Chapter 7: How Cold Human Relations Are

The old man driving the cart was acquainted with the Li family; he was an old widower, a man of few words, and the Li family often used his cart.

After riding the donkey cart for two streets, Qinggui still couldn't shift her curious gaze away from Wen Sheng's face. The changes in Cousin Gu upon this return were simply too great. When the three of them went out on the streets together, strangers would mistake them for a young master, a maid, and a servant—it was truly unjust...

Since they had finally managed to go out, Wen Sheng's purpose was certainly not to sit in the cart and merely sightsee.

Before coming out, Li Congwu had been lectured by his mother, who pulled him by the ear and instructed him to take good care of his two younger sisters. At this moment, walking beside the cart, he asked in a good-natured manner, "Where do you two want to wander? How about I take you to the south of the city to see the acrobatics?"

Someone from the Gu family worked in a clothing shop, so they didn't need to worry about clothes. Li Congwu also didn't want to take them to buy rouge or jewelry, so after thinking for a long while, he came up with this idea.

Wen Sheng called out, "Wait a moment." As soon as the donkey cart stopped, she nimbly jumped down from the cart. "I want to get some fresh air and walk with Third Brother for a bit."

Qinggui gave an "Ah" in response, but since they couldn't linger on the main street, she could only helplessly let her go.

Li Congwu gave Wen Sheng a simple, honest smile. "Then we'll walk slowly. We'll get back in the cart once you're tired."

Wen Sheng surveyed her surroundings. Not far ahead was an egg market; vendors of groceries and poultry slaughterers crowded both sides of the street. Most of the people entering and exiting the market wore clothes with patch upon patch, walking hurriedly as they struggled for their livelihoods. Every face, whether young or old, was pulled tight, and it was rare to see a tranquil expression.

A gust of wind blew past, bringing the choking smell of chicken manure from the marketplace. Li Congwu quickly covered his nose and said in a muffled voice, "Just keep walking straight ahead. It'll be better once we're off this street."

Wen Sheng was not offended and continued to walk leisurely. In reality, compared to her previous life, this body was significantly inferior; if she walked too fast, her legs would ache, and she would be the one suffering.

In her past life, Thirteenth Uncle had taken her to Mount Dengyun to pay respects to the sages, "watching the returning geese and waving five-stringed instruments." Although it had exhausted her and caused Thirteenth Uncle to tease her for it, she had at least made it to the mountain peak.

Now, everything had become nothing more than passing clouds.

Wen Sheng drifted off in thought, but before she could feel the melancholy, a pedestrian from the opposite direction suddenly jostled her, and a small figure stumbled toward her.

Li Congwu shouted, "Watch out!" and extended his arm to protect Wen Sheng. The small figure couldn't stop in time and crashed straight into Li Congwu's sturdy arm.

The person glared at Li Congwu without apologizing, instead turning back fiercely to look for the culprit, cursing, "Who the hell is blind, not watching where they're walking!"

No one behind him responded.

However, Wen Sheng noticed that during that jostle, an exquisitely crafted purse had fallen from a middle-aged man on the opposite side. The man was completely unaware and had already walked quite far away, leaving the purse lying lonely on the ground.

The small man's cursing had not yet ceased when he spotted it. His eyes lit up, but before he could make a move, Wen Sheng had already leaned down to pick up the purse, her voice clear and bright: "Hey, sir, please wait! You dropped something."

The small man turned back and squinted to re-examine Wen Sheng, then looked at the thick, large arm Li Congwu had placed in front of her. He retreated sheepishly, muttering something about "meddling in others' business."

By this time, the donkey cart had stopped, and Qinggui was quietly lifting the curtain to peek out.

Many eyes in the surroundings were looking this way, and the middle-aged man finally realized someone was calling him.

He turned around and, seeing the purse in Wen Sheng's hand, froze. A look of wariness surged in his eyes. He rushed forward a few steps to snatch the purse back, quickly squeezing it with his hands. Realizing the contents were all there, he muttered a low "Thank you," scanned his surroundings, and turned to walk away briskly.

The process was so fast that Wen Sheng, who had done the good deed, didn't even have time to react.

As they continued forward, Wen Sheng remained silent for a long while. The caution and indifference between strangers just now had once again reminded this lonely soul from another land that this was no longer the world she was familiar with. She didn't know why she had come here, nor did she know how she would live her life hereafter...

The old man driving the cart flicked his whip and spoke, "Brother Wu, your younger brother is quite kind-hearted."

Li Congwu gave a couple of "Hehe" laughs.

Qinggui whispered from inside the cart, "Don't go meddling in other people's business anymore. Kind people get bullied, and it's easy to invite trouble upon yourself."

Wen Sheng nodded slowly. Li Congwu saw that she wasn't very happy and comforted her, "It's okay, you have me."

Unsatisfied, Qinggui turned her target toward Li Congwu. "Brother, you've only been learning martial arts for a few days. I've heard that people out here are wicked; they'll blame you for anything just by being near you, and they'll try to extort you at every turn. Then there are those who are unhappy with their own lives and want everyone around them to be miserable too. Anyway, it's a mess. Don't go playing the hero recklessly. You might offend someone without even knowing it, and if you run into someone who doesn't care about living, blades and spears have no eyes—anything could happen."

Li Congwu was very proud of his martial arts skills. "Don't worry. With your brother's build, anyone looking for trouble would have to think twice."

Wen Sheng took a deep breath. In the two months since her rebirth, she hadn't met many people. Lady Jiang was a relative, yet she would try to push her into a fire pit for the sake of Zhao the Merchant's estate. That man surnamed Zhao was certainly no good either; if it weren't for the Gu couple acting as intermediaries, he might not even have wanted to give her a "status." Even the people they had just encountered on the road didn't look like kind souls.

What was most chilling was everyone's unsurprised reaction. What Qinggui said was likely true; the people in this place where she had been reborn were simply this indifferent to one another. Once she left the Li family and the original owner's relatives, she would have to face this crowd of strangers.

One could imagine how arduous the road ahead would be.

Leaving that street, Li Congwu took the two of them to the south of the city first. They wandered for a long time without seeing the acrobatics he had mentioned, though they did witness two or three instances of verbal altercations or even physical fights on the streets. In the last instance, both the attacker and the victim were bleeding from their heads; pedestrians scrambled to avoid them, and even the local authorities were alerted.

Li Congwu was very disappointed and wanted to take his two sisters home.

However, Wen Sheng said, "Third Brother, is there a familiar teahouse nearby? Let's go have a pot of tea and rest our feet."

Li Congwu grinned. "I know! You want to go listen to storytelling. We've been out for half a day and are just getting hungry. Let's go to the Chen family's old shop; Third Brother will treat you to tea and pastries."

Wen Sheng smiled. Unlike Qinggui's excitement, she didn't have much interest in the emperors, generals, scholars, or beauties told of by the storytellers.

No matter where one was, taverns and teahouses were always places where all walks of life gathered in a chaotic mix. Various rumors, true or false, flew everywhere. Wen Sheng felt that if she could sit in such a place and observe carefully, it would be far more valuable than wandering the streets like this.