“Why are you and Li Yao husband and wife?” Wu Ying said huffily. “Bao Cong is a noble too.”
“He doesn’t look like much of one. No offense meant,” Yin Xue said.
“None taken. Working the forge has given me a strong tan.”
“Aren’t we forgetting someone?” Li Yao said, interrupting the burgeoning argument between Wu Ying and Yin Xue. She fixed her gaze on the quiet Tou Hei, tracking her eyes upward to rest on his bald pate. “Even if we all disguised ourselves, our monk here can’t disguise his hair style.”
“I can go alone.” Tou Hei shrugged. “No one ever looks twice at a monk on a pilgrimage.”
“That means you can’t have any meat on you,” Wu Ying teased.
Tou Hei made a face but nodded.
“I don’t think we should have anyone travel alone,” said Bao Cong.
“Then what do you suggest?” said Yin Xue.
The group fell silent as they contemplated their options. Wu Ying grinned and leaned forward, inspiration striking him like a thunderstorm on clay roofing tiles.
***
In the end, the group chose to wait to decide on the route until they arrived at the town. There, they would be able to learn how things fared on the river and canal. The merchants would certainly know better than they did. They did, however, choose to adopt Wu Ying’s disguise plan when they left the tavern.
The group split, with Wu Ying and Tou Hei in one group, acting as fellow wanderers. Wu Ying would be what he was—a herb gatherer for mundane herbs, supplying apothecarists and other medical professionals. His knowledge of herbs and plants would be the perfect disguise and would explain his presence. After all, a wandering gatherer without his own herb garden needed to travel to ply his trade. Tou Hei would be a monk on a pilgrimage to the temple in the capital of Wei. Together, the pair had banded together for mutual protection in these turbulent times. They would be the ones at the forefront. In this way, the group behind would have a scout for potential issues, especially as the nobles were the “juicier” targets.
Li Yao and the other two nobles would act as a noblewoman and her guards. She would be a dutiful and tragic widow sent to a convent after the death of her husband as her new family had little use for her. That the convent in the State of Wei was well-known for accepting the widows of nobles and peasants and for safeguarding them all bolstered Li Yao’s cover story.
For all their precautions, they were still far behind the front lines of the war. Even bandits, like the ones they had met before, were rare. Chaos would arrive soon enough, but it was still a dark rain cloud on the horizon, threatening a deluge but only sending threats so far. It was at the gates of the town of Lipu, after a long period of traveling, that Wu Ying realized his first mistake with their disguise.
“Passes?” the guard said to Wu Ying and Tou Hei, his tone bored from the hours spent asking the same question.
Tou Hei reached into his robes and pulled out a simple token. The guard scanned it, glancing at the name of the temple then at Tou Hei, before he returned the token without further questions. He turned to Wu Ying, who hid his surprise at his friend’s resourcefulness and started his own excuse.
“I’m sorry, honored sir. I was waylaid by bandits. My pack and most of my belongings, including my pass, were taken.” Wu Ying bowed his head low. “I was hoping to speak to the magistrate to reacquire my travel pass and my merchant license.”
“With what money?” The guard sneered at Wu Ying. “If you have no pass, you will not be allowed entry into the city. In fact, we should take you into custody to ensure that you are not a runaway.”
Wu Ying lowered his voice and leaned forward, passing his hands over his storage ring and extracting a palm-sized root of ginseng. In addition, he extracted a small number of coins. “They took most of what I had, but not all. I keep some things hidden on me.” Wu Ying extended his hands and the guard automatically palmed the ginseng and coins. “I understand that there is an entrance fee. I am not attempting to avoid that. But I’m sure there are better things we can do with our time than waste it on more paperwork for both of us. Don’t you think so?”
The guard glanced at the ginseng and frowned in consternation.
“It’s only fifty years old,” said Wu Ying, acting as if the ginseng’s age was something to be ashamed of.
“Fifty years old…” The guard looked Wu Ying over once again, taking in his dusty clothing and worn fingers, his cracked fingernails still caked with dirt. He glanced at his fellow guard, who was still busy with his own line, before he waved Wu Ying through. “Make sure you get your permit dealt with immediately. Speak to Junior Magistrate Khoo. He is my cousin. Tell him I sent you.”
“Thank you, benefactor,” Wu Ying said, bowing slightly before hurrying off after Tou Hei.
The ex–monk had continued to walk on, not wanting to mess with Wu Ying’s deception. They turned the street and walked a couple of blocks farther before they felt comfortable enough to break the silence.
“I didn’t realize you still had your old temple seal.” We Ying shot a glance at his friend, amusement in his eyes. It seemed that Tou Hei was more of a rebel than he looked.
“And I didn’t realize you were so knowledgeable about bribing,” said Tou Hei.
“It’s a fact of life. Even in the towns we sold our goods at, we occasionally had to bribe the guards. So long as we are circumspect about our actions and are not asking for too much, they will look the other way.” Wu Ying sighed then rubbed his storage ring. “But the next bribe will be expensive.”
Tou Hei shrugged. He had no experience in this matter. Bribing the magistrate was something Wu Ying would have to handle directly.
“I do hope that Li Yao and the others will manage…”
***
They met later that night at an inn Yin Xue knew of, in a private room at the top of the building. Wu Ying and Tou Hei sneaked into the room after the servants had delivered the evening’s meal for them all. Wu Ying carried his usual travel bag filled with purchased herbs and other materials he had scavenged along the way and kept within his storage ring, as well as the newly written permits. All that, of course, meant Wu Ying had used even more coins, leaving him significantly bare of purse.
“How did you get in?” asked Wu Ying.
“I showed them my family seal,” Li Yao said matter-of-factly. She looked somewhat surprised at Wu Ying’s question. “Why? Did you have trouble?”
Wu Ying sighed and shook his head. Of course they’d had no issues. No one questioned nobles about where they went or why. The restrictions on travel were only for those who weren’t nobles or cultivators. Already, Wu Ying missed being able to enter cities without having to pay or show documentation.
“Did you learn anything?” said Yin Xue.
“No.” Wu Ying winced. The time he’d needed to fortify his disguise meant that he was unable to do the necessary research on their potential routes.
“Then why—”
Tou Hei interrupted Yin Xue. “The river route is still open. There is no indication that there are any blockades on the river itself. But the canals might be troublesome.”
“Troublesome?” said Bao Cong.
“The canals are narrow and easy to guard. The captains were speaking of a lot of bandits working them during the last war. Many refused to go on them any longer. I don’t know if we could find passage when we needed it.”
Wu Ying imagined the map, thinking of the route they would need. The nearest canal took them farther south than they wanted to go. They’d have to cross the ground on horseback if there was no transportation, adding at least a few days to their trip. Any time they saved by taking a ship south would be eaten up by the additional distance. And then they would still have to head slightly north to catch up to the army from there. If they could find another ship, they could save up to a week. If.