FID – Chapter 1017

 

Chapter 1017: How Could That Guy Possibly Appear Here?

  “Didn’t you say Xiliang is xenophobic, and foreigners can hardly enter their border towns?” Liu Yusheng asked, confused as the man mentioned going to Mo City.

  If they reached the city gates and couldn’t get in or worse, got driven away, it would be humiliating.

  She couldn’t even imagine Feng Qingbai being turned away, and the thought made her want to laugh.

  Feng Qingbai curved his lips slightly. “The xenophobic rules don’t apply to royal members of other nations.”

Shengsheng would be disappointed to see him embarrassed.

  “…Weren’t we coming to look for Miaojiang? Why are we going to Mo City?” Liu Ya asked timidly, overhearing their conversation.

  Mo City belongs to Xiliang, but Miaojiang isn’t Xiliang territory, so they wouldn’t be able to find it there.

  “Mo City occupies nearly half of the northwest region. If Miaojiang is indeed in the northwest, it must be very close to Mo City. I need to enter the city to get a local map and use it to estimate Miaojiang’s possible location.”

  Liu Yusheng was surprised. “Did you memorize that sheepskin map back then?”

  ”Yeah.”

  “We always say our master never forgets anything,” Wei Zi added, hoping to make the princess admire him even more. Feng Qingbai responded with a look of appreciation.

  Liu Yusheng thought, “…” No wonder Feng Qingbai returned the sheepskin map back then. He didn’t need to carry it with him at all.”

  When they landed, it was still morning; by the time they reached the gates of Mo City, it was nearly noon.

  Here, Liu Yusheng witnessed firsthand her man’s so-called privilege.

  A black-and-gold token, engraved with the character ‘Feng’ and a dragon-patterned totem.

  When the guards saw the token, they didn’t react much at first, but when they glimpsed Feng Qingbai’s face through the carriage window, their expressions changed immediately. They returned the token respectfully and let them pass.

  Liu Yusheng realized that their smooth entry wasn’t due to the royal token—it was Feng Qingbai’s face.

  The guards of the Xiliang border town must have seen Feng Qingbai’s portrait and remembered his features very clearly.

  This discovery darkened the group’s expressions.

  For years, Xiliang had remained isolated, refusing foreign diplomacy and even forbidding foreigners from entering its territory. Yet a single border guard recognized Feng Qingbai’s face. This implied that Xiliang had spies planted in the capital of Nanling who had made his portrait and brought it back.

  Xiliang was quietly keeping an eye on other nations.

  This was puzzling.

  They projected an image of isolation and indifference to the world, yet they were clearly monitoring foreign royalty. Wasn’t that just fooling themselves?

“What’s your take on this?” the woman whispered to Feng Qingbai.

  “Then we’ll just be careful. All these years, Xiliang has never appeared openly before anyone. It’s extremely mysterious with their strict border checkpoints. Other nations have sent spies before trying to infiltrate Xiliang, but the furthest they could get was Mo City. Beyond that, they couldn’t go further. Our understanding of Xiliang has always been superficial,” Feng Qingbai said, his eyes calm.

  If Xiliang had ambitions, eventually they would be exposed.

  Unless they were willing to stay hidden forever, doing nothing.

  The carriage stopped in front of a tavern. After paying the driver, the group got out and walked inside.

  At the teahouse across the street, someone happened to come out.

  The girl, carrying a heap of packages, was so focused on keeping them from sliding off that she didn’t notice the carriage ahead and nearly ran into it.

  “Can you watch where you’re going?” Xue Honglian said, his face dark, as he reached out in time to pull her back.

  Realizing she had been reckless, Qian Yi stuck out her tongue and tried to explain sheepishly, “I have to hold these things properly. They cost so much silver, I’d be heartbroken if they broke, even though you paid for them…”

  Xue Honglian’s expression remained unchanged. She actually had the nerve to argue back.

  Ignoring the girl with her bizarre sense of values, he strode toward the willow tree near the city gate.

The carriage had already passed. As he lifted his eyes, he caught a flash of purple inside the tavern across the street.

  Xue Honglian paused, immediately brushing the thought from his mind.

  Seeing purple made him think of Feng Qingbai. How could that guy possibly appear here all the way from Nanling?

  He must be losing his mind.

  “Feng Qingbai, why don’t we just dine in the main hall? There aren’t many people anyway.”

  The clear, melodious voice came from inside the tavern. Amid the noisy bustle of the market, it was almost drowned out, yet it reached Xue Honglian’s ears distinctly.

  The packages in his hands fell to the ground with a dull thud.

“Xue Honglian, you dropped something again! I told you these are expensive! Even if they don’t break, it still hurts to see them fall!”

  “Let’s go.” He picked up the fallen items and quickened his pace toward the willow tree.

  Qian Yi pouted. Men were always so careless! The packages she was carrying were nearly blocking her face, making it hard to see the road, and he didn’t even say to wait for her. What if she got hit by a carriage again?

Totally unfair!

  But when they reached the willow tree, something even more infuriating happened.

  The man stacked all the packages at the foot of the tree, told her to watch them, and then turned and disappeared.

  Not even a single silhouette left behind. Qian Yi was so angry she could grind her teeth.

  She was a delicate young woman, graceful and elegant! Nestled in the middle of a pile of packages, her aura was completely gone, attracting countless astonished glances. Didn’t he care about her dignity at all?

Xue Honglian spun around and rushed back toward the inn. When he saw the group of four in the main hall, and those two familiar faces, he had no idea what feeling surged in his chest.

  It was like a warm spring suddenly flooding his entire heart, spilling outward.

  A weight seemed to pull at his heart from both sides—not painful, yet making his eyes burn.

  The man’s aura was far too strong, drawing attention, and the four people sitting at the table immediately noticed him.

  Liu Yusheng’s eyes lit up. She was about to call out to him, but the man beside her pressed her hand forcefully under the table. The pressure made her swallow the words she was about to speak in time.

  Actually, there were quite a few people in the main hall. Her suggestion to sit there was meant to pick up information about the city from the murmurs of others.

  Feng Qingbai had just prevented her from greeting Xue Honglian, which clearly had a purpose.

  As for why she knew it was Honglian and not Qinglian in front of her—she could tell just by looking at those eyes.

  “Shopkeeper, bring some small dishes and a pot of wine.”

  “Certainly, Sir. Feel free to sit anywhere. The food and wine will be ready shortly.”

  After ordering, Xue Honglian casually found a seat in the hall, sitting without glancing at the others, as if he didn’t know them at all.

  Even the spot he chose was two tables away from where Feng Qingbai, Liu Yusheng, and the others were sitting.

  This behavior made Liu Yusheng even more certain that they were likely being watched.

  On second thought, it wasn’t surprising. Feng Qingbai was from the Nanling Imperial family, and even the city gate guards recognized his face. It was clear that the guards in Mo City had been specially trained by the Xiliang royal family.

  They were so wary of foreign royalty that. Having seen Feng Qingbai arrive in Mo City, it was only natural for them to send people to monitor and gather information.

  Perhaps at this very moment, countless spies had already been planted around them in secret.

  If they were to acknowledge Honglian, it would only expose him as well to the eyes of Xiliang’s informants, putting him in danger.