Just as the three of them were still near the Market, asking passersby for clues, a man and a woman ran over from not too far away.
The man was holding the woman's hand and jogging towards them.
Upon closer inspection, they realized it was Luo Jin, but they didn't recognize the woman with him.
He stopped when he saw Yi Xing and the others.
(As shown in the picture)
“Brother Luo Jin, who is this person with you?”
“This is my “Fairy Zixia.” Come, show them the phoenix-head shoes on your feet.”
The woman, dressed in purple and with a fuller, rounder figure, revealed her phoenix-head shoes at his words.
Seeing this, Yi Xing quietly pulled Luo Jin aside and conversed with him in a low voice, asking Qian Xi and the others to chat with her.
“Let me ask one more thing, are you sure this beauty is the person the Emperor is looking for?”
“I'm not sure. She said she had phoenix-head shoes, so I just brought her here. Let's try, what if? Maybe the production team wants to create some contrast.”
“I’m worried that if we bring the wrong person, there might be some kind of punishment.”
“It's fine, I’ll go ahead as a scout for you all.” Luo Jin patted his shoulder, returned to the woman's side, and holding her hand, continued towards Dingwu Bridge.
Two minutes flew by, and Luo Jin arrived at the shoe-fitting location with his “Fairy Zixia.”
Sitting in the center was a eunuch, whose unnaturally pale complexion immediately revealed his identity.
“Who goes there?”
“I found the young lady the Emperor was looking for.”
“Come over.”
“Alright.”
The two walked up to the eunuch.
Only then did he have a chance to size up the woman in front of him.
Her figure was almost as big as his.
If he brought someone like her into the palace, his head would be on the chopping block the next day.
He praised her with a forced, insincere smile.
“This young master’s taste is quite… willful!”
“It’s alright, quickly try the shoes on her.”
Luo Jin looked around nervously, answering distractedly.
He didn’t know when the hunters would suddenly rush out, so he had to stay fully alert.
“Someone, quickly try the shoes on this young lady.”
A junior eunuch came out, squatted down, and held the shoe to the woman's foot, just about to stand up and say it didn't fit.
But he was pushed to the ground by her, and the shoe was snatched away.
She desperately shoved her foot into it, her desire to enter the palace reaching its peak.
She really wanted to get ahead.
Seeing this scene, the head eunuch waved his hand behind him, and two imperial guards came forward, escorting the woman away with an additional remark.
“Young lady, you are not the person we are looking for.
Please leave quickly and do not cause trouble here.”
“This is “Fairy Zixia,” how could it not be her?” Luo Jin slumped to the ground, complaining to the camera.
On the other side, Yi Xing, who had yet to find any clues, suddenly realized he should try looking elsewhere.
He was about to return to a state where he couldn't contact anyone.
He found Wang Yuan and Yi Yang Qianxi, telling them they would split up to search and to notify him immediately if they found any clues.
Afterward, he chose a direction and left the Market, unsure whether his luck had suddenly improved or remained unchanged.
After walking less than a hundred meters, he encountered an old woman carrying a basket, who was shouting in the street.
“Oh my, is there anyone who can help me?”
He immediately walked over, thinking this must be the clue provider.
He held her arm and asked with concern, “Madam, what’s wrong?”
“Young man, help me, my chicken flew away, I can’t catch it, help me catch it.”
“Where is it?”
“It’s in there, follow me.”
The old woman led Yi Xing to her small courtyard.
On the ground was a fenced enclosure with several chickens inside, and one was running freely outside.
“Madam, the chicken you’re talking about is a real chicken!”
“Of course.
Go catch it quickly, it’s right there, it will run away if you’re late.”
Yi Xing swallowed, stretched his body, and after everything was ready, he still hesitated to act.
Catching a chicken was truly difficult for him.
He would dare to handle a dead chicken, but this one was alive and kicking.
However, this was his only way to get a clue.
To find that clumsy “Cinderella,” he had to go for it!
Taking a deep breath, he lunged at the chicken.
The chicken reacted very quickly, dodging instantly, almost making him fall to the ground.
He quickly regained his balance and continued to attack it.
One person and one chicken circled the fence several times, but still, no clear outcome.
The old woman nearby grew a bit impatient and urged, “Young man, are you alright? Do you need me to call others to help you?”
“No! I can do it!”
He waved his hand, rejecting the old woman's kind offer.
These words seemed to ignite his fighting spirit; his speed was faster than before, but the chicken was the same, suddenly accelerating and running away whenever it was about to be caught.
It was completely topsy-turvy, from a human chasing a chicken to a chicken eluding a human.
In this long struggle, it eventually ended with the chicken entering the fence.
However, Yi Xing couldn’t be happy because he didn’t catch it; it voluntarily walked in, seemingly tired of playing outside and wanting to return to its companions.
Before it went in, it even looked back at the person chasing it.
If it could talk, it probably meant something like this.
“Little bro, I had fun playing with you, but your skill level is just not good enough.
It’s not even enough to let me have my fill.
If you’re bad, practice more!”
Although he didn't understand animal language, he felt inexplicably mocked.
If it weren't for the time constraint, he would have wanted to catch that chicken again to battle it out and see who was stronger.
Breathing heavily, Yi Xing returned to the old woman’s side and said, “Madam, I helped you catch the chicken, do you have any clues for me?”
“Yes, a few days ago, my niece Cai Yue just lost a pair of phoenix-head shoes.”
“Where is she now?”
“She’s washing clothes at the dye house by the river.”
Having received clear location information, he opened the map and glanced at the position.
He didn't set off immediately but rested for a bit; catching the chicken had consumed too much of his physical strength.
The old woman beside him took out a brocade pouch from her pocket and handed it to Yi Xing: “Since you helped me catch the chicken, I’ll give you a gift.
Inside is a hairpin, you can give it to your beloved.”
“Alright, thank you, Madam.”
He put the brocade pouch into his pocket, then prepared to set off to find Cai Yue, as mentioned by the old woman.
By the time he was almost at the dye house, a notification appeared on his phone.
【Jia Nailiang successfully found Cai Yue and brought her to the palace to try on shoes, obtaining a powerful item.】
“Please help me edit this into black and white later, thank you!” he said seriously to the camera, then collapsed weakly to the ground, shouting loudly at the sky, “Why was I born if Jia Nailiang was also born? What was all that hard work catching chickens for!”
