Under the moonlight, his hair bun was slightly disheveled. An Jiu stared at the strands fluttering in the wind, lost in thought.
She often had these inexplicable moments, and Chu Dingjiang was long accustomed to them. He pulled up his hood, wrapped an arm around her waist, and dashed through the night.
The distance from Xijin Prefecture to Hejian Prefecture was only three or four hours by horseback. It could be said that the war between the Liao and Song was on the verge of breaking out. There were many Liao scouts along this route, making horseback travel inconvenient. Thus, Chu Dingjiang had to rely on his lightness skill. Continuous travel was taxing on Inner Force, so to avoid excessive depletion, Chu rested every half-hour, arriving at Xijin Prefecture only by noon the next day.
The two disguised themselves in the outskirts and entered through the main gate.
Over the years, the Liao had always been on the offensive, while the Song was mostly forced into passive defense. Compared to the cautious vigilance of Hejian Prefecture, Xijin Prefecture appeared much more relaxed.
Chu Dingjiang and An Jiu slipped in effortlessly.
However, as the largest border city of the Liao, Xijin Prefecture couldn’t possibly be as careless as it seemed. The city’s defenses were loose on the surface but tight in reality—easy to enter, yet nearly impossible for ordinary people to approach the government offices.
After scouting the perimeter of the government offices to assess the guard situation, they found a tavern to dine in by evening.
After the meal, Chu Dingjiang said, "Wait here for me. I’ll be back in half an hour."
The Liao government offices housed many Martial Arts masters, but none capable of stopping Chu Dingjiang. In the entire world, there were only a handful of Transformation Realm Masters, and within the Liao offices, he could come and go as he pleased.
An Jiu knew she wouldn’t be of much help if she followed, so she simply replied, "Alright."
Chu patted her head and vanished.
An Jiu sat motionless for a while, then raised a hand to rub the spot he had patted, lost in thought.
She remained in the same position for about two quarters of an hour when she heard commotion in the main hall and went over to take a look.
The tavern was shaped like the character "return."" Standing on the second-floor corridor, she could see a raised platform in the main hall below. On it, four lightly clad dancers swayed like snakes, their faces veiled with long scarves that nearly enveloped their bodies, making their alluring figures faintly visible.
Amidst the music, the crowd in the hall either jeered at the dancers, watched with smiles, or drank heartily...
Xijin Prefecture, situated between the Liao and Song, embodied both the Song’s refinement and the Liao’s boldness. Only here could one still catch a glimpse of the lingering grandeur of the Tang Dynasty.
An Jiu was watching with fascination when a burly man approached and whispered something to the tavern owner. Soon, the most shapely dancer was led away.
The crowd followed her figure up to the second floor, but upon realizing she had caught the eye of a noble, they quickly averted their gazes.
The burly man and the dancer passed behind An Jiu. She clearly sensed that both possessed Martial Arts—the dancer’s skill was even higher, reaching the eighth rank.
Her gaze swept indifferently over the dancer before she turned and re-entered the room, closing the door behind her.
Chu Dingjiang would return in two more quarters of an hour.
Not long after, sudden clamor erupted outside. Then, An Jiu detected an eighth-rank Martial Arts master rushing toward her.
In the blink of an eye, a woman in watery blue gauze landed silently before her, a bloodied dagger pointed at her. "Don’t make a sound!"
The dagger was still three inches away. An Jiu met her gaze, expressionless.The woman in blue felt a sudden jolt in her heart and couldn't help but scrutinize An Jiu, who was disguised as a young man. To remain so composed in the face of danger—this was no ordinary person! But now, with no way out left, she couldn't afford to hesitate any longer!
An Jiu saw her expression clearly. Recognizing her desperate resolve, she spoke slowly, "You'd better stay right where you are."
The woman in blue was about to move in to take her hostage but froze at these words, caught between advancing and retreating.
An Jiu picked up her teacup and took a sip.
Just then, someone knocked on the door outside.
The knocking grew increasingly urgent. Beads of sweat formed at the woman's temples as she glanced at An Jiu's unreadable face. Gritting her teeth, she leaped onto the rafters above.
Bang!
The door was forced open.
Several burly men rushed in, followed by a young man dressed in white.
He wore a narrow Khitan-style robe, with the sides of his head shaved and the middle section tied up. A single strand of hair hung down from his forehead, while the back was braided into several small plaits.
An Jiu thought to herself, if not for his handsome face, this hairstyle would be impossible to pull off...
The moment he appeared, she caught a glimpse of someone familiar. Such striking beauty—even if seen only once—was not easily forgotten.
This man bore an uncanny resemblance to Gu Jinghong.
Yet there was a difference. Gu Jinghong's eyes were clear as water, as if they could see through past and future, piercing the very fabric of the world. But this white-robed man's gaze was dark and brooding, his handsome face shadowed with hostility.
He glanced at An Jiu before slowly scanning the room.
An Jiu set down her teacup and stood, stepping casually onto a drop of blood on the floor.
The white-robed man said nothing, but one of the burly men in front spoke in Khitan, "Have you seen a dancer come in here?"
An Jiu, of course, didn't understand. She remained silent, simply watching the man.
His striking looks often drew stares, so her reaction didn't seem unusual. After a sweep of the room revealed nothing amiss, he turned to leave.
An Jiu's eyes lingered on his retreating figure.
Noticing her gaze as he turned, the man paused. Suddenly, he stopped and asked in halting Han speech, "What's your name?"
An Jiu stayed silent, pretending not to understand.
The man had sensed something off earlier but couldn't place it. Now it struck him—though this youth stared at him like everyone else, there was none of the usual admiration, infatuation, or awe in those eyes. Moreover, in Xijin Prefecture, it was highly unusual for someone not to recognize him.
"Who are you?" His voice darkened, and his guards immediately rushed in, forming a half-circle around An Jiu.
An Jiu gestured with her hands.
Though she didn't speak Khitan, she knew sign language. While the concept of sign language didn't exist at the time, her gestures made it clear she was mute.
The man roughly understood her meaning—she was waiting for someone here.
Her non-answer made him wonder: was she not only mute but also deaf?
After a moment of silence, he murmured an order to one of his men and strode downstairs.
The men withdrew in a flurry, but An Jiu noticed one remained outside.
The woman on the rafters dropped down lightly—just as An Jiu dragged a stool across the floor, creating a loud noise.The blue-clad woman was extremely clever and immediately guessed there were others outside, so she gave An Jiu a grateful glance. (To be continued...)
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