Chapter 64: A Change of Mood
Shi Hao and Xu Xiaoyan approached the town. At the outskirts, Xu Xiaoyan entered alone.
Half an hour later, she returned with a scholar’s book box and a physician’s medicine chest.
They divided the Minor Restoration Pills between the two containers and destroyed the original crate, Shi Hao burning it to eliminate any traces.
He placed the sword he had borrowed from Daoist Tie Yu inside the book box.
Since he had chosen a relatively short and narrow sword, it fit easily.
He placed the Illusory Sea Spirit Fruit in his book box, while Xu Xiaoyan put the Blue Frost Moon Essence Shoot and the Blazing Sky Leaves in her medicine chest.
The medicine chest, a square box with leather straps, she carried on her back.
Although the pills were quite heavy, with her seventh-rank foundation, she carried the chest effortlessly.
During her trip into town, she had changed into a simple dress. Now, she looked like a physician’s daughter, gathering herbs for her father.
Shi Hao carried the book box, a traditional scholar’s case, on his back. Two bamboo rods extended from the back, supporting a small canopy above his head to shield him from the sun or rain.
Having been a scholar in Small Han Mountain City, and now, although a martial artist, his Daoist and demonic cultivation wasn’t outwardly apparent.
Carrying the book box, he looked exactly like a traveling scholar.
The barbarian court did have a civil service examination system. Although scholars weren’t as valued in this world of martial arts and supernatural abilities, they still commanded a certain degree of respect.
After all, governing and strategizing required educated minds. Even a gang like the Shu Tiger Gang needed a literate accountant.
They placed the doll on the grass.
After a brief discussion, they separated, each choosing a different path, and ran as fast as they could.
The doll sat on the grass, motionless.
Shi Hao ran for over ten li, carrying the book box.
He even used the Flowing Pearl Seven Star Steps to cross a wide river.
Entering a forest, he rubbed his face, returning to his original appearance.
If he didn’t undo the Evil Shadow Disguise Technique soon, his face would become permanently stiff.
He ran for a few more li, glancing back, but he saw nothing.
He stopped, took off the book box, and was about to open it when he saw the doll sitting on top of the canopy.
The same lifelike face, black gemstone eyes, pink and white rainbow robe, and embroidered shoes.
“She” sat there, her legs straight, her small hands clasped in her lap, like a well-behaved little lady.
Shi Hao thought, So it’s following me.
He had the sudden urge to find some dog’s blood and pour it over the doll, just to see what would happen.
But he sighed and, resigned, put the book box back on his back and continued walking.
He reached a drum-shaped mountain.
After circling it halfway, he found an octagonal stone pavilion on the mountainside, their prearranged meeting point.
He climbed the winding, cobblestone path towards the pavilion.
Passing a bamboo grove, he saw Xu Xiaoyan, also back in her original appearance, sitting in the pavilion, swinging her legs, the medicine chest beside her.
Seeing the doll sitting on top of his book box canopy, the girl chuckled, “I checked halfway and didn’t see it, so I knew it must be following you. Haha!”
She sounded relieved.
Shi Hao, however, sighed.
The girl picked up the medicine chest and gracefully jumped down, her true energy flowing like water, creating a gust of wind as she landed softly.
Her skirt fluttered, revealing a flash of her grey trousers.
Xu Xiaoyan looked at him, “It’s a long way to the Changbai Mountains. A scholar and a physician’s assistant traveling together… it’s too suspicious.”
Shi Hao nodded, “You’re right.”
Xu Xiaoyan said, “It would be better if we traveled separately. If one of us is caught, the other can still succeed.”
Shi Hao said, “That makes sense.”
Xu Xiaoyan said, “Then let’s part ways here.”
Shi Hao said, “Alright.”
Xu Xiaoyan put on the medicine chest and turned to leave.
After walking a few steps, she stopped.
Shi Hao asked, “What’s wrong?”
She turned back, a look of annoyance on her face, although he couldn’t tell if it was directed at herself or at him.
“Since we came together, we’ll leave together!” Xu Xiaoyan said, her face grim. “Let’s go!”
Shi Hao said, “But…”
Xu Xiaoyan came back, took his hand, and said, “Let’s go, let’s go!” She pulled him down the mountain.
They took a different path, not the cobblestone one he had used earlier.
Xu Xiaoyan, leading the way, said, “Maybe it’s not an evil thing. Maybe it really is the Emerald Beauty, just… transformed somehow?”
“If we keep it with us, maybe we can find the Demon Empress’s treasure, or some secret manual, and become rich and powerful!”
“Or maybe, even if it’s not the Emerald Beauty, it holds some other secret, perhaps a clue left behind by some ancient expert… What do you think?”
Xu Xiaoyan turned around, and the doll was right before her eyes.
She screamed and jumped back, then turned and kicked Shi Hao repeatedly, “I was just trying to reassure you, and you used it to scare me?! How could you?!” She kicked him hard.
Shi Hao, holding the doll, dodged her attacks, laughing, “What’s meant to be will be. There are so many mysteries in this world, one more won’t make a difference. If it wants to follow us, let it. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Shi Hao, as a transmigrator, wasn’t particularly concerned about dolls.
But Xu Xiaoyan, having grown up in this world, believed dolls were ominous and cursed objects.
He had used the doll to scare her, hoping to lighten the mood.
It worked… she was now furious.
And his leg was throbbing…
They continued east, and nothing unusual happened.
However, the unrest in the region was palpable.
From the news they heard along the way, the rebellion against the barbarian court was spreading. In Liaoyang, Jiangzhe, and Chu Yin Provinces, people were heeding Fu Shiyuan’s call and rising up in arms.
Although these rebellions were scattered and facing a still-powerful barbarian army, their resistance was relentless, wave after wave.
The barbarian court’s oppression of the local populace intensified, some towns even requiring permits for gathering firewood.
And the royal families and wealthy landowners became even more brazen, exploiting the situation for profit. Although the barbarian Chancellor issued decrees to curb their excesses, the situation only worsened.
The decrees had no effect on the powerful, while the restrictions on the common people, enforced by corrupt officials and merchants, became another burden.
Checkpoints and inspections became more frequent.
Shi Hao and Xu Xiaoyan had to travel through the mountains, avoiding the main roads. After all, they couldn’t risk having their Minor Restoration Pills discovered.
Transporting any kind of medicine, even ordinary herbs, towards the Changbai Mountains was forbidden.
Fortunately, with their seventh-rank cultivation, traveling through the mountains wasn’t a problem.
That night, they rested in an abandoned manor. It seemed to have been a summer retreat for a wealthy family, now deserted due to its remote location and the growing unrest.
The servants had been dismissed, the valuables removed, and some of the buildings burned.
It wouldn’t be long before bandits occupied the place.
Shi Hao chose a room and settled in.
Xu Xiaoyan, resourceful as always, using rice they had bought along the way and meat from animals they had hunted, prepared a surprisingly good meal in the manor’s kitchen.
Later that night, Shi Hao lay on the empty rosewood bed in his room.
He turned his head. Outside, the window was dark, and the room was unlit.
The doll, placed on the book box, its eyes, usually black, seemed to glow in the darkness.
He felt its gaze on him, unsettling him.
He told himself it was just his imagination… probably.
He turned away from the doll and stared at the ceiling, regulating his breathing, trying to fall asleep.
He wouldn’t let a creepy doll exhaust him.
As the night deepened, the doll’s gaze intensified.
A shadowy figure seemed to emerge from its eyes, seeping into the young man’s dreams…
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