Chapter 237: Tailing

Gu Fei nodded. "Okay, I got it. Thanks for today."

The young beggar smiled at Gu Fei and quickly ran away.

Gu Fei walked down the alley, counted to the third house, and stood at the door to listen.

She heard a woman inside say, "You can’t even beat that girl, so what’s the point of going? You failed to get the silver and came back with your head bashed open. Now *I’m* the one who has to spend silver to buy you medicine!"

Then, a man’s voice piped up, "What’s there to be afraid of? It’s just a beating, not like it’ll kill me. Don’t you worry, I’ll go find that person tomorrow and ask for the reward money."

"That person is generous. When they see me looking like this, they’ll give me an even bigger reward."

Gu Fei listened for a while longer, then left without a sound.

Back at the inn, she waited until 7 p.m. and closed the shop doors as usual.

Gu Fei returned to her own room and sent Lian’er to sleep with Lan Zhi.

She lay on the bed and took a short nap. Soon, she heard the night watchman outside. "CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!" he struck his gong three times, his call echoing through the night: "All is well..."

Gu Fei knew this meant it was eleven o’clock. She climbed out of bed, pulled a black hooded sweatshirt from her dimensional space, and put it on, pulling the hood over her head. Then, she slipped out of the room.

Reaching the side door, Gu Fei drew the bolt, slipped outside, and then used a separate padlock to lock the door behind her.

Then, she started walking along the street, heading toward the west side of the city.

Ping’an City had no curfew, so pedestrians were allowed on the streets at night.

But at this hour, aside from the patrolling soldiers and the night watchman, there was basically no one else around.

Anyone still out on the streets at this hour either had urgent business or was up to no good.

After walking for some time, Gu Fei suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves approaching.

Gu Fei quickly dodged to the side, hiding behind a pillar. Only after the sound of the hooves had faded into the distance did she continue on her way.

Xiao Yu sat atop his horse, his mind still on the figure he had just seen. No matter how he thought about it, that silhouette was extremely familiar.

He suddenly yanked hard on his reins and swung himself off the horse. "I have some business to attend to. You two head back first."

Stone, startled, dismounted as well. He frantically instructed Zhuzi, "I’m staying with the Young Master. You head back to the manor."

Zhuzi looked at the two masterless horses, feeling so frustrated he could cry.

With just a few leaps, Xiao Yu was on the rooftop. Stone followed him up.

Xiao Yu turned back with a frown, his voice low. "What are you doing following me? Didn’t I tell you to go back?"

Stone’s face was a mask of misery. "Young Master, if I don’t follow you, I’m afraid I won’t live to see tomorrow."

Xiao Yu frowned but said nothing more. Crouching low like a cat, he moved swiftly back toward the spot where he had seen Gu Fei.

Soon enough, Xiao Yu spotted Gu Fei.

She kept to the shadows at the edge of the street, her pace quick and urgent.

Xiao Yu stared at the figure by the road, confirming without a doubt that it was Gu Fei.

He didn’t know how he had recognized her from just a fleeting glimpse.

For a moment, he was overcome with an unidentifiable feeling.

’Have I misjudged her after all?’

’A young woman, out in the middle of the night in strange night clothes... she can’t just be out for a walk.’

Stone, for his part, hadn’t recognized Gu Fei.

He just couldn’t understand it. ’It’s just some thief in night clothes. Why is the Young Master Heir getting involved in this?’

Gu Fei soon reached the small alley she had visited earlier.

She counted to the third house, paused at the entrance, and pressed her ear against the door to listen carefully.

The sound of a man’s snores came from inside the house.

Gu Fei gave the door a push. It was bolted from the inside.

She moved to the window and gave it a tug. The window opened with a loud CREAK, making Gu Fei jump in surprise.

On the rooftop across the way, Xiao Yu watched Gu Fei flinch. He felt a mix of amusement and a strange, inexplicable pang of heartache.