The hall fell into complete silence.
After a moment, the light at the main entrance dimmed slightly – a person and a wolf slowly walked in.
The person wore an undyed wide-sleeved cloth robe, his ink-black hair unbound, tied back only with a thin black ribbon. His long brows swept upward toward his temples, and his eyes were like cold stars. The dazzling light shining from behind made his handsome features appear all the more striking. The wolf walking beside him was over one meter in length, pure white from head to tail, and appeared extraordinarily fierce.
As Zhao Yilou walked further in, everyone could see his features more clearly.
Almost without needing confirmation, many people could tell at a glance that Zhao Yilou bore a fifty or sixty percent resemblance to Zhao Zhangji of those years. There were indeed unrelated people in this world who looked alike, but for such an outstanding youth to happen to resemble Zhao Zhangji so closely – the possibility of that was extremely slim.
Even Gongsun Pi could not help secretly sighing that this youth’s appearance truly combined all the best qualities of the late ruler and Zhao Zhangji. These days people had begun to appreciate delicate, soft-looking handsome men, and many men had started applying powder and rouge like women. The occasional striking beauty among men was always delicate like a woman, which had gradually led people to believe that once handsomeness reached a certain degree, it became androgynous. But although Zhao Yilou was still a youth, his features were already sharply defined and very masculine, without the slightest trace of repulsive femininity.
Gongzi Fan rose and extended his hand toward Zhao Yilou, gesturing for him to sit temporarily in his own seat.
Zhao Yilou did not stand on ceremony either. Without a word, he knelt and sat down. White Blade obediently crouched beside him, to the astonishment of the crowd. But they quickly reflected that he had wandered in the mountains and forests these past years, so it was hardly surprising that he had a wolf for company.
“Chancellor, the young lord has already arrived. I shall no longer overstep my role. A state cannot go a day without a ruler, and I trust you will not make excuses and delay the matter of Zhao, would you?” Gongzi Fan said with a light laugh.
A maid brought over another seat for Gongzi Fan, and he accordingly sat down.
Zhao Yilou’s expression remained fairly composed, but his palms had already begun to sweat. This was the first time he had sat in the principal seat facing so many powerful ministers. He did not know what to say, so he could only remain silent.
He did not know that it was precisely this silence that made him appear quite steady.
At first, Zhao Yilou had been somewhat afraid, but he suddenly recalled that Song Chuyi had said she faced dangers in the State of Wey just as he did. For some reason, much of his nervousness and fear was dispelled.
Zhao Yilou stared blankly at the birds outside the hall. The ministers in the hall all noticed and thought to themselves: Could this one actually be a fool?
Gongzi Fan, however, was very satisfied with Zhao Yilou’s behavior.
Outside, several birds, startled by something unknown, fluttered up with a rush of wings and disappeared among the palace walls.
In Puyang of the State of Wey.
Song Chuyi and Ji Huan found a household in a remote alley to stay with. The area near the outskirts of the city seemed rather desolate, with broken tiles and ruined walls everywhere, revealing the decline of the State of Wey.
There were only three people in this household: a mother approaching her thirties and a pair of young twin sisters.
The mother and daughters all wore coarse hemp garments covered with many patches, but they were kept very clean. The mother’s youth had already faded; a life of excessive hardship made her look as if she were fifty. Her back was slightly hunched. The twin sisters were not particularly good-looking – their limbs were as thin as bamboo and their hair was dry and yellow – but they had large, bright eyes.
Their courtyard was actually not small, with four or five rooms, but it had long since fallen into disrepair. There was no furniture inside at all – only two straw mats spread on the ground, two old quilts, and an oil lamp placed on the floor.
Song Chuyi was never picky about daily necessities, so she had Ji Huan share some grain with the mother and daughters, then went inside and slipped into the bedding.
Ji Huan hesitated for a moment, pulled his straw mat a little farther away, and lay down without undressing.
The continuous journey had left them exhausted. Ji Huan fell asleep almost as soon as he lay down. Song Chuyi thought about a few things, and just as she was drifting off, she heard voices speaking outside.
“We have guests today. Please go back,” the woman said in a lowered voice.
Another male voice, carrying a lewd chuckle, shouted, “No one around here has come today – where did you get guests from? Hurry up and let those two little sluts serve me.”
“There really are honored guests, I beg you, come another day.”
“Stop trying to fool me – the room’s pitch black, not even a peep…”
Then came rustling sounds from outside, as if people were pushing and shoving. Ji Huan also opened his eyes and glanced at Song Chuyi in the dim light.
Song Chuyi waved a hand at him, signaling not to meddle. The mother and daughters apparently made their living by selling their bodies, and who knew what sort of people came to them. As the saying goes, petty men are hard to guard against; getting tangled up with people who couldn’t be reasoned with would be nothing but trouble. As long as the man didn’t force his way into this room, Song Chuyi would not interfere.
The courtyard fell quiet. After a moment, a man’s panting and a girl’s soft sobbing came from next door. After a while longer, the sounds grew more intimate.
Listening carefully, Song Chuyi realized it was the voices of two girls.
Ji Huan awkwardly buried his head under the quilt, his body stretched stiff, not daring to move in the slightest.
While he was nervous and sweating all over, within no time he actually heard Song Chuyi’s even breathing. Ji Huan let out a breath of relief and was just about to cover his head and sleep when the sounds from over there grew more and more fervent, and listening to them began to stir a reaction in him as well.
Forget it, just endure it.
…
Two hours later.
The sounds were still continuing. Ji Huan gritted his teeth, wishing he could grab a sword and go cut down the man next door – had he not seen a woman in hundreds of years? Although the sounds had paused and resumed several times in between, and Ji Huan had dozed off a few times as well, he was a light sleeper and would wake at the slightest noise – unlike the person beside him, who slept on her side, on her back, diagonally, practically cycling through every position, sleeping with utter abandon.
The next day, Song Chuyi rose from the bed fresh and full of energy. As soon as she stepped outside, she saw Ji Huan standing under the corridor with a dark expression and dark shadows under his eyes.
“Would you like to eat now?” the woman approached uneasily.
Song Chuyi could see her fine trembling all over and said gently, “Just a moment.”
After washing up by the well, she knelt down at the only stone table in the courtyard.
The woman, her face pale, stole a glance at Ji Huan and hurriedly turned away. The two girls brought over two basins of noodle soup. Ji Huan knew they would be going out after eating, so he sat down, picked up the earthen basin, and slurped down the noodles.
After the two finished eating, Song Chuyi said they would come back to stay that evening, and once they were outside, Song Chuyi asked, “Huan, do you know where in Puyang there’s a guild that trades in information?”
“Trades in information?” Ji Huan thought for a long while before saying, “I have some impression of it – it seems there’s such a business in a gaming house. Do you wish to buy information?”
Song Chuyi said, “Lead the way. Let’s go take a look first.”
A gaming house did not refer solely to Go. Games like liubo chess and wagers between scholars all counted as gambling, and gaming houses provided a venue for such things. But unlike gambling dens, everything was conducted according to the “gentleman’s agreement,” making it seem somewhat more refined.
