eighteen
Three days later, as night fell and the guards at the Chai Prince's Mansion were changing shifts, a white figure swept over the wall and disappeared outside the mansion.
"Who goes there?" The guards, who hadn't yet finished their shift change, were slightly startled. Seeing that the person came from the inner courtyard, they realized the inner courtyard was no longer what it used to be. The mistress and heir of the manor now lived there; any mishap could cost them all their lives. Without hesitation, the guards, except for one who went to inform the clerk, Ghost Judge, all chased after the white-clad man in the direction he had disappeared.
At this moment, the Ghost Judge was still reading the news from Chai Wenyi in the capital and had not yet rested. After hearing the guard's report, he couldn't help but look anxious, and his tone was not as composed as usual: "You have fallen into the enemy's trap!" After saying that, he took the lead and walked towards the inner courtyard, instructing the guards following behind him, "Quickly go and call everyone to the Princess's residence in the inner courtyard."
When the Ghost Judge arrived at the courtyard of Ziyun and her son, he saw the mansion's guards locked in combat with a man in white. The man in white, facing an attack from three or four guards, showed no signs of defeat; on the contrary, as the fight dragged on, he steadily gained the upper hand. The Ghost Judge grew increasingly alarmed. He knew the guards' strength better than anyone else, and he frowned. It was a serious oversight that he hadn't known such a person had come to Fangzhou. Looking at the guards who were gradually losing ground, the Ghost Judge waved his hand and, to the hastily arriving guards, said in a deep voice, "Kill them without mercy."
Upon receiving the order, the guards swarmed forward and quickly joined the battle. Seeing the sudden influx of people, the white-robed man's previously balanced offensive and defensive techniques transformed into a chaotic, unpredictable flurry of blows. Yet, this seemingly casual approach prevented his many pursuers from getting close. The guards, seeing that so many of them couldn't subdue one person, began to panic, and their formation began to falter. The white-robed man seized this opening, and in a few swift movements, several had already fallen to his sword. The Ghost Judge, noticing that the guards who were supposed to be on duty that day were not present, understood that they had been recently redeployed by the white-robed man. Now that he was here, the guards were likely already dead. Considering the safety of Ziyun and her child, he didn't hesitate any longer. He ordered his men to hold off the white-robed man while simultaneously sending for reinforcements. He couldn't allow the white-robed man to reveal the existence of Ziyun and her child.
Inside the room, Ziyun held Jin'er tightly in her arms, waiting for nearly an hour. The fighting outside hadn't stopped, and she secretly rejoiced that she had stayed with Jin'er that evening because he was crying, instead of returning to her own room. Turning back to hand Jin'er to the wet nurse, Ziyun curiously opened the window, wanting to see who could render the many guards in the palace helpless. However, when she saw the familiar white figure before her, Ziyun froze, unconsciously murmuring, "Brother Yutang..."
Bai Yutang, who had been charging around aimlessly, paused upon hearing the barely audible call. He turned to look at the familiar, all-too-familiar face peeking out from the window, his face filled with shock and disbelief. Taking advantage of Bai Yutang's momentary distraction, the palace guards thrust their swords straight at him. Before Ziyun could utter a warning, "Be careful!", Bai Yutang felt the sword's energy behind him, spun around, and barely dodged the fatal blow. However, Bai Yutang had lost all will to fight. Seizing the opportunity, he broke through the encirclement, glanced back at Ziyun still standing by the window, and leaped onto the wall. In a few bounds, he vanished without a trace.
Fearing that Bai Yutang would use the same tactic of luring the tiger away from the mountain again, the Ghost Judge immediately ordered some of the guards to stay and protect Ziyun and her child, while the rest pursued Bai Yutang.
Having shaken off his pursuers, Bai Yutang followed the marks left by Zhan Zhao along the way, but the image of Ziyun smiling and calling him "Brother Yutang" lingered in his mind. Knowing he had important matters to attend to, Bai Yutang resolved to revisit the Chai Prince's residence once this was over.
Meanwhile, Zhan Zhao, dressed in white, led the guards of the Prince's mansion, who were changing shifts, to the Nine Palaces Formation that had been set up outside Fangzhou City. He then removed his white robes, which were particularly conspicuous in the darkness, and returned to the outside of the Chai Prince's mansion to remain hidden. Half an hour later, the previously tightly closed gates of the Chai Prince's mansion opened a crack, and a person dressed as a guard hurried out. Zhan Zhao smiled slightly and followed the person at a distance. Presumably not expecting to be followed, the guard made no attempt to conceal his presence, heading straight towards the mountains outside Fangzhou City. Along the way, Zhan Zhao carefully concealed his tracks while constantly leaving marks for Bai Yutang.
From afar, Zhan Zhao saw the guard arrive at the gate of a mountain stronghold. He stepped forward and handed his waist token to the guard at the gate. After inspection, he was allowed to enter. Zhan Zhao stopped, leaped onto a large tree beside him, and after concealing himself, carefully surveyed the surroundings of the stronghold. He nodded repeatedly as he looked around. The stronghold was located halfway up the mountain, surrounded by mountains on three sides, with a ravine between two mountains in front. The only passage between the stronghold and the outside world was a man-made plank road. Above the gate was a watchtower built against the mountain, or rather a guard tower, because three archers were stationed there. If an outsider wanted to enter the stronghold, unless they had permission, they would be shot through the moment they stepped onto the plank road. Dodging arrows on this plank road was already extremely difficult, and even if one was lucky enough to dodge the arrows, a slight misstep would result in falling into the ravine, making it impossible to enter the stronghold. As he pondered, he sensed someone behind him. Zhan Zhao smiled slightly, without turning around, and said, "Little guinea pig, you're quick." He didn't hear the expected smug laugh. Zhan Zhao turned and glanced at the preoccupied Bai Yutang, asking with concern, "What's wrong?"
Bai Yutang shook his head slightly: "Has Chai Wenyi ever married?"
Not understanding why Bai Yutang suddenly asked this question, Zhan Zhao truthfully replied, "No."
"Have you taken a concubine?" Bai Yutang asked, still unwilling to give up after hearing Zhan Zhao's words.
"No." Without any hesitation, although Chai Wenyi appeared to frequent brothels, Zhan Zhao knew that Chai Wenyi never had a woman with whom he had a formal relationship, and he had never had much contact with other women besides prostitutes. This was something Zhan Zhao had never been able to understand until he learned that Chai Wenyi harbored rebellious intentions. Only then did Zhan Zhao understand the key to the matter.
Seeing Zhan Zhao's confident answer, Bai Yutang knew it was true. He couldn't help but recall Ziyun's clearly married appearance and the desperate defense of the guards at Prince Chai's mansion, and a wave of unease washed over him. As he pondered this, the distant gate of the stockade opened wide, and a small squad of soldiers emerged. Though few in number, their steady gait and silent, synchronized movements made Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchange a glance. Both understood the squad's formidable fighting strength, so they held their breath, concealing themselves to avoid revealing their presence.
After the squad of soldiers left, Zhan Zhao glanced at Bai Yutang, his eyes seeking his opinion. Bai Yutang, somewhat distracted, didn't have time to think further and simply asked, "What are your plans?"
Zhan Zhao knew that Bai Yutang had something on his mind, and he hadn't expected him to have any ideas. He said, "I've observed the situation around the stronghold. It's surrounded by mountains on three sides, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. I'd like to go in and take a look at the defenses to prepare for the future."
After listening to Zhan Zhao's words, Bai Yutang carefully observed the situation around the village: "We want to enter from the front, but that may not be easy. Why don't we try to go around to the back and see if we can get in?"
Zhan Zhao had originally intended to do the same, and after hearing Bai Yutang's words, he nodded. The two of them jumped down from the tree and sped down the mountain under the moonlight.
The two stopped at a fork in the road some distance from the foot of the mountain and turned to walk towards the back of the mountain. After about half an hour, they arrived at the foot of a precipice on the back of the mountain. Looking at the steep cliff, they exchanged a glance. Before Zhan Zhao could speak, Bai Yutang had already taken the lead and started climbing. Zhan Zhao knew Bai Yutang's competitive nature was acting up again, and reluctantly followed. Although their lightness skills were not weak, this cliff was sheer, with few footholds. They relied entirely on their swords for support. By the time they reached the summit, they were both panting. Seeing that dawn was breaking in the east, they didn't say much, but sat cross-legged on the summit to regulate their internal energy. After circulating their internal energy for one cycle, they gently exhaled, looked at each other, and Bai Yutang said, "Cat, how about it? Let's see who gets down first?"
Seeing that Bai Yutang had returned to his original state, Zhan Zhao didn't want to spoil his mood, so he nodded and said, "Alright, let's have a competition, but what about the loser?"
"Let's host a banquet for everyone from Kaifeng Prefecture at Huixianlou," Bai Yutang said after a moment's thought.
"It's a deal." After saying that, Zhan Zhao rushed down the mountain before Bai Yutang could react.
From behind came Bai Yutang's furious shout: "Zhan Xiaomao...you cheated!"
Hearing Bai Yutang's familiar shouts, Zhan Zhao finally felt relieved. Although he knew Bai Yutang had something on his mind, Zhan Zhao also knew that given his personality, if he didn't want him to know, he would have told him long ago. So Zhan Zhao hadn't asked, but he was secretly worried. His deliberate trickery earlier was to provoke Bai Yutang, and now that he saw Bai Yutang had let go of his displeasure, he felt at ease. However, Zhan Zhao's pace didn't slow down; on the contrary, it quickened. Bai Yutang watched as Zhan Zhao, who was only a step away from him, suddenly pulled away every time he was about to overtake him, and he felt a burning resentment. This unwillingness spurred him to keep walking faster until they reached the cliff above the stronghold, where Bai Yutang still hadn't overtaken Zhan Zhao.
"Little mouse, you lost." A rare childlike expression appeared on Zhan Zhao's face.
Bai Yutang glared at Zhan Zhao and said through gritted teeth, "You cheated."
After listening to Bai Yutang's accusations, Zhan Zhao rolled his eyes: "You didn't say cheating was forbidden, you only said it was a race to see who arrived first. I arrived first, so you lost. Don't forget to invite everyone from Kaifeng Prefecture to Huixianlou." He then flashed his signature gentle smile.
Although Bai Yutang was usually extremely unreasonable, he knew that there was no point in saying anything when facing the unreasonable Zhan Zhao, so he reluctantly said, "Fine, you win."
Zhan Zhao hadn't expected Bai Yutang to admit defeat so quickly. His prepared words were now useless, and he stared blankly at Bai Yutang. Unexpectedly, Bai Yutang flashed a wide smile: "Oh, it's just Fifth Master treating us to a meal, is it really that big of a deal? You're so touched."
Realizing he'd been tricked by Bai Yutang, Zhan Zhao wasn't angry. He smiled slightly and pointed down: "Do you have any good ideas on how to get in?"
Bai Yutang glanced at the height of the cliff. With their martial arts skills, descending should be effortless, but from their position, they couldn't see inside the stronghold. Since this was Chai Wenyi's hidden army, they were naturally afraid of being discovered, so the stronghold's defenses must be very tight. If the two of them went down rashly, they would be in grave danger. Although the two of them weren't afraid, Bai Yutang understood the importance of this matter and couldn't afford any mistakes. So, after a moment's thought, he said, "Descending isn't difficult, but from our position, we can't see inside the stronghold. Acting rashly will only alert them. Why don't we rest for a bit and see if we can sneak in after dark?"
Zhan Zhao had already thought of what Bai Yutang said, so he nodded and said, "Alright, the two of us haven't eaten for a day and a night, and it's not convenient to find food on this cliff. Let's take this time to recuperate and think of something tonight."
The two found a spot to sit cross-legged and conserve their energy, but their ears were never idle. They listened intently to the sounds coming from the village, trying to understand the defenses below the cliff and prepare to sneak into the village that night.
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