Chapter 12: Fu Heng Encounters Mountain Bandits
If Chu Li knew how Jiao Yan truly saw her, she would undoubtedly burst out laughing. She was not nearly as steadfast as he imagined; her delicate demeanor was merely a facade. The faint glimmers of wisdom in her eyes were nothing more than the result of her frequent glimpses into the workings of fate.
At that moment, Jiao Yan seemed to notice a change in Chu Li’s expression. He realized she was looking at his comrades with a certain pity. For a man like him, who had spent years escorting caravans and gambling with death, narrowly escaping peril relied not only on experience and skill but also on instinct.
Right then, his intuition warned him that the young woman’s gaze held a deeper meaning. After a moment’s thought, he spoke directly.
“Miss, is there something you wish to say? Do you sense something wrong?”
Chu Li hadn’t expected such a question and paused briefly before deciding to speak plainly.
“Escort chief, I once studied physiognomy and fortune-telling. You are soon to face a bloodshed calamity. This place is thick with deathly energy; it’s unwise to linger. You’d best depart immediately.”
She had sensed that the eastern side of the forest was shrouded in chilling, ominous qi, heavy with death’s presence—the source of the coming disaster lay to the east.
No sooner had Chu Li finished than one of the escorts, who had been eating dried meat, flew into a rage and slammed the food onto the ground.
“You miserable woman! How dare you speak such curses? What do you mean by bloodshed calamity? Who are you cursing?”
“Exactly! I thought you were decent for sharing your meat with us, but now you’re cursing us? Don’t you know that those like us who escort caravans dread such words?”
The men surrounded Chu Li, glaring at her with fury.
Qiu Yi, unable to bear the insults, stepped forward to defend her.
“My lady is only trying to warn you kindly. If you won’t accept it, fine, but there’s no need to speak so harshly.”
“Qiu Yi, let’s go.”
Chu Li knew arguing was futile. She had delivered her warning; whether they escaped this disaster depended on their own fate.
She oriented herself and, with Qiu Yi, set off.
Tonight, clouds veiled the moon, and the wild forest was already steeped in deathly energy. Given the timing and place, bloodshed was inevitable.
All she could do was distance herself from this place of misfortune.
After they left, the escorts continued grumbling among themselves.
---
Yet Jiao Yan’s face grew stern, a restless unease stirring deep within him.
He watched Chu Li’s slender figure fade into the distance, then suddenly called his men to retreat.
“Brother Yan, it’s pitch dark; it’s not safe to travel now. This forest blocks the wind—it’s the perfect place to camp.”
“Yes, Brother Yan. Don’t listen to that girl’s nonsense. How could she, so young, really know fortune-telling? She’s probably just some fallen noblewoman trying to catch your attention.”
The escorts chattered among themselves, but the unease in Jiao Yan’s heart only grew stronger.
“Enough talk. Follow my orders—leave at once!”
Soon, Chu Li and Qiu Yi heard the sounds of carriages behind them.
“Miss, they’re really following us. Weren’t they just saying you couldn’t speak properly?”
Chu Li smiled faintly, as she had expected.
Those escorts were doomed to die, but the chief escort was unusual—his fate balanced between life and death. Though bloodshed loomed, a sliver of hope remained.
That hope, perhaps, was her.
By heeding her warning, the chief escort not only altered his own fate but also indirectly changed the others’ grim destiny.
Chu Li stopped about two hundred meters from the forest’s edge. Seeing this, Jiao Yan was about to speak when one of his men snorted.
“You said bloodshed calamity was coming. How could moving just a hundred meters away avoid it?”
The others frowned and glared at Chu Li with suspicion. To them, she was merely stirring trouble to gain the attention of their handsome chief.
Chu Li ignored them, her face cold as she sat down.
Jiao Yan scolded his men, then crouched beside Chu Li to meet her gaze.
“My name is Jiao Yan. May I ask your name, miss?”
“My lady’s name is not for you to inquire,” Qiu Yi retorted angrily, eyeing the men with disdain. They were ungrateful, no doubt troublemakers.
Chu Li stopped Qiu Yi and smiled gracefully at Jiao Yan.
“Brother Yan, please forgive me. My name is Chu Meng. I am bound for Rong City.”
Qiu Yi’s eyes flickered but she said no more.
Jiao Yan caught the change in Qiu Yi’s expression and understood it fully, but chose not to expose it.
---
“Miss Chu, my men are crude folk. Please forgive any offense.”
Chu Li shook her head with a smile; they were nothing but passing strangers.
Suddenly, a chilling night wind swept through, carrying a faint scent of blood.
Her eyes flashed as she rose slowly, gazing back the way they had come.
“The wind is rising. Tell your men to keep silent and not to light any fires.”
Jiao Yan also smelled the blood, and with his strong inner power, he heard the distant clash of swords.
The entire escort party turned, stunned, to look at Chu Li.
In the wild forest they had just left, flashes of steel danced, horses neighed, and blood splattered crimson across bamboo leaves.
A grand sedan chair stood in the center, atop which stood a tall, stern figure.
“Kill.”
Fu Heng’s lips parted slightly, uttering a single word that seemed to unleash a murderous aura. The fifty or so bandits armed with blades instantly became as if facing a mortal enemy.
In moments, the bandits were slaughtered, their bodies littering the woods, while Fu Heng’s shadow guards remained unscathed.
“Master, these bandits are fierce and well-trained—unlike common thieves. Should we report this to the court?”
Fu Heng paid it no mind. Though officially appointed to head north of the plains, only he knew he had left the capital to more easily seek out his runaway princess.
He and Minister Cao had parted ways earlier, but an hour ago, a scout brought news shedding light on the princess’s origins.
Three years prior, Fu Heng had fallen deeply for Chu Li at first sight, and they had soon pledged themselves in secret.
Chu Li claimed to be an orphan, and he had believed her without question, never probing her past.
Now, that girl had dared to leave him alone, vanishing without a trace, impossible to find.
There was no choice but to investigate her origins, hoping to uncover a clue.
No matter what, he would find that woman and demand to know why she abandoned him.