Chapter 12: 012: Seeking Shelter

At the end of the small path, wisps of cooking smoke rose faintly.

The weary figures busy in the fields began to pack up their tools, heading home one after another.

A pair of brothers with striking appearances had arrived in Qian Family Village.

One walked in front, while the other rode a snow-white mule nearly as tall as a man.

That mule was truly beautiful; its coat was pure white without a single stray hair, and a valuable red-gold bell hung from its neck, emitting a crisp tinkling sound with every step.

The two attracted the attention of the farmers the moment they appeared.

The elder one wore a crow-blue robe, a headscarf, and wooden clogs. He was lean and carried a scholar’s seal at his waist; he appeared to be a young scholar traveling for his studies. The younger one looked to be eleven or twelve. Though he didn't look like his elder brother, he was a handsome youth with red lips, white teeth, and deep-set features.

Perhaps due to some foreign ancestry in their lineage, his facial features were more defined than those of ordinary people. At first glance, one might mistake him for a bright and beautiful young lady, but upon hearing the elder youth’s address, one realized he was a young master.

"My humble abode is crude; I hope you two young masters will forgive the lack of comfort for the night."

The village head led the two into a side room.

Qian Family Village was a small village of fewer than a hundred households, and the most decent and clean house belonged to the village head.

Hearing that the two young masters wanted to stay the night, he enthusiastically invited them to stay at his home and had his wife tidy up the side room.

Qi Shan took out a piece of broken silver and handed it to the village head, asking him to prepare some dry rations for the next few days and to boil a pot of hot water for bathing, with the remainder serving as a token of gratitude. The village head weighed the silver in his hand with a smile, made a quick estimate, and hurriedly said it was no trouble at all. Before leaving, he even asked if they needed fresh grass for the mule.

When the village head mentioned the mule, an unnatural expression flickered across Qi Shan’s face: "No need. That mule is not a living creature; it is a creation of my younger brother’s *Yanling*."

The village head understood immediately, his expression becoming even more respectful.

*Tinkle, tinkle—*

The familiar sound of the bell drew near.

Qi Shan pushed open the window to let out the stale air of the room and looked up to see Shen Tang leading the mule with one hand while clutching a handful of grass to tease it with the other.

He could faintly hear the young master Shen muttering to the mule.

"Motor, why aren't you eating? Just take a bite, I picked this especially for you..."

Qi Shan: "..."

Whenever this mule named "Motor" was mentioned, he felt a sense of breathlessness.

No one expected that a strange *Yanling*—"Galloping like the wind, Great Fortune Motor"—could actually manifest a snow-white mule!

Young Master Shen hopped on happily.

"Mr. Qi, do you want to conjure one too?"

Qi Shan refused decisively.

Not to mention that he didn't know how to use that specific *Yanling*, even if he could and succeeded, the result might not be the same as Young Master Shen’s.

Most importantly—

No matter how good-looking a mule is, it’s still a mule. He wouldn't ride it!

"Then do you want to ride together?" Shen Tang raised a hand to shield her eyes from the glaring sun, offering another suggestion.

Qi Shan refused again.

Even if he had to walk until his legs broke, he would never ride this mule with its foolish expression.

Shen Tang shrugged, not forcing the issue.

With the low-end "sports car" (mule) for transport, her feet were finally liberated. Passing by a tree that looked like a banana tree, she leaned over from the mule's back and snapped off two leaves.

She carried one on her shoulder to block the sun.

She held the other out to block the sun above Qi Shan’s head.

"Mr. Qi!"

With the sunlight blocked from above, Qi Shan turned his head at the sound.

Shen Tang tossed the leaf to him.

"Catch!"

Seeing Shen Tang’s posture of shielding herself from the light, he smiled helplessly.

"A good man should not fear such hardship."

"I’m not afraid, but there’s an old saying—'Fair skin hides a hundred flaws.'" Shen Tang adjusted the angle of the large leaf and carried it on her shoulder, laughing. "Getting tanned leads to an uneven skin tone, which ruins the aesthetic."

Qi Shan: "..."

The two traveled for several hours before seeing signs of human habitation.

Due to years of drought and war, few families remained in Qian Family Village. The entire village lacked young faces, consisting only of elderly people and innocent children. The sudden arrival of two strangers caused the news to fly from one end of the village to the other, and from time to time, mischievous children would peek at the village head’s house.

Qi Shan went to find the village head for something, and upon returning, he heard the laughter of Shen Tang playing with several children.

The two sides were "at war."

A small child wearing clothes washed until they were faded white sat on the back of the snow-white mule, holding a dry branch as a spear, looking quite fierce. Young Master Shen stood on foot, holding a stick to meet the enemy.

The two went back and forth, clashing repeatedly, fighting "inseparably." The other children, acting as "soldiers," watched the "battle" nervously from the sidelines, clapping and shouting "The General is amazing!" from time to time.

Qi Shan: "..."

At first, he thought Shen Tang was just indulging in play—after all, Young Master Shen was only an eleven or twelve-year-old boy, and even after suffering the hardships of exile, he was essentially mischievous and active—but after watching for a while, he realized the strange child was also quite interesting.

He asked the village head, "What is that child’s name? Which family in the village does he belong to?"

The village head replied, "That is not a child from the village."

"Not from here?"

The village head sighed, "I heard he is from a wealthy family, but he has had a severe illness since he was young and lives in a nearby manor to recuperate. They say it's for recuperation, but in reality, he has been abandoned. The servants naturally don't serve him with care. He looks quite pitiful and often sneaks out to play with the village children..."

Usually, they would play until dark, and then the manor servants would come to take him back.

Qi Shan’s curiosity was piqued.

"A severe illness? What kind of illness?"

The village head glanced at the joyful child and carefully pointed to his own head, saying, "I heard it is a brain disease."

In plain terms, he was a fool.

Qi Shan was slightly surprised and was about to speak when several children burst into loud cheers.

It turned out that the child had used a feint with his spear to "trick" Shen Tang and poked the "Lord" she was protecting.

Without deviation, it hit the "Lord" right on the forehead.

According to the rules of the game, he had won.

Looking at the "fallen Lord," Shen Tang had no choice but to "helplessly" spread her hands and drop her weapon to "surrender."

"Sigh, I lost."

The winner could receive the spoils of war.

The so-called spoils were thumb-sized pieces of malt candy.

She opened the pouch at her waist, took out a handful of malt candy she had made out of boredom, and distributed one to each child—this was called "rewarding the three armies." The "General" who had made the great contribution—the child who sat steadily on the mule and wielded his spear with such flair—received three.

The other children couldn't wait to put the candy in their mouths, but that child did not; he held the candy blankly, not knowing whether to eat it.

This dull, foolish appearance was completely different from the high spirits he showed while "fighting" on the mule's back.

"Not eating?"

Shen Tang squatted down to ask the child.

The child shook his head. He looked at the candy in his hand for a moment, then picked up one and handed it to Shen Tang.

He looked at her with bright eyes, as if expecting something.

"You want to feed me?"

"Mm, eat," the child said.

Shen Tang didn't mind the child’s dirty little hands; she opened her mouth to eat the candy he offered, her eyes curving into smiles.

"Oh, it's so sweet. Do you want to try some too?"

Seeing this, the child lowered his head and picked up another one to put in his mouth.

He put the last one back into his faded pouch.

The pouch was heavy.

Taking advantage of her angle, Shen Tang vaguely saw a delicate tiger-head jade pendant inside, which was also engraved with small seal script characters.

The other children went home satisfied, but only this child, whose clothes were washed to a faded color, remained, led by the village head to the main room to wait.

Summer weather is extremely fickle; not long after dark, a heavy rain poured down from the pitch-black sky.

Thunder roared and lightning flashed, with the wind howling.

Shen Tang was burning the midnight oil, frantically memorizing *Yanling*.

At this moment, the front door was pounded upon.