After a while, Chen Yi slipped into the kitchen.
By the ti breakfast was ready, Yin Tingxue had also awakened. The young girl wasn’t entirely clueless about what had happened yesterday, but seeing Chen Yi unhard, she felt at ease. She didn’t have the habit of probing for the truth; as long as life continued as usual, that was enough.
After sharing breakfast with Yin Tingxue, Chen Yi faintly heard the sound of footsteps in the distance. He imdiately rose from his seat, stepped over the threshold, and walked outside to find Min Ning, clad in fitted attire, standing just beyond the courtyard gate.
Min Ning touched her neck and said, "I’m here."
Only then did Chen Yi notice that the Adam’s apple she had disguised earlier was gone, and her face was spotless. She still exuded a heroic charm, though now touched with one or two traces of femininity.
The difference between her disguised and undisguised self lay precisely in those subtle feminine traits. For those familiar with her, it wasn’t a drastic change. This was the brilliance of Min Ming’s Disguise Technique—not to transform soone into an entirely different person, but to refine features in alignnt with their natural appearance.
Clad in casual clothing, Chen Yi smiled faintly, adjusted his collar absentmindedly, and walked up to greet her. "Where are we headed?"
Min Ning brushed her nose with her knuckle and replied, "Just taking a stroll."
"Alright."
Chen Yi was a bit puzzled but still agreed.
The two of them strolled away from the courtyard, almost side by side, as they usually did when Min Ning sought Chen Yi to handle a case. Occasionally, Min Ning would quicken her pace by a couple of steps.
Erging from the alley and onto the main road, they arrived at a location not far from the West Factory. Chen Yi glanced back with an inexplicable sense of nostalgia, while Min Ning strode forward without so much as a glance backward.
Last night, dark clouds lood over the city, but today, they had suddenly dissipated. There was neither rain nor snow. Min Ning quickened her pace slightly, and Chen Yi followed behind her.
After walking for what seed like forever, they traversed a significant stretch of road until the waterways of northern Capital City, along with the houses lining the banks, ca into view.
The waterways bustled with crowded vessels. Boat trackers moved up and down the docks, their shouts of exertion echoing relentlessly.
Min Ning halted near the shore, while Chen Yi turned and noticed a tea house behind them.
Bam!
Inside the tea house, warmth from a blazing fire radiated. A storyteller slapped his board emphatically, pointing toward the waterway as he launched into his tale.
"Today, I will recount for everyone the tale of Chen Qianhu and his heroic suspension sword slaying the flood dragon. It was the 30th day of the eighth month in the third year of Huanglong’s reign — a date that, according to the almanac, was ill-suited for almost everything..."
Accompanied by the rhythmic slaps of the storyteller’s board and his lyrical eloquence, stories of Chen Yi, the West Factory Thousand Households, and his sword-suspended flood dragon-slaying feat rose to prominence, attracting an eager crowd of laborers on break who urged the storyteller to continue.
After listening for quite a while, Chen Yi eventually heard Min Ning speak as she turned her head toward him:
"That’s quite the display of prestige."
Chen Yi was montarily stunned before breaking into a silent laugh and replying:
"What’s impressive about this? If it were sothing else, then perhaps it might be worth the admiration."
"Oh?"
"I didn’t slay the flood dragon," Chen Yi confessed, his tone casual and indifferent.
He had never intended to claim Zhou Yitang’s credit. The incident where the sword-suspended flood dragon was vanquished was, in reality, rely an opportunity to eliminate the Prince Mansion threat.
In truth, when the flood dragon erged into the river’s depths, Chen Yi hadn’t even touched it before it was cleaved into two.
For Chen Yi, this was his most hollow accomplishnt. Hearing the storyteller recount the episode in vivid detail made even him, with his typically thick skin, feel a touch embarrassed.
Lowering his voice, Chen Yi said, "There’s no such thing as slaying a flood dragon. This story is sothing I asked your sister to spread around—you must’ve known this."
"Wasn’t the flood dragon slain by Zhou Jianjia?" Min Ning asked.
Chen Yi only half understood.
"If it hadn’t been for you, it’s unlikely Jianjia would have slain the flood dragon," Min Ning said. She resud walking imdiately after speaking.
Chen Yi paused for a mont, processing her words. So, did she an he deserved thirty percent of the credit for the deed?
The pair continued their stroll, weaving through the bustling streets of the Capital. Chen Yi noticed Min Ning gazing straight ahead along the path, deliberately avoiding any glances to the sides, perhaps for fear of becoming too attached. If the attachnt were too strong, leaving might beco impossible.
After walking for so ti, they eventually wandered into the heart of the marketplace. The noisy chatter and commotion blended into a cacophony that swirled around them. Nurous shops lined the streets, squeezing the pathways into narrow lanes. With the New Year approaching, it was the busy season for market-goers.
Min Ning led Chen Yi to a roadside stall.
On the stall’s surface were common vegetables and fruits, along with a weighing scale. It appeared to be just an ordinary stall. Behind it sat an elderly woman with deeply etched wrinkles, peeling eggs with her head lowered, while her farr son loudly called out to potential custors.
Hanging from a nearby wooden pole were peachwood charms for sale.
As Min Ning and Chen Yi approached, the farr was about to shout his pitch but suddenly widened his eyes in astonishnt. "It’s you—it’s both of you? Governnt officers?"
Though both were dressed in plain clothes, the farr still recognized their identities as governnt officers.
It wasn’t entirely unexpected. Chen Yi casually asked, "Who are you?"
"Huaisui Village!"
With that response, the farr reached up to the pole and took down a charm.
"Still rember this?"
Chen Yi focused his gaze and realized it was a peachwood charm stamped with Jiang Wei’s seal.
Seeing Chen Yi stare at the charm, the farr exclaid repeatedly, "The Taoists said you held onto this and crushed the Ghost General into pieces!"
Saying that, he turned to pat his elderly mother, shouting, "Mother, the benefactors of the entire village have arrived! You must look!"
At his words, the elderly woman craned her neck and peered over. When her gaze landed on Chen Yi, her aged lips curled into a smile. She then handed over the peeled egg in her hands.
Chen Yi paused for a mont before accepting it.
The egg was smooth and pristine.
As Chen Yi held the egg and walked so distance ahead, Min Ning turned and asked:
"Still not eating it?"
Upon hearing her, Chen Yi lowered his head and bit into the egg, swallowing it within four or five bites.
Wiping his mouth, he chuckled. "I don’t even rember them, yet they sohow rember ."
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