Su Wan looked at the ground floor and felt a little dizzy.

Just a moment ago I was lying comfortably in bed, and now suddenly I have to jump off the second floor to escape.

And she had never jumped to such a height before.

The searching soldiers had already gone up to the second floor, making a racket, and their torches illuminated the entire second-floor corridor. If she went out the door, the soldiers would immediately notice her, which would be like walking right into their trap.

I have no choice but to jump; I have to be brave.

She gripped the window frame tightly with both hands, took a few deep breaths, and peered down.

This is behind the inn, where the ground is normally soft soil. November weather is very cold, and the ground is frozen solid. She estimated that if she jumped down, she would at least twist her ankle. If she landed incorrectly, she might even hit her head.

She felt her legs go weak, and she figured if she hesitated any longer, all the courage she had just mustered would vanish.

She hardened her heart, closed her eyes, and lunged forward.

Unexpectedly, he still didn't leave the windowsill.

She opened her eyes in bewilderment and found that her hands were gripping the window tightly, refusing to let go.

Perhaps hands have brains too, and they felt that jumping down like that was too dangerous, which is why they clung tightly to the window and wouldn't let go.

To put it bluntly, they just didn't dare to jump.

She climbed down from the windowsill into the room, ran quickly to the door, and opened it a crack to peek out. The noise outside immediately rushed in through the crack.

"Sir, you can't arrest my wife!" a young man cried out, clinging to a soldier's leg at the doorway of the room diagonally opposite. "She hasn't committed any crime; she's a law-abiding citizen."

Another soldier, holding a howling long-haired woman, said to the young man, "The magistrate said that any woman who looks like Da Lan should be arrested and brought to the yamen for identification. If she doesn't look like her, she will be released. If you keep bothering us, don't blame us for being impolite."

Su Wan wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and looked in the other direction.

At the other end of the room, several soldiers stood in the doorway, questioning her captain of the guard.

"Are you traveling merchants? Would traveling merchants be so poor that five people would squeeze into one room... Oh, the inn is full... Are there any women in the room?"

Two soldiers came out of the room and said to the soldier questioning the captain of the guard, "Nothing was found."

The captain of the guards laughed and said, "Sir, you must be joking. We are all bachelors, how could there be any women in the room?"

The soldier who questioned him laughed and said, "Go back to your room and don't come out."

The captain of the guards looked past the soldier and toward Su Wan, then smiled at the soldier and said, "Sir, we're not the people you're looking for. Is it alright for us to wander around the inn?"

The soldier said, "We are conducting a search. Do not go anywhere; stay in your rooms."

The captain of the guards looked at the dozens of soldiers filling the hall. To prevent the searching soldiers from discovering their weapons, he and his guards had already thrown them out the windows.

He had no choice but to return to his room.

As the soldiers searched room by room and were about to reach her room, Su Wan quickly closed and locked the door.

The only way out was through the window, but she dared not jump.

If she were captured, who knows what fate awaited her? These Northwest Army soldiers were clearly subordinates of that mysterious general; revealing her true identity wouldn't guarantee their release. It might even turn her into a hostage, used to blackmail Wei Jingzhuo.

That won't do; we have to jump out of the window and escape.

She mustered her courage and climbed onto the windowsill again, thinking that if she was lucky, she might jump down unharmed.

Just as I was taking my breath, the window next door suddenly opened.

Su Wan was startled and peeked into the window next door. She saw a young man, about twenty years old, flipping over and leaping out of the window, his hands gripping the window frame, his toes resting on the protrusion below. His whole body clung to the outside of the window like a gecko.

The man was only wearing a white sheet around his waist.

Su Wan felt embarrassed to look any longer and quickly pulled her gaze back.

I never imagined I'd actually meet a man who could stick to the wall like a gecko.

The sound of a door opening came from next door, and a woman shouted, "You people are blind! How dare you barge into my room!"

The soldiers said, "This one also has long hair. Let's take him to the county office and have Magistrate Ge identify him."

The woman said, "I won't go! If anyone dares to touch me, I'll fight them to the death!"

The soldiers were probably stunned by the woman's ferocity, and they all fell silent.

After a while, a man rushed into the room and said, "Don't arrest her, get out of here quickly."

The noisy footsteps faded away as the man said, "Third Madam, please put down the scissors. I've already sent the soldiers out... Don't worry, they didn't recognize you. You should hurry back to the yamen; the master..."

The woman said, "You get out of here too. I don't like being in the yamen. What's wrong with me staying at an inn for the night?"

Su Wan was listening intently when her door was pushed, but it wouldn't open because it was latched. Then there was a loud banging. A man shouted gruffly from outside, "Open the door immediately! I'm here on the orders of the county magistrate to search for a fugitive!"

Su Wan was startled and, without further hesitation, quickly climbed out the window.

With the man demonstrating, she followed suit, gripping the window frame with both hands and stepping on the protruding edge of the window with the toes of both feet.

The man was feeling uneasy when he saw another woman emerge from next door. He was so surprised that he opened his mouth wide and stared at Su Wan.

Su Wan had nowhere to go, so she could only look at him and shake her head repeatedly to signal him not to shout. Later, she thought about it and realized there was no need to remind him; he certainly wouldn't dare to shout anyway.

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