Chen Ping'an returned to Liu Xianyang's courtyard with two buckets of water, poured them into the kitchen's water vat, then dashed to the doorway and called out,"Liu Xianyang, I'm going to borrow some of your firewood, oil, and salt to make fish soup for Miss Ning. She needs something nourishing—is that alright?"
Liu Xianyang, who had just drifted back into a blissful nap, was rudely awakened. He roared in protest,"Chen! Can you stop being such a pain? I just dreamt that Zhi Gui was smiling at me! You'd better pay me back with another Zhi Gui!"
Chen Ping'an shook his head, suddenly recalling something. He apologized,"Actually, I did run into Zhi Gui by the Iron Chain Well just now, but Granny Ma interrupted me, and I forgot to pass on your message. Don't worry—I'll make sure to tell her when I bring Miss Ning the fish soup."
Liu Xianyang leapt up like a carp flipping out of water, threw on his clothes, and hurried to sit on the threshold of the main hall. Watching the lean figure bustling about in the kitchen, he chuckled,"I'll go with you to deliver the soup. By the way, was Zhi Gui wearing that pomegranate-red skirt today, or the pale green one? Sigh… Once I save up another two hundred coins, I can finally buy that silver powder box with the embossed dragon. I know she's been eyeing it for ages but couldn't bring herself to spend the money. It's all that stingy Song Jixin's fault—dresses like a stray dog on Fulou Street but won't buy her anything new. If I were her young master, anything she fancied, I'd buy it! I'd make her more pampered than the daughters of the richest households, a true lady of ten thousand taels!"
Chen Ping'an ignored his friend's romantic delusions. He never understood why Liu Xianyang had fallen for Zhi Gui. It wasn't about her being a servant or lacking beauty—something about the pairing just didn't sit right with him.
He asked curiously,"Why do you call her Zhi Gui too? Not Wang Zhu anymore?"
Liu Xianyang grinned,"Once I found out you didn't know how to write the characters for 'Zhi Gui' either, I stopped caring."
Chen Ping'an sighed,"What's the point comparing yourself to me? Try comparing yourself to Song Jixin—Zhi Gui isn't my servant, after all."
Liu Xianyang scoffed,"That guy isn't better than you at everything. Has he ever called anyone 'father' or 'mother' in his life? No, right? That already makes you the better man. No wonder Madam Gu Can and Granny Ma always have such venomous tongues. Song Jixin's family—if you can even call it that—was never respectable. Otherwise, why would he hide in Mud Bottle Alley instead of living openly at the Superintendent's mansion? The guy deserves every insult he gets—arrogant and snobbish, yet born of nothing but disgrace."
Chen Ping'an stepped to the kitchen doorway."Liu Xianyang, I may not be friends with Song Jixin, but what you just said…"
Liu Xianyang quickly raised his hands to cut him off."Alright, alright, I'll stop. You're so stubborn—it's in your bones. Who'd you inherit that from? My grandpa always said your parents were gentle folks, especially your mother. Spoke softly, smiled often, never picked a fight. Even when Granny Ma was cursing everyone in the alley, she'd smile at your mother."
Chen Ping'an couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.
Liu Xianyang waved him off,"Now hurry up and go stew that soup for your little wifey."
Chen Ping'an rolled his eyes."Say that to Miss Ning's face if you dare."
Liu Xianyang laughed,"I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid."
Soon after, Chen Ping'an emerged with a small clay pot in hand. The two boys locked up the courtyard and walked together toward Mud Bottle Alley. When they reached Chen Ping'an's front gate, Liu Xianyang realized something absurd—his friend had given all his house keys to the black-clad girl. As Chen Ping'an stood sheepishly knocking on his own door, Liu Xianyang was utterly convinced this guy was beyond saving.
The girl didn't wear her veil at home. When she opened the door, her face was clean and composed. Something in her stern demeanor unsettled Liu Xianyang. Though he couldn't explain why, he found her presence intimidating. It wasn't her aloof nature—Zhi Gui was colder—but Liu Xianyang could still shamelessly pester her. It wasn't the sword she carried, either—he'd stood his ground even against the pampered bullies of Fulou Street, despite being chased like a stray dog. But this girl named Ning Yao—she unnerved him.
She sat at the table and opened the pot. Breathing in the aroma, she narrowed her eyes with a faint smile and softly said,"Thank you."
Chen Ping'an, ever observant, recognized that as her version of being in a good mood.
He helped her cook a pot of porridge and reminded her to watch the flame. Then he turned to Liu Xianyang,"You're waiting here for Zhi Gui? I've got to deliver a message."
Liu Xianyang, sitting on the threshold with ears pricked for even the faintest whisper of sword clashing from inside, waved him off irritably,"Go do your thing!"
Chen Ping'an left the courtyard and was just about to reach the alley's entrance when the light dimmed abruptly. He looked up to see a tall man in a snow-white robe blocking the narrow path. One hand was tucked behind his back, the other rested lightly on the white jade belt around his waist. He gazed into the distance.
Sensing he was in the way, the man smiled and stepped aside politely. Chen Ping'an's heart was full of questions, but he quickened his pace and didn't look back until he was further down the alley. By then, the white-robed man had slowly entered Mud Bottle Alley.
Even in that brief glance, Chen Ping'an noticed the man's pristine robe, embroidered in pale gold thread across the chest and back with two faint, dreamlike patterns—like living creatures gliding through mountain fog. It was a strange and ethereal sight.
Chen Ping'an dismissed the thought. Probably just another outlander like Fu Nanhua, coming to seek his fortune in Mud Bottle Alley. Since that day walking past the old locust tree with Mr. Qi, Chen Ping'an no longer worried so much. As long as Mr. Qi was in town, even if something did go wrong, there'd still be justice to seek.
Running through Apricot Blossom Alley, he spotted the green-robed girl from the previous night still sitting in a wonton shop, tapping chopsticks on the table, her plump and youthful face glowing with excitement as she stared at the pot of boiling wontons. She didn't even notice Chen Ping'an just a few steps away.
To her, when food was involved, not even the sky falling could get in the way.
Chen Ping'an smiled in quiet admiration. He didn't disturb her and ran off toward the east end of town. Some people and things—like scenery along the road—may pass by only once, but they still leave behind a sense of beauty.
When he arrived at the eastern gate, he saw the disheveled man standing on a tree stump, tiptoeing to peer eastward as if waiting for someone important. Chen Ping'an had heard old men by the locust tree talk about the current Superintendent's first grand arrival in town—the pomp and ceremony, the ancestral elders of the four major families all gathered at the east gate. They waited under the blazing sun for hours, only to be told by a breathless steward that the Superintendent had just woken from a nap and would meet them at the office instead. Furious though they were, once inside the government hall, not one dared utter a word. They smiled like obedient grandsons.
Chen Ping'an always wondered how the old folks told the story as if they'd been there themselves.