Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

Yu Ling was a well-informed person in Luoyang. He knew that An Qingxu had fled in the dead of night before many of the rebels had even heard the news. He knew those rebels well and knew what they would do once they learned that the city had been abandoned and their families had become expendable pawns. So he immediately contacted the officials and wealthy merchants with whom he had always been on good terms, gathered his servants together, and armed them for self-defense—if they were scattered and fought individually, they would most likely be defeated one by one.

Now that everyone had gathered, they needed to find a place with high walls and thick gates, easy to defend and difficult to attack, as a plan for a long-term defense. In fact, Yu Ling had already made a plan and had informed his relatives and friends in advance. The place he chose was in the southeast of Luoyang City, in a neighborhood called Zhangshan, and the site was the Shengshan Temple.

Shengshan Temple, originally named Zhongxing Temple, was first built in the first year of the Shenlong era. It was a Buddhist monastery. The following year, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang renamed it Shengshan in honor of Empress Wu Zetian. As this temple belonged to the imperial family, it was naturally fortified with high walls and thick gates, and occupied a large area. In the fourth year of the Jinglong era, in order to build more monks' quarters, dozens of nearby houses were destroyed, occupying almost half of the entire neighborhood. Not to mention the families and servants of a dozen or so wealthy merchants and officials, even if all the people from the surrounding neighborhoods crowded in, there would still be room for them.

Meanwhile, Yu Ling sent Chen Fu and Yun Lin with some of his household servants to the palace to fetch Consort Shen. Now that Li Ji had confirmed the woman was Consort Shen, if he didn't rescue her in time and something went wrong, Yu Ling himself would be in deep trouble. Even if he could protect his family amidst the chaos of the Yan and Tang armies, what good would it do? After Li Chu entered the city, his first order might be to execute Yu Ling and his entire family for failing to rescue Consort Shen…

Knowing the situation was still critical, Chen Fu succinctly explained the situation to Li Ji in a few words, then followed Li Ji into the kitchen. At that moment, the palace servants and eunuchs in the back courtyard, having heard that the rebel army had left, those with a little more courage huddled in the front courtyard to observe the situation. When Chen Fu saw so many people, he couldn't help but gasp.

They immediately focused their attention on Li Ji, their expression conveying the message: Who is this person? Quickly bring him out so we can protect him and retreat to Shengshan Temple.

Unexpectedly, Li Ji shook his head and instead ordered, "Move the water vat away and open the door—" He pointed at Chen Fu and said, "This is a good friend. You can all escape the palace with him and avoid the soldiers."

Chen Fu thought to himself, "Are you crazy? There might still be mutinous soldiers in the palace and on the streets. With so many people, how are we going to get through... Oh dear, another one has appeared! Just how deep is this courtyard, and how many more are hiding behind it?"

Suddenly, he felt Li Ji squeeze his wrist hard, then whispered in his ear, "As the saying goes, 'Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda'..."

Chen Fu thought to himself, "Is there really such a saying? But I don't believe in Buddhism and have never given away a single penny. What's the point of telling me this?"

Li Ji then said, “There are quite a few people. If we don’t take them with us, do you think they will let us go alone? If they start making a fuss, it might attract soldiers… Besides, I can’t tell which of them have any connection with that person—she has been hiding here for two whole years. Doesn’t she have any ties with him? If we leave them behind, I’m afraid that person will not be happy.”

Having no other option, Chen Fu waved his hand and said, "Everyone, please be quiet and keep your voices down as we escape from the palace..."

Someone asked, "Sir, where do you come from? And where are we going?"

“We are members of Lord Yu’s family. Lord Yu is currently at Shengshan Temple, where he has food and weapons…”

"Is it Yu Baiwan from Jishanfang?"

Upon hearing this, Li Ji couldn't help but chuckle—so, Old Man Yu had such a nickname, which was quite fitting. Even the palace servants knew his nickname; it seemed this fellow wielded considerable influence in Luoyang.

As an outsider like Chen Fu, he naturally couldn't command the hundreds of palace servants and eunuchs. It was only thanks to Yang Sichu, supported by Consort Shen, that the commotion was quelled and the crowd calmed. Although Sichu was only a sixth-rank official—the highest rank among female historians was the head of each bureau, and even the fifth-rank officials might not be willing to obey—Old Madam Yang was already over fifty years old and had the longest and most senior position in the palace. Anyone who was still able-bodied and could run to Sichu for refuge was undoubtedly her junior.

So several burly men worked together to move the water vat, open the courtyard gate, and then, led by Chen Fu, formed a long line and fled straight out of the palace. When they passed through the alleyways outside the courtyard, littered with corpses and blood, many palace servants and eunuchs felt their limbs go weak and nearly collapsed, needing their companions to support them as they walked. Of course, some were a little braver; Li Ji collected many weapons from the corpses and distributed them—"Even if you can't fight, you can use these for self-defense."

The palace servants and eunuchs looked at Li Ji differently now than before. Some were shocked, some were fearful, but a few, regardless of gender, also showed admiration. Among them, the head cook Pang pushed through the crowd, reaching out to grab Li Ji's arm, saying, "Today, thanks to you, Zhili! I knew long ago that although you look young, you are no ordinary person. You are destined to become the Director of the Palace Attendants or the Junior Director of the Palace Attendants..."

Li Ji quickly shrank back and dodged, thinking to himself, "Don't be ridiculous. I'll change out of this filthy outfit as soon as I leave the palace. I'd never be a palace eunuch!" But he said perfunctorily, "Sister Pang, please don't wander around. The alley is very narrow. If you all walk in order, you can get there faster."

He carried a horizontal sword, with a shield tucked into one side of his belt and four spearheads he had severed himself on the other, making him fully armed. He had also collected several flying swords and returned them to A-Cuo. A number of people were gathered around A-Cuo, asking her how she could speak, and noting that her eyes didn't seem as dull as before… A-Cuo couldn't answer, only shaking her head and avoiding their questions.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Li Ji pulled A-Cuo aside and said to the others, "Let's talk outside—A-Cuo and I are stronger, so we should cover the rear."

Unlike Chang'an, Luoyang's palace was not located directly north of the imperial city, but was partially surrounded by it. Furthermore, the imperial city was not located in the northern center of the city, but rather in the northwest corner.

The Luoyang Palace City was mainly divided into four parts. The main southern part, including the East Palace, was surrounded by the Imperial City on three sides. The northern part included Taoguang Garden, Yaoyi City, and Yuanbi City. With thousands of palaces and gates, it was difficult to break through in a short time. Who knew which city gate was still defended by rebels or was completely closed and difficult to open?

The same applies to the east side of the palace. Beyond the East Palace lies the Imperial City Wall, followed by the East City Wall. The west side is also the Imperial City Wall, which forms the northwest outer wall of the entire city. Naturally, it was locked and closed long ago when a major enemy was approaching. Therefore, Chen Fu and his men infiltrated through the Duanmen Gate (the main gate of the Imperial City) and the Youyemen Gate north of the Tianjin Bridge—the same gate through which the rebel army that raided the palace entered—and after passing through the Imperial City, they entered the palace through the Yingtianmen Gate (the main gate of the palace) and the Changlemen Gate. On their return journey, they naturally retraced their steps.

Fortunately, they hadn't gone far when Yunlin and his men arrived. He was late because they had encountered a chaotic battle and were forced to fight, resulting in the loss of half their men, and almost all of them were wounded. When he saw this huge, dark mass of people, Yunlin was speechless with astonishment.

During their escape, they still occasionally encountered small groups of rebel soldiers, but seeing that these palace servants and eunuchs were guarded by strong, valiant soldiers with swords, most dared not approach. A few less bright ones—the slightly smarter ones had already looted their fill and fled—would come up and ask, "Whose family are you? You've robbed so many palace servants; could you spare one or two of us?"

Of course, their response will be a fatal blow.

However, no one knew how many rebel troops were still lingering in the palace, or whether they would gather their companions and launch a large-scale attack. Therefore, Chen Fu urged them repeatedly, and Yang Sichu also warned them from time to time, demanding that everyone maintain order and move as fast as possible...

Li Ji and A Cuo walked side by side to cover the rear. After a while, they had just arrived at Chang Le Gate when they suddenly heard someone calling out from not far away, "Help... help me..." Li Ji recognized the voice and rushed over to check. He saw that it was the old eunuch who had once taught him. He had been stabbed in the leg and was lying in a pool of blood, struggling to get up.

Without saying a word, Li Ji carried it on his back and left.

The old eunuch finally saw who he was and felt somewhat relieved. He then leaned on Li Ji's back and asked in a low voice, "Is that person... really him?" Li Ji nodded, "Thanks to... the old gentleman for conveying the message."

Where is it located?

Li Ji pointed forward, and then heard the old eunuch say from behind, "Thank God, good people are indeed rewarded. Since I was able to save her life and perform this meritorious deed, I will surely be reborn into a good family in my next life and will not suffer torture again..."

He gently patted Li Ji's shoulder and said, "Go protect that person and leave me behind. Anyway, I don't have much time left..."

Li Ji shook his head: "Old sir, don't be discouraged. Of course I will save that person, and I will also save the other palace servants and eunuchs—since we've encountered them, how can we abandon them?"

A-Cuo glanced at him from the side and whispered, "You mean well, but I just hope it doesn't delay the important business."

Li Ji knew he had a sharp tongue, so he didn't dare to respond, lest he make another bold statement. He simply turned his head and smiled at her.

A-Cuo wasn't a jinx; they went through Chang Le Gate, then Right Ye Gate, and passed through Tian...

Chapter Twenty-Two, Amoghavajra

Tonight, Li Ji fought for nearly half an hour. Although his physical strength was still holding up, he was extremely exhausted mentally. The main reason was that he had never encountered such a life-or-death situation before, not to mention since his transmigration, even considering the nearly twenty years of lifespan of the original owner of this body in this world.

So he asked Yu Ling for a clean set of clothes to change into—the key wasn't the blood all over him, but the fact that he couldn't stand wearing eunuch's robes anymore—and then went to find a monk's room to sleep. Since he'd already sent A-Cuo to summon Consort Shen to meet Yu Ling—under the pretense of helping Yang Si-Chi—the heavy burden naturally fell on Yu Baiwan's shoulders, and he could finally relax a bit.

Since leaving Chang'an, Li Ji hadn't slept so soundly in almost a month; he opened his eyes to find the sun already high in the sky. He had just stretched and gotten up when he heard a voice outside the door: "Is Li Zhiguo awake? It's almost noon. I'll bring you some food." The voice sounded familiar; it was Jia Huai.

After Jia Huai brought in lunch, Li Ji ate while asking him, "What time did you arrive? I didn't see you last night." Jia Huai replied, "I didn't know Li Zhiguo had done something so serious. I rushed to Linhuai, but couldn't find him..."

The crucial issue was that Jia Huai didn't have any official documents from the military governor's office, so he couldn't enter the temple where Helan Jinming was stationed, nor could he find out where the military governor was or whether Li Zhiguo was with him. Helpless, he was forced to return to the vicinity of Suiyang and lie in wait until the siege of Suiyang was lifted. He finally found Nan Jiyun and learned that Li Ji had already rushed to Luoyang.

Upon hearing this, Li Ji hurriedly asked him, "Is Nan Ba ​​still alive? What exactly happened during the relief of Suiyang? Can you tell me the details?"

According to Jia Huai, Suiyang City was under heavy siege by the rebel army. The city was running out of food, and even Zhang Xun, Nan Jiyun, and others were half-starved, their hands too weak to hold weapons, let alone ordinary soldiers. It seemed that the city was about to fall. Just then, Xu Shuji arrived with his troops.

Although Xu Shuji was not a very good person, he was still quite capable. Therefore, he feigned an attack and stirred up trouble in various ways, forcing Yin Ziqi to stop attacking Suiyang and instead send troops to fight the enemy. Unfortunately, the remaining troops in the city had already lost their fighting ability. Otherwise, with Zhang Xun's wisdom and Nan Jiyun's temperament, they would definitely have opened the city gates and attacked from the inside, coordinating with the enemy from the outside.

As a result, the two armies fought a fierce battle southeast of Suiyang City. The rebel army was defeated, and countless soldiers drowned in the Bian River. Yin Ziqi was forced to lift the siege of Suiyang. Xu Shuji then ordered men to carry 100 shi of grain into the city, which saved the lives of less than 2,000 soldiers and civilians in the city. Zhang Xun had just finished a hearty meal when he rose to attend to his duties and offered Xu Shuji a plan to completely defeat the rebel army. Unfortunately, Xu Shuji refused to listen to him.

Now that the siege of Suiyang had been lifted, neither Xu Shuji nor Helan Jinming were willing to advance any further. They simply repaired the city's defenses and continued to hold their ground. Yin Ziqi, unwilling and reluctant, remained lingering in the west of the city. The two sides were locked in a stalemate for three whole days, and then—Zhang Hao arrived.

Zhang Hao appointed Lu Qiu Xiao, the prefect of Qiao Commandery, as his vanguard, leading tens of thousands of troops from western Henan to relieve Suiyang. While Lu Qiu Xiao was engaged in battle with the rebels, He Lan Jinming and Xu Shuji remained on the city walls, refusing to offer support, which led to the Tang army's defeat. Lu Qiu Xiao abandoned his troops and fled, nearly annihilating Zhang Hao's main force. Fortunately, Zhang Hao's skillful command, with the over-fifty-year-old prime minister personally taking up arms, finally halted the rebel offensive.

Immediately, Zhang Hao, holding his imperial staff, executed Lü Qiu Xiao at the army's front to uphold military law. He then sent messengers via a roundabout route to inform the city of Suiyang of Lü Qiu Xiao's head, ordering generals Helan Jinming and Xu Shuji to come out of the city to provide support. Upon seeing their colleague's head, the two generals panicked and appointed Nan Jiyun and Lei Wanchun as vanguards. The following day, they opened the city gates and charged out, joining Zhang Hao in a pincer attack from the east and west, inflicting a crushing defeat on the rebel army. Yin Ziqi died in the chaos, and Yang Chaozong led his remaining troops back to Luoyang…

Of course, most of these events were not witnessed by Jia Huai himself, but rather he found Nan Jiyun after the war and listened to Nan Jiyun's account—including what Nan Jiyun had heard from Chen Ruo about Li Ji persuading Helan Jinming and kidnapping Xu Shuji.

Upon hearing this, Li Ji felt relieved—Zhang Xun and Nan Ba ​​were still alive, which was good—but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel angry at Helan Jinming and Xu Shuji, thinking to himself, "Are those two lazy donkeys? They only take one step when whipped?" Having lifted the siege of Suiyang, he dared not fight the rebel army again. If Zhang Hao hadn't arrived in time and executed Lü Qiu Xiao as a show of force, the final outcome might have been that Yin Ziqi led his 100,000-strong army back to Luoyang smoothly.

In this way, An Qingxu might not have abandoned the city and fled. The Tang army from the west would still need a fierce battle to recover the eastern capital, and he himself would be forced to play the role of a eunuch in the inner palace for many more days.

If Helan Jinming were to return, that would be one thing, but given Xu Shuji's dark psychology and actions, if it weren't for the hope that he would lead troops to rescue Suiyang, I would have strangled him on the spot, or forced him to drink poison! When I see Li Chu and Li Tan—Li Bi might have already resigned and returned to his hometown—I must have a good talk with them. This villain must not be allowed to live!

Then Jia Huai continued, saying that after learning that Li Ji had left Helan Jinming's troops, he hurriedly rode to Luoyang City. He entered the city just three days ago and made contact with Yu Ling and Chen Fu. After An Qingxu fled in the night, Yu Ling sent him to sneak out of Luoyang to find the main army near Xin'an and deliver the message.

Li Chu and Li Shi both lived in Xin'an City—as expected, Chief Clerk Li Bi was nowhere to be seen—Guo Ziyi, Pugu Huai'en and other generals led the main force and encamped at the foot of Changshan Mountain in the southeast of the city, because there was still a rebel army thirty miles away in Cijian, which served as a shield for Luoyang.

The plan was to launch a general offensive against the Cijian rebels early the next morning—which is today—but...

It is estimated that by midnight at the latest yesterday, the rebels should have heard the news of An Qingxu's northward flight and would most likely have to retreat, or even scatter in disarray. Therefore, Li Chu was overjoyed after receiving Jia Huai's report, and Li Tan seized the opportunity to offer a plan, urging Guo Ziyi to quickly inform him that troops could be dispatched tonight to launch a surprise attack on the rebels and inflict heavy losses on them.

Don't let them escape back to Hebei unscathed and return to An Qingxu's side.

Immediately afterward, Jia Huai secretly returned to report to Yu Ling, and returned to Shengshan Temple at daybreak.

So Li Ji said, "Since you've been busy all night, you don't need to stay here with me anymore. Go and rest." Jia Huai agreed, but refused to leave. After a moment's hesitation, he finally straightened his face, turned around, and knelt down.

Li Ji quickly put down his chopsticks and reached out to help him up, saying, "What are you doing?" Jia Huai kowtowed and said, "Li Zhiguo is loyal, brave, and resourceful. He dared to coerce a third-rank official and was able to save the lives of the people of Suiyang. I, Jia, am in awe! From now on, I will follow Zhiguo's lead and hope for his guidance."

He originally only knew that Li Ji was powerful and had strong backing, but after the Suiyang incident, he realized that although this young man had a baby face and seemed somewhat mediocre, he was actually very cunning, bold, and ruthless. He was not Helan Jinming, so of course he would not suspect that Li Ji's actions were taught by Li Bi. So why not hurry up and swear allegiance and cling to the powerful backer?

If he didn't have this intention, why didn't he catch up on sleep after riding his horse for most of the night, instead of waiting anxiously outside the monk's cell for Li Ji to wake up?

Li Ji sighed inwardly: After so long since transmigrated, it's finally rare to find a junior willing to bow down and pay homage... Of course, he couldn't show any pride on his face. Instead, he pulled Jia Huai aside and comforted him kindly, saying, "Brother Jia and I have been through thick and thin together. Moreover, lifting the siege of Suiyang was not solely due to my efforts; Brother Jia's contribution was also indispensable..."

You don't know, but the poison you gave me has come in very handy this time.

"In that case, we should join hands and move forward together. Why bother with such a grand ceremony? Brother Jia, there's no need for such formalities. You've already performed the great service of saving Suiyang and Consort Shen. Perhaps in a few days, your achievements will surpass mine..."

Jia Huai thought to himself that it was impossible, but... if I skipped several ranks, I could become a deputy lieutenant or even a colonel, so there was still a chance.

Then Li Ji said, "Therefore, we two should not address each other as brothers..."

"How dare I?"

"Or you may call me by my courtesy name, Changwei, Brother Jia. May I ask what your courtesy name is?"

“Jia is a rough man and has no courtesy name. Li Zhiguo… Changwei, please just call me by my name.”

Li Ji initially wanted to say that it didn't matter since the other person didn't have a courtesy name, he would give him one... but then he thought it over and realized it was inappropriate. Firstly, courtesy names were given by elders, and he had just told people that they could address each other as brothers, so it would be a slap in the face to give them a courtesy name right away. Secondly, he wanted to maintain his image as a rough and unrefined person, so he couldn't possibly cite classical texts to give them a courtesy name.

The character 槐 (huái) means "tree"... Li Ji never memorized the classics, he only remembered the meaning of the character. He couldn't recall any classic texts mentioning this character, let alone its meaning of beauty. Even if he pretended to be an elder, he wouldn't look like a cultured person... at least not like a cultured person of this era.

Therefore, he could only continue to call him "Brother Jia" and urge him to go and rest. After Jia Huai left, Li Ji continued eating. These past few days, pretending to be a eunuch in the inner palace had made him extremely vegetarian, and he realized that just as even a landlord's house would have no surplus grain during a famine, the food of the lower-ranking servants in the palace could not possibly be refined... He had thought that now that he was out of the palace, he could finally have some meat, but who would have thought that the lunch Jia Huai brought would be just as vegetarian—

There were only two large bowls of mixed grain rice, a dish of boiled cabbage and gluten, and a dish of pickled vegetables.

Li Ji thought to himself, "This is a Tantric Buddhist temple. I thought Tantric Buddhists didn't observe fasting... I guess I'm just ignorant about religion and got it wrong."

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, they went out to look for Yu Ling, Chen Fu and others, and finally found Yu Baiwan inside the abbot's quarters.

After the novice monk announced the arrival, he led Li Ji inside. Li Ji glanced up and saw Yu Ling sitting across a table from a foreign monk. Yu Ling then introduced him, saying, "This is the Venerable Amoghavajra."

The Hu monk smiled at Li Ji, gestured for him to sit down, and exclaimed, "I just heard Benefactor Yu mention Benefactor Li's deeds. First, you saved the lives of the people of Suiyang, and last night you saved hundreds of palace women and commoners. Your merits are truly great."

Li Ji returned the greeting with his palms together, then knelt down. He had never been interested in religion, and although he knew that Li Heng was both a devout Taoist and a devout Buddhist, and that monks often visited him during the Ding'an reign, he had never interacted with him, so he didn't know who this foreign monk was. He only learned later, after asking around, that this monk was no ordinary person.

Amoghavajra is his pseudonym, and his Buddhist name is Wisdom Treasury. Li Ji found this quite amusing, thinking to himself that he was a "mentally challenged" monk. He was originally from the Lion Kingdom (Sri Lanka), became a monk at a young age, and came to China with Vajrabodhi at the age of fourteen, where he lived in Luoyang for more than twenty years.

In the twenty-ninth year of the Kaiyuan era, the thirty-seven-year-old Zhizang was ordered to return to his homeland and receive esoteric teachings through an altar. In the fifth year of the Tianbao era, he returned to Chang'an with an envoy from the Lion Kingdom and was ordered to perform initiation ceremonies at Jingying Temple, where he also engaged in translation work. Shortly afterward, he went to Hexi to spread the Dharma. In the fifteenth year of the Tianbao era, the emperor summoned Zhizang back to Chang'an, and then... the emperor fled, becoming the Supreme Emperor in the blink of an eye, leaving Zhizang behind.

Fortunately, many of the rebel generals were Buddhists, so they didn't make things too difficult for the foreign monk. After An Qingxu usurped the throne, he even summoned him to Luoyang to stay at Shengshan Temple. Zhizang's teachings were from the same lineage as those of Shengshan Temple, and he was also renowned. Therefore, the abbot gave up the position of abbot to him and went to share a dormitory with the supervisor.

Yu Ling and the monk Zhizang had a long-standing friendship—the two had known each other in Luoyang before Zhizang returned to China at the end of the Kaiyuan era—which enabled her to persuade Zhizang to allow the families and servants of more than a dozen households, and even the nearby people, to come.

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Woman in the Car

After bidding farewell to Yu Ling and Bukong Sanzang, Li Ji turned around and went to find Shen Shen.

Shengshan Temple covers a large area and has many monks and even more monks' quarters. Due to years of war, nearly 40% of the monks either fled or died, leaving many rooms vacant. However, yesterday during the day, more than a dozen officials and wealthy merchants, along with their families and servants, flocked in, numbering no less than 500 people. Then, people from the surrounding area also came to seek refuge. In the evening, Li Ji brought in several hundred more people. As a result, most of them had to sleep in the open under the eaves.

Along the way, Li Ji saw nothing but men and women seeking refuge. Among them were several familiar palace servants and eunuchs. Upon seeing Li Ji, they intended to greet him and inquire about the outside world—last night, it was thanks to An Zhili's bloody battle that they were rescued, which led to the arrival of Yu Baiwan's family. He must be well-informed. However, as soon as they approached, they all looked astonished and quickly turned away to hide.

Li Ji was surprised. He thought to himself, "I only changed my clothes. Could it be that there's still blood on my face from last night's fighting, making me look so horrifying? No, I washed my face after lunch..."

In the distance, she saw a plump figure, who seemed to be Pang Zhangchu... This time, she didn't need to hide from Li Ji; Li Ji was the one who had to hide from her first. He hurriedly pulled up his sleeve to cover his face and walked past quickly.

According to Yu Ling, Yang Sichu and Consort Shen were staying in the monks' quarters at the other end of the temple. Li Ji hurriedly ran over and saw two servants of the Yu family guarding the door. He stood outside the door and loudly announced his request to see them.

Yang Siyi's slightly aged voice came from inside the room: "Come in."

The servant opened the door and let Li Ji in, then closed the door behind him. The monk's cell was not large; one could see everything at a glance. Yang Sichu was kneeling upright against the wall, while Consort Shen occupied the brightest spot in the room, leaning against the window and gazing out.

Yang Siyi stared at Li Ji with a somewhat surprised expression, but then he seemed relieved and said, "You really aren't a eunuch..."

Upon hearing this, Li Ji realized he hadn't shaved. He reached up to touch his chin, finding it a bit rough—oh right, he hadn't shaved after getting up today. No wonder those people outside were looking at him strangely, and when they tried to greet him, they quickly hid. They probably noticed the bluish discoloration under his lips and chin and suspected he was just someone who looked very similar.