Chapter 86: Transformation, the Maiden

Tang Chen angrily blocked the child, spreading his hands wide and shouting, “Nonsense! Sneak into Ye City? Leaving aside the fact that the Liao Kingdom has posted our portraits everywhere, how could these thousand cavalry possibly enter the city?”

Chu Junhan pushed aside Tang Chen’s outstretched hands and stepped past him, continuing forward. “Who said I was bringing a thousand cavalry into the city? Besides, even though the Liao Kingdom has posted our portraits everywhere…”

“What of it?” Tang Chen’s face was full of confusion.

Chu Junhan pursed his lips and whispered in Tang Chen’s ear, his voice lowered, “Heaven’s secrets cannot be revealed.”

Tang Chen felt as if struck by lightning, standing frozen in place. Just now, the young lord’s voice… though still childlike, why did it sound so different from usual? It wasn’t so deep—rather, it sounded… like a girl’s voice!

The youth rubbed his ears. With his excellent hearing, he doubted himself for the first time, his mind still muddled.

The group rode silently through the mountain forest. The thousand cavalrymen hid among the trees, choosing a dense thicket as cover and settling in quietly.

“Brother Ziyun, keep watch for me here,” the child said, carrying a bundle as he slipped into the forest.

“Don’t worry,” the youth replied seriously with a nod.

Soon, the youth caught sight of the child’s figure—light as a songbird, as lovely as the first peach blossom of spring, beauty tinged with a hint of chill.

Chu Junhan, dressed in a pale pink long dress, her hair untied and cascading over her shoulders, stood amid the breeze. A strand of hair fluttered, the scene as picturesque as willows by a painted bridge.

“Brother Ziyun?” The child shook Tang Chen gently.

Tang Chen snapped back to himself. At just eighteen, the youth couldn’t hide his shyness before the opposite sex. Even prepared as he was, a blush crept from his neck up to his cheeks and ears.

Chu Junhan smiled sweetly, took the bundle from Tang Chen’s hands, rummaged through it, found a sheet of alchemist’s paper, and pressed her lips together lightly—her ruby lips a living portrait.

Only when Chu Junhan softly bid farewell and her figure vanished into the forest did Tang Chen return to his senses.

So, Yun Yi’s talk of a handsome brother was true—his young master was simply otherworldly! How could a man be more beautiful than a woman? Ah, damn this man!

The youth shook his head, lightly patting himself, muttering, “Tang Chen, Tang Chen, what nonsense are you thinking?”

…

At the foot of Ye City, a girl in a pink dress held a candied hawthorn stick in her hand. Her large, sparkling eyes made one want to pinch her cheeks.

“Stop! Where did this little girl come from? In these special times, no one may enter without a city pass,” the city guard declared, brandishing his weapon before her, full of authority.

The girl took a bite of her candied hawthorn and blinked, “Big brother, what’s a city pass?” She tiptoed forward, head stretched, her neck nearly touching the weapon.

The guard was startled and quickly stepped back. Such a lovely girl—if she were hurt… the thought alone made him wince.

“Big brother, Yan’er doesn’t have that pass. Hmm… how about this? Here, you can have the candied hawthorn, just let me in to find my father, please?” The little girl looked up at the guard with pitiful eyes, as if she’d burst into tears if he refused.

How could such a cute creature appear before him? Even a hardened man’s heart would be melted.

The guard crouched down and asked gently, “What does your father do? Why do you need to enter the city to find him?”