The night he left Yancheng, Xu Zhuchen was caught in the rain.
When you asked about your return date, it rained at night in Bashan and the autumn ponds swelled. Why should we cut the western window candle together? But it’s raining at night in Bashan.
She was not disappointed, but sad. It’s sad that the friends who once cut candles from the west window are scattered all over the world. It’s sad that the agreement we once made to travel together in the world has become a dead letter. She thought of her mother's gloomy eyes again, and her mother said, "Zhuchen, do you really regard the children of the Han family and the Shi family as good friends?"
She remembers nodding firmly.
The self who once proudly said that she wanted to be friends for life, the self who once said with a smile that she would drag Shi Song to Langya to see Han Ling, the self who couldn't help but shed tears when Yiyi said goodbye...
It turns out that people are very fragile things. When expectations are disappointed, the heart will be hurt and people will become hesitant.
The night rain poured down and the night sky was dark. Xu Zhuchen's snow-white long hair was messed up by the night wind, and the messy hair was stuck to his face by the night rain, making him look really embarrassed. She laughed to herself and looked up. There was a beam of light at the end of the rain curtain, which was the light at the city gate.
Xu Zhuchen looked carefully at the plaque on the city gate - "Yangzhou". Unknowingly, she reached the northernmost state of Yu State.
The soldier at the city gate was drowsy. He briefly checked her name and luggage and let her into the city. Xu Zhuchen didn't want to scare anyone in the middle of the night, so he covered his hair with a black cloth. As she walked into the city gate, she heard the soldiers behind her muttering:
One said: "That woman is really strange. She is soaked all over. Isn't she afraid of catching the cold?"
The other one chuckled: "If you really care about her, share some of the money you saved with your mother and let her find a better inn to stay in."
The person who spoke first fell silent. The other person was silent for a while, and took out some broken silver from his chest: "That's it, one or two halves. I saved it for three months. After your mother's illness is cured, you have to call me I say 'benefactor'."
Xu Zhuchen laughed softly - yes, no matter what you say, the real test of friendship is action.
Just like Han Ling knew Xu Zhuchen would catch up with him, but he didn't set any trap against her. Just like Xu Zhuchen knew that Han Ling might have blood on his hands, but he was still willing to believe that Han Ling had his own reasons.
Xu Zhuchen put twenty taels of silver behind their feet, turned around and entered the city.
Fortunately, although she was sad, her body was strong enough. She took a hot bath early the next morning, said hello to the landlady, and slept until dinner without even sneezing.
The landlady was a warm and cheerful person, and she kept inviting Xu Zhuchen downstairs to have dinner with them. Xu Zhuchen refused several times, but it was hard to refuse the kindness, so he went downstairs.
She had been wet all night and walked all night, and now she had left Qinzhou and arrived in Yangzhou in the north.
Shi Song's whereabouts are unknown, and Han Ling walks alone. Her former best friend is left alone without knowing where to go.
The martial arts competition in Yucheng had become a joke and ended early because of Han Ling's obstruction. She knew nothing about the whereabouts of Shisong, and blindly searching for it was just a waste of time. Going back to Meichuan meant that she would be trapped in a cage again, which was not what she wanted. Xu Zhuchen thought about it for a long time and finally decided to go to Zhiyang.
She still cared about the last words on the scroll, and she had a vague premonition of who would be waiting for her in Zhiyang.
Xu Zhuchen walked downstairs and saw a group of people already gathered around the table in the lobby. Including the proprietress, there are exactly three boys, two girls and one little girl. The proprietress said something with a Qinzhou accent, and the dinner table started to get noisy. The little girl coquettishly tugged on the proprietress's sleeves and shouted: "Sister-in-law~" Everyone said something to each other, and it was really lively.
This happy scene seemed familiar to Xu Zhuchen for some reason.
The proprietress pulled Xu Zhuchen to sit next to her, and several people came up to inquire about Xu Zhuchen's hair color.
The man who looked like a scholar said: "Oh, you are so rude! I know, this is albinism, it is congenital, and the pathology is sex-linked inheritance..."
The woman who looked like a young lady slapped him: "Go! Hey, girl, how do you maintain your hair? It's so good and shiny! It's white and so beautiful." As she said this, her hand was about to touch Xu Zhuchen's hair. Touch the hair.
The lady boss waved the handkerchief and hit the woman's hand. She said angrily: "Are you going to stop people from having a good meal? If you don't want to eat, go wash the clothes."
Several people started arguing again. Xu Zhuchen quickly picked up a steamed bun and started eating it. There are only a few dishes on the table, scrambled eggs with small melons, smoked roast chicken, fried meat with bamboo shoots, cucumbers mixed with garlic... all are home-cooked dishes. Although it is not expensive or fancy, it is better because of its practical ingredients and fresh dishes. Xu Zhuchen took a few bites, then put down his arrogance and started to enjoy the food.
Listening to them chatting about trivial matters in life made me feel much better. Xu Zhuchen stood up and wanted to pay the bill. The landlady refused several times, but Xu Zhuchen happily accepted the money.
Xu Zhuchen slept for too long. He was not sleepy at the moment and wanted to go out for a walk. The boss lady saw this and pointed her to a nearby night market. It is also known as the largest night market in Shili and Baxiang.
Xu Zhuchen followed the path pointed by the landlady and crossed a small bridge. Sure enough, he saw lanterns and colorful lights.
The most popular thing in the night market is food. Xu Zhuchen had had dinner, so he had no interest in it, so he pushed aside the weeping willows that covered his eyes and walked deeper.
There are indeed some interesting things in the depths, such as candy blowers, dough puppet makers, and bamboo strip weavers. When Xu Zhuchen passed a stall selling cakes, he suddenly heard a sound.
It was low, mixed with the sound of the wind, and almost inaudible.
Xu Zhuchen frowned and looked back, but found nothing.
She only went out to relax, so she didn't carry a sword with her. If something goes wrong this time, she can't guarantee that she can protect everyone present with her fists and kicks.
Before she could determine what the person's purpose was, she heard the bakery stall owner scream:
"Where's my cake? Where's the big cake I just baked!"
Everyone near the cake stall looked at each other, and the missing cake was not in their hands.
Xu Zhuchen touched his hidden sword and turned back slowly and calmly.
When she realized herself again, she had turned towards the cake stall, and her finger was cut at some point.
time! Time flowed without her realizing it.
Is there really anyone in this world who can manipulate time with internal power? Or is there some ability beyond her knowledge? Suspicious clouds filled his heart, but fortunately Xu Zhuchen was well-informed and did not panic. Instead, he slowly wrapped his body with inner strength.
When it comes to this technique of transforming internal force into external force, she learned it from Han Ling.
However, Xu Zhuchen found it incredible to manipulate time just to steal a piece of pie.
Sure enough, after she took a few steps, time stood still for an instant. Xu Zhuchen lost consciousness, but her inner strength was keenly aware of the only person who was moving.
When time resumed running, Xu Zhuchen quickly locked onto the person who had just moved. She used her Ningqing footwork, quietly moved to the person's side, and grabbed her hand.
The girl who was caught by her turned around in pain, and two tears quickly fell from her big eyes.
Xu Zhuchen was stunned and said: "You are..."
Seeing that Xu Zhuchen was in a daze, the girl's hand that was not caught moved slightly.
Time stopped again, and the girl tried hard to pry Xu Zhuchen's hand away, but her hands were like iron pliers and could not be pulled apart no matter how hard she tried. Seeing that time was about to end, the girl became anxious and pulled Xu Zhuchen and ran into the woods nearby.
When Xu Zhuchen finally moved, the girl in front of him was already panting from exhaustion.
Xu Zhuchen knew that there was nothing she could do, so he let go of the girl's wrist.
"Are you," Xu Zhuchen looked at her clothes and said, "are you just from Qinzhou?"
The white clothes on the girl's body had long been smeared into gray and black by her. Thanks to Xu Zhuchen who had seen the white and ocher look of it before, he could vaguely recognize it. Her ocher pants were even worse. Not to mention tattered, the color was as messy as a dyehouse. Even her long hair, which was originally beautifully braided, was simply tied up with strips of cloth torn from her clothes, making it as messy as a bird's nest.
If her face wasn't smeared like a beggar's and her eyelashes were still stained with some eye droppings, the girl could still be considered a beauty.
Seeing that Xu Zhuchen seemed to know her, the girl's face instantly turned pale as a sheet, and she spoke incoherently: "No, no, no, I, I'm not..."
Xu Zhuchen didn't think anything of it, patted her shoulder comfortingly and said, "Don't be afraid, I just met you once."
The girl still looked distrustful: "Then why did you catch me? My wrist still hurts." She twisted her wrist, quietly tensing her muscles in a defensive posture. To Xu Zhuchen, it looked like a kitten with fried hair.
Xu Zhuchen patted his head and said, "I arrested you to make you return the cake."
The girl visibly relaxed and said, "I don't know what you're talking about, what kind of cake? I don't have any cake on me."
Xu Zhuchen turned to look at the cake stall. The cakes just baked by the boss reappeared on the griddle, with chopped green onions, eggs and cornmeal. Although it was irritating to the throat, it was indeed fragrant.
Looking at the girl's expression, it is not difficult to guess that she returned the cake in panic after the boss shouted.
Xu Zhuchen couldn't help but pick up one of the girl's hands.
The girl's clothes were extremely dirty, but her little hands were clean. However, a few red and swollen blisters appeared on my white and clean palms.
The girl was so nervous about stealing and repaying the cake just now that she didn't notice anything strange about her hand. But when she saw it now, she felt a terrible pain. A pair of eyes that were ready to cry just now burst into tears.
Seeing that she was really crying, Xu Zhuchen reached into his clothes, rummaged through them, and took out a small porcelain jar.
She dipped some ointment into her fingertips and gently rubbed it into the girl's hands. The girl's sobbing gradually subsided, and although the blisters on her palms had not disappeared, most of the pain had gone away.
The girl looked at Xu Zhuchen with big wet eyes: "Thank you, sister."
Xu Zhuchen nodded, put the ointment away, and took the girl's wrist: "Let's go."
The girl tried hard but failed. She blinked her big eyes and pretended to be pitiful: "Sister, where are you taking me?"
Xu Zhuchen didn't stop: "Go and apologize."
She pulled the girl to the cake stall and bowed deeply to her first.
"Auntie, my sister ran away from home and hasn't eaten for many days, so she had evil thoughts and stole your cake. I have already taught you a lesson. She returned the cake to you and took the initiative to apologize."
As she said this, she pushed the girl forward, and the girl staggered forward. Unexpectedly, three coins of silver appeared in her hand.
She blushed and handed the money to the aunt at the cake stall. She lowered her head and said in a voice like a gnat: "Aunt, I'm sorry. I know I was wrong. You can beat or punish me."
The old woman wiped her hands on her apron but did not take the money. She gently rubbed the girl's head and took out a few large cakes and handed them to Xu Zhuchen.
"Girl, you are a good sister. Your sister knows her mistakes and can correct them, and she is also a good child. You can take the money back and treat these cakes as gifts for you."
The girl glanced at Xu Zhuchen, who raised his chin slightly. She walked quietly to the back of the cake stall and put the money on the table.
Xu Zhuchen took the cake unceremoniously, thanked her, and then took the girl and ran away.
The two of them ran out of the night market and stopped when they reached a tiled house. The girl squatted against the wall, sweating from exhaustion, holding her chest and gasping for air.
Even so, she still showed a smile to Xu Zhuchen: "Sister, you are so kind."
Xu Zhuchen chuckled lightly and said, "If you really feel that way, go home quickly."
The girl was stunned for a moment, then pretended to be stupid and said, "Go home? My family has no money. I came out to make a living."
Xu Zhuchen stopped talking. She didn't like others playing tricks on her, let alone keeping things on the table under wraps. The girl saw her displeasure and had to lower her head and admit her mistake.
"I'm sorry," she said, "but I really don't want to go back."
Seeing her sincere attitude in admitting her mistake, Xu Zhuchen was half angry.
"Why?"
Her eyes fell on the girl's clothes, and the girl immediately understood that Xu Zhuchen had long seen that her family was either rich or noble. The girl sighed and said:
"Sister, I don't know martial arts, and I can't become famous by studying. Although I was born into a wealthy family, my family saw that I was so stupid, so they racked their brains to think of what use I could be.
"There is a rich old man in the north of my home who just died and got a wife. My family started looking for me to marry him and told me that when I go, I will be his wife and all the children will be in my name."
The girl laughed to herself, tears falling on her shoes.
"Tell me, what do I want those children for?"
Xu Zhuchen was silent. She had never experienced the girl's situation before.
She squatted in front of the girl and pointed at her back. The girl was stunned for a moment, then she lay obediently on her back and put her hands around Xu Zhuchen's neck.
"Sister," she breathed into Xu Zhuchen's ear, "where are we going?"
Xu Zhuchen held up her legs and said, "First go to a nearby bathhouse and give you a good wash."
She walked very fast, and the girl bounced on her back. She found it funny and couldn't help but giggle.
Xu Zhuchen also laughed silently. She did not look back, but looked forward and asked: "I am Meichuan Xu Zhuchen, what is your name?"
The girl paused and her laughter stopped abruptly. She frowned and said, "Sister Zhuchen, after I tell you, can you swear not to tell others or my family?"
Xu Zhuchen nodded.
The girl was shaken by her nod and laughed out loud. She said: "My name is Xiao Xiao, Xiaoyue Xiao... the school's Xiao."
