The Passerby Hidden Guard Picked Up the Villain [Transmigration] - Chapter 28

By the time the government troops had completely surrounded the backyard, He Yanzhi and Xiao Hongyin had already slipped through the bamboo forest and headed toward the Ministry of Justice.

After quietly infiltrating the Ministry and finding Zhao Mengjie, the two finally learned the truth of the situation from him.

“Zhou Xie guessed that you were the ones behind it. This morning, he borrowed troops from the Minister of State to seal the city gates and surround the Court of Judicial Review.”

Zhao Mengjie looked much thinner since they had last seen him. His hands never stopped moving as he reviewed the pile of official documents on his desk. “No matter how tyrannical they are, they cannot touch you openly just yet. I will send people to look after Lord Sun and transfer him if necessary. You two may rest easy.”

Seeing Zhao Mengjie’s weary face and strained expression, He Yanzhi knew he was under immense pressure. However, since they were there, he had to ask: “Zhou Xie is incredibly persistent regarding Lord Sun. Does Lord Zhao know the reason why?”

Zhao Mengjie stopped writing and shook his head. He pushed back a stack of documents only for an attendant to immediately bring an even thicker pile.

“It is likely something detrimental to the Crown Prince. A minister’s duty is simply to alleviate the Prince’s worries.”

He Yanzhi remained silent upon hearing this, but he heard Xiao Hongyin let out a cold snort beside him. Shortly after, Xiao Hongyin reached out and quietly squeezed his hand.

“We are in your debt, Lord Zhao.”

He Yanzhi took his leave. As he and Xiao Hongyin walked through the streets of the capital, they found themselves at a loss for what to do next.

The weather today was exceptionally gloomy. The light was dim, leaving the world in a hazy shade of gray. Many shops along the street had hung lanterns early to light the way, as if night had already fallen.

As they walked, the cries of street vendors sparked a sudden inspiration in He Yanzhi. He pulled Xiao Hongyin over to a stall selling masks.

“These masks look quite good. Pick one and try it on.” He Yanzhi held a pig mask up against Xiao Hongyin’s face to measure it.

“You want to hide our faces?” Xiao Hongyin looked at him with uncertainty. Wearing a mask in broad daylight might draw even more attention.

The stall owner was struck by the handsome features of the two young men. Seeing them discuss the masks, he smiled and said, “It is a pity for two such fine looking gentlemen to hide behind masks. Perhaps you would prefer these jade hairpins? They would suit you better.”

He Yanzhi was surprised by the suggestion. “Usually, shopkeepers try everything they can to attract customers. Why are you trying to drive us away?”

The owner chuckled. “I am just speaking the truth. To be honest, the jewelry stall next door is also mine. If you do not mind, pick a pin and I will give you a discount.”

“I see.” He Yanzhi found the owner quite interesting, so he selected a jade hairpin and held it up against Xiao Hongyin to test it. “With your silver tongue, business must be quite good usually.”

Finding the first pin too bulky, he chose a lighter, more delicate one.

“I will not lie to you, Lord; business is usually quite good.”

The owner pulled out dozens of different styles of jade hairpins from a chest for He Yanzhi to examine. “Look at these, Lord; these are all the latest fashions.”

He Yanzhi smiled, picked up a few to inspect, and then purposefully blew on his fingers as he set them down.

“That is strange. If business is good, you should be selling many of them. Why is there so much dust on these items? They look like old stock that has been sitting for years.”

The owner looked embarrassed and offered a nervous smile. “The Lord is truly sharp to have noticed that. However, I promise these pins are indeed the latest styles.”

He Yanzhi smiled but said nothing.

Seeing his expression, the stall owner suddenly became wary. Thinking this distinguished gentleman might be an official from the Ministry of Revenue conducting a secret inspection, he began to explain his grievances.

“To tell the Lord the truth, I originally bought this new stock in advance, hoping to attract customers and earn more silver. Who could have known a group of refugees would block the stall to beg for months? I did not manage to sell a single piece, and all my silver went down the drain.”

Xiao Hongyin looked at He Yanzhi and finally understood why he had suddenly dragged him to buy masks. Since they had no other leads and would be under house arrest if they returned, they might as well take this chance to investigate the refugee situation.

He Yanzhi feigned ignorance. “Refugees? There are no refugees in the capital. I have not seen any. You must be making things up.”

His words were harsh, and the owner panicked, letting a detail slip: “Lord, you wrong me! I am not lying. They were always here before, but a few days ago, they suddenly disappeared. I do not know where they went. Please believe me! I have always been an honest businessman.”

“That is enough.” He Yanzhi calmed him down and followed up, “If there were refugees, do you truly not know where they went?”

“I truly do not know!” The owner then remembered something. “But I do know they used to sleep at the City God Temple on West Street! I know nothing more than that!”

He Yanzhi nodded with satisfaction, silently noting the City God Temple. He bought all the jade hairpins, keeping only the light one and leaving the rest. Before leaving, he gave the owner a meaningful look. The owner nodded repeatedly, indicating he would not speak of today’s encounter.

Once they were far away, He Yanzhi found the jade hairpin a nuisance to carry and shoved it into Xiao Hongyin’s hand.

“Hold this.”

“Is it a gift for me?”

Xiao Hongyin watched as He Yanzhi hurried ahead, leaving him behind. He asked the question playfully, but He Yanzhi acted as if he had not heard, focused entirely on reaching the City God Temple.

Suddenly, He Yanzhi stopped. He realized that he was unfamiliar with the city and had no idea where the temple was. He turned to Xiao Hongyin. “Do you know where the City God Temple is?”

Xiao Hongyin shook his head. When he did not get a verbal answer, He Yanzhi asked again.

“We have not been apart for a single step. How would I know something you do not?” Xiao Hongyin replied with a smile, suddenly reaching toward him.

He Yanzhi instinctively dodged, but then feeling it was unnecessary, he stood still. He let Xiao Hongyin’s fingertips brush against his cheek as the younger man tucked a stray lock of hair behind his ear.

A strange, unfamiliar feeling welled up in He Yanzhi’s heart. He did not understand why Xiao Hongyin was suddenly acting this way, and it made him feel inexplicably restless. He frowned and snapped, “If you want to play, do not just stand in the middle of the street. Think of a way to find the path.”

Being scolded again, Xiao Hongyin let out a dejected “Mm” and coaxed, “Finding a temple is simple enough.”

He Yanzhi watched as Xiao Hongyin stopped a passerby to ask for directions. After the person pointed the way, Xiao Hongyin turned back. “See? Now we know.”

He Yanzhi felt as though a bucket of cold water had been dumped over him, and his mind went blank. Right. Such a simple task, yet I was overthinking it. When did I become so slow?

Seeing He Yanzhi standing in silence with a slight flush on his face and his lips pressed white, Xiao Hongyin assumed he was sulking. He took He Yanzhi’s hand and led him forward. “It is fine. I will lead you.”

The youth’s clear voice acted like a gentle spring rain, soothing He Yanzhi’s restless heart. He followed Xiao Hongyin through the crowd, and everything else seemed to fade away. His eyes were fixed on the tall figure ahead of him.

This kid seems to have grown taller again.

He Yanzhi could not help but think of himself. He was now twenty four years old and long past the age of growing. The thought that Xiao Hongyin could still grow taller gave him a sudden, defeating sense that he was getting old. Seeing Xiao Hongyin lead the way only intensified this feeling, making it hard to breathe.

“We will be there once we pass through this alley.”

Xiao Hongyin had no idea what He Yanzhi was thinking. He only felt that He Yanzhi was unusually obedient today, letting himself be led the entire way, which made him feel quite content.

Once they reached the entrance of the City God Temple, He Yanzhi pulled his hand back and stepped inside first.

The temple was neither large nor small, consisting of a single main hall and a single deity statue. The hall was neither dilapidated nor luxurious. When they arrived, there were no other worshippers, and the fruit offerings on the altar were half rotten.

He Yanzhi coughed a few times, waving away the dust as he began to look around. Inside the high, red brick walls of the hall, the gold foil patterns on the beams had been peeled away by time, leaving only faint traces. Beneath the crisscrossing wooden beams, the paint on the deity statue was mottled, revealing the irregular stone interior.

Four load bearing pillars stood at the corners of the statue. In the space behind the pillars, long, colorful banners hung from the beams, filling the view.

He Yanzhi carefully searched the area in front of the statue first but found no useful clues. Xiao Hongyin found nothing either.

“Let us look in the back,” He Yanzhi said. The heavy scent of incense in the hall made his nose itch, and he let out a sneeze. Ignoring it, he moved to lift a banner, but Xiao Hongyin held out his hand.

“What is it?” He Yanzhi asked, confused.

“It is dark back there, and your vision will be blocked. Hold my hand so you do not get lost.” Xiao Hongyin curled his fingers, signaling him to hurry.

“The place is tiny; I will not get lost.” He Yanzhi dismissed him as being too fussy and slipped behind the banners on his own.

Xiao Hongyin shook his head helplessly and followed. He searched for He Yanzhi’s silhouette among the layered banners, but the other was moving too fast, and Xiao Hongyin soon lost his sense of direction.

He Yanzhi found the incense filled air particularly unpleasant and sneezed several more times. As he looked down, he noticed a layer of incense ash scattered across the floor.

“A-Yin, look! Why is there so much ash here?”

There was no response. He Yanzhi waited for a while until Xiao Hongyin finally appeared before him.

“Look at this.” He Yanzhi pointed to the ground, where the layer of ash clearly showed their footprints.

Xiao Hongyin also looked puzzled.

“When we came in, was there a censer on the altar?” He Yanzhi only remembered the rotten fruit.

“No. It must have been knocked over here.”

Xiao Hongyin began to search for the censer, and He Yanzhi joined him. Unintentionally, the two drifted apart again.

The floor was covered in nothing but ash and footprints. He Yanzhi’s eyes scanned every inch of the corner until his back accidentally bumped into another. Xiao Hongyin steadied him and said, “I did not see it.”

“Neither did I. Let us keep looking.”

The two set off together again, but they soon became separated once more. He Yanzhi grew dizzy from looking at the footprints. Several times, he found himself back where he started. Just as he was about to turn around, he bumped into Xiao Hongyin again.

He Yanzhi rubbed his aching shoulder and reached out to grab Xiao Hongyin’s hand, finally giving in. “Let us just hold hands then.”

Xiao Hongyin gripped his hand tightly, a fleeting smile of success crossing his face.

The two silhouettes disappeared behind the colorful banners. About fifteen minutes later, the banners were pulled back. He Yanzhi and Xiao Hongyin looked down at their feet; their current footprints once again overlapped with their original ones.

“We have looped back again.”