Firmament Sword

”That’s right, it’s simply miraculous!” Xu Luo asked with an air of sincere humility. ”May I ask who taught you these makeup skills? They’re simply amazing!”

”This young master... No, this young lady is self-taught!” The girl lifted her chin, looking proud. ”By the way, this young lady still doesn’t know your name!”

”Brother, can we stop with the pretending-to-be-a-woman act? It’s kind of weird. Besides, I don’t know your name either...” Xu Luo slung an arm around the girl’s shoulder in a buddy-buddy way.

This girl was like a little demon—fiery one moment and gentle the next. And that devastatingly beautiful face of hers could change expressions in a flash.

He clearly knew she was a woman, but for various reasons, Xu Luo couldn’t expose her.

Whether it was the first time he accidentally discovered her secret, or the somewhat fragrant and intimate healing session yesterday... unless the girl admitted it herself, Xu Luo couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud.

Seeing that she had no intention of admitting her identity, Xu Luo couldn’t resist the urge to tease her.

The girl’s expression shifted slightly. Looking into Xu Luo’s crystal-clear eyes, she quickly backed down. She wriggled free from his arm and pouted, ”Two men hugging each other... How improper!”

”This is what being brothers is all about! If we’re brothers, we should eat and sleep together. Let’s go take a bath in a bit. We can scrub each other’s backs...”

”You...”

”’You’ what? We’re both men, what’s there to be afraid of?”

The girl was about to faint, on the verge of a complete breakdown.

She glared at Xu Luo, grinding her teeth as she said, ”If we’re such good... brothers... then I might as well just marry you. That way, we ’brothers’ can be together every day! Hmm?”

”Er... let’s not. I’m not interested in men.” Xu Luo, feigning terror, quickly waved his hands. He knew he was about to push this little demon over the edge.

”Hee hee, I was just joking with you! Look how scared you are!” Seeing that Xu Luo was finally afraid, the girl couldn’t help but laugh happily. ”My name is Lin Luo... Mm, that’s right. My name is Lin Luo. What about you?”

”I’m Xu Luo.”

”Wow, what a coincidence! Our names sound the same! From now on, I’ll call you Xu Luo, and you can just call me Lin Luo.” The girl smiled, her bright eyes curving into two new moons.

...

「Five days passed in the blink of an eye.」

The girl’s injuries had mostly healed, and you could barely tell anything was wrong when she walked.

At this point, there were only two days left until the Seventh Princess’s coming-of-age ceremony.

Xu Luo decided he absolutely had to leave today.

That guy Monkey from the Black Wind Gang never came looking for him. He was probably too busy these past few days to bother with Xu Luo.

The entire Black Wind Town was practically under martial law, and the atmosphere was extremely tense.

Xu Luo hadn’t gone out onto the streets for the past two days. Members of the Black Wind Gang were everywhere, their gazes hostile, as if they saw a thief in everyone they looked at.

During these past few days, Xu Luo had also heard about something else. The Black Wind Gang’s only Female Hall Master had defected and fled, causing a huge stir in Black Wind Town.

He heard that the Black Wind Gang’s leadership was furious. While searching for the fugitive, they had also dispatched men to hunt down the Female Hall Master.

And that Female Hall Master’s name was Nangong Yu Yan.

When Xu Luo heard this name, he remembered the Black Wind Gang member in the Black Forest who had tried to stand up for him. It seemed the others had called her Nangong.

’If it’s really you, I hope you escape safely!’ Xu Luo thought. Although he hated the Black Wind Gang, that woman had been decent. Even though she hadn’t managed to stop the gang from hunting him down, Xu Luo still felt a sense of gratitude toward her.

”Alright, I’m all packed. We can go,” Lin Luo said, looking at Xu Luo.

”Okay, I’ll go hire a carriage, and then we’ll leave,” Xu Luo said, turning to head out the door.

Although the atmosphere in Black Wind Town was tense, there were still many Adventure Teams and Lone Rangers around. Not everyone was afraid of the Black Wind Gang.

For example, the other two major gangs, the Blazing Fire Gang and the Celestial Fire Gang, had been enjoying the Black Wind Gang’s recent troubles.

And those few well-known Lone Rangers couldn’t care less about the Black Wind Gang.

So on the surface, everything in Black Wind Town still seemed quite normal.

”Boss, I need to hire a carriage—the best one you have.” Xu Luo was now disguised as a nobleman in his thirties, his aristocratic air clearly setting him apart from the others.

The owner of the carriage company personally came over to greet him with a warm expression.

”Where might our esteemed guest be headed?” The owner was a man in his fifties, looking quite prosperous, with a kind, beaming smile on his face.

”To Xicheng Town.” The place Xu Luo mentioned was a large town on the way to the Imperial Capital, about two hundred li from Black Wind Town. With a fast horse, the journey could be made in a single day.

In reality, Xu Luo was hiring the carriage for Lin Luo. After all, it wasn’t convenient for her to travel at high speed yet. As for himself, he would part ways with her after leaving Black Wind Town; otherwise, he wouldn’t make it to the Seventh Princess’s coming-of-age ceremony in time.

Although Xu Luo didn’t particularly want to attend, he considered that he was currently the only male heir of the Xu Family at home. With his father and older brother away, his absence could make others think the Xu Family was disrespecting the Royal Family.

Especially since so many people were just waiting for the Xu Family to make a mistake, Xu Luo didn’t want to cause any more trouble for his family.

”To Xicheng Town, that’ll be twenty taels of silver!” the owner said with a smile, holding up two fingers. ”It’s the best carriage. I guarantee our esteemed guest won’t feel the slightest bump!”

”Alright, we have a deal.” Xu Luo took out a fifty-tael silver banknote and handed it to the owner. ”Keep the change. We leave now!”

”Yes, yes!” The owner knew he had met a truly wealthy client. He immediately went down to give orders himself. In just a moment, a very luxurious carriage was ready.

”By the way, we won’t run into any trouble leaving town, will we?” Xu Luo asked with a frown. ”My wife insisted on leaving at this time, but I’ve heard the town hasn’t been very peaceful lately.”

The owner smiled faintly and said, ”Rest assured. No one will dare to stop a carriage from my Black Wind Carriage Company!”

It was a simple sentence, but Xu Luo could sense immense confidence from the carriage company’s owner.

”That’s good to hear.” Xu Luo nodded and boarded the carriage.

The owner watched the luxurious carriage recede into the distance, let out a long sigh of relief, and whispered, ”Finally, someone came to hire the most luxurious carriage. Lady Nangong, this is all I can do to help you. Whether or not you can escape successfully will depend on your own fortune!”

Lin Luo was already waiting on the street. She wore a veil over her face, and her enchanting figure was quite captivating. Carrying several large bundles, she looked like a young wife returning to her family home.

The carriage pulled up beside Lin Luo. Xu Luo got out, helped her into the carriage first, tossed the large bundles in after her, and finally jumped in himself. After a moment’s thought, he took a piece of loose silver from his pocket, worth about three to five taels, and tossed it to the driver.

”My wife doesn’t handle bumps well. Drive carefully.”

The driver’s face lit up as he accepted the silver. ”Don’t you worry, esteemed guest! I’ve been a professional driver for twenty years. My skills are top-notch in all of Black Wind Town. Otherwise, why would I be the one driving this carriage?”

Xu Luo gave a silent nod and settled back into the spacious, comfortable carriage. Lin Luo sat pressed closely against him, a trace of melancholy in her eyes.

She knew Xu Luo would leave once they were out of Black Wind Town. He had told her he had important matters to attend to back in the Imperial Capital, but Lin Luo’s heart still ached with sadness and reluctance to part.

In the few short days they had spent together, Xu Luo’s image had quietly imprinted itself upon her young heart. Perhaps even she hadn’t realized it yet, but she was starting to like him.

As the carriage reached the town gate, it was stopped by a group of men. The driver’s displeased voice could be heard, ”Don’t you know this is a Black Wind Carriage Company carriage?”

A few apologetic laughs came from outside. Someone said, ”Our apologies, Master Lin. We’re just following orders. You know our Black Wind Gang has had some trouble recently. The culprit might still be hiding in Black Wind Town...”

”Alright, alright, just take a quick look then. But don’t you dare disturb our esteemed guest!” Perhaps because of the tip, the driver was being very protective of Xu Luo.

”Okay, okay, just a glance.” With that, someone jumped onto the carriage, opened the door, and peeked inside.

Xu Luo frowned, speaking with clear displeasure. ”Driver, who are these people? Are they the town guard? Why are they so ill-mannered! When I see City Lord Wang of Peng City, I’ll have to ask him if this is how he manages his subordinates.”

Peng City was the major city that administered Black Wind Town and Xicheng Town. It was over three hundred li from the Imperial Capital and quite prosperous. The City Lord of Peng City was naturally a person of no small status.

The Black Wind Gang member who had come up to inspect was startled. Although the Black Wind Gang had never paid any mind to Black Wind Town’s official garrison—in fact, more than half of the garrison was made up of their own members—they didn’t have the guts to disrespect Peng City.

If they truly angered the City Lord of Peng City, even Du Ke wouldn’t be able to handle the fallout, let alone small-fry like them.

The Black Wind Gang member didn’t doubt for a second that the man in the carriage was lying. People like him, who had spent their lives at the bottom of society, had the sharpest eyes for such things. The noble aura emanating from the young man in the carriage was simply not something an ordinary person could fake.

”My apologies, my apologies! I was just following orders. I hope our esteemed guest won’t lower himself to my level,” the Black Wind Gang member apologized profusely. He then jumped off the carriage and gave the driver an apologetic smile. ”Master Lin, sorry for the trouble. I’ll buy you a drink some other day!”

”Hmph.” The driver, Master Lin, snorted through his nose, climbed back onto his seat with a proud look, and cracked his whip.

”HYAH!”

The two strong horses easily pulled the carriage, speeding off in the direction of the Imperial Capital.

Black Wind Town grew more and more distant behind them, until it finally disappeared from view completely.

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So, uh, let me ask you something. If I don’t beg for votes, you guys just won’t give them, will you?

For all my brothers and sisters reading on other sites, could you please come to the official platform and support Little Knife?

I’d be eternally grateful!

How about Uncle Dao tries to act cute for you all?

Gazing up at the sky at a 45-degree angle with a melancholic look, I let out a grief-stricken cry: ”Where are my votes? Where are my bookmarks?”

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