As promised, a few days later Yang Ming Xi travelled into town to find a foreign trader or shop that would take the pearls. It would be best to avoid official money changers and jewellery shops, and a foreigner would likely ask fewer questions, but if not, he still had connections he could use.

The town was on a road that connected to the trade routes of Xiyu, so there was a good chance that someone would trade. While only a two day journey to and from the mountain, Cui Xi had yet to visit since she had come to Tiansheng. 

Master Yang did not think there was any harm for the two girls to go to the market and enjoy the sights while he conducted business. There was an apothecary that he had to see in town as it was, and he was long overdue to visit with the owner of the shop. 

Master Yang and his daughter had habitually gone every few months, but it was Cui Xi’s arrival that had delayed the most recent trip. It could be delayed no longer as Yang Mind Xi had promised a selection of herbs amongst other things to the shop owner. Moreover, a certain letter had to be delivered.

It was decided that they would stay at an inn and then walk back to the mountain house the following day. Before the sun had risen, Yang Ming Xi loaded the little donkey that was kept in a corral off to the side of the house. Checking that the baskets were properly secured, he patted the donkey in satisfaction. 

A moment later the front door opened, and he was surprised to see Cui Xi walk out with a straw hat on her head. He peered to look at her. Stumbling back a bit, his eyes widened at her face. He then picked up the lantern that he had put onto the bench, and raised it high to shine the light on her.

“Does this work, Yifu?” she laughed, her eyes bending into crescents. Using the tools in her prized make up kit and some contouring techniques, she’d managed to make her features more angular and changed the shape of her eyes with shading.

Yang Ming Xi looked at the freckled, dark skinned face of a girl he didn’t quite recognize as Cui Xi. He also noticed that she’d done something to her eyes, making them look more narrowed. It wasn’t an ugly face, but it certainly wasn’t the face of the young girl to which he had grown accustomed.

He stood silently gawking at her in the darkness. Yang Ming Xi had only seen the face changing technique used by hidden masters of wulin and the secret guards of the capital. He never expected that this strange girl would know the art of face changing. 

On closer inspection he could see that it was an expert use of some painted substance, not a true skin changer’s art, but his heart still squeezed. A person who could use face changing was normally a skilled assassin.

Cui Xi, noticing that Master Yang’s colour was a little bit off, suddenly became self-conscious.

“Not good?” she asked, her expression faltering. 

Pearls and face changing…that girl!

“Da!” A’Yu laughed, startling him out of his stupor. “Isn’t it clever?” she smiled, grabbing onto his arm. “A’Xi didn’t want to stand out so much.”

Xiao Yu could see her father’s strange mood and didn’t want A’Xi to be upset.

Yang Ming Xi nodded, swallowing back his original words. This is good too, he thought to himself. There would be less trouble this way.

Forcing a smile, he smacked the donkey on the rump and led the girls out the gate of the little mountain house.

As they walked and chatted, the sun came up and dyed the sky a fierce reddish orange. Making good time, they soon arrived before the small walled city that sat just off the bank of the river.

The girls held hands, sometimes giggling, talking about what they wanted to buy or eat. Xiao Yu was feeling cheerful, having already promised to show Cui Xi her favourite stall for grilled meat skewers.

Cui Xi planned to buy some clothes after the pearls have been changed for broken silver. Although, she had been able to make do with one of Xiao Yu’s dresses, she was a little taller and needed more than one dress. She also wanted to buy boy’s clothes. It wasn’t really that convenient running around the countryside dressed as a girl…one was likely to run into bandits or some other horrible thing and it wasn’t easy to run in a full skirt. She missed wearing her jeans, but they were just too foreign looking to use and nothing could be done about that.

She also felt hopelessly defenseless. On their way toward the gate, as the march of travellers had grown thick on the road, she had noticed groups of men on horses or on foot, carrying swords and other weapons, dressed in matching robes. No doubt these men were members of jianghu’s various sects. Watching it being acted out on television was one thing; seeing it with her own eyes was completely different. Even if she didn’t know how to use it, a small dagger would probably come in handy, and she decided she would get one. Learning to use it…would she have to get herself a master? 

She shook her head at herself: Step 1: of isekai…Stay alive. Step 2: Stay Alive! Step 3: find yourself a martial arts master… Kyaah! What a thought!

As they neared the main gate, people of varying status were queued to enter. However, a few lavish carriages abruptly barged through, drivers barking and waving their whips, causing people to jump out of the way.

Horrible, Cui Xi thought with her lips twisting in a sneer. She reminded herself that this was a feudal kingdom. The rich and highborn held ultimate power and had no cares for the lives of the common people. Even something as simple as entering the city was marked by the contrast between those who were wealthy and had status and those who did not. Rules were only made for those who did not have the strength to break them. She lowered her eyes and pulled her straw hat down as they drew closer to the front of the line. The soldiers made her nervous.

Yang Ming Xi’s eyes narrowed. He could see that the gate into the city was more heavily guarded than usual and that they were checking everyone’s travel papers. Although the outside possibility that this would happen had occurred to him, there had been no time to prepare something for A’Xi...and they could not turn back now. He tried not to squeeze the halter on the donkey, forcing himself to remain casual.

***

At the same time as the three made their way up to the main gate, a group of horsemen guided their mounts up to the edge of the river, high up on the ridge of the opposite bank. They surveyed the land around them, waiting until the hooded man in their midst also drew up. Their horses pawed the earth, tossing their heads restlessly, necks white with the sweat of hard riding.

“We’ve arrived. Do we enter the city, Master?” asked a young man, looking down at the walls. He shielded his eyes against the glare 

The hooded man at the center shook his head.

“No, not today,” the deep beauty of the man’s voice was marred by contempt.

“Hmph. Master, we already have evidence of the issue with the army pay…do you not intend to make a move?” asked another quietly.

“There’s no rush, even later it wouldn’t be too late. We’ll camp here tonight. You two…go see what our old friend is up to…”

Two of the younger men grinned at each other and hastened their mounts back down the ridge at a sharp angle and then galloped away. No doubt they would cross at the bend of the river, out of sight of the city walls. It would be best if they entered the city after dark, assessed the situation, and then reported back what they had found to their master in the morning.

The rest of the men dismounted, and some started about the business of making camp, while others went to get water for the horses. One young man was about to draw his sword out to clean it, but he was stopped by a tall man with his hair secured in a loose braid.

“Do you see the angle of the sun right now?” he asked calmly, closing a partially gloved hand on the younger man’s wrist. “If you pull that sword out now the glint of it will alert those on the wall. You must think before you do such a thing.”

They had deliberately ridden up from the west so that no shadows would be cast before them, but that meant that the light of the sun would reflect off their swords if they were drawn.

The young man, who was little more than a sixteen year old boy, hit his forehead to the dirt gasping his apology.

“Four strokes, A’Yan…so he will remember. We must never alert an enemy to our position,” the hooded man said, his voice like velvet over iron.

A’Yan nodded, jerking his head and the boy was dragged away to take his punishment. In reality a few strokes could not even be considered a punishment, but to have shamed himself in front of his comrades, he would remember the lesson and perhaps live a longer life.  

The man with the hood turned back, his gaze returning to the gate. Behind him sounded four sharp cracks and not even a single grunt. Good! The boy had taken things very well.

The hooded man continued to watch the gate, noting with a snort that it was more heavily guarded than usual.

How long the town would remain in control of the Gao family…that was still to be seen.

***

Down below, unaware of the watchers on the ridge, Yang Ming Xi quietly wiped a hand over his brow, hoping that there would be no issue with entry as he stepped forward.

Eh? I’m in luck.

“Ahhhh! Divine Doctor Yang!” cried one of the guards from behind the barricade. He ran forward taking Yang Ming Xi’s hands into his own. “Please, please, this side!”

Cui Xi was a little astonished to find that they were being led out of the queue and through the gate.

“Oi! A’Dong? What are you up to?” called another guard.

“Boss! This is Master Yang who saved my mother’s life last year! The good doctor is known to the City Lord…he can just come into the city,” Dong called back, his spear at his side. “Come, come in!”

The other guard shook his head, but waved his agreement good naturedly and turned away.

Inwardly Yang Ming Xi sighed with relief. Indeed, he had saved Dong’s mother last winter from a lung infection that would have killed her, so Dong recognized his face.

“But who is this with our family’s A’Yu?” asked Dong, grinning at Xiao Yu, who looked away quite flustered.

“Who are you calling your family? This one is my adopted daughter, A’Xi,” her ‘foster’ father explained.

Dong barely looked at her, his eyes clearly occupied with someone else.

Cui Xi smiled to herself. Hah! It was obvious that Dong liked Xiao Yu. With this, she thought entry would be easier, but unfortunately the commotion caused by three people moving out of line resulted in a protest that was only stifled by two other guards at the gate as other travellers, already agitated by the carriages of the wealthy careening through, noisily expressed their protest.

Standing on the wall, a young man, about twenty years old, with a jade green crown in his hair and green silk robes, noticed the noise and watched with interest as Xiao Yu walked through.

Something good to eat today? he thought to himself, smirking as he flapped open his fan. Hmph! Not bad…

He slapped his fan against the shoulder of one of his guards who was leaning against the wall, one foot propped up, picking at his fingernails with a dagger.

Gao Wei, the eldest son of the City lord, jerked his chin in Xiao Yu’s direction.

“That one,” he said, waving his fan at her.

“As the Young Master wishes,” the man bowed and left.