The First Jasmine - Chapter 81

Chapter 81: Escaping Trouble and Saving Lives

Before long, Jiang Le's footsteps sounded once again. Returning to the room with a gloomy expression, Jiang Le tossed a small wooden box to Master Liang and said, "I've already ordered my men to deal with those four people. You have what you want; shortly, I'll send someone to escort you to the capital of Nanzhao." Master Liang opened the box to inspect its contents, nodding with satisfaction as he said, "Very well. Since that's settled, we won't waste any more time. Where are my steward and my guard?" Jiang Le gave a disdainful, cold snort and replied, "That steward of yours is still too weak in the knees to even walk. As for that guard, he was even more useless—he fell down the bottom of the cliff on the way down. Central Plains people are truly good-for-nothing cowards!"

"You!" Master Liang suppressed his anger and said, "I understand. Send me to Nanzhao as quickly as possible."

"Very well." Jiang Le nodded in satisfaction. "Rest for a moment; we set off shortly."

Outside the palace hall, Ye Li glanced at Han Mingxi. Han Mingxi shook his head silently. Indeed, there were quite a few corpses at the bottom of the cliff, but they were all long-bleached skeletons weathered by the wind and rain; Zheng Kui's body was nowhere to be found. It was likely that Zheng Kui hadn't accidentally tumbled down the cliff, but had instead been eliminated by these southern border tribesmen.

The Sick Scholar was in no particular hurry to deal with Master Liang because the two Southern Border tribesmen he had previously poisoned had already been discovered. The once-quiet underground palace instantly erupted into a flurry of noise and activity. As Master Liang departed under the heavy protection of his guards, Ye Li and her three companions could only split up to evade the searching guards and prepare their escape. An San naturally stayed paired with Ye Li, while Han Mingxi had no choice but to follow the Sick Scholar with extreme reluctance.

"Young Master, we..."

Ye Li shook her head and said, "Let's not leave just yet. We're going inside to take a look." With the two hindrances, the Sick Scholar and Han Mingxi, out of the way, moving around would naturally be much easier for the two of them. They carefully sneaked deep into the underground palace. The subterranean complex wasn't particularly large, divided into only seven or eight rooms. After searching through several rooms without finding anything useful, the two finally set their sights on a room situated at the very end. Unlike the others, this room had its heavy doors tightly shut, with two weapon-wielding Southern Border guards stationed right outside the entrance. Ye Li glanced at An San and fluently flashed a hand gesture: You take left, I take right!

An San nodded. The two of them lightly closed the distance and simultaneously struck, subduing the two guards from left and right. An San silently snapped his opponent's neck. Ye Li looked at the unconscious man in her hands, frowned, and tucked him away into a concealed corner. Examining the large lock on the door, Ye Li frowned, reached into her sleeve, and pulled out a hairpin used to secure her hair. With a slight twist, she extracted a sharp and slender golden needle from the hairpin, fiddled with it inside the keyhole for a few moments, and with a crisp click, the heavy lock sprang open. Ye Li nodded to An San, who was lurking in the shadows, pushed the door open, and slipped inside. An San vigilantly crouched in the shadows, keeping watch on the surroundings. After a short while, Ye Li flashed back out from the interior and re-locked the door.

Perhaps because the group consisting of Han Mingxi and the Sick Scholar had drawn away the vast majority of the guards, Ye Li and An San clearly felt that the search party was much smaller than before. Following the secret markers Han Mingxi had left along the way, less than half a quarter of an hour brought them to the light of the cave exit ahead. However, just as before, even a distance away from the exit, they could already smell the dangerous floral fragrance drifting in from the outside—it was identical to the scent of the flowers on the mountain. An San drew several medicinal pellets from his tunic and handed them to Ye Li. Ye Li crushed one, held it beneath her nose to sniff, and murmured with a low chuckle, "Did you scavenge these from the Sick Scholar?" With no outsiders present, An San's expression became much more animated. With a trace of smug triumph, he smiled and said, "Indeed. He carries far too many poisons on him; I didn't dare take too much for fear of mixing them up. This is the exact medicine he gave us earlier. It should hold out for about an hour and a half."

"Splendid." Each of them swallowed a pill. An San took the lead, hurried to the cave entrance to survey the scene, and then turned back to beckon Ye Li over. The two cautiously slipped out of the exit, only to be utterly stunned by the sight before them: a vast, overwhelming expanse of brilliant, dazzling red. The cave opening sat at a height of less than two meters above the base of the ravine, and the valley floor was entirely bloomed with bright red Jiao Yan flowers. Furthermore, coiled beneath nearly every single plant was a red-and-black banded snake, with even more crawling and slithering along the stems and blossoms. Ye Li could finally understand the urge Han Mingxi had felt to let loose a stream of curses after coming down earlier. This damned place was enough to make anyone's bones turn cold. Still, with the exit opening in such a perilous location, the Southern Border people didn't even need to post perimeter sentries—it wasn't sheer arrogance on their part.

"Can we get across?" Ye Li pointed toward the opposite cliff and asked.

An San took a look, nodded, and said, "It should be fine."

"Be careful. Whoever falls down there won't make it out alive." The moment anyone dropped into that sea of flowers, they would likely be devoured bones and all by the blossoms and serpents in an instant. An San frowned and asked, "How will the Young Master cross?" He could use his Qinggong lightness skill to fly across, but carrying someone along made that impossible. The Young Master's lightness skill alone was likely insufficient to clear the distance. The terrain here was too low to make proper use of ropes, and a single misstep risked a strike from the venomous snakes lunging at any moment. Ye Li let out a helpless sigh and said, "This wretched place is a real headache. But if we can make it out, this risk will have been worth it. You go across first; I'll take a different route."

An San didn't move. Although he knew the Princess Consort was formidable, he truly couldn't see any other path available. Lingering here wasn't safe either; while uninhabited at the moment, that didn't mean nobody would ever come by.

Seeing An San's stubborn demeanor, Ye Li waved her hand helplessly and said, "Fine. I'll go across first. You keep watch here, and once I'm across, you can follow. I honestly don't know why you lot have to be so obstinate." An San said in a deep voice, "We are the Young Master's shadow guards; naturally, we must prioritize the Young Master's safety." Ye Li rolled her eyes toward the heavens. "Thanks. It would be even better if you could have a bit more faith in me."

As dusk gradually settled, Ye Li finally crawled out of the cave entrance, using the dagger in her hand to scale the cliff face. Scarcely had she climbed a short distance when she looked down at An San, who was following closely below, and asked, "What are you doing?" An San replied in a low voice, "I am going with the Young Master."

"Did you think I wanted this? If I had your lightness skill, I would have crossed directly." Giving An San an exasperated glare, Ye Li raised her head and continued her climb. An San had already reached her side. "This cliff is at least over a hundred fathoms high; the Young Master might find it rather difficult to climb straight up like this." Ye Li murmured with a soft laugh, "Who said I was going to climb all the way up? Just a bit higher is fine. There's a protruding rock up there—right there." An San glanced at the moderately sized boulder jutting out not far above and nodded. "I understand. Young Master, let me go first."

"Be careful," Ye Li instructed.

An San nodded. With a light tap of his left foot against the cliff wall, his entire body shot upward. However, perhaps due to the awkward posture required for scaling the rock face, he showed signs of exhaustion halfway through his flight. While he could have used the sea of flowers below to springboard, failing to clear it risked a snakebite—and they currently had no antidotes on hand. Ye Li let out a low curse, hurling the dagger in her left hand toward a spot beneath An San's feet. Using the hilt of the dagger as a stepping stone, An San vaulted into the air once more and, with a few leaps, landed safely on the opposite slope. Having lost one of her daggers, Ye Li spent a bit more effort before finally hauling herself onto the protruding rock on the cliff face. The stone wasn't particularly large; even with Ye Li pressing tightly against the cliff wall, she could barely manage to stand. It appeared to be a massive boulder naturally embedded in the mountain. Once steady on the rock, Ye Li caught her breath, retrieved the rope from her bundle, fixed one end to a sleeve arrow, and fired it across to the other side.

On the opposite side, An San caught the end of the rope, secured it firmly in place, and gave it a sharp tug to signal Ye Li that he was ready. Ye Li secured her end as well, gave it a firm test pull, and then grabbed hold of the rope, sliding downward along its length.

"Young Master!" Seeing Ye Li land safely, An San let out a quiet sigh of relief. Ye Li patted down her clothes and said, "Let's go. This should be the mountain behind the encampment we stayed in earlier; we should be able to find a way out from this side." An San nodded, following closely behind Ye Li as he spoke, "Young Master, I think I've figured out where this place is. This is Snake Valley."

"Snake Valley?"

An San nodded. "Some of the senior shadow guards once followed the Prince on an expedition to the Southern Border. Rumor has it that there is a Snake Valley in the south filled with red snake-venom flowers. However, legend has it that the Prince burned Snake Valley down to the ground with a single fire back then; I never expected it to recover in less than ten years. But... the location doesn't seem quite right. Snake Valley should be in the southwestern part of the Southern Border. How could it be so close to Shattered Snow Pass?" Ye Li shook her head. "This place must have been deliberately laid out by someone. Didn't you notice that those snake-venom flowers are all planted in neat rows, with even the spacing between each plant nearly identical? They certainly didn't grow naturally. And those snakes—even if the snake-venom flowers somehow rose from the ashes, there's no way so many red-banded pit vipers could exist here naturally. Both the flowers and the serpents must have been artificially cultivated and released."

Recalling the dense infestation in the sea of flowers earlier, An San couldn't help muttering a curse, "Are the people of the Southern Border mad? Such dangerous things..."

"Southern Border people aren't afraid of snakes," Ye Li smiled. "Presumably, the people of the Southern Border set up a Snake Valley that everyone avoids out of fear precisely to conceal whatever lies within the belly of this mountain."

"A weapon foundry?" An San asked doubtfully.

Ye Li smiled. "No, there is something even more interesting. Let's leave this place first. Have you seen any of Han Mingxi's markers?"

An San squatted on the ground, examining something on the earth, and said, "Something must have happened to them. This marker... it's placed very haphazardly." It was now nighttime, making it entirely impossible to spot footprints or similar traces. It had taken An San quite a while of searching to find this marker left behind by Han Mingxi. Frowning, Ye Li squatted down beside him, lowered her head, and pondered in a low voice, "It's been two hours since we parted ways with them. Walking at a normal pace for an hour should cover around twenty li, and both of them know lightness skills... though lightness skills aren't meant for long-distance travel, let's call it thirty li. Under normal circumstances, they should be sixty li away by now. So... was Han Mingxi ambushed? Or were the two of them captured together?"

"The Sick Scholar shouldn't try to double-cross Han Mingxi. Tianyi Pavilion has eyes everywhere; someone in Yonglin City is bound to have seen the Sick Scholar and Han Mingxi together. If anything happened to Han Mingxi, the Sick Scholar wouldn't be able to answer to the Master of Tianyi Pavilion," An San reasoned. Ye Li frowned. "Then... they likely were captured? An San, let's split up and search to see if Han Mingxi left any other markers." If anything happened to Han Mingxi, it wouldn't just be the Sick Scholar—they would also have a hard time facing Han Mingyue. After all, she was the one who went looking for Han Mingxi in the first place, causing him to follow her all the way to the Southern Border. If they really had been captured, all they could do now was pray that Han Mingxi hadn't been butchered yet.

In a secluded encampment somewhere in the Southern Border, Han Mingxi lay limply on the ground, his body bound tightly with ropes so he couldn't move an inch. The Sick Scholar not far away had it even worse; not only was he shackled in heavy iron chains, but he was also covered in wounds, coughing incessantly as if only half his life remained. Completely ignoring his own wretched appearance, Han Mingxi looked cheerfully at the Sick Scholar and grinned, "How are you holding up? Are you still going to make it?"

"You're so certain they'll come to rescue us?" The Sick Scholar gave a light cough, raised his head, and asked.

Han Mingxi chuckled. "I trust Junwei won't abandon me to my fate."

The Sick Scholar gave a cold snort. "I'm more inclined to believe he's only coming to rescue you for the sake of Tianyi Pavilion."

Han Mingxi didn't get angry at all, smiling as he replied, "So what if he is? He certainly isn't going to make a special trip to save you just because you're the Third Master of the Yama Pavilion. Right now, it seems the two of us can only wait for Junwei to rescue us, wouldn't you say? As for you, Third Young Master, why don't you go find someone to rescue us right now?" Glancing sideways from bottom to top at the suspended Sick Scholar, Han Mingxi felt a bellyful of resentment. If this fellow hadn't insisted on coercing them into searching for the azure-falling flower, how could he have had the misfortune of falling into these people's hands? He hadn't even caught sight of the azure-falling flower yet, but it looked like they were about to descend to the netherworld. That certainly lived up to Junwei's phrase: Searching the azure depths above and the nether springs below.

The Sick Scholar coughed violently a few times and said, "Since you have so much confidence in Chu Junwei, why do you keep chattering away here?" Han Mingxi choked on his words and muttered in a low voice, "Did you see that place we came out of? Junwei isn't like you; he doesn't carry antidotes against venomous snakes on him. Who knows if they even made it out? They might have been mesmerized by those ghostly flowers the moment they stepped out of the cave. And... those venomous snakes..." The Sick Scholar fell silent for a moment before saying flatly, "When we came down from the cliff, Zhuo Jing took some medicine from my person." Seeing Han Mingxi glare at him, he flicked the corner of his mouth and added, "Don't look at me like that; I only found out after we parted ways with them. He took the anti-hallucinogenic pills and muscle-relaxing powder from me—the exact same kind I gave you on the mountain."

Han Mingxi rolled his eyes. "So that's why you could only give me one kind of medicine, and it smelled awful!"

"Rest assured, they're fine," the Sick Scholar said, suppressing a cough as he spoke in a low voice.

Han Mingxi cast a sidelong glance at him. "How do you know?"

"That fellow surnamed Liang is itching to kill us on the spot. But Jiang Le hasn't made a move yet, which must mean he's waiting for them to arrive."

"They want to catch us all in one net?" Han Mingxi frowned. The Sick Scholar replied, "Don't forget that Chu Junwei was trailing behind us, and when we left the cave, they didn't follow us out at all. They must have pulled something else after we left. That's why these people are determined to capture them. Do you really think they didn't notice the markers you left all the way here?" Han Mingxi raged, "You knew they were deliberately using us to lure Junwei into a trap, so why didn't you warn me?" The Sick Scholar sneered disdainfully. "Why should I warn you? Right now, at least Chu Junwei still has a chance to get us out. If he doesn't come, you and I are dead for sure."

"If he comes, he might end up dying with us!"

"So what?"

Flap, flap...

Two crisp taps sounded against the window lattice outside, and the two men froze simultaneously, glancing toward the window. A nimble figure flashed swiftly in through the window, turned back to offer them a grin, and said, "Brother Han, rest assured. I have absolutely no intention of dying with you."

"Junwei!" Han Mingxi called out in pleasant surprise.

"Shh..." Ye Li extended a single finger to press against her lips and blinked at him. Han Mingxi hastily lowered his voice. "How did you get in? This encampment is crawling with ambushes." Ye Li smiled. "There is no such thing as a hundred-percent secure defense in this world; it's simply a matter of whether you can find a breakthrough point. Well then... Brother Han, and Third Master, the two of you owe me your lives now." The Sick Scholar let out a faint snort. "We'll settle that once we're safely out of here." Chu Junwei must have heard the conversation between him and Han Mingxi just moments ago, but looking at the young man's bright and clear smile, the Sick Scholar couldn't be entirely certain whether he was harboring a grudge.

"Very well, you're right," Ye Li said helplessly. She drew her dagger, swiftly sliced through the ropes binding Han Mingxi, and tossed him a sword. "It's hard to find a decent weapon in the Southern Border, so make do with this." Han Mingxi caught the blade and smiled, "Many thanks, Junwei." While the ropes on Han Mingxi were easy to deal with, the iron chains on the Sick Scholar were a different story. It took Ye Li a bit of effort to unlock the heavy irons. The Sick Scholar stretched his limbs and asked, "Where is your guard?" Ye Li smiled. "He's busy preparing a grand gift for the Luoyi Tribe." Walking over to the window, Ye Li imitated a few birdsong calls of varying lengths. Moments later, a sudden commotion erupted in a certain part of the encampment, followed by more disturbances elsewhere until, within the span of a few breaths, the entire camp seemed to buzz with chaotic activity. Ye Li smiled with satisfaction. "Alright, let's move!"

The moment the Sick Scholar pushed the door open, a volley of feathered arrows shot straight toward them. Behind him, Han Mingxi hurriedly yanked him back while Ye Li planted a kick squarely against the door. Thud, thud, thud—several arrows buried themselves deeply into the wooden panels. The Sick Scholar glared angrily at Ye Li, who merely offered him a benign, amiable smile. "That's to thank the Third Master for inviting me to die alongside you earlier."

Knowing he was in the wrong, the Sick Scholar snorted and said nothing further.

The archers outside were staring vigilantly at the entrance when, with a loud bang, the wooden door was flung open once more, and a dark shadow lunged out. Swish, swish... Another volley of arrows whistled through the air.

Bang, bang! Figures burst outward through the windows on both sides of the small building. With a few sharp whistles, several archers felt a piercing pain surge through their bodies and tumbled to the ground one after another. Stepping out from the doorway, Ye Li glanced at the bundle of cloth on the ground—riddled with stray arrows until it resembled a porcupine—along with the corpses scattered everywhere, her gaze turning slightly dark. "Let's hurry. If we stay any longer, Zhuo Jing won't be able to hold out." By now, the entire encampment was in utter chaos, with flames rising in several places. It seemed Zhuo Jing had set quite a few fires, and not just in ordinary locations either. Not far away, a few strange bird calls rang out, and Ye Li led Han Mingxi and the Sick Scholar, marching unhesitatingly toward that direction.

Passing by a spring, the Sick Scholar sneered, pulled an item from his tunic, and tossed it into the water. Han Mingxi watched this out of the corner of his eye, his gaze flickering briefly before he kept pace with Ye Li without a word. By the time they arrived, An San was already surrounded by a tight ring of enemies, evidently struggling to hold his ground. Scanning the scene, Ye Li noticed that all the key figures of the encampment were present—no wonder they had assigned over a dozen men to guard that location. Remembering something she had taken from the underground palace, Ye Li realized that in Jiang Le's eyes, that object was clearly far more important than the lives of Han Mingxi and the Sick Scholar.

"Rescuing two and having to trade blows—this hardly seems worth it," Ye Li sighed helplessly. "Brother Han, capture that old man. Can you manage it?" Pointing toward Master Liang, who stood surrounded by heavy protection, Ye Li asked in a low voice. Han Mingxi frowned. "There are a bit too many people around him. And... that old man is much too fat." The Sick Scholar reached out and handed over two items. "Scatter this one into the air, and feed this other one directly into the mouth of the fellow surnamed Liang."

"Now that sounds manageable." Han Mingxi weighed the items in his hand and nodded.

With an expression of utter indifference, An San looked at the crowd clad in Southern Border attire who had him surrounded, ruthlessly swinging his weapon without a hint of mercy.

"Zhuo Jing, hold your breath!" Han Mingxi's voice suddenly rang out as a dark figure swept through the air and plunged into the crowd. An San held his breath instantly. The Southern Border was different from Xiling; very few people there understood the Central Plains language. Thus, the moment Han Mingxi hit the ground, a pile of men collapsed with heavy thuds. Seizing the opportunity, An San broke free from the encirclement and vaulted onto a nearby rooftop. Han Mingxi landed smoothly beside Master Liang and, ignoring the fat man's whimpering and groaning on the ground, pried his jaw open, shoved the medicine straight down his throat, and patted his face with a beaming smile. "Old man, you're finished."

Jiang Le was one of the few Southern Border tribesmen who had not collapsed, and his expression turned utterly unsightly as he surveyed the men fallen all over the ground. Glancing at Master Liang, who was pitifully pleading with him for help, he looked at him as if he were an enemy and a plague. "Accursed Central Plains people! What did you do?!" Han Mingxi was in exceptionally high spirits today, the frustration of the entire day instantly dissipating by more than half. He hoisted Master Liang up and tossed him toward the Sick Scholar's direction, laughing as he said, "Chief Luoyi, how do you have the face to ask what we did? Shouldn't you stop and reflect on what you have done?" Jiang Le snorted disdainfully. "Did you really think a paltry poison could stump the people of our Luoyi Tribe?"

Han Mingxi spread his hands with an indifferent shrug and smiled. "The poison isn't mine, so what does it have to do with me? Go on, why don't you get your men to stand up?"

The Sick Scholar dragged the plump Master Liang forward. By now, Master Liang's complexion had turned as dark as ink, and he looked to be at his last gasp, bearing every sign of having suffered a virulent poison. Jiang Le was inwardly horrified; while he excelled at utilizing poisons and driving serpents, he couldn't immediately identify what Master Liang had been poisoned with. Yet this Central Plains merchant whom he detested so much absolutely could not be allowed to die right now. "What do you want?"

The Sick Scholar said flatly, "Let us go, and don't send anyone after us. Otherwise... I'll kill him."

Jiang Le pondered for a moment before nodding. "Very well. But... return what you took from the underground palace!" He pointed a trace of murderous intent toward Ye Li and An San. Ye Li blinked and smiled innocently. "It wasn't even anything good, is it really worth making a fuss? I'll return it to you—who knows what kind of crooked scribbles you wrote on the thing anyway?" Jiang Le stared at her suspiciously. "If you couldn't understand it, why did you take it?" Ye Li chuckled. "If it's something important, I'd advise you not to decorate it quite so lavishly next time; doesn't that practically invite people to take it? This young master's favorite hobby in life is collecting flashy little trinkets. Here, take your useless piece of junk back." With that, Ye Li produced an object and tossed it over. Jiang Le caught it: a dark wooden box whose lid was carved with several distorted markings that looked neither quite like words nor drawings. One could tell the box surface had originally been decorated with ornaments, but those were now reduced to a mess of uneven dents, having clearly been pried off by someone.

Jiang Le checked the mechanism lock on the box and saw no signs of it having been triggered, letting out a heavy sigh of relief. The expression on his face improved considerably as well. Watching Ye Li casually toss a glittering golden trinket around in her hand, she smiled and added, "Besides that, I picked up a few other items from the table. I trust Chief Jiang Le isn't so petty that he'd begrudge me a simple souvenir?"

Jiang Le let out a cold snort. "You may leave." He certainly knew what few items were missing from the underground palace, but none of them were of any real importance, and he couldn't be bothered to pursue the matter with them now. Dragging Master Liang along, the Sick Scholar issued a final warning: "Don't try any tricks, or I guarantee I'll leave him so dead not even his bones will be left."

Ye Li and An San had already prepared horses in advance. The moment they cleared the encampment, the four of them mounted up and galloped wildly toward the northwest. They didn't finally breathe a sigh of relief until dawn began to break and the main road came into view. Han Mingxi smiled, "Yesterday was truly eventful, all thanks to Junwei. Let's rest here for a bit. The next town is only a dozen or so li away; we can rest there for a day. If our journey goes smoothly, we should reach the capital of Nanzhao in seven or eight days at most."

The Sick Scholar vetoed the idea. "We'll bypass the town and head straight for the capital of Nanzhao."

"You might not be tired, but we certainly are," Han Mingxi complained discontentedly.

The Sick Scholar gave him a cold look. "Do you think we can just stroll into an inn and lodge while dragging him along? Besides, do you really think Jiang Le won't send people after us?"

Han Mingxi scoffed. "Who's 'we' with you? You've found the person you were looking for, so go ask him where the item is yourself. Let's part ways and each take our own path. Haven't we suffered enough yesterday because of you? Right, Junwei?" Ye Li toyed with the exquisite gemstone ornament in her hand and smiled faintly. "It's fine. But... if we separate, will the Third Master still give me my agreed-upon reward?"

A flicker crossed the Sick Scholar's eyes. "So traveling together is for the best, isn't it? Otherwise, Young Master Chu wouldn't feel at ease either."

Ye Li smiled. "We've already been through so much anyway, a little more won't hurt. If we gave up halfway, wouldn't that mean all the effort I put in yesterday went to waste?"

Seeing Ye Li say this, Han Mingxi had no choice but to nod helplessly. "I just hope this young master doesn't end up getting killed by you."

Ye Li smiled. "Actually, Brother Han could easily return to the Central Plains early; after all, Brother Han has no interest in what the Third Master is looking for, does he?" Han Mingxi tilted his head and flatly refused, "This young master thinks following Junwei is fun, so wherever Junwei goes, I go. Traveling together it is! Who has this young master ever been afraid of?"

The four decided to take a brief rest. The Sick Scholar, too impatient to wait even a moment, dragged Master Liang off to the side to conduct a harsh interrogation. Han Mingxi, harboring deep resentment toward Master Liang, tagged along to watch the spectacle. Ye Li expressed no interest; while An San was curious, he would never show it in front of outsiders, choosing instead to stay close to Ye Li to ensure her safety. Ye Li sat down beneath a large tree, glanced at Han Mingxi and the Sick Scholar in the distance, and then retrieved various odds and ends from her sleeve. Among them were two sheets of blank paper. Satisfied, Ye Li drew a sharpened charcoal pencil from her pack and began writing and sketching on the paper.

Standing guard nearby, An San glanced at the distorted, bizarre figures taking shape on the paper and asked curiously, "Didn't the Young Master say she didn't know these characters? Was the Young Master lying to them?"

Ye Li shook her head with a smile. "I don't know them very well, but someone else does. Still, memorizing things one doesn't recognize is a bit difficult; I ideally should have written it down yesterday, but I was worried about the risk of being discovered. Now... I shouldn't have remembered anything incorrectly." With that, Ye Li lowered her head and continued scribbling and tracing curves on the paper. She remarked to An San, "Actually, I don't quite know what this trinket is either, but I recognized that box. The emblem I pried off its lid seems to be the seal of the Southern Border's Holy Maiden, so this thing ought to be quite important." In truth, she had spotted several things far more interesting, but since those were items she could actually read, she had naturally memorized them with ease. Having glanced over them once, she had simply tossed them back to their original spots, meaning she didn't even need to bother writing those down now.

An San nodded, silently mourning in his heart for the Luoyi chieftain who foolishly believed his treasures remained intact. The chieftain would never know that while waiting for nightfall at the cave entrance in Snake Valley, the Young Master had already extracted those items, studied them for over an hour, and then carefully put them back. In his heart, An San held a deep, private admiration for his master's lock-picking prowess, secretly considering asking the Young Master to teach him a trick or two when the time was right.

After a good while, Ye Li finally filled the entire sheet of paper. Checking it twice against her memory with satisfaction, she handed it to An San and said, "Have someone send this back home as quickly as possible and find out what on earth this is."

An San nodded, hesitated for a moment as he looked at Ye Li, and stopped himself. Ye Li looked at him with amusement. "If you have something to say, just spit it out." An San glanced at the paper in his hand and lowered his voice. "We've been out for quite some time now. Since the Young Master is sending a message back home, shouldn't you also write a family letter so the household knows the Young Master is safe?"

A family letter? Ye Li froze for a moment. Ever since setting out, she had deliberately avoided sending any messages to Mo Xiuyao in order to keep her movements hidden, not even contacting the shadow guards stationed across various regions. Recalling the instructions Mo Xiuyao had given her, Ye Li couldn't help feeling a twinge of guilt. Glancing at the extra sheets of paper still remaining in her hands, she figured since there was spare paper left, she might as well pen a letter.