Accidental entry

Zhiwei ran wildly through the darkness.

The scenery before my eyes changed in an instant, but it was all blurry, and the colors were indistinct.

She didn't know how long the horse had been galloping when the night gradually faded, and moonlight poured through the clouds, falling on Zhiwei's hands that were tightly gripping the reins.

"Sister..." Shao Zhao was the first to recover from her panic. She murmured softly, "Sister, will Brother Zhu be alright?"

Shao Zhao was young, but her height was not much different from Zhi Wei's. The girl had just recovered her senses and hugged Zhi Wei tightly in front of her, as if she had found a piece of driftwood in the deep sea.

Feeling the warmth behind her, Zhiwei finally came to her senses.

Even though they were already some distance apart, Zhiwei still had a lingering fishy smell in her nostrils. Clear liquid welled up in her eyes, and she let the salty, bitter liquid run across her face as she tried to rein in her horse with trembling hands.

The bumpy ride gradually stopped, and Zhiwei dismounted, almost stumbling.

"Sister!" Shao Zhao hurriedly helped Zhiwei up.

Zhiwei didn't like riding horses to begin with, and now she was even more panicked and dizzy. She barely managed to support herself and held Shao Zhao's hand back: "I hope Brother will be alright."

She forbade him from causing any more trouble.

Zhiwei forced a smile despite her pale face: "We had anticipated this situation. Your brother Zhu said that if we encountered difficulties, he would first arrange for people to be separated, and we would ride these horses out of the city first, and then meet up at the nearest post station."

Shao Zhao followed Zhi Wei's fingertips and looked in front of her. There was a shop in front of her, which must be the post station she had mentioned.

Shao Zhao looked away, took the reins from Zhiwei, and nodded.

The two then stayed at the post station.

They had originally planned to stay overnight, but by the evening of the next day, the sun had already disappeared, and Zhu Mingyu still hadn't appeared.

The two stayed another night, and the same thing happened on the third day.

There was no improvement on the fourth and fifth days.

Zhiwei didn't say anything on the surface, but she kept knocking over her teacup for several days in a row. Shaozhao was even more distressed, and every few days she would open the window of her guest room and look out into the distance.

By the seventh day, their purses were already quite empty, and the person they were waiting for was still nowhere to be found. The two of them finally couldn't sit still any longer.

"Brother Zhu, could something really have happened to you? Should we turn back? We need to find out what's going on!" Shao Zhao couldn't hold back any longer. She was a woman of great loyalty, and the matter of Zhu Mingyu was ultimately her fault. Now that Zhu Mingyu was nowhere to be found, she couldn't eat.

Zhiwei ignored Shaozhao and silently ate her dry sesame seed cake.

"Sister!" Shao Zhao said urgently, "Brother Zhu was in danger because of me. Even if he is dead, I should go back and collect his body."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Zhiwei stuffed the half-eaten sesame seed cake into Shao Zhao's mouth.

"Shao Zhao, your brother risked his life for you, not so that you would die. Use your brain." Zhiwei patted the crumbs off her hands.

She believed that Zhu Mingyu would be alright, after all, Zhu Mingyu had said that he would definitely come to find her—even if it meant crossing mountains and the Shu Road.

Zhiwei thought that perhaps Zhu Mingyu had encountered a troublesome pursuit, or perhaps this person had simply chosen the wrong post station. After all, this post station was located next to a deep forest, and it would be easy to overlook it if one were passing by late at night.

Zhiwei lowered her eyes. Her immediate concern was that her travel expenses were running out. The cost of lodging was not cheap, and if she wanted to make a living, she would have to find another job.

But there were no guards at this post station. Right now, they either had to hurry through the forest to find a village or town, or they had to prepare to endure hunger and the fear of being hunted down.

Zhiwei's choice was to enter the forest.

She had asked the shopkeeper for directions beforehand, and if all went well, even if they got lost, the two of them would be able to get out of that dense forest within three days.

Zhiwei had prepared food in advance and entered the forest just as dawn broke.

The forest was larger than the two had imagined, with dense, towering trees that blocked out the sunlight.

The two men and one horse followed the map drawn from the waiter's memory, groping their way out. When they were hungry, they would take out a piece of dry food from their pockets, and when they were thirsty, they would drink from the mountain spring.

One day, two days... Zhiwei and Shaozhao walked tens of thousands of steps a day, indeed going deeper and deeper into the jungle, but also becoming more and more disoriented.

As Zhiwei pushed aside the dense branches and stepped on the pebbles marking the path for the third time, she finally admitted that the two of them were indeed lost.

"This isn't right..." Zhiwei almost poked the map the waiter had drawn to pieces. "We were supposed to follow the river, so how did we end up back where we started..."

Zhiwei was losing patience. It had been three days since they entered the forest, and they hadn't left by the latest time the innkeeper had told them, instead consuming a lot of dry rations.

If they continued to hesitate like this, the two of them would only be left to fend for themselves in the forest.

The thought of encountering giant pythons and wild beasts sent chills down Zhiwei's spine, and she shivered several times.

If there were someone to discuss things with, that would be fine, but Shao Zhao is clearly not someone you can count on.

The girl scattered as soon as she entered the woods, looking left and right everywhere. She didn't remember many paths, but she did break off quite a few pretty branches and even made a bracelet for Zhiwei.

Looking at the exquisitely crafted bracelet, Zhiwei felt embarrassed to criticize Shaozhao. Besides, she had been the one who assured them that they would leave the forest. If she were to throw a tantrum and blame Shaozhao for not doing his job, wouldn't that be a slap in her own face?

No. Try again! Try again.

Zhiwei gritted her teeth and wiped away non-existent tears.

There is still a path to take.

Zhiwei craned her neck, and ahead lay a denser green forest than before, from which the river flowed, originating from a rather steep mountain ridge.

Zhiwei turned around and touched her personal bundle again. There was only half a sesame seed cake left inside, which was her and Shao Zhao's last food ration.

Zhiwei was unsure if the more treacherous path ahead would lead to a solution, so she decided to climb up first, while Shaozhao stayed put to save some energy.

Zhiwei divided the half of the sesame seed cake in two, keeping the smaller piece and stuffing it into her bosom.

"I'll go scout ahead first, you wait here for me." Zhiwei patted Shao Zhao's head.

Clumps of wild fungi sprout from the moss-covered tree roots, the sound of water is right beside you, and the already damp air is covered with the smell of mud and dust.

Several thick tree trunks blocked her view, so Zhiwei bent down and broke off the branches that were blocking her way.

Suddenly, a whooshing sound came from the forest, and something, accompanied by the wind, flew swiftly towards Zhiwei.

However, with a snap of the fingers, the arrow struck the old tree.

Zhiwei dodged in time—if one ignored the fact that her hair bun had been pierced by the arrow.

Cold sweat dripped down Zhiwei's fair neck and was absorbed by the soil. Zhiwei tried to move her body, but she couldn't move at all.

A figure flashed through the bushes, but Zhiwei couldn't see it clearly. She thought to herself, "This is really dangerous."

Mountain bandits, could it be mountain bandits again?

Before the ventriloquism could be finished, the figure darted out from the bushes.

"Who's blind fool who ruined my plans? Don't they know this is a military stronghold? Don't they even care about their lives?" A rough-looking man in armor rode out on horseback, holding a bow and arrow in his hand.

"Do you know that missing a military exercise is a capital offense?"

"Or are you a spy sent by the enemy to gather intelligence from us?" The man's gaze was cold and somewhat savage. He drew another arrow from behind his back and nocked it on his bow.

With just a pull and a release, he could take her life in an instant. Zhiwei was so frightened she stumbled forward, stammering, "Sir, it's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!"

Zhiwei suddenly kowtowed on the ground: "I was lost and accidentally wandered here. I didn't mean to delay you. Please spare my life."

Fearing the person in front of her wouldn't believe her, Zhiwei pointed behind her: "I came from the foot of that mountain over there, right there!"

The man narrowed his eyes, ignoring Zhiwei's explanation, and drew his bow, adhering to the principle of "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free."

"Sir!" Zhiwei stared at the sharp arrow and leaned back in fright.

In that split second, the mountains and forests trembled, and the sound of horses' hooves echoed.

"Whoa—" Jiang Qin pulled on the reins and burst out from behind.

“General Mingjing, please stop.” Zhiwei met the gaze of her savior. “This young lady is not a spy.” Jiang Qin looked back at Zhiwei and said.

Zhiwei was finally saved, although she fell into another problem.

Ignoring the wound on her head, she lay face down on the ground, tears streaming down her face, mechanically repeating her thanks.

Zhu Liji's horse followed behind Jiang Tan. Seeing the woman crying so pitifully, he couldn't help but frown: "It's you again."

"Young Marshal, do you know her?" Li Mingjing asked curiously, putting away his bow.

Zhu Liji did not reply immediately, but Jiang Tan interrupted, "We met once in Lingnan."

"This lady is quite famous locally. I've heard that her cooking is delicious, and she's also very clever. She even solved a case for the young marshal in Lingnan." Jiang Qin's evaluation of Zhiwei was concise yet affirmative, summarizing the past connections of the group in just a few words.

Normally, knowing Wei's personality, one would expect her to be secretly pleased and suppress a laugh upon hearing such praise, but not at this moment, she kept her head down.

Zhiwei understood her situation by reading between the lines of those people's words.

Originally, a rebellion broke out in the area bordering Shu Commandery, and the imperial court dispatched troops to suppress it. The commander was Zhu Liji, who planned to observe the situation in the forests on the border of Shu Commandery first, but unfortunately he was spotted by Zhiwei, who had fled.

Although Zhiwei kept her head down and appeared obedient, she was inwardly wondering about something.

She had initially thought this man surnamed Zhu was just a second-generation official, never expecting him to be able to lead troops into battle. Zhiwei's gaze shifted upwards; Zhu Liji sat astride his horse, his posture upright, his expression as indifferent as a dead man.

Zhiwei stole several more glances at him, remarking that this man didn't seem like a general. Although he was tall, he wasn't strong, and she estimated that his muscle mass was even less than hers.

Tsk, with those skinny arms and legs of his, I wonder how many red spears he could handle.

However, Zhiwei only dared to say these words in her heart. She remembered that before she left last time, Zhu Mingyu asked her to be his cook. At that time, she was disdainful and gave him a cold shoulder.

Now the tables have turned. She was in the wrong first, and Zhu Liji was the leader of this group, so she dared not offend him.

Zhiwei had no choice but to express her gratitude again, mentioning that she had entered the mountains and disturbed the noble person because she had nowhere else to go. She then fabricated some difficult stories to show that she was just a woman whose life was like a floating duckweed, hoping to gain some sympathy.

Although it was somewhat of a pipe dream, Zhiwei deliberately made the story as tragic as possible, hoping that people would take pity on her and help her out of her predicament—by giving her some food and pointing out the way out of the forest.

The result was that there was sympathy, but not much. Jiang Qin initially showed pity when he heard about Zhiwei's situation, but his expression turned troubled after hearing Zhiwei's plea, and the scene became extremely awkward.

It was Li Mingjing who broke the deadlock. After listening to the conversation between the two, he seemed to have changed his opinion of Zhiwei, and his expression softened.

Li Mingjing tugged at the reins, intending to turn the car around, but then suddenly stopped, as if remembering something.

"Hey, young marshal," Li Mingjing's eyes lit up, "We're in a hurry this time. Aren't we short a few cooks in our Shenjing Army? This girl said she has nowhere to go, and we're afraid she'll reveal our whereabouts if she leaves this forest. Why not just recruit her into the army? We'll get a cook, and she'll get protection. It's a win-win situation!"

Upon hearing this, Zhiwei couldn't help but look up, barely suppressing her joy, and peered in the direction of Zhu Liji.

Zhu Liji lowered his eyes, and his gaze met Zhiwei's.

After a moment, he raised his shoulders and arms: "Sure."

As if seeing through the joy in Zhiwei's eyes, Zhu Liji tilted his head and smiled meaningfully: "However, I have a condition."