He let out an “Ah!” with obvious relief in his voice and hurriedly bowed, “Greetings to you, Southeast commander!”
The Gold Feather Guard smiled, his voice had the same frigid coldness but there was a hint of satisfaction in it as he raised his hand and said, “At ease, you are from South Mountain Branch?”
“Yes.” Ning Yi replied respectfully but refused to say another word beyond that.
“Did you take the risk of venturing into the villa to investigate the suspected illegal actions Huang Zhiqiu might have engaged in the Weiming County case?”
“Commander is wise.” Ning Yi nodded with respect, but then asked with some confusion, “Commander is in charge of the Southeast Branch. How come you know so much about our South Mountain Branch’s case?”
The Gold Feather Commander coughed and began to feel this kid might be a bit too sharp, even as the doubts regarding his identity were slowly dissipating inside him. He replied with a “Hmm,” and said, “All the high-level leaderships among the branches communicate with one another. You don’t have to worry about that. Take off your mask and let me see.”
Feng Zhi Wei’s heart skipped a beat.
There is no disguise under Ning Yi’s mask, it’s his own face!
Ning Yi smiled, the smile was a bit cold, and then abruptly took another step back.
The Gold Feather Commander frowned and stared at him coldly.
“Now I don’t dare to trust commander again.” Ning Yi said loudly, “Everything the commander said has been accurate, and you are very familiar with our internal affairs, but you seem to be completely clueless about our rules! If you really are one of us, you should know very well that absolutely no one is allowed to inquire after the true identity of those of us who are secret agents that go on undercover missions!”
He stared at the commander with squinted eyes, looking as if he was ready to draw weapons if the commander uttered yet another foolish word.
The Gold Feather Guard was silent for a moment, and finally smiled dryly as he said, “I was negligent.”
He loosed his hand, pushed Feng Zhi Wei away, and said casually, “Can you trust me now?”
With a hand on her throat, Feng Zhi Wei quickly retreated towards Ning Yi. Their eyes met. There was a smile blooming in Feng Zhi Wei’s eyes. Ning Yi’s expression, because he was facing the Gold Feather Guard commander, did not change at all– they had not finished their act yet.
“I have misunderstood you, sir! I am willing to accept punishment!” He bowed deeply, “But I have to ask the commander to not inquire anymore about the specifics of my mission. If the commander wants to know, then please send a letter to the commander of South Mountain Branch but no information can come from us two, or else we will be punished severely.”
Feng Zhi Wei followed his example and bowed down. Such a cunning guy. With a few words, he had blocked all of the Gold Feather Guard’s questions so they would not be in danger of exposing themselves during the questioning.
He certainly is doing an impressive job portraying a loyal but a very cautious Gold Feather Guard.
“I won’t ask you then.” The Gold Feather Guard Commander sat cross-legged in the darkness, like a coiled hibernating snake.
“Thank you, sir!” Ning Yi cupped his hands and bowed, before changing the subject seamlessly, “Your humble subordinate do not dare to ask why you are here sir, but I would like to ask the commander to lend us the envoy of Chang Ning.”
“You want to leave the villa by using the envoy of Chang Ning as a hostage?” The Gold Feather Guard Commander nodded, “I can’t give him to you, I have use of him. You two can just follow me out of the villa in a bit.”
Ning Yi and Feng Zhi Wei exchanged a glance with each other, a little regretful that they could not get their hand on Chang Ning’s envoy but under the circumstances, they could not afford to be greedy and could only accept it.
By this time, the morning light had already appeared. The Gold Feather Guard Commander looked at the sky and said, “I still need to stay in the villa for a while. You two will immediately change your outfit and disguise as my guards. I will then use the excuse of sending you two on official business to send you out of the villa. Once you guys get out, remember to wait for me on the outskirts of the Capital. I have some more matters to say to you.”
“Yes, Sir!”
Half an hour later, Ning Yi and Feng Zhi Wei stood safely outside the villa, escorted out personally by the very attentive outer courtyard steward who personally led their horses for them.
To be finally sent out after a night of thrilling twists and turns, the two of them both felt lucky and comical.
Once they were three miles past the villa, Ning Cheng showed up with guards. He had been waiting near the villa entrance but because there were formations protecting the outer areas of the villa, he didn’t dare to just barge in and cause trouble for Ning Yi. (the “formations” here is not referring to military formation formed by soldiers but a sort of fantasy “formation” where a purposeful and specific placement of inanimate items could form a mysterious force that could confuse your enemies, or even kill them when they try to break through.)
Later, Feng Zhi Wei caused commotion inside the villa by shooting a rock at the cave. Ning Cheng was so anxious he felt like his little heart was being roasted on fire. He wanted to make a move but without a signal, he didn’t dare. It was only until now, seeing the two of them, his heart finally settled and complained immediately, “I was anxious to death! Your Highness, if it took you any longer to come out, I was ready to force my way in.”
Ning Yi gave Ning Cheng a look of indifference and ignored him– after the winter of that year, Ning Yi’s attitude towards Ning Cheng had been like this the whole time. Ignoring him through and through. If Ning Cheng wants to follow him, then follow. If Ning Cheng wants to leave, then that’s fine too. But Ning Cheng, the most shameless with the thickest skin, is completely oblivious to Ning Yi’s coldness, nor does he feel awkward, or has any plan to restrain himself. He complains if he wants to complain, and questions when he has a question. Ning Yi regarded him as nothing but he treated himself as all that. No matter where Ning Yi went, he just followed him happily.
Feng Zhi Wei felt that it is actually a blessing to live one’s life like Ning Cheng– completely oblivious, not sensitive to pointless sadness, forever living in his own happy world.
After passing another mile, a stacked object floated down from a tree on the side of the road and landed on Feng Zhi Wei’s horse uninvited, causing the horse to pant heavily from the added weight. Feng Zhi Wei sighed, thinking inwardly that Gu Zhixiao, this kid has sure gotten quite chubby lately.
Behind her, that person is eating walnuts as if there was no one else around, accompanied by the continuous rustling of walnut skins falling down. Listening to the quiet rustling sounds, Feng Zhi Wei felt warm and at ease. Last night’s frightful ups and downs, all seemed to be far far away.
There was a sudden slight stabbing sensation on her neck. A small piece of walnut had fallen down, causing her to complain “Young Master, please be more careful when you eat. All the skin and shells are falling on my neck.”
There was no sound behind her, and suddenly, a hand reached into the back of her neck–
Feng Zhi Wei let out an “Ah—”
The hand calmly dug around the back of her neck, found the piece of walnut that had escaped, and threw it into his mouth— ate it all without wasting any.
Sitting on her father’s shoulder, Gu Zhixiao wrinkled her little nose and shared her personal opinion of dissatisfaction, “Dirty.”
Young Master Gu was eating walnuts behind Feng Zhi Wei and replied calmly, “She is not dirty.”
Gu Zhixiao thought for a bit, broke off a piece of walnut, threw it into her collar, puffed up her little chest towards her dad, and said, “Eat.”
Feng Zhi Wei, “….”
Master Gu fished out the piece of walnut and stuffed it into his daughter’s mouth none too gently, “Dirty.”
Gu Zhixiao opened her mouth and started to howl. Young Master Gu tore off a piece of cloth, used it to stuff his and Feng Zhi Wei’s ears, and then, just let her cry.
Feng Zhi Wei swayed on the horse, squinting her eyes comfortably, like Master Gu, she turned a blind eye and deaf ear to a certain kid’s ferocious crying. She was enjoying herself– after a night of fright, leaning against her little Xiao Dai, facing the rising sun in the sky, even if behind her is Gu Zhixiao’s head-splitting cries, she is happy and comfortable.
Ning Yi did not follow the trio but stopped far away under a tree, surrounded by his guards.
In front of the tree was the road to the capital. He and she are going the same way but they might not be returning to the same destination. They worked together heart and mind in the villa, but now they are out of the villa, the girl who reached out to catch him on the cliff, the one who gave him a smile as dazzling as a blooming flower, seemed to instantly be far far away.
All text copyright @ www.Ninja-Reflection.com
One of the best parts of my Monday is getting updates for TROP. Thank you so much for your hard work!
Absolutely!!!! I so look forward to it!!
The instance upon the ” sunset ” is fascinating, you can almost feel his pinch of heart! Everything is symbolic ..I almost forgot that they were two working outside the Villa ..these previous chapters have been fairy-like …
Thank you for the translation 😊
So sad that they must part again and resume their hostilities- well mainly FZW. These past chapters of their partnership under fire was just exquisite. Loved seeing their trials together.