27 But also…

"Big sister, be sure to come back," the little kid said waving one hand from behind the doorway.

Both of Huan Meirong feet's had just left the last step of the herb store's entrance and landed on the ground of the street when she heard the little child invite to come back. She gave a step back and turned half of her body around, saying, "But of course, take good care of the elder, Hua'er."

"Yes, yes, yes," Hua'er replied with shiny eyes.

Huan Meirong nodded with a smile on her cherry lips before turning to a Zhi'er who was stealing glimpses at the overfriendly Hua'er who was now turning around to go back to the store's chores. And before they began to walk, she said to Zhi'er with a regretful and then cheerful tone, "It's time to go home, Zhi'er. But let's pick the lively way when going back." When she had come out, she had felt right away the four people that had followed her till this place so she chose the bustling road.

Though Zhi'er didn't know his miss mind, he still nodded, "Aye."

The way back was different from the one they had come; therefore, Zhi'er explained the buildings that were around. There were restaurants, little food stalls and even street performances on the path he chose. It was really boisterous but her mood wasn't up to this liveliness; with every step she gave, it had been sinking.

'Tsk, not taking into count that this was the south was a miscalculation, I suppose. If this were the north, someone buying these many things and even more the things being medicinal herbs, would have been more than enough to make someone think twice.' She paused before grasping her thoughts again, 'Even so, our clothes are worn-out ones and I'm sure they saw my face and me being blind and if they are of a decent strength, I'm sure they heard me singing the herb's list away… could it be… that that wasn't enough to tell that something was odd?'

She not going back home earlier when she first detected that she and Zhi'er were being tracked was to see if she could shake them off without doing anything as usually when cultivators felt things out place will choose to retreat before; that's what she wanted. She had exposed herself a bit and it was risky but it will be worse if she gets into a fight. Moreover, she still didn't know how strong they were.

'Ugghh… and those increasing hot eyes as the noise on the streets begin to decrease as we walk on makes me want to not only rip off their misused eyes but also…' Her hands were itching; she had never received such an insult before.

"Eldest miss, is there something wrong?" Zhi'er paused his introduction of the food being sold in a little stall and asked when he felt hiss miss strange air.

"Umh," she nodded before adding, "Meirong is tired.

Zhi'er, find a quiet alley without perking eyes for me to rest a bit."

"Aah… Aye," Zhi'er had his mouth half-opened at first; before his miss said where to go, he had wanted to ask if she would like to rest in one of the restaurants or food stalls but she was a step ahead. 'It seems the eldest miss doesn't like this much noise,' he told to himself as his eyes looked carefully from right to left through the flock of people if there was a good alley for his miss to rest comfortably without slowing his pace; in fact, he increased it a bit.

Huan Meirong upped her alertness with every step she gave; she had felt other pairs of unsightly eyes as she walked forward on these streets. At first, she had thought she had raised their interest because she had been followed by who knows who but she was wrong. As soon as she felt those other people were about to jump into the pool and follow the four men actions, they stopped; she didn't know why but she heard their steps wavering before suddenly going stagnant.

It was strange and the only explanation she formed was that they must have recognized the team of four that had been following her from the start. If it was true and coupled with the fact that they had chosen to retreat, it mean that she was in trouble, making her re-think her way of action; she will have the time to think about the reason she had caught their attention later.

"Eldest miss, this way, to our left," Zhi'er finally said when he spotted an alley between two four-floor buildings. They weren't restaurants but big stores where raw meat and vegetables were sold to the restaurants.

"Oh," she nodded and followed Zhi'ers lead into the alley.