Just past You Shi, every household in Changping County was closed, and the people who used to watch operas were nowhere to be seen, fearing that they would be implicated in trouble.

Lu Shi walked ahead, as familiar with the route as she had been at Jing Cang.

Chen Ji looked at Auntie Ping, whom he had only met for a day, and a strange feeling came over him: in the past, when he was with others, he was always the one who worried about everything and was meticulous about everything. Except for Zhang Xia, no one else could share the burden with him.

But following this Auntie Ping, it felt as if he didn’t need to use his brain; he could just follow her.

In a trance, he felt like he was back on the first day he arrived in this world. That scrawny old man, with his hands behind his back, led him back to Taiping Medical Hall like a stray cat without a home.

Lu Shi said without looking back, “Walk faster.”

Chen Ji snapped back to reality, “Okay.”

The two of them turned left and right, arriving at Dao Yi Alley. Chen Ji looked up at the “Lin Zhai” plaque and was astonished, “You even told the Mi Die Si your real address? I thought you were just saying any random place.”

Lu Shi pulled out a dagger and used it to pick open the inner bolt from the door crack, “Why not? When the Mi Die Si finds Liao Zhong’s tracks, they will naturally report it to us, wouldn’t that be simpler?”

Chen Ji was stunned. That made sense, but were you really treating yourself as a Hai Dong Qing?

Audacious.

At this moment, Lu Shi pushed open the door and walked in by herself, “Come in.”

After Chen Ji entered, he bolted the door and looked around the courtyard.

The courtyard was simple and tidy, with no flowers or plants. Cured meat hung in the kitchen, and the water vat in the northeast corner was full of clear water.

Neatly stacked firewood lay under the eaves along the east wall, and several jars of wine were piled in the wing room.

The patches on the window paper overlapped like fish scales, some clearly mended just before last winter.

A couplet was posted on the main house. The upper line read, “May the麒麟-like son be well,” the lower line read, “Always pray for the驥-like son to be healthy,” and the horizontal scroll read, “May fortune and longevity be endless.”

The handwriting was graceful yet sharp, seemingly written by Auntie Ping herself.

Chen Ji lowered his head and saw a circle on the clean, fresh blue brick ground that was exceptionally smooth from wear. It looked as if someone had practiced their footsteps there for years, and the soles of their shoes had polished the blue bricks into a mirror. Faintly, the wear resembled a Bagua Yin-Yang fish diagram.

This was Auntie Ping’s usual residence?

Chen Ji wondered, “What if the Mi Die Si really finds this place? Your house will be unusable.”

Lu Shi walked directly into the kitchen, skillfully starting a fire to cook, “It doesn’t matter, it’s time to leave anyway.”

Chen Ji asked curiously, “Where are you going?”

Lu Shi calmly said, “Since I came from Jinling, I’m naturally returning to Jinling.”

The firelight from the stove reflected in her eyes, and the crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes were clearly visible.

Chen Ji sat by the Eight Immortals table in the courtyard, quietly watching the firelight from the stove, as if looking at the oil lamp on the counter of Taiping Medical Hall.

From the spring hunt until now, he finally had a moment of leisure and respite, and his mind wandered unconsciously.

After an unknown period, Lu Shi brought two bowls of white rice, stewed with cured meat and poached eggs, into the courtyard.

Just as Chen Ji was about to reach out to take a bowl, Lu Shi instinctively frowned and scolded, “Wash your hands before eating!”

Chen Ji froze in place, and Lu Shi also froze.

After two breaths of silence, Chen Ji silently got up, scooped water from the vat to wash his hands, and splashed some on his face. Lu Shi then quietly placed the bowls and chopsticks on the stone table in the courtyard, went back to the main house to change into black clothes and a black veiled hat, and then came out.

The two sat opposite each other at the stone table. Lu Shi said casually, “Sorry, I have a son about your age. He always dislikes washing his hands after playing and wants to pick up chopsticks while dirty.”

Chen Ji smiled and picked up his bowl, “It’s fine. It’s been a long time since anyone reminded me to wash my hands before eating. Thank you, Auntie Ping… Is Auntie Ping’s son in Jinling?”

The black veil of the hat covered Lu Shi’s expression, “Yes, left in the countryside of Jinling to tend a few mu of paddy fields. It’s been many years since I left home, I can barely remember what he looks like.”

Chen Ji asked curiously, “Why have you been away from home for so long?”

Lu Shi held her bowl, eating with the bowl tucked inside the black veil of her hat, not revealing her face, “My enemies were pursuing me, so I left to avoid implicating him.”

She mused for a moment, then suddenly said nonchalantly, “If your mother couldn’t stay with you for long, would you blame her?”

Chen Ji’s chopsticks paused, “No. My mother is a very, very good person. I wouldn’t blame her. If she really left, it must have been for a very important reason.”

Mother.

His mother had left forever, but the memories remained.

After his mother passed away, while sorting through her belongings, he found her diary and read the scattered words she had written.

The diary initially contained entries like “I want to travel,” “I want to go to the beach,” “I really don’t want to work,” “The manager is an idiot,” “Chen Zhe is alright, hmph.”

Chen Zhe was Chen Ji’s father’s name.

Later, the diary entries read, “How can having a baby make you lose so much hair!”, “Must lose weight back to 105 jin after childbirth!”, “Chen Zhe, you really are terrible.”

And finally, the diary only contained, “Zai Zai can eat solid food today,” “Zai Zai can walk today,” “Zai Zai went to kindergarten today, I cried my eyes out!”, “Zai Zai grew taller,” “Chen Ji isn’t eating properly again and is sulking with me, I’m thinking of giving up on him, why is he already in his rebellious phase at seven?”, “Zai Zai is sick again, Chen Zhe isn’t here, Chen Zhe, you really are terrible.”

Children and mothers are like the most tragic relationship in this world.

Children spend their lives saying goodbye to their mothers, and mothers spend their lives telling their children to be careful.

The four words “Wash your hands before eating” just now almost pulled him back into childhood memories. Only when he reacted did he realize that the person in front of him was not his mother.

Chen Ji looked up at Lu Shi. The other person held her bowl and chopsticks, but had not moved for a long time. He said softly, “You actually wanted to ask if your son would blame you, right? But I’m not him, I can’t answer that for him… In my opinion, he probably really misses seeing you, dreams of it.”

Lu Shi lowered her head, looking at the food she held, as if counting every grain of rice in her bowl.

She put down her bowl and chopsticks, got up, and went to the wing room to retrieve a jar of wine, “Have you ever drunk alcohol?”

Chen Ji quickly finished the food in his bowl, “I have. I still owe someone eighty-two bowls of wine, but there’s important business now, so I can’t drink.”

Lu Shi said earnestly, “You are only about ten years old, still just a child, why carry so many burdens every day?”

Chen Ji didn’t want to talk too much about his parents with others, so he immediately put down the empty bowl and smiled, changing the subject, “Auntie Ping, a person without a mother is no longer a child. I’ll sleep for a bit; you keep watch for the first half of the night, and I’ll take over after the second watch.”

With that, he walked under the eaves, sat down against the stack of firewood by the wall, and slept in his clothes.

Lu Shi was stunned for a long time. She looked at Chen Ji’s tired expression, picked up the wine jar, poured herself a small bowl of wine, and sipped it slowly.

At the city gate of Changping County, the on-duty Hai Dong Qing whispered to his subordinate, “My wife is about to give birth, and I’ve been uneasy these past few days away. I’m going back to Jing Cheng for a trip and will return to my shift before sunset tomorrow. If any lord asks, please cover for me.”

The subordinates exchanged glances and quickly cupped their fists, “My lord, please go quickly.”

The Hai Dong Qing mounted his horse and galloped south. Changping was only a few dozen li from Jing Cheng, so a round trip in a day was sufficient.

But after he left his subordinates’ sight, he turned his horse westward, and it wasn’t until half an hour later that he saw a camp in the distance.

A bonfire was burning in the camp, and by the bonfire, Bai Long sat silently, deep in thought.

This head of the Twelve Zodiacs did not go to Guyuan, nor Datong, nor Dongying, but stayed ten li west of Changping County.

And this road was the only way from Changping County to Datong.

The Hai Dong Qing was stopped at the camp entrance. Someone held a knife to his neck, “Who goes there?”

The Hai Dong Qing pulled out his waist token and shouted, “Mi Die Si Bing Zi Ke Hai Dong Qing ‘Cheng Fang,’ I have urgent matters to report to Lord Bai Long concerning a wanted criminal. I must report in person!”

The sound startled Bao Hou in the tent. Hearing a clue about a wanted criminal, he immediately crawled out of the tent, and a woman’s voice asked from beneath the wooden monkey mask, “Speak quickly, where is the wanted criminal? Why are you alone, were your comrades killed?”

“There are no signs of a struggle on him,” Bai Long said with a smile, sitting by the bonfire, “Coming alone, he must be afraid of sharing the credit, so he secretly ran here. Cheng Fang, you are already a Hai Dong Qing. With such a great credit for finding a wanted criminal, what do you seek from me?”

Cheng Fang, having his thoughts exposed, instinctively lowered his head, “My lord, your subordinate heard that there is a vacancy for a Hai Dong Qing in Yangzhou and wishes to fill it.”

Bai Long was noncommittal, “Let’s talk about the important matter first.”

The Hai Dong Qing bowed and cupped his fists, “At dusk, a man and a woman entered Changping County from the west city gate. An unknown woman held a Hai Dong Qing牙牌 (ya pai – dental plaque), and the other person’s eyebrows and eyes were somewhat similar to Chen Ji on the wanted poster. Your subordinate did not alarm them and came specially to report.”

Bao Hou suddenly looked at Bai Long.

Bai Long said unhurriedly, “Are there any omissions?”

The Hai Dong Qing thought carefully, “That woman claimed to be sent by you to Changping County to apprehend a wanted criminal…”

The other Mi Die also stood up, their hands on their waist knives.

However, at this moment, Bai Long slowly said, “Indeed, I sent her.”

The Hai Dong Qing froze in place, “Ah?”

Bao Hou was also stunned, “My lord, you…”

Bai Long glanced at him, “What?”

Bao Hou shrank his neck, “Nothing.”

Under the mask, a woman’s voice whispered, “Weren’t we all with him today? When did he send a Hai Dong Qing to Changping?”

Another hoarse voice said, “Can’t you tell? That’s Chen Ji. Bai Long has no intention of catching him! That Chen Ji is clearly Bai Long’s person!”

A high-pitched voice said, “Bai Long is harboring a court criminal. We can go back to Jie Fan Lou and report him to the Neixiang. Perhaps we’ll become one of the top three.”

Bai Long seemed to hear the subtle arguing beneath the masks and turned to look.

Seeing Bai Long turn, Bao Hou quickly forced out a few low words from his throat, “Shut up, all of you!”

All sounds vanished, and there was complete silence.

Bao Hou scratched his earlobes, anxious and flustered, but dared not speak. Every voice under the mask was as quiet as a cicada in cold.

The Hai Dong Qing, who had come to claim credit, trembled like a sieve, already realizing something was wrong.

He looked at the hundred-plus Mi Die watching him menacingly by the bonfire. These were all Bai Long’s trusted direct subordinates. Even if they silenced him and buried him, not a single whisper would leak out.

Bai Long scrutinized him, “Cheng Fang? I remember your wife is about to give birth at home…”

Sweat dripped from Cheng Fang’s forehead, “My lord, spare my life!”

Bai Long smiled, “Go back and be with your wife. Don’t come to Changping County again. I approve your vacancy, but you know the consequences of speaking carelessly.”

Cheng Fang immediately knelt, “Thank you, my lord, thank you, my lord. Your subordinate will not utter a single word.”

Bai Long waved his hand, “You may all withdraw.”

After the Mi Die withdrew, only Bai Long and Bao Hou remained by the bonfire.

Bai Long pondered for a long time, then picked up a dry branch to stir the bonfire, “Immediately send someone to call Xuan She back and tell him that traces of a wanted criminal have appeared in Changping County.”

Bao Hou was taken aback. His usual voice tentatively asked, “My lord, why are you calling Xuan She back? We are loyal to you and are willing to do all the dirty and tiring work. How can you let that fellow Xuan She come back and snatch credit? He has already sided with Wu Xiu to get ahead by any means, how can you still let him gain benefits? We should be clearing out the ranks for Lord Neixiang!”

Bai Long said casually, “I have my own arrangements. Don’t worry about the credit this time; neither you nor Xuan She will get it, but you will get what you’ve always dreamed of.”

Bao Hou was puzzled, “What I’ve always dreamed of?”

Under the mask, various voices guessed in succession:

“Women?”

“Gold?”

“Jade?”

“The top three ranks?”

“A paper kite?”

“Bah, bah, bah, what do you want a paper kite for? If you want that, we’ll make one for you. You shut up first.”

Bai Long slowly said, “It’s Liao Zhong’s face. Liao Zhong is the last person you need for Hedao.”

Bao Hou froze again, Hedao?!

The next moment, he shamelessly threw himself to the ground, kowtowing repeatedly, “Thank you, my lord! Thank you, Lord Bai Long!”

A voice under the mask tried to stop him, “Hey, don’t kowtow to him!”

“Get up!”

“We’re all about to Hedao, what are we afraid of him for!”

Bai Long grew impatient. He turned and walked out of the camp, “Bring my horse. We’re going to Changping County.”