As mentioned before, ChangKun Temple was not far from the Capital, but since ZiLi had run away in haste, he had not made any proper follow-up preparations at all. Therefore, he had walked all night for a journey that would only take an hour or two on horseback. By the time he finally saw the city gates, the sky was already completely bright. ZiLi rubbed his sore legs and feet, straightened the bundle with his belongings on his shoulder, and headed for the city gates not far away, which were crowded with pedestrians, and he was immediately followed blindly by the two brats, as if they were afraid that the other person would secretly slip away if they were not paying attention!
ZiLi walked on without saying a word, but inside he was racking his brains. How can I get rid of these two stumbling blocks?
“Your― Your Highness, isn’t the Emperor in ChangKun Temple? How are we able to see him when we go back to the Capital?” The question they had been holding back all night finally came out.
“Fools, the Emperor is in the middle of the Purification Ceremony, so he will not be able to receive guests. If you rush to go there, you’ll inevitably be kicked out again like a sandbag. If we come back now and wait in front of his door, we will see him in two days anyway!” ZiLi replied half truthfully.
Although there were still doubts in their hearts, the two brothers no longer asked questions.
Please read His Majesty's Hostage Chapter 40 on Project Bezemwagen :-)
Each with their own worries, the three of them finally arrived at the city gate. The soldiers guarding the checkpoint blocked the way with their spears and gestured for them to show their passes. ZiLi, who had expected this in advance, flashed the bronze token he had extorted last night from that Lord, who had stupidly done him a favor. After they had finished inspecting, the soldiers put away their spears and let him pass.
“Wait, what about you two? You are not allowed to enter the city without a pass.” ZiLi was allowed to enter the city, but the two dirty little beggars behind him were not allowed through.
“Mister soldier,” the two brats pointed at ZiLi and said in unison, “we are his servants.”
ZiLi cursed in his mind, Damn brats, did they discuss this a long time ago? They said it way too smoothly!
The soldier turned and looked at ZiLi, as if seeking confirmation.
“That is right, these are my young servants 1 I just picked up on my journey!” ZiLi had no choice but to say reluctantly.
The three of them entered the city and when they reached a restaurant, ZiLi stopped. He cleared his throat and turned to the two brats behind him and said, “This Highness has something important to do. You two, wait here.”
Please read His Majesty's Hostage Chapter 40 on Project Bezemwagen :-)
When the two brothers heard this, how could they be willing to obediently stay here and let ZiLi leave alone? They immediately grabbed ZiLi’s sleeves and looked at him with a pitiful expression, their dirty fingers leaving a few dark mud stains on ZiLi’s crescent white robe 2 .
“What are you afraid of? Don’t tell me you’re still standing at the door because you’re afraid This Highness will run away?” ZiLi said deliberately with a displeased tone.
When they heard what ZiLi said, the two brothers also thought that ZiLi’s words were reasonable, and with no better option, they bitterly let ZiLi go, but still reminded him with some uneasiness, “Your Highness said he would help us. You can’t break your promise, otherwise― Otherwise, it will bring shame on you and leave you with a blackened reputation of someone who talks through the back of his neck 3 !”
Is this kid actually threatening me? Back in the day when I was threatening other people, you were still drinking milk! Besides, compared to being imprisoned like a pet, this ‘blackened reputation’ simply means nothing to me!
Thinking like that in his mind, ZiLi said without batting an eye, “All right, all right, does This Majesty look like the kind of man who doesn’t keep his word? You two just wait, all right, I will come right back out when I’m done with my business!”
As they watched ZiLi walk into the restaurant, where people come and go, the two brothers did not dare to relax and kept a close watch on the door.
Speaking of which, after ZiLi finally left the two burdens behind, he could not help but feel a surge of joy in his heart. After all, a brat is still a brat, how can they compare to me? Their skills are still nothing yet!
Please read His Majesty's Hostage Chapter 40 on Project Bezemwagen :-)
He slipped into the restaurant, quickly contacted the waiter from that day 4 , paid him the other half of the money as he had promised, and then went to the room reserved for him. The things he had asked for had already been placed on the table, and ZiLi opened the package to inspect everything one by one.
Linen clothes, shoes made of cloth 5 , a fake beard, a mask made of human skin, a bamboo hat with a veil 6 , fake eyebrows, dye, and even a fake black mole with a long hair! ZiLi looked at the pile of disguise tools with great satisfaction. There were also a few bottles of medicine for wounds and a dozen flexible sachets, similar to today’s balloons. ZiLi was overjoyed in his heart, picked one up and looked at it. Who would have thought that the people here could actually make such sachets out of sheep intestines! Don't ask ZiLi what he is going to do with these sheep intestines yet. You will soon find out what they will be used for, moreover, you will discover that these sheep intestines will successfully rescue ZiLi from danger several times in his later escapades.
ZiLi carefully put away these sachets made from sheep intestines. Then he took out the medicine for wounds 7 to treat the wound on the back of his hand, which had been scratched open by a bird last night and was still stinging a little. When he had finished, he quickly put on the linen clothes and shoes, then poured a cup of water from the teapot, squeezed out the ochre dye, dissolved it in the water, and stirred it well. He smeared the diluted dye on his face, neck, hands and all other exposed skin, and soon after it had dried, the originally fair and clear, delicate and smooth skin was covered with a layer of a rough muddy and yellow color, making ZiLi look like a commoner of the countryside who had been working outside for a long time. After that, he took out the stiff short beard and glued it on his upper and lower lips, and the image of a farming uncle 8 was born. It seems that I really have a talent for makeup! ZiLi looked satisfied in the mirror at the result. Originally, he had wanted to disguise himself with a mask made of human skin, but had suddenly realized that if he met a disguise expert, would his lousy trick not be exposed immediately? Besides, his current appearance was so much better than that poorly made human skin mask.
After packing all his belongings, ZiLi stood in front of the door of the room, took a deep breath, pushed the door open with both excitement and concern, and walked out.
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Author Notes
As I was writing, I realized that the title of this volume was not very appropriate, so I changed it to a more fitting one, namely: ‘Wandering Through the Jianghu’.
Translator Notes
Whoa, I did not know this volume had a title (◕ o ◕ヘ
Unfortunately, I did not find out what the old title of this volume was.
Translation Notes 小厮 – Xiǎo Sī – Underage male servant. 长衫 – ChángShān - Traditional Asian dress for men. – Something like this, I think:
信口雌黄 - Xìn kǒu cíhuáng. - Not speaking in a straightforward, truthful manner. - Lying This happened in chapter 33. 布鞋 – BùXié – Espadrille – Something like this, I think:
Something like this, I think:
金创药 – JīnChuàngYào – Medicine to treat wounds caused by weapons. 大叔 – DàShū - Term used to address a man about the age of one’s father.