Chapter 27

Chapter 27: An Encounter on the Road

While she was still thinking about the commotion, a group of riders came thundering in from the distance. Dust rose in a thick wave, and the sheer hostility in their posture made it clear they weren’t the patient sort.

Gu Shi Yi stuck to her lifelong principle of not courting trouble. She guided her cart closer to the side of the road, intending to let them pass and then continue.

Sitting on the driver’s seat, she watched men in matching blue outfits and small caps race by. At the front was a handsome young man with swordlike brows and bright eyes, his arrogance practically visible. As he passed, he flicked his gaze over Gu Shi Yi and the cart, then immediately looked away, as if even the act of noticing her was beneath him.

Gu Shi Yi saw his face clearly and gave a silent, appreciative whistle.

Not bad. A little pale, a little temperamental, not really her type. Still, if that man went to the Yin family, he could stand there and wipe out half the competition with nothing but his face. Those two old men in the tavern wouldn’t even be worthy to carry his shoes.

The thought left a sour taste in her chest.

So unfair. She was an Eldest Miss too. Their Eldest Miss was in her prime, picking men like she was choosing fruit. Gu Shi Yi was thirty already—and still hadn’t even tasted what a man was like.

Comparing people really could kill you.

By the time she finished sulking, the riders had already gone far ahead. Gu Shi Yi flicked the reins and continued on, slow and steady.

She didn’t know that the leader of that group was nearly at Twin Sages City’s gate when he abruptly hauled back on his reins.

“Whoa!”

His horse reared, front hooves slicing the air, then slammed down. When he stopped, the dozen men behind him stopped too.

One house servant rode up. “Young Lord, why have we halted?”

The young man sat tall in the saddle and glanced back toward the road behind them. His brows lifted.

“Send two people back,” he said. “Ask about the cart we just passed.”

The house servant looked confused. “Young Lord… what do you mean? Was something wrong with that cart?”

The young man’s gaze darkened. “Idiot. Didn’t you see? That cart looks very similar to one from our residence. And when we rode past, there was a scent—exactly the same as ours. The more I think about it, the more it feels wrong. Send two men back to check.”

The house servants exchanged looks. Two men immediately broke away.

“Yes, Young Lord!”

They wheeled their horses and galloped back. The young man waited by the roadside, expression hard.

Gu Shi Yi had no idea what was about to land on her head. She sat calmly, letting the cart roll along.

She hadn’t gone even two li when rapid hoofbeats came from behind. She looked back and saw two riders—two from that same group. For a moment she was simply curious.

What, did they drop something?

Then the two men rode up and blocked her cart.

Gu Shi Yi stared at them blankly, but her instincts began to howl. One rider clasped his hands, voice stiff as a board.

“Brother, may I ask where you got this cart?”

Gu Shi Yi’s heart dropped straight into her stomach.

Oh no. The owner?

How could she be this unlucky? The world was full of people, and she had to run into the exact one who’d lost it?

She was panicking inside, but her face stayed innocent. She’d roamed too long with Old Daoist Priest to crumble at the first gust of wind.

“I bought it,” she said, feigning confusion. “Why are you asking?”

The two men exchanged glances. One of them rode a slow circle around the cart, studying it the way a butcher studies a pig. Then he came back and called to the other:

“It’s ours. The outer drape’s been changed, but the material, the style, the paint… and the scent. You can’t mistake the scent.”

Gu Shi Yi wanted to cry. Instead she kept her eyes wide and her mouth stupid.

“What’s wrong with the scent? The man who sold it said the wood was brushed with oil. The fragrance is just oil.”

Both men snorted. One reached down and drew a long blade from his waist.

Gu Shi Yi flinched. “H-Hey! We can talk!”

The man’s lips curled with contempt. He moved beside the cart, hooked his blade up under the outer curtain, and flipped it aside to expose the wooden frame. He pointed at a spot where someone had scraped with a small knife.

“This used to have our residence’s mark carved here,” he said coldly. “Someone scraped it off.”

When they looked at Gu Shi Yi again, their eyes turned ugly.

Gu Shi Yi forced herself into the role of an honest passerby who had mistakenly bought stolen goods. She threw up her hands, trembling just enough to look believable.

“Your residence’s cart? How could it be your residence’s cart? I—I truly didn’t know! I bought it at the market with silver. It’s not my fault!”

The men didn’t care. One barked, “Save it. Come meet our Young Lord. Young Lord will decide!”

He reached to seize her.

Gu Shi Yi jerked away, voice rising. “Brother, talk properly! I’m an honest person! You can’t just grab people in the middle of the road!”

His hand snatched only air. For a split second he froze—then his face turned red with anger.

“You dare dodge!”

He lunged again. Gu Shi Yi shrieked.

“Help! Help! They’re kidnapping people on the road!”

This was the official road outside Twin Sages City, only five or six li out. Travelers were everywhere. Heads turned. Feet slowed. Curious people edged closer.

Gu Shi Yi screamed louder, leaning into righteous outrage as if it were armor.

“Someone report to the government office! They’re kidnapping in broad daylight! Is there no law left?”

The two men had wanted speed and silence. Instead, she was turning it into a public performance. If this reached their young master, the two of them would be punished for bungling it.

Their anger sharpened into something mean.

Together they reached for her again.

Gu Shi Yi let out a sharp scream and rolled off the cart, hitting the ground. In the same motion, she flicked two quick taps at the soft belly of each horse beneath the riders.

Both horses screamed and jumped.

The two men nearly went flying. Their riding was solid—they clamped their legs hard and stabilized themselves—but that only made the horses shriek again, pain sparking them into panic. The animals bucked, twisted, and then—like they’d been struck by lightning—spun and bolted straight back toward Twin Sages City.

“Whoa!” the men shouted, yanking on the reins.

The horses didn’t care. They ran wild, hooves hammering, dragging their riders away in a furious sprint.

Gu Shi Yi scrambled up, dust on her face, heart beating out of her ribs. She knew she’d offended someone powerful. She should have abandoned the cart right then and there—but she couldn’t bear to lose the old horse.

So she sprang back onto the driver’s seat, snapped the whip, and shouted, “Run! If we don’t run, we’re finished!”

The old horse had been pampered for days and finally had some strength. The sting made it yelp, then it surged forward at a full gallop. People on the road scattered in alarm as the cart thundered by, kicking up a long ribbon of dust.

Gu Shi Yi ran two li in one breath. At a fork, she turned sharply onto a smaller path, then ran another two li before she finally yanked the cart to a stop.

She jumped down and began unfastening the old horse with frantic hands.

“This cart is done for,” she muttered.

She freed the horse, tossed her bundle onto its back, and scooped Great King into one arm. With her other hand gripping the reins, she swung herself onto the horse bareback.

“Go!”

She slapped the horse’s rump. The old horse whinnied and took off—

—and right then, hoofbeats thundered behind her again.

Gu Shi Yi’s blood ran cold. She glanced back and saw the leader of that group charging down the path, the same handsome man from before. Even from this distance, she could see the murderous set of his jaw.

Her fingers went numb. She slapped the horse again.

“Faster!”

The old horse gave a strained whinny and sprinted down the narrow road.

In the chaos, Li Yan Er pushed her head out from where she was wedged against Gu Shi Yi’s chest and gasped, “Shi Yi! Shi Yi! Why didn’t you explain? Whatever happened to their people has nothing to do with us!”

The cart had been abandoned by bandits in the mountains. They’d only picked it up and used it. If they explained clearly, wouldn’t it be fine?

Gu Shi Yi laughed, bitter and breathless. “Yan Er… you’re too naive.”

This wasn’t Yan Er’s old world. There, disputes went to the government office, and even the powerful had limits. Here, the strong ate the weak as a matter of routine. Commoners didn’t dare interfere. Even the government office didn’t dare interfere.

And worse—she didn’t even have a clean argument.

The cart was stolen goods. Even if she had eighteen mouths, she couldn’t explain her way out. If they caught her, whether she was guilty or not, she’d be dragged back, locked up, and beaten until she “confessed” something just to make it stop.

Look at that Young Lord’s arrogant face. Look at his servants’ behavior. Did they seem like the type who would sit down and have a rational conversation?

If she fell into their hands, even if she didn’t die, she’d be skinned alive.

Behind her, the pursuers reached the abandoned cart. They slowed, checked it carefully, and confirmed what they already feared.

“Young Lord,” someone reported, “it’s our residence’s Second Miss’s cart.”

Their residence had strict rules about carriages. Second Miss was legitimate-born, and her cart was larger and grander than the other misses’ carts. The house servants recognized it at a glance.

The young man’s face darkened like storm water. He snapped his whip.

“Chase.”

Before this, he had been with his master in Xuan Cheng, searching for his sister and also searching for that martial uncle ancestor who had stolen their sect’s treasure. They’d found nothing. He was already anxious—then his master received news from a friend in Twin Sages City’s Zhong family, mentioning the Yin family’s Eldest Miss seeking a husband.

“Tian Er,” his master had said, “this Yin family Eldest Miss has a rare water spirit root, and her cultivation talent is excellent. If you can become husband and wife with her, then once you enter the Heavenly One Sect, Twin Sages City will be a great support to you.”

Zhang Zhen Yue truly exhausted himself for his apprentice. Pu Yun Tian, however, felt reluctant. He was born well, handsome, and carried himself like he knew it. Among women, he rarely lost. With his Heavenly Spirit Root aptitude, once he entered the Heavenly One Sect, his cultivation would soar. When he became a great cultivator, how many women would he want? Why tie himself down so early?

But his master was firm.

“Cultivator sects care even more about background and strength than worldly sects do. In the mortal world, your birth is decent, but in a cultivator sect it means nothing. If you have a cultivator clan as a powerful backer, your future achievements can climb higher.”

Pu Yun Tian didn’t dare disobey. He set off in a foul mood—and then, upon reaching Twin Sages City, he stumbled into the only “gift” fate had thrown him in months: his sister’s carriage.

Second sister Pu Yan Lan was his twin, born of the same mother. She was beautiful as a flower and doted on by their parents. Last year, their grandmother fell gravely ill, and Pu Yan Lan rushed back to Du Cheng in place of their mother to serve at her bedside. Nobody expected that the moment her carriage left Xuan Cheng, it vanished without a trace.

The maternal family reported it. The local government office searched. People were sent. Days turned into weeks. They found no one alive and no corpse either. If the elders hadn’t hired an expert to craft a lifebound jade plaque—its luster dimmed, but it never shattered—they would’ve believed Pu Yan Lan had already died.

Madam Pu wept daily until her eyes were raw. Pu Yun Tian’s father, seeing that, wrote to the eldest son who had been studying dao arts beside the National Preceptor. Pu Yun Tian was stunned when he received the letter. He told Zhang Zhen Yue and begged leave to rush home.

But right then, Zhang Zhen Yue also sensed unusual movement from their sect’s treasure. Since everything pointed to the area around Xuan Cheng, they traveled together to search.

That was how Pu Yun Tian arrived at Xuan Cheng, then came to Twin Sages City. Now, finally, there was a lead—his sister’s carriage.

And the driver? Acting guilty as sin. Two house servants asked a simple question, and the person bolted.

If that wasn’t a guilty conscience, what was?

For his sister’s whereabouts, Pu Yun Tian would do anything to seize this thief.

“Chase,” he snarled. “Chase him to the ends of the earth. Bring this brat back to me.”

He spurred his horse forward and thundered after Gu Shi Yi. Gu Shi Yi saw the fury on his face and felt her fear turn sharp and cold.

One chased. One fled.

They tore down the winding path, racing toward the small towns beyond Twin Sages City.