Chapter 46: The Ferry

In the morning, along the mountain path of the Buddhist temple, behind a massive boulder in the hills, Yan Xi and the other two held their breath, pressing their backs against the rock to conceal themselves. They remained entirely motionless until a piercing, frantic whinny of a startled horse shattered the silence, followed immediately by Mother Yan and the others unleashing shrieks that pierced the very fabric of the mountain forest—

"Young Madam!"

Yan Xi slammed her eyes shut, her heart pounding wildly. Though the distance was significant, she could distinctly hear the sound of Jinye's footsteps rapidly fading away...

Sure enough, a split second later, Qinglian's voice called out to her with urgent sharpness.

"Miss, let's go!"

Without even turning her head, Yan Xi bit her lip, forced her eyes open, and sprang to her feet, fleeing with her two maids in the exact opposite direction of the carriage's previous path.

Supported by the two maids, she panted heavily as they ran for a long while, finally catching sight of A-Tai and Yun Sheng running forward to meet them.

"Miss! Are... are you alright?"

A-Tai's face was etched with deep anxiety.

Yan Xi breathed in ragged gasps, her delicate legs turning to jelly.

Naturally frail and plagued by lingering old ailments, this was the first time she had ever run like this. Yet, she managed to hold on. Shaking her head, she gasped out to A-Tai, "I'm fine, let's hurry..."

A-Tai acknowledged her command immediately.

Yun Sheng chimed in, "Young Madam, please hold on just a bit longer. Yun Shu is right ahead."

Yan Xi nodded. Supported by the two maids, they ran for about the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, until they finally spotted a carriage hurtling toward them.

At the reins was a young woman—none other than Yun Sheng's younger sister, Yun Shu!

Catching sight of the group, Yun Shu whipped the horse harder to close the distance. As the carriage drew near, she leapt down and rushed to Yan Xi's side to support her.

"Young Madam..."

"I'm alright. Let's get inside the carriage and talk."

"Right."

With just a few brief words, the six of them quickly clambered into the carriage.

Yun Sheng took over as the driver, while A-Tai remained outside, leaving the four women inside.

Yun Sheng cracked his whip, turned the carriage around, and vanished into the distance, heading directly away from the Military Commissioner's Estate.

The horses ran faster than usual. As the carriage jolted over the uneven terrain, Qinglian and the other maid tightly shielded Yan Xi.

A short while later, the young girl's breathing gradually leveled out, and she began to recover her composure. The four of them exchanged glances, slow smiles blossoming on their faces.

Yun Shu spoke first, reassuring her, "Young Madam, don't worry. We have enough time; we will definitely reach the ferry before the hour of *Shen*."

Yan Xi nodded, finally allowing her tense heart to settle.

Taohong chimed in happily, "That's wonderful! Miss has finally escaped! Miss is truly a genius, a master of concocting medicine—you might as well be the next divine physician! Once we reach Taizhou, Miss can open a medical clinic! From then on, you can save lives with your craft and earn a great deal of silver!"

Qinglian smiled as well, agreeing, "You know, I think that's entirely possible. The silver we have on hand is more than enough to open a clinic."

A gentle, sweet smile slowly appeared on Yan Xi's face as she softly replied, "Those matters are for the future; we can discuss them slowly then..."

Recalling the heart-pounding terror just moments ago, Qinglian finally dared to voice the question on her mind: "Now that their memories have been scrambled, will they ever remember?"

Yan Xi answered, "Most likely not. However, the carriage ride being completely silent was a flaw. Yet, no matter how big a flaw it might be, it cannot override the illusion of eyewitness reality. Even if the absolute worst happens and Lu Zhi sees through it, we should have already escaped long ago. Taizhou falls under Jiangnan Dao, completely outside his territory. Though it is far and he cannot reach it immediately, Changzhou is still quite close. Once we board the ship and pass Changzhou, we will be in the territory of another Military Commissioner. Once he is unable to recklessly march troops across borders to search at will, we will be fundamentally safe..."

Qinglian responded, "Mm, let's pray he never sees through it and simply believes we are all dead... That would be the safest outcome of all!"

Yan Xi did not answer; in her heart, she felt utterly uncertain.

She sensed that given that man's sharp intuition, he would most likely pierce through her scheme.

Therefore, they had to be fast.

Once they crossed out of Huainan Dao, the world was vast and wide—where on earth would he go to catch her?

*******

Military Commissioner's Office.

Squads of soldiers had already marched out of the courtyard in formation, while several other groups remained behind, the sound of hurried footsteps echoing chaotically all around.

Dressed in dark robes, Lu Zhi stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze profoundly gloomy.

Outside, the streets and alleys were already plastered with wanted posters.

The figures sketched on the posters were none other than the siblings Yun Sheng and Yun Shu.

Military order: the two of them were to be executed immediately upon capture, while the rest were to be taken alive.

An hour later, Ning梧, who had been dispatched to Baohua Temple, was the first to return. He reported to Lu Zhi, "It was done extremely cleanly, without a single trace. The kettle used for boiling water was rinsed so thoroughly not even a half-trace was left behind. We couldn't find a thing."

Lu Zhi raised his head, his tone resolute and absolute: "Go to the apothecary. Take the portraits of Xu Yun Sheng, Xu Yun Shu, and Zhang A-Tai, and ask what herbs they have purchased recently."

Understanding the underlying intent immediately, Ning梧 relayed the order without delay.

Clenching his jaw, Lu Zhi spoke in an icy voice, his dark eyes terrifyingly sinister, yet the panic in his heart had vanished.

He was certain she was not dead; he was certain she had fled; and he was certain that the female assassins, alongside Mother Yan and the others, were behaving abnormally because the problem lay in the tea she had brewed for them every single day.

Less than an hour later, the men sent to the apothecary all returned.

Sitting before his desk, Lu Zhi listened as his men reported one after another.

Sure enough, those three individuals had indeed engaged in such behavior half a month ago, purchasing fourteen different medicinal herbs across several different apothecaries.

Yet, among all the renowned physicians in this prefecture of Yangzhou, not a single one could identify what the young girl had concocted with those herbs!

"Useless trash!"

Under the crushing pressure, among the score of physicians and doctors kneeling and crawling on the floor, an elderly man with a white beard finally recalled something.

"Military Commissioner, spare your wrath! This old subject remembers. Please allow me to consult my medical texts."

As the ancient medical text was hurriedly flipped open, the answer leaped from the pages, written clearly in black and white.

Those fourteen medicinal herbs, when ground into powder, could be combined to create a substance known as the Seven Illusions Powder.

If a person consumed this substance continuously for seven days, it would induce hallucinations and severely scramble their memory.

That explained why the eight female assassins and Mother Yan had all stubbornly insisted that she had returned.

She had indeed returned, but not today—it had been ten days ago.

Ten days ago, she had performed the exact same actions as today, down to her attire, her hairpins, her words, and her movements, perfectly replicating every single detail to deceive everyone...

At this point, the ironclad proof was complete.

Lu Zhi straightened up, waving a hand to dismiss the twenty-odd physicians and doctors from his presence.

The man slowly narrowed his eyes, the corners of his mouth twitching upward into a cold line.

Since he had seen through her ruse and realized she had been hiding in that mountain forest all along, he naturally knew precisely where she would run.

With that thought, Lu Zhi moved instantly.

Striding straight out the door, he snapped two words at the guards outside: "Saddle the horses!"

Moments later, he mounted a horse himself and led a troop of soldiers galloping directly toward the Guazhou Ferry...

********

The carriage raced forward at a mad gallop. Fearing that Yan Xi might not be able to endure such violent jolting, Yun Sheng deliberately slowed the pace slightly.

Initially, the young girl in the carriage had felt her spirits gradually settle, thinking that perhaps her scheme might actually succeed in fooling them.

However, as time slowly slipped away, she grew increasingly convinced that such an outcome was unlikely.

Lu Zhi was excessively cunning; he would undoubtedly see through her trickery before long.

Leaving Huainan Dao by water route was the fastest way.

She knew this—how could he possibly not know?

This meant she likely only had an advantage of a little over an hour before Jinye and the others returned to report.

The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became, and she immediately raised her voice to instruct Yun Sheng to pick up the pace.

The carriage sped onward as the sun slowly sank toward the west.

They finally reached the ferry just as the hour of *Shen* was approaching.

Yan Xi was helped down by her maids. Qinglian, Taohong, and Yun Shu each slung a travel pack over their shoulders, while the remaining two bundles were tossed to A-Tai and Yun Sheng.

Abandoning the carriage, the group hurried toward the large vessel moored by the riverbank.

The ship was by no means small; spanning three stories, it was strikingly magnificent and undoubtedly expensive to board.

Without exception, every passenger on board was a person of wealth and status.

Paying their fare, Yan Xi and the other six quickly boarded the vessel.

There was no abnormal commotion here as yet; whether her escape had not yet been exposed or his men simply had not arrived, she could not tell.

Accompanied by Yun Sheng and A-Tai, Yan Xi walked straight toward the innermost section, gradually making her way to the second deck to find their seats.

She deliberately chose a seat beside a small window, pushed the lattice pane open slightly, and peered outside.

Yet, at that very glance, her heart skipped a beat with a violent thud.

Prepared yet entirely unprepared—

Looking down from her high vantage point into the far distance, she clearly spotted a troop of horsemen galloping furiously toward the ferry...

Even though she could not make out their facial features, it was blindingly obvious that they were government troops dispatched by the imperial court!

At the head of the procession rode a figure in dark robes whose face remained obscured.

The distance was too great to discern his exact build, but Yan Xi's immediate, gut-wrenching instinct told her that it was Lu Zhi.

The young girl's hand instinctively grabbed Qinglian beside her.

Almost simultaneously, Qinglian and Taohong spotted them as well.

"Miss! What... what do we do?" Taohong blurted out in panic.

What could they do?

Flustered and overwhelmed, Yan Xi had no answer whatsoever.

Turning her head to look at A-Tai and Yun Sheng, she lowered her voice and asked, "How much longer before the ship departs?"

Yun Sheng replied, "The hour of *Shen*—it should be any moment now."

Yan Xi's heartstrings were pulled taut as she watched the troop of horsemen draw horrifyingly closer.

If those men arrived before the ship set sail, she and her companions would be trapped with no wings to fly, facing certain death!

Yet, if they failed to arrive in time, she might just have a sliver of hope of escaping this calamity.

Just as she stood there trembling with cold sweat, feeling utterly helpless except to leave her fate to luck, she suddenly felt the hull of the ship shudder...

The scenery outside the window slowly began to recede, while that troop of riders was still far in the distance...

Yan Xi's tightly clenched fists slowly relaxed...

She had escaped disaster after all...

Yet, the moment that heavy stone lifted from her chest, an entirely different realization washed over her.

She knew then—she had been completely exposed...