It's no trouble at all, no trouble! Being able to do something for the Divine Doctor is my honor," the soldier said with a grin.
He knew exactly where he stood. To the commoners, he was the formidable captain of the city guard, but before these high-ranking nobles and influential figures, he was nothing. And while the woman before him held no official rank, the number of people who owed her favors could not be counted on both hands.
Su Qing smiled and asked, "By the way, did the Commandery Princess tell you what these items are for?"
"She didn't... she only instructed me to hand the letter to the Divine Doctor once I encountered you," the soldier replied, shaking his head.
Su Qing nodded. "I see. I suppose everything she wanted to say is recorded in the letter."
The soldier smiled and nodded in agreement, not knowing what else to say.
"Then, may we leave?" Su Qing didn't intend to waste more time and brought up their departure.
"Of course, of course! You are friends of the Commandery Princess; how would we dare to stop you? We only pulled you aside to deliver these things," the soldier said, nodding hurriedly. He then turned to the men behind him and shouted, "Open the city gates!"
At his command, the other soldiers sprang into action. With a heavy, rumbling sound, the massive gates were swung open.
Once the way was clear, Su Qing cupped her hands to the soldier in a parting gesture, returned to the carriage, and had Hu Lin'er drive them out of the city.
As the carriage rolled down the main road, Su Qing looked at the bird in the cage. "You're quite well-behaved. It seems you've been trained well."
Beside her, Su Qingyu looked at the bird with curiosity. "Master, what is this bird called? It looks so cool!"
"I don't know. The person who gave it to me called it a messenger bird, but that likely refers to its function rather than its species," Su Qing said with a smile. "If you want, you can give it a name yourself."
Su Qing didn't care what the bird was called, and she was too lazy to think of a name herself.
"Can I really?" Su Qingyu had always thought naming things was fun, so she was pleasantly surprised that Su Qing would leave it to her.
Su Qing nodded. "If you want to, go ahead."
Su Qingyu clapped her hands in delight and began to observe the bird in the cage closely. Soon, she came up with a name she thought was quite excellent.
"I'll call you... White Feather! Your tail feathers are completely white; it's perfect!" Su Qingyu said happily to the bird, as if it could actually understand her.
However, the bird was merely a trained animal, not a demon, so it naturally didn't understand. It simply tilted its head to look at her before ignoring her again.
Su Qing, on the other hand, nearly lost her composure when she heard the name. This girl's naming style was certainly... unique. Compared to her own, it was arguably even worse.
Though Su Qing shook her head inwardly, she didn't criticize the name. She didn't care what the bird was called, and neither did the bird. As long as the girl was happy, it was fine.
"Master, what do you think of the name?" Su Qingyu asked, clearly seeking her master's approval.
The corner of Su Qing's mouth quirked up. She didn't want to discourage her, so she simply nodded. "Yes, it's very descriptive."
"Hehe, I knew I had a talent for this," Su Qingyu said with her hands on her hips and a beaming smile. "But Master, what is this bird for?"
"It has no use for now; just keep it as a pet. If you like it, you can carry the cage," Su Qing said, patting her head. "But keep an eye on Coal Ball. The little guy might try to eat it."
"But... he doesn't seem interested at all."
"Just be careful. Anyway, take it and play, just don't make it unhappy. And don't stick your hand inside, or it might peck you," Su Qing said as she handed the cage to the girl.
Su Qingyu took the cage, finding it a bit heavy, but she could hold it steady using both hands.
Su Qing smiled at the girl's antics and then sat back to read the letter from the Commandery Princess. Aside from the typical formal pleasantries, the letter contained some meaningful information.
The Princess shared her future plans, thanked Su Qing for her encouragement, and mentioned that she would seek her out in the capital once the rebellion was settled.
After finishing the letter, Su Qing initially intended to burn it, but realizing it wasn't convenient to use fire in front of the girl and not wanting to just toss it away, she simply tucked it away. As for the Princess's affairs, she put them out of her mind for now. She would only intervene further if the Princess succeeded or if she prayed for help again in the future.
The carriage continued its journey without pause. By nightfall, they reached a small town where they decided to rest before continuing the next day.
Days passed one after another. Their journey was quite smooth.
While the Su Qing near Linzhou City was traveling, the other Su Qing—after idling for a few days—was also preparing to set out.
It was a fine morning. Chen Mei, with a long spear strapped to her back, pushed open the door and asked Su Qing, "Sister Su, are we leaving today?"
Chen Mei seemed to have had enough of staying in one place. She had been quite excited when she heard Su Qing mention leaving yesterday.
Su Qing took a small sip of the white liquor in her cup and nodded. "Yes, we leave today... How are your preparations?"
"I don't have much to bring. If I need anything, I'll find it on the road. If I'm hungry, I'll hunt; if I'm thirsty, I'll find water; and if I'm tired, I'll just find a spot to sleep," Chen Mei said nonchalantly.
"It's only because of your strength that you can travel like that. Otherwise, you'd have died halfway through long ago."
Su Qing helplessly set down her cup. She had discovered that this particular body wasn't very good at handling alcohol. If she didn't actively use her magic to suppress it, she would likely be drunk after just a bottle or two. However, this gave her a bit of enjoyment in drinking. If it were her original body, she wouldn't even be able to feel a slight buzz.
'It seems different bodies have different charms,' Su Qing thought, finding the sensation quite pleasant. She could choose to be drunk or stay sober. It was a subtle, interesting feeling. She now understood a bit of how Heng'e felt when she was intoxicated.
As Su Qing's thoughts drifted, Chen Mei grinned and scratched her head. "I just prefer spontaneous travel. If you prepare for everything, you lose the thrill of the road."
Su Qing was slightly speechless. She felt that people like Chen Mei were definitely in the minority; most people preferred a stable journey. However, she didn't bother to criticize her. Chen Mei was the type who wouldn't care no matter how much you teased her and certainly wouldn't change. Perhaps this was what people called being 'socially fearless.'
"So, is Sister Su ready to go?" Chen Mei asked.
Su Qing nodded. "Of course."
"Great, let's go!" Chen Mei laughed.
Su Qing said no more. She simply patted Yudie's head, telling her to stop staring at the scenery and get ready to move. Yudie followed her mother silently. Seeing this, Chen Mei grinned and took the lead.
Over the past few days of being together, Chen Mei had realized that Su Qing was truly a well-bred lady. Every word and action carried a subtle sense of refinement and elegance. Even when she criticized Chen Mei, she did it with a sharp wit that stopped just at the right moment without being overbearing.
Chen Mei was certain of one thing: before Su Qing set out to seek medical help, she must have come from a very wealthy family and had been rich since childhood. Then again, one couldn't travel this far without money.
The three of them set out again. Before long, they left the town and entered the main road.
They traveled along the road for several days. The journey was relatively easy—at least for Yudie. Because Chen Mei thought such a young child would get tired walking so much, she insisted on carrying Yudie on her back every time.
At first, Yudie was embarrassed, but she eventually grew accustomed to it. It saved her energy, after all. She would even occasionally make faces at Su Qing from Chen Mei's back, as if gloating. Su Qing didn't mind, simply making a mental note to tease the girl back later.
Chen Mei noticed Yudie making faces at her mother but didn't think much of it, finding it quite charming. It reminded her of how she used to ride on her master's back and make faces at her senior brothers and sisters. Unfortunately, those days were gone.
One evening, as they were traveling, they couldn't find any inns or villages. It wasn't until dusk that they spotted a ruined temple nestled within a bamboo grove.
The temple was small, its walls covered in creeping vines. The gate had long since rotted away, and the courtyard was overgrown with weeds. It looked like it had been abandoned for decades. Though it was dilapidated, it was better than sleeping in the open.
They entered the courtyard, with Chen Mei in the lead, trampling down the weeds to make a path for the others. Despite her rough and careless exterior, she was actually quite attentive, much like when she carried Yudie.
Su Qing followed slowly behind Chen Mei. Suddenly, she noticed that among the weeds, there was a single tree of plum blossoms—pale pink flowers that stood out vividly against the green growth.
"Plum blossoms?" Su Qing looked at the tree, her brow twitching slightly. She muttered to herself, "How strange to see plum blossoms in this season."
She said this for Chen Mei's benefit. After all, with her power, how could she not see through what was happening?
To Su Qing's surprise, when Chen Mei turned to look, she said, "Sister Su, are your eyes playing tricks on you? There aren't any plum blossoms here."
Su Qing found this quite interesting. Although Chen Mei wasn't a formal cultivator, her martial path was connected to it. Seeing ghosts or spirits shouldn't be difficult for her; she even knew about Mountain Lords. Yet, she couldn't see this plum tree.
The spirit's power seemed to be stronger than she had anticipated, capable of hiding from Chen Mei's perception.
Thinking of this, Su Qing used Sound Transmission to ask Yudie if she could see it.
"Huh? I see it! How could I miss such a big tree?" Yudie replied via Sound Transmission. "Maybe it's because Chen Mei is too weak? Or maybe the tree doesn't want her to see it."
Su Qing nodded inwardly, agreeing with that assessment. She didn't ask further. However, when she looked up again, the plum blossoms had vanished while she was talking to Yudie.
Clearly, it had slipped away the moment Su Qing spoke.
'Did it sense my strength?' Su Qing analyzed. This wasn't vanity; usually, minor demons would choose to flee rather than face a powerful expert they couldn't handle. It wasn't strange or shameful for it to run away.
Seeing this, Su Qing stopped paying much attention to it. She simply nodded to Chen Mei and said, "I suppose my eyes really were playing tricks on me. I don't see them anymore either."
Chen Mei thought about it and nodded. "Don't worry. Even if it's a ghost, I can kill it for you! And if I can't handle it, I can still carry you and Yudie and run! Hehe, I'm quite confident in my strength."
Su Qing smiled. "Thank you. With those words, I can rest easy."
Yudie looked up at Su Qing's increasingly practiced and elegant 'acting' smile and pouted inwardly. She realized her mother was getting better and better at performing. What was her mother's plan? Was there any point in tricking a 'child' like Chen Mei? Yudie didn't understand; perhaps her mother really had taken a liking to the woman. She didn't care much anymore.
Regardless of what Yudie thought, Su Qing followed Chen Mei into the main hall of the ruined temple.
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