The moment Wei Xun regained a trace of consciousness, he discovered someone had visited his hiding place—the dust in the attic was disturbed. In his shock, his first reaction was to force himself up and flee, but then he noticed the footprints came in two different patterns, both left by people he was familiar with.

How had those two found him?

Rising too quickly, he felt dizzy and disoriented. Wei Xun couldn’t support himself and had to collapse back down. By now, the excruciating pain that had penetrated his limbs and bones was mostly gone, leaving behind an extreme cold that numbed his hands and feet.

A few rays of evening sunlight squeezed through the tile gaps into the dim, narrow attic, countless dust particles dancing within them like his drowsy, confused thoughts. Originally, this quiet, secluded place had given him a sense of security, but now his mind was full of wondering why they had come looking for him. Could enemies have come to harass them? That persistent traveling merchant should be no match for Shisan Lang…

Wei Xun’s mind raced through his opponents’ temperaments and martial skills like a revolving lantern, considering various countermeasures, when an overwhelming sense of helplessness washed over him. If he were alone, whether to fight or flee, he could adapt to circumstances and handle anything. But now he wasn’t alone. The interval between his attacks had shortened considerably from last time, so hasty that he’d had to hide before even dealing with his pursuer.

Without finding that elusive medicine, how much longer could he struggle on? At least he had to hold out until getting her safely to Youzhou…

These chaotic thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. Wei Xun gathered the qi in his dantian, wanting to get up and return as quickly as possible to protect his companions at the inn. Only then did he notice the air was filled with a rich, pungent spice aroma that seemed to infuse his cold chest and abdomen with a trace of warmth.

He initially thought it was someone nearby cooking, but the smell seemed very close, and it was neither cornel nor Sichuan pepper, but an extremely precious spice.

Smelling this aroma, Wei Xun slowly supported himself to sit up, formed mudras with both hands, sat in lotus position, closed his eyes to circulate his qi and regulate his breathing, moving the innate power of his qi sea to clear the blockages formed by cold stagnation in his meridians one by one. No matter how anxious he felt, he had to recover at least twenty to thirty percent of his strength before going out, or he would only be a burden.

With his mind concentrated, once he closed his eyes, two hours quickly slipped by. The sun set in the west, the bright moon rose into the sky, and the attic sank into darkness, with only the sick man’s warming brazier emitting faint firelight. The most comfortable time of his day had arrived.

Wei Xun finally cleared the stagnation in his chest, opened his eyes and caught his breath, then went to find the source of that pungent aroma. A short, fat black clay pot was simmering on the brazier. The pot’s mouth was wrapped tightly with several layers of damp cloth to prevent the contents from spilling or evaporating, and that aroma was emanating from the pot.

Wei Xun was completely puzzled. Layer by layer he unwrapped the cloth, lifted the clay pot’s lid, and a pungent, overwhelming rich fragrance mixed with the aroma of oil and meat hit him in the face. Peering inside, he saw the pot contained mutton stewed with wheat kernels and wolfberries, with the meat porridge topped by a full layer of coarsely ground black pepper.

Who was so extravagantly wasteful as to sprinkle so much black pepper in a pot of porridge?

The answer needed no consideration.

Wei Xun sighed, thinking to himself that if he didn’t hurry up and get back soon, the group’s travel expenses would be completely squandered.

A muffled thud came from the courtyard as someone dropped down from the wall, followed by approaching footsteps. Wei Xun could tell at once it was his junior brother Shisan Lang. Hearing his breathing was strong and his steps steady, not like someone who’d been injured, his heart relaxed somewhat.

Xiao Shami climbed the ladder holding a candle, his shaved head emerging from the attic entrance. Blinking, he saw Wei Xun sitting cross-legged in the darkness, his eyes alert and bright—clearly he had recovered consciousness. Shisan Lang was overjoyed but kept his voice low: “Senior Brother, you’re finally awake!”

Wei Xun’s first words were: “Who is the enemy?”

Shisan Lang froze, his heart immediately racing like ten thousand horses, his expression complex and twisted. After hesitating for quite a while, he said: “The man in blue shirt.”

Hearing him use his own nickname, Wei Xun didn’t understand and asked with furrowed brows: “What the hell?”

“Senior Brother, this time you’ve really gotten Jiu Niang into terrible trouble.”

Shisan Lang launched into a torrent of words, recounting everything that had happened after his departure: the theft of precious objects from Xiagui County’s Duobao Pagoda, the brutal murder of Captain Luo Chengye in his home, the county yamen’s flying knife message accusing the blue-robed servant of the Sun family shop, and Wei Xun being wanted throughout the city as the prime suspect.

He continued: “Who would have thought that traveling merchant following Jiu Niang was actually someone her brother sent to find her, and a high official traveling in disguise at that. After you left, if he hadn’t pretended to be Jiu Niang’s father and vouched for her with his official identity, she would have been implicated by you and dragged off to court for interrogation.”

This series of incredible coincidences made Wei Xun increasingly depressed as he listened. The upper chest meridians he had just cleared seemed to be blocked again. He gritted his teeth and asked: “Where is she now? Why aren’t you protecting her?”

Shisan Lang said: “She’s under house arrest with that official surnamed Yang in the county yamen’s inner residence, at Magistrate Wu’s house. Though they have food and drink, they’re not allowed to leave. It’s also my fault for being greedy—wanting to get free vegetarian meals at Lianhua Temple. Now with the city locked down to catch thieves, all monks with religious registration are confined to the temple for daily roll call. I can only go back to confinement and slip out at night to check on you.”

Wei Xun hastily wrapped his burned hand and got up to find Bao Zhu. Shisan Lang stopped him: “Wait, Senior Brother should eat the medicine on the brazier first before going. Jiu Niang instructed me to bring it over, saying it was very hard to obtain, and that we’d have to force-feed you if necessary.”

Bao Zhu wiped the water traces from her body, wrapped up her dripping wet hair, tied her personal sachet around her waist with colorful thread, then put on her undergarments before calling servants to carry out the cooled bath water. She thought to herself that fortunately she had been buried wearing her usual borneol camphor. Though black pepper was expensive, money could always obtain it, but she didn’t know where to buy this rare fragrance that came as tribute from Jiaozhi—she must take good care of it.

Though being imprisoned here brought countless troubles, having servants at her disposal was satisfying. She could properly wash her hair with bath beans, though unfortunately they weren’t trusted maidservants she could direct effortlessly—she still had to apply hair oil and dry it herself. When living in the palace with many people carefully attending to her every need without requiring any effort on her part, she had never realized that this head of black hair would become more troublesome as it grew longer.

Bao Zhu sat on the couch drying her hair when she suddenly heard three light taps from the small window outside.

This time there were no clumsy sounds of wall-climbing. The window tapping was calm and unhurried, as if an ordinary guest were visiting at the door. Bao Zhu was stunned for a moment, calculating that the timing should be about right, but didn’t know what to say when they met. Should she angrily denounce him for leaving without a word, or vent her fury at being imprisoned because of his actions?

After long contemplation, three more measured light taps came from outside the window.

Bao Zhu pulled down her sleeves to cover her hands and called out: “Come in.”

Wei Xun silently flipped in from outside the window, landing gracefully. Apart from his complexion still being pale, his movements were no different from usual. His burned left hand was roughly wrapped with cloth tied in a cross pattern, and he carried the clay pot containing the medicinal porridge.

The two looked at each other for a moment, momentarily speechless.

The air still held the humid moisture from Bao Zhu’s recent bath. Her hair hung loose, and the fragrance on her body, steamed by hot water, lingered and permeated every corner of the room. Wei Xun suspected he had intruded into a private space at the wrong time and hesitated whether he should flip back out.

Seeing him standing awkwardly against the wall like a guilty wildcat, Bao Zhu found her towering anger and grievances suddenly unable to burst forth, and felt somewhat like laughing.

She deliberately put on a stern face and said solemnly: “So it’s the famous Blue Shirt Guest of the martial world paying a visit. How remiss of me not to greet you properly.”

Knowing she was intentionally mocking him, Wei Xun felt even more embarrassed and kept his eyes lowered toward the floor.

Bao Zhu asked knowingly: “The Duobao Pagoda at Lianhua Temple has impenetrable security. Martial world rumors say only the master thief Blue Shirt Guest, with his supreme skills, could scale the tower to steal the pearl. Dare I ask if this is fact?”

Wei Xun looked troubled and answered: “I could, but I didn’t do it.”

Bao Zhu asked again: “Xiagui County’s Captain Luo Chengye had formidable martial skills. Martial world rumors say only the Blue Shirt Guest had the ability to strike once and take his head. Dare I ask if this is true?”

Wei Xun replied dejectedly: “I could, but I didn’t do it.”

Bao Zhu asked once more: “Yesterday in Yonghe Ward’s Niujiao Alley, another woman was abducted by the Blue Shirt Guest. Her husband reported that the thief carried off a woman weighing one and a half stones plus two hundred catties of copper coins, leaping over the city wall to escape. What do you say to this?”

This claim was already absurd beyond belief. Wei Xun didn’t know how to refute it, but looking up at Bao Zhu, he saw her watching him with a half-smile, the teasing in her eyes already obvious. Only then did he realize she was deliberately making things up.

He could only smile bitterly and say: “I could, but this absolutely, positively wasn’t me.”

Bao Zhu could no longer contain herself and burst into laughter, covering her mouth. This mischievous troublemaker had finally fallen into her hands.