Chapter 61 Tread the snow for traces Ⅰ

　　He Muxian wore her way through the Yangjiao Mountain, crossing paths with sheep and following trails into the Yue region in search of someone. Before she knew it, eight days had passed.

　　As she neared the northern outskirts of Beici County, many recognized her, and even those who didn't could guess her identity by her horse and weaponry. She rarely encountered any trouble.

　　But as she ventured further from Beici County, fewer people knew her. Here, she was simply a mysterious female warrior.

　　Her destination was uncertain. Instinct told her that Zhou Ge wouldn't head toward Snow Mist Mountain, including her hometown of Tingquan Peak.

　　Finding one person in the vastness of the Yue region was like searching for a needle in a haystack. After another eight or nine days, she still had no leads. With no better options, she relied on inquiries to find her way.

　　Her voice carried a chill, and combined with her mounted sword, few ordinary folk dared to approach her for conversation. Who knew what mood she might be in? One wrong word could lead to an unlucky encounter with her blade. This only added to the difficulty of her search.

　　One day, she arrived at a place called Xinyi Town, a small settlement of a dozen households with an inn just outside. Customers trickled in and out.

　　The inn had a couplet hanging by its door: "Whether you come early or late, you'll have to come in sooner or later. Eat a little or eat a lot, you'll have to eat something." The signboard boasted four big characters: "Come In, Eat."

　　At the door, a young attendant dozed off, but perked up as she approached. He hurried to catch up to her, asking, "Miss, would you like some refreshments or noodles? Oops, I mean, would you like a room or noodles? My mouth, it just can't seem to get it right."

　　"Noodles, then some hot tea. And arrange a room for me," she said, tossing him the reins before entering.

　　Inside, the place wasn't crowded but felt lively. She chose a table by the wall and soon had a steaming bowl of noodles in front of her. She sat away from the window to avoid the chill.

　　As she ate, a group of five men entered, led by a well-dressed young master with four servants. One of the servants carried a bulky bag, its contents unknown.

　　The young master's eyes kept straying to her, but He Muxian was used to such gazes and ignored them.

　　While she ate, one of the servants approached and politely said, "Miss, my master asked me to give you this."

　　A note was placed on the table. Without looking at it, she flicked it into the charcoal firepit across the room.

　　Soon after, another servant came with another note. Again, she didn't bother to read it and sent it flying into the fire.

　　As she finished her noodles, the attendant brought over four small dishes.

　　"I didn't order these," she said.

　　"The gentleman at that table ordered them for you," the attendant explained.

　　She looked up to see the man smiling at her.

　　"It's pointless. Tell him I'm not interested," she said.

　　"Um...Jiang Shunlin, the young master of the Jiang family in Xinyi Town. We owe our livelihood to them. How could I dare speak to him like that?" the attendant said.

　　He Muxian ignored him and returned to her room with her belongings.

　　She wasn't particularly pleased with the room, which was small and furnished with items that were at best eight out of ten in terms of newness, and the tables and chairs were only about five out of ten. But it was quiet with few guests, so she made do.

　　After locking the door and settling in, she lay down on the bed. Days of restlessness caught up to her, and sleepiness washed over her as soon as her body touched the mattress.、、

　　She locked the door, tidied up her things, lay down on the bed. She hadn't had a good rest in days, and as her body touched the bed, the fatigue overcame her.

　　When she woke up, it was already dark outside. She lit the lamp and asked for two pots of hot tea from outside.

　　The tea was not very good, not even comparable to the tea at her own mansion or the tea houses and restaurants she had been to. When traveling, things never turn out as planned.

　　As she sipped her tea, some music and the sound of a flute reached her ears. She didn't understand much about music, but she felt it was nice, at least better than nothing.

　　"Ding... ding... ding..." There was knocking on the door.

　　She opened the door and saw the same little slave boy again, holding a piece of paper in his hand. She asked: "What does your master want?"

　　The little slave boy smiled: "Our master plays the flute very well and wants to play a duet with you."

　　She thought that this person was as persistent as a piece of gum. "Tell him I'm the one who takes people's lives for a living and to get lost," she said and drew out her sword for a few inches.

　　"Uh... I see," said the little slave boy.

　　She thought that would make him give up, but after half an hour, there was knocking on the door again.

　　This time, it wasn't the little slave boy, but Jiang Shunlin himself who came to the door.

　　He Muxian looked at he with an unhappy expression and said: "Are you crazy?"

　　"Your beauty is enchanting, and I am infatuated with you. May I have a chance to chat with you outside?"

　　"I'm sorry, but I don't open the door for just anyone," she said and closed the door.

　　She thought that would make him give up, but there was still knocking on the door after a while.

　　"This is endless!" She opened the door and saw no one outside, only a small cloth bag on the ground.

　　She opened the cloth bag and found two small copper mirrors and a letter inside.

　　"Is this from Zhou?" She thought Zhou should come in person and clear things up instead of leaving things like this. They should also discuss how to deal with fifth senior brother together. Why did he leave without even saying goodbye?

　　She opened the letter and saw only one sentence inside: "The young lady is kind, and I appreciate it. There is no need to chase after me."

　　After reading it, she felt a bit surprised. In her memory, Zhou Ge had never called himself "Mr. Zhou". Therefore, she had doubts about this letter.

　　She went outside and asked the waiter if they had seen a young man with a slightly shorter stature than average, wearing a blue robe and a large cloak come into the inn. She emphasized that it wasn't Master Jiang.

　　The waiter tried to remember and said that he had seen such a man come into the inn before. The man had a small bag on his back and left after eating some steamed buns. "Do you know which direction he went?" she asked. "He seemed to be heading northwest of town..." The waiter replied.

　　After hearing this, she knew which direction Zhou Ge had gone in and immediately went back to her room to pack her things and saddle her horse. She left the inn before midnight and rode for about ten miles before she saw two masked robbers on the road.

　　One robber was shaking his head and singing an old tune: "This tree is mine, this road is..." The familiar opening made her feel like all thieves came from the same place because they all used the same tune. "Don't talk nonsense, give me your money or get lost," she said. "Then I'll rob you!" said one robber as he charged forward with his fist raised. Before he could attack, two flying stones flew past his face and hit him square in the chest. The robber let out a scream and fled in panic while his accomplice did the same thing not long after.

　　The thief escaped, and a man quickly ran up to her and asked, "Miss, are you okay?"

　　Upon seeing this person, He Muxian lowered her eyes slightly. She understood this tactic. It was called pretending to fight a fake battle and using someone else's efforts to curry favor with her. It was just too obvious, making her disdainful.

　　With other doubts in her mind, she didn't ask directly, only saying, "Jiang Shunlin, you're really persistent."

　　"Miss, how's my hand?" Jiang Shunlin asked.

　　She took the reins and turned to walk away, saying, "Did you arrange all this?"

　　"No... no... how could I..."

　　"If you follow me again, I won't be nice to you."

　　"Miss, I..."

　　"Ugh... it's all self-inflicted."

　　He Muxian executed a swift turn and appeared behind him, raising her palm to strike his neck. She knocked him unconscious and casually threw him onto a tree. She found a rope and tied his feet to the branches.

　　"He's quite heavy."

　　After finishing her task, she left without a backward glance.

　　She had lost half-hour of pursuit time, and now it was even more unlikely that she would catch up. All she could hope for now was that Zhou Ge had stopped somewhere to rest. By morning, she had traveled over thirty or forty miles, encountering only a group of real robbers and nothing else.