Bai Ruozhu’s heart sunk. She could not bear to let him go, not wanting to part ways so soon.
Jiang Yichun perceived her thoughts. Holding her in his arms, he said, "You cannot accompany me in a life of fleeing. You have Dengdeng, and your parents and family. You should leave here as soon as possible to avoid the officer associating you with Doctor Zhuhua and causing trouble to your family."
Bai Ruozhu shivered slightly. He was right, she wasn’t alone, she had her child and family to consider. She couldn’t be too selfish.
"I also don’t want to keep hiding, so I am waiting for you to deliver my message." Jiang Yichun remarked, even smiling as he said it, "You see, am I useless? Always relying on you to save me?"
Bai Ruozhu reached out to touch his cheeks, which had grown thin these days.
"How can that be? You have medical skills and your martial arts are superior. You saved me when I was heavily bleeding after giving birth, and even helped me deal with the third son. How can you be useless?"
Jiang Yichun could not help but laugh. It didn’t sound like she was praising him. Saving her through an improper entrance au lieu of the Delivery Room and assisting her in secret attacks, didn’t seem very heroic.
"Alright, stop talking. I will help you put on the disguise." Jiang Yichun wiped Bai Ruozhu’s face, which was as cute as a kitten. Regrettably, he couldn’t find any water to wash her face.
Next, he took out the thin mask and gently placed it on Bai Ruozhu’s face. Then, his hands moved quickly, pressing various acupuncture points. Bai Ruozhu felt as if the mask was sucked onto her face. When he stopped, it felt as if there was nothing on her face.
She smiled, trying to feel if there was any discomfort on her face, but it felt as if there was nothing there.
"Isn’t it amazing? Just like not wearing anything." Bai Ruozhu exclaimed with admiration.
"Don’t be too happy yet, this requires a special technique to put on and remove. I haven’t had enough time to teach you. After you find Wu Yunfeng, my master and the officer ’Zuo Tongzheng’, you can ask him for help removing it. At worst, my brothers at the academy should also be capable of doing so." Jiang Yichun said.
Bai Ruozhu nodded and, with a little worry, asked, "What if your master isn’t in Beiyu City?"
"He has important tasks and cannot leave, otherwise, he would not have sent Senior Fox to find me." Jiang Yichun replied, "But you need to find a way to see him privately. Show him this, he will believe your identity." Saying this, he gave Bai Ruozhu an identity medallion.
When Bai Ruozhu received the medallion, she remembered she also had a medallion given to her by Meng Liangshen. With these two tokens, even in disguise, she could prove her identity.
"Okay, we are leaving the mountain." Jiang Yichun lifted Bai Ruozhu. He didn’t dare to look at her again. Even with a new face, he would indulge in her eyes each time he glanced at them, reluctant to let her leave.
After saying this, he used the Bone Shrinking Skill and transformed into a beggar, then moved swiftly towards the foot of the mountain by holding Bai Ruozhu’s waist.
Bai Ruozhu held onto his waist tightly, her cheek resting on his chest, she whispered, "You must be careful. No matter what, don’t get caught by them, or I will hate you for the rest of my life!"
Jiang Yichun freed one hand and suddenly slapped her buttocks, laughing, "Don’t worry. We are not done yet. I won’t die."
Bai Ruozhu was slapped on her buttocks by him, staring at him indignantly. But due to his use of light skills and their rapid advance, she dared not move recklessly. She twisted her body trying to pinch him all the while cursing him, "Bastard, smelly hooligan!"
This light-hearted banter diluted their worries, making them feel less melancholic. Bai Ruozhu nuzzled her head in his chest fondly. She needed to focus and build up her spirit. Only by contacting his master, Officer Wu Yunfeng, she could help him out of danger.
Soon they reached the foot of the mountain. Along the way, Jiang Yichun carefully avoided two groups of mountain bandits. It was clear that Batianzhai had mobilized many to search the mountains.
They were not afraid of Batianzhai’s lackeys, but of Officer Li Yi.
Jiang Yichun put down Bai Ruozhu and whispered, "It is safe here. You should sneak back to the market, and then leave Tianshan Town as soon as possible. Don’t panic if there’s a search, Li Yi is unlikely to conduct the search at the town entrance personally."
Bai Ruozhu nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. "You should also be careful. Don’t force your energy any further to avoid worsening your internal injuries."
"Okay, I’ll listen to you." He whispered into her ear, like a lover’s intimate whisper. He quickly pressed a kiss on her lips, then took a jump back immediately, "I have to go. Please take good care of Dengdeng."
He was sure Dengdeng must have terribly missed his mother in these past few days. Thinking about Dengdeng weeping made Jiang Yichun feel a dull ache in his heart. Could this be because he cared for her so much that he couldn’t bear to see her child cry?
He shook away the thoughts in his mind, took a deep look at Bai Ruozhu once more, and then quickly left.
Bai Ruozhu reached out wanting to grab him, but eventually pulled her hand back. It was not the time for sentimentality. There were many problems she would have to face.
She adjusted her emotions, trying to calm herself down. Then she found a secluded place and discreetly entered the space. She took out a mirror from the space to examine her disguised face. It was the face of a woman in her thirties. Neither pretty nor ugly, she had an incredibly ordinary appearance that would easily blend into the crowd.
She found and put on a coarse outfit for manual labor, then re-combed her hair. It wasn’t because she cared much for her appearance, but looking too unkempt would raise suspicion.
After expressing some milk, she took a small bundle and left the space.
Sure enough, in such attire, she aroused no suspicion. Nobody realized she was the Doctor Zhuhua who had been practicing medicine on the street for three days. The patrolling officers on the street also didn’t suspect she was the woman connected to Jiang Yichun.
Tianshan Town was less bustling compared to Anyuan Town, and Bai Ruozhu couldn’t find a horse carriage directly. So, she hired a donkey cart to Anyuan Town, but it was suddenly stopped by a team of guards when reaching the town gate.
Bai Ruozhu clenched her fist in nervousness, trying hard to calm down. She asked from the donkey cart, "What’s happening? Can’t we leave the town today?" Having taken some medicine to change her voice, she now sounded like a standard woman in her thirties - neither too appealing nor too harsh, just extremely ordinary, thus easily overlooked.
"Inspection! Woman, get off the cart immediately!" A guard shouted.
Bai Ruozhu reluctantly jumped off the cart, seeing other women who wanted to leave the town also being stopped. Then, a guard with a sleazy face approached each woman, sniffing them.
She felt a flutter in her heart. It was over, the other side had an expert in olfactory identification, she was exposed!
She clenched her fists tightly. Should she poison them, run to a deserted place and enter the space by saying her incantation as she initially planned?