Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next day dawned clear and cloudless. It was fine weather, as if it were a sign that all the bad luck in life had finally come to an end.

Qiao Ying was woken by a clanging, dinging sound. She opened her eyes, still a little dazed. Once she came to her senses, she first glanced at the person beside her, who was still fast asleep. Then she carefully climbed out of bed and pushed the window open a crack. The sound of metal being hammered immediately became much clearer.

When she looked more closely, she saw Dalang in the tool shed across the way, bare-chested and drenched in sweat, bringing the hammer in his hand down on a weapon again and again.

“So the man of this household is a blacksmith.”

“The force behind that hammer is not something an ordinary blacksmith could manage.”

A voice suddenly sounded above her head. Qiao Ying lifted her face.

At some point, the tall, slender young man had appeared behind her. He was much taller than she was, and with his head slightly lowered, it almost seemed as though he were looking at her. A lock of white hair slid from his shoulder and fell in front of her, seeming to intertwine with the black hair at her chest, blurring the boundary between black and white.

Qiao Ying suddenly said, “I need to go out and buy some things. Wait for me here. Don’t wander off on your own.”

Shen Qingyu nodded obediently. “All right.”

Sanniang had to look after the child, so it was inconvenient for her to go out. Dalang, on the other hand, was warmhearted enough, after all, he had accepted Qiao Ying’s payment. He wiped himself down, put on his clothes, and took Qiao Ying out to buy what she needed.

The door and windows of the storage room were open, and the sunlight was just right. Unfortunately, the young man sitting by the table, so still he scarcely seemed alive, could not see that bright, beautiful sunshine.

Sanniang came in holding the swaddled child and brought over a pot of tea. She poured a cup and set it before the young man.

“We’re a poor family, so we don’t have much to offer. It’s only some coarse tea. I hope you won’t mind, Young Master.”

The infant in her arms wriggled restlessly, stretching out a tiny hand while babbling. The child was fair and delicate, as adorable as a carved jade doll.

Sanniang smiled and gently patted the baby’s back. In the blink of an eye, a warm, tender atmosphere spread through the room.

Seeing that Shen Qingyu did not touch the tea, Sanniang asked uneasily, “Does Young Master dislike coarse tea?”

“She is not a particularly clever girl.”

Sanniang looked slightly confused at his words.

Shen Qingyu reached out, his fingertip slowly brushing the rim of the cup. In the sunlight slipping in from outside the window, when he smiled softly, even the lines of the white silk blindfold that bound his sight seemed to soften.

“If you lay a hand on her, I will separate your heads from your bodies.”

The water in the teacup froze into ice. In the next instant, cup and water alike shattered, turning into specks of mist. In the space of a single blink, they vanished without a trace.

Sanniang’s expression changed. Holding the child, she retreated two steps.

About an hour later, Shen Qingyu heard the somewhat familiar sound of footsteps drawing closer.

“I’m back!” Qiao Ying carried in a pile of things and set them on the table. She dropped into a chair, panting from exhaustion. When the young man handed her a teacup, she drank it all in one breath, then let out a sigh. “I’m so tired.”

Shen Qingyu asked, “Do you want to rest?”

“No, I can still manage.” Qiao Ying took out a paper-wrapped package and placed it in his hand. Then she held his hand and guided his fingers to touch the pastries inside. “I bought some mung bean cakes. I don’t know whether you’ll like them.”

Shen Qingyu took out a piece and bit into it lightly. Then he smiled faintly. “I like them.”

Seeing that he did not dislike them, Qiao Ying smiled too. “After going out, I found out that many people in town are blacksmiths. According to Brother Wang… I mean, Dalang, the man who took us in, this place is called Phoenix Town. Many years ago, the town was already famous far and wide for forging weapons. I don’t know how to use weapons myself, so I can’t really tell what’s special about them, but everyone here is good-hearted. They helped me a lot.”
On this trip out, Qiao Ying first asked Dalang to take her to pawn some jewelry for a bit of money. After that, she wandered around town and bought quite a few things from the market.

After Shen Qingyu finished a piece of pastry, his hand was taken again. This time, something was placed firmly into his palm.

It was cool to the touch. The rounded, smooth shaft rested against his hand, and when his fingers tightened around it unconsciously, he found he could grip it perfectly.

Qiao Ying said, “I found a carpenter in town and waited a long time for him to finish making this Blind Staff. I know you’re very capable and don’t need something like this, and that you won’t fall when you walk, but if you go somewhere unfamiliar, it should be better to have a tool, right? The people in the village are all very kind. They barely charged me anything when I bought things.”

Shen Qingyu ran his fingers over the ebony blind cane, polished to an exquisite smoothness, his fingertips gliding lightly along it as he listened to her chatter.

“I had the craftsman sand the shaft three times. I was afraid it might rub against your hand.” Qiao Ying drank another cup of tea, then took something else from the pile of things she had bought and placed it on the table in front of him, guiding his hand to touch it.

It felt very soft. He said, “Clothes.”

“That’s right. I saw your clothes were a little dirty, so I went to a ready-made clothing shop and bought this cyan robe according to your build. Also, this is a money pouch. Keep it safe. There’s some loose silver inside for daily use, and I put in a few banknotes too, just in case. And this is a pack of dry rations…”

“Are you going to abandon me?”

Qiao Ying froze slightly, not quite processing it. “Huh?”

His tone was gentle, carrying that same smile as always. “You’ve prepared everything, as if you’re the owner of a cat or dog you’re about to desert. Out of a sudden burst of kindness, you set a bowl of warm food in front of them, and then you can leave with a clear conscience.”

Qiao Ying vaguely felt there was something very strange about the way he said that. She had never once thought of him as some cat or dog.

She explained, “That’s not what I mean. It’s just that you have somewhere to go, and I need to find where I came from. We met by chance and escaped the tiger’s jaws together, so I suppose that counts as fate. But all feasts must come to an end. I can’t keep clinging to your side forever, tied to you like this.”

Afraid he might overthink it, Qiao Ying moved her chair a little closer to him. Looking at his jade-like profile, she said softly, “I’ve already asked around. Once we leave this town, the official road isn’t far away. Traveling merchants often pass by on the road. We can give them some money and ask them to take you home.”

This was not the behavior of someone trying to get rid of a burden. After all, no one would consider everything so carefully for a burden, much less spend so much silver on one.

Qiao Ying rested both hands on the table and propped up her chin, saying with a faint hint of gloom, “As for me, I still don’t know when I’ll be able to find my home.”

Shen Qingyu picked up another piece of mung bean cake. Too much sugar had been added to it, and even the aftertaste was cloyingly sweet. He had no idea what was so good about this thing. And yet, it seemed many people loved buying it, and she was one of them.

He asked, “When do you plan to set off?”

“Today, I suppose. I don’t feel right imposing on the owners of this house for too long.”

Shen Qingyu said no more. He took a bite of the pastry in his hand. It was still so unbearably sweet it made one detest it.

But the corners of his lips curved upward, his smile as serene and untroubled as the man himself.

“All right. Then we set off today.”