On the Road

Riding Jin Feng proved to be more simple than Meng Mei had originally thought. The roads were pretty straightforward and they didn’t make many stops. So once the horse had set off in a trot Meng Mei didn’t have to do much else.

For the first few hours of the trip, Meng Yong talked Meng Mei’s ear off about random things. When the terrain changed from flat roads to more rocky hills Meng Guoyao instructed a guard to grab a hold of Meng Mei’s reins to assist her.

She wasn’t surprised to see that the guard turned out to be Zhu Huiqing. If he was a personal guard then it made sense that he’d be making this journey with them.

“Hello again guard Zhu.” Meng Mei greeted him as she gave him the slack of her reins. He gave her a nod of greeting.

“Guniang. Allow this guard to assist you.”

Unlike the rest of the guards, he was riding a slightly taller horse with a darker coat. It was clear to Meng Mei that his ride was most likely more suited to his profession rather than just a simple riding horse.

Zhu Huiqing was a man of few words but Meng Mei didn’t particularly mind that. He made sure she stayed steady through the rougher terrain and deterred Meng Yong from breaking his concentration with any more chatter.

“Guard Zhu, have you ever met the Zhong family?” She decided to ask after a while of silence. She was still trying to figure out why he would leave Libaogong in the future.

“I have, very briefly.” He answered.

Meng Mei didn’t let the short answer deter her.

“What are they like?” Meng Mei asked curiously.

“Guniang could ask her family their opinions rather than trust the words of a lowly guard.” He pointed out as he guided Jin Feng and Meng Mei up a steeper slope.

“A-die is biased since Zhong-zhongzhu is his best friend. A-niang will just tell me to wait and see. And er-ge hasn’t seen them since I became sect heir.” Meng Mei omitted Meng Weiyuan from the list for obvious reasons. You can’t just ask a guy about his ex-fiance.

“So you would prefer to hear an outsider’s perspective.” Zhu Huiqing concluded. Meng Mei nodded enthusiastically.

“Exactly!”

Technically Meng Mei already knew what the Zhong family was like based on their descriptions from Seasons of Sorrow but she wanted to hear what Zhu Huiqing had to say. Meng Mei liked and trusted Han Xiaolian’s narration but it was already established that she wasn’t exactly unbiased.

“Well, if you will permit me to speak candidly…” He waited for her nod before continuing. “Sect leader Zhong is very similar to sect leader Meng. It is obvious why they get along so well. Madam Zhong is a very qualified teacher and she spends a lot of her time researching. Zhong-guniang is a capable cultivator, many guards wish to spar against her to see how they measure up. And the young master….”

Zhu Huiqing trailed off, his expression becoming a little more reserved.

“What’s he like?” Meng Mei prompted him to continue.

“He’s quite sociable.” Was all he had to add.

“What does that mean?” Meng Mei asked in confusion. Zhu Huiqing had such detailed thoughts on the rest of the family, what made Xhong Changming different?

“This lowly guard has already said too much. Guniang will see what I mean once we arrive.”

Zhu Huiqing refused to say anything more after that.

The remainder of the day was spent crossing the uneven terrain. When night began to fall they decided to stop and set up camp.

The guards they had brought along hastily constructed canopies for the Meng family to sleep under. Meng Mei would be sleeping beside Madam Meirong while Meng Guoyao and the brothers would sleep under a separate canopy.

They laid out thin sleeping palettes with pillows and blankets. The palettes were just big enough that Meng Mei didn’t have to worry about rolling off into the dirt in the middle of the night.

Once the sleeping arrangements were made they piled sticks together to make a fire. Madam Meirong oversaw the dinner preparations as everyone made themselves comfortable around the fire. Since they were travelling they only had room to pack lighter foods so dinner consisted of a bowl of rice and packets of seasoned jerky.

It was a light meal but Meng Mei wasn’t complaining. Her stomach wasn’t exactly settled after a day's worth of travelling.

Conversation was sparse around the fire as everyone focused on eating as much as they could stand. Meng Mei’s ears perked up when she overheard Meng Guoyao’s discussion with a man Meng Mei recognized as the head of guards.

“We should make it to the camping grounds by this time tomorrow.” Meng Guoyao said as he snacked on a piece of jerky.

“Will the YuHu travelling party be expecting us then?” The head of guards asked.

“Yes, Shoushan assured me he’d have dinner waiting for us there. All we will have to do after arrival is claim our sleeping quarters and make sure everyone gets settled in.” Meng Guoyao replied casually.

Privately Meng Mei thought they were lucky to live so close to the Zhong’s hunting grounds. It took the YuHu travelling party a full week to reach their destination while it was only going to take Libaogong two days.

As people finished eating Madam Meirong took Meng Mei over to the loosely constructed changing area and helped her out of her outer robes. She was left in just her inner robes and a large robe that was meant to cover her until she got under the blankets.

Madam Meirong also took her hair pins out and put them in a safe spot. Meng Mei would likely be dressed exactly the same way tomorrow since she hadn’t packed many traveling outfits.

“You’re ready for bed now Xiāngxiāng. Why don’t you go ahead and lay down? I will join you shortly.”

Meng Mei tiredly nodded along to Madam Meirong’s words. It’s been a long day, she was looking forward to getting some sleep. She was also going to need all the rest she could get before it was time for her to finally meet Lai Huang.