191.1 – Returning to Chang’an
“Ah, forgot to ask. What is your gender?”
Seeing the other party ask about her gender with a serious expression, Xue Qilin almost chocked.
“Are you kidding me?”
“I’m not kidding.”
“Why are you asking the obvious? Are you being deliberate?!”
“No, no, no, there are now many guys who like to dress as women.” The clerk pointed to one of the entries in the entry record book and said, “For example, this young master called ‘Allan’ has a fondness for female clothing! How am I to know whether you are a guy dressed as a woman or not?”
“You…” Xue Qilin took several deep breaths and resisted the urge to punch the other party in the face, “I’m female!”
“Oh, female… so it seems.”
Then why did you ask? Xue Qilin’s eyes twitched.
“Oh, right. Next time I ask you a question, just answer it. Don’t ask so many questions. There are many people waiting in line behind you. You’ve affected them.”
After the clerk said so, voices echoing the sentiment came from behind Xue Qilin, annoyed at her for wasting time. The corners of Xue Qilin’s mouth twitched.
“Okay, now pay up.”
Then he uttered an amount.
“Isn’t that too vicious?!”
Xue Qilin fished out her embroidered pouch sharply, took out a few coins, and paid the gate tax. After the clerk counted the coins and confirmed that the amount is correct, he ordered the gatekeepers to let her through.
“Let’s not see each other again!”
After she spoke this sentence in anger, Xue Qilin immediately turned around, stepped out of the checkpoint, and set foot in the inner city of Chang’an for the first time.
“Dammit, that guy must be mad…”
As she grumbled, Xue Qilin walked quickly to the gate. Her companions Qi Qiqi and Shui Yun’er were in line behind Xue Qilin, and now it is their turn to be checked.
Xue Qilin reckons that, based on the bad personality of that official, Qi Qiqi and Shui Yun’er will take a while to pass the checkpoint. She saw a boulder resting on the side of the road by chance, and then jumped onto it and sat cross-legged.
Chang’an is as prosperous as ever.
Apart from horse-drawn carriages and donkeys loaded with goods that fill the main road leading to the gate before her eyes, there are also some scholars and armed youxia[1]. Naturally, there are also commoners and peasants.
Since this is the case, there should be no shortage of people of dubious occupation as well.
In fact, if you take a closer look, you can easily spot the suspicious elements of people who sneaked into the midst of passing pedestrians when officials and soldiers approach. Among them, there are many characters that shy away from light like thieves, swindlers, robbers, and maybe even some murderers.
While Xue Qilin was waiting, several suspicious people noticed her. They observed the lass with unkind looks for a while, until they saw the green sword placed next to her, and then dispelled any scheming thoughts, disheartened.
In their lexicon, “youxia” is equivalent to “predator”. Youxia not only possess martial skills, but most of them also embrace chivalric code. They like to talk about “chivalry and justice” and target those who do not follow the law. However, when it comes to not abiding the law, youxia themselves won’t be outdone by others.
Seeing that the suspicious characters who were going to target her showed a frustrated expression after discovering her identity as youxia, Xue Qilin found it rather amusing and giggled.
Compared with elegant surroundings, Xue Qilin is more fond of lively places.
Because many interesting things can often be found in noisy and chaotic streets, such as people of different strata of society.
“It’s the imperial capital for a reason!”
As if to supplant the gloomy emotions in her heart, Xue Qilin took a deep breath. Consequently, a horse ran past her and raised a cloud of dust, and she cough repeatedly.
“Young Teacher, although it’s good to switch things up occasionally, but it will be bad for your health if you breath in too much dust.”
Shui Yun’er’s voice came from the side.
“Um?”
Xue Qilin turned her head and saw that Shui Yun’er, who has already gone through the checkpoint, has curved her lips into a “mischievous” arc. She is standing next to the boulder, holding the reins of a white horse.
“Huh, that was fast.”
“Yeah, they were all common questions. The check wasn’t strict.”
Shui Yun’er answered with a shallow smile. She is dressed in a short white cloak, and her face is hided in the shadow of the hood. Coupled with her gentle temperament that contains a trance of nobility, she looks like a daughter of a distinguished clan who cannot show her face casually. In order to match her identity as youxia, Shui Yun’er is holding a weapon as well.
It is a pure white hengdao made by Li Wanting.
Both the sheath and the handle are made of whitewood and have patterns in the form of ripples of water engraved. As for the blade body, Li Wanting used some unknown method to make it silver-white. Coupled with the magic lines carved by Xue Qilin, the whole blade looks like a wonderful handicraft.
As for the white horse beside her, it was raised by the Merak Temple to make it easier for disciples to go out. Xue Qilin’s group of three used these horse to get to Chang’an. Luoyang is nearly 2,000 li [2] away from Chang’an, so it was naturally impossible for them to go on foot.
By the way, because she doesn’t know how to ride a horse, Xue Qilin took turns riding with Qi Qiqi and Shui Yun’er.
“Is that so. But when I came to Chang’an last time, didn’t those responsible for the check didn’t even ask me any questions?”
After voicing the doubt in her heart, Xue Qilin jumped off the boulder lightly.
“Young Teacher, the last time you came to the imperial capital should have been for the enrollment assembly, right?”
Shui Yun’er pondered for a moment with an “um–“, and then finally asked in reply.
“Yeah!”
Including this time, Xue Qilin has visited the imperial capital only twice.
“The Leisure Manor is located in the outer city of the imperial capital, which can be said to be the periphery of the imperial capital. Naturally, the check there is much more lax.”
Another voice sounded — a red voice.
Qi Qiqi, who arrived behind Xue Qilin at some point, intruded into the conversation and took over for Shui Yun’er.
She is also wearing a short cloak and covering her face with a hood. But unlike Shui Yun’er, Qi Qiqi’s cloak is dark red, making her look quite conspicuous.
Nevertheless, Qi Qiqi’s cloak did indeed weakened her presence in a sense. If she revealed her appearance in public, she would become really conspicuous. Even is she caused a commotion, Xue Qilin wouldn’t be surprised.
“When we first entered the imperial capital, wasn’t the check there rather lax?”
Qi Qiqi stroked her mount. The horse with a crimson coat issued a neigh of pleasure.
“Hmm?” Xue Qilin thought for a moment, “It seems like it was the case.”
[1] – youxia
[2] – li is equivalent to 500 meters or 1,640 feet
