Chapter 5: The Young Lady's Identity is Extraordinary

The bailiff’s copper gong rang from the east side of the city to the west, drawing countless people to surge toward the city gates.

The beggars couldn't be bothered to beg for food; they squeezed forward in the crowd with all their might, trying to get a clearer view of the beheadings.

Mo Sheng brought Yang Luo along as he squeezed in. He saw the high platform erected before the city gate, where the Inspector sat solemnly, with the County Magistrate and a group of officials accompanying him, announcing loudly.

"These are the bandits of Rong Mountain—"

"Who plundered Baima Town—"

"Lord Ji personally led troops in pursuit, capturing these bandits in one fell swoop—"

"Thirty bandits were executed on the spot, and ten were taken alive."

"Today, they are sentenced to beheading to comfort the victims—"

The bandits were lined up in a row beneath the high platform, their feet shackled, their hands bound behind their backs, and each of their mouths stuffed with rags.

Amidst the exclamations of the crowd, the executioners swung their heavy broadswords, and head after head fell to the ground.

Mo Sheng’s gaze fell upon the blood-stained ground, seeing a headless corpse slump over, revealing half of a rotting leg.

He turned and squeezed his way out.

Yang Luo, who had been enduring her fear to watch the beheadings, hurriedly followed when she saw this.

"Did you see it? Did you see that these people don't look like..." she asked in a low, urgent voice.

Mo Sheng gave a hum of acknowledgment.

"I went to the county jail to check," he said.

Of course, he wouldn't just wait around to watch the execution site.

On the second day after entering the city, he had kept a close watch on the county jail. Sure enough, last night he saw prisoners from the death row being quietly pulled out, loaded onto carts, and taken away.

Among them was the prisoner with the rotting leg.

Yang Luo breathed a sigh of relief and whispered in admiration, "A-Sheng, you’re truly amazing. I didn't even notice you had left."

She had originally thought she wouldn't be able to sleep under the dry bridge, surrounded by beggars, but to her surprise, she had slept until dawn for two nights in a row.

Perhaps it was because she was too tired, and still hungry; even though she drank the soup and rice the beggars begged for with her eyes closed, that thin, watery broth could only ensure she wouldn't starve to death—getting full was impossible.

Mo Sheng said, "Oh. I’m a hunter; even the wild beasts in the mountains can't detect my movements."

By now, the two had squeezed out of the crowd.

"What else did you divine?" he asked. "Where is the true culprit who plundered Baima Town?"

Yang Luo hummed, lowering her gaze. "The true culprit is in the capital."

The capital? Mo Sheng was somewhat surprised. He looked her over and suddenly asked, "What kind of family are you from, exactly?"

This hunter boy is truly clever, Yang Luo thought. This time, he didn't question whether what she said was true or false, but instead asked about her family background.

What kind of family could attract such formidable enemies? Coming thousands of miles from the capital to wipe out her entire household.

Since she had already told him her secret, Yang Luo didn't intend to hide anything else from him.

"My family appeared to be a very ordinary household in Baima Town," she said softly. "My father died early, and only my mother was left to hold the family together, running a silk shop in town."

If it appeared ordinary, then it wasn't ordinary. Mo Sheng didn't speak, waiting for her to continue.

"My mother’s surname is Yang," Yang Luo said. At this point, she thought of something else. "A-Sheng, I never told you my name."

Mo Sheng said, "It doesn't matter. I didn't tell you my name either, yet you knew it yourself."

Yang Luo felt like laughing, finding this hunter boy quite interesting, even though his face was blank and seemed devoid of emotion.

"My name is Yang Luo, 'Luo' as in 'falling'." She made a gesture.

Mo Sheng said, "A-Sheng." He added, "I’m an orphan. The name was given to me by the hunter grandfather who found me. I have no surname."

Is he introducing himself as well? Yang Luo pursed her lips, feeling that only at this moment could they truly be considered acquainted.

Yang Luo put away her smile and continued, "My mother’s surname is Yang. Because she married my father back then, she had a falling out with her family. My father’s family also disapproved, and they had a falling out too. Later, my father fell ill and passed away, and my grandfather’s family wouldn't acknowledge us either. So, my mother had me take her surname, and without relying on her maiden family or having a husband’s family, she raised me all by herself."

Mo Sheng listened silently without speaking.

"Do you know of the Duke of Ding'an in the capital?" Yang Luo asked.

Mo Sheng looked at the street ahead, which was somewhat empty since everyone in the city had gone to watch the beheadings.

"I’ve always been hunting in the mountains; I don't know about these big shots," he said. "Dukes and Marquises must be very powerful families, right?"

Yang Luo nodded. "They were granted titles because of their 'merit in following the dragon'."

She paused there. Does a hunter boy in the mountains know what 'merit in following the dragon' means?

"We are currently in the Great Xia Dynasty, which the Emperor just conquered. The Duke of Ding'an is a meritorious official who helped the Emperor build the empire."

The previous dynasty was the Great Zhou. Because the Emperor was cowardly and the relatives of the Empress held tyrannical power, bandits and thieves arose everywhere, and the world was in chaos. At that time, the current Emperor, then just a small captain in the army, rose up in the chaotic times. After years of fighting, he ended the chaos, established the dynasty, and ascended the throne.

It has been fifteen years since the new dynasty began.

This boy is sixteen or seventeen; he is a lucky child born at the end of a chaotic era and raised in a peaceful one. He should know that this is a new dynasty, a new emperor, and a new prosperous age.

Perhaps sensing Yang Luo’s worry that he wouldn't understand and would need a more detailed explanation, Mo Sheng smiled. "I understand. They are big shots, close ministers of the Son of Heaven."

As he spoke, he looked back toward the city gate, faintly seeing the officials on the high platform through the crowd.

"They are even bigger shots than that Inspector."

Yang Luo said, "Actually, it’s not really measured that way. One is a noble, the other is a capable official..."

She stopped there; there was no need to explain these things to a hunter boy.

"My mother was the daughter of the old Duke of Ding'an, and the current Duke of Ding'an’s own younger sister."

After saying this, she saw the hunter boy’s long, narrow eyes lift, clearly surprised.

"Oh." He looked at Yang Luo. "I actually saved the young lady of the Duke of Ding'an’s household. Then they will surely give me a great reward, right?"

Seeking a reward for saving someone is only natural.

Yang Luo didn't feel that the hunter boy’s words were offensive at all.

He had risked his life to save her from those vicious bandits.

"My life was saved by you. If my mother were still here, she wouldn't have blinked an eye to give you all the money in our family," Yang Luo said in a low voice. Thinking of her mother, her nose felt sore. "But, I don't know how my grandfather’s family will treat me."

She looked at Mo Sheng.

"I said before that my mother had a falling out with her family. Since I was born, there has been no contact. They might have long forgotten they ever had such a daughter."

Mo Sheng was silent, seemingly not knowing how an orphan could comfort a poor girl who had family but had fallen out with them.

Before he could think of words of comfort, the sound of chaotic hoofbeats and the shouts of soldiers clearing the way came from behind.

He hurriedly pulled Yang Luo aside to make way, watching as the Inspector, surrounded by officials and soldiers, galloped past.

"My Lord, shall we stay in the county for the night?"

"No, return to Baima Town. Only after the victims are buried can I be at ease."

As they galloped past, the conversation between the officials drifted over.

Mo Sheng and Yang Luo watched the group disappear into the distance.

"However, even though she had a falling out with her family, the government can find out my mother’s identity with a single check," Yang Luo said. "They will soon pass the news to the Duke of Ding'an’s mansion."

Mo Sheng said, "People from the Duke of Ding'an’s mansion will come, right? When that time comes, you..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Yang Luo turned to look at him. "A-Sheng, take me to the Duke of Ding'an’s mansion in the capital."

Mo Sheng’s expression was surprised once again. "Me?"