Nan Zhao had long been a barbarian place with customs distinctly different from those of Great Chu. It was heaven for numerous poisonous insects, herbs, birds and beasts. Its people warlike, so many of Great Chu would love to avoid it. More than a thousand years ago, when Nan Zhao was still called Kui Zhou, it was part of the central kingdom. Towards the end of the previous dynasty, the imperial family of Nan Zhao set up the nation of Nan Zhao. After that, the founding emperor established Great Chu and fought on many fronts during the war. When the founding emperor had time for Nan Zhao, it had already established itself in a good state. Great Chu, on the other hand, needed time to recuperate and multiply its population after decades of war. Thus, Nan Zhao was independent from Great Chu.
Scattered Snow Pa.s.s stood between Nan Zhao and Yong Zhou, the frontier of Great Chu. Though two countries would go to war from time to time, people on both sides of the pa.s.s exchanged and did business with each other from time to time. Ten miles from Scattered Snow Pa.s.s lay Yong Lin, a small town where people in strange dresses from Nan Zhao could be seen. Yong Lin wasn’t big. Besides, since it was 60 miles away from Yong Zhou, the capital of Prefecture of Yong Zhou, it wasn’t a very prosperous town either. It looked exactly like normal towns except those people on the streets who wore strange clothes, clearly from Nan Zhao. Standing on the not so wide street, Ye Li smiled inwardly seeing people come and go. It was rare that people were able to enjoy a life of peace and happiness in this frontier town during such a time. Or put it this way, Ye Li was surprised by the way ordinary people managed to adapt to their life and environment.
Holding a sword besides Ye Li, Secret Guard No.3 looked curiously at his master who stopped at the gate to the inn wearing a strange smile, he said: “My Lord, there aren’t many inns in Yong Lin. This is one of the best.”
Glancing at him, Ye Li shook her head with a smile and said: “Let"s go inside. I like this place.” Then she stepped inside this simple inn.
Secret Guard No.3 raised his sword-like brows. He didn’t think she would hate it for its simplicity either. After all, they had slept in the middle of nowhere from time to time when they failed to reach the next town before sunset on their way here. Besides, back in the capital, the princess went to the training site under the Hidden Could Mountain without batting an eyelid, a place that secret guards like himself didn’t want to get near.
Inside the inn, it was nowhere near those lavishly decorated inns in the capital of Chu and Guangling. However, it was the best inn in this town. There were seven to eight tables in the hall, three of which were occupied with the old innkeeper handling account books behind the counter. Ye Li was dressed up in plain clothes but her age, appearance, demeanor and the fact that she was followed by Secret Guard No.3, a man who was tall and imposing with a sword in his hands drew everyone’s attention. It wasn"t a good time for tours or businesses so there weren’t many people in the inn. Ye Li walked up to the counter and knocked on it lightly. The old innkeeper looked up, faltering and asked Ye Li after he looked at her for a good while: “Young lord, are you staying here?”
Ye Li can’t help smiling: “What else?”
The old innkeeper smiled obsequiously: “My Lord, please give me your surname and tell me how many rooms you want.”
“Chu, two princ.i.p.al rooms.”
The old innkeeper called a waiter to show them to the rooms upstairs. After sending away the waiter, Secret Guard No.3 checked the rooms thoroughly in a skillful manner. A princ.i.p.al room of such a small inn wouldn"t be very large nor lavish. There was only a bed, a cupboard and a screen which separated the bed from the table and chairs. Secret Guard No.3 stood by the door as he watched Ye Li put away her stuff quickly and asked with a frown: “My Lord, when are we leaving for Nan Zhao?”
Ye Li had put everything in order when she walked out from behind the screen. Pointing at a seat and letting Secret Guard No.3 sit, she said with a smile: “We can’t hurry that. I think... we need a guide.”
She would be toying with her own life if she went there without adequate preparation. Ye Li wasn’t the type who would take risks unless necessary.
“A guide?” Secret Guard No.3 was confused.
Ye Li smiled: “For us, Nan Zhao is too mysterious. We can"t get our way around it since we aren"t familiar with it. It’s a good idea if we can find a person of Nan Zhao or someone from Great Chu who is familiar with Nan Zhao to show us around.”
Secret Guard No.3 frowned and said: “Well... an outsider might be a drag on us.”
Ye Li knocked the table with her folding fan offhandedly and said: “Well, we’ll be waiting. I have someone found us a guide. Pitifully, he’ll arrive two days after we did.” Seeing Secret Guard No.3"s confusion, Ye Li smiled without further explanation.
Receiving the signal that he could go back to his room for a rest, Secret Guard No.3 withdrew frustratedly since he knew his mater well that he would get nothing from her no matter what he did as long as she didn"t feel like speaking.
Smilingly, she watched Secret Guard No.3 leave. After that, she took out the records sent by Tianyi Pavilion and continued reading. Han Ming Xi was quite reliable though he had already got his payment. She had received loads of information about Nan Zhao a few times on her way here. She was used to reading and memorizing all the records as soon as she got them and destroying them immediately afterwards. What she had now was probably the last copy she would receive before she leave for Nan Zhao. During this journey, she had gradually formed a general impression of the situation and events of Nan Zhao. However, she had to find out how much of her impression was true after she was in Nan Zhao. Having finished reading the heavy records in a short while, she burned them calmly.
In the morning, Ye Li woke up early as usual and went downstairs. Two tables were already taken, one of which was occupied by Secret Guard No.3 who sat near the wall. Seeing Ye Li, he hurriedly stood up. “My Lord.”
Ye Li nodded with a smile: “Up so early?”
Secret Guard No.3 remained quiet. He didn’t have to get up so early when there were four of them. However, he can"t help his worries even knowing his master could protect herself since he was the only one with her now.
Ye Li understood what he had on his mind. She smiled: “Don’t be so nervous. If you are like this all the time, I worry you’ll break down because of tiredness before we are in Nan Zhao. Do I put so much pressure on you by bringing you here with me?”
Secret Guard No.3 shook his head. “No. I want to thank you for your belief in me, My Lord.” However, growing up with the other three, being a little younger than Secret Guard No.4, he wasn’t as steady as No.4. normally he would listen to No.1 and No.2’s opinions. However, now that he was on his own which he wasn’t used to yet.
Ye Li nodded smilingly and asked the waiter to bring them breakfast.
“My Lords, are you going to Nan Zhao as well?” As Ye Li asked Secret Guard No.3 to have breakfast, a man sitting on their opposite walked over and asked.
Hearing that, Ye Li watched him as she put down her chopsticks. This man was tall and strong with a plain look. Though he tried to be nice, he couldn’t hide that cruelty between his eyes. Secret Guard No.3 reached for his sword which was lying on the table. Ye Li put her hand on it too and patted it casually. Secret Guard No.3 glanced at that man with a frown, then withdrew his hands and turned back to his meal.
The man watched everything happen but didn’t mind. He said smilingly: “Brother, don"t be nervous. My men and me are going to Nan Zhao as well which is why I want to ask if you guys want to team up.” Said the man as he pointed at another three who were sitting by the table on their opposite.
Ye Li glanced over. One was a man fifty to sixty years old, dressed up as a wealthy merchant in a lavish robe, wearing a jade ring with a gold abacus, who might as well write “I’m rich. Come and rob me” on his forehead. Next to him sat a middle-aged man who looked like a steward and a young bookish man who seemed sick. That was indeed a showy combination. At first, Ye Li was worried that Secret Guard No.3 and herself would be too eye-catching. However, after seeing them, she felt much better about No.3 and herself. However, those who dare to go to Nan Zhao weren’t easy to deal with.
She looked at Secret Guard No.3 then said with a smile: “I’m afraid we aren"t good company.”
The man smiled: “That’s not possible. I’ve seen what your friend is capable of. Besides, I"ve been to Nan Zhao several times which left me no good memories. With more people, we are more likely to remain safe, right?” He looked at Secret Guard No.3 and turned back to Ye Li again. He knew Ye Li was the one that had the final word. However, he still couldn’t tell where this young man’s limit was, so he suspected he was only an ignorant young lord who sneaked out for fun with a guard.
“We are heading for the capital of Nan Zhao. I think it will be a safe journey. Where are you guys going?” Ye Li asked with an innocent and kind smile.
The man chuckled: “We are going to the capital of Nan Zhao as well. It used to be safe but things changed since last year. My Lord is going there for some medicine business. How about we travel together?”
The merchant on their opposite shot her an arrogant glance while the sickly-looking man nodded at her with a smile.
Ye Li lowered her head with a smile and declined politely: “I only want to see Nao Zhao since I’ve heard of its unique sceneries. I already have a guide who’ll be here in two days so I don’t want to hold you up.”
Since Ye Li had refused him, the man didn’t insist and smiled: “I’ll leave you be, then. We may well meet again in the capital of Nan Zhao.”
Ye Li nodded slightly and watched him go back to his table. She heard that merchant blame the man for doing unnecessary things and his disdain for Ye Li and No.3. She didn’t mind. With a smile, she continued her breakfast.