The result spoke for itself.
Kuang Youzhi returned from his trip fruitfully. His trick succeeded and he took his beautiful wife home. While he was in a good mood about returning home with his wife, he didn"t know that people in the country of Mu Xia had been looking for him everywhere.
After traveling back for half a month, Kuang Youzhi and Baili Ziyi finally arrived at the border between the country of Mu Xia and Zhongxi Country.
The border between the two countries was strictly guarded so n.o.body could easily cross it. Once a trespa.s.ser was found on either side, an arrow would just shoot the person down. This was the agreement that the two countries had reached on border management.
Therefore, if anyone wanted to cross the border, they had to escape the guards from both countries. There were very few people who could cross the border between the two countries. Rows of dead bodies hanging on bamboo poles had dried up in the sun, so the scene along the border acted as a warning.
When Baili Ziyi crossed the border, she was afraid of seeing the scene.
In the past, she had happened to catch up with a special group of travelling merchants pa.s.sing through the two countries. One of the merchants had taken a fancy to her and she had managed to get into the caravan and pa.s.s through the border easily. However, she had also paid the price. After crossing the border, in order to get rid of the merchant, she had tried everything. The merchant had gone after her like a hungry tiger. At last, she"d had to use poison to get rid of him.
This time, it seemed like there would be no such luck. When they arrived at the border town, the people there were all very nervous. Everyone pa.s.sed by in a hurry. Even the people on the street were fewer than usual.
"Hey, you d.a.m.n fool! This seems odd!" Baili Ziyi tugged Kuang Youzhi"s sleeve, her eyes scanning the surrounding crowd.
"Hey! How many times have I told you not to call me that? Could you pick something different?" Kuang Youzhi ignored her question. He was quite dissatisfied with the nickname so he stared at Baili Ziyi with a dark expression.
"I"ve been calling you that for so many years. I can"t change it. If you don"t like it, you can leave me!" Baili Ziyi didn"t care about Kuang Youzhi"s angry look. After all, she knew he couldn"t do anything about her. He was like a paper tiger in front of her.
"You are so unreasonable and rude! How did I fall in love with you in the first place?"
"You can repent now. No one will stop you!"
"Tell you what, don"t push me. I will."
"Kuang Youzhi, you"re so arrogant in front of people. You should be the same in front of me. Guess what, I bet that you dare not."
"You are a crazy woman!"
"Crazy woman? You haven"t seen a real crazy woman!"
"You... "
"What about me? Tell you what, there"s nothing you can do about me. You better find the nerve to divorce me. If you really had the b.a.l.l.s, you wouldn"t have chased me all the way here!"
Baili Ziyi acted like a proud peac.o.c.k. She was normally an understanding wife, a loving mother, and an elegant lady. Only in front of Kuang Youzhi did she become an aggresive cat that refused to yield. She could scratch him until he bled at any time.
They had spent half their lives together, as they had been man and wife for 30 years. During the past three decades, they"d had their fights and quarrels. It seemed that their relationship had been stabler. They had never split up until the death of Baili Lanyi, which had once driven them apart.
Just as they were arguing, a group of soldiers rushed across the street and made people panic.
When Kuang Youzhi saw the situation, he took Baili Ziyi into his arms and quickly turned into a small alley on the street.
The soldiers soon disappeared at the end of the street. Kuang Youzhi and Baili Ziyi looked at each other in confusion.
"It seems that something did happen!" Kuang Youzhi"s cold eyes glanced at the corner, where the soldiers had disappeared. It was the direction that led to the border outside the city.
"This time, it won"t be easy to leave the town!" Baili Ziyi pushed Kuang Youzhi"s arm off. She was not used to hugging on the street. She was not as open-minded as Kuang Youzhi, so she blushed slightly.
She wasn"t young anymore, so she didn"t find it proper to cuddle on the street. She and Kuang Youzhi both had deceptive faces. Kuang Youzhi was 68 years old, but he looked like 38 years old. Baili Ziyi was a little jealous of that, though she also looked much younger than her real age.
She was 46 years old and 12 years younger than Kuang Youzhi. While she was standing beside Kuang Youzhi, they looked the same age. People couldn"t see the age gap between them. How could Baili Ziyi not be jealous? When she turned 68 years old, she might look older than Kuang Youzi. She still felt that this was a little unfair to her, so she loved and hated Kuang Youzhi"s face.
Kuang Youzhi put his arm around Baili Ziyi and said softly, "Let"s go. I"ll take you to a place."
Baili Ziyi looked doubtfully at Kuang Youzhi, whose face was confident and calm. She couldn"t figure out what was on his mind.
Kuang Youzhi meant no harm. He actually took her to a restaurant. After walking through the door, Kuang Youzhi took Baili Ziyi straight into a private room.
The servant saw that both of them were dressed well and went directly into the private room. Naturally, he thought they were n.o.ble guests and showed great hospitality.
The servant entered their room and greeted them with a smile. "What would you like to order?"
"Oh, bring all your specialties. Then prepare a first-cla.s.s guest room." Kuang Youzhi"s hand was knocking on the table casually, like he was a member of the n.o.ble family.
"No problem! Please wait a moment. I"ll get everything ready for you." The servant was extremely happy to have two rich guests, as he thought he could make a fortune that day. The male guest had told him to bring a table of the specialties!
The servant was about to turn around and leave, when Kuang Youzhi stopped him. "Wait a minute!"
The servant became nervous. He thought he had done nothing wrong. He actually thought the guest may tip him if he did well. Otherwise, he might lose his job or even get in trouble.
"If there"s anything else you would like, just let me know. I"m at your service."
Kuang Youzhi"s cold eyes glanced at the servant, who panicked immediately and thought to himself, Did I do something wrong?
"I just saw a group of soldiers running in a hurry. The atmosphere in town was a little tense. What happened?"
Upon hearing this, the servant calmed down. Kuang Youzhi wouldn"t blame him for anything. He was relieved that he hadn"t offended anyone he couldn"t afford to offend at the moment. The rest was a piece of cake for him.
The servant sighed and said with a smile, "You two are clearly not from our town, so there are things you don"t know. Recently, someone disguised as Prince Yu tried to alienate the country of Mu Xia and other countries. He also wanted to sabotage the relations of the royal family. Thus, the royal family has issued a killing order. Once the person disguised as Prince Yu shows up, he will be beheaded immediately. The two border towns have strengthened their guards. It"s said that this was to prevent bad people from fleeing across the border. The soldiers guarding the border have streghthened their patrols. They did catch many people crossing the border. Therefore, the atmosphere in town has been very tense lately. There was a rumor that soldiers have caught the wrong person, and they have been arresting people who went outside the town to collect herbs or hunt. As a result, everyone has become nervous and afraid of walking around."
After listening to the servant"s explanation, Kuang Youzhi got two crucial pieces of information and lost his good mood.
The servant left and Kuang Youzhi looked at Baili Ziyi solemnly. "What do you think?"
"Why are you even asking me? You have made up your mind."
"You! I"m just guessing, I"m not 100% sure. That"s why I need your opinion."
"What else would I say? I agree with you. Duanmu Gongyu must have appeared, and some people have already found out. The royal family was scared and worried about what he would do, so they started the search first. Under the circ.u.mstances, it will be more difficult for us to cross the border."
Baili Ziyi picked up the teapot on the table, poured herself a cup of tea and then drank it all.
Kuang Youzhi, who saw her action, was somewhat dissatisfied. He stared at her coldly. "h.e.l.lo! You only care about yourself. Could you pay some attention to your husband?"
"Hey, let"s be clear. I don"t like to hear words like "husband". Shame on you."
"But I am your husband, and you are my wife. What"s wrong with it?"
"I"ll tell you what"s wrong. The corresponding word for "wife" should be "man"."
"Hey! You"ve started your nonsense now. You are picking on me, aren"t you?"
"Why am I picking on you?"
They would start their quarrel again whenever they did not agree with each other, which rendered bystanders totally speechless. Were these two children? Weren"t they tired of quarrelling every day?
They were still having a quarrel when the servant came in and brought a tray of delicious dishes, which were all specialties of the restaurant. The servant had chosen the most expensive ones, as the food was all on the house.
As soon as the dishes were on the table, there was a riot downstairs. The servant was confused. Kuang Youzhi and Baili Ziyi also became serious and listened to the sound downstairs with their full attention.
After serving the food, the servant went out and walked downstairs directly.
Kuang Youzhi and Baili Ziyi focused all their attention on the movement downstairs. Soldiers were searching for something. Everyone was cooperative, but the soldiers" att.i.tude seemed to be very mean. There were bursts of angry reproaches and curses.
Before long, the servant returned. As soon as he entered the door, he explained to Kuang Youzhi. "Don"t worry. Soldiers are just checking ident.i.ties downstairs. It"s no big deal."
Kuang Youzhi nodded quietly. Then, he took out a check from his long sleeve and handed it to the servant.
As soon as the servant saw the money, he smiled wider. His eyes were shining as if he had seen the G.o.d of wealth.
"Please enjoy your meal. I"ll go downstairs and see what"s going on."
After the servant left, Baili Ziyi complained. "What a sn.o.b. He changed his att.i.tude at the sight of money."
"It"s normal in our world. Don"t take it personally," Kuang Youzhi said, although he showed obvious disdain. What Baili Ziyi feared most in her life was not the cat, but disgusting flatterers.
Kuang Youzhi shook his head and said with a faint smile, "My dear, in fact, you should know that he is the most perfect person to be a servant at a restaurant."
"What do you mean?"
"Thanks to him, I got the information I wanted easily."
"Oh? What you said before was to come here and collect information?"
"Well, of course, this is gathering useful information."
"Show-off! Don"t deny it."
"Well, it"s not the right time to say this."
"What should we do now?"
"First of all, we must find a way to cross the border. Xiao Yu should be in trouble."
"I don"t know what magic Duanmu Gongyu has weaved on you. You haven"t treated anyone but him like that in your whole life..."
"I treat you that way, don"t I?"
Kuang Youzhi"s words were flattering. His meaningful sound made Baili Ziyi flush. Meanwhile, her heart started to beat fast.
After dinner, they went back to their room to rest. The room was really a superior one. It was s.p.a.cious, comfortable and luxurious. It could be compared to a presidential suite.
As she was looking at the luxurious room, Baili Ziyi was shocked. "There is no need to stay in such a luxurious room! What a waste of money!"
"Oh, you think I booked such a good room for us to stay?"
"What do you mean? You did not book this good room so we could stay? What is it for?"
"It"s a cover-up, of course!"
"What?"
"So no one would find out what we are doing in there because of the effective sound insulation!"
Baili Ziyi blushed again and looked at Kuang Youzhi in embarra.s.sment. "Old twit, how old are you?"
"Haha..." Kuang Youzhi laughed at Baili Ziyi. His laugh was so loud that she could no longer stand the embarra.s.sment.
"What are you laughing at?"
Baili Ziyi pushed against Kuang You"s back in anger. She used all her strength to push. Even though Kuang Youzhi practised martial arts, it still hurt a bit.
Kuang Youzhi hissed and took a painful breath. He pretended to stare at Baili Ziyi angrily. "Can"t you be tender? You shoud change your bad habit of constantly beating me up. You are abusing your husband with violence; do you know that?"
"Violence? I don"t know what violence means. I just know that you never learn your lesson. You need constant prodding from me to know better."
"Nonsense!"
"What did I say wrong?"
The quarrel between them began again. This kind of endless quarreling seemed to be the joy of their life. A day without a quarrel lacked something. Having a daily quarrel was normal for them.
"I don"t want to argue with you."
Finally, Kuang Youzhi was the first to cool down and give in. He controlled his temper and said in a low voice, "Ziyi, get ready!"
"Ready for what?"
Baili Ziyi didn"t understand Kuang Youzhi"s meaning. She couldn"t make out what he meant at all. She looked at Kuang Youzhi in confusion. Her face was innocent, dull and somehow cute. Her reaction was totally inconsistent with her real age, which amazed Kuang Youzhi.
Baili Ziyi slapped Kuang Youzhi once again, waking him up. Kuang Youzhi, who was. .h.i.t hard again, was upset. His face grew gloomy. However, he now realized what was the most important thing to do. He did nothing but stare at Baili Ziyi.
"Your intelligence hasn"t improved at all!"
"Kuang Youzhi, are you looking for a fight?"
"Well, forget this. Let"s get down to what"s important!"
Baili Ziyi heard the important thing on his mind and immediately became serious. Once Kuang Youzhi said this important thing, it felt real. He never joked about real things. They were very similar in that aspect!
"You are going to prepare a big gift for the soldiers who guard the border!"
"Oh? What kind of gift?
"It should be big enough for us to cross the border! As you can see, it"s hard to get by with conventional means, and we don"t have much time to spend here. We need to cross the border as soon as possible. I need to go back to Jin Lin City and check on Xiao Yu."
"Well, I see. Let me think about it!"
Baili Ziyi sat silently for some time, lost in thought. Kuang Youzhi didn"t waste his time either. He quietly sneaked into the soldiers" camp late at night and investigated the situation. He had to find out more information for Baili Ziyi and help her get things done better.
Thanks to their perfect cooperation, things went smoothly. After one day"s preparation, they were ready for everything! They had been together for 30 years, so good teamwork helped them get things done successfully.
The next day, late at night...
Baili Ziyi and Kuang Youzhi, who were dressed in total black, sneaked into the soldiers" camp. It should have been easier for Kuang Youzhi, as he had been there the previous night. However, he sensed an unusual atmosphere upon arriving at the gate of the camp.
The guards at the gate were far more than the day before. It seemed that today"s action would not be easy.