Chapter 17

Shen Yao Xing had a nightmare.

In the dream, a pleasant male voice was constantly instigating her to kill, targets ranging from the black-clothed man on the arena to the fierce woman with a scar on her face. Faces kept flashing by, and even some familiar ones started to appear.

That little boy, Ye Xi Feng whom she had met once, and Meng Xin Yi with a smile on her face, as well as various familiar and close faces.

Kill them.

Shen Yao Xing’s body trembled, and she suddenly opened her eyes. Lying flat on the bed, her body was tense, staring blankly at the ceiling for a while. She abruptly sat up, grasping the headboard, gasping for breath, cold sweat beading on her forehead.

The sky outside was not yet bright, and the night breeze blew gently through the wide-open window. Shen Yao Xing wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead, and when she realized it was just a dream, her whole body relaxed.

This won’t do, staying with that psycho for a few days, she was almost becoming a psycho herself.

It had been two days already, and she didn’t know what Hei Sha and Bai Sha were up to. They still hadn’t come over. Could it be that they were still looking for her there?

Shen Yao Xing, who was thinking about this in the early morning, had just left her room at daybreak when she saw the two people with travel-worn faces coming to look for her. They seemed to have just asked the innkeeper and were about to come to her room to find her. The three of them ran into each other in the corridor.

Bai Sha even exaggeratedly reddened her eyes, startling Shen Yao Xing who was eating melon seeds: “What’s wrong with you?”

“Young Miss!” Bai Sha suddenly knelt on one knee, lowering her head: “It’s this subordinate’s fault for not being able to protect you in that mist, letting you suffer so much!”

Suffer? The young girl munched on the melon seed kernels in her mouth, feeling it was quite delicious: “It’s not suffering.”

Hei Sha, behind Bai Sha, silently walked to the young woman’s side and knelt shoulder to shoulder, lowering her head, but didn’t say anything.

Bai Sha raised her head with reddened eyes, saw the young miss in coarse cloth clothes, and felt even more that they had failed in their duties. She had never seen the young miss wear such inferior clothes, so rough that it seemed like it could scratch the skin, not even as good as what those lowly servants in the mansion wore.

“Please punish us, Young Miss!”

The two went from kneeling on one knee to kneeling on both knees, their foreheads touching the wooden floor.

Being kowtowed to early in the morning wasn’t anything good. Shen Yao Xing walked around them towards the stairs: “Alright, alright, my mother isn’t here, what are you kneeling for?”

They had grown up together since childhood. When Hei Sha and Bai Sha were only twelve years old, they were sent to the Shen mansion. They were both her guards and her playmates. These formalities were only for show when Madam Shen was present. But as time went on, they became more and more conscious of the master-servant distinction, which made things less interesting.

As soon as Shen Yao Xing came down to the main hall, the innkeeper approached her with a smile: “Miss, what would you like to eat today?”

Although she knew the innkeeper was indeed a good person, it was the first time she had seen such a smiling face, as if he had been reborn. Even the sallow color on his face seemed to have faded a bit.

Of course, Shen Yao Xing knew the reason, but last night’s events had nothing to do with her. Being treated with such enthusiasm as a “benefactor” made her feel quite uncomfortable: “Just serve the same dishes as yesterday.”

“Alright, please wait a moment!” The innkeeper responded and was about to enter the kitchen. After taking a step, he stopped, turned back and asked with a smile: “Would your friend like to join?”

Friend? Shen Yao Xing couldn’t react for a moment.

“That is…” The innkeeper quickly glanced at the second floor, his eyes unable to hide his fear. He bent down slightly, appearing cautious: “That extremely handsome gentleman, I haven’t seen him come downstairs, should I serve food for him too?”

Him? Shen Yao Xing of course refused, looked at the two people who had followed her, and seeing their haggard appearance, knew they hadn’t had breakfast yet: “Three tea settings.”

The innkeeper didn’t ask any more questions and went to the kitchen to prepare.

At first, Hei Sha and Bai Sha refused to eat with her, but later they dared to sit down only after Shen Yao Xing frowned.

After the three finished eating, Shen Yao Xing wanted to leave quickly. She thought for a moment, then suddenly reached out to Bai Sha: “Give me one tael of silver.”

She never liked owing others favors, especially that person’s favor. Shen Yao Xing clutched the silver in her hand, just about to go upstairs to repay the debt, when she saw the creditor coming downstairs.

Shen Yao Xing hurriedly walked over, opened her palm, and presented the silver to him: “Here, returning yours.”

Jiang Ming Yue glanced lightly at the small silver ingot in the young girl’s palm, but didn’t take it: “Why does Miss Shen need to take that one tael of silver so seriously? Ming Yue had no intention of asking Miss Shen to return it.”

“Repaying debts is the natural order of things.” As Shen Yao Xing spoke, her gaze couldn’t help but drift to the black-clothed man behind him. His face was still deathly pale, his eyes hollow, no different from the last time she saw him.

“Miss Shen seems very interested in my subordinate?”

The cold voice brought her gaze back.

Huh, as if she was interested. Shen Yao Xing couldn’t be bothered to waste time with him here, and placed the silver on a nearby table: “Whether you take it or not, it’s up to you. Anyway, we’re even now.”

“Even…” The man lightly bit the two words. His eye shape, curving inward and outward, was somewhat fox-like, naturally soul-stirring. He lowered his long lashes, then raised them again: “If Miss Shen says so, then that day when Ming Yue sent you out of that misty forest, should also be offset by this one tael of silver?”

Shen Yao Xing didn’t expect this man to be so particular, bringing up such a small favor of escorting her along the way!

“Then… what else do you want?” At worst, she could give him a ride back in the carriage to make up for it.

“Miss Shen, please don’t misunderstand, Ming Yue has no other intentions.” The man’s expression was composed, as if what he had just mentioned was merely casual.

He might be calm, but Shen Yao Xing felt irritated. He clearly remembered that incident, even brought it up, then suddenly stopped, making her feel like she still owed him a favor.

The young girl’s bitter expression of frustration greatly satisfied Jiang Ming Yue. He glanced at the two people not far behind her and asked softly: “It seems Miss Shen is planning to set off now?”

Shen Yao Xing slightly raised her chin to look at him. The man was tall, even taller than some women in this world. Shen Yao Xing, who was originally at a height disadvantage, barely reached his chin, and could only look up when talking to him.

“Yes, do you… want to come along?” This question was purely out of her rare politeness, and she regretted it as soon as she said it.

Jiang Ming Yue didn’t speak, his deep, dark eyes staring straight at her, without any concealment.

The atmosphere became quiet for a moment. The innkeeper, standing on the other side of the hall, carefully observed the two, thinking they should be friends, but now it didn’t seem quite like it. They did look oddly compatible though.

Shen Yao Xing felt her scalp tingle under his gaze, which was like appraising livestock. She gritted her teeth: “What are you looking at?”

The man lightly stroked the white scabbard in his hand, casually surveying the young girl’s face: “Since Miss Shen is in such a hurry to enter the capital, you should set off first. Ming Yue still has important matters to attend to and cannot travel with you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly took a step closer, leaning slightly towards the young girl. At this moment, the man’s voice completely merged with the voice that had instigated her in the dream.

“I believe we will meet again soon.”

“……”

Even after getting into the carriage, Shen Yao Xing couldn’t figure out the man’s intentions. When had their relationship reached the level of meeting again? Anyway, after this, she never wanted to see his face again.

The three left the inn under the innkeeper’s send-off. Even when they were about to leave the town, the young girl hadn’t entered the carriage, frowning in deep thought.

Bai Sha soon noticed the young miss’s unusual behavior and turned her head to ask puzzledly: “Young Miss, what’s wrong?”

Shen Yao Xing narrowed her eyes slightly, staring at the increasingly distant inn, unconsciously voicing her thoughts: “I feel like he’s coveting me.”

“Huh?”

Only then did Shen Yao Xing realize what she had said, but she didn’t care. She folded her arms, raised her chin slightly, and pointed in the direction they had left: “I’m talking about that man in the inn just now, he must be having designs on me.”

For someone usually accustomed to putting on airs, it’s not easy to make them show their true colors. Could it be for that deerskin map?

But it didn’t seem quite right. If it was really because of this map, he could have directly taken action. Why bother going round and round with her? After all, if the two of them joined forces, she would certainly be no match.

Going round and round and getting herself tangled up, Shen Yao Xing had a bit of a headache. She rubbed her temples, and as she lowered her gaze, she found Bai Sha looking at her with an indescribable expression.

“……What kind of look is that?” What does that doubtful look mean!

“No, no!” Bai Sha hurriedly waved her hands, with a strong survival instinct: “For a woman like the Young Miss, it’s understandable that that gentleman would secretly admire you!”

This time it was Shen Yao Xing who was confused by her words: “What did you say?”

“Didn’t the Young Miss say that gentleman has taken a liking to you?”

“……”

Taken a liking to her…

Just thinking about it made Shen Yao Xing feel like her life was being shortened!

———

Because too much time had been spent earlier, the carriage had been traveling almost non-stop for the next few days. After crossing a hill, they finally saw the entrance to the capital city in the distance. The two wide-open city gates were imposing, with soldiers guarding on both sides. People were streaming in from all directions, and even before reaching the city gates, they could hear the bustling noise from inside the city.

Hei Sha pulled hard on the reins, and the carriage slowed down. Following the flow of people, they entered the capital city. She skillfully took out a waist token from her bosom and hung it on the top of the carriage. The originally dense crowd automatically cleared a path, and the carriage smoothly passed through the crowd.

The capital city was unlike Taizhou City, which was a mix of all sorts. Most of the people living here were ordinary citizens and merchants. They needed to strictly abide by the law, unlike in Taizhou City where one could kill at will. Even those with prominent positions in the jianghu world couldn’t act recklessly once they entered here.

The so-called law was nothing more than a restriction on ordinary citizens. Here, power had the final say. Perhaps the most common sight was the children of officials bullying commoners.

Although it was under the emperor’s feet, as long as you had enough power, you could get away with anything. If Taizhou City began with surface-level bloodshed, then the capital city was underground filth and evil. Compared to the capital city, Shen Yao Xing still felt more comfortable staying in Taizhou City.

The carriage traveled smoothly without any blockage, and soon arrived outside the Shen mansion. The vermilion-lacquered main gate was magnificent, with a golden Nanmu wood plaque above it. The red background with gold characters “Shen Mansion” was vigorous and luxuriant. Outside the mansion gate were stone steps and ground paved with bluestone, so clean that not even a fallen leaf could be seen.

“Young… Young Miss… we’ve… arrived…” Hei Sha put down the reins and wanted to report to the person inside the carriage.

“Young Miss, we’ve arrived.” Bai Sha took over.

“Let’s enter through the back door.”

Inside the carriage, Shen Yao Xing said softly, secretly lifting a corner of the curtain to peek outside. Seeing the old steward who had been waiting for who knows how long hurriedly coming to welcome them, she quickly stopped Hei Sha who wanted to turn the carriage around, and sat up straight.