“How did you get here?” At the south gate, a man dressed as a city guard saw Wei Lan carrying Luo Wei in his arms. He hurriedly ran out of the side alley and pulled Wei Lan into the alley while asking, “Is everything going well for you?”
“We’re fine,” Wei Lan said. “I’m just not sure how Brother Mo is doing.”
“He’s driving the Emperor crazy,” the guard said. “Just now, a troop of soldiers was sent from the south gate to the east gate.”
“He’ll be fine, right?” Wei Lan worried.
“Don’t worry,” the guard seemed confident in Mo Hansang’s abilities. “I’ll send you out first. Is this the person you’re trying to save?” He pointed to Luo Wei and asked.
“Yes,” Wei Lan said. “His leg is broken, so I’m carrying him.”
The guard wanted to see what Luo Wei looked like, but Luo Wei’s head was buried in Wei Lan’s chest, making it impossible for him to see.
“You’ve helped us a lot,” Wei Lan hugged Luo Wei closer to himself and said to the guard, “Will it get you into trouble?”
“Don’t worry, it won’t,” the guard seemed to sense that Wei Lan didn’t want him to see Luo Wei’s face, so he stopped trying. Walking ahead to lead the way, he said to Wei Lan, “The alleys here are connected. Some houses are right next to the city wall. If you want to leave the city, you don’t necessarily have to go through the city gates, as long as your qinggong is good enough. General Mo said your lightness skills are even better than his, is that true?”
“That’s impossible,” Wei Lan knew that in the minds of these people, Mo Huan Sang was a deity, unmatched by anyone in the world. Even though he had competed with Mo Huan Sang in qinggong and won, making the man willing to help him rescue Luo Wei, at this moment, it would be better not to say that he was better than Mo Huan Sang.
“There aren’t many people who can be called brother by General Mo,” the guard stopped in front of a courtyard of a Jintong commoner’s house, knocked on the tightly closed door, and while waiting for someone to open it, he said to Wei Lan, “You’re also regarded highly by our brothers!”
Wei Lan wanted to modestly refute it again, but the people inside the courtyard opened the door.
“Come in quickly,” the guard beckoned Wei Lan.
“Who did you bring back this time?” The one who opened the door was a sixty-year-old woman. Seeing Wei Lan and Luo Wei, she asked the guard.
“It’s fine,” the guard told the woman. “Mother, you can go to sleep. They don’t need you to greet them.”
Hearing that the woman was the guard’s mother, Wei Lan quickly called out, “Auntie.”
The old woman greeted Wei Lan, then turned around and began to complain, “Never a day of peace, I don’t know who these people are, they disturb my sleep every day!”
“Older people are like this,” the guard pulled Wei Lan into the courtyard and said, “Wait for me here for a moment,” then walked into the house.
“Is the Young Master going to sleep?” Wei Lan noticed that Luo Wei hadn’t moved in his arms for a while, so while no one was around, he asked quietly.
“Yes,” Luo Wei, who couldn’t even open his eyes at the moment, said, “I seem to be tired.”
“Then go to sleep,” Wei Lan said. “I am here.”
Luo Wei murmured vaguely again and fell asleep in Wei Lan’s arms.
“Here’s some dry rations, some wine, and two sets of dry clothes,” the guard came out of the house and handed a package to Wei Lan, saying, “These are all things you’ll need, take them.”
Wei Lan hurried to express his thanks.
“No need,” the guard waved his hands repeatedly. “My life was given by General Mo. I’ll do anything for him, even if it means risking my life. Follow me, I’ll show you where to leave the city.” With that, the guard led Wei Lan to his backyard.
Wei Lan looked at the towering city wall in front of him and said, “Should I go out from here?”
“Just wait a moment,” the guard made a silencing gesture to Wei Lan.
The two stood waiting for a while until they heard voices coming from the city tower.
“They’re changing shifts,” the guard whispered to Wei Lan. “Wait until they’ve exchanged shifts and the new ones have started patrolling. This section above will be unoccupied for a while.”
Wei Lan nodded, listening carefully to the sounds on the city wall. At the same time, he used the rope he carried with him to securely tie Luo Wei and himself together.
Luo Wei grunted twice.
“It’s okay,” Wei Lan hurriedly patted Luo Wei, whispering, “It’s me.”
Hearing Wei Lan’s voice, Luo Wei quieted down again.
After a quarter of an incense stick’s worth of time, the guard said to Wei Lan, “You can go up now.”
Wei Lan held a dagger in his hand, nodded at the guard, and said, “Thank you.”
“Take care,” the guard saluted Wei Lan.
Wei Lan leaped up, and before all his strength ran out, he pierced the city wall with the dagger in his hand, causing him to pause for a moment. He then jumped again and was already on top of the city wall.
“Such amazing light skills,” the guard below watched Wei Lan effortlessly ascend the city wall with only two leaps, not only praising but also noting that Wei Lan was carrying Luo Wei and a heavy package.
On the city wall, there was a brazier every ten steps, illuminating the area with firelight, leaving no place for intruders to hide.
Without stopping for a moment, Wei Lan went straight to the battlements of the city wall, then jumped down. Below the city wall was the moat. In order to avoid falling into the river, Wei Lan descended along the outer wall and stood at the junction of the moat and the city wall. Using only a seam between the bricks, Wei Lan inserted his dagger deep into the crevice, and with the support of this dagger, he managed to land on his tiptoes, carrying the weight of both himself and Luo Wei.
The rain continued to fall, creating ripples on the surface of the moat. Wei Lan took a deep breath of air. He saw a tree branch floating towards him from somewhere in the river. Seizing this opportunity, Wei Lan’s figure skimmed across the surface of the water, and his toe lightly tapped on the branch as it floated by. With this tiny bit of force, Wei Lan carried Luo Wei to the opposite bank of the moat.
“Young Master,” Wei Lan gasped for breath after setting foot on solid ground, speaking to the sleeping Luo Wei in his arms, “We’ve left He Fang City.”
Even in his sleep, Luo Wei’s brows were still furrowed.
Wei Lan carried Luo Wei and swiftly flew into the wilderness outside He Fang City. He wanted to leave as quickly as possible.
By the edge of the moat, the footprints left by Wei Lan were quickly washed away by the rain.
Meanwhile, Yan’er cautiously made her way through the city, following the intricate paths her mother had repeatedly instructed her to take if she ever left the palace to find someone. Relying on her memory, Yan’er arrived at a shop.
The clerk in the store had already fallen asleep and was awakened by a series of knocks on the door.
As Yan’er knocked on the door, she glanced around nervously, afraid of being seen by someone passing by.
“What time is it?” the clerk cursed from inside the shop. “Is anyone open for business at this hour?!”
Hearing someone cursing inside the shop, tears welled up in Yan’er’s eyes, but she followed the method her mother had taught her—knocking three times, then twice, and finally once, repeating the pattern.
The clerk listened carefully to the knocking outside the door and realized who it was, quickly getting up to open the door.
“I’m Yan’er, my mother is Auntie Hu,” Yanner said hurriedly as she stuck her head through the partially open door.
Seeing that no one was around, the clerk opened the door a bit wider, pulled Yan’er into the shop, and hastily closed the door.
“What’s going on?” the shopkeeper, fastening his buttons, came downstairs and asked as he approached. “It’s so late, who is here?”
Boundless Dao 
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