TDSDE 2

2. The Rumored Business Poacher

Bai Yuanxiu had a bit of a headache—not the physical kind, of course.

He steadily drove the carriage forward, all the while frantically praying in his heart that the hawk above would have enough sense not to dive down just because the area looked open and empty.

As it turned out, he’d been overthinking it. The hawk circled in the sky for a while, then lazily flew off. But Bai Yuanxiu didn’t dare look up too often, so the rest of the journey was made in silent dread.

The place the woman had previously lived—Liu Shui Bay—wasn’t too far, and by the time the sun had just set, they reached the village entrance.

The name “Liu Shui Bay” had a character associated with water, and true to that, the area was rich in water sources. But even the river beside the village couldn’t bring down the heat—walking on the ground felt like stepping into an oven.

Bai Yuanxiu and Xiao Qing followed behind the woman as she walked into the village. It was dark, the path was hard to see, and the long outer garment she wore made it hard to move. After a long while, she finally stopped in front of a house.

She stood there for quite some time before finally raising her hand to knock.

Soon after, the sound of cursing came from inside. As the door opened, the voice was abruptly cut off.

Her voice choked a little. “Brother… You won’t let me in?”

The man behind the door had a dark, sullen face. As soon as he opened his mouth, he started yelling: “What are you doing here! You—”

Before he could finish, the door behind him was slammed open with great force, sending him tumbling backwards.

He was about to speak when a figure suddenly appeared in front of him—a handsome man with a seemingly warm smile, yet the words he said chilled the heart.

He said, “How’s that thirty-year-old apricot blossom Fenjiu?”

The man didn’t even dare ask how this stranger knew about the two jars of fine wine he’d just bought earlier that day to drink with that ringleader Ergou. One scare from Bai Yuanxiu, and he stammered out a confession: “I—I raised her for so many years, shouldn’t she give something back?”

The more he spoke, the more justified he seemed to feel, and his words grew more fluent: “Besides, it’s not like she didn’t get anything out of it! That new dress, that face powder—how could she have used those if I hadn’t paid for them!”

The woman couldn’t hold back her sobs anymore. Eyes red, she tore off the coral-pink pleated skirt, leaving herself in incomplete undergarments, and ran off.

Afraid she might do something drastic, Bai Yuanxiu grabbed the robe on the ground and was about to chase after her. He reached out to pull Xiao Qing—only to find he couldn’t move him.

Bai Yuanxiu: ?

Just as he was wondering what was going on, Xiao Qing suddenly turned around, unable to hide the anger on his face. “That was too much. I’m going to have a word with him. You go first!”

Bai Yuanxiu sighed inwardly. Ah Qing really was too kindhearted. If it were him, he’d have already beaten that man to a pulp and skewered him like a kebab.

He shoved a small porcelain bottle into Xiao Qing’s hand and dashed off in the direction the girl had run.

The man had only been wary of the sword-wielding Bai Yuanxiu earlier. Now that Bai had left, he visibly relaxed.

He was even secretly sneering at the “young master” who looked like he couldn’t even lift a chicken—what could he possibly do?

But when he met Xiao Qing’s gaze, a cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.

There wasn’t a single trace of expression left on Xiao Qing’s face. He carefully wrapped the porcelain bottle with a silk cloth and tucked it into his chest. When he looked up again, his eyes—deep and cold like a still pond—stared directly at the shivering man before him.

“The new cabinets and tables in your house are pretty well-made,” he said softly. “Looks like the carpenter you hired has some real skill.”

“I was wondering… if I snapped your hands and feet, could he carve you an identical set?”

—

Bai Yuanxiu sat silently beside the woman, keeping a short distance between them.

He looked at the river in front of them, dark and bottomless like an abyss in the night. After a while, he finally spoke: “Miss, what are your plans now?”

The woman blinked, then gave a bitter smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I thought… you’d try to comfort me.”

Bai Yuanxiu laid his sword across his lap and adjusted the silver ornaments hanging from the scabbard. “What happened to you… No one could take that well. If you could take it well, then something would be wrong. That’s not something you can be comforted out of.”

The woman wiped her eyes. After a long pause, she murmured, “I once heard that an old scholar in a neighboring village was teaching children to read. Didn’t ask for any money. I wanted to go. But my father said literacy was useless, better to embroider another handkerchief.”

“I learned needlework from my mother, but my hands were clumsy. Even after my legs were beaten black and blue, I still couldn’t master the peony pattern.”

“Then I heard… there are women warriors out there. With a horse and a sword, they roam the world, and nothing can stop them.”

She didn’t go on, but Bai Yuanxiu could guess her dreams of the martial world had been shattered completely.

He suddenly thought of a fiery red figure, and a thought struck him. “What about now? Do you still want to go out into the world, be a heroine?”

The woman stared at him in a daze. Her eyes then darted away. “I… I can’t. I don’t know anything. I can’t even run—”

Her words stopped abruptly, clearly recalling what had just happened. She lowered her head, curled up with her arms around her knees.

Bai Yuanxiu looked away after one glance and continued, “I know a place. It may not be like what you imagined of the martial world, but… I think it’s pretty good.”

“If you want to give it a try, I can write you a letter. Bring it there, and they’ll teach you how to strengthen your body, how to wield a sword.”

Thinking that sounded a bit too grand, Bai Yuanxiu added, “But if you go… you probably won’t be able to live a normal, peaceful life anymore. So be prepared for that.”

Just then, he heard footsteps behind him. When he turned around, he saw that familiar white figure and waved.

He turned back to the stunned woman and said, “You know the inn in town, right? It’s getting late, and we’re staying there tonight. You should come too.”

Bai Yuanxiu had no fondness at all for that man from earlier. Anyone who could sell his own sister was pure scum—and might cause her more trouble later.

Since he’d already helped her once, he didn’t mind helping her to the end.

The woman didn’t hesitate. She quickly thanked him and followed them to the inn.

She was clearly surprised when she heard Bai Yuanxiu and Xiao Qing only booked one room.

She looked at Bai Yuanxiu, then at Xiao Qing, and silently hugged her new clothes as she slipped into the room, leaving the space for the two of them to talk.

“What’s wrong?” Xiao Qing asked.

Bai Yuanxiu just shook his head with a sigh. “It’s a pity.”

He’d trained in martial arts for years—not a master, but experienced enough to tell that the woman had decent potential. If she had entered the martial world early on, she might already have made a name for herself.

Suddenly, he thought again of that woman’s older brother.

The man was just like his dead father—lazy and gluttonous. He’d been making his younger sister work at rich families’ homes doing laundry and hard labor to earn money for his food and drink since long ago. And he had the nerve to call it “teaching her manners for her future husband’s household.” It was laughable.

Bai Yuanxiu did a quick estimate based on the usual speed of internal handling at the sect. That brute from before had probably already been delivered to the local authorities.

That guy had admitted this wasn’t their first time doing such things. Among them were some rats and scumbags posing as matchmakers, who would give suggestions to both parties while secretly drugging women and spreading rumors afterward. They had done this sort of thing more than a few times.

The more Bai Yuanxiu thought about it, the angrier he got. He slammed his cup down hard on the table. “No, I can’t swallow this.”

He was about to get up when he suddenly felt a tight grip on his arm.

“Ah Qing, let go of me,” Bai Yuanxiu said, fuming. “I have to teach them a lesson today.”

Usually, he wouldn’t get this worked up over something like this, but somehow Xiao Qing was also being strangely stubborn—refusing to release him, holding on tightly.

Even someone as slow as Bai Yuanxiu realized something was off. He sat back down, following the force on his arm. “Ah Qing?”

Xiao Qing glanced at him quickly before lowering his head. “You don’t have to go. I… I already drugged him earlier and hit him with a stick.”

Bai Yuanxiu hadn’t expected gentle, soft-spoken Xiao Qing to actually hit someone. That alone showed how furious he must’ve been.

But what he couldn’t quite understand was why Xiao Qing’s attitude was this firm.

It was as if Xiao Qing had read his thoughts. His lips moved a few times, and then, as if giving up on himself, he closed his eyes and confessed, “I hit him pretty hard… I didn’t want you to see it.”

Bai Yuanxiu stared blankly for quite a while before the realization clicked—Xiao Qing was worried he’d think he was too aggressive.

That misunderstanding from earlier… Bai Yuanxiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Ah Qing, I really didn’t mean it back then. You’re not scary at all.”

Xiao Qing turned his head away in silence but still held lightly onto Bai Yuanxiu’s sleeve, refusing to let go. The look made Bai Yuanxiu’s heart melt.

“Alright, alright, I won’t go, okay?” Bai Yuanxiu surrendered immediately, leaning closer with an exaggerated pitiful look. “I know I was wrong. Come on, talk to me.”

He knew Xiao Qing had always been soft when faced with his antics. Sure enough, Xiao Qing quickly gave in.

That little episode made Bai Yuanxiu forget all about his original plan.

He had given Xiao Qing a special knockout powder earlier. If even a martial artist took it, they’d feel weak and sore all over—like they’d been trampled by a herd of oxen. For an ordinary person, it would be extremely uncomfortable.

Bai Yuanxiu figured that guy was in for a rough night. He’d just wait until morning and ask the girl what she wanted to do—if she wanted to give that man a beating herself, great; if not, they’d leave Liu Shui Bay right away.

Just as dawn broke, Bai Yuanxiu heard the door next door quietly open and shut.

He thought, Wow, that girl’s got good energy to be up this early, but then he suddenly realized the space in his arms was empty.

He jolted awake—Xiao Qing was nowhere in the room.

His thoughts immediately flew to the falcon’s letter.

It had warned that someone suspicious had been watching him, source unknown. That made Bai Yuanxiu think of the time Xiao Qing had been attacked by an assassin.

Just as he got up in a rush, the door opened—and he met Xiao Qing’s startled eyes.

Xiao Qing was carrying a tray with a large bowl on it. Bai Yuanxiu immediately stepped over to take it from him and asked, “Where’d you go so early in the morning?”

Xiao Qing gave a small cough, looking a little shy. “You always make me breakfast. I wanted to do it for you, too.”

Bai Yuanxiu froze, and joy blossomed inside him like willow branches stretching out in spring.

Grinning, he set the tray on the table, too busy to even put on his coat. He scooped up a white doughy lump from the bowl and popped it into his mouth.

But as soon as he bit down, he froze.

Seeing this, Xiao Qing looked nervous. “How does it taste?”

Bai Yuanxiu chewed quickly and swallowed. “Delicious!”

Hearing this, Xiao Qing relaxed. “Let me try it too.”

Bai Yuanxiu instantly lifted the bowl out of reach. He winked. “Nope. You made it for me. I’m the only one who gets to eat it.”

Xiao Qing, who’d half-raised his hand, pulled it back and rested it on his lap. Quietly, he pressed against the area under his scalded wrist, eyes full of laughter. “Okay. I won’t fight you for it.”

Bai Yuanxiu cleaned the bowl completely—didn’t even leave a drop of soup. Worried Xiao Qing might be hungry later, he ate quickly, then dressed, washed his face, brushed his teeth, and went downstairs to borrow the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, Bai Yuanxiu hurried to boil himself some ginger soup. It took three bowls to finally wash away the bloody raw-meat taste in his mouth.

When he finished the ginger soup, his noodles were ready. He cracked an egg on top, sprinkled on some chopped scallions, and brought it out.

Soon after, while watching Xiao Qing take dainty bites of the noodles, someone knocked on the door.

It was the girl. She said she had no plans to go back—she just wanted to leave Liu Shui Bay.

Bai Yuanxiu, worried she’d slip up, kept blinking at her frantically with his back to Xiao Qing.

The girl’s eyes passed over Bai Yuanxiu and landed on the white-clad young man inside who was gesturing wildly at her. She blinked in confusion.

Though she had no idea what was going on, she wisely chose to keep quiet.

The place Bai Yuanxiu recommended was called Wu’ai Town, not too far from here. He and Xiao Qing both thought it was safer to escort her there themselves.

Luckily, the main road wasn’t far from Liu Shui Bay. It was shaded by green trees, cicadas chirping in the summer heat. With Xiao Qing and Bai Yuanxiu chatting as they drove the carriage, the time passed quickly.

A few days later, a girl walked into a tailor shop on the corner of Wu’ai Town.

The tailor shop owner—actually a member from the Demonic Sect in disguise—looked from the girl to the two letters in his hand, completely baffled.

Those two are already at each other’s throats to this extent?

Even fighting over recruitment work now?