Tang Lici and the other three left the inn, originally intending to escort Lin Bu to the main road so he could return home. However, Lin Bu adamantly refused to go back alone, insisting on first leading Tang Lici to the carriage where Shen Langhun was imprisoned. A Shui also couldn’t leave, as only she knew the pattern engraved on the horseshoes of Bai Suche’s two fine steeds. Since no one was willing to depart, the four of them—along with the infant—had no choice but to travel together, arriving at the valley floor that had been ravaged by fire the previous night.
Everything that had once existed in the valley was now reduced to ashes. The sand, stones, and cliffs were scorched black and cracked, the trees turned to charcoal, and a few tattered remnants of tents fluttered from the blackened branches, lending the scene a desolate air. There was only one path leading away from this place. Tang Lici handed Little Peach Red to Yu Tuan’er, instructing her to protect the safety of the other three, while he ventured ahead along the path. He soon returned.
The moment Feng Feng saw him, she buried her face in A Shui’s embrace, refusing to look at him again. Tang Lici acted as though Feng Feng didn’t exist, smiling faintly. “The road ahead is covered with too many hoofprints. Finding a clear one will likely be difficult and time-consuming. But there’s only one path. If we go to the fork in the road, we might find a clue—if the horses from Dissolute Shop split up.”
“Then let’s go to the fork,” Yu Tuan’er said without hesitation. “If we find the carriage, we’ll find Brother Shen.” Tang Lici replied gently, “But the path ahead is a mountain trail—a very long one, winding through dense forests and streams. Miss A Shui and Master Lin might…” His gaze lingered on their faces before settling on A Shui’s. “If you draw the horseshoe pattern for me, I’ll escort you both back.”
Lin Bu immediately shook his head. “Hiking through mountains and fording rivers is nothing unusual for me.” A Shui pondered for a moment before also shaking her head. “Perhaps if I see the tracks, I’ll recall more clues that could help you locate Dissolute Shop’s current hideout. After all, I lived there for several months. I’m familiar with Dong Princess, Xi Princess, and even Yu Qifeng.”
“In that case, here’s what we’ll do,” Tang Lici said with a slight smile. “Yu Guniang will carry you, and I’ll carry Master Lin. That way, we can move more efficiently.” A Shui was taken aback, but Yu Tuan’er clapped her hands in delight. “Perfect! Then we won’t have to wait for you two to trudge along slowly.” A Shui nodded, securing Feng Feng tightly to her back with a sash. Yu Tuan’er hoisted her up, while Tang Lici carried Lin Bu, and the two of them swiftly dashed along the forest path.
The long, muddy trail was riddled with hoofprints and the grooves of carriage wheels, but the tracks overlapped—hoofprints atop wheel marks, footprints atop hoofprints—making it impossible to distinguish which belonged to which horse or carriage. However, judging by the sheer number of imprints, many people and horses had fled this way.
After chasing for over three miles, Yu Tuan’er began to breathe heavily. Tang Lici slowed his pace slightly, supporting her lower back with his right hand to help her maintain speed. Carrying someone while running relied heavily on core strength, and with his assistance, Yu Tuan’er rallied her energy and pressed onward. Without stopping for breath, the two scaled a ridge and arrived at the fork in the mountain path.At the fork in the mountain path, the hoofprints and footprints still led in the same direction. The footprints had diminished, perhaps because some had taken to the trees, but the tracks of the carriage remained clearly visible. Among the myriad hoofprints, a few were slightly larger than those of ordinary horses, with a faint pattern at the front edge resembling something between a flower and a blade of grass. A Shui nodded to Tang Lici—this was Bai Suche's carriage, pulled by two majestic snow-white horses.
The road gradually widened, and the hoofprints of Bai Suche's horses became even more distinct. Soon, the tracks of the wheels and hooves veered onto another branching path, separating from the human footprints and entering a dense forest. Tang Lici and Yu Tuan'er pressed forward through the trees. The path was overgrown with weeds, making the hoofprints difficult to discern, but the crushed vegetation showed the way deeper in. At another fork, the hoof and wheel marks suddenly diverged in two directions. However, on a branch of the rightward path, a shred of white silk fluttered. Tang Lici smiled faintly and took the right path, which soon led downhill. Crossing the ridge, they came upon a small town.
At the town's entrance stood a stone tablet inscribed with the words "Ride the Wind"—perhaps the town was called Riding Wind Town.
A carriage draped in white curtains, drawn by two snow-white horses, was just departing from the gates of an estate marked "Wangting Manor," turning eastward. Yu Tuan'er gasped. "That's the carriage! But look—the horses are moving lightly. There must be no one inside." Lin Bu climbed down from Tang Lici's back. "The red thread hanging from the window is gone." A Shui also dismounted from Yu Tuan'er's back and asked softly, "Red thread?"
"There used to be a thin red thread hanging from the carriage window," Lin Bu explained, pointing in the direction the carriage had gone. "But now it's missing."
Perhaps the red thread had been a signal to indicate whether the carriage was occupied. The four of them turned their gaze toward Wangting Manor. If this unassuming courtyard was one of the Dissolute Shop's hideouts, Shen Langhun was likely inside.
"Young Master Tang, what do you plan to do?" Lin Bu asked, his eyes fixed on the manor, his mood restless. "There's likely an ambush inside. I don't think a direct assault would be wise." Tang Lici regarded the manor with a gentle smile. "I won't force my way in." He patted Lin Bu's shoulder and nudged him behind A Shui. "The three of you should find a place to hide. Don't attract attention." Yu Tuan'er's eyes gleamed. "I'll protect them." Tang Lici chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Listen to your sister A Shui." Yu Tuan'er gripped the hilt of Little Peach Red. "How will you get in?"
Tang Lici retrieved a silver pellet from his robes and handed it to A Shui—a smoke bomb that, when thrown forcefully to the ground, would disperse smoke and release a red signal flare, used by the Central Plains Sword Association for emergency communication. A Shui took the pellet; she had seen such devices on Good Cloud Mountain and knew their purpose. Tang Lici didn't explain its use. Instead, he reached out and gently stroked A Shui's head, his fingers lingering with tenderness. A Shui didn't pull away but sighed softly and smiled. "How will you go in?""Knock on the door," Tang Lici said softly. "I have never been an unwelcome guest." His right hand had just lowered from her head when he reached into his robe and pulled out another object, tucking it into A Shui's hairpin. A Shui was slightly taken aback, while Yu Tuan'er leaned in to look—it was a silver hairpin shaped like a ruyi scepter. Though simple in design, its intricate patterns made it an exquisitely ancient and ornate piece, bearing some resemblance to the "Marrow Cleansing Silver Bracelet" on Tang Lici's wrist. "It's a hairpin..." Yu Tuan'er, who had always loved beautiful things, couldn't help but feel envious seeing A Shui suddenly adorned with such a lovely ornament.
Tang Lici said gently, "This hairpin is called 'Heart-Cleansing Ruyi.'" A Shui reached up to touch the silver pin, her face still holding a faint smile, though it soon faded. Before she could speak, Tang Lici took out a small jade bracelet from his sleeve and smiled at Yu Tuan'er. "This bracelet is called 'Unyielding Devotion,' symbolizing love as deep as the sea—never to part, never to abandon." Yu Tuan'er took the bracelet and slipped it onto her wrist. The jade was translucent, its color like clear water, strikingly beautiful. Overjoyed, she couldn't help but laugh. "Such a pretty, pretty thing..."
Seeing her dance with delight, Tang Lici gave a faint smile. The mountain breeze swept past, lifting his robes and hair as he turned and walked down toward Wangting Manor.
The Heart-Cleansing Ruyi hairpin and the Unyielding Devotion bracelet—though A Shui had never heard of these ornaments before, anything carried by Tang Lici was undoubtedly priceless. It was said that young noblemen would spend fortunes to win a beauty's smile or ignite beacons to topple kingdoms—acts of reckless folly. But...
But for a woman, to have someone willing to do such things, no matter his intentions, was... deeply... deeply...
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