Volume 1 Chapter 19: Being Followed

By the time Han Teng rushed out of the Star-Plucking Pavilion, the streets were bustling with people, and there was no trace of Jiu Mu left.

"Y-young Master, are you alright?" his attendant panted as he chased after him.

Han Teng gestured wildly, but the attendant, unable to understand, looked utterly bewildered. "Young Master, please, just say it directly. I truly cannot guess what you mean." Why did he have to gesture? Was he testing him?

Frustrated, Han Teng tapped the attendant on the head with his folding fan and marched angrily toward a nearby medical clinic.

Meanwhile, having left the pavilion, Jiu Mu headed toward the Marquis’s residence. She decided to stop wandering; she would wait until her wheelchair was finished before coming out again, as walking was too exhausting. If only there were an electric scooter or a hoverboard here—that would be perfect!

Suddenly, she felt a strange intuition that someone was watching her. She slowed her pace, and while pretending to browse a vendor’s stall, she confirmed that someone was trailing her—a young man who looked like a servant from some household.

Could he have been sent by that fellow, Han Teng? That didn't seem right. She had slipped a mild concoction into Han Teng’s drink—a little something she had developed in her spare time. It was guaranteed to be gentle enough that no ordinary person could detect it. It was her specialty, in fact; she had even managed to fool her old master with it twice.

Jiu Mu regretted dismissing the two guards Sang Lin had arranged for her, as she now had to handle this herself. After a quick look around, she turned and stepped into an inn.

"Young Master, are you here for a meal or a room?" the waiter greeted her enthusiastically.

"Is there a vacant room in that corner?" Jiu Mu asked, pointing toward the corner of the second floor.

The waiter nodded immediately. "Yes, yes, it is very quiet there."

"Fine. If someone comes by later asking about me, tell them the truth, but add that you saw me leave through the back door." Jiu Mu dropped some silver and headed straight for the second floor.

The waiter scrambled to collect the money, delighted. "Don't you worry, sir." He had no idea that Jiu Mu was only being generous because she was new to this world and had no concept of the local prices.

Once inside the room, Jiu Mu looked around—it was clean enough. She lit a stick of calming incense and lay down on the bed, fully clothed. Her body was severely malnourished, leaving her thin and frail. She had been working on her health, but helping Luo Chen with his treatments every night left her perpetually exhausted. Just as she was drifting into a deep sleep, a loud "bang" startled her awake.

"Finally here."

Jiu Mu sat up, stretched, and glanced at the person sprawled on the floor—it was the one who had followed her from the street. The incense she had lit was soothing for her, but for anyone else, it acted as a potent sedative.

When Jiu Mu returned to the Marquis’s residence, Luo Chen had already finished his midday meal and was sitting under the crabapple tree.

"Young Mistress, you’re back." Sang Lin, who had been sitting on the steps lost in thought, immediately stood up to greet her.

"Perfect, I have something to tell you." Jiu Mu recounted the incident of being followed and gave him the location of the inn.

"What? Someone dared to follow you? I’ll go find out who it is immediately." Sang Lin headed out.

Watching him leave without hesitation, Jiu Mu suspected he was just bored and looking for an excuse to get out. She looked at his master, who had been left alone under the tree, completely unaware, and couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him.

Jiu Mu walked over to push his wheelchair, as she couldn't just stand there while he sat alone.

"You're back?" Luo Chen spoke softly the moment the chair moved.

Jiu Mu paused. He couldn't hear or see, yet he could identify the person beside him so quickly.

"You need not be surprised. Your movement habits are different from Sang Lin's," Luo Chen said, as if sensing her confusion. He was truly sharp, though perhaps a bit narcissistic.

Back in the room, Luo Chen instinctively placed his hand on the table, waiting for her to check his pulse—it was their daily routine. *Based on your current condition, it will still take some time,* Jiu Mu wrote simply.

"Very well, I will heed your advice." Even though he couldn't see, Luo Chen looked toward her naturally as he spoke.

Jiu Mu continued writing: *Do you know about the betting at the Star-Plucking Pavilion?*

Luo Chen nodded slightly. "I do. Why?"

Jiu Mu described the situation regarding his betting pool in the simplest terms possible, feeling strangely like she was writing a diary from her childhood. Since this concerned him, she felt he had a right to know, including the fact that she had placed a wager of thirty thousand taels.

*The thirty thousand taels of capital are yours,* she wrote. *When we win, we shall split the earnings fifty-fifty.*

"There is no need. Since you placed the bet, the winnings should be yours," Luo Chen said with a faint smile. Was she really that confident she could cure him? He handed the betting slip back to her with precision, feeling inexplicably cheerful and confident that he would recover soon. He had overlooked the fact that, in his current state, he couldn't leave the house or spend money, but Jiu Mu was a normal person, and their circumstances were different.

Jiu Mu wrote: *Very well.*

Since he had insisted, she wouldn't refuse; she would consider it her consultation fee. It had to be said, Luo Chen’s smile was quite attractive, making Jiu Mu feel a bit infatuated.

"Since they are betting on my life or death, I must trouble you, Young Mistress, to place another bet for me tomorrow," Luo Chen remarked.

Jiu Mu wrote: *Why don't you go yourself?*

The idea of him placing a bet was sound, given how wealthy he was, but she wondered why he was so inconvenienced. She was too lazy to write out a request for money, planning to just ask Sang Lin later.

Meanwhile, Sang Lin had arrived at the inn with his men. Pushing the door open, he found a person sprawled on the floor. "You blind fool, how dare you follow my Young Mistress!" Sang Lin kicked the man hard.

The man groaned in pain.

"You two, tie him up!" Sang Lin ordered his guards, then opened the window, as Jiu Mu had specifically instructed. When he turned back and saw the man being hoisted up, he recognized his face. "Chang... Chang Wu? Why is it you?"

"Ugh... Mmm..." the man named Chang Wu began to stir.

"Stop groaning! Tell me, why were you following my Young Mistress?" Sang Lin demanded.

"What Young Mistress? I wasn't. I was following a young gentleman," Chang Wu denied, his memory slowly returning. He remembered reaching the door and, hearing no sound inside, deciding to enter to confirm, and then losing consciousness.

Sang Lin scoffed. "There is no 'young gentleman.' That was our Young Mistress."