Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Qingshi Town had little else to boast of, but a chastity archway was something every household fought to claim.

The street was barely two meters wide. Shop signs jutted out overhead, and the low buildings on either side blocked the light. If you had the leisure to look up, you could crane your neck until it ached and still not see the sky.

After a hard journey, the old nun and I finally reached the teahouse at the town entrance. We took off our headscarves and soaked the steamed buns we had begged for in our tea before eating them.

It was not delicious, but it filled the stomach well enough.

I had just lifted my bowl when a group of young women came in arm in arm. Every one of them wore ornate headpieces and was dressed head to toe in silk and gauze. Even the younger ones among them had powdered faces and painted lips, looking dazzlingly beautiful.

Seeing me stare curiously, the old nun lowered her eyes, her lips sucking at the filthy rim of her bowl. “Stop looking.”

“They’re all top courtesans from the south. Keep staring, and they’ll dazzle your eyes blind.”

Her voice was neither loud nor soft, just enough for those women to hear every word.

From amid that heap of brocade came an immediate, coquettish snap.

“Being a nun can’t be half as pleasant as being a whore!”

The other women found that satisfying and burst into wanton laughter.

As their laughter went on and on, I gathered up the ragged hem of my robe and said quietly, “We are clearly pitiful all the same. Why insist on comparing?”

The moment I finished, their laughter dwindled.

An older woman said in a low, stern voice, “Enough!”

“Were you born with bones so light and skin so cheap?”

The words rang out, and the room fell silent at once.

The woman straightened her appearance, then turned to me and bowed with a solemn expression. “Reverend, please pay them no mind. They are only foolish children who have sullied the purity of Buddhist ears.”

Seeing her respectful manner, I pressed my palms together as well and lowered my head in return.

“Amitabha.”

When she saw that I was not angry, the woman had one of the girls bring over a box of pastries. She herself took a lower seat, as though intending to make conversation. “My name is Li Shishi. I am from Kaifeng Prefecture. Seeing how travel-worn you are, Reverend, where are you headed?”

I glanced at the old nun.

Seeing that this courtesan was perfectly courteous, the old woman kept her face cold but did not speak harshly.

Only then did I answer softly, “We are going to a wealthy household in town to lecture on the scriptures.”

Hearing this, she seemed a little curious. “Reverend is so young, yet you can already lecture on the scriptures by yourself?”

“I am not that young. I am already sixteen this year.”

“So young indeed!” She could not help marveling. “At such a fine age, why have you not married?”

I glanced again at the old nun, who had lowered her head to eat the pastries.

“I did marry. My husband is dead.”

…A difficult silence fell.

Even the chattering girls by the window looked somewhat embarrassed.

Li Shishi knew she had misspoken and quickly changed the subject. “So we are all going to Qingshi Town. If you do not disdain it, Reverend, I still have a spare carriage and horses here…”

I shook my head. “Thank you for your kindness, benefactor.”

“It is no trouble. If Reverend is unwilling to ride with us, we can take another road.”

I did not understand why she was so insistent, but I still shook my head. In her disappointment, a faint smile rose over that lovely, flowerlike face.

“Forget it.”

“I fear I would only drag down Reverend’s good name.”