriage, lay down, tilted her head, kicked her feet, and fell asleep.

Early the next morning, they set off while Shen Yao Xing was still sleeping in the carriage. She was vaguely awakened by the pitter-patter of rain outside. She struggled to lift her eyelids, fumbled her way to the window, and looked out.

Dazzling sunlight and faint raindrops hit her face. The young lady wiped her face and frowned slightly, “How can it be raining so heavily with such bright sunshine?”

Bai Sha, who was outside the carriage, heard and raised her voice, “Miss, you’re awake. The tea was heated for you before we set off. Please have some first. We should be able to reach the town before sunset today.”

“Oh,” Shen Yao Xing lowered the curtain, stretched lazily, and lay back down.

The next time she woke up was due to the bumpy ride. She shuddered all over, her sleepy eyes gazing blankly at the gently swaying curtain. The young lady rubbed her eyes and slowly crawled over to lift the curtain, “What’s wrong?”

Bai Sha turned her head, a hint of worry between her brows, “Did we wake you, Miss?”

Shen Yao Xing yawned, “It’s fine.”

Bai Sha glanced around and continued, “Somehow, the fog has been very thick along the way. It’s so thick we can barely see the road.”

Only then did Shen Yao Xing realize that the fog was indeed very thick, unnaturally so. She could barely see anything except the trees brushing past their carriage.

“When did it start?” she asked.

“Right after the rain stopped.”

As soon as the words were spoken, the carriage hit a rock and jolted violently, almost overturning. Shen Yao Xing suddenly gripped the raised edge of the carriage door frame. The wheels hit the ground, and it finally stabilized.

“Stop the carriage,” she said to the two in front.

Hei Sha pulled the reins, bringing the carriage to a halt.

Shen Yao Xing exerted force with her arm, flipped onto the carriage roof, and stood there, squinting as she surveyed their current location. Unfortunately, the fog was so thick she couldn’t see anything. Her ears twitched slightly, and she tilted her head a bit, faintly hearing a rustling sound, like snakes slithering on the ground.

As she tried to listen more closely, Bai Sha called from below, “Miss, can you see the road from up there?”

Shen Yao Xing jumped to the ground, her gaze scanning the surroundings, and shook her head slightly.

“Should we stop for a while then, and wait for the fog to clear before continuing?”

Shen Yao Xing turned back to the two and said, “You two wait here for me. I’ll go ahead and take a look.” With that, she was about to set off alone.

“Wait… wait…” Hei Sha jumped down from the carriage as well. “Mi… Miss… This… this… servant… will… will… go… with… you!”

Shen Yao Xing looked back at her and had no objection, “Then Bai Sha, you stay here and watch the carriage. We’ll be back soon.”

“Yes…” Although Bai Sha wanted to go along too, she had to obey the young lady’s orders.

The two walked into the fog and soon disappeared from sight.

The faint rustling sound became increasingly clear. Shen Yao Xing frowned, “Hei Sha, can you hear that sound?”

Sound?

Hei Sha held her breath and listened for a moment. There was indeed a faint sound. She walked in front of the young lady, shielding her behind her body, her sharp eyes full of vigilance.

Just as the rustling sound was right by their ears, Shen Yao Xing grabbed the woman’s clothes and pulled her to the side, dodging a lashing tree vine. Before they could think further, more and more vines rustled as they surrounded the two. Hei Sha drew her sword and slashed horizontally, cutting the vines in half.

Shen Yao Xing dodged while using her dagger to cut through the vines. In her mind, countless mud horses trampled over her, once again overturning her worldview.

Who would have thought these tree vines could become spirits!

By the time Shen Yao Xing finished dealing with them and looked back, Hei Sha was nowhere to be seen. She called out several times but received no response.

The young lady’s lonely figure standing in the white fog had a somewhat pitiful air. Now she couldn’t even tell directions and had no idea which way to search.

Shen Yao Xing stood there pondering for a while, then simply closed her eyes, raised her hand, and used the “point troops” method to choose a direction, then resolutely moved forward.