In fact, Xingxing and Zhu Lin never left the city. They were disguised and hiding in an inn. The disguise techniques of Xianwu Island were so realistic that the guards did not notice them.
Xingxing didn't want to do this, but if she didn't, her father and mother would definitely not agree to her going to Xiyan City, so she had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure.
Fu and his friends left the city a day earlier. They didn't know where Xingxing and her group were going, otherwise they would definitely have gone with them.
The Fu brothers were also accompanied by secret guards sent by the emperor, but Zhu Lin also arranged for other people to secretly escort them back to Nanyang Prefecture to ensure their safety.
Zhu Qiuyu was dressed as a hunched old man with wrinkles all over his face. He was leaning on a cane and walked with a swaying gait. He had no trace of his former elegance.
Of course, the others weren't much better off. Zhu Changge and Zhu Qingruo now looked like ordinary-looking middle-aged women, with somewhat sharp and mean faces, the kind that were hard to get along with.
Zhu Xichen, Zhu Chumo, and Zhu Yueran dressed up as burly men with full beards, looking like dockworkers or hunters from the mountains, in short, completely devoid of any ethereal charm.
After the guards left the city to chase after the people, Xingxing and Zhu Lin followed closely behind. Naturally, they also disguised themselves. Xingxing dressed up as a little old man with a white beard and white hair. Because of her small stature, she looked like a local deity.
Zhu Lin looked like a malnourished adult. He was twelve years old after the New Year. Although he was not short, he looked too thin when dressed as an adult, like a refugee who had been starving for a long time.
So much so that when Xingxing and Zhulin left the city and stopped at a teahouse to quench their thirst, they were loudly mocked by several hooligans sitting at the next table.
"Look at this old man, he's a dwarf, and the younger one next to him must be his son. Hahaha, father and son are both ugly, yet they still have the nerve to live in this world. It's laughable, hahaha." The man who laughed the loudest had a round face, a bulbous nose, and pockmarks on his face; all of this could be summed up in one word: 'ugly'.
So where did he get the courage and confidence to laugh at others, given his sallow complexion and the tattered hemp clothes he was wearing?
Xingxing glanced at the other person with the look of someone looking at an idiot, and then ignored them. This kind of moron is not worth the effort of reasoning with; it's best to just ignore him.
Zhu Lin kept his eyes straight ahead the whole time, as if he hadn't heard the people around him talking. He quietly finished half a bowl of tea and then calmly sat there with Xingxing, waiting for Zhu Qiuyu and the others.
Seeing that the dwarf old man and the bamboo-stick middle-aged man dared to ignore them, the group of five suddenly felt furious. They usually stole chickens and dogs in the nearby villages. Although the villagers secretly looked down on them and hated them, no one dared to show them any disrespect to their faces.
"These two idiots dare to look down on us! We need to teach them a lesson, Er Laizi, and show them what we're capable of." The round-faced man slammed his teacup down on the table with a bang, as if that would scare anyone.
Zhu Lin frowned almost imperceptibly, unwilling to let the round-faced man get close. So, as soon as the man stood up, he had five small round beads in his hand. No one saw when he made them. In short, as soon as the round-faced man stood up, he suddenly closed his eyes and fell straight down. At the same time, the other four people next to him also fainted.
"Oh dear, what's going on? There's nothing wrong with this tea, old man. A bowl of tea only costs two coins. I can't earn much in a day. I can't afford to lose a life..." The tea stall owner was a thin old man in his fifties. When he saw the five people suddenly fall to the ground, he was so frightened that he cried out loudly.
"Don't worry, sir. These people are too noisy. I'm just asking them to be quiet for a while. They'll wake up in an hour," Zhu Lin said in a low voice.
The tea stall owner was stunned. Only then did he realize that it was this unassuming man in front of him who had done it. The old man was worried, so he reached out and checked the breathing of the men. He was relieved to find that they were still breathing and had not died.
However, the teahouse owner soon became worried again. This man was skilled in martial arts, and if he wanted to do something to the old man, he would be powerless to resist. He thought he wouldn't be so unlucky as to be extorted today.
Zhu Lin didn't care what the tea stall owner thought; he slightly turned his head to look at the road ahead.
Before long, Zhu Qiuyu and the others caught up. With a look, they signaled that the guards had been left behind and they could continue their journey without worry.
Zhu Qiuyu and the others didn't stop drinking tea. Zhu Lin and Xingxing quickly got up and left with them. The group moved very fast and disappeared in a few breaths. The teahouse owner, who was trembling with fright, rubbed his eyes hard, hardly believing what he had seen.
That group of people, who were of unusual appearance and of varying heights, actually possessed such high martial arts skills. Their lightness skills were simply divine. It would be unbelievable if one did not see it with their own eyes. They were truly capable of such things. Indeed, one cannot judge a book by its cover.
"Let's get in the carriages. It won't be easy to get these two carriages out by dodging those guards. My third junior brother and I are exhausted." Zhu Qiuyu straightened his back, with a bulge on his back—a bundle stuffed inside his clothes.
Zhu Qiuyu and Zhu Yueran each drove a carriage, while Zhu Xichen took turns with Zhu Yueran, and they hurried towards the northwest.
That evening, the emperor received a secret report that the princess had been taken away by Zhu Lin and his group and her whereabouts were unknown. All one hundred secret guards had been shaken off and had not been found to this day.
"Useless! Do I really have no one of usable people?" Emperor Taikang was furious. Was his princess going to be missing for several more years before returning to the palace?
However, the emperor only dared to vent his anger in Kunning Palace and dared not let the empress know. If the empress knew that the princess was missing, she would definitely be so worried that she would faint and fall seriously ill.
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