Lu Yan did not sleep very well that night.
First, there was the bed. He didn't know how many people had rocked and rolled on it, but the slightest movement made it squeak and groan as if it were about to fall apart at any moment. Second, incense had been burned in the room, and it was cloyingly sweet, as if someone had dumped an entire jar of honey into the burner. Finally—why did the bed still smell like photinia flowers? Lu Yan was on the verge of a breakdown, completely despondent and antisocial. He had actually believed Hong Jiu's nonsense when she said the room was ready. If this was "ready," he would have been better off sleeping on the floor of an inn.
Under the influence of so many debuffs, Lu Yan happily enjoyed a peaceful night of beauty sleep—yeah, right. When he got up the next morning, his eyes were ringed with dark circles, his skin was sallow, and his lips were pale. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought Ghost Seventeen had won a resurrection match and successfully reanimated.
Hong Jiu fanned herself, staring at Lu Yan's face for a long time while giggling nonstop. “My, has a panda from the Southern Commandery migrated to our Northern Border? Don't tell me you're not adjusted to the climate—hahaha—”
Flustered and angry, Lu Yan threw a punch toward the sound of her voice, but the nimble Hong Jiu dodged it easily, making him strike empty air.
“This is all your doing,” Lu Yan gritted his teeth. “You said the room was clean, but it was filled with a terrible stench, and the bed was practically on the verge of collapsing. How was anyone supposed to sleep in there?”
Hong Jiu clicked her tongue and shook her head. “Where did you sleep last night? I checked both rooms next to mine and didn't see you. I thought you decided not to stay here after all.”
Lu Yan's face stiffened, and his momentum instantly deflated. “Didn't you say it was next to your room? The one all the way to the south at the end of the hall.”
Hong Jiu rolled her eyes at him. “Who told you that's where I live? I moved ages ago. I live in the easternmost room now.” She paused, then added with a smirk, “Tsk tsk. Lucky for you it was so late, or you might have gotten to experience a live show.”
Lu Yan's face turned green. So he had gone to the wrong place? And he had slept in a room that someone had just finished a battle in? He felt completely disgusted. Trembling, he slapped several cleansing talismans onto himself, barely managing to suppress the nausea rising in his chest.
Hong Jiu doubled over with laughter, unable to stand up straight. Only after watching Lu Yan leave with a face as dark as iron did she finally catch her breath, pulling out a transmission talisman and lighting it.
“Yao Wu, Yao Wu, Eleven has gone out.”
When the talisman was halfway burned, a muffled voice finally came from the other end. “Roger that, roger that. You go first, I'll be right there.”
Hong Jiu was getting impatient. “What are you doing taking so long? Can you hurry up?”
“I know, I'm making breakfast for the kid—Hey, Daddy, I'm hungry!—Okay, okay, I hear you, Nannan. Breakfast will be ready in a second—”
The voice cut off abruptly. Hong Jiu was left with nothing but a handful of ashes, veins throbbing on her pale forehead. She knew this guy was unreliable. Since things had come to this, she had to pursue him first.
Hong Jiu put on a human-skin mask, sprayed herself twice with a scent-masking potion, and followed the direction Lu Yan had taken.
Lu Yan wandered around the city, turning this way and that, before finally turning into a narrow street and stopping in front of a wonton stall. Hong Jiu squatted at the entrance of the alley from a distance, watching him eagerly as he paid, took his bowl, and sat down.
“Boss, a bowl of wontons.” After speaking, Lu Yan sat down at a small wooden table and began to eat. Hong Jiu swallowed hard; she hadn't eaten anything since waking up either. But she couldn't speak—a disguise technique of this level couldn't alter her voice. Being able to change her bone structure was already incredible; altering her vocal cords would require learning an entirely different technique. She turned her head, trying to ignore the slurping sounds and the delicious aroma wafting over, only to see Yao Wu swaggering over to her. He had a steamed bun in his mouth, a half-eaten jianbing in his left hand, and a bowl of soy milk in his right. He plopped down beside her and began stuffing his face.
Two more veins throbbed on Hong Jiu's forehead. So she was the only one who didn't get to eat. What kind of joke was this? Why did she have to bear all the suffering? This was the twenty-seventh time she regretted agreeing to cooperate with Yao Wu. She must have been completely blind; neither of these two guys could be trusted.
She finally waited until both of them finished eating, thinking they would finally get down to business, only to hear Lu Yan raise his hand and call out, “Boss, pack another bowl to go!”
Snap—
The chopsticks in Hong Jiu's hand snapped right in half. The stall owner shot her an unfriendly look, and only after she placed a few copper coins on the table did he look away and go back to boiling wontons.
Lu Yan was full and satisfied, thinking that these wontons were pretty good, so he should bring a bowl back for Jiang Ci. Carrying the food container, he walked out, and Hong Jiu and Yao Wu quickly followed.
“Why did he get another bowl to go?” Hong Jiu whispered.
Yao Wu analyzed with a solemn face, “There must be something going on.” Hong Jiu gritted her teeth and held back her temper for now.
The tailing continued. They felt they were close to finding his base of operations.
Lu Yan carried the small food container upstairs. Hong Jiu and Yao Wu exchanged a glance, gritted their teeth, and rented a room as well. The waiter sized up the two of them—Hong Jiu was half a head taller than Yao Wu, and Yao Wu had a baby face, so they looked incredibly suspicious together. As they walked up the stairs, a faint murmur drifted from behind them: “An old cow eating tender grass, she didn't even spare a kid...”
Yao Wu trembled all over as he tried to hold back his laughter. Hong Jiu closed her eyes and smacked him on the head, nearly knocking him flat.
Once they got upstairs, they realized a problem—the corridor was lined with guest rooms on both sides, and all the doors were closed. They hadn't seen which room Lu Yan had entered at all. Hong Jiu stood in the middle of the hallway, looking left and right, blinking blankly. Yao Wu rubbed his head and also looked left and right, equally lost. The two of them stood in the dead center of the corridor like two wooden posts, neither knowing which way to go.
“Didn't you say we just had to follow him?” Hong Jiu whispered through gritted teeth.
“I did follow him,” Yao Wu whispered back. “He went upstairs, was I supposed to stop following him?”
“Then how did you lose him?”
“I didn't lose him. I know he's upstairs.”
“Where is he then?”
“...Upstairs.”
Hong Jiu took a breath. She had lost count of how many times today she wanted to stuff Yao Wu's head into a wall.
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