TL: Hua
Chapter 17: Bodyguard – Yuan Fang
The next afternoon, Pei Xiting went to Baiyou Mountain again.
The door curtain of Roast Rabbit Champion was hanging down, and a bamboo chair was placed in front of it. The proprietress was lying lazily on it, holding a book in one hand and eating melon seeds in the other, looking very comfortable.
Five steps away, Pei Xiting met the gaze of the proprietress, and the vigilance and coldness in her gorgeous eyes instantly dissipated, turning into a seductive flavor again. The proprietress smiled, and he also smiled, saying, “I want to find someone; please show me the way, sister.”
The proprietress half sat up, leaning against the back of the chair softly, “Who?”
“Shopkeeper Qi.”
“Didn’t you see him yesterday?” Seeing Pei Xiting’s look of understanding, the proprietress smiled and said, “What’s the point of getting blindly involved in things like this instead of being a sensible young master?”
“I’m currently happily enjoying a peaceful life, eating, drinking, and having fun, but this life seems to be born with disasters, encountering ghosts and evil at every turn.” Pei Xiting waved his hand, “Thank you, sister, for showing me the way. I’m leaving.”
He found the small shop selling crispy bone fish with familiarity. The stove in front of the door was clean and hadn’t been opened yet. When he pulled the curtain, he saw that the owner was sleeping soundly on a bamboo chair, snoring—he didn’t know if there’s a wholesale market, but every merchant here seems to have one of these chairs.
Pei Xiting didn’t wake up the boss. He was about to go out for a walk, but the man on the bamboo chair said without opening his eyes, “Young Master, you came early today. I haven’t started working yet.”
“I’m not buying fish. I’m looking for someone.” Pei Xiting said, “Sorry to bother Shopkeeper Qi.”
The boss opened one eyelid when he heard it. “Who are you looking for?”
Pei Xiting took out the wooden sign the size of a coin and threw it over.
Shopkeeper Qi reached out to catch it and took a look. His eyes opened and sober as he said leisurely, “Third Young Master Pei, you are very brave.”
“If I were brave, I wouldn’t come. I would just wait to die at home.” Pei Xiting walked over and stepped on the pedal, forcing Shopkeeper Qi to slightly open his legs and look at him with raised eyebrows.
Pei Xiting leaned forward slightly, held the armrest on one side, and said softly, “Shopkeeper Qi sells fish in the afternoon and spends the rest of the time doing his business. This Baiyou Mountain is a mixed bag, with all kinds of people, and all kinds of information can be bought and sold. YOU are the one who weaves this spider web.”
Shopkeeper Qi smiled, begging for mercy, “We are all trying to make a living.”
“I know Shopkeep Qi is a capable man. Please help me find the man as soon as possible.” Pei Xiting pretended to complain, “This person stole something and ran away, leaving me alone, confused, and troubled. Reasonable? It’s not good, right?”
Shopkeeper Qi said, “This person dared to steal from Young Marquis Shangguan; how can he be a good person? How could he put your life and safety at risk?”
“He didn’t kill me or touch me that day. I guess he’s not a vicious person, so let’s see. It doesn’t matter if I guess wrong.” Pei Xiting raised his eyebrows and smiled, ”From this day on, I’ll live here with you and buy your fish to eat every day, okay?”
Perhaps because this is the first time he has met such a “self-righteous” person, Shopkeeper Qi was stunned for a moment and then smiled, saying, “I’m very happy to have a beauty accompany me, but—why? On what basis?”
Pei Xiting said, “You sold me once, and you don’t allow me to blackmail you?”
Shopkeeper Qi was silent for a moment and said solemnly, “We are all trying to make a living!”
Pei Xiting snorted coldly.
“But how did you know?” Shopkeeper Qi wondered.
“Guessed.” Pei Xiting smiled slightly at the other party’s blank and resentful gaze. “Someone must have come to you to buy information recently. You are well-informed, so it’s hard to say whether you really know the situation at Fumeng Tower that day. You and I are not relatives or friends, so you don’t feel guilty selling me out. Isn’t this call a one-time sale?”
Shopkeeper Qi wiped his face, smiled bitterly, and then held his hands to Pei Xiting, raised his head, and said devoutly, “Third Young Master Pei, you look more beautiful when you have a cold face.”
“Thank you for the compliment.” Pei Xiting stood up, folded his arms, and looked at him. “If you like it, look more. I don’t charge money, but what about the person?”
“I’ll help you find him.” Shopkeeper Qi promised, “Very soon.”
Pei Xiting held his hands to thank him, turned around, and left.
Shopkeeper Qi shook his chair, his thought unknown. Suddenly he remembered something and chased after the tall figure while shouting, “You didn’t give me money!”
“I forgot to bring it. I’ll give it to you next time.” Pei Xiting turned around and walked away without looking back. After a few steps, a little beggar came over and stood in front of him, looking up at him.
Pei Xiting also stared at him and said, “I didn’t bring any money today.”
“I’m not here to steal purses.” The little beggar said. “You remembered the purse I stole last time, right?” Pei Xiting raised his eyebrows.
The little beggar said honestly, “A boss told me to steal from you guys and run away and said that as long as I run fast, he would give me one or two silver coins.”
It was probably Shangguan Jie, the wicked guy, who deliberately singled him out to lure the tiger away from the mountain. Pei Xiting said, “Where’s the purse?”
The little beggar took out a brocade purse from his sleeve and held it up. Pei Xiting counted the money and said, “Well, since you know what’s good, I will treat you to candy next time we meet.”
“Another boss gave me money to invite you.” The little beggar turned around and pointed to the cliff at the end, “He’s waiting for you right behind there, and he said something about dying without descendants.”
Pei Xiting understood the secret code, sent the little beggar away, and walked to the cliff. The smell of roast duck hit his nose. He sniffed, walked around, and said to the man squatting in the corner eating roast duck legs, “Fortunately, I didn’t pay Shopkeeper Qi; otherwise, I would have lost money.”
The masked young man was not masked today, revealing a fair and beautiful face. He generously gave Pei Xiting a roast duck leg and said vaguely, “I have something to find you.”
“It just so happens that I also want to find you.” Pei Xiting squatted down and tore off half of the oil paper. “I need a guard.” “Do you need a guard?”
–Two voices sounded almost at the same time. The four eyes met, Pei Xiting raised his eyebrows slightly, and asked, “Why me?”
The masked young man said, “First, people are looking for me everywhere now; I have to find a place to hide. Your Pei family is neither good nor bad, with few people. Following you, there is no shortage of food and clothing, and there are not many disputes in the mansion. Secondly, you’re straightforward and won’t ask too many questions or pry into my private affairs. Third, you are very brave, and I think you dare to take in someone like me who has unknown origins. Fourth, the matter at Fumeng Tower that day is also considered to be caused by me. I more or less have to protect you for a period of time.”
Pei Xiting accepted the excuse and said frankly, “But the people of the East Palace asked me for your portrait, and it seems that they recognized you. It’s not safe for you to stay with me.”
“Nowhere is safe.” The masked young man took a big bite of meat.
Pei Xiting said, “Under the feet of His Highness, if the East Palace is looking for you, it’s like catching a turtle in a jar. The world is so big; why don’t you leave Yejing?”
“I can’t leave Yejing.” The masked young man paused and said insightfully, “There’s a saying that the darkest place is under the lamp.”
“That makes sense,” Pei Xiting said. “I won’t pursue your identity, but you have to tell me, what conspiracy is involved with Po Yinlin?”
“I don’t know either.” The masked young man also felt a little regretful. “I just want to make a lot of money. I thought it was just stealing a palace’s weapon, but it doesn’t seem to be that simple. These days, not only Shangguan Jie’s people are looking for me, but some other groups of people are also inquiring about my news. I even found the buyer’s body in the suburbs, and then Longhe Division took the body away.”
“The buyer is dead?” Pei Xiting thought, “Now there is only one problem: if you stay with me, you may run into people from the East Palace, but you can’t protect me if you are too far away.”
“I have a way.” The masked young man finished eating the duck leg, clapped his hands, and stood up. “I’ll come to you in the evening; wait for me.”
Pei Xiting: “Good.”
He asked someone to send the purse back to Duke Wen’s mansion. At night, the masked young man came as expected, still wearing night clothes, but his face had changed into another rough and ordinary look.
Pei Xiting put down his brush, stood up, approached the person in front of the desk, looked around, and said, “Does this kind of disguise technique really exist? Is this a human skin mask?”
“No, it’s a facial mask made of special materials. It comes from the Western Regions. First stick it on a person’s face, take it off after about three hours, and stick it on your own face. It’s very expensive.” The masked young man touched his face. “How is it? Can you recognize me?”
For some reason, he noticed a hint of surprise and sudden enlightenment on Pei Xiting’s face, as if he suddenly figured out something, but then Pei Xiting had returned to his normal color and said, “Not at first glance. It seems a little inconsistent if you look closely, but it’s not a big problem.”
The masked young man didn’t think much about it and said, “Just make do with it. The human skin mask is stuffy and nauseating to wear.”
“Come with me first.” Pei Xiting pushed open the door a few steps behind the desk. “The study and the living quarters are connected. There is a low couch in the study. Except for the lack of bed curtains, it’s no worse than my bed. If you don’t mind, you can make do with it tonight while I think of a comprehensive solution.”
“Don’t bother. I can sleep on a bridge or a tree branch, not to mention such a clean and comfortable house.” The masked young man looked up at the beams and nodded, saying, “As long as there are no martial arts experts in your courtyard, no one will find out about my existence.”
“It’s very inconvenient, but I haven’t gotten married or started a business, so I can’t find a reason to move outside. Let me think about whether there is any way.” Pei Xiting said as he turned around and took a thin blanket from the cabinet to drape on the low couch. “By the way, what’s your name?”
The masked young man said honestly, “It’s inconvenient to tell my real name. You can call me anything.”
“Fine.” Pei Xiting said, “Then I’ll call you Yuan Fang.”
The masked young man saw the expectation and hope on his face and suddenly felt that the burden on his shoulders was heavy. “…Does this name have any deep meaning?”
“I just hope you can protect my weak and vulnerable self who has no martial arts.” Pei Xiting put his hands together and said sincerely, “If you don’t like it, I can also call you Zhan Huwei[mfn]Pei Xiting lol. Zhan Huwei, or Zhan Zhao, is a very, very, very famous character from the TV series “Justice Bao”. He’s a highly skilled and loyal bodyguard (and good-looking, btw, because they always choose good-looking actors to play this role in every remake).[/mfn].”
The masked young man thought seriously for a moment and said, “Let’s go with Yuan Fang.”
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