“Don’t call me Sir. Just call me by my surname, Jin, will do.”
Jin Feng glanced sideways at Qing Mulan.
Ever since she found out about him and the Ninth Princess, Qing Mulan had never given him a good look.
Sometimes when she was really angry, she stopped calling him Sir and just called him by his surname, Jin.
It was only a form of address anyway. Jin Feng could not be bothered to care. She could call him whatever she liked.
“Sir, I was wrong!”
Qing Mulan grabbed Jin Feng’s sleeve and pulled him to a quiet spot away from others. “From now on I will never call you by your surname again. How about I call you brother-in-law?”
She vaguely guessed that Jin Feng had invented something new again, and she was itching with curiosity.
Calling Jin Feng brother-in-law was the same as acknowledging his relationship with the Ninth Princess.
But Jin Feng was not satisfied. He snorted coldly. “Are you trying to take advantage of me?”
“Wuyang is my own cousin. If I do not call you brother-in-law, do you want me to call Wuyang sister-in-law instead?”
Qing Mulan glared at him and asked.
“That is actually a good idea.” Jin Feng nodded with satisfaction.
“You really want me to call her sister-in-law!” Qing Mulan’s face darkened.
“If you do not want to, then just keep calling me by my surname. I am not forcing you.”
Jin Feng shrugged casually.
“Fine, I will call her that!” Qing Mulan gritted her teeth and threatened, “I will go and call her right now!”
“As long as you are not afraid of Wuyang silencing you forever, go ahead.”
Jin Feng was not fazed at all. He raised an eyebrow. “Best to shout it loud so the entire Qing residence knows.”
In both his previous life and this one, Jin Feng disliked doing things in secret.
If the Ninth Princess had not objected, he would have made their relationship public long ago.
He knew what the Ninth Princess was worried about, and he was certain Qing Mulan would not dare shout it out.
Sure enough, Qing Mulan glared at Jin Feng. “You win this time!”
“Tomorrow morning, wait for me at the west city gate.”
Jin Feng smiled, turned, and walked away.
Qing Mulan was so angry she waved her fist at his back, but she did not dare actually hit him.
The next morning, just as the sky began to brighten, Jin Feng led a group of people out through the west gate.
Everyone was riding three horses per person in the standard fast cavalry formation.
Besides Wei Datong, the group naturally included Qing Mulan, who had come along to join the excitement.
“Mulan, let me say this one more time. No matter what you see today, you must never tell anyone. Otherwise I will definitely break your legs. Do you understand?”
Once they were outside the city, Jin Feng looked at Qing Mulan and reminded her, “If you cannot do that, go back now!”
“Sir, do not worry. Even if I see you grow wings and fly into the sky today, I will never tell a soul.”
Qing Mulan became even more curious after hearing this. She patted her chest and promised, “I swear I will not tell anyone, not even my brother or Wuyang.”
“I hope you mean what you say.”
Jin Feng nodded, then turned to Wei Datong.
“Sir Jin, rest assured. Although I, Wei Datong, am no saint, I am not one to gossip either.”
Wei Datong quickly gave his word too.
“Then let us set off!”
Jin Feng turned his horse and galloped away.
The distance from Xichuan City to Yulei Mountain was a hundred li, and there were several difficult mountain paths along the way. Even travelling light with three horses per person and no extra baggage, it was already noon by the time Jin Feng and the others reached Yulei Mountain.
In his previous life, this place had Dujiangyan and a huge city.
But now it was deserted and uninhabited.
Because the area was so prone to floods, and Great Kang had vast lands but few people, no ordinary folk were willing to live here.
At the foot of Yulei Mountain, escort agents had already been waiting. When they saw Jin Feng’s group, they quickly rode over to greet them.
“Sir, you have finally arrived.”
“Is the Eagle ready?” Jin Feng asked.
“We received your message last night. We arrived early this morning and everything has been prepared,” the escort leader replied.
“Then take us there.”
Led by the escort, the group walked into a valley.
Inside the valley, a group of escort agents were sitting on the ground chatting.
When they saw Jin Feng and the others, they all stood up to salute.
“No need for formalities. Get to work quickly!”
Jin Feng called out to the leader, Old Eagle.
“Right away!”
Old Eagle responded and began directing the escorts to unfold the hot air balloon.
Qing Mulan stepped forward and touched the fabric of the hot air balloon. She had no idea what it was for, so she came back and asked Jin Feng.
“Sir, what is this huge cloth bag?”
“You will find out in a moment.”
Jin Feng smiled and looked at Wei Datong. “Sir Wei, do you have a fear of heights?”
“Fear of heights?”
“I mean, if you stand in a high place, do you feel afraid?” Jin Feng rephrased the question.
“No, I do not. My family home is right next to a cliff. When I was young I climbed cliffs all the time.” Wei Datong smiled and asked, “Why do you ask, Sir?”
“Because we are going to a rather high place later.”
“Are we climbing a mountain, Sir?” Wei Datong looked around. “If we are climbing, we should not be here. It is not easy to ascend the mountain from this spot.”
Jin Feng smiled but said nothing more. Instead he turned to look at Old Eagle and the others.
Old Eagle had already prepared everything else. While they were talking, the hot air balloon had already inflated.
Then it slowly began to rise from the ground.
“This… this cloth bag is enormous!”
Qing Mulan looked up at the hot air balloon, so excited she was jumping around. “Sir, are you going to use this to carry grain? Can it really lift that much?”
The hot air balloon was truly massive. Floating in the air, it looked like a small black mountain. Seen up close, the visual impact was overwhelming.
It felt as if the little mountain might crash down on their heads at any moment.
Wei Datong and the others who were seeing a hot air balloon for the first time had the same stunned expression.
Even Beiqian Xun, who usually kept a cold face to look cool, could not help but widen her eyes.
“Using such a huge cloth bag to carry grain. What an unusual idea you have.”
When Jin Feng saw that Old Eagle had the basket ready, he called Wei Datong over and walked towards it.
Although Qing Mulan did not know what Jin Feng was doing climbing into a big basket, she still eagerly followed.
Beiqian Xun hesitated for a moment, then finally followed them inside as well.
“Sir, hold on tight, everyone!”
Old Eagle stepped into the basket too, reminded Jin Feng, then signalled to the nearby escort to release the ropes.
Once the ropes were released, the hot air balloon immediately began to rise slowly.
“Sir, you really picked the right day. There is hardly any fog today, and no wind either. It is perfect for flying a hot air balloon.”
While chatting idly with Jin Feng, Old Eagle poured fuel oil onto the burner.
Whoosh!
A ladle of fuel oil splashed over, and the flames in the burner shot up instantly, startling Qing Mulan and the others.
The hot air balloon’s ascent speed increased.
“My heavens, we are actually flying!”
Qing Mulan clung to the edge of the basket, her face full of excitement and delight.
Wei Datong also looked utterly amazed.
Only Beiqian Xun kept her usual icy expression.
But the way she gripped the basket with both hands gave her away.
Because she was gripping so hard, the knuckles on both hands had turned slightly white.
Jin Feng had ridden in a hot air balloon before, so he remained calm and composed. When he saw Old Eagle was a bit busy alone, he even went over to help.
“We are not going to fall, are we?”
After her initial excitement wore off a little, Qing Mulan moved closer to the burner and asked.
