Chapter 189: Jao Cong’s Play

“This plan might sound a little convoluted,” Jao Cong began, “but its actually simple. Step 1…”

Wang Zen was furiously going through a martial arts form.

“I’ve never seen this form before, Wang Zen.” Xue Shaonu said. She and her cousins were looking on with Shibi on her shoulder.

“It’s a mash up of a few forms.” Zen said, not stopping. “The Assassin has a few techniques where she aims for the legs to unbalance her opponent. I practicing so I can defend against her.”

“How will this help Congie?” Jao Fuu said in confusion.

“The Assassin is using odour to track him,” Jao Cong explained, “So we’ll use this time to make sure these old clothes soak up as much sweat as possible.”

“Wouldn’t that make it easier for the Assassin to track him?” Xue Shaonu said.

“Normally, but I’ll sort that out in Step 2.” Cong said. “For now, these clothes will smell like him, then we’ll get people to wear them and go to different parts of the town to throw her off.”

“Decoys! That’s… actually clever.” Xue Shaonu said, looking at the sweat darkening Zen’sclothes and making his brow shine.

Jao Fuu laughed a little. “Where are we going to get people to wear someone else’s sweaty clothes?”

“That’s a task for you ladies.”

“What?” Fuu frowned and slumped. “Oh well, the sun is coming up. Myabe I’ll find some hobo who’ll agree to the job.”

“Make sure they don’t stink, Sis.” Cong shouted to his departing sister. “We cannot have their smell overpowering Zen’s odour.”

Zen finished the form and looked out in the distance. Just as Fuu said, the sun had begun to rise. “Can we ove to the next part of the plan. Time is running out.”

Cong nodded. “Fine, time for step 2, a bath.”

Zen was at Cong’s cottage, in the small bathtub.

“Is this really necessary?” Zen said, sitting naked in the bathtub of water. Just a foot away, Jao Cong and Shibi were sitting on a bench watching him. “Its weird with you watching.”

Cong looked at him in confusion. “Would you prefer if Xue Shaonu watched you instead.”

“N-No!” Zen said, his face growing a shade of red.

“I do not understand what the problem is?” he said. “We’ve gone to bathhouses before yeah.”

“Yeah but we were both naked and you weren’t judgng my bathing form.” Zen complained as he continued to bath.

“We need to make sure you wash well. You must have no odour and no dead skin cells.” Cong said. “You can’t smell like you.”

“Yeah yeah.” Zen said.

“Wait… Wait… Wait…” Cong said.

“What?” Zen said, stopping in worry.

“Use this,” Cong reached back and produced a washing brush.

Zen groaned and took the brush and began washing himself. “Ouch! Is this a brush? It feels like a rock on a stick!”

“Don’t forget to wash down there.” Cong said. “You know, behind, between.”

“Let me guess, you going to watch that too?”

Cong shrugged. “Just for quality control.”

“How long am I going to be naked for?” Zen said. He was not really naked as he had a pair of Cong’s underwear on.

“Just until Xue Shaonu comes back.

There was a knock on the door and Zen dived behind the closest piece of furniture.

“There she is.”

Zen’s head peeked out from the furniture. “Are you trying to destroy me, Jao Cong? She can’t come in here!”

She didn’t. She presented clothes and a bottle of rosé coloured liquid.

Cong presented the clothes to Wang Zen. “You okay, Wang Zen? Your face has been pink for a long time.”

“Shut up, Cong’er!”

Zen looked at his clothes. They were primarily blue with white accents.

“Xue Shaonu picked these out for me?” Zen said.

Cong nodded. “Better to get new clothes that have none of your odour.”

Zen was not really paying attention, he was making a mental note to get more blue clothes.

“Here,”Cong presented the rosé bottle, “Put some of this on.”

Zen popped the glass cork and sniffed. “Smells like a girls fragrance.”

“It belongs to Xue Shaonu.”

“But I don’t want to smell like a girl.” He said.

“You can’t smell like you,” Cong shrugged.

Zen poured some of the liquid on his palms and began rubbing it on himself.

The door to the cottage opened and Cong walked out, followed by Zen. Jao Fuu and Xue Shaonu looked up at the two.

“Wow, Wang Zen, you look good.” Jao Fuu smiled. “Usually youlook like a kid hobo but now you look like a real noble.”

“Thanks,” Zen said dryly.

“You like them?” Xue Shaonu smiles shyly.

He smiled, “Yes. Thank you, Xue Shaonu.”

“Alright, we need to get moving.” Jao Fuu said. “The people I have who are going to carry your clothes are already agitated.”

Zen nodded.

At the academy gate, Jao Fuu hands Zen’s three items of clothing to the hired carriers. A shirt for one, a pari of pants for the other and an undergarment vest for the third. The three carriers separate, going to different parts of the town.

Once they were gone, the rest of the group joined them.

“Alright, now Step 3, we’ll follow Zen’s original plan.” Jao Cong said. “Now we hire a carriage and get to your home town.”

Zen nodded. “I don’t have enough money for that.”

““We’ll chip in!”” the three of them said.

Zen smiled, holding back tears. “Thanks, everyone!”

The carriage comes.

“Thanks for the help, Bro.” Jao Fuu said when she noticed Cong walk to join them.

“What are you talking about?” Cong said. “I’m coming along.”

“No you’re not.” Fuu insisted. “If this assassin is as dangerous as Zen Zen says, then I’ll need all y skills to protect him. I can’t be distracted in trying to protect you too.”

“I can handle myself!” Cong said. “Zen, tell her!”

Zen gave him a sad smile. “I agree with your sister,” he said. His body visually shuddered. “Weird, I never thought I’d use those words.”

Jao Cong looked hurt. He folded his arms, scowled and looked away from the trio.

“It’s okay, Jao Cong.” Xue Shaonu added. “You’ve done a lot already with coming up with the plan. Let us carry it out the rest of the way. Thank you, Jao Cong.”

He did not turn.

“Thanks for everything, Coz.” Zen said, as he entered the carriage.

He did not turn.

“Don’t be like that, Cong’er.” Jao Fuu said as she entered. “On our next life threatening adventure, we’ll take you along!”

He did not turn.

The carriage door closed and he looked back, but still kept most of his body turned away from them. “Good luck! Come back safely. Wang Zen, send my best wishes to your family.”

Zen nodded.

The carriage pulled away, leaving Jao Cong alone to wonder and worry.

“So you two in the same class?” Zen said, trying to dispel the awkward silence that had built up in the carriage.

The had just left the city and were making good progress onto their destination.

“Yeah, we are.” Jao Fuu said.

Silence fell once again. It was clear to Zen that these two never interacted with each other. The conversation between him, Cong and Shaonu was more liveler than this back when they were hunting for the Snow Ram.

“I like your perfume, Xue Shaonu.” Fuu said, in her own attempt to dispel the awkwardness.

“I am not wearing perfume.”

Both women looked at Zen.

“Your brother told me to wear it!” Zen quickly explained.

“Did he subscribe a matching dress?”

Xue Shaonu giggled at Jao Fuu’s jest.

Zen turned beet red with emarrassement.

“Come now, it is not so bad.” Xue Shaonu said. “That perfume is quite rare and expansive. I was surprised when Chen Jian gave…” she caught herself and clasped her hand over her mouth.

“Wait,” Jao Fuu smirked, “Chen Jian gave you that perfume and now Wang Zen is wearing it?” he burst out laughing.

Zen clenched his hands, his emabaressement growing into anger. He was about to shout at his cousin before Shibi piped up.Zen and Shibi were so intuned that he could distinguish his ‘ooks’ and he knew this one was a warning.

Zen looked around. Smoke was beginning to flood the small space of the carriage. Both girls looked around in alarm.

“Is Shibi doing this?” Jao Fuu said, covering her nose.

“No!” Zen coughed.

The carriage buckled, Zen guessed it had lost a wheel. The driver screamed in pain and the carriage stood to a still. Zen could hear the steeds hooves get further away with each passing second.

“The carriage is on fire!” Jao Fuu said through the smoke.

“Pulsing Palm!” Xue Shaonu hit the door and three pulses sent it flying off the hinges, allowing the three students to escape. They walked away from the burning carriage. Zen caught sight of the driver, who laid slimped over on the road.

He looked down along the road and his eyes widened. “No… Impossible!” Zen said. “You can’t be here.”

The Masked Woman and her Grey Stalker stood along the road. Above her palm was the Needle Sphere. “Did you really think you could escape death, Wang Zen?”