Inhaling slowly, Wu Ying made sure to extend his senses, checking for cultivators above. When the guards had moved down the dock on their patrol, the pair exited the water smoothly and across the open ground, leaving muddy and wet footprints.
In the shade of a small warehouse, between two alleyways, the pair found the others waiting. Wu Ying moved to go deeper into the narrow alleyway, automatically seeking shadows, only to be held back by Tou Hei.
“She’s changing,” the ex-monk said.
Wu Ying blinked and realized that his friends had already removed their sodden clothing and wiped themselves down as best they could. It left them mostly dry, except for their hair. Well, most of them—Wu Ying eyed the shaved head of his friend. Bao Cong was already half naked, redressing while Yin Xue took watch.
“Well?” Bao Cong said to Wu Ying, hopping on one foot as he pulled off his pants.
Wu Ying grunted, realizing that he was still not moving. It seemed his period of intense meditation and oxygen deprivation had slowed him down. He shook his shirt, mentally chiding himself for his failure. He was the leader here. He should be the one telling others what to do. He needed to get his head back into the game.
In short order, Wu Ying was changed like the others. Together, the group headed deeper into the city, dressed in the commoner clothing they’d picked up. The brown and gray, commonplace clothing would hopefully allow them to hide in plain sight. Of course, they were somewhat dirty from their swim, a light aroma from the river water wafting from them. Thankfully, that kind of dirt and aroma might actually help them pull off this disguise.
They hurried into the streets, joining the flow of traffic. As they walked, Wu Ying eyed the throng of peasants, merchants, and the occasional farmer heading for taverns or workshops. The paved stones were worn smooth from the myriad footsteps, while above, the occasional lantern lit up signs and the road itself. Thankfully, for the most part, they were not drawing too much attention. Except…
Scooting close to the pair of noblemen, Wu Ying whispered, “Slouch a little, lower your heads.”
To Wu Ying’s surprise, both complied. He then moved over to Li Yao, taking her hand and pulling her close.
When she shot him a look, he lowered his voice. “You are too pretty to be alone at night. If they think we are together, you’re more invisible.”
Li Yao raised an eyebrow, then glanced at the hand Wu Ying held and flushed red. Public displays of affection like hand-holding were generally frowned upon. She released his fingers, making Wu Ying sad, but she didn’t stray away from him.
“Don’t you have to lead?” Li Yao said softly.
“Yin Xue knows the way,” Wu Yang said. “I prefer to be with you anyway.”
Li Yao blushed again and stared resolutely ahead. After some time, while the pair continued to watch the city, she spoke. “Thank you. But we should talk about this later. We should have our swords ready for now.”
Wu Ying sighed. Li Yao was right. It was not as though they weren’t in enemy territory. Not that the commoners around them looked any different from any other city he had visited. Same clothing, same style of hair. Maybe a bit of difference in the coloration of their clothing choices, in the accessories they chose. But even that was so slight it could be a matter of regional variation. If not for the slightly haunted looks on the occasional faces—the woman who stood in the corner weeping, comforted by her children who looked helplessly alongside her—he would have never known that the city had been under siege. At least this close to the docks, few signs of the battle that had taken place showed. Even food was relatively plentiful, though only the streetside hawkers were present, farmers and fishermen having finished for the day.
The paved road they traveled was wide and straight, an offshoot from the main road that ran toward the center of the city and the magistrate’s house. Once, it had been the Wen family residence, but that had been relinquished to the local magistrate. In turn, the family now owned a larger courtyard building next to their former domicile, one staffed and filled with branch member families and those in disgrace from the main family. Thankfully, the cultivators were headed farther north, toward the family tomb and the old city graveyard.
As Wu Ying looked around, he kept an eye out for soldiers and cultivators. But as expected, many of them had left with the army. It meant the city itself was understaffed, especially as some of the soldiers were helping with the reconstruction and clearance of burned buildings. Add to that the need to keep a higher number of soldiers on watch on the walls and those sweeping the countryside, and the city itself was sparse of soldiers on guard duties. The only real concern were the sub-prefectures[12] who would be on the lookout for civil disobedience, but they too would be hard-pressed by the fires.
Too bad the army had no intentions to loop around and attack the city when it was empty. Even if the soldiers were reduced in number, it was unlikely that any significant force could have sneaked by the patrols and done any additional damage anyway. And any sufficiently large force would still have to contend with the city wall and the city formations. If not for the relaxation of the formations to allow ships in, they would never have made their way in either.
Wu Ying spotted a young child playing with a small paper fan, the rotors on the fan catching the wind and spinning as she ran back and forth. Having turned to watch the girl, he kept on turning, using the child as an excuse to check on his friends. It was then he realized they were missing one of their members. He stopped, forcing Li Yao to halt as well.
“What’s wrong?” she said.
“Tou Hei.” Spinning around on the balls of his feet, knowing that he was making a little bit of a commotion, Wu Ying went on his tiptoes in search of his friend. How hard was it to miss a man in orange robes? Buddhist monks weren’t that common.
“There!” Li Yao pointed at a cluster of individuals surrounding Tou Hei.
The ex-monk had stopped, head bent as he spoke to the group of women and children who had accosted him. Wu Ying stepped toward his friend, but as if he sensed their regard, the monk shook his head slightly while meeting Wu Ying’s eyes. Wu Ying hesitated, only to feel an arm land on his own.
“Don’t. Dragging him away will cause even more of a commotion,” Li Yao said, leaning in to whisper to Wu Ying.
As he watched Tou Hei lay a hand on a bowed head, a hand held up to his chest in praying position, Wu Ying realized the crowd was asking for comfort. For prayers for lost ones. For… relief. And suddenly, he found himself reluctant to step forward. Even if he could drag his friend away, what right did he have to take away their comfort? It was not as if Tou Hei’s blessings, his regard, was any less effective because he had left the monastery.
Wu Ying offered his friend a nod and turned aside. Tou Hei knew where they were going. Wu Ying could only hope that Tou Hei would be able to extract himself and join them in time. Spinning on his heels, Wu Ying hurried after the pair of nobles who had continued down the street, having ignored the commotion. Wu Ying cursed himself, remembering that he’d forgotten to alert them.
At least nothing bad had happened. This time.
***
The remaining members of the party reached the graveyard without further incident. To Wu Ying’s surprise, he noticed that guards were patrolling the grounds, even in this time of chaos. As he considered why, Li Yao gestured at them.
“Peach wood,” Li Yao pointed out.
Wu Ying’s eyes widened in understanding. He had used those weapons before. In fact, he still had a peach wood jian in his inventory. He had purchased the weapon on the off chance he would have to deal with yin-infested monsters.