Chapter 498 - 480: Going Home
Fengyu traversed mountains and rivers and finally arrived at Shun City. After leaving the small village, she dressed in coarse cloth, smeared her face with dirt, and gave the caravan one tael of silver to hitch a ride, making it all the way to Shun City. She came here because her injuries were too severe, and she hadn’t taken proper care during her journey; she urgently needed to see a doctor in the city.
It had been ten days since she fell into the ravine. Fengyu still wasn’t sure if the Jinyi Guard had set up checkpoints along the way. Shun City seemed peaceful, but dragging her heavily injured body, she headed toward the Su Family’s Trading House’s medical hall. Suddenly, she noticed a mark on the wall—an unmistakable red pomegranate flower symbol. Fengyu froze in place just before reaching the medical hall. She turned around and visited three other medical halls, only to find the same pomegranate flower symbol marked on them.
This was a warning. Fengyu’s heart sank slightly. She didn’t dare linger and quickly left the medical hall. Her face was covered in ash, giving her an utterly disheveled appearance. She was dressed in the coarsely woven garments of a peasant, her hair simply coiled up with a wooden hairpin. The coral bracelet on her wrist was hidden under her coarse clothing, completely concealed. To anyone passing by, she looked no different from a beggar on the streets.
Her inflamed wounds left her incredibly weak, making her seem like a frail beggar on the brink of death.
When Fengyu was still in Liuzhou, she had sent people to seek help from the Su Family’s Trading Houses along the way to the Capital City. But now, seeing these marked warnings in Shun City, she realized her information had been exposed. Someone had leaked the news, and the trading house was likely infiltrated by their men. With her head spinning, Fengyu hid herself among a group of beggars, the afternoon sun glaring down on her, making her barely able to keep her eyes open.
Fengyu began asking the beggars if any major events had recently occurred in the city. They told her the Jinyi Guard was hunting a fugitive and had conducted a citywide search just three days prior. Her heart skipped a beat when a young beggar showed her the portrait posted on the bulletin boards. The artist had captured her likeness astonishingly well. Flyers plastered across Shun City left her on edge, though fortunately, her dirty face and beggarly disguise would keep others from recognizing her easily.
The medical halls were no longer an option, nor was staying at an inn!
Unfamiliar with Shun City, surrounded by perilous factions within the trading house, and threats lurking everywhere, Fengyu dared not show her face—she wouldn’t even risk visiting a silver exchange. Yuwen Jing had managed to infiltrate the trading house’s operations, but luckily, Fengyu had initially sought help from the trading house while in Liuzhou, given the many cities along her escape route. Now that she was on the run, Chen Mo might not have sent anyone to specifically search for her in Shun City—more likely, he’d issued a general warrant across all the cities.
As night fell, Fengyu took a circuitous route and stealthily slipped into an unattended pharmacy. Through years of hardship, she had picked up enough medical knowledge to recognize most of the herbs and knew how to treat her own wounds.
No one guarded the pharmacy at night. After gathering the necessary medicinal herbs, Fengyu found an abandoned house to brew her medicine. She had spent the day disguised as a beggar, wandering the streets, scouting available shelters and unattended pharmacies. The pharmacy she selected was unguarded, and the house was uninhabited. She didn’t dare light a lamp. After concocting the medicine, she fetched water from the well, boiled it, and carefully cleaned her wounds with the hot water.
The abandoned house’s owner had lived modestly and had not returned for five or six days. There were only sparse provisions—some rice and cured meat. After treating her wounds and drinking the medicine, Fengyu stole a small portion of rice and meat before leaving without even staying the night.
She spent the night in a ruined temple.
While traveling, Fengyu became accustomed to sleeping in forests or farmlands. Her escape route was disheveled yet cunning. The ruined temple was a common gathering spot for beggars. Fengyu found a secluded corner to hide. Even if Chen Mo’s men were conducting searches in Shun City, they would never suspect she could be hiding among beggars.
Fengyu only stayed in Shun City for one night. Being a new face, she attracted attention. At night, someone rifled through her belongings, stealing the rice and meat she had taken earlier. She fell to her knees, crying hysterically and begging them to return her food. The beggars mocked her insolence and walked off laughing. After they left, Fengyu wiped her tears and quietly retreated to her corner, waiting for dawn.
Wandering the streets at night risked being spotted by patrols. If caught, she could be killed on the spot without question. Shun City’s curfew was relentlessly enforced, and Fengyu wanted no trouble.
When daylight broke, Fengyu moved with the crowd to leave the city. The travel permits she had purchased when she entered Shun City with the caravan made exiting relatively straightforward. By now, she was a master fugitive. She remained silent throughout her journey, never picking fights. If someone attempted to rob her, as long as it wasn’t a close encounter, she would surrender her possessions without resistance to avoid conflict. Her destitute appearance offered little for robbers to take, so the journey remained relatively steady.
After passing through Shun City and moving smoothly through Lian City, she found herself approaching the outskirts of the Capital City. Yet Fengyu didn’t head directly to the Capital City. She trudged toward Yiling Village instead.
Nearly crawling on all fours, Fengyu made it to Yiling Village and headed for a manor in the outskirts.
She arrived at the manor at night, utterly famished, exhausted, and in unbearable pain—her endurance pushed to its absolute limit. When she knocked on the door, the world seemed to spin, cold sweat soaking her body.
She knocked and knocked for what felt like an eternity before hearing footsteps from within, accompanied by a familiar grumble, "Who’s banging on the door in the middle of the night...?"
Fengyu collapsed against the threshold. The moment the heavy manor door opened, she toppled inside. Nanny Liu let out a startled scream, nearly shrieking, before Fengyu clutched at her skirts.
By now, Fengyu’s vision was blurry. Wounded and weathered, she was on the verge of death. "Nanny Liu... it’s me..."
"Who are you...? Someone help—!"
Fengyu gripped her skirts tightly. Nanny Liu froze, staring down at the swollen, bloodstained nails on Fengyu’s hands. Her fright deepened as Fengyu rolled slightly, revealing the bracelet on her wrist.
"Oh, my heavens... Miss! My dear Miss... Someone, come quickly! Quickly!" Nanny Liu stomped anxiously and knelt to lift Fengyu up in a panic.
Fengyu could only manage one sentence. "Seal the manor... Don’t let... anyone leave..."
As she said this, she lost consciousness entirely.