Chapter 15

After a night of restful sleep, Shen Yao Xing woke up the next day feeling refreshed and energized. She sat up on the bed, stretched her arms, and loosened her joints. She was only wearing a thin inner garment, as her mud-stained outer clothes were discarded on the floor.

Shen Yao Xing picked up the clothes, noticing that some parts were stuck together, making them too dirty to wear. She quietly opened a crack in the door and peeked out, hoping to call for the inn’s servant boy.

Strangely, there was no one in the corridor this early morning. It was so quiet that she could faintly hear slight movements from the hall downstairs. Shen Yao Xing cleared her throat and called out twice, but instead of the servant boy, the innkeeper came upstairs.

The innkeeper’s sallow face looked extremely malnourished, and his eyes were somewhat dazed. He bowed slightly to her and asked, “How may I assist you, guest?”

The young lady licked her slightly dry lips, feeling a bit embarrassed, and asked, “Do you have any clean clothes I can change into at your inn?”

The innkeeper was slightly stunned, as if he hadn’t expected her to ask this, and shook his head without much energy.

Shen Yao Xing frowned and asked again, “Then where can I buy clothes in your town?”

“Well…” The innkeeper’s sallow face showed a hint of hesitation. After a moment, he finally pointed her in a direction, “Turn right and go straight after leaving the inn. There’s a clothing store, but I’m not sure if it’s open today.”

Knowing the location, Shen Yao Xing felt relieved. She thanked him, closed the door, and reluctantly put on the dirty clothes. With the little silver she had left, she headed out. Before she could even go downstairs, a man who had just left his room called out to her.

“Miss Shen, where are you rushing off to?”

Shen Yao Xing turned around at the sound. Thanks to the man’s kindness yesterday, willing to give her a ride and lend her money, her opinion of him had changed slightly. After all, he had helped her, so she couldn’t give him the cold shoulder.

She didn’t hide it and pointed outside, “I’m going to buy some clothes.”

Jiang Ming Yue turned and gently closed the door behind him. His wide sleeves swayed as he slowly approached the young lady, “Why not have breakfast before you go?”

“No need.” Shen Yao Xing shook her head. She was afraid that if she ate breakfast, she wouldn’t have enough money left to buy clothes. After exchanging a few polite words with the man, she hurried out of the inn.

Jiang Ming Yue’s gaze remained fixed on the young lady’s back until her lively figure walked out of the inn. Only then did he leisurely go downstairs.

Once on the main street, Shen Yao Xing felt something strange. She had thought there were few people yesterday because they had entered the town late. Early morning should be the busiest time for the morning market, but she only saw a few people hurrying by on the street. Coupled with the gloomy weather, the entire town seemed as desolate as a ghost town.

Although somewhat puzzled, she didn’t pay much attention to it. She searched in the direction the innkeeper had pointed, but all the shops along the way were closed. After much effort, she finally found a shop with a plaque that read “Clothing Store,” but even its door was closed.

This wouldn’t do. She couldn’t wear these clothes for another day.

Shen Yao Xing walked up and knocked hard on the door, “Is anyone there? I’m here to buy clothes!”

After knocking for a while, she finally heard a faint sound from inside.

“Who is it?” The elderly voice carried a hint of wariness.

“I’m here to buy clothes.”

“We’re not doing business today. Please leave.”

“No, no, please!” Shen Yao Xing quickly called out to her and shook her sleeves, continuing to address the closed door, “Shopkeeper, please just sell me some clothes. I can’t wear what I have on today. If you don’t sell me any, I might have to go naked.”

Shen Yao Xing tried to sound as miserable as possible, fearing the shopkeeper wouldn’t sell to her. The footsteps inside paused slightly, seeming to hesitate for a moment, but eventually came over and slowly opened a crack in the door.

A pair of slightly cloudy eyes in the crack examined the young lady, even looking behind her. After making sure there was nothing unusual, the door was opened halfway.

An old woman with gray hair streaked with white appeared in view. Her back was slightly hunched, and her face was weathered. She glanced at the mud-stained clothes of the young lady and slightly moved aside, “Come in, miss.”

Shen Yao Xing nodded to her and walked in, following her introduction to start picking out clothes. However, she didn’t have much money on her to begin with. If she couldn’t find the Black and White Sha sisters later, she would still need the money, so she had to save as much as possible.

After some thought, she chose the cheapest coarse linen shirt. As soon as she paid, she couldn’t wait to change out of her muddy clothes. The shopkeeper took the muddy clothes she had taken off and examined them, sighing, “Miss, the fabric of your clothes is of the highest quality!”

It was the kind that couldn’t be bought in ordinary places. She had only seen this kind of fabric in the capital before.

Shen Yao Xing glanced at the clothes. They were what she had worn from home, so naturally, the fabric was good. But for her, it was all the same. As long as they were worn on the body, it was fine as long as they were clean.

She flicked her sleeves and found that the sleeves of these clothes were a bit too long, and the waist was also much wider. Even with a belt tied, it was still loose and baggy.

The shopkeeper looked around her and noticed that the young lady’s figure was petite to begin with. Wearing these clothes like this was really ill-fitting, like a child stealing an adult’s clothes. The loose and baggy fit made the young lady look extremely cute.

“Looks like a little gentleman…” The shopkeeper muttered in a low voice.

“What?” Shen Yao Xing turned her head. She had heard it!

The shopkeeper quickly said it was nothing, then frowned slightly, “Miss, you came in such a hurry. If not, I could measure you and make a custom one so it wouldn’t be so loose.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Shen Yao Xing waved her hand to indicate that she didn’t need to bother. She deftly tied the oversized sleeves to fit snugly on her arms and nimbly used a dagger to trim the overlong hem. After finishing, she lifted her sleeves to examine it. Except for the chest area being a bit wide, everything else was acceptable.

After buying, she was about to take out silver to pay when the shopkeeper’s words interrupted her, “Miss, do you still want these clothes?” She raised the muddy clothes on her arm.

Shen Yao Xing shook her head.

“Then give them to me. I won’t charge you for the one you’re wearing!”

There were such good deals? Just right to save money, Shen Yao Xing immediately agreed, “Shopkeeper, you’re really a good person. Thank you so much!”

Shen Yao Xing left the store under the shopkeeper’s smiling gaze. A cool breeze blew through the empty street, and a touch of coolness invaded from the somewhat oversized collar. She raised her hand to smooth the lapels, always feeling an eerie sensation from this desolate street.

Returning to the inn, aside from the innkeeper, there were still no extra people to be seen. It was unnaturally quiet. Shen Yao Xing touched the silver in her pocket, walked to a table, sat down, and called the innkeeper over, planning to order a hearty meal.

After ordering, she still couldn’t hold back her curiosity, “Innkeeper, why aren’t there any people eating in your inn? And why are all those shops outside closed? Could it be that they’ve all gotten rich?”

The innkeeper’s body stiffened slightly. He glanced at the desolate street outside and finally sighed, “If they had gotten rich, they would have moved away long ago. Why else would they stay here waiting to die?”

“Why do you say that?” Shen Yao Xing asked with a gossipy face.

As if he had already endured to the extreme, the innkeeper’s eyes reddened slightly. He staggered and sat down in the seat next to her, lifting his sleeve to wipe his eyes. His gaze fell on the blue and white porcelain cup as he slowly said, “This town used to be as lively as any other. It’s just that a group of bandits suddenly occupied a mountain outside the town. Every ten days or so, they would come to the town to plunder. If anyone resisted, they would kill and set fires! It made people panic-stricken. Naturally, those who could move away did…”

So that’s how it was. No wonder there were so few people on the street. “In that case, you should all move away.”

The innkeeper shook his head gently, “How can it be that easy? My ancestors have run this inn for generations. Now, I only have this inn left. Not to mention that I can’t bear to part with it, even if I move out, where can I go? In these times, it might not be any better outside.”

Shen Yao Xing scratched her face, somewhat unable to understand. In her view, if it was like this, one should definitely move out. What happens later can be dealt with later. As long as one is alive, that’s enough.

“Miss, I advise you to leave quickly. The bandits should be entering the town in the next two days. If they set their sights on you with your delicate features, it will be troublesome.”

“……” Had those people become so desperate that they would prey on anyone?

After speaking with her, the innkeeper went into the kitchen to prepare her meal. Shen Yao Xing rested her chin on her hand, bored. Even if she wanted to leave now, she couldn’t. If the Black and White Sha sisters couldn’t find her, they would probably head this way. After all, this was the only town within a few dozen miles.

Jiang Ming Yue stood on the corridor of the second floor, his eyes indifferently glancing at the young lady sitting in the hall. The oversized coarse linen shirt she wore looked somewhat incongruous on her. Her exposed forearms were fair and delicate. The young lady occasionally pulled the fabric sliding down her shoulders. Her cheeks, still retaining some baby fat, puffed up and down as she ate.

“Heh,” a perfect, thin laugh escaped his lips.

Despite how quiet it was, Shen Yao Xing’s keen hearing still picked it up. She looked up at the second floor while chewing, and upon seeing who it was, she politely said, “Sir Ming Yue, have you eaten?”

Shen Yao Xing didn’t know what she looked like in the man’s eyes at this moment. The oversized, mismatched clothes were like a pile of straw, and the young lady was like an immature young beast, looking up from the straw pile, her bright eyes staring at him, whimpering at him.

She somewhat resembled the fox he had kept before, but the difference was that the fox never dared to show its claws to him.

Shen Yao Xing felt that the pervert upstairs was very abnormal, especially with the way he was looking at her now. It wasn’t the way one looked at a person, and it made her a bit angry.

Seeing that the man remained silent for a long time, Shen Yao Xing pouted and lowered her head to continue eating, her mouth not stopping, “Sir Ming Yue, you don’t need to take me with you when you leave town today. I plan to wait here for my two friends. As for the one or two silver taels you lent me, you can just tell me where you’re staying in the capital, and I’ll have someone send it to you then.”

When she looked up again, the man was already standing in front of her. Shen Yao Xing was startled, and the food in her throat that she hadn’t swallowed nearly choked her.

It seemed that his lightness skill was no worse than hers, moving like a ghost.

The man sat down gracefully across from her. His ink-black hair and snow-white robes created a strong contrast. He poured himself a cup of tea without hesitation. The white steam floating at the cup’s mouth was blown away. The man took a sip of the hot tea and said softly, “Ming Yue is in no hurry. Having traveled for the past two days, I’m a bit weary. Resting in this town for two days before setting off again won’t be too late.”

The young lady’s chewing movements froze, and then she seemed to indifferently let out an “oh.”

Shen Yao Xing’s face was calm and unperturbed, but her heart was now like Nezha stirring up the sea.

Damn it! She had to stay with this pervert for two more days!

……