The road was wide and open, and Hua Zhi had no grounds to stop anyone from walking it — least of all when Shao Yao was the one who had brought him along. She could only grit her teeth and accept it.

“Then I must trouble Master Lu.”

Gu Yanxi’s brows arched with a lively ease. He had traveled every corner of the realm under this dynasty, yet somehow the prospect of this journey stirred in his chest a delight that felt almost new.

Hua Zhi looked back once at the towering city wall behind them, then turned her gaze forward to the boundless sky ahead. A sweep of boldness rose within her. Two thousand li — so what? To her, what did that amount to?

She flicked her whip, squeezed her legs against the horse’s flanks, and settled into her seat. “Ride!”

Gu Yanxi patted his horse’s neck. The black stallion that had long been straining at the reins reared upright and let out a long cry, then clattered forward to catch up with her. When he was on the verge of pulling ahead of Hua Zhi, Gu Yanxi drew back on the reins, keeping even with her — and the Shao Yao who had been riding at Hua Zhi’s side found herself squeezed to the rear.

Hidden behind her veil-hat, Shao Yao gave him a magnificent eye-roll.

Before setting out, Hua Zhi had done thorough preparation, and had brought along a map of the terrain. At the midday rest, she spread it out to calculate the journey ahead.

Shao Yao was holding a freshly toasted flatbread and tossing it between her palms to cool it. She had just stood up to bring it to Hua Hua when in a flash it was gone — she watched, helpless, as the Shizi calmly took the flatbread and walked toward Hua Hua with it.

Shao Yao was furious. The Shizi was trying to steal her friend.

Gu Yanxi glanced back at her. “Toast a few more.”

Shao Yao deflated completely, lips pressing together as she crouched back down to toast another flatbread, thinking to herself: how infuriating — why did the Shizi have to come along?

Gu Yanxi walked over to where Hua Zhi sat and settled beside her, passing her the flatbread stuffed with dried meat. “Eat while it’s hot.”

“Thank you.” Hua Zhi folded the map and set it aside, accepting the flatbread and beginning to eat.

Gu Yanxi picked up the map and opened it. He could see at a glance the many notes that had been added along the official road from the capital north. He knew this road well — and looking at these, he realized that though he had long understood that Hua Zhi was not a person who acted on impulse, only now could he see just how thoroughly she thought things through.

“Do you intend to reach this relay station by tonight?”

Hua Zhi leaned over to look, and nodded. She swallowed before speaking. “Yes. We need to get there before sunset. Based on the pace we’ve kept this morning, it should be no problem.”

“It shouldn’t be.”

Hua Zhi’s attention sharpened. “Has Master Lu been through here before?”

“Several times. I know it well.” Gu Yanxi pointed to another location. “This relay station has been closed. It was relocated here — you would need to set out earlier to make it in time.”

Hua Zhi looked immediately where he indicated. “It’s fortunate Master Lu warned me. Otherwise I would have ended up riding by night. This map I borrowed from my grandfather when I was young, and before setting out I had been worried it might contain changes over the years — it seems my concern was justified.”

Gu Yanxi had the full set of these maps — all eight of them. The one Hua Zhi held covered precisely the stretch from the capital to the North. Knowing her meticulous nature, he suspected that even at that age, she had already been thinking ahead to this journey.

He looked at Hua Zhi for a long moment. “That is not the only change. Four years ago, His Majesty redistributed three townships from Weishan County to Shuanghui County. The official road was rerouted as well, and the relay station was moved to the new road — to this location here.”

Hua Zhi could no longer think about eating. With one hand still holding the flatbread, she reached out with the other toward her bundle, fumbling with the ties for several tries without success. She was weighing whether to simply eat first when the flatbread was gently taken from her hand. “Let me hold this for you.”

Gu Yanxi’s body did not draw near — only his arm extended. Hua Zhi thought nothing of it, murmured her thanks, and freed both hands to untie the bundle, retrieve her brow pencil, and mark two new notes on the map. She looked up: “Are there any other changes?”

“None. The smaller ones won’t affect you.”

Hua Zhi lowered her head. Before leaving home, she had already calculated the distances between counties and matched them against the party’s estimated daily pace, mapping out at each stage where they would stop to rest. Now with these changes, one day’s journey would become more pressed than she had planned — but setting out earlier would resolve it.

“You can’t work out all of it that way.”

Hua Zhi looked up. Her clear, bright gaze landed on Gu Yanxi, and for reasons he could not name, something in his chest gave a sudden, involuntary lurch — though his expression betrayed nothing at all. He pointed to one section of the map. “The further north we go, the colder it becomes. This year the cold has set in earlier than usual. Chenping County should already have snow by now — and that’s only the beginning.”

Chenping County marked only the halfway point of the journey. If snow had fallen, the daily distance they could cover would likely be reduced by roughly a quarter. At that rate, they could not count on reaching a relay station at every stop.

Hua Zhi’s gaze settled on a few of the county towns along the route. Shelter elsewhere was possible — it simply was that the relay stations gave her a greater sense of security.

“If the First Young Miss trusts me, perhaps you would allow me to arrange the latter part of the journey?”

Shao Yao had drifted over at some point, and this time she found herself siding with the Shizi. “Yes, Hua Hua — leave it to Elder… Brother Yan. He travels this road often and knows every part of it.”

“Would I actually insist on proving my own capabilities here? From this point on, I leave the road entirely in Master Lu’s hands.”

Gu Yanxi sent Shao Yao an approving glance. “Since I’ve come, I’d better be of some use. Rest easy — I won’t lead us astray.”

Hua Zhi folded the map away, smiled, and glanced over to find Shao Yao wearing an expression that called to mind a cat with whiskers twitching — her smile deepened further. “Are you performing a comic role now?”

Shao Yao looked thoroughly confused. Hua Zhi could only stand and take her by the arm to lead her over to the stream to wash her face.

Gu Yanxi watched the two of them from behind, stretched out his legs into a comfortable posture, tore off a piece of flatbread, and chewed it — then stopped, and looked down at his hand.

This was… the one Hua Zhi had been eating from.

Hua Zhi came back from washing Shao Yao’s face, took the flatbread from Gu Yanxi’s hand, and continued eating, entirely unaware that a piece was missing.

Gu Yanxi watched her cheek move as she chewed, and found his own jaw moving unconsciously in time with hers. He swallowed that bite of flatbread — it was quite good, actually.

“Shao Yao, bring me a flatbread.”

Shao Yao had just finished toasting one and was about to send it into her own mouth when she heard this. One phrase rang immediately through her mind: snatched from the very jaws of the tiger.

Hua Zhi caught the mutinous look on her face and laughed, then stood up. “Give it to Master Lu. I’ll toast one for you.”

Shao Yao’s resentment vanished entirely in an instant. She scurried over and thrust the flatbread into the Shizi’s hand, then turned and held out a cold, hard one to Hua Zhi with an eager, expectant look.

Hua Zhi skewered the flatbread on a fork. She had one of the servants retrieve the bundle of seasonings, turned it over and toasted it until it was hot, then scattered over it a pinch each of salt, cumin, and chili powder. When the bread had softened, she split it open, filled it with dried meat, added another dusting of seasoning, pinched it shut, and toasted it a while longer. Before long, the aroma was drifting richly through the air.

Shao Yao swallowed hard and urged her along: “It smells so good, Hua Hua — it must be ready by now.”

“Toast it a little longer and the flavor of the meat soaks into the bread. It’s better that way. Get the oil paper to wrap it — it’s hot.”

“I don’t mind hot.” Shao Yao reached out and grabbed it anyway, tossing it from one hand to the other, then hot or not, bit straight into it and let out a happy yelp, declaring between mouthfuls that it was wonderful.

Gu Yanxi suddenly found the flatbread in his own hands tasteless by comparison. He held himself back from reaching over to take hers, and turned his head away rather than watch.

A moment later, the sound of footsteps approached. “Master Lu — eat something hot. The bread gets too hard once it cools.”

A fragrance hovered right beneath his nose. Gu Yanxi turned to look. In the afternoon light, Hua Zhi stood with a light sheen of perspiration on her nose, smiling softly as she extended both hands toward him.

Gu Yanxi was half a beat slower to respond than he usually would have been. He accepted the flatbread. “Thank you.”

Author’s Note: I had meetings all day today, snuck in a bit of writing during them, then wrote and revised until now. Please don’t rush me for updates, everyone — I’m truly giving it everything I have. Kisses to all of you.