10 Ch. 10: Thief

System found its Master in a suspiciously good mood as they followed the cart the following morning. It naturally did not sympathize with them, as they had tried to make the poor daughter remain in captivity, but watching the slaver raise his whip against them had been jarring.

He was someone quick to raise his hand against someone weaker. Meifeng had seen it when he had loudly slapped the daughter right in front of her mother. Now the girls, sporting matching cuts and lacerations, knew it too. Misery and hopelessness wafted out of the cart, as the brief excitement of joining a large family drowned under their new injuries. The girls still looked desolate as the cart pulled up to a long line of caravans waiting to enter the gates of Jiangnan. Despite the snow slowing down travel for most, the entrance to the city was completely backed up in traffic.

"Wow!" System exclaimed as they pulled up to the large fortress, "It's so big!"

It was indeed an impressive structure. Carved entirely out of stone, the gate in front of Jiangnan was patrolled by intimidating soldiers, and archers could be spotted from the twin guard posts sprouting from each corner of the wall. Large banners of the Xia Empire hung over the top of the stone wall in dull red and burnished gold, the wooden door only letting in one caravan at a time after checking for credentials. Meifeng felt such a strong defense was only natural, as Jiangnan was only a few days of hard riding from the border. To lose a city like Jiangnan would be to lose the lifeblood of greedy officials in the imperial capital.

Now that they were near the city entrance, Meifeng knew that with her slovenly appearance and lack of credentials, it would be near impossible to enter Jiangnan. The days of sleeping in the open and following the cart on foot had resulted in her borrowed clothes getting soaked through from cold snow and ragged on edges that dragged on the floor. Xiao Peng had been a tall man, and she a small girl in the midst of puberty could not compare to his stature or size. Her hair was unkempt as well, twisted into a messy topknot with a random twig she had found, and her face had streaks of dirt and grime.

If one looked close enough, they would still be able to find her beautiful face within her beggar's appearance, but as most people are not fond of closely observing the vermin beneath them, she was actually safer in her outfit. At the moment, Meifeng was inconspicuous as she joined a gaggle of similarly dressed individuals, poor vagrants who were planning to beg their way into Jiangnan.

"Master, how will you get into the city?" System asked, noticing the same problem as Meifeng.

But scarcely had System spoken when a loud voice crowed from behind.

"All you peasants must move! A noble personage is coming through!"

The cry was accompanied by a crack of a whip, echoing through the caravans and startling the hubbub into a lull. There was a clear correlation between positions of power and the use of a whip.

As everyone waiting turned around as one, a prominent carriage was revealed, surrounded by several servants running to keep up with it. At first glance, it was easy to tell that this was the carriage of an important person. The exterior was a forest green, it's wheels large and made out a dark metal that was heavy enough to have broken many innocent passersby's feet. The bamboo windows on either side were cut in a way that made it easy for those within to look out, but those outside unable to see anything.

No one held any doubt of the leading servant's words, hurriedly rushing out of the thundering carriage's path and painstakingly dragging their parked caravans from the entrance with bitter expressions. It was not fair, but everyone who had ever done business or lived in large cities knew that as long as anyone had some money or a title, it was not difficult for a wealthy family to cover their city's sky with one palm.

Meifeng's eyes followed the approaching carriage carefully, the dust drummed up not obscuring her vision in the slightest.

"What is it, Master?" System squeaked, following her line of vision to the carriage thundering towards the entrance.

System watched as its Master leaned back before running towards the carriage, the rising dust completely hiding her figure. It was a heart stopping moment for System as it watched Meifeng switch her running momentum into a fast sideways roll, coming to a stop perfectly right when the carriage passed by where she had originally been standing with other vagrants. She reached out with her arms underneath and latched on, successfully attached to the underside of the rich man's carriage without anyone in the surrounding wise of her actions.

If Meifeng had been off by a second, she would've been torn to shreds under the metal wheels.

She was too clever to miss though. However her slender arms ached a little, the first pain the girl had felt since she woke up and it made her feel alive. The flames licked at the ligaments in her arms from the force the carriage had dragged her forward, only slightly abating once the carriage came to a halt at the checkpoint set up at the gate. A faint scent of horse manure from the running horse wafted into the girl's nose. From the carriage above, Meifeng could hear minute giggles and rustling clothes, there was clearly more than one party within it.

"How daring! Do you know who this is?" the same male servant from earlier said haughtily when they were forced to stop at the entrance.

The soldier at the front sounded apologetic as he replied, "Sorry, sir. We are required to check all identities and goods entering Jiangnan no matter what."

"Hmph! When the young master returns we will surely report this to the town magistrate," the servant threatened.

There was a following hum from the crowds of caravans behind as they heard the powerful name. Ordinarily, a magistrate is not that impressive of a position, but when placed in powerful locations, the worth behind the title rose to three times its original value.

"Sorry again, sir. We must see your identification before we let you pass," the soldier said, perhaps wishing to bury himself in the ground.

"Who is this?" said a lazy voice from within the lavish carriage.

The curtains before the carriage opened, revealing a somewhat handsome young lord with a slightly sloppy appearance, his straight collar aoqun unbuttoned and wrinkled and the jade pin holding his hair up twisted a few degrees to the left. In addition, his face was red and his eyes were squinty, to the point that if a doctor were to check his pulse they would recommend for him to indulge less in his current lifestyle. One only needed to take one look to understand the reason behind this appearance, but no one would dare say anything.

The servant that had been making a fuss bowed deferentially to his master.

"Master. This arrogant soldier is making trouble for us, forcing us to prove our identities in order to pass through to the city."

"What?" the young lord scrunched up his forehead. "Mother is expecting me for lunch today, she will scold me again if I'm late."

As his luck would have it, the sun had been high in the sky for hours already. In fact, it was already an hour or two past the usual lunchtime in the magistrate's manor, but the young lord was still insisting on making a fuss. It frustrated those who had already been waiting for hours in the chilly snow to enter, but there was nothing that could be done.

"Precisely, young master Wen. I told him to let us pass, but he would not listen to my commands." the servant skillfully said. The soldier in question wanted to spit up blood. Between the servant's wordplay and this belligerent lord, he knew he would not be walking away from the situation unharmed.

His premonition was correct. "Then..." the young lord started frivolously, waving a finger at the soldier, "take him to jail for attempting to hinder my path!"

"As you wish, Master," the male servant said deferentially. He thoroughly enjoyed the power he indirectly wielded through Wen Chuyi, the foolish, precious son that enjoyed a revered status in the magistrate manor due to him being the only son, both legitimate and illegitimate, of the magistrate. The servant finally pulled out the jade pendant indicating their status and every soldier bowed towards the carriage before converging on the innocent soldier.

"Young master," a coquettish voice cried from with the carriage in the midst of the chaos.

Wen Chuyi turned around with a lascivious grin. "Beauty, I'm coming!"

He all but pounced inside and the carriage Meifeng was clinging to rocked side to side before the servant urged the horse back into a trot. Its loud neigh from being whipped on the back almost completely obscured a woman's cry and a man's groan from inside the carriage.

"Too shameless!" System whined angrily, "How can a mere magistrate's son command the guards at the checkpoint like that?"

But Meifeng understood perfectly. The soldiers at the guardpost were actually well within their rights to refuse Wen Chuyi as he actually did not hold the power to force them. However, in doing so they would unavoidably offend the magistrate himself who was a much greater foe than his son and would probably convict the entire garrison working the checkpoint. It was simply choosing the lesser of two evils and arranging for one man to take the fall.

Meifeng rolled out from under the carriage with a pensive look, watching the carriage disappear into the bustling city as she brushed dirty snow off her clothes. Within the city walls, the main streets were well swept and did not get as matted and dirty as it did outside the walls.

"Wen Chuyi," she said slowly, rolling the name over her tongue. An invisible target had been placed on the back of the unsuspecting young lord.

With her beautiful features dirtied and hidden, Meifeng moved through the streets even more unhindered than she had in the rural village. There was a certain freedom within that she enjoyed as she moved through Jiangnan. That feeling when you are just one of many, a small part of the indiscernible mass of humanity. The girl knew she would not be able to enjoy this feeling for long.

At heart, she was a wild thing. Born in the woods and adept at surviving, whoever Meifeng was before she lost her memories was someone accustomed to treating nature as their home. All the same, she still rather looked forward to what was to come with sadistic glee. Like a beast poised to pounce on its prey and tear it limb from limb. It was a feeling that came quite naturally to the girl, much like breathing and eating, as she understood that she was different from other people.

Meifeng appraised the scene slowly like a fragrant wine, watching under unreadable eyes as hawkers under colorful booths tried to sell their wares, advertising everything from beauty products to tanghulu. There were spicy and unique aromas, as many foreign travelers made a living on the streets as well, and the aura of Jiangnan was one of prosperity. A prosperity that was not available to all.

In between slats of broken wood and scuttling behind busy buildings, you could see it. Hunger, fear, hopelessness. The people who avoided the beautiful scenery of the main street and stuck to the back. Meifeng could not help but cock a small grin at a ragged little child disappearing into an alley with a bulging wallet, chased by the servants of whichever wealthy young heir he had robbed. The underbelly of Jiangnan, it did not disappoint.

A hard thump across her chest brought the girl back to her current situation, as someone intentionally bumped into her in the throng of people. It was a good calculation. The hit had been hard enough to get Meifeng to lift a foot off the ground, completely throwing off her balance. In the rush to return to a safe position, it would be easy for her to miss the weight of her knapsack suddenly lightening from her shoulders.

But she did notice.

And as that someone began to pull away, the empty knapsack save for a few coins in their thieving hands, Meifeng astonishingly reached backwards instead of tumbling over and grabbed an exposed wrist.