Vol 9 Chapter 17 (2/2)

“Yes.” The girl nodded and looked at Dilu before she continued, “You will probably need about 4-6 hours to reach that village roughly speaking. It will take us a little longer to reach there compared to you.”

“Oh~” I nodded. 4-6 hours was still a little too long. It was a good thing that I’d left early. If I’m lucky, I’ll make it there before dusk and get a room somehow. When I thought about this, I looked at the bags hanging by Dilu’s sides and realised that money is a very important thing at all times.

“Ah, by the way, would you both be heading to that village as well?” I asked when I realised that the second half of what she said implied that she was heading there as well.

“Un.” She nodded, “We’re going there as well.”

When she said this, she paused and stared at me for about 3-5 seconds before stiffly raising her finger and continued in a pose that was somewhat like a teacher, “I don’t know if you know but the place we are headed to is a small city called Xinye that is further north of that village.”

“Eh?” I was surprised and all that filled my head was how different she spoke when she was not stuttering.

But in the next instant, Huang Zu reacted first and yelled out. “We’re going to Xinye as well?!”

“What’s wrong?” The girl was bewildered and frowned slightly.

Huang Zu looked at the girl and then at me before she continued, “From what I know, Imperial Uncle is too…”

Un? Me? What does it have to do with me?

…

… Wait, what did that bandana girl just say?

“Xinye?!” I was shocked and got up from the stool with a bewildered expression, “What a coincidence! I’m heading to Xinye as well.”

“Eh?” She was shocked. Clearly, she did not expect that I would have the same destination as her.

For me, this was something to be grateful about. If we are headed in the same direction, then we can go together. It’s fine if we are a bit slower, at least I will not be thinking too much and I have companions.

But then, when I looked over, the girl’s eyes were wide open and she was looking in my direction but she was not looking at me.

“Could it be… Ah… So it’s supposed to be… Like that…” She muttered softly. I could only hear several words here and there but could not make out what she was talking about. All I knew was that she had come to some kind of realisation.

“Un? Umm, may I ask what’s the matter?”

“Ah, no. It’s nothing.” She shook her head, seeming much less nervous than before and looked at me again. But this time, she tilted her head, seeming troubled before she sighing once more.

“That works as well.” She said, and then got up as she took off her vest, “Huang Zu, we should be moving soon.” She said as she starting packing away the gourd and the bowls.

“Eh?” Huang Zu was surprised at this but she got up anyway. The girl did not bother explaining herself and merely continued packing her stuff. After she was done, she even patted the rucksack.

“Shall we go then?” I said as I looked at them.

“Un…” Huang Zu nodded and looked at the girl, “Benefactor, didn’t you say that we would be circling the outskirts of the city for several days to practice your singing first? I don’t know what has changed but your singing practice isn’t over so will it be alright to head to Xinye now?”

When the girl heard this, she stopped what she was doing and answered softly without turning back.

“The reason why I need to practice is because of what my friend told me.” I do not know if it was just my misconception but her eyes flitted to me as she said so, “I was just tired of waiting so I decided to come out and practice in the first place but the goal of my singing has been reached.”

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