Chapter Six: I'll Accompany You to Look at the Moon
Early the next morning, a procession arrived in Qingshui Town. Consisting of about twenty or thirty people, it looked to be a cargo transport. Leading them was a young, capable-looking man.
"Rushou? Why did you come in person?" Xiao Liu ran out of Huichuntang, with Asheng and Baozhu following behind.
"Did I not come on orders to... bring you medicine!"
"Call me Doctor Liu."
Seeing Shanhu and Miaopu also among the procession, Xiao Liu made a gesture for them to hold back just as they were about to bow.
"Asheng, arrange for Liuzi and the others to unload the herbs. You start seeing patients shortly; today's situation should be much the same as yesterday. I have some matters to attend to first, so come find me right away if you run into any tricky problems."
"Baozhu, can I borrow your courtyard for a bit?"
Baozhu nodded, leading Rushou and his group into the neighboring courtyard. Just as he was about to turn and leave, Xiao Liu grabbed his sleeve and pulled him down to sit beside her.
"You don't need to step away. There's nothing here that needs to be kept from you."
Rushou was quite taken aback and couldn't help carefully sizing up the person before him. Tall and slender with broad shoulders and a slim waist, even through the clothing one could see a physique of solid, robust muscle—this was definitely not an ordinary peasant. Looking up at the face, with its sweeping brows and bright eyes like stars, though handsome, Rushou could tell at a glance that it wasn't a true visage, yet what the real face looked like was completely impenetrable. Looking further at the spiritual power, although intentionally concealed, Rushou could clearly sense that this person's spiritual power was bound to be formidable.
To think that in just a few short days, a person of such formidable spiritual power had appeared by the Royal Princess's side, and judging by the looks of it, their relationship was out of the ordinary. Rushou silently sighed to himself: though the Royal Princess had low spiritual power, her methods for collecting men were truly formidable. First came Tushan Jing and Fangfeng Bei, then Chishui Fenglong, not to mention that Chenrong military strategist Xiangliu the Nine-Life, who back then had even stormed Xiyan Mountain to personally fetch away the enemy nation's Royal Princess when she was at death's door. Now looking at this one here—though his true face couldn't be seen, just by the way he gazed at the Royal Princess, humph! There was certainly no escaping him. Formidable, truly formidable!
While Rushou was still letting his mind wander, he heard the Royal Princess's voice:
"Rushou, delivering medicine is such a trivial matter, why did you come in person?"
"Replying to the Royal Princess, His Majesty said that delivering medicine is saving the common people from suffering, and dispatching secret guards is something you personally agreed to for the sake of protecting your safety. Neither of these is a trivial matter!"
Xiaoyao smiled. This Rushou was still as airtight as ever.
"Does Royal Father have any instructions?"
"His Majesty said he is your Royal Father. No matter what the matter is, as long as it is a decision you have made after careful deliberation, he will fully and unconditionally support you."
A warm surge welled up in Xiaoyao's heart. The King of Haoling truly was a good father to her. She thought silently to herself: Then he will forever be her Royal Father.
"Rushou, since you're here, go do something for me."
"At the Royal Princess's command."
"Go to Qingqu for me, find Tushan Jing directly, and bring him a message from me."
As soon as these words left her mouth, Xiaoyao instantly felt a chill sweep over her entire body, a cold draft whistling past the back of her neck, and she couldn't help rubbing her neck with her hand.
"Go tell Tushan Jing that I want two things."
Xiaoyao continued:
"First, I want ice crystal wind chimes. Enough strung-together wind chimes to fill an entire palace;
Second, I want qingyu—enough to come back, be stewed into soup, and fed to fish so that every single fish in the lake beside Qingshui Town can have a drink."
Upon hearing this, the person beside her choked on a breath and let out a cough, and the cold draft drifted away with it. Shanhu and Miaopu stared with wide eyes, looking up at Xiaoyao in complete bewilderment. Rushou choked for a long time without being able to speak, but seeing the completely serious expression on Xiaoyao's face, he stammered:
"Would you like the Royal Princess to write a letter for me to take to Clan Leader Tushan?"
"No, just tell Tushan Jing exactly that when you see him. With your status, would he suspect you of lying to him? Tell him to have these things delivered to Qingshui Town within three days!"
"Understood! Then this subordinate will wait in Qingqu."
"No need. Once the message is delivered, turn around and leave; come back and wait here."
"Understood, this subordinate obeys!"
Xiaoyao called Shanhu over.
"Shanhu, stay by my side. Send a few people to Huichuntang to help Old Mu, and take a few more people to get this courtyard..." Halfway through her sentence, Xiaoyao turned to look at Baozhu, who smiled and nodded.
"Get this courtyard cleaned thoroughly inside and out. Don't mess with the original furnishings, and put the everyday items I usually use—the ones you brought—into the room. I will be staying here temporarily."
As she spoke, Xiaoyao cast a sideways glance at the person beside her, and seeing the corners of his mouth twitch upward into a smile, she finally set her mind at ease.
"Yes."
"Miaopu, take the rest of the people and go take care of a few things for me."
"Yes, please give your instructions, Royal Princess."
"First, go find a residence for me; you know my preferences. It's best if it's an existing house, the kind that just needs some renovation to be livable;
Second, go into town and check the various shops, focusing especially on grain, medicinal herbs, and weapons. Find out all of the Tushan Clan's forces in Qingshui Town;
Third, scout out Qingshui Town and the surrounding areas to find out the distribution of the God Clan and Demon Clan besides humans, and check what they are up to. As far as I know, the God Clan and Demon Clan around Qingshui Town do not possess high spiritual power, so keep a low profile in what you do and don't frighten them. Right now, people are panicking because of the plague, and the streets are quite chaotic, so there's no need to rush things."
"Yes."
"Also, take ten qingyu and deliver them to that wine shop by the street. You know which one it is?" Miaopu nodded. "I don't know how many people they have over there specifically; if it's not enough, come back for more. Teach them how to consume it yourself."
"Yes."
"Tell them to pass a word to Cang Xuan: if he wants to come find me, he can wait until this plague ends to come. It's not that I'm afraid of him getting infected, it's mainly that I don't have time, and even if he comes I won't have time to entertain him."
Miaopu paused, hesitated for a moment, and replied:
"Yes."
"Alright, everyone dismissed. Go do what you need to do."
She lowered her gaze to Baozhu. "Let's head back too. Huichuntang is probably packed with people again."
Baozhu stood up and said, "Tonight, do we still need to keep making medicine?"
"Yes, these next few days are critical. We must ensure that every commoner coming to Huichuntang can get their medicine. However, now that we have Shanhu and the others to help, we won't need to do it ourselves."
"Then..."
"How about I accompany you to look at the moon tonight? Tonight should be a full moon." Xiaoyao looked at Baozhu with a smile, her starry eyes sparkling.
A sweet warmth slowly flowed through her heart, as if branding itself upon Xiaoyao's soul. So this Nine-Headed Demon was this easy to satisfy. Xiaoyao thought to herself: That trip to Baili truly wasn't in vain. Nine-Headed Demon, let's see where else you can run!
"Okay," Baozhu replied.
Watching him forcefully suppress the corners of his mouth into an ostensibly nonchalant expression, Xiaoyao chuckled inwardly.