Chapter 14

Jiang Yu clutched her cup, nearly choking on her tea.
Take ten thousand steps back, no, even that was too exhausting.
“Waiter, bring me wine!”
The newcomer was a young man, his face roughened under a scraggly beard. Dissolute indulgence had ruined his complexion; he reeked of alcohol as he cracked bleary eyes open to stare at the only intact table in the middle of the restaurant.
There sat just one boy and one girl, fresh-faced, delicate, looking as if a stiff breeze might blow them away.
“Get lost and make room for your grandpa,” the man slurred, calling the iron hammer back to his hand. He slammed it against the table and jabbed a finger at them.
Following the coarse voice, Jiang Yu finally saw his face clearly, brutish, vicious, and then the rest of the hall: diners sprawled everywhere, groaning, each of them sporting some form of injury. Anger and a chill rose together from the soles of her feet, and her fingers tightened instinctively in her sleeves.
Footsteps pounded, shouts and cries for help overlapping one another. She almost forgot to breathe and held it in so long her face flushed red.
“Breathe, Senior Sister.” Shen Anzhi lowered his lashes, the rim of a white porcelain cup resting lightly against his lips. He sipped his tea at an infuriatingly leisurely pace and glanced sideways at the color in her cheeks.
Jiang Yu sucked in a lungful of air, chest rising and falling a few times before she managed a thin smile. “Thank you… for earlier, Junior Brother.”
If not for him, that hammer would’ve turned her into… something scattered and unrecognizable. Just thinking about it made her scalp prickle.
“Miss, young master, you’d better run,” the waiter stammered as he served the drunkard his wine. His hands shook as he passed their table, eyes full of panic.
“We’re not leaving.” Shen Anzhi’s gaze lingered on Jiang Yu’s pale face. Propping his jaw on one hand, he traced a line of water on the tabletop with his fingertip. “Are you frightened, Senior Sister?”
Who wouldn’t be, when they’d nearly been turned into human confetti…?
“I’m not scared,” Jiang Yu said, swallowing hard. “I’ve got talismans on me, after all.”
The way she trembled yet refused to admit it made him suddenly smile. The cinnabar mole at the corner of his eye burned with wicked charm.
“In that case, why don’t you handle it yourself?”
Jiang Yu’s eyes rounded. The flush of nervousness still stained her cheeks, and she didn’t even realize it. “Fine,” she said.
At that, Shen Anzhi’s little finger twitched. Amusement flickered in his eyes. His gaze shifted to the drunk youth; the sharp chill in his phoenix eyes made the air seem to drop a degree. “You’re too loud,” he said quietly. “You’re disturbing our peace.”
The youth lurched to his feet, eyes unfocused. His gaze fell first on Shen Anzhi, so handsome it blurred the line between male and female, then slid, hungry and unashamed, toward Jiang Yu. He grinned drunkenly.
“Well, well, where did these two tender little beauties come from? One squeeze and they’ll drip water.”
Shen Anzhi’s lashes lowered. He turned a copper coin between his fingers.
So noisy.
He really did want to gouge those disgusting eyes out.
Jiang Yu fought the urge to shrink behind him. If Shen Anzhi hadn’t been there, she would already have taken cover.
“Cat got your tongues?” The man, ignored by both of them, let a predatory glint slide into his eyes as he stalked closer.
He reached out to grab Jiang Yu’s arm, but the barrier threw him back. A sudden gust of force slammed into him, making him squint as he stumbled several steps away. He stared at them, both wary and intrigued. “Now that’s interesting. A feisty little beauty. Stick with me and you’ll have…”
“You were going to say ‘a life of easy luxury,’ weren’t you?” Shen Anzhi drawled, stretching his legs out under the table. The red tassel on the silver ear cuff at his left ear swayed gently as he channeled power into the coin in his hand.
“Hand over that little girl beside you,” the man said, licking his lips. “If you don’t, I’ll make sure you never walk out of White City.”
Jiang Yu turned her head away in disgust, fingers curling into a fist as she drew several yellow talismans from her sleeve.
Shen Anzhi’s gaze flicked toward her. His knuckles tapped lightly against the table. “I’m not someone who meddles in other people’s business,” he murmured.
Jiang Yu glanced at him, taking in his lazy posture.
His brows lifted, the feigned gentleness in his expression thinning just enough for something darker to seep through. His gaze caught and held hers the way a predator studies prey. Then he tilted his head, deliberately breaking eye contact. “Head down. Keep eating.”
She blinked, confused, but obediently picked up her chopsticks and took a bite. From the corner of her eye, she saw the shimmering barrier still holding. The tight stone in her chest finally loosened. Her knuckles were white where she gripped the talismans, but she bent her head and quietly chewed.
“Smart,” the drunkard crowed, laughing as if he’d already won. He lunged again, only to discover he couldn’t move at all.
Shen Anzhi raised his sharply defined chin. His features, already striking, were almost too beautiful when he smiled, lush and dangerous. The cinnabar mole at his eye seemed to glow as he rolled the coin across the tabletop and let it slide from his fingers.
“You’re too noisy,” he said mildly. “If you have more to say, you can tell it to the King of Hell.”
The man spat in contempt. “Don’t blame me for not cherishing your pretty little face. Hand over your life!”
The hammer crashed against the barrier with brutal force. Waves of visible energy rippled from the impact; the spiritual power in the air boiled.
A streak of golden sword light flashed through the restaurant, impossibly fast.
The man’s pupils shook. He clutched his neck, eyes bulging with disbelief. A ragged hiss tore from his throat as he glared in fury, then his massive body crashed to the floor, sending a cloud of dust into the air.
Screams erupted around them. Jiang Yu’s long lashes trembled. She swallowed hard, shut her eyes, and drained her cup of tea in one gulp.
She didn’t need to look to know what had happened to him.
The metallic tang of blood spread with the shrieks, thick and suffocating.
“He’s dead, dead! Young miss, young master, you need to run!” The waiter collapsed on the ground, face ashen, then scrambled away on hands and feet, shouting for the shopkeeper.
“Good riddance!” someone cheered. “That beast raped and murdered girls. He deserved to die.”
“A true young hero, punishing evil and upholding justice.” An old man nodded approvingly.
The crowd began to brew and churn. Someone, more sober and genuinely concerned, said, “That was one of the hired thugs raised by the Li family of White City. You killed him. They’ll come for revenge.”
Jiang Yu didn’t dare relax. She stuffed the last bites into her mouth, cheeks puffed out as she chewed quickly. Only when she swallowed did she say, “I’m done, Junior Brother. Let’s go.”
Listen to advice, eat your meal, and then run.
Even heroes have trouble against too many fists.
Shen Anzhi didn’t comment. He simply rose, tossed silver onto the counter, and walked out.
They had barely stepped past the restaurant’s threshold, not even reached the city gates, when several shadows latched onto their trail.
Shen Anzhi’s lips curved in a mocking smile. He glanced sideways at Jiang Yu, who was walking fast, shoulders tense as she scanned their surroundings. To him, this little scarlet songbird was suddenly very entertaining.
“Senior Sister,” he said, “don’t you want to try the fun of hunting prey?”
“Huh?” Jiang Yu barely had time to react before Shen Anzhi caught her sleeve and pulled her into the crowd.
Black and red vanished into the sea of people.
His fingers were warm where they gripped her sleeve; occasionally the backs of their hands brushed, sending odd jolts of unfamiliar sensation skittering along her skin.
Their pursuers, seeing them disappear into the masses, hurried to keep up, staying just close enough not to lose them.
Jiang Yu held her breath, heart thudding.
They slipped into a dim alley. Shen Anzhi’s hand hovered lightly at the back of her neck as he bent forward, their breaths mingling.
“Don’t look back,” he murmured, careless, almost euphoric. “It’s more fun that way.”
A bead of cold sweat slid down her forehead and fell. “Are we… fighting again?” she whispered.
“Senior Sister, no need to look.” Shen Anzhi popped a candied chestnut into his mouth. As the sweetness spread across his tongue, he smiled lazily and strode forward. His eyes flicked back just once.
Within the formation, sword light rained like shadows. Flesh and blood burst in the air, red flowers blooming from nowhere and splattering across stone. His voice turned cool and flat. “Disgusting.”
“Ahhh, break it, break it, !”
“Where did this array come from, damn it, !”
“It hurts! Run!”
Jiang Yu hunched her shoulders, not daring to look. The hand that had been resting against her neck was warm, and gone as quickly as it had come.
They didn’t stop until they were outside the city, and the last hint of pursuit disappeared from her spiritual sense.
For now, she was useful. Shen Anzhi would keep her alive. But if she ever stopped being useful… he might kill her on a whim.
The thought left her cold all over.
“Did Senior Sister find it enjoyable?” Shen Anzhi folded his arms, glancing at her from the side.
“If you hadn’t hurt them, they would’ve hurt us,” she answered quietly.
“…What an unexpectedly sensible answer.”
“Just now, Senior Sister was shaking like a frightened rabbit…” He remembered the way she’d shrunk in on herself, and his fingers rolled the coin unconsciously. Something strange stirred in his chest, emotions rising and sinking like ripples.
He gave a soft snort and strode ahead. “Senior Sister, you’d better help me find that herb soon.”
“I’ve already made it a priority,” Jiang Yu said, lifting her eyes.
“Then I’ll ask Senior Sister to keep her word.”
“Of course,” she replied with a small smile. “Don’t worry.”
“Don’t worry,” Shen Anzhi echoed under his breath. When he turned his head, his gaze crashed again into those clear, luminous eyes. He quickly looked away. “With Senior Sister’s meager abilities, it’s hard for me to feel at ease. If you die, you’ll put me in a very difficult position…”
Die.
Jiang Yu froze, heart stumbling.
“So, before you find the herbs,” he said, brows relaxed, eyes calm and unreadable, “you must make sure to stay alive.”
Half threat, half concern, only Shen Anzhi could blend the two so seamlessly. If she didn’t know his original ending from the book, she might have mistaken that for a genuine worry.
She nodded seriously. “I’ll live. Properly.” Nothing was more important than staying alive; once you were dead, you had nothing. She had a mission to complete, and once she cleared it, she’d leave this world for good.
Zezhou, Tianji City.
Built against a mountain, the city lay shrouded in miasma all year round. Gray-green walls coiled around the mountainside, the back pressed up against the bottomless depths of Bamboo Lake. The emerald forest that seemed to cradle the city like a belt of jade concealed the very demons causing trouble this time.
Now, people were pouring out of the city with hurried steps and ugly faces. Most had bundles on their backs and children clutched tightly by the hand.
By sunset, when the gates finally closed, the city turned deathly still, so quiet it felt like even a yawn might echo.
The inn’s waiter was slumped over a pinewood counter, nodding off like a pecking chick. Light and shadow slid across his half-lowered gaze, someone in dark boots patterned with faint gold stepped across the scattered glow of the dying sun.
The waiter jolted upright, wiping his hands hard over his coarse clothes. Plastering on a habitual smile, he asked, “Ah, honored guests! Looking for a meal or a room for the night?”
“Rooms,” came the answer.
The speaker was a tall boy, straight as a newly grown bamboo shoot. Standing up straight, the waiter’s head barely reached his nose.
He’d seen thousands of travelers come and go, but never one with features like this, so finely carved he looked like a gilded statue from a temple. His dark clothes looked plain at first glance, yet he carried himself with an air of lazy nobility.
The waiter led him to the counter. The shopkeeper, busy with his ledger, reached for paper and brush. His booming voice softened with a hint of flattery. “How many rooms will you need, honored guest? We have upper, middle, and lower-grade rooms available.”
“One lower-grade room. One upper-grade room.”
The boy’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough to make the nearby tea-drinkers lower theirs, curiosity sharpening as their eyes slid toward the newcomer.
A young man and woman, both quite young, stood before the counter. Noticing the crane-and-cloud embroidery on their robes, a few patrons quickly guessed they were disciples of Crane Sect.
“We can share a lower-grade room,” Jiang Yu said lightly. “I’m not picky.”