Chapter Seventy-One: Little Bi’s Other Face

“Go look again! You must find them, or you’ll answer with your heads!” He suppressed his fury, his voice low and forbidding as he gave the order.

Kaiming, seeing him suddenly, was so surprised she called out before she could help herself. But then she saw him slap a subordinate, his face turning dark as thunder, and her raised hand froze in midair; the rest of the word died on her lips.

But her calling and waving had already caught the attention of the group across from her. The youth’s gaze turned at the sound of her voice, sharp as an eagle’s, piercing straight into her heart. She felt a chill inside, and her face flushed with embarrassment.

Yet as their eyes met, the youth’s expression abruptly shifted. In a heartbeat, the cold, harsh look softened, replaced by the familiar, rakish grin she remembered.

“Sister, what are you doing here?” He walked over to her, smiling as though the previous moment had been nothing but a figment of her imagination.

She stared at his smile, confused, unable to tell which was his true face. Why must everyone have two sides? Why is the real side always the uglier one?

He stood before her and naturally took her hand.

Finally, she gathered herself, looking at the simple, earnest smile before her. “Xiaobi.”

“That’s me,” the boy replied with a mischievous grin, dimples deep in his childlike face. “Who would’ve thought I’d run into Sister Kaiming again?”

Kaiming nodded distractedly. Xiaobi glanced over his shoulder and made a subtle sign to his men, who immediately withdrew, vanishing without a trace.

She couldn’t suppress her curiosity any longer, blurting out, “Were you searching for someone?”

Xiaobi answered easily, “There’s a spy among us. We’re hunting him down.”

A spy? Kaiming clenched her fists in secret. If she wasn’t mistaken, that fleeing figure just now had been Xuan.

Did Xuan have something to do with the Eastern Palace?

She gently withdrew her hand from Xiaobi’s grasp and asked, “So why are you in the capital today?”

“I’m not that spy, of course!” Xiaobi yawned hugely. “The moment I got word, I rushed here overnight. I still let him get away, though. Haven’t slept a wink, I’m exhausted!”

Finally, a trace of youthful childishness, Kaiming thought to herself. The Xiaobi who’d just struck his subordinate was a far cry from this lazy boy. But what kind of spy warranted the personal pursuit of the famed general of the Eastern Palace? Who was Xuan, really?

She felt more lost than ever.

“Kaiming!” Chunhua’s ear-splitting shout rang out again. “Hurry up, we can go in now!”

Kaiming dug at her ear and moved forward, Xiaobi tagging along with great interest. “Where are we going? Can I come?”

She found it odd. “Aren’t you going to catch the spy?”

Xiaobi waved it off carelessly. “With those men on the job, there’s nothing to worry about. It’ll get done.”

Given how he’d just slapped one of them, Kaiming couldn’t help but mutter to herself, feeling sorry for his subordinates. Better to be anything than someone’s lackey, she thought ruefully, shaking her head as she headed for the tavern door.

As they approached, the scene inside was truly spectacular. People lay sprawled in all directions, toppled goods mingling with bodies—a veritable, supersized human sandwich that made her eyes ache. The two-woman team was still trampling the unruly servants, wearing looks of self-satisfaction.

“What happened here?” Xiaobi asked, half amused. “Was there a war?”

Chunhua arched a brow at Kaiming, then glanced at Xiaobi. “And who’s this?”

Kaiming had no choice but to answer honestly, “An old friend of mine.”

“What, just a kid?” Xiaobi protested, displeased. “Don’t always treat me like a child, Sister—we know each other too well for that.”

He spoke with such easy familiarity that Kaiming shivered, her hair standing on end.

Chunhua’s eyes gleamed with mischief, and she snickered, “Kaiming, since when did your tastes change?” Without waiting for Kaiming to retort, she waved to the two-woman team, “Get inside and grab a seat!”

They quickly moved, stepping off the fallen and striding inside.

A chorus of resentful moans rose up at the entrance. Kaiming covered her face and dashed into the tavern, legs weak and guilty under the glare of angry stares and curses.

Xiaobi followed, hands behind his back, smiling calmly.

As soon as Chunhua and the others entered, they spotted a prime table by the window and immediately ousted its occupant. The man glared, but seeing three iron tower–like women, said nothing.

“Out!” Chunhua’s palm slammed the table so hard the man shrank and slipped off his stool, running off. The whole tavern looked over in curiosity, but, used to such scenes, soon lost interest.

Kaiming’s brow twitched. These women were used to being overbearing back home—hadn’t Ji taught them any manners in the capital?

Xiaobi whispered, grinning, “Sister, I rather like this lot.”

Like Chunhua? Kaiming shot him a sidelong glance—he had to be joking or mad.

He chuckled, lowering his voice, “Still, they say birds of a feather flock together. I wonder about you, Sister Kaiming…”

At that, Kaiming’s eyes widened in outrage, glaring at him. “Are you looking to die, brat?” How dare he lump her in with Chunhua and her ilk!

Xiaobi kept up his infuriating grin, and Kaiming, without a thought, rapped him on the head just as she did to Chunhua and Gouzi. Xiaobi stared, stunned, rubbing his head in disbelief.

“Sit down!” she snapped.

Xiaobi was both amused and exasperated. Despite his youth, he was a terror in the Eastern Palace, feared by all—yet here he was, scolded and struck by this woman. Her nerve impressed him.

Kaiming sat, cheeks puffed in annoyance, as Chunhua and the others clamored for food and drink.

Xiaobi shook his head and took the seat beside her. These women were all oddities—best not to judge them by common sense.

The dishes soon arrived. Chunhua made a perfunctory gesture to include them, then she and her partner fell upon the plates, devouring everything in sight. Xiaobi just smiled.

Kaiming kicked Chunhua hard under the table. Chunhua yelped, finally stopping her feast.

What, was she a starving ghost reborn? Kaiming’s glare said everything.

Chunhua got the message, and seeing her partner still wolfing down food, smacked their heads with her chopsticks, scolding, “Haven’t you eaten in years? Such disgraceful manners in front of guests!” She smiled ingratiatingly at Kaiming and Xiaobi, but with grease smeared around her mouth, the effect was only more comical.

Kaiming rolled her eyes, pulled out a silk kerchief, and wiped Chunhua’s chubby, grinning face. “Wipe your mouth before you speak!”

Chunhua seized the kerchief, dangling it curiously between two fingers. “Kaiming, when did you get so particular? Have you really become a lady since joining the general’s household?”

Kaiming ignored her. It wasn’t her own kerchief, after all, just something she’d borrowed off a maid. There weren’t paper napkins here, and she was dressed too nicely today to wipe her mouth on her sleeve.

Xiaobi seemed to notice this for the first time. He peered at her, “Sister, you really do look different today!”

She glared at him. Where were your eyes just now—are you blind?

Xiaobi leaned in and sniffed the air around her. “Scent of cosmetics?”

She blushed slightly. She’d put them on just to cover the bruises—she had to look presentable, after all. Chunhua stared in amazement.

“Our Yaksha’s really changed her ways? This is a marvel!”

“Yaksha? What’s that?” Xiaobi asked Chunhua, intrigued.

“It’s what Kaiming used to—”

“Shut up!” Kaiming cut her off, threatening, “If you say another word, don’t even think of hanging around with me again!”

Chunhua clamped her mouth shut.

Xiaobi’s curiosity grew, and he pestered Chunhua, “Sister, just tell me!”

“Brat!” Kaiming called out, and as he turned with a grin, she stuffed a chicken leg straight into his mouth.

He froze, biting the chicken leg, looking at her with a daft expression that made Chunhua and her partner burst out laughing.

Kaiming couldn’t help but laugh too, watching him. Xiaobi’s eyes darted slyly around the four faces, then narrowed as he seized the chicken leg and bit into it with a grin. “Thank you, Sister, for your generosity.” He winked, his eyes full of cunning.

Hearing him say that, Kaiming suddenly recalled the first time she’d met Xiaobi, when Ji had tossed him a few coins and he’d cheerfully accepted, saying, “Thank you, brother, for your generosity.” Was the brat trying to hint at something?

She looked at his face—nothing showed but good humor.

Still, his words unsettled her, stirring up vague anxieties.

Chunhua, having stopped laughing, poured them each a full bowl of wine. Her partner, seeing their leader ignore them, continued to focus all her efforts on eating.

Xiaobi looked at Chunhua with a bright smile. “Come to think of it, it’s fate that I met Sister Kaiming again. Our very first meeting was also on the street…”

Kaiming’s heart skipped a beat. Why was this brat bringing that up?

As expected, Chunhua was all ears, encouraging him to continue.

Xiaobi traced the rim of his bowl absent-mindedly, clicking his tongue. “Sister Kaiming is really an attractive woman—even a certain official couldn’t resist her charms back then…”

A hand suddenly shot out, clamping tightly over his chattering mouth. The brat was clearly out for revenge, trying to embarrass her in front of Chunhua!

If Chunhua’s big mouth got hold of this news, the whole camp would know by tomorrow. Then she and the Lord Marshal would have no face left!

The thought made her squeeze harder, while Xiaobi squawked and rolled his eyes at her.

Chunhua, astonished, then grinned wickedly. “Kaiming, what guilty secret are you hiding—trying to silence him for good?”