If Qin Jiuya had been unsure whether Su Lin recognized her before, his use of "Miss Qin" now made his stance crystal clear: he knew exactly who she was, and his earlier silence had been a deliberate choice.
This was not the Governor’s manor; there was no point in continuing to play the fool.
Qin Jiuya looked up, maintaining her timid appearance while twirling a lock of her dry, yellowish hair around her pinky finger.
"I’ve heard that Jiugao City hasn't been very peaceful lately, so I was worried I might run into someone trying to abduct a common girl. Why is Master Su chasing after me? Surely you haven't taken a fancy to my modest charms and harbored some improper thoughts?"
Her words were both bold and erratic, a complete departure from the submissive persona she had displayed in the manor. Even a cunning old fox like Su Lin was stunned for a long moment. Finally, he peered through the translucent curtain of the carriage at the woman standing at the mouth of the alley.
She was thin and held her head high, her ill-fitting clothes making her look somewhat pathetic, yet unable to hide her bony frame. How much trouble could a mere weed like her truly cause?
"There is no need for such futile antics. You need only answer a few questions."
His tone seemed gentle, but it was saturated with arrogance.
Qin Jiuya fell silent, staring at a puddle on the ground as if lost in thought.
After receiving no response for a long time, Su Lin finally grew impatient and urged her coldly.
"Miss Qin..."
He had barely started when the woman seemed to snap back to her senses. With a sudden turn, she bolted back the way she had come.
"I have business at home and must be on my way. Perhaps we can chat another day."
What a joke. Did he think she would answer just because he asked? He truly believed himself to be the Commandery Governor presiding over a court.
Qin Jiuya cursed inwardly, her feet never stopping. However, she had only gone a few paces when a short, stout figure leaped from the carriage. With a single bound, he bypassed her and blocked her retreat—it was the same servant with the leering eyes who always followed Su Lin.
"This won't take much of your time. Or perhaps Miss Qin has some unknown grievance with me and is feeling guilty, which is why you're so intent on avoiding me?"
Su Lin spoke again. Though he made no threatening move, a man like him didn't need to lift a finger personally.
The servant, his mouth twisted in a smirk, walked toward her. Qin Jiuya lowered her head again.
She wasn't actually interested in the puddle at her feet; she was using its reflection to observe the alleyway before and behind her. She prayed for someone to pass by, yet simultaneously felt such prayers were meaningless.
Even if someone did pass by, they wouldn't dare argue with a wealthy master in a carriage on behalf of a destitute, unrelated physician.
It was a long way back to the alley entrance she had come from. Although the path was narrow and she was more familiar with the route, it was hard to say if she might be caught and forcibly taken for questioning.
After all, she was just a traveling physician, not a true member of the martial world.
Taking a deep breath, she struggled to steady herself, shrinking her shoulders and nodding.
"Not at all. If you don't mind, Master, we can talk in the carriage."
The person behind the curtain remained silent for a moment, clearly not expecting her to suddenly see reason and become so proactive. He wondered if it was a trap.
The twisted-mouthed servant also looked suspicious, but he eventually stepped aside, allowing her to walk toward the carriage.
Qin Jiuya took a deep breath and shuffled forward three steps. After the third step, she suddenly ducked and dove under the carriage. Relying on her small frame, she executed a clumsy but effective maneuver, successfully scrambling out from under the carriage and toward the alley exit.
The servant had clearly not expected her to charge forward instead of retreating. By the time he reacted, Qin Jiuya was already ten paces away.
"What are you standing there for? After her!"
The servant obeyed and gave chase.
Though his legs were short, they moved fast, and he closed the distance in an instant.
But before he could catch her, the thin figure ahead leaped recklessly, jumping straight into the foul drainage ditch beside the road.
The waist-deep water, mixed with silt and filth, made Qin Jiuya stumble, but she didn't stop. She used her hands and feet to plow a path through the ditch, fleeing toward the distant river channel without looking back.
This scene fell clearly into Su Lin's eyes. Though he was far from the stench of the ditch, he couldn't help but cover his nose and mouth, unable to hide his disgust. After a moment, he found it somewhat amusing and actually laughed aloud.
"Look at her. Doesn't she look like a stray dog running away after stealing food?"
The servant, returning to the carriage and seeing his master's expression, laughed along.
"Doesn't she? Master, your description is perfect..."
But in the next heartbeat, Su Lin’s expression shifted instantly, and he slapped the servant across the head.
"Who told you to come back?! Why didn't you keep chasing her?"
The servant clutched his head, forcing a fawning smile through the pain.
"Master, that ditch reeks beyond belief. If I had gone in, how could I have come back to serve you closely? Don't you agree?"
"Slick-tongued fool."
Su Lin lowered the carriage curtain. The image of the thin figure standing before the carriage flashed in his mind, leading him to a different judgment.
That woman looked weak, but she was actually ruthless. She knew she might not win a race on foot, so she deliberately chose a muddy, filthy path that an ordinary person would never want to tread.
He knew people like her all too well. They were like the weeds in a medicinal garden—no matter how you burned or trampled them, they refused to die, insisting on fighting for a spot alongside the priceless spirit reishi and celestial herbs.
In his garden, such things were not permitted to exist.
"No matter. The monk can run, but the temple remains. I know where she stays."
****** ****** ******
Rain fell with a pitter-patter, hitting travelers so hard they could barely keep their eyes open, forcing them to quicken their pace in a bedraggled rush.
Along Shouqi Street, idle wanderers of the martial world gathered under eaves to dodge the rain and drink. From time to time, they glanced at the pedestrians getting soaked, offering schadenfreude-filled jests and coarse laughter.
A moment later, someone noticed a figure walking from the end of the street. Unlike the other panicked pedestrians, this person walked very slowly.
The martial travelers grew wary, but as the figure drew closer and was revealed to be a frail woman, they relaxed again.
The last one or two pedestrians quickly vanished from the street, leaving only that slow-moving figure in the rain.
Qin Jiuya didn't want to walk so slowly; she simply had no strength left.
Her clothes were already soaked through, so she didn't bother seeking shelter. She figured it was better to let the rain wash her clean so the smell of the ditch wouldn't follow her anymore.
She had walked this back alley behind Tingfeng Hall over a hundred times, but she never knew it was this long. She had walked for ages and still hadn't seen the familiar back door.
Her shoes kicked up small splashes in the water. Qin Jiuya was just about to give a bitter smile when she suddenly heard rapid footsteps ahead.
The other person's footwork was clearly much more refined than hers, landing as light as a swallow. In the blink of an eye, a pair of familiar cloth shoes appeared in her downward gaze.
Qin Jiuya slowly looked up.
"Didn't you say you'd only be gone for half a day? Why so long?" The youth shook the tattered oil-paper umbrella in his hand, his fair cheek dimpling with a frown of dissatisfaction. "Did that man named Qiu make you do this and that again? Or did you just not want to come back yourself, Sister..."
In the next moment, Li Qiao’s voice stopped abruptly.
Qin Jiuya reached out a hand and lightly rested it on his shoulder. Feeling the warmth and solidity beneath her palm, she let out a long sigh. It was as if the breath she had been holding while sprinting through the ditch finally escaped her, and the legs that had carried her all this way suddenly began to tremble.
"What happened?"
His voice sounded very close, and it seemed different than usual.
"What exactly happened?"
She finally snapped out of it, let go of him, and wiped the water from her face.
"Sorry. Business was too good at the shop today; the sugar cakes are all sold out. Hey, why did you come out alone? If Lu Zican finds out, he'll think I was trying to distract them on purpose..."
She finished speaking and began to drag her legs forward again without another word.
Behind her, the youth holding the umbrella did not follow immediately.
He watched her back, a momentary flicker of doubt in his heart. He wondered just how much further she could actually go like this.
The next moment, there was a *thud*, and she sat down right in a puddle.
Qin Jiuya sat on the ground for a moment before realizing what had happened. She braced her hands on her knees, trying to stand. She failed the first time, and just as she was about to try again, a pair of hands gripped her arms from behind. Like a bundle of waterlogged cotton, she was hoisted from the ground. By the time she realized it, her entire back was leaning against him.
She felt a bit embarrassed and tried to struggle weakly, but she couldn't break free.
Earlier, she had treated him as a patient, and afterward, she had only used him as a helper in the pharmacy. Over time, she had almost forgotten that he was a martial artist by trade and possessed great strength.
Li Qiao leaned in and sniffed lightly, his brow furrowing immediately.
She noticed and was about to explain, but he knelt down and gently lifted her soaked hem, revealing her torn trouser leg. A faint tinge of blood flowed down her leg and shoes, merging with the rainwater and vanishing instantly.
She had chosen a difficult path. The wild jujube trees along the way had grown well, and their thorns had easily shredded her flimsy clothes.
Qin Jiuya used a finger to flick away a clump of mud stuck to her leg, speaking as calmly as possible.
"I didn't check the calendar before leaving today; just a bit of bad luck. I ran into Su Lin on the way back. I was afraid he'd pester me, so I moved a bit too fast and fell into a ditch."
She spoke dismissively, but he understood everything almost instantly.
She pulled her hem from his hand and turned to continue hobbling forward.
"Is Old Tang done with dinner? Or did you all eat without waiting for me? If Jinbao ate my portion, I'll make him spit it back out..."
Before Qin Jiuya could finish, she was pulled back.
He closed the umbrella and thrust it into her hand. With a quick duck and a shift of his body, he hoisted her onto his back.
She was very light, feeling no heavier than a sack of grain. Her bones were hard and pressed uncomfortably against him.
His movements were fast and steady. Before she could react, her feet were off the ground, and she was resting securely on his back.
Qin Jiuya felt a bit dazed. She remembered when she was very young, Qin Sanyou loved to hoist her onto his shoulders to play, but her grandfather hadn't done that since she grew up.
Since then, though she had carried countless wounded patients and dead bodies, she had never been carried by anyone else.
She didn't know where to put her hands or her legs; they stayed wherever he placed them.
She could see his feet stepping into the shallow puddles. Every step was solid and sure, unwavering in the direction he chose.
Once, she had also stepped through those muddy puddles.
The young ladies and masters sitting in soft litters had laughed at her, thinking her dull and stupid for not knowing how to avoid them. But it wasn't that she didn't want to avoid them; it was just that only those who walked these paths understood that there were so many ruts and holes that they were impossible to avoid. She had no carriage, no mount, no litter. Though it would soil her shoes, she could only grit her teeth and walk through.
She had never imagined someone would be willing to step into those puddles for her.
She hadn't spent much time on large ships; she only knew Old Qin's small sampan. At this moment, she felt like a drifting skiff in the middle of a vast ocean. All around was a boundless expanse of the rivers and lakes of the world, and she had just raised her sail. As long as the wind did not stop, she could go anywhere she desired, even to the ends of the earth...
"We're here."
The youth's voice rang out. She looked up in a daze, and her head went *dong* as it bumped against the half-fallen fretwork of Tingfeng Hall.
Qin Jiuya was instantly jolted awake.
She hopped off his back and walked a few dizzy steps before plopping down onto the old peach-wood bench in the veranda.
The youth followed right behind her, deftly restoring the seal on the door to its original state before stopping a few paces away from her.
Water dripped from both of them onto the stone floor, forming a small pool.
The fishy scent of rainwater rushed in. After a long while, Qin Jiuya spoke tiredly.
"How did you get out?"
The youth remained silent, staring down at her trouser leg.
The blood had been washed away by the rain; the dark fabric showed nothing at all.
Qin Jiuya sighed, looking down at her soaked cuffs and counting the tears in the fabric. She asked again.
"How did you get out?"
She was in a foul mood and didn't want to dwell on this troubling question, but she was worried he had caused trouble and couldn't let it go. When he didn't respond for a long time, she looked up, only to find that the expression on his face was very unfamiliar. His eyes swirled with an emotion she had almost never seen in him before.
Qin Jiuya couldn't decipher that emotion. She only felt a sense of absurdity in her heart, followed by a wave of helplessness.
"The boss is asking a question and you won't answer? Are you planning a rebellion?"
He blinked, finally hiding the look in his eyes.
"Lu Zican left the door unlocked for you. I spoke with his men; they said it's fine as long as I don't leave this street."
If he had left this street, would she have ended up in this state?
Li Qiao fell silent, but his gaze did not shift away.
She wrung the water from her trousers and weakly intended to tell him to get her a clean cloth, but he had already picked up the oil umbrella and turned toward the inner courtyard.
"Qin Sanyou left something for you. I'll go get him."
Before Qin Jiuya could say anything else, the youth had quickly walked away.
Li Qiao walked in a hurry.
If he didn't hurry, he felt he might not be able to stop himself from saying more strange things or doing more strange things in front of her.
The feeling was very foreign, and he didn't like it at all.
Crossing the veranda behind the courtyard without his feet seemingly touching the ground, he headed straight for the small kitchen with its door ajar.
"She's back."
The kitchen still held lingering smoke. Qin Sanyou was hiding in a corner, surreptitiously taking several peeled sweet potatoes from the steamer and tucking them into his robe. Startled by the noise, a potato fell by the stove, getting covered in black ash.
Qin Sanyou cried out in distress. Seeing that the newcomer wasn't the stingy Old Tang but that Li kid, he grew even more annoyed. He carefully peeled the ash off the potato while walking toward the youth with his hands behind his back.
"I couldn't find hide nor hair of you just now. Where were you slacking off? The firewood is all burnt out, why haven't you brought more? Even though she took you out yesterday, she didn't mean anything else by it..."
The youth ignored him completely, as if he hadn't heard a word. He reached into a hidden spot in the stove and pulled out a small clay pot.
Qin Sanyou’s nagging stopped abruptly. He clearly hadn't expected the thing he had spent so much effort hiding to be discovered. And not just discovered, but moved right under his nose.
"You... you... when did you..."
"Tang Shenyan inspects and cleans every room daily. Even if you hide it in the bedding, you won't escape him. Next time, just leave it nearby; he won't bother looking there."
Qin Sanyou was speechless with shock. He stood frozen for a long moment before fearfully peering out the window.
Under the eaves of the back courtyard, Tang Shenyan, full and satisfied, was playing chess with Old Dog Du. Situ Jinbao was leaning over a flower stand, peeking at them across the courtyard. Indeed, no one had noticed the commotion in the kitchen.
Qin Sanyou breathed a sigh of relief and carefully poured the still-warm ginger soup from the clay pot. He was about to tell the youth to deliver the soup, but when he turned around, he found the boy had already vanished along with the tattered oil umbrella. If not for the damp footprints on the floor, he would have doubted if anyone had actually been there.
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
九皋城 | Jiugao City | The main city setting.
东便桥 | East Bian Bridge | A bridge near Leitian Avenue.
雷阗大道 | Leitian Avenue | A major road in the city.
守器街 | Shouqi Street | The street where Tingfeng Hall is located.
听风堂 | Tingfeng Hall | "Hall of Listening Winds," Qin Jiuya's pharmacy/home.
秦三友 | Qin Sanyou | Qin Jiuya's grandfather.
唐慎言 | Tang Shenyan | "Old Tang," an associate/worker at the pharmacy.
杜老狗 | Old Dog Du | A character staying at the pharmacy.
司徒金宝 | Situ Jinbao | A young associate/child at the pharmacy.
挂落 | Fretwork / Guàluò | An architectural ornament, often a decorative frieze or drop-arch.
扁舟 | Drifting Skiff / Small Boat | The chapter title and a metaphor for the protagonist's life.
