“Business?” Fu Tingyun asked in surprise, “What business?”

Zhao Ling said, “Mo Yi says we’re running low on water and need to find a way to get more. However, when he goes out, someone needs to help watch the place. Since Zheng San used to be an escort, ask Zheng San Niang to relay a message to him: five steamed buns a day. If he’s willing, tell him to come see Mo Yi early tomorrow morning.”

Zheng San Niang was naturally willing.

Early the next day, Zheng San arrived.

He appeared to be thirty-two or thirty-three years old, of medium height, with an oval face and somewhat thick lips. He looked both honest and simple. Fu Tingyun could not possibly connect this man with the one who had harshly scolded his wife that day.

Mo Yi asked Zheng San a few questions, was very satisfied, paid him five steamed buns as compensation in advance, gave him some instructions, found a stick, and went out.

Zheng San asked Zheng San Niang, who was holding their child, to accompany Fu Tingyun upstairs to rest, closed the back door, and stood guard at the stairway.

Soon, there was a commotion at the street corner.

Zheng San Niang looked terrified.

Fu Tingyun wanted to open the window to look, but Zhao Ling stopped her: “Just wait for the result!” He wasn’t worried at all.

His calmness influenced Fu Tingyun, and she took Zheng San Niang and her son to her bedroom to play with Linchun.

About half an hour later, Mo Yi returned.

He looked disheveled, but his expression was cheerful, with even a hint of pride in his brow: “I took care of all of them. From now on, we can fetch water whenever we want.” After speaking, he patted Zheng San’s shoulder: “You did well. You knew you were alone and might not be able to handle intruders, so you placed everyone on the second floor and guarded the stairway yourself—one man guarding the pass, ten thousand unable to break through…” His tone revealed a bit of admiration, then he asked, “Are you interested in continuing to do business with us?”

Zheng San respectfully replied, “I await Manager Mo’s instructions!”

Mo Yi nodded and smiled, “I want you to carry four buckets of water for us from the street corner every day. The payment is two steamed buns.”

Zheng San immediately agreed.

Because of this, Fu Tingyun now had water for bathing and washing clothes.

Zheng San Niang came to help every day.

After a few days, Chen Six and the others returned with a small cart full of supplies.

“Master, Master…” A-Sen, carrying a large bundle, ran upstairs shouting, “I’m back, I’m back!”

His noise alarmed the refugees nearby.

He put down his bundle and kowtowed several times to Zhao Ling.

“Master, I’ve completed all the tasks you assigned me.” He looked up at Zhao Ling, his eyes reddened, “Master, are you feeling better?” His expression was full of concern.

“Get up!” Zhao Ling, who had been reading, smiled and patted his head: “I’m much better. What about you? Have you eaten?” His voice was very gentle.

“I’ve eaten, I’ve eaten!” A-Sen smiled as he got up, “We ate dry rations on the road.” He added, “Master, I see your complexion is much rosier than when I left!” Seeing Fu Tingyun, he excitedly bowed to her: “Miss Fu!” He couldn’t have been happier.

“You’re finally back!” Fu Tingyun smiled as she examined A-Sen, and seeing he wasn’t different from when he left, she felt relieved.

A-Sen ran to untie the bundle he had brought back and handed a bamboo-handled silk fan embroidered with orchids to Fu Tingyun: “Miss Fu, this is what the master instructed me to buy for you. And there are also a few clothes…” he said, handing her a small package.

Fu Tingyun was quite surprised.

“I noticed you weren’t accustomed to using a cattail leaf fan, so when A-Sen went to Xi’an Prefecture, I had him bring back a round fan for you,” Zhao Ling said calmly. “I also instructed him to buy us a few sets of clothes.” He explained, “People rely on clothes as horses rely on saddles. We need to get a couple of decent outfits before returning to Xi’an Prefecture. This will prevent those gate guards from looking down on us and making things difficult for us.”

“Oh!” Fu Tingyun held the round fan, feeling her face grow warm, not knowing what to say.

A-Sen didn’t notice this. With animated expressions, he told Zhao Ling about his experiences on the way to Xi’an Prefecture: “Brother Chen Six and Brother Xiao Wu took good care of me. They even took me to the most famous restaurant in Xi’an Prefecture to eat…”

Zhao Ling glanced at Fu Tingyun, who stood silently with her head down, her jade-white fingers gently stroking the golden-yellow handle of the round fan. A barely noticeable smile flashed in his eyes as he gently stopped A-Sen, “All right, all right. We can talk more after dinner.”

A-Sen understood and cheerfully agreed, going downstairs to see Mo Yi and helping Chen Six and the others move the things from the small cart to the side room.

In the evening, stir-fried lamb with scallions, stir-fried green peppers with eggs, shiitake mushrooms stewed with old hen… Fu Tingyun made seven or eight dishes, took two bites from each, and had A-Sen deliver them to the Zheng San couple. She brought Zhao Ling’s meal upstairs, and after dinner, went up again with tea.

A-Sen was sitting beside Zhao Ling, talking: “…they spent thirty taels of silver to bribe the city guards and entered the city at midnight, sitting in a hanging basket. Besides us, several others entered the city the same way.”

“After entering the city, Chen Six wanted to take me to the ‘relatives’ home. I casually led them to a decent-looking house and knocked on the door… only saying that the master and madam had specified this address. They then took me shopping in the streets. I took the opportunity to leave a secret signal for Brother Yu Cheng and Brother Yuan Bao, and as you instructed, bought shoes, socks, and clothes to bring back.”

“When we were leaving, we went out through the Yongning Gate in the south, gave the city guards a few taels of silver, and they didn’t search us carefully. After walking for more than a mile, we met a group of merchants heading to Lantian County. Chen Six paid ten taels of silver as a share, and the merchant group agreed to bring us to Linchun.”

Downstairs, Mo Yi was questioning Chen Six: “…what did that boy do?”

Chen Six replied, “He stayed with us the whole time. We took him to his relatives’ home as he said, knocked on the door, and went in, but the family there said they had been living there for thirty years and had never heard of any relatives A-Sen mentioned. Later, A-Sen went shopping with us, bought a round fan for Miss Fu, and also bought several pieces of fine cloth clothing for Miss Fu, Zhao Ling, and himself, then came back with us.”

Mo Yi frowned: “That’s all?”

Chen Six nodded: “That’s all!”

Mo Yi looked at Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu also said, “Except for looking enviously at street food vendors and asking Brother Six for a few copper coins to buy snacks twice, he followed us obediently the whole time.”

Mo Yi’s face took on a thoughtful expression.

Outside the room, there were a few slight noises, like a cat slipping over the wall or wind blowing through the hallway.

Mo Yi and his men immediately stood up alertly.

Soon, sounds of fighting came from downstairs.

A-Sen hesitated, “Should we go down to help them?”

“No need!” Zhao Ling smiled, “He brought so much food, how could it not attract attention? Let him worry about it.” Then he asked detailed questions about the merchant group: “How many people were there in total? How old was the leader? How did they arrange their night lodgings?”

A-Sen recalled carefully.

As Zhao Ling listened, his expression grew increasingly grave.

Fu Tingyun watched anxiously: “What’s wrong?”

“I suspect they might be men from a military battalion,” Zhao Ling pondered. “How could it be such a coincidence that they were all men in their twenties and thirties, each strong and powerful…”

Before he could finish, a hearty laugh rang out from downstairs: “Trying to rob me? You’re still too green. I was just bored and decided to have some fun with you.”

A-Sen and Fu Tingyun were dumbfounded, but Zhao Ling shook his head helplessly.

From then on, Mo Yi tirelessly fought with those who came to rob or steal. Even Zheng San Niang, who came to wash their clothes every day, was affected.

“They thought I was carrying food,” Zheng San Niang recalled with lingering fear. “If my husband hadn’t arrived quickly, the child and I might have lost our lives.”

“Why don’t you and Zheng San move in with us?” Fu Tingyun felt this situation couldn’t continue. “In the eyes of those people, you’re already one of us. Living on the street is too dangerous.”

Zheng San Niang hesitated for a long time but finally agreed to go back and discuss it with Zheng San.

That evening, Zheng San brought his wife and son to live in the small courtyard with Fu Tingyun and the others.

Within a few days, the small courtyard returned to its former tranquility. Even the refugees who had been living around them moved away. Mo Yi complained of boredom, and Zheng San Niang looked at him with even greater terror, which Fu Tingyun’s consolations did little to alleviate.

This peaceful life didn’t last many days before people came to rob them again.

Mo Yi became energized.

Zheng San, however, came to see Zhao Ling.

“Master Zhao, we can’t go on like this!” His brow showed some worry. “More and more people are coming to Linchun Town. Even if Manager Mo had three heads and six arms, he couldn’t withstand this every day. Moreover, there are hidden talents among the common people. Although Manager Mo’s skills are impressive, if he encounters a true master, he might not come out ahead.”

Zhao Ling’s gaze became sharp, his previously calm face suddenly turning stern. The air in the room seemed to change, adding a chilling feeling that made Zheng San shiver, his gaze toward Zhao Ling suddenly becoming fearful.

“In that case, you’ve already discovered something?” he said slowly, causing Zheng San to become so nervous that his mouth went dry.

“I haven’t discovered anything specific,” he licked his lips, which felt parched, his form of address toward Zhao Ling unconsciously changing. “It’s just that while fleeing, I witnessed hundreds of refugees with clubs beating a well-known martial arts master to death for just a few steamed buns…”

They had more than just a few steamed buns.

Zhao Ling immediately said, “Please ask Manager Mo to come up. I have something to tell him.”

Zheng San breathed a sigh of relief and immediately went to invite Mo Yi.

“We’ll leave tonight,” Zhao Ling’s gaze was cold, with a determination in his expression that brooked no refusal. “I hope Brother Mo will join us.”

The implication was that if Mo Yi didn’t leave, he would take Fu Tingyun and the others and go without him.

This Zhao Ling seemed very unfamiliar to Mo Yi… he was stunned.

Zhao Ling quietly looked at him, his gaze deep and unfathomable, subtly evoking in Mo Yi a reluctance to oppose him.

“May I ask what Brother Zhao has in mind?” Mo Yi said slowly, his tone more cautious, with less of his usual teasing.

“We’re going to Xi’an Prefecture,” Zhao Ling said without hesitation. “It’s the provincial capital, with Prince Jian and Dong Hanwen there. If that city falls, the country’s demise may not be far behind.”

Mo Yi drew in a sharp breath.

But his gaze toward Zhao Ling revealed undisguised admiration: “Good, let’s go to Xi’an Prefecture!”