Chapter 61: Touching Up Her Makeup

  "Mr. Zhou, no need to be overly modest!" Choi Si-hyung suddenly spoke out in pure Chinese: "Mr. Zhou, on your way to the capital this time, I will have Military Strategist Lu Wenjun and Right Protector Pak Jong-woong accompany you. You will bring the iron whip, and all the followers of Donghak will be at your disposal! The Qing Empire and our Joseon are interdependent like lips and teeth, and our cultures share a common origin, so we were never separate to begin with. If Mr. Zhou can help me recover Mr. Kim's remains for Donghak, you will be the benefactor of our people! As for the position of leader, I, Choi, am willing to step down! I hereby wish Mr. Zhou a successful journey!"

  Korea was a vassal state of the Qing dynasty, and its official script was Chinese characters. Any cultured Korean could speak Chinese, and Choe Che-u, as the leader of the Donghak movement, was well-versed in both ancient and modern learning, and his Chinese was extremely pure.

  It seems that Donghak will go all out for Kim Ok-gyun's remains!

  Zhou Xuan Zhang said with a sigh: "Since the master trusts me so much, I will go to the capital for a trip! However, I also have a condition."

  "Please speak, Mr. Zhou," said Choi Si-hyung.

  "This time going to the capital, if I can bring back Mr. Jin's remains, I believe that Master Cui will keep his promise and release my brothers. If unfortunately I fail and die in the capital, I still hope that Master Cui will spare my face and release my brothers, they all have an 80-year-old mother above and a three-year-old child below..."

  Han Lingjun sneered: "The soldiers of the Qing Dynasty, none of them are deceitful. More than a hundred people all have elderly mothers and young children at home. This is Xue Rengu's doing!"

  Zhou Xuanzhang's face turned red, and he secretly seethed with anger. Today, these more than a hundred soldiers have completely lost the face of the Qing Dynasty! If they can return alive, they must thoroughly deal with this group of people!

  Choi Shi-heng smiled and said: "Mr. Zhou will surely return triumphantly! Even if there's a slight setback, I, Choi, won't make things difficult for your brother!"

  Zhou Xuanzhang nodded and turned his head to glance at Ha Wu and Yao Xi: "You two, don't need to follow me anymore, go back to Liaodong."

  Yao Xi was overjoyed and just about to kowtow in gratitude, when Ha Wu stepped forward: "Master, I lost face for you today and let the Koreans look down on us. I'm willing to go with you to Beijing to regain our honor!"

  "Lao Na, why must you do this?" Yao Xi said with a bitter face.

  "Damn it, I'm a descendant of the Qing imperial family, my ancestor was Kangxi's eldest brother! Think back to when I followed Zuo Zongtang to conquer Shaanxi and Gansu, what prestige that was! Following you bunch of good-for-nothings is like having eight lifetimes of bad luck! You've lost face for our ancestors! Dammit, the Qing dynasty really has declined with each generation!"

  "Damn it, my ancestors were still Yao Chong! Following you bunch of Eight Banners nobles, I've lost all face for my ancestors! I'll follow the Old Master to Beijing and make a trip, to argue for my ancestors' honor!"

  Qian Yougui exclaimed: "The imperial court has spoken, Manchu and Han are one family, two of them are either a member of the Qing royal family or descendants of loyal officials! It's just right to join hands and march together to face national difficulties and rescue us from danger!" As long as someone goes to the capital, Qian Yougui and these Qing soldiers' heads can be saved.

  "Brother Zhou, I want to go too!" Jin Shu shouted amidst the commotion.

  "You're no good, absolutely not!"

  "I want to go find Daddy...my Daddy..." Jin Shu's tears fell again.

  "Jin Xiu, the Japanese are looking for you everywhere, going to Beijing is like walking into a trap! Moreover, it's very dangerous on the way to Beijing. As a girl, following Mr. Zhou will only bring him trouble."

  Zhou Xuan Zhang saw Liu Ying from afar and stared blankly at Jin Yu Jun's portrait, like a wooden person.

  Nothing is more lamentable than the death of one's mind!

  "Brother Zhou, I won't trouble you, just in case..." Jin Shu suddenly stopped her tears, and two cold glints shot out from her eyes - she was gripping a dagger in her hand: "I will never let myself fall into the hands of the Japanese!"

  This seemingly weak girl has an unexpectedly strong character - that dagger is not for self-defense, but for herself!

  "Zhou Xuan Zhang hastily said: 'Jiāo ér, a girl playing with knives and guns is not decent, let me take care of it for you.'"

  "No!" Jin Xiu said, biting her lip.

  Zhou Xuanzhang had no choice but to say, "Alright, Ruo'er, but you have to promise me that on this journey, you must follow me and not run off! If you leave my side for even half a step, big brother will... Zhou Xuanzhang originally wanted to say "will drive you away", but couldn't bear to, so he changed his words: "Big brother will get angry!"

  "Brother Zhou, I won't make you angry!" Jin Shu said solemnly.

  ……

  The next day early in the morning, Zhou Xuan Zhang, Jin Shu, Na Ha Wu, Yao Xi, Lu Wen Jun, and Park Jung-ung came out of Fenghundong.

  The Soul-Sealing Cave was just behind the black pine forest, with a sheer cliff on one side and towering ancient trees on the other. The entrance to the cave was narrow, only allowing one person to enter or exit at a time. The exterior of the cave was densely surrounded by trees, making it extremely well-hidden. No one would have ever imagined that this small mountain cave could accommodate thousands of horses and men.

  Lu Wenjun looked weak, wearing a seventh-grade official uniform, pretending to be an official from the local government who came to Beijing for duty. Zhou Xianzhang, Na Ha Wu, Yao Xi and Park Chung-ung wore waist knives and wore Korean military uniforms, pretending to be guards. Jin Hui was short in stature and had a handsome face, but could only smear carbon powder on her face to pretend to be Lu Wenjun's servant boy.

  Zhou Xuan Zhang's committee rifle, Ha Wu's Kasel repeating rifle, Yao Xi's Winchester wrapped in a gift box, carried by a horse - these weapons are all advanced firearms, and the regular army of Korea does not have them, let alone an attendant of a seventh-grade official.

  The crowd quickly walked out of Fengling Valley and turned northeast, entering a more treacherous high mountain range.

  Zhou Xuan Zhang was puzzled and asked: "Lu Jun Shi, Pyongyang is in the southeast direction, why are we heading northeast?"

  "Mr. Zhou, the road to the capital generally goes through Ping'an and Shaliyuan, in a southeast direction towards Pyongyang. The road is easy to walk, but it's over 100 miles away. This road is slightly more difficult to navigate, but it's a shortcut that can bypass Pyongyang and go straight to Kaesong. After passing Kaesong, the capital is not far away."

  Zhou Xuan Zhang was secretly shocked, the so-called main road was so bumpy and difficult to walk, the precious troops of Zuo Baogui were still crawling like a snail on the so-called "main road", let alone the smaller roads.

  "Can this road accommodate a large group of people?" Zhou Xianzhang asked.

  "The big gun will definitely not pass." Lu Wenjun said: "However, with a light load, it can also be done."

  "How long will it take?"

  "For two days."

  "Only two days! Is that so soon?" Zhou Xuanzhang became interested, if the main force could arrive near the capital in two days, even without big guns, it would pose a great threat to the Japanese!

  "Your own, go and try it yourself, then you'll know."

  Five people ventured into the vast and boundless mountains.

  The path was indeed difficult to walk, and in a strict sense, it wasn't even a road, but just a direction. The forest was dense with thorns and brambles everywhere. Pu Zhengxiong, Zhou Xianzhang, Na Ha Wu, and Yao Xi took turns using their machetes to clear the way, and they managed to cut out a path through the dense forest and thorny thickets.

  As expected, this road was difficult to walk on, but it really shortened the distance by over a hundred miles. In just three days, everyone arrived at the foot of Kaicheng City.

  The city is very quiet in the twilight, with smoke curling up from the kitchens inside, a peaceful atmosphere.

  Kai City is only fifty miles away from the capital city, and the capital city has been surrounded by Japanese troops, while Kai City does not show any signs of war.

  Zhou Xuanzhang turned his head to look at Jin Shu, who had kept her promise all along the way, closely following Zhou Xuanzhang without taking a step back, afraid of provoking Zhou Xuanzhang's anger.

  Zhou Xuanzhang made a bitter face: "Rou'er, you should touch up your makeup."

  Jin Xiu looked bewildered: "Brother Zhou, I didn't bring rouge?"

  "I'm talking about carbon powder!" Zhou Xuanzhang shook his head and sighed, "You girl, you're too pretty, if you don't apply the carbon powder thickly, it can't cover up at all!"

  "Shame on you!" Jin Shu's face turned red all the way to her ears.

  Na Ha Wu also chimed in: "Jin Shu, our boss is telling the truth. We're fine walking in the mountains, but if we attract a crowd of people to gawk at the beauty, we'll be in trouble. This trip of ours, let's face it, is a sneaky and underhanded affair, so we need to keep a low profile!"

  "You're bullying me!" Jin Shu said with a red face, turning her back and wiping a handful of carbon powder on her face, then turned to face Zhou Xuan Zhang: "Brother Zhou, is this okay now?"

  Zhou Xuanzhang gazed at her for a moment, then sighed: "My little sister, you're even more beautiful with the powder on. This charcoal ash can't cover it up... If I had known it would be like this, I really shouldn't have brought you here..."

  "Big Brother Zhou, are you going to drive me away?" Two glittering teardrops rolled in Jin Shu's big eyes, and were about to fall.