Chasing Jade (Zhu Yu)

Fan Changyu woke up feeling sore all over.

Her gaze fell upon the patched bed curtains. Propping herself up on her right arm, she took in the modest room—low walls of packed earth, gaps sealed with wooden planks, and a single square table with two stools, both worn and riddled with wormholes.

She remembered being held underwater by the mountain bandit leader before losing consciousness. Had someone saved her?

Fan Changyu glanced down at her clothes—they weren’t her own. Her wounds had been bandaged, and her dislocated wrist had been reset.

Gripping the aged bedpost, she tried to stand, but the moment she put weight on her back, a sharp pain made her grimace.

She wondered—her waist hadn’t been injured, so why did it hurt so much? Had she knocked it somewhere during the fight without realizing it?

After so many twists of fate, her instincts drove her to search for her Boning knife, her means of self-defense. Only when she spotted the knife and the pair of Deerskin bracers Yan Zheng had given her on the low stool by the bed did she finally exhale in relief.

Her fingers brushed over the smooth, supple leather of the vambraces as she lowered her gaze, preparing to fasten one to her right wrist. But then, hurried footsteps sounded outside.

Her expression shifted instantly. Pressing against the wall, she moved to the door and peered through the half-finger-wide crack in the weathered wooden panel.

Outside appeared to be a small farmyard. Two armored soldiers with swords stood beneath the eaves, and another strode briskly into the courtyard.

Fan Changyu relaxed slightly. It seemed she had been rescued by the soldiers who had chased the wooden boat ashore that day.

But why was she still here?

“Is… the master here? The troops from Jizhou Prefecture are closing in—we can’t hold them off much longer…” The soldier who had just entered spoke in a hushed voice.

Fan Changyu’s relief vanished. Weren’t they soldiers from Jizhou Prefecture? Why were they blocking their own people?

One of the soldiers guarding the courtyard replied, “Word came back from Yansong Mountain. The master went to question them. Take some men and hold the pass. Once he returns, I’ll report to him.”

The messenger nodded and quickly departed.

Fan Changyu leaned against the door, her entire body tense.

She had no idea who this “master” they spoke of was.

But dressed as military men, operating within Jizhou, yet seemingly at odds with the local authorities… Could they be bandits in disguise?

The realization sent a chill down her spine.

Just then, the two soldiers outside began chatting. One said, “We can’t stay here long. If we run into Jizhou’s forces, the master’s identity will be exposed. Once he returns, whether that woman inside is awake or not, we’ll have to move.”

The other clicked his tongue. “Seems the master’s taken a peculiar interest in her. Last night, when she had a Nightmare and started convulsing, he was afraid she’d bite her tongue—so he stuck his own finger in her mouth! His index finger’s got a bloody ring of teeth marks now.”

Fan Changyu still remembered the nightmare she’d had. Hearing that she had bitten their so-called master, she frowned.

She wanted to eavesdrop further, but suddenly, the tapping of a bamboo cane against the ground reached her ears. Peering through the crack again, she saw a white-haired, blind old woman approaching from under the eaves.

The soldier outside asked, “What brings you here, elder?”

The old woman held a stack of clothes in her arms and smiled kindly. “Your young mistress’s clothes from when she fell in the water yesterday—I’ve dried them and brought them for her.”The soldier hesitated for a moment, seemingly reluctant to enter due to propriety between men and women, and stepped aside saying, "You may go in."

While the old woman was tapping her wooden cane to find her way and shuffling through the door, Fan Changyu had already silently and swiftly retreated to the bedside. She kicked off her shoes and lay back on the bed, pretending to still be asleep.

Once inside, the old woman groped her way to the bed, set down the clothes, and tucked the blanket around Fan Changyu. She then felt Changyu's forehead and murmured to herself, "Good girl, at least the fever's gone. How terrible that you and your husband encountered bandits on the boat and suffered so much. But thankfully, you have such a caring husband..."

After rambling on for a while, she fumbled her way to the brazier to add a couple more logs before finally closing the door behind her.

The soldier outside had glanced into the room when the old woman entered. Seeing the lump under the covers, he assumed Changyu was still asleep and averted his gaze to resume his post.

The moment the door closed, Changyu's eyes snapped open.

After hearing the old woman's words, she became even more certain that these people were not real soldiers. If the authorities had rescued her, why would they claim she had encountered bandits on a boat? And why pretend to be her husband?

As for the "master" mentioned by the two lackeys outside, Changyu instinctively thought of Sui Yuanqing.

That man had always been part of the Rebel King's faction. After being wounded by Yan Zheng, he had fled into the river and was rescued by the Clear Breeze Stronghold. Now, leading this group of bandits disguised as soldiers, he was surely up to no good!

The Jizhou Prefecture soldiers were nearby. She had to find a way to break out and report this.

Uncertain how many bandits were outside, Changyu dared not act rashly. After some thought, she smoothed out her vambrace and tucked it into her chest like armor, then strapped the boning knife to her leg, covering it with her skirt. Only then did she get out of bed and kick over a stool, pretending the noise was from a fall.

As expected, the men outside immediately pushed open the door. Inside, Changyu was leaning weakly against the table, one hand propping her up as if she might collapse at any moment. Pale-faced, she said, "I need to use the latrine."

One of the soldiers blurted out, "There's a chamber pot in the corner—"

His companion elbowed him sharply, reminding him that this was a woman—and one their Marquis fancied—making his remark far too crude. He promptly shut his mouth.

Changyu feigned distress and urgency. "Sir, my stomach hurts terribly."

This couldn't be resolved indoors. The two soldiers didn't stop to wonder why Changyu had suddenly developed stomach pains upon waking. Since she was someone their Marquis favored, they didn't dare touch her and instead called the old woman to help her to the latrine.

The latrine was behind the house. As the old woman supported her, Changyu took the opportunity to scout the area and count the bandits. To her surprise, she found only the two at the door.

This made things much easier.

On their way back, passing under the eaves, Changyu suddenly punched the soldier on the right without warning. The man was stunned, staring blankly at her with blood streaming from his nose before collapsing unconscious.

The soldier on the left froze, but before he could react, Changyu—separated from him by the old woman—grabbed the bamboo cane from the old woman's hand and swung it hard at his neck. The cane snapped in two, and the soldier crumpled to the ground.

The old woman stood bewildered, her face full of fear. "What's happening?"Fan Changyu didn’t know when "Sui Yuanqing" and the other bandits would return. Though she had acted swiftly, her palms were still slick with sweat. She crouched halfway in front of the old woman and said, "These people are bad men. The one who brought me here isn’t my husband either. Granny, quickly climb onto my back. I’ll take you away."

The old woman was terrified and hesitated as she climbed onto Fan Changyu’s back. "Young lady, how can you carry an old bag of bones like me with one arm dislocated?"

The old woman was very thin, so carrying her with one arm wasn’t a problem for Fan Changyu. After stepping outside, she quickly surveyed the terrain and said, "Just hold tight to my shoulders."

The snow on the path hadn’t melted, and with the sky no longer snowing, it would be difficult to cover their tracks in the snow.

To avoid being captured again, they had to find officials from Jizhou Prefecture before the bandits caught up with them.

Fan Changyu recalled the earlier conversation among the soldiers about guarding the mountain pass, so she guessed the Jizhou Prefecture soldiers must be stationed there.

She asked the old woman, "Granny, which path leads to the mountain pass the fastest?"

Fortunately, though the old woman was blind, she was very familiar with the roads near her home. "Follow this path west to the fork in the road, then take the middle path."

Once Fan Changyu had her bearings, she practically jogged with the old woman on her back.

The scout had come to report on the bandit suppression at Yansong Mountain. To avoid complications, Xie Zheng had taken his men outside the old woman’s courtyard to discuss the matter.

When he returned and saw the two personal guards stationed in the courtyard knocked unconscious, his expression darkened. Pushing open the door and finding the room empty, he thought Fan Changyu had been abducted by someone, his eyes instantly turning icy.

One of the personal guards who had accompanied Xie Zheng outside noticed there was no blood on the ground. He crouched to check the breathing of his two comrades and hurriedly reported, "Marquis, they’re still alive!"

As he spoke, he pressed hard on the philtrum of one of his unconscious companions.

The guard who had been knocked out by Fan Changyu with a bamboo pole groggily came to. Seeing Xie Zheng standing before him with a stormy expression, he immediately knelt in terror. "Marquis, this subordinate deserves death!"

Xie Zheng examined the broken bamboo pole on the steps, his gaze frosty.

No one had ever dared to abduct someone right under his nose.

The main routes here had been sealed off by his men. To avoid disturbing the old woman, he had only brought three personal guards.

Who could have slipped past the cavalry at the mountain pass and infiltrated this place?

Suppressing a flicker of anger at the affront, he asked, "Who took her?"

The guard answered miserably, "It was the young lady who knocked us out."

Xie Zheng was momentarily stunned. His handsome brows furrowed, and his expression turned peculiar. "Why would she knock you out?"

The guard said, "This subordinate doesn’t know. The young lady woke up and said she had a stomachache. Seeing how weak she was, I let the old woman help her to the outhouse. But when she returned, she suddenly punched Anzi unconscious, then snatched the bamboo pole from the old woman and knocked me out too."

The personal guard who had accompanied Xie Zheng outside inspected the rooms and came out to report, "The old woman is missing too."

After a brief consideration, Xie Zheng realized Fan Changyu must have misunderstood something, mistaking them for villains, which was why she had fled with the old woman.

He asked, "What happened in the courtyard while I was away?"The personal guard who had been knocked unconscious by Fan Changyu thought for a moment and said, "The scouts at the mountain pass reported that the Jizhou Prefecture soldiers were attempting to search this mountain again. But you were away at the time, Marquis, so I took the liberty of ordering them to continue guarding and not allow the Jizhou Prefecture soldiers to enter."

Xie Zheng lowered his eyes and murmured, "So that's what happened."

She must have woken up then, noticed the people in the courtyard wearing military uniforms but not aligned with the Jizhou Prefecture troops, and mistaken them for bandits.

Just then, another scout galloped up the path on horseback, dismounted, and knelt on one knee with a fist salute. "Marquis, the girl you rescued yesterday is carrying an old woman down the mountain. Should we stop her?"

Xie Zheng raised his gaze to the snow-covered mountains and remained silent.

To eliminate the remnants of the bandits who had fled to Yansong Mountain, he had dispatched most of the hundred light cavalry he brought with him there.

He had rushed back thinking she was in danger, but now that she was safe, with urgent battles on the frontlines and Li Huaian—the eyes of the Qingliu faction—now in Jizhou, he truly shouldn't linger any longer.

"Withdraw the troops guarding the mountain pass and return to Lucheng," he ordered.

The scout acknowledged the command, mounted his horse, and rode off to relay the message.

After a brief rest, several personal guards in the courtyard went to a nearby pine grove to retrieve their warhorses.

As Xie Zheng mounted his horse, he glanced in the direction of the descending path, a lingering sense of unwillingness tightening his chest. He affixed the half-face human skin mask he had prepared before leading the troops and said to the guards, "Go ahead first. I'll catch up shortly."

With that, he tugged the reins and galloped down the mountain path, leaving the guards exchanging bewildered looks.

Fan Changyu, carrying the old woman on her back, suddenly heard the sound of chaotic hoofbeats ascending the mountain. Unsure whether they belonged to bandits disguised as soldiers or genuine Jizhou Prefecture troops, she weighed her options and temporarily hid with the old woman in a pine grove by the path.

To ensure safety, Fan Changyu said to the old woman, "Grandmother, stay hidden here and don't make a sound. I'll go check. If they really are government troops, I'll come back for you."

The old woman clutched Fan Changyu's hand, repeatedly urging her to be careful.

Fan Changyu retreated from the grove while using a branch to erase her footprints. Just as she reached the main path to check if there were still soldiers at the mountain pass, the sound of hoofbeats suddenly echoed behind her again.

This time, the hoofbeats were singular—only one rider—but approaching astonishingly fast.

Fan Changyu was about to dive back into the pine grove when the rider came into view.

Afraid that leading this person into the grove might accidentally expose the old woman, and considering there was only one opponent, she gritted her teeth and decided to keep running forward, believing she might overpower him if she fought with all her strength.

The winding mountain road was rugged, offering a clear view of the foothills from the halfway point.

When Fan Changyu spotted a troop of soldiers bearing the Jizhou flag ascending from the foothills, she was overjoyed. Running and shouting, she cried, "Help!"

The Jizhou soldiers at the foothills heard her and looked up. Soon, someone responded, "Don't be afraid, miss! I'll bring help right away!"

Only then did Fan Changyu notice, among the mass of soldiers, a young man in a pale blue Confucian robe—the same kind-hearted youth who had given her a ride that day.

This distant exchange of glances struck Xie Zheng, who was galloping toward her on horseback, as particularly jarring.He wore a scarred human skin mask over his face and covered one eye, making it difficult even for those familiar with him to recognize his identity.

Only a few zhang away from Fan Changyu now, he viciously spurred his warhorse forward. As the horse charged, he reached out to grab her and haul her onto the saddle.

Changyu reacted swiftly, dodging his grasp before abandoning the main road entirely. Instead, she slid straight down the steep slope beside the winding mountain highway.

The lower section of the mountain road lay just beneath this slope—no matter what, descending this way would be faster than circling around on horseback.

Yet she never expected the fake officer chasing her would also abandon his horse and follow her down the slope.