Ten Thousand Books, But Only One You

26 If The Enemy Leaves a Door Open, You Must Rush In

Chapter 26: If The Enemy Leaves a Door Open, You Must Rush In

Sheng Yi headed straight for the Imperial Palace and Ji Kai was tasked to escort the three of us to the Yi Residence in the capital of Da Jin. The atmosphere in the Yi's Residence was tense as the servants and the guests waited for the owner of the house to return. As Fu Wanxi, Shuzhen and I sipped tea in the hall used to receive guests, the careless words two servants performing their duties outside floated into our ears.

"Do you think that the Emperor called the Young General back to the capital to reward him or to punish him?"

Shuzhen, who was drumming her fingers on the table, suddenly froze as her ears perked up. Eyebrows shooting upwards, she leaned closer to me and inquired: "General Yi is going to be punished? Why? Is this part of the story?"

Feigning ignorance, I stared blankly back at her and pretended as if I had not heard what the servants had said. It seemed like Ji Kai had not filled her in on the plot of The Eighth Verse despite entering together and spending such a long time together. Now I was genuinely curious. What were the dynamics of their relationship like actually?

"You don't think that it's because he failed to carry out the Emperor's orders?" The other servant answered, in a hushed but still audible voice.

"Did you hear about it too?"

"This morning I heard the others talking about it—that the Emperor is sending the Young General to Bei Yue as the escort guard for Prince Hekui who is leading the envoy for the peace talks."

"Everyone is saying that it's a demotion!"

"Shhh—! There are the Young General's guests in there."

A quiet laugh escaped my lips as I looked at Shuzhen who was still trying to make sense of things. "It's too late. We've heard it already. Looks like General Yi may be going to Bei Yue soon; and that must be our next destination on this adventure," I spoke slowly and meaningfully, placing emphasis on certain words to hint at the plot of the story. I did feel slightly sorry for her.

"Ah—Bei Yue!" Shuzhen clapped her hands together with a big smile. "If we can go together with General Yi, then does it mean that we can finally leave Da Jin and return to our homeland?"

Her eyelids fluttered as she grinned at me, as if waiting for me to recognise her efforts of furthering our disguise as Bei Yue subjects to hide the fact that we were real people from the real world. I flashed her a thumbs up and nodded perfunctorily. But deep down in my heart, there was an unsettling concern.

I was still unable to identify Fu Wanxi's true identity despite sounding her out multiple times. If Shuzhen was acting this way, wouldn't that mean that she did not know who Fu Wanxi was? In other words, even though the Fu Wanxi sitting across me right now could be someone from our reality or someone from the Association, Shuzhen did not know her.

This Fu Wanxi also seemed to be keeping a secret from us. If she was someone from the Association, it was strange that she had not revealed her identity to Ruijie and I when we had met for the first time. If she was not from the Association, then who was she?

Peering at the Fu Wanxi in front of me, I felt as if her appearance had yet again transformed—this time into a cold-beauty. Noticing my gaze on her, she turned her head in my direction and smiled warmly.

I shot up from my seat immediately, startling her and Shuzhen. A sheepish smile formed naturally on my face as I placed a hand over my stomach. "I'm hungry. It's already dinner time. I'll go check the kitchen to see if they have prepared food for us!"