Chapter 85: War has Begun

Outside, Wei Chi Die and An Ge seemed to be talking to those people, who were holding lamps in their hands and has taken out a stack of portraits and comparing it with them with difficulty.

This wave after wave was endless. Anger surged in her heart and without a word, Wei Chi Li jumped out of the carriage. Her figure hid so quickly in the darkness that others could only see an afterimage.

By the time Wei Chi Die and the others reacted, those people had quietly fallen to the ground and those portraits were scattered all over the place. Wei Chi Li fell from mid-air, with her back arched slightly to stand firmly.

Seen from behind, her figure was thin, tall, and exuding an aura that does not allow people to approach easily.

Wei Chi Die opened her mouth slightly and was stupefied. She also jumped down from the carriage and said anxiously: “Wei Chi Li, what are you doing? What if you alerted the enemies?”

“It will not. If we waited till they reacted then we attack, I’m afraid that the soldiers will follow and catch up.” Wei Chi Li said as she bent over, picked up one person’s foot and dragged him straight into the bushes on the side of the road and carefully covered with grass.

“Come and help.” Wei Chi Li turned her head and raised her chin towards the rest of the people.

“Princess, let me, let me!” Xin Ran finally found a chance to ‘wake up’. She lifted the curtain, got out of the carriage, and quickly hid the rest of the people in the bushes.

Wei Chi Die looked at Wei Chi Li’s swift movement and thought of something, then her eyes dimmed a little.

“Let us leave quickly. It will be early next morning when they wake up, so we should hurry up.” Wei Chi Li said as she sat back on her seat. Her brows furrowed slightly, wondering what to do next. They still have to go through Yan Country territory for a long while and there were several larger prefectures on the way. So, there will definitely be checkpoints and they will do a search, thus, they could not fight every one of them. That will consume a lot of energy and they may get injured, which was definitely a bad idea.

Maybe they could dress up in disguise, but how should these 5 eye-catching women dress up?

“Sister, do you know how to disguise?” Wei Chi Li had no choice but to ask Wei Chi Die for help.

At this time, Xin Ran had already gone outside to take over An Ge. An Ge and Wei Chi Die both sat back in the carriage to rest. After Wei Chi Die heard this, she thought for a while and shook her head: “I have heard the rumours in JiangHu, but I have never seen it with my own eyes. The so-called disguise technique is just to cover up a person’s original appearance. Why? You want to disguise all of us?”

“Is there any other way?” Wei Chi Li leaned against the carriage wall helplessly.

Wei Chi Die thought about it again and in the end, she shook her head helplessly.

“Just now, I have seen that those people were holding portraits of 3 of us. There isn’t any of An Ge and Xin Ran, so if we want to disguise and dress up, we only need to do it for the 3 of us. But how to disguise?” Wei Chi Die touched her exquisite face, still feeling a little bit reluctant in her heart.

Wei Chi Li placed her gaze on Liu Luo Yi. Liu Luo Yi met her gaze abruptly and was stunned. She blinked and pointed at herself: “Me?”

“Little Liu’er, you are superb in paintings. I believe it is not difficult to dress us up, right?” Wei Chi Li probed.

Liu Luo Yi was in a quandary as she bit her lower lip. Under Wei Chi Li’s eager gaze, she nodded with difficulty and said softly: “I can try.”

In fact, she does not have any certainty at all, but it was rare that Wei Chi Li needed her to do something, and she does not want to refuse when she rarely came in handy.

“It’s okay. Try your best and if it’s not possible, forget it.” When Wei Chi Li heard it, she smiled and took out a package from under the seat and handed it to Liu Luo Yi.

Wei Chi Die immediately opened her eyes wide. She patted Wei Chi Li hard and gritted her teeth: “That’s my rouge gouache….”

“When we return to the Northern Territory, I will buy for you.” Wei Chi Li said perfunctorily, then looked at Liu Luo Yi expectantly. Liu Luo Yi took the package and contemplated at Wei Chi Li and Wei Chi Die, then took out Luo Zi Dai(!) and smeared it on Wei Chi Li’s face without saying a word.

(!)螺子黛 Luo Zi Dai: Ancient version of eyebrow pencil.

“Little Liu’er, why do I feel that something is wrong. What are you drawing on my face….?” Just as Wei Chi Li said that, she saw Liu Luo Yi glancing at her indifferently. She immediately shut her mouth and closed her eyes as if she were dead.

As time passed, the tools on Liu Luo Yi’s hand have changed one after another. Wei Chi Li seemed to hear Wei Chi Die giggling at one side. Feeling a bad premonition, she glanced at her suspiciously.

This bad premonition reached its peak when Liu Luo Yi covered her head with an ugly blue cloth, and that blue cloth was originally used to wrap the clothes.

“Okay, you have to change clothes too. Buy some when we passed by a farmhouse at dawn.” Liu Luo Yi said as she spread her dirty hands and beckoned Wei Chi Die to come.

Wei Chi Die’s smile collapsed in an instant. She covered her face that she treasured a lot and said embarrassingly: “How about I don’t disguise, just the 2 of you is sufficient.”

Wei Chi Li pushed her from behind.

Wei Chi Die looked at An Ge, then at Liu Luo Yi who was sharpening her knife to slaughter pigs and sheep, then she resigned to her fate and sat down.

Fortunately, this time, Liu Luo Yi showed mercy, as she had only combed a man’s hairstyle for her. They happened to encounter a farmhouse on the road, hence they knocked on the door and bought some fish maw glue and a set of peasant women’s clothes.

“What is this?” Wei Chi Li asked as she pointed at some shredded hairs that were cut by Liu Luo Yi.

“Stubble.” Liu Luo Yi said as she earnestly sticks those hair onto Wei Chi Die’s face one by one and even stuck some near her ears. Her expression was extremely serious as if she were treating a piece of work.

Soon, Wei Chi Die changed from a beautiful and seductive woman to a man with stubble. Liu Luo Yi had also borrowed a man’s clothes from An Ge and put them on Wei Chi Die.

Wei Chi Li looked at Wei Chi Die’s burly and rough appearance and could not help but laughed out loud. But was smacked on the forehead by Wei Chi Die. She threw a bronze mirror to her contemptuously and sneered: “Look at yourself.”

Wei Chi Li picked up the bronze mirror and was startled by herself in the mirror. She had already become an old woman with wrinkles, especially the blue cloth on her head makes it remarkably true to life.

Liu Luo Yi seemed to suddenly remember something and took the remaining fish maw glue and smeared it on Wei Chi Li’s face. This time, her wrinkles instantly became three-dimensional and were even more real.

Wei Chi Li looked at the mirror and wanted to cry. She admired Liu Luo Yi’s craftsmanship. With her talent and if she were to be in modern times, even if she were not a painter, she could be a professional makeup artist.

Liu Luo Yi did not treat herself so meticulously as she draws her eyebrows thicker and something else. In short, when Wei Chi Li looked at her again, she felt that she had changed into a different person. The originally delicate and gentle eyebrows became cold and elegant.

“So, you are a man, you are a woman, and I am an old woman?” Wei Chi Li looked at them one by one, and then leaned over to Liu Luo Yi’s side shamelessly, “No. you have to disguised me as a man and we can pretend to be husband and wife.”

“We are a family visiting relatives at the border. Princess’s portrait is the most detailed one and so, only in this way, will it not arouse people’s suspicion.” Liu Luo Yi said seriously.

“Little Liu’er is right.” Wei Chi Die said with a smile. She reached out her long arms and pulled Liu Luo Yi to her side then caressed her head intimately: “Wife, let’s sit together.”

When Wei Chi Li saw this, jealousy surged up her head and she squeezed her fist, cracking her knuckles.

Wei Chi Die raised her eyebrows with a smug look on her face. Wei Chi Li, annoyed, pulled An Ge who was watching the show and suddenly blows a kiss at her.

The corner of Wei Chi Die’s mouth trembled faintly.

Wei Chi Li and Wei Chi Die fought for a while and then feeling exhausted, they finally stopped moving. The chirping sound of insects surrounds them, the rustling of leaves, the fragrance of grass and soil drifting into the carriage. The smoke was heavy and hazy in the distance and the carriage bumps occasionally, but it was still stable. 

Liu Luo Yi was still sitting upright on the seat. She looked down at Wei Chi Li who was lying on her lap and then reached out to gently brush the hair off her face. The wrinkled face was no longer beautiful, but she was enchanted by it.

If someone were watching at this time, they would be surprised by the expression in her eyes. It was clear like spring lake after rain, full of affection, and sometimes overflowing.

She did not close her eyes for a whole night and just like that, guarding Wei Chi Li and kept her head straight from time to time, even when her legs were sore and numb, she did not say a word about it.

A few days later, this disguising technique turned out to be extremely useful. Because, they have never been suspected when passing through a few consecutive checkpoints and so, they went all the way to the north smoothly. The scenery in front has changed from occasional green to flat, yellowish greenery stretching to the horizon, connected by the blue sky. The half a person tall grass on the ground gradually became denser and was occasionally blown apart, like waves rushing to both sides. A few sharp horns of cattle and sheep would be exposed.

Liu Luo Yi had never seen such a world before. She felt relaxed and when she had the time, she even went into the grass to chase the cattle and sheep who were not afraid of people.

Wei Chi Li even wanted to buy a little lamb for her to play with but was stopped by Wei Chi Die.

As they got closer to the border, they speed up again. But because they had been on the road for many days, they were all exhausted both physically and mentally. They had no choice but to stopped at a small border town temporarily and went into a tavern to sit down to drink and rest.

The folks here were pure and honest, their attire was different from the central plains. Many people were wrapped in windbreaker robes and saying things that Wei Chi Li could not hear clearly. They were drinking from a large bowl and eating meats that were cut from a whole leg of a lamb.

“These few days don’t run to the border. War has started over there and it is said that Yan Country has begun to transfer its army to the border. I’m afraid that it is not possible to avoid this battle.” A burly man shook his head while eating the meat.

Wei Chi Li stopped eating and listened. There was a bad premonition in her heart. Sure enough, the war has started inevitably, and it was a bit earlier than what was written in the book. In the book, at the time of war between Yan Country and the Northern Territory, the weather was chilly, and although it was now autumn, it was still warm.

Will the ending in the book stays the same? She furrowed her brows together tightly, not even noticing the meat on the chopsticks has already fallen.

“Blood and tears of the commoners shed during the war that year. And yet it has begun again. We are here and could not escape either, we should escape to the capital as soon as we can, so we can keep our lives.”

“Capital?” Dream on. All of us at the border depended on shepherding sheep to live. When we arrive in the capital, we will be a refugee with nothing. When has the court taken care of us!” That burly man cut a handful of mutton viciously. 

[T/L Note]: Luo Zi Dai = Modern times Eyebrow pencil