After much hesitation, Ah Qi decided to refuse Aming’s invitation.

He couldn’t bear the thought of leaving a vulnerable woman like Hua Manman alone in the village.

He had to stay and protect her.

When evening fell, Ah Qi went to find Aming.

But he was surprised to learn that Aming was sick.

Likely because he wasn’t used to the local climate, Aming was suffering from vomiting and diarrhea. His limbs felt weak, and his complexion was pale.

When he saw Ah Qi, he weakly gestured for him to sit down.

"You’re just in time. I can’t go down the mountain in this condition."

"But the Young General is pressing me for results."

"I have to leave tonight at the latest, or I’ll be disobeying a direct order."

"I have no other choice. I’ll have to trouble you to make this trip in my place."

"Don’t worry, it’s not dangerous. You’re just gathering a bit of information."

"I’ll thank you properly when it’s done, and the Young General will credit you for your service."

Ah Qi had intended to refuse.

But then, an idea struck him. ’This is a golden opportunity.’

Leaving at night, under the cover of darkness, would make it easier to slip away unnoticed.

He could use the pretense of this mission to sneak Hua Manman off the mountain.

Since Aming couldn’t go, he would be alone. No one else would know.

So, Ah Qi changed his mind.

"What information does the Young General want?"

Aming said, "The men we sent to Shangjing City haven’t returned yet. The Young General is worried something might have happened. After you get down the mountain, head straight for Shangjing. See what Prince Zhao is up to and if the government has made any moves."

Ah Qi nodded. "Understood. Leave it to me."

Aming was full of gratitude. "I’m counting on you, then."

He pulled a map from under his pillow. "This shows the route down the mountain. Keep it safe, and don’t let anyone else see it."

Ah Qi hadn’t expected such a wonderful surprise. He carefully tucked the map away. "I’ll be going, then."

Aming said, "Go quickly and return safely. I wish you a smooth journey."

As soon as Ah Qi left, Aming sprang out of bed. He washed the white powder from his face and, after drying it, headed straight for the Young General’s quarters.

His movements were nimble and swift—all traces of his sickly demeanor had vanished.

Upon seeing the Young General, Aming knelt on one knee and gave his report.

"I have followed your orders and given the map to Ah Qi. He will surely make his move tonight."

Last night’s plan had failed. Xiao Hong refused to believe he would fail a second time.

He said coldly, "Proceed according to plan."

"Yes, sir!"

...

Ah Qi ran to find Hua Manman and told her to quickly pack her things to leave with him.

To convince her he was serious, he even showed her the map of the route down the mountain.

"With this map, you’ll be able to leave without any trouble."

Hua Manman took the map and glanced at it.

It was definitely a map, but she couldn’t be sure if the route marked on it was genuine.

After all, when she was brought here, she had a sack over her head and couldn’t see anything outside the cart. She had no idea how they had entered the mountains.

After she asked where the map came from, she couldn’t help but feel it had been obtained far too easily.

’How could Xiao Hong allow something as important as a map to be given away so casually?’

’This is probably a trap.’

Hua Manman handed the map back. "Didn’t I already tell you? I can’t leave."

Ah Qi said anxiously,

"It’s dangerous for you here. You can’t stay long. Besides, don’t you want to go home?

"Your family is waiting for you!"

But Hua Manman was adamant.

"No matter how much I want to go back, I can’t drag you into this."

Ah Qi tried to say more, but Hua Manman pushed him out the door.

"Go. Don’t worry about me."

With that, she shut the door.

Staring at the closed door, Ah Qi felt a mixture of touched and self-reproach.

’She’d rather stay in danger than get me involved. She’s too kind.’

’And I’m so useless. I can’t even protect her.’

He stood at her door for a long while before leaving, dejected.

Since Hua Manman refused to leave, Ah Qi couldn’t just abandon her and go down the mountain alone.

He had to stay in the village to protect her.

Ah Qi went to Aming’s quarters.

He planned to apologize to Aming and say something had come up, so he couldn’t go down the mountain. He hoped Aming could find someone else to handle the mission.

However, he knocked for a long time without getting any response.

Ah Qi was puzzled. ’Is no one home?’

’But that can’t be right.’

’Aming is sick. He should be in bed resting. How could he have gone out?’

’Or... is he so ill he doesn’t even have the strength to answer?’

The thought made Ah Qi panic.

The door wasn’t bolted. He pushed it open with a slight effort.

Ah Qi rushed inside, only to find the bed completely empty.

He glanced around the room.

Other than himself, there was no one there.

Aming was nowhere to be found.

Ah Qi was completely baffled. ’How strange.’

’Whatever. I’ll deal with this later.’

Since Aming wasn’t there, Ah Qi went straight to another of the West Liang people living next door.

Ah Qi gave the map to the man and asked him to go down the mountain to gather information in his stead.

The man, suspecting nothing, took the map and set off down the mountain.

...

Aming and his men lay in wait at a crucial point on the path down the mountain.

After a long wait, they finally saw a figure walking toward them.

Aming’s heart leaped. ’Here he comes!’

However, when he got a closer look, he saw that it was only one man.

It wasn’t the two people he had been expecting.

Aming’s heart sank.

’Could it be? Is Ah Qi alone?’

’If he’s alone, the Young General’s plan can’t be carried out.’

As the man drew closer, Aming finally got a clear look at his face.

It wasn’t Ah Qi!

...

Meanwhile, Ah Qi had returned to the house where Hua Manman was staying.

He leaned against the wall beside her door, just as he always did, and stared at it in a daze.

The next morning, a furious Aming stormed over to find Ah Qi.

"Why didn’t you go down the mountain last night?"

Ah Qi said apologetically, "I’m sorry. Something came up suddenly yesterday, so I asked someone else to handle it."

Aming seethed, "If you had something to do, why didn’t you tell me beforehand?"

Ah Qi replied, "I did look for you last night, but you weren’t in your room."

He grew very curious as he spoke.

"Weren’t you sick? Why weren’t you resting in your room last night? Where did you run off to in the middle of the night?"

Aming was momentarily speechless.

He hadn’t expected to have the tables turned on him like this.

Just then, Hua Manman walked out of her room.

She saw the two men standing by her door and paused in surprise.

"What are you two doing here?"

Ah Qi explained, "I didn’t go down the mountain."

Hua Manman was actually quite pleased.

’It’s better that he didn’t go. He can stay and help provide cover for me.’

Hua Manman flashed him a brilliant smile.

"Since you’re still here, let’s go get breakfast together."

And so, Aming could only watch as Hua Manman led Ah Qi and Si Yun away to eat.

He had worked so hard all night, only for it to end like this!

...