He curiously asked, "With all those injuries, why are you sweeping the yard in the middle of the night?"
Wu Hongbiao said with a smile, "There are some rat bones and bloodstains in the yard. If someone comes to visit the shop and gets frightened, it might cause unnecessary trouble for the owner."
"You seem to be in a good mood?" Chen Ji inquired.
Wu Hongbiao said with a laugh, "Let me tell you some good news. I met Si Cao today, and it turns out he’s not out to kill us. Moreover, he’s arranged for someone else to get us out of here. We can return to the Jing Dynasty by tomorrow evening!"
Chen Ji hummed in response, "Is it reliable? Or could this be a trap to lure us out and kill us?"
Wu Hongbiao paused his sweeping, pondered for a moment, and said, "It should be reliable. Today, when he pulled me into the alley, I was prepared to die, but he didn’t lay a hand on me... If he wanted us dead, he wouldn’t have to go to all this trouble."
Leaning against the doorframe, Chen Ji slowly sat down on the threshold and spoke softly, "Do you miss your homeland?"
Wu Hongbiao leaned on his broom, standing in the yard. While gazing at the moon, he longed, "I do miss it. I was taken to the cold camp for harsh training when I was twelve and never had the chance to return home to see my parents. This time, I should be able to visit."
He reminisced, "Back in the village, when autumn came, we would pick pears from the trees. The tasty ones were sold in the city, and the less enjoyable ones were kept to make frozen pears. The variety we used for frozen pears was sour and astringent. My grandmother called it the ’dog-choker,’ but somehow, once it was frozen outside, it became delicious... Strange, isn’t it?"
"In the winter, the adults would carry stiff bows, take four or five hunting dogs, and go up the mountain to hunt bears. We waited eagerly at home for them to drag the bears back. My grandmother would cut the fat from the bear and fry up bear oil pastries for us to eat. Many say it’s fishy, but I find it incredibly tasty."
"When we return to the Jing Dynasty, I will definitely take you to my hometown. I’ll treat you to frozen pears and oil pastries, and we can even go hunting for bears."
Chen Ji listened silently, perhaps because Wu Hongbiao had suffered so much recently, making him more sentimental, or it was because he had been longing for the northern land of his birth ever since coming to the Ning Dynasty and was finally going back, which is why he was particularly talkative tonight.
Recently, Chen Ji had overheard some merchants mentioning that the Jing Dynasty seemed to have ten provinces, and Wu Hongbiao’s hometown was in the northeasternmost province, "Shangjing Road."
Chen Ji sat on the threshold next to Wu Hongbiao, both gazing at the moon, "Brother Biaozi, why did you take such a risk to bring me the news when you were so badly injured? What if I had betrayed you?"
Wu Hongbiao said with a smile, "Actually, I was a bit afraid on my way here, thinking what if you really betrayed me? But... if I hadn’t come, I was afraid I would regret it."
"Hmm."
After speaking, the two of them, one sitting and the other standing, were both silent.
Even though their circumstances were different, both men had been yearning to leave this place of treachery, no longer living day by day in fear. Yet now, when it was time to actually leave, their feelings were complex.
Suddenly, Chen Ji said, "Brother Biaozi, go back. I’m not leaving."
"Hmm?" Wu Hongbiao was taken aback, "You’re not leaving? You’ll die if you stay in Luocheng!"
Chen Ji smiled, "Have you forgotten? My father is the Luocheng Magistrate. I have my ways."
"Then I’ll stay too!" Wu Hongbiao said resolutely.
Chen Ji looked at Wu Hongbiao, "What about your sister?"
Wu Hongbiao was stunned.
Just now, Chen Ji truly wanted Wu Hongbiao to stay and help him kill Manager Yuan, but he couldn’t do it.
He said with a smile, "Don’t worry about going back. I’ll move back into the Luocheng Chen Mansion tomorrow. I don’t believe Manager Yuan would dare to sneak into the Prefect’s house to kill me. Do you think he would dare?"
Wu Hongbiao scratched his head, "True, if he dared to assassinate someone in the Prefect’s house, not only would Luocheng not accommodate him, the whole Ning Dynasty wouldn’t either... So, you really aren’t leaving?"
"Yes, I’m staying to continue serving the Jing Dynasty!"
"...Alright."
Chen Ji stood up, patted the dust off his backside, "I might not be able to see you off tomorrow. Have a good life once you return to the Jing Dynasty, and don’t come back to the Ning Dynasty."
Wu Hongbiao laughed heartily, "I don’t want to come back and live in fear either. I’ll be waiting for you in the Jing Dynasty."
With that, he unexpectedly opened his arms.
Chen Ji hesitated for a moment but eventually opened his arms as well and gave Wu Hongbiao a hug before climbing over the wall and leaving the fabric shop.
When he climbed over, Wu Yun was crouching on the neighboring wall and curiously asked, "Are we really not leaving?"
Chen Ji said with a chuckle, "We’re not leaving. I’m afraid I would regret it. You go give Bai Bore a thrashing; I have something to say to its owner."