Asking for Help

After the training, Wei Liuying headed to the Bookstore first. She hadn't come here in ages and only sent Xiao Qing here to tell Manager Xin the reason why she couldn't come. Nevertheless, she missed this place so much.

"Yes?" the shopkeeper was stunned when he saw a young lady appeared with a veil on. There was no carriage this time. Did she walk on the street just like that?

"Is Manager Xin here?"

"Manager Xin is upstairs."

"Thank you."

Wei Liuying walked up while the shopkeeper was still confused. It was then he realized that he forgot to ask the young lady's identity. After all, there were only a few people who knew that the real owner of this ordinary bookstore was actually Manager Xin.

Knock! Knock!

"Come in."

"Manager Xin," Wei Liuying called out.

Manager Xin, who was busy copying a book, froze in his movement. He turned around and smiled when he saw Wei Liuying standing there. However, her clothing made him frown as he knew that it was the clothing of servant from Wei Family.

"Miss Liu, are you sneaking out?"

"You can say like that," Wei Liuying responded.

"Is it alright for you to come here?"

"There's no need to worry so much. I come here because I need some help from Manager Xin and Shi Yan."

Manager Xin patted his chest. "If you ever need some help, there's no need to worry. I'll surely help you out, Little Lass. What do you need?"

"First, I would like to know how far is your influence, Manager Xin."

"Influence?" Manager Xin frowned. He has a lot of connections from his time as the official and scholar. However, he no longer communicated a lot with many of his friends since they were all already quite advanced in age. "I know some officials and others, but I don't think that there will be many who would be willing to lend a hand if I ask for it."

"I only want to procure the map of the entire Han Shi Kingdom Capital City."

"Map?" Manager Xin was surprised. He looked at Wei Liuying, who was looking back at him solemnly. "Miss, are you… planning something?"

"Yes."

Wei Liuying didn't hide it from Manager Xin. Since she needed his help, she had to be blunt with her own goal too because if not, Manager Xin might be suspecting something. Even though Manager Xin was no longer an official, he was still loyal to Han Shi Kingdom, so he wouldn't want to see the kingdom implicated.

"Why do you want the map, Miss?" Manager Xin asked carefully. A map could tell many things, so the detailed map of Han Shi Kingdom Capital City was always guarded tightly to make sure that no one would be able to misuse it.

"I want to plan a way out, Manager Xin."

"From Wei Household?"

"Yes."

Manager Xin looked at Wei Liuying. He had investigated a bit about her, so he knew some things in the Wei Household. Previously, Wei Liuying would always dodge the bullet and never say anything bad about her home. But now it was completely different.

"Why so suddenly, Miss?"

"Is it really sudden?" Wei Liuying laughed lightly. "I have always been cautious, haven't I?"

Thinking of the money that Wei Liuying didn't dare to bring home because she feared that her mother would use it, Manager Xin sighed. "You wouldn't try to harm the Imperial Family, right?"

"I swore to the Heaven that I will not try to harm the Imperial Family unless they try to chase me," Wei Liuying said solemnly.

"Alright."

Manager Xin walked to the side and took out a skin. He unfurled it on the table as the sight of the entire map of Han Shi Kingdom Capital City was shown in entirety. The name of the stores was from a year ago, but most of them were still the same by now.

"This is a map from last year. Will you take it with you?"

"No. If I take it and someone found it, I'll be in great trouble," Wei Liuying said while looking at all the routes. Her eyes were following after several paths that she never knew existed. It seemed that there were several ways for her to plan her escape.

Even if she couldn't get out of the capital city, she would be able to get out of Wei Family Residence and probably made her own living on the street. As long as she hid her feature and demeanor, she would be able to survive.

"What do you plan, Miss?"

"I'm designing my plan out," Wei Liuying said after a few breath's time. She had concluded that it was possible for her to leave the capital city, but if she was out in the wilderness, she didn't know how long she would be able to survive before dying because of some causes.

It was tricky.

"Manager Xin, do you know some bandits?"

"Bandits?" Manager Xin was stupefied. He looked at Wei Liuying with astonishment. "Do you know what you're talking about? Bandits would surely try to kill you or take you with them if you dare to appear."

"I'm aware."

"Then…"

"But bandits are the only people who would dare to breach the law and act without restrain even when they're in the midst of the capital city," Wei Liuying said firmly.

"You…" Manager Xin wanted to speak more, but he swallowed the words that he was about to say. He sighed. "I don't know any bandits because I have never gone out of this bookstore. If you want to meet one, I suggest you ask Shi Yan to introduce you with some of them."

"Oh, he knows some bandits?"

"Yes." Manager Xin sold out Shi Yan without hesitation.

Wei Liuying nodded. She should have expected that a merchant like Shi Yan would be able to know some bandits. Slowly, she retracted her gaze from the map as she had already memorized most of the important routes that she needed.

"Many thanks for your help, Manager Xin."

"It's nothing much, but please be careful Miss Liu."

Wei Liuying smiled as her eyes glinted. "I'll be alright."

Manager Xin watched Wei Liuying departed and sighed. He truly wondered what did the Wei Household do to the point that they pushed Wei Liuying to finally make this decision.