That night, Lu Zhaoling lay in his tent, unable to sleep.
He was accustomed to a life of luxury, and felt uncomfortable in this simple tent.
He hadn't eaten dinner, and his stomach was growling unbearably. Unable to endure it any longer, he got up to find his attendant.
"Shun Xin, do you have anything to eat?"
Shun Xin was hungry too, but as a servant, he was often punished by not being allowed to eat, so going hungry for one meal didn't feel particularly difficult.
"Your Highness, Miss Chu took all the dried rations we brought and distributed them."
Lu Zhaoling now deeply regretted his loose tongue, wondering why he had mocked those dried rations as coarse food.
He looked up at the moon and suddenly thought the bright, round orb resembled a white steamed bun. He couldn't help but swallow.
Lu Zhaoling gave a secret signal, and a hidden guard jumped down from a tree. Lu Zhaoling ordered one of them:
"Go to the village now and see if you can find any food to satisfy our hunger."
The guard went to the nearby mountain village. Shortly after, the sound of barking dogs could be heard from the village.
At first, it was just one dog barking, but soon all the dogs in the village joined in.
The camp was right next to the village entrance, and the crescendo of barking woke up Chu Tianjiao and her maids.
When the guard returned carrying a chicken, he was met with Lu Zhaoling's dark face and the questioning looks of Chu Tianjiao and the others.
The guard, still holding the live hen, looked at Lu Zhaoling helplessly. Lu Zhaoling immediately deflected blame, scolding:
"Jiang You, why are you wandering around in the middle of the night holding a chicken?"
The guard named Jiang You knew he would have to take the fall for this. He replied nervously:
"Your Highness, I was hungry and went to the village to buy a chicken for a late-night snack."
Just then, a group of villagers wielding hoes and sickles poured out of the village, shouting: "Catch the chicken thief! Catch the chicken thief!"
Chu Tianjiao asked coldly: "Are you sure you bought it and didn't steal it?"
In truth, Jiang You had stolen the chicken.
In the middle of the night, all the villagers had their doors closed. He hadn't encountered anyone, saw a chicken coop, and helped himself to one.
He had originally relied on his excellent lightness skill, thinking no one would ever know.
He didn't expect the chicken to be harder to subdue than a person, and the family's dog was particularly alert, starting to bark.
When the dog barked, he panicked a bit and ran out with the chicken.
He never imagined that the village dogs' barking would spread like an infection – one dog barking set off all the others.
Jiang You awkwardly confessed to his crime.
Lu Zhaoling, furious and exasperated, stamped his foot and shouted: "Hurry up and go pacify those villagers!"
Lu Zhaoling's attendant Shun Xin was quick-witted enough to rush out to meet the villagers, taking out two taels of silver to give them as payment for the chicken, settling the matter.
Lu Dingfeng sauntered over to the guard Jiang You, enjoying the spectacle, and asked: "Big brother guard, what are you going to do with this chicken? Still having a midnight snack?"
Jiang You saw the young girl looking at him with innocent curiosity and lowered his head, blushing.
Feng Jia, the head of Chu Tianjiao's warrior maids, standing beside her mistress, received a subtle signal from Chu Tianjiao and said sternly: "According to military law, those who take civilians' property without permission are to be punished with forty strikes of the military staff."
Jiang You shuddered and protested: "But we're not in the military!"
Lu Dingfeng pulled out the military order signed by Lu Zhaoling and his hidden guards and attendants, waving it in front of Jiang You's eyes, saying sympathetically: "Big brother guard, you're in trouble!"
Jiang You looked innocently towards Lu Zhaoling, who raised his head to look at the moon, keeping silent and pretending to be uninvolved.
Sending his subordinate to steal a chicken in the middle of the night was too embarrassing; he would never admit to it!
Chu Tianjiao, however, seemed to be pleading for Jiang You as she said: "Feng Jia, this guard is after all one of the Fourth Prince's men, and it's his first offense. There's no need for forty strikes... let's halve it. Twenty strikes, and the stolen goods will be confiscated."
Jiang You gratefully knelt down to thank Chu Tianjiao, then was taken away by Feng Jia to actually receive twenty strikes.
The troublemaking old hen was also confiscated, to be used as provisions for the next day.
Chu Tianjiao addressed everyone in a serious tone:
"The military has its own schedule. We rise at dawn and rest at dusk. Except for those on night watch, no one is to leave their tents at will. Everyone, go and rest!"
Seeing Chu Tianjiao and her people quickly return to their tents, leaving only two warrior maids on night watch, Lu Zhaoling had no choice but to retreat to his own tent.
He took out a bottle of medicine he had brought with him and handed it to Shun Xin, saying, "Go, give this to Jiang You and help him apply the medicine."
After applying the medicine, Jiang You limped over to thank Lu Zhaoling, who, seeing his pitiful state, offered a few more words of comfort.
Jiang You, overcome with gratitude, pulled out a vial of sleeping incense from his bosom and offered it: "Your Highness, if you ask me, why bother chasing after Miss Chu so hard? Why not take advantage of the night and make the rice already cooked? Wouldn't that settle everything?"
Lu Zhaoling took the sleeping incense, his mind stirring. Just then, his stomach growled, and Lu Zhaoling dejectedly put the incense away, saying:
"Let's forget about it tonight. We'll seize the opportunity tomorrow night."
That night, Lu Zhaoling rubbed his stomach, enduring his hunger, and barely managed to fall into a fitful sleep.
In his dream, he saw himself having captured Chu Tianjiao, who knelt before him begging for an early marriage. The Marquis of Liyang presented him with a military tally, promising that the Chu Family Army would be at his disposal from then on...
Just after dawn, there was a commotion outside the tent.
"We depart in a quarter of an hour, into the mountains!"
Lu Zhaoling heard the shout of the messenger maid outside, startling him awake from his pleasant dream. He sat up with a jolt.
Lifting the tent flap, he saw Shun Xin already waiting outside, ready to dismantle the tent.
Lu Zhaoling wanted water to wash up, but Shun Xin was too busy, so another hidden guard had to help by fetching water from the river for Lu Zhaoling.
By the time Chu Tianjiao's team was ready to move out, Lu Zhaoling and his men were still in a flurry of disorganized preparation.
Chu Tianjiao, seated on her horse, looked down at Lu Zhaoling and advised: "Fourth Prince, you'd better return to the city!"
Lu Zhaoling, while having Shun Xin help him tie his hair, stubbornly insisted: "Sister Chu, wait for me, I'll be ready in a moment!"
Chu Tianjiao's face showed displeasure. Feng Jia, standing beside her, stepped forward and announced: "Those who delay military operations shall be beheaded!"
Chu Tianjiao looked troubled; she certainly didn't dare to behead Lu Zhaoling right now.
"Feng Jia, considering it's the Fourth Prince's first offense, we'll forego the beheading. Let's punish the Fourth Prince and his subordinates by forbidding them from eating today and making them march on foot."
Following Feng Jia's orders, Lu Zhaoling and his men's horses were led away.
Lu Dingfeng seized the moment to pull out Lu Zhaoling's military order, taunting: "Fourth Prince, this is your last chance to back out. Once we start the real training, you can't cry for withdrawal because it's too hard!"
In Lu Zhaoling's view, Chu Tianjiao's military orders were nothing but child's play.
Since Chu Tianjiao wanted to play, he'd humor her with some light-hearted fun!
After tonight, when Chu Tianjiao became his, everything would be under his control.
"I will never think of withdrawing midway!"
Chu Tianjiao knew Lu Zhaoling was the type who wouldn't give up until he hit rock bottom, so she didn't bother trying to persuade him further.
"Move out!"
Chu Tianjiao mounted her horse and, leading her fourteen maids, galloped away along the small path into the mountains.
Lu Zhaoling stamped his foot and hurried after them.
Shun Xin followed behind, carrying their luggage on his back.
Jiang You, who had received twenty strikes of the military staff the night before, couldn't climb trees anymore and limped along beside Shun Xin.
Only the other hidden guard was still in normal condition, but he had to stay close to protect Lu Zhaoling. Without horses, Lu Zhaoling's group couldn't move quickly, so the guard couldn't make use of his lightness skill.
Fortunately, the mountain path was narrow, and even the horses couldn't gallop, so this team of four didn't fall too far behind Chu Tianjiao's group.
After entering the mountains, there was a long, narrow valley with a small red river running through the middle – this was the "Red Sand River" that Lu Dingfeng had heard about from the villagers the day before.
Chu Tianjiao asked Lu Dingfeng: "Sang Shen, now that we've reached this point, does anything look familiar?"
Lu Dingfeng tried hard to remember, finding that everything looked somewhat familiar, yet also feeling that this might not be the place.
"Miss, I might have been here before, or seen scenery like this. But I really can't be sure if this is Flame Mountain."
They had traveled about five li into the mountains when they reached the end of the valley.
Chu Tianjiao dismounted, instructing the other warrior maids to set up camp and cook meals while watching the horses. She took only Lu Dingfeng and Feng Jia with her as she headed up the mountain.
By the time Lu Zhaoling and his three companions caught up, Chu Tianjiao was nowhere to be seen.
