Cui Xi had been unconscious for five days, but due to Yang Ming Xi’s expert care, she barely had fever and because the whip had surprisingly not caused her internal injuries, her wounds had begun to recover at a startlingly rapid pace. Even Cui Xi was a little astonished and wondered again if this was a magical effect of a newly remade body. In less than two weeks, the wounds were already sealed and scabbed over. Unfortunately, she would live with the scars for the rest of her life in Tiansheng. 

Xiao Yu still shuddered guiltily every time she saw them, but Cui Xi didn’t blame her. Had the situation been reversed, she believed Xiao Yu would have done her best to save her.

“You cannot stay here,” Yang Ming Xi sighed for the third time more to himself than to her. 

“Why haven’t they come up to the mountain yet to look for us?” asked Cui Xi, hoarsely, sipping from the teacup and trying not to move her shoulders and back. She hissed a little as she put the cup back down. 

Now I know what it means to have pain everywhere…

“A rebellion broke out in the western border region. The Seventh Prince of our Tiansheng kingdom, the Iron Spear Prince that is known as the God of War was dispatched by imperial edict to deal with it. He’s probably out there fighting and eating sand right now. The Gao family is likely taken up with official work for the war effort. Perhaps the City Lord has even chained his son to a desk to write reports…” he snorted. It’s more likely that they are busy hiding their tracks…

“Hah! Yifu…I can’t imagine that Gao Wei would be any good at writing reports...” she laughed and then regretted it as the spasm of laughter caused a ripple of pain. Nausea roiled through her.

“You’ve been too hasty! Your wounds!” the old man admonished.

But regardless, either due to her strange constitution or the magical wound salve, she recovered to the point where she could not delay the travel to the capital any longer. And although he did not push her too hard, Yang Ming Xi was adamant.  Cui Xi herself was convinced that he was right. She couldn’t live quietly in the mountains forever.

After the encounter with the Bedou and the young Master of the Gao Family, she did not want to endanger Xiao Yu and she did not want to rely on the kindness of the Yang family. It would be better to see what opportunities she could find to make her own way in the capital. She would take Xiao Yu to keep her from Gao Wei and perhaps pay back some of the generosity bestowed by Yang Ming Xi and his daughter.

Although Cui Xi did not ask how, her foster father somehow managed to secure two horses and a pack pony for them for the long journey into the capital. He had also made arrangements for them to travel with a merchant caravan. To reach the splendid centre of Tiansheng, it was at the very least a six-week journey by horse and Xiao Yu was no rider. Cui Xi on the other hand could handle a horse quite well, but she didn’t say very much about this to her foster father. It was probably the only skill she had that fit into this world.

The evening before they left, Yang Ming Xi gave each girl a piece of jewellery. 

The first was A’Yu’s mother’s hair pin. He pushed it through his daughter’s hair, eyes glittering with unshed tears. Father and daughter hugged each other, but said nothing and then Xiao Yu quietly excused herself from the room to pack. 

Next, Yang Ming Xi passed Cui Xi a jade ring on a thin gold chain. 

“Yifu, what’s this?” she asked.

Frowning, she pulled it over her neck and tucked the warm piece against her skin, hiding it beneath her collared robe.  

“When you were rescued, a young noble named Murong Yan brought you back. He is a general of the An Xi army and the eldest son of the Murong General’s Manor. The Murongs have served the imperial family of Tiansheng for generations. That ring is his marriage promise to you…”

“W-What?!” she burst out, trembling. She only had a very vague impression of being held in someone’s arms as she flitted in and out of consciousness on the nebulous ride back to the mountain. Her voice was stuck in her throat as she wondered how she had obtained a suitor during that time.

“If you don’t want the marriage, and I can see that you do not, then he also agreed that he would offer you protection if you ever came to danger in the capital. Use the ring wisely,” her Yifu cautioned.

That night she tossed and turned, holding the ring in her fist, wondering what had happened after she had passed out under the whip.

The light of morning came too soon, and Cui Xi groaned after the fitful night. She reluctantly roused herself and then went in search of Xiao Yu who had also passed the night without much sleep.

For Xiao Yu, this was the first time in her life that she had left her father. Now that she was going to the capital, it would be a very long time before she could meet with him again. The three of them could only stand awkwardly in the yard together for their last farewells before the journey.

“Ahhh! I can’t bear it!” Xiao Yu cried, hesitating at the gate.

“Go, go, go! The world is such a big place!” Yang Ming Xi grumbled.

“Don’t worry Yifu. I will look after her,” Cui Xi promised.

“I’ll rely on you then, A’Xi,” he nodded, wiping at his eyes. “Take care of yourself well."

“Ennn,” Cui Xi nodded obediently with a small smile. “Yifu…I know you don’t talk about the things that shouldn’t be said…but be careful, alright?”

The old man broke into a smile. Ah, so she has suspected me, the clever girl.

“Alright, alright. I’m old now! What is there to be careful about? Let’s not talk about these things,” he chuckled, but his eyes twinkled a little as he sized her up.

Foster father and daughter came to a silent understanding. The smile he gave her was unreserved with its affection and Cui Xi smiled back with a wave.

At that moment, Xiao Yu ran back and gave her father a big hug.

“I’m leaving Da!” she said, pulling away to look at him.

“Ennn!” Yang Ming Xi grunted. In A’Yu’s smile he saw her mother’s expression, and unable to bear it himself, he flapped his arms at the two girls to get going, shooing them away.

“Someone from the caravan will be at the bottom of the mountain path to collect you,” he reminded.

“Got it!” Xiao Yu called back over her shoulder.

Cui Xi took a deep breath as she led her horse away from the small wooden gate. She would miss the peace of the mountain, but she knew that there was an entirely new world waiting for her down below. Although there was every possibility that they would run into more Gao Weis Cui Xi’s natural optimism could not be supressed for long and she felt her heart rise a little as she dug her heels into her horse for the long journey to the capital.