Several days later, news spread through the capital.
Xie Yi had accepted the order to go to Qingzhou to suppress bandits.
The court was in an uproar once again.
Some praised his decisiveness, some doubted the assignment, and others secretly rejoiced at his removal from the capital.
But none of it affected Xie Yi.
On the day of departure, the city gates were crowded with officials seeing him off.
Lin Zhiji stood among them.
He looked at the armored troops assembled neatly behind Xie Yi.
Cold steel, disciplined formation, killing intent restrained but present.
Xie Yi stood at the front.
He wore dark armor, the cold metal outlining his tall figure. His left eye, covered in gray haze, gave him a faintly oppressive presence.
Yet when he turned back, his gaze landed precisely on Lin Zhiji.
For a moment, the surrounding noise seemed to fade.
Xie Yi walked over.
He raised a hand and adjusted Lin Zhiji’s collar.
“Stay close,” he said.
Lin Zhiji nodded quickly. “I know.”
Xie Yi looked at him for a moment longer, then turned away.
The order to depart was given.
The army moved.
Dust rose along the road as the procession gradually left the capital.
Lin Zhiji stood there until the figure disappeared into the distance.
Only then did he slowly exhale.
Somewhere far away, in an unseen place, a faint signal flickered again.
Lin Zhiji: Eh?
In a situation like this, shouldn’t there be a lot of preparations, being extremely busy?
What does going to eat pastries mean?
He originally thought Xie Yi had some deeper plan, but after getting off the carriage and taking a look, it really was a pastry shop.
The shop assistant warmly greeted them, and Lin Zhiji followed Xie Yi inside in a daze.
Xie Yi motioned to him: “Pick a few things you like.”
Lin Zhiji: ?
No, they were really here to eat pastries?!
Although he was very confused, since Xie Yi said so, he obediently went to buy a few kinds of pastries.
After leaving the pastry shop, Xie Yi did not bring him back onto the carriage, and just strolled through the East Market like that.
At first Lin Zhiji was still a bit confused, but when he realized Xie Yi really seemed to just be out shopping, he also relaxed and happily wandered around.
Come to think of it, this was the first time he had come out shopping since he had obtained a body.
He wandered with great enjoyment, and Xie Yi also patiently followed behind him the entire time, only reaching out to protect him when there were crowds.
Not far away, the two people responsible for monitoring them couldn’t help but complain.
“This Xie Yi is really too indulgent toward that servant. Even those nobles don’t treat their own wives this well, right?”
“Exactly. That’s why people call him a romantic fool!”
“The prince has ordered us to follow them for so many days already. Who knows how much longer we still have to follow…”
“Enough, stop talking. They’ve entered an inn!”
The two immediately followed, just in time to see Xie Yi pulling that servant along, following the innkeeper up to the Heaven-Character Number One room.
In broad daylight and already… tsk!
The two showed disdainful expressions, but also secretly relaxed.
The inn’s interior was arranged in a square layout, and Xie Yi only had one way to leave from upstairs—they just needed to guard the ground floor.
At this time, inside the Heaven-Character Number One room.
Lin Zhiji rubbed his sore feet and muttered, “I knew you had another plan. If you had told me earlier that the Qi Prince’s people were following us, I wouldn’t have refused to cooperate…”
If he had known earlier, he wouldn’t have bought so many trinkets—heavy and tiring.
Xie Yi pushed open the window. The window faced a back alley, quiet and sparsely populated.
Hearing Lin Zhiji’s words, he walked over and asked with a smile, “You really would have cooperated?”
Seeing that expression, Lin Zhiji suddenly felt uneasy and swallowed. “W-what… what do you want me to do?”
Xie Yi bent down, the distance between them instantly closing.
So close that he could almost see Xie Yi’s eyelashes, could feel the warm breath brushing across his face.
Lin Zhiji’s heart suddenly jumped, and his body instinctively leaned back.
But the next moment, a hand pressed against his back, while Xie Yi’s other arm slid under his knees and lifted him up.
Lin Zhiji: !!!
Xie Yi chuckled lightly: “Hold on tight.”
Then he carried him and jumped down from the second-story window.
Lin Zhiji: !!!!!!!!!!
Ahhhhh!!!
Xie Yi landed lightly while holding him. Before Lin Zhiji could even catch his breath, there were several more rapid leaps.
Lin Zhiji had not never followed Xie Yi flying around in his mind before, but that felt completely different from now!
If the previous experience was like watching a 5D movie, this was being strapped directly onto a drop tower—without a safety belt.
Lin Zhiji could only cling tightly to Xie Yi’s neck, wishing he could become a safety strap hanging onto him.
After an unknown amount of time, Xie Yi finally stopped.
Lin Zhiji was set down, his legs going weak, nearly collapsing to his knees.
Xie Yi smiled: “No need to bow so formally.”
Lin Zhiji glared at him, but since the fear in his eyes had not yet faded, the glare carried no intimidation whatsoever.
Xie Yi supported him, kindly saying, “If you can’t walk, I can carry you a little longer.”
Lin Zhiji: “…Dream on!”
He steadied himself against the wall for a moment before finally regaining control of his legs and followed Xie Yi into a residence with unsteady steps.
After entering, they saw the Cen brothers—Cen Junce and Cen Xuezhou—who had already been waiting.
As the new top scholar, Cen Junce had been appointed as Compiler at the Hanlin Academy, and now could be considered as having officially entered court affairs.
Compared to before, he now carried more composure.
However, upon seeing Xie Yi, his eyes lit up again, returning to his earlier self: “Benefactor… no, Master!”
Xie Yi gave a slight nod.
Today he had avoided the Qi Prince’s surveillance and met Cen Junce here to assign matters for his journey to Qingzhou.
Because time was tight, the two did not exchange much pleasantries and went straight into discussion.
Lin Zhiji did not dislike going inside, but… his legs were still weak.
At this moment, a worried voice sounded beside him: “Are you alright?”
Lin Zhiji looked up and saw Cen Xuezhou reaching out his hand: “Shall I help you?”
Lin Zhiji had already seen Cen Xuezhou through Xie Yi’s eyes several times, but seeing him in person at such close distance still made him stunned by his beauty.
“Sir?” Cen Xuezhou asked in confusion.
Lin Zhiji snapped back to his senses and nodded randomly: “Then… I’ll trouble you…”
Cen Xuezhou carefully helped him sit on a bench and said, “Please wait a moment, I’ll go bring tea.”
“No need to trouble yourself,” Lin Zhiji quickly said, then added a bit awkwardly, “And you don’t have to call me sir. My name is Lin Zhiji, you can call me Zhiji.”
Cen Xuezhou’s eyes brightened slightly. “Zhiji, my name is Cen Xuezhou. You can call me Xuezhou.”
Cen Xuezhou had been weak since childhood and did not like interacting with others. Aside from his elder brother, he had almost no friends, let alone actively befriending someone like this.
But for some reason, the first time he saw Lin Zhiji, he felt a strong sense of liking.
Lin Zhiji also did not expect he could actually make a normal friend, and was almost moved to tears with joy.
The two sat on the bench, somewhat unfamiliar at first.
But as they talked, they gradually became familiar, even finding themselves extremely compatible.
Their conversation intermittently drifted into the room.
Xie Yi’s gaze, through the half-open window, landed on the two people smiling at each other, and his expression instantly turned cold.