HMHSE - 52

Shen Rong later didn’t know when she had fallen asleep, nor what time it was when she woke. She only felt the space behind her was empty. Turning over, she realized Shan Zong was no longer in the tent.

She lay on her back, staring at the grey, round top of the small tent, recalling how he seemed to have held her all night, his chest firm and warm against her back, one leg pressed beneath hers, his entire body tense like a taut bow...

“Young Mistress,” Donglai called to her from outside the tent.

Shen Rong’s thoughts paused. She decided she shouldn’t dwell on it, got up, put on her barbarian clothes, and lifted the flap to go out.

Outside, dawn was just breaking, a hazy blue. Donglai handed her a crumpled piece of paper and whispered, “Young Master Shan... has gone somewhere else. He asked the Young Mistress to meet him later.”

Shen Rong took it and unfolded it. It was a hand-drawn topographical map, crooked and crude, clearly not drawn by Shan Zong himself.

Donglai pointed to a spot midway: “It’s here.”

She looked at it twice, then tucked it into her sleeve: “He didn’t say what he went to do?”

“He only said that, and left in the middle of the night.”

Shen Rong found it a bit strange. Why would he suddenly go somewhere else when they were traveling perfectly fine?

“Anything else?”

Donglai shook his head: “Nothing else.”

He only remembered that while on night watch in the latter half of the night, he saw Shan Zong leave the small tent, wearing only his underclothes. He went to a nearby river, and when he returned, he told Donglai he was going out for a while.

Donglai had then lit a fire starter and saw Shan Zong with a brocade robe draped over his shoulder, bare-armed, half his body damp as if he had thoroughly washed himself; at least his face and neck were covered in water droplets.

“Aren’t you cold, Envoy Shan?” he couldn’t help but ask.

But he heard Shan Zong chuckle softly: “I’m hot.”

After that, he left a message, mounted a horse, and rode away.

These details seemed to be insignificant.

Shen Rong didn’t ask further, as people in other small tents were already getting up. The merchant caravan was preparing to depart, so she nodded to Donglai, ready to leave as well.

Donglai immediately went to fetch water and a cloth for her to wash up.

As the carriage set off, Shen Rong ate some dry rations inside, then took out the crumpled topographical map again.

The map showed routes and directions. The only clearly recognizable feature was the border pass.

Seeing the border pass, she couldn’t help but think of her brother. It had been several days since she returned, and he was probably worried sick.

Shen Rong sighed softly, then looked down again.

Being a topographical map, it naturally depicted some geographical features, including mountains and rivers. She turned it over and over, examining it several times before putting it away, feeling increasingly that it was poorly drawn.

Spring outside the pass was still windy, bringing dust and sand.

The sky, just bright, was also blown hazy. The vast wilderness stretched endlessly, with only a few abandoned and collapsed earthen platforms standing. As the wind passed, a layer of dust swirled.

They arrived at the rendezvous point.

The carriage stopped. Shen Rong lifted the curtain and stepped down, shielding her eyes with one hand as she looked forward.

As the dust settled, a tall, erect figure was revealed.

Shan Zong had his back to them, facing the vast expanse ahead, seemingly looking at something.

Normally, he would have noticed their arrival immediately, but he still hadn’t turned around.

Shen Rong stared at his back, slowly walking towards him, deliberately lightening her steps. When she reached behind him, he turned his head: “You’ve arrived.”

So he knew.

There was little expression on his face, only a casual tone. He reached out and pulled her arm, drawing her to the leeward side of the earthen platform, where his horse was tethered.

Shen Rong looked at him: “Why meet here?”

Shan Zong patted the dust off his robe: “I went somewhere. This place is conveniently on the way back to the pass.”

Shen Rong glanced in the direction he had just been looking, guessing that was where he had gone. Her thoughts raced, and she recalled the crumpled topographical map: “Did you go to the last marked place on the map?”

Shan Zong reached out and took his horse’s reins: “Exactly. You figured it out.”

“Of course I did,” Shen Rong said. “I imagine you couldn’t find the place either.”

He raised his eyes: “How do you know?”

Shen Rong tilted her head slightly: “What’s so difficult about it? The mountain ranges drawn on that paper are wrong; how could you find the place if it doesn’t match?”

Shan Zong stared intently at her: “Are you sure?”

Shen Rong had never had her judgment of mountains and rivers doubted before. She couldn’t help but glance at him: “If you don’t believe me, fine. Go trust that broken map, see if you can find it.” With that, she took out the crumpled paper from her sleeve and handed it over.

Shan Zong didn’t take the paper. He directly grabbed her hand and pulled her closer: “Who said I don’t believe you?”

He wasn’t unfamiliar with her abilities.

Shen Rong moved closer to him. Suddenly, the horse’s reins were in her hand, and then he said, “You come with me again.”

She held the reins: “I still don’t know what we’re going to do?”

Shan Zong seemed to pause before saying, “Find someone.”

“What kind of person would make you rush out in the middle of the night?” Shen Rong glanced at him. “Is it a man or a woman?”

Shan Zong looked at her face, trying to discern why she asked that, and chuckled: “Who would come to a place like this to find a woman?”

Shen Rong’s eyes flickered, realizing she had probably asked too much. She stepped into the stirrup and mounted the horse: “I was just asking casually.”

Shan Zong pursed his thin lips upon hearing that. He didn’t ride another horse, but quickly mounted behind her, instructing the others outside: “You all head to the border pass first and wait for support.”

Donglai had not yet assented when Shan Zong had already ridden off with Shen Rong.

Shen Rong sat on the horseback, feeling as if she were being held in his embrace, just like last night, tightly clutching the paper in her hand.

Shan Zong indeed rode in the direction he had just been looking, picking up speed. He glanced at the person in his arms, knowing it would be bumpy, and put an arm around her waist, tightening his hold.

“I understand,” Shen Rong suddenly spoke from his embrace.

He lowered his head, catching the faint fragrance of her hair, which was then dispersed by the crisp spring wind: “Understand what?”

“You had this purpose for leaving Youzhou too,” she said.

Shan Zong chuckled softly above her head: “You know best why I came out.”

Shen Rong fell silent, glancing at his arm around her waist. A strange feeling stirred in her heart; after all, he had broken rules and left Youzhou for her.

The journey was desolate and unpopulated, with only the two of them on one horse.

When Shan Zong reined in the horse, the wind had not yet subsided. In the far distance, at the end of the sky, a faint undulating line was visible.

It looked like a city wall, but too far to be certain, or perhaps an unrealistic mirage hidden amidst the vast dust.

“The place is nearby,” he said. “I need the exact location.”

Shen Rong understood and unfolded the paper, comparing it with the surrounding terrain. She murmured, “Who drew this for you? It must have been very rushed; it’s so poorly drawn.”

Shan Zong leaned in from behind to look, his chest fully pressed against her back. He looked at her focused profile, not wanting to interrupt her, and did not reply.

This was the topographical map that the big-bearded man had given him. She was right; it was indeed rushed.

Originally, when he got it, he never thought he would come here himself, because he never thought he would leave Youzhou again, especially without permission.

He looked up, scanning both sides alertly, guarding against danger while she looked at the mountains.

“Found it.” After comparing, Shen Rong gestured with her finger, quickly pinpointing the location, and pointed to the right.

Shan Zong spurred his horse forward.

As they drew closer, the distant line in the sky became a little clearer. It indeed looked like a city wall.

Shen Rong’s eyes, facing the wind, narrowed slightly. “That’s...” She calculated the direction in her mind and realized: “Is that the direction of Jizhou?”

Shan Zong tightened the reins, his brocade robe billowing in the wind: “Mm. That’s why only you and I came, to avoid attracting attention with too many people.”

Shen Rong then understood. The garrison town they had left was to the left of the pass, while Jizhou was far to the right. They had deliberately taken a detour on this journey, apparently just to come here.

As they gradually rode to the right, that section of the city wall remained distant, because the true Jizhou was still very far away.

That must not be a city wall, but rather barricades built by the Khitans and Xis who now occupied this area.

On the other side of their vision, the outline of lush mountains appeared.

Shan Zong rode in the direction indicated, arriving at the place. It was a small-to-medium-sized town. Even at the wooden town entrance, they could already hear the clamor of people inside.

He dismounted, helped Shen Rong down, and led the horse into town: “Remember, we are a pair of traveling merchants who accidentally took a wrong turn and ended up here. If anyone asks, that’s what you say.”

Shen Rong nodded and followed him into the town.

This town was surprisingly crowded, filled with people everywhere, all with disheveled hair, seemingly Khitans and Xi people. It was hard to distinguish who were locals and who were outsiders.

Though lively, the entire town was dusty and gray, as if covered in years of grime. The faces of the people passing by also wore such expressions, as if much of their vitality was gone.

Along the road, goods were laid out in various stalls: coarse cloth, dry firewood, and even dried meat strips. They were bartering. Seeing the sudden intruders, people looked over.

Shen Rong couldn’t help but clench her hands. Although she wore barbarian clothes, Shan Zong was still dressed in Central Plains attire, which made him somewhat conspicuous.

Shan Zong grabbed her hand and pulled it to his side, whispering, “Don’t worry, they are all Han people.”

She was startled: “What?”

The voices around them were clearly not Han Chinese, so how could they be Han people?

Shan Zong walked through the crowd, leading his horse, using the excuse of pulling her to avoid pedestrians. He tilted his head and whispered in her ear: “After Jizhou was occupied, many Han people were driven out of the city, and so more towns like this appeared. They can no longer dress as Han people, nor can they speak the language of our dynasty.”

Only then did Shen Rong understand, growing even more astonished as she looked at those people again.

Suddenly, a scream was heard, from somewhere unknown. People around them suddenly began to run, all seeking shelter.

Shen Rong was bumped, leaning forward, almost falling. Fortunately, she managed to steady herself against the wall of a house. Turning around, she didn’t see Shan Zong, but she clearly saw a line of three to five horsemen, disheveled and wielding large sabers, ride past the town entrance.

No one knew where these soldiers came from; they didn’t enter the town, merely passed by. Yet, their presence caused the people here to hide in such fear, as if they were accustomed to constant anxiety.

Shen Rong walked a few steps with the flow of people, turning her head to look around, still not seeing Shan Zong. Steadying herself, she could only move forward to search.

To avoid attracting the attention of those horsemen, Shan Zong had been swept away by the crowd and had retreated a few steps with his horse, standing beside a dusty old house. But his eyes had already been fixed on Shen Rong.

She was fine, not far away, walking towards him, looking both ways as she walked, as if searching for him.

The horsemen passed, and the area, as if having experienced a storm, gradually returned to normal.

Shan Zong was about to go out and meet her when he saw an old woman with white hair tug on Shen Rong’s sleeve, asking who she was and why she was there, speaking in Han Chinese, but very quietly.

Shen Rong looked left and right, also quietly replying, “I’m looking for my...”

Shan Zong watched her. She paused, then glanced at the road twice, her lips moving, before finishing her sentence.

After dealing with the old woman, Shen Rong felt that the wary glances around her had lessened considerably. Taking a few more steps forward, someone suddenly came close behind her. Turning around, she found herself in the man’s embrace, one arm already wrapped around her.

Shan Zong embraced her: “There aren’t so many rules outside the pass. Just walk like this.”

Shen Rong walked forward in his embrace, deliberately avoiding eye contact. She glanced at his chiseled profile: “You must have seen me earlier.”

Shan Zong didn’t deny it. Indeed, he had even seen the precise lip movements of her last words.

Her last words were: “Looking for my husband.”

Although he knew it was a pre-arranged phrase, seeing it clearly, he still chuckled softly.