Hidden Shadow – CH 236

Chapter Two-Hundred-Thirty-Six: White Robes

Under the moonlight, his hair was slightly disheveled. An Jiu stared at a few strands of hair fluttering in the wind, lost in thought.

She often had these inexplicable moments, which Chu Dingjiang was already used to. So he put on his hood, put his arm around her waist, and raced through the night.

Xijin Prefecture was only a three- or four-hour ride from Hejian Prefecture. It was safe to say that the Liao-Song war was imminent. There were many Liao scouts along this route, so riding was inconvenient. Chu Dingjiang had to use his light-footed skills. Continuous travel was very taxing on his internal energy, so to avoid overexertion, Chu Dingjiang rested every half hour. They arrived at Xijin Prefecture at noon the next day.

The two disguised themselves in the suburbs and entered through the main gate.

In recent years, the Liao Kingdom had been on the offensive, while the Song Dynasty had mostly been on the defensive. Therefore, compared to the cautious defense of Hejian Prefecture, Xijin Prefecture was much more relaxed.

Chu Dingjiang and An Jiu easily blended in.

However, Xijin Prefecture, as the largest prefecture on the Liao Kingdom’s border, could not be as careless as it appeared. The city’s defenses were lax on the outside but tight on the inside; entering the city was easy, but for ordinary people, approaching the prefectural yamen was very difficult.

The two strolled around the perimeter of the prefectural yamen, getting a general idea of ​​the defenses, and then went to a restaurant for dinner as evening approached.

After dinner, Chu Dingjiang said, “Wait for me here; I will be back in half an hour.”

The Liao Kingdom’s prefectural government had many experts, but none could stop Chu Dingjiang. There were only a handful of Transcendent Realm experts in the entire world, and he could move freely within the Liao Kingdom’s prefectural government.

An Jiu knew she would not be of much help if she went, so she simply said, “Alright.”

Chu Dingjiang patted her head and slipped out.

An Jiu sat motionless for a while, then raised her hand to rub the spot where Chu Dingjiang had patted her, lost in thought.

After sitting in the same position for about half an hour, An Jiu heard some noise in the main hall and went to take a look.

The restaurant was shaped like the Chinese character “回.” Standing on the second-floor corridor, one could see a high platform erected in the Tang Dynasty-style courtyard below. An Jiu noticed four scantily clad dancers writhing like snakes on the platform. Long veils covered their faces, almost completely obscuring their bodies, making their graceful figures appear and disappear.

The sounds of stringed instruments filled the air. In the main hall, a diverse crowd—some jeering at the dancers, some watching with smiles, and others drinking heartily—was engaged in lively conversation. Xijin Prefecture, situated between the Liao and Song dynasties, possessed both the elegance of the Song and the unrestrained spirit of the Liao. Only here could one glimpse a trace of the glorious Tang Dynasty.

An Jiu was watching with great interest when suddenly a burly man approached, whispered a few words to the restaurant owner, and quickly led away one of the most beautiful dancers.

The crowd followed her upstairs. Knowing that a distinguished guest had taken a liking to her, they looked away without further ado.

The burly man led the dancer past An Jiu. An Jiu clearly sensed that both men possessed martial arts skills, with the dancer’s rank even higher—eighth rank.

Her gaze swept indifferently over the dancer, then she slipped inside and closed the door.

Chu Dingjiang would return in a couple of quarters of an hour.

Shortly afterward, a commotion erupted outside, followed by An Jiu seeing an eighth-rank martial artist rushing towards her.

In the blink of an eye, a woman in a light blue gauze dress silently landed in front of An Jiu, a blood-stained dagger pointed at her. “Do not make a sound!” The dagger was still three cun away from An Jiu, whose gaze remained impassive.

The woman in blue’s heart skipped a beat. She could not help but scrutinize An Jiu, disguised as a young boy, for a few moments. To remain so calm in the face of a threat meant this was not an ordinary person! But now she was cornered; she could not afford to think about anything else!

An Jiu saw through her expression clearly. Seeing that she was about to take desperate measures, she slowly said, “You’d better stay where you are.”

The woman in blue was about to approach and take her hostage when she heard this, and she was caught in a dilemma.

An Jiu picked up her teacup and took a sip.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

The knocking grew more urgent. Large beads of sweat appeared on the woman in blue’s temples. Looking at the unfazed An Jiu, she gritted her teeth and climbed onto the roof beam.

Bang!

The door was kicked open.

Several burly men rushed in, followed by a young man in white.

He wore a narrow-sleeved Khitan robe, his hair shaved on the sides, with a section tied up in the middle, a strand hanging down from the side of his face, and his hair braided into several plaits at the back.

An Jiu thought to herself, “If it were not for his good looks, he really could not pull off this hairstyle…”

The moment he appeared, she seemed to see a familiar face—such a handsome countenance, one she would not easily forget even if she’d only seen him once.

This person actually resembled Gu Jinghong somewhat.

However, the difference was that Gu Jinghong’s eyes were clear and bright, seemingly able to see through the past and future, and to see through everything in the world, while the white-robed young man before her had eyes like black ink, a handsome face that was gloomy, and a very sinister gaze.

He glanced at An Jiu, then his gaze slowly moved across the room.

An Jiu put down her teacup, stood up, and calmly stepped on a drop of blood on the floor.

The white-robed young man did not speak. A burly man in front of him asked in Khitan, “Did you see a dancer barge in?”

An Jiu, of course, did not understand, so she remained silent, simply looking at the white-robed man.

The man’s appearance was indeed captivating, so he did not find An Jiu’s reaction strange. He looked around the room, found nothing amiss, and turned to leave.

An Jiu stared at his retreating figure.

As the man turned, he noticed her gaze. His eyes flickered, and he suddenly stopped, asking in broken Chinese, “What’s your name?”

An Jiu remained silent, pretending not to understand.

The man had already sensed something was off, but had not realized it until now. Although the young man before him was looking at him intently like anyone else, there was no admiration, infatuation, or amazement in his eyes. Furthermore, it seemed deliberate for those in Xijin Prefecture who did not know him to be so distant.

“Who are you?” the man’s voice deepened, and his guards immediately rushed in, forming a semi-circle around An Jiu.

An Jiu gestured a few times.

She did not speak Khitan, but she knew sign language. There was no such thing as sign language at this time, but her gestures told everyone she was mute.

The man roughly understood An Jiu’s meaning; he knew she was waiting for someone.

Seeing that her answer was irrelevant, the man thought to himself, “Could she not only be mute but also deaf?”

After a moment of silence, the man whispered something to a burly man beside him before turning and going downstairs.

The people quickly retreated, but An Jiu noticed that there was still someone outside.

The woman on the roof beam lightly leaped down, and the instant she landed, An Jiu pulled the stool, making a loud thud.

The woman in blue was extremely clever; she immediately guessed that someone was still outside and gave An Jiu a grateful look.