Only on major holidays would Jopsen come here to symbolically light incense; he generally paid no attention to the temple.
Liu Rumei and Xiao Qing met outside the back courtyard wall of the temple. Seeing no one around, Xiao Qing leaped onto the wall.
This was the temple's backyard. Beyond the wall was a large vegetable patch, but in the bitter winter, it was bare. In the distance stood a few side rooms.
Xiao Qing jumped down into the courtyard and ran towards the side rooms. She pushed open a door, revealing farming tools and sundries.
Xiao Qing turned back, jumped out of the courtyard wall, and informed Liu Rumei of the situation.
After hearing Xiao Qing's report, Liu Rumei nodded, "Alright, then we'll go in and hide."
The two of them climbed over the wall and entered the room storing farming tools and sundries, choosing a secluded spot to sit down.
Liu Rumei untied her pack and took out several steaming buns.
"I bought some on the way. We should eat our fill, as we don't know how long we'll be here."
Xiao Qing chuckled and patted her two large packs, "I've been buying as I traveled. I'm not afraid if we stay for three to five days."
At this time, Qingguang City was in utter chaos.
Jonah personally testified and directed people to search house by house.
Naturally, inns were a primary focus, but their searches yielded few clues.
Another day passed. As dusk fell, they finally heard noisy sounds from the temple's front courtyard. It was the imperial army. Liu Rumei and Xiao Qing quickly tidied up the room.
They tied their packs around themselves, went out of the room, and closed the door. Then, they leaped onto the roof and lay still in the darkness.
Before long, two young monks, accompanied by over a dozen soldiers carrying torches, rushed into the backyard.
They circled around and arrived at the entrance of the side rooms.
The lead young monk quickly explained, "Sirs, this is where we store sundries." Two soldiers entered the room, took a cursory look, and then turned to leave.
The commotion soon faded, and tranquility returned to the courtyard.
After waiting a while longer, as Liu Rumei and Xiao Qing were about to leap down, they saw lights approaching. Two monks carrying torches were coming their way.
The slightly chubbier monk said as he walked, "Junior brother, did you see clearly? Has it really been altered?"
"Senior brother, how could that be false? I organized it just two days ago, and everything was neatly stacked. Now it's been moved."
Hearing this, Liu Rumei inwardly thought, "Not good."
She had been careless. To sit more comfortably, she had moved a farming tool to use as a backrest, forgetting about it.
Therefore, she hadn't put the tool back in its original place before leaving.
The two young monks, talking, pushed open the door. Soon, voices from inside the room could be heard, "It seems someone has been here, but it's nothing, perhaps someone came and moved it."
"Senior brother, besides the two of us, who else would come into this room? There are over ten people in the temple, and it's just the two of us doing the work, isn't it?"
Another voice chimed in, "I think it's better to let sleeping dogs lie. Don't mention this to anyone."
"Since no one was found here anyway, let's pretend nothing happened. Oh, and don't come to the backyard for the next couple of days, understand what I mean?"
The two of them spoke and then emerged from the side rooms, turning to leave.
Liu Rumei and Xiao Qing breathed a sigh of relief. After waiting for a long time with no further disturbance, they finally descended from the roof.
"Xiao Qing, it seems we cannot stay here long. We need to find another way."
"Miss, where else can we go?"
Liu Rumei thought for a moment, "Judging by the time, in two days, Zheng Hai and the others should have covered three to four hundred li. Another day and they'll be close to crossing the Xiaoqing River."
"So, we'll stay here tonight. I think these two young monks won't come here tonight. Tomorrow, we'll find a way to leave the city."
Liu Rumei was right. That night, Zheng Hai and his group found a patch of woods by the roadside to rest. Based on their calculations, they were less than two hundred li from the Xiaoqing River.
Some appeared somewhat excited, as crossing the Xiaoqing River was practically equivalent to returning home.
However, Zheng Hai looked worried. He missed two people. One was his elder brother, Zheng Zhun. Although the Great Earth Kingdom had buried his brother, he was buried in a foreign land, unable to return to his ancestral home.
The second person he missed was Liu Rumei. Liu Rumei had given him a chance to live, while she went to Qingguang City, her fate now uncertain.
But looking at the seventy to eighty people before him, Zheng Hai felt his courage significantly bolstered. Only by safely escorting them back to their country could he fulfill Liu Rumei's entrustment.
And that night, in Wannian City, Duobang was feeling restless.
After several days of inquiry, he had found no trace of Chen Xiaobei's whereabouts.
That night, he gathered everyone again, "Tell me, why can't we find Chen Xiaobei?"
Before he finished speaking, a subordinate rushed in, "Captain, a letter has arrived from home, sent personally by His Majesty."
Duobang took it and was greatly alarmed.
It was Jopsen urging him for an update and informing him that people from Great Cang had killed again in Qingguang City.
After reading the letter, Duobang's expression turned grim. He knew he could no longer focus on Chen Xiaobei. He had promised the Emperor he would deal with the Xiao family.
With that thought, he cleared his throat and said to those present.
"Later, you will withdraw the men monitoring Liu Xiangnan. I originally intended to eliminate Chen Xiaobei first, but I didn't expect this kid to be so well hidden. We couldn't find where he lives. From now on, we must change our target. Before I came, I promised the Emperor to kill the Crown Prince Xiao Jingyun and Emperor Xiao An of Great Cang. Tomorrow, you will go and gather intelligence on Crown Prince Xiao Jingyun."
Several subordinates agreed, bowed, and retreated.
Meanwhile, Chen Xiaobei received news from a disciple of Jiang Shang Piao, which made him even more uneasy. The letter stated that the Great Earth Kingdom had been unstable recently, with continuous assassinations.
Seeing this news, Chen Xiaobei felt both joy and sorrow. He reviewed everyone from Great Cang. After the Lotus Cult Master and Shen Ziyan left, the only person capable of assassinating enemy generals was Liu Rumei, but this also made his heart clench.
He knew Liu Rumei possessed formidable martial arts, but she still lagged behind the Lotus Cult Master and Shen Ziyan. Those two could snatch a person's head from the midst of an army as easily as turning their hand, but Liu Rumei was still short of that level.
Regardless, he finally had news of Liu Rumei, which was some consolation.
Chen Xiaobei pondered for a moment, and under the cover of night, went to see Liu Xiangnan to share this good news.
It was truly Chen Xiaobei's luck and fate. Just as Duobang's men monitoring the Liu family's outside were withdrawn, Chen Xiaobei arrived.