Far from his homeland with no return in sight, Prince Wu felt a wave of melancholy, tears welling up uncontrollably. Before his sorrowful tears could fall, the bleak morning wind arrived first. The gust made his robes flutter noisily, and the handful of yellow soil in his hand scattered, dusting his face.
Prince Wu was left disoriented by the wind, coughing repeatedly as he tasted the grit in his mouth. His already worn clothes looked even more ragged, leaving him in a thoroughly pitiable state. Heartbroken, he stroked his most expensive garment, muttering curses as he retreated into his carriage.
Shen Wei watched with a twitching eyelid. She lowered her voice and asked the guard beside her, "Has Prince Wu always been like this?"
Having known him for only a short time, Shen Wei had already reached a conclusion—Prince Wu was a good-looking young man, but unfortunately, he had a few screws loose.
Fifth Brother Zhang sighed. "You'll get used to it."
With Prince Wu back in his carriage, the convoy set off in grand formation. They traveled until nightfall, stopping at a dilapidated relay station to rest.
The station was nearly abandoned, with only an old soldier left to tend to it. Naturally, there was no one to prepare dinner for Prince Wu. Yuan Fu, who had been hiding at the rear of the group, silently gathered pots, pans, and ingredients before heading to the kitchen.
Only then did Shen Wei notice—Yuan Fu was actually part of the convoy!
She hurried to the station’s kitchen and saw Yuan Fu skillfully boiling water and cooking fish, his small frame bustling about. Shen Wei grabbed him by the collar. "What are you doing here? This journey is dangerous."
After revealing the truth to him that night, Yuan Fu had seemed heartbroken, silently returning to the fishing village alone. Shen Wei had assumed he no longer acknowledged her as his sister.
Yet here he was, having sneaked into the tribute escort team and even becoming their cook.
Caught red-handed, Yuan Fu’s eyes instantly reddened. "A-jie, I have nowhere else to go... I couldn’t think of anywhere except following you."
His parents had died in a shipwreck, his sister had thrown herself into the sea, and the villagers were cold-hearted. At just twelve years old, Yuan Fu saw nothing but darkness ahead, not a sliver of hope.
He didn’t know where else to go. He could only follow Shen Wei—even if the woman before him wasn’t truly his sister.
Clutching Shen Wei’s arm, tears welled in his eyes. "A-jie, I won’t be a burden... please let me stay with you."
He cried so miserably, like a helpless little black dog.
Memories of the past softened Shen Wei’s heart. She patted his head. "This journey is dangerous. If we encounter bandits, don’t worry about me—just run."
Yuan Fu nodded tearfully.
As long as he could stay by his sister’s side, no danger would frighten him.
Yuan Fu continued cooking the fish soup. His skills were excellent, producing a milky-white broth with an enticing aroma. Prince Wu ate with great satisfaction, repeatedly praising Yuan Fu as a fine cook.
Night fell, and the convoy rested at the station before setting off again at dawn.
...
...
Wu County.
When Prince Wu departed, he left most of his household officials to govern Wu County. His absence caused no disruption to the local order.
On the fourth day after his departure, a group of cavalrymen dressed in Southern Chu uniforms arrived in Wu County.
The prince’s steward came forward to receive them.
The leader of the cavalry asked, "Has there been any progress in investigating the 'resurrected dead' as ordered?"
The steward smiled awkwardly. "As soon as His Majesty’s decree arrived, our prince turned the county upside down searching. Unfortunately, we found no such person who returned from the dead."
The Southern Chu cavalryman was shrewd. He didn’t take the steward’s word at face value. Instead, he sent men to post notices across the county, raising the reward to "a hundred taels of silver."
The cavalryman was inwardly frustrated.
Two months ago, the Southern Chu emperor had suddenly issued an order for spies across the nations to search for "resurrected dead." The spies were baffled, but imperial commands were absolute—so they had no choice but to comply.
In the Eastern Lin Kingdom, the emperor had dispatched an elite cavalry unit to conduct the search personally. The unit had traveled through most of Eastern Lin but had yet to find anyone matching the criteria.
After all—the condition of "someone who should have died but inexplicably revived" was far too stringent.
The cavalryman had expected another dead end in Wu County. To his surprise, mere hours after the notices were posted, someone came forward.
A dark-skinned fisherwoman was brought to the prince’s residence. Trembling with fear, she clutched the notice, her eyes darting nervously.
"This humble woman, Sister Qiao, greets the honored official." It was her first time entering the prince’s residence, her first time seeing the legendary Southern Chu cavalry. She shook like a leaf, nearly fainting from nerves.
The cavalry leader glanced at her. "You know of someone who returned from the dead?"
Sister Qiao nodded eagerly. "Indeed. To be honest, I live in the Yuan family’s fishing village. Just over a month ago, a girl named Yuan Xi'er drowned herself in the sea. When they pulled her out, she was already dead. But somehow, she suddenly came back to life. I’ve fished all my life and seen plenty of drowned souls—none as strange as her. When she woke up, it was like she was a different person."
"Today, when I went to the market to sell fish, I saw the notice and thought of Yuan Xi'er. So I took the notice to report her."
The cavalryman was overjoyed.
Seeing a lead, he pressed further. "Where is this Yuan Xi'er now?"
Sister Qiao replied, "They say she threw herself into the sea again a few days ago. Prince Wu even punished many fishermen over it. But I don’t think she’s dead—no body floated up, and her little brother disappeared too. It’s all very odd."
The cavalryman pondered carefully and concluded that Yuan Xi'er from the fishing village was suspicious.
After further investigation, he documented the details and swiftly sent word back to Southern Chu. The emperor himself responded, ordering the cavalry to track Yuan Xi'er and her brother’s whereabouts.
...
...
"Achoo—"
On the desolate official road, the guide Shen Wei sneezed loudly. The guard beside her, Fifth Brother Zhang, kindly reminded her, "Young Brother Shen, winter’s coming—take care of yourself. Once we leave Eastern Lin territory, we’ll be blind without you to lead us."
Shen Wei rubbed her nose.
Gazing at the distant mountain ranges, a sudden sense of foreboding gripped her.
The area ahead was called Minzhou—a peculiar place, situated at the border between Southern Chu, Qing State, and Eastern Lin. Unclaimed by any government, it was a lawless no-man’s-land.
With half a day’s journey left to Minzhou and the sky darkening with signs of a storm, Shen Wei called for the convoy to stop and rest at a roadside relay station for the night.
The moment they stepped inside, torrential rain poured down. Shen Wei was drenched. A fire was lit in the station, and the men stripped off their wet outer robes to dry them.
Only Shen Wei kept hers on.
Prince Wu watched as Shen Wei, soaked like a drowned rat, looked pitifully thin, her silhouette frail.
"Achoo—" The poor guide sneezed again.
Like a helpless kitten.
After quietly admiring Shen Wei’s delicate figure for a while, Prince Wu took pity. He retrieved a dry outer robe and generously offered it to her. "Take off that wet coat. Wear mine instead."
Shen Wei silently tightened her grip on her soaked garment. "No."
