Childhood Friend or Destined Encounter? - Chapter 5

The matter that Feng Ya and Ye Zi had been debating for days was settled in an instant after a single trip out.

Saving a life is like fighting a fire. As soon as the two returned home, they decided to pack their bags immediately and head for Pingyang City.

Technically, they were “both” packing, but it was really just Ye Zi rummaging through chests and cupboards.

Watching the three overstuffed bundles before her, Feng Ya couldn’t help but say, “Pingyang City is barely a day’s walk from here.”

The subtext was clear: there was no need to pack as if they were moving house permanently.

Ye Zi didn’t stop, tucking a few books on top of her medicine chest. “I have a feeling this trip might take quite a while. Best to bring it all, better safe than sorry.”

At this point, Feng Ya didn’t quite grasp Ye Zi’s “habitual drifter” mindset, but she helped her tie the bundles securely anyway. “Fine, let’s take it all then.”

With Feng Ya’s help, Ye Zi’s efficiency increased noticeably. Once the clothes and daily necessities were packed, she scurried to the kitchen and returned a moment later, patting a pile of dry rations and fruit in her arms.

“It’s not like we’re going on a wilderness survival mission,” Feng Ya said, her eyelids twitching with a hint of helplessness.

“I know we’re going to save someone, but we have to fill our stomachs first. Between the two of us, we have less than ten taels of silver to our names,” Ye Zi said, taking a bite of a biscuit. She felt a twinge of regret, thinking that they might not have the luxury of Feng Ya cooking every day in the coming weeks.

Reminded of their current financial embarrassment, Feng Ya felt a metaphorical chilly breeze. She sat down beside Ye Zi and picked up a biscuit to chew on as well.

By the time they reached Pingyang Town with their bundles, it was already dark. They had no choice but to find an inn for the night. To save on travel expenses, they requested only one room.

Though they had shared a roof for many days, this was the first time they were sharing a room.

Worried that Ye Zi might feel uncomfortable, Feng Ya was about to suggest that she stay up and read by the lamp, but she saw that Ye Zi, having already washed up, had slipped into the quilt like a loach. She rolled to the inner side, leaving more than half the bed for Feng Ya, and gave her a puzzled look that seemed to say, “Why aren’t you sleeping yet?”

Feng Ya stopped being overly formal. She blew out the lamp and lay down beside Ye Zi in her clothes, yet her heart felt as if a feather had brushed against it, leaving a faint itch.

Feng Ya stared at the top of the bed. It was pitch black, and she couldn’t see a thing. she turned over ideas in her head for something to say to lighten the mood.

Should she thank her for her constant help and care? But Ye Zi didn’t seem to like being thanked.

Should she ask how she became so proficient in the Eight Trigrams and mechanical arts? But Ye Zi seemed like she didn’t want to draw attention to herself.

Should she talk about her past? She had noticed Ye Zi’s health didn’t seem great, but that felt a bit too personal for their current level of acquaintance.

Every topic was rejected before it could leave her lips. Feng Ya, who had never needed to take the initiative to befriend anyone in the past, found herself at a loss.

However, her dilemma didn’t last long. The sound of light, steady breathing came from beside her, a subtle rhythm mixed with a soft nasal hum that was very clear in the silent night.

Is she asleep? Feng Ya closed her eyes, using the soft sounds as a lullaby, and soon drifted off into a dream.

That night, Feng Ya had a dream. She was back in her childhood, where a little “toddler” often appeared by her side.

“Feng Ya, come quick and look at the wooden bird I made! I improved the design, and now it can fly a full circle around the house. Isn’t it amazing?” The little white puff of a girl lunged like a gust of wind toward the young Feng Ya, who was half a head taller.

“A-Ci, how many times have I told you? Don’t be so informal. You should call me Sister,” little Feng Ya said, holding the toddler’s shoulders and speaking with a serious, furrowed brow.

“I don’t want to! You can’t beat me in a fight, and you can’t out-recite me. I’ll call you Sister when you’re finally better than me,” the white puff said, winding up the mechanism of the wooden bird and letting it fly over their heads. Her porcelain-doll face was written all over with haughty pride.

Unwilling to be looked down upon by a little tot, Feng Ya worked even harder from then on, practicing martial arts and studying. Over time, diligence became a habit. But when the day finally came that she was truly powerful, that little toddler was long gone.

“A-Ci!” Feng Ya woke from the dream, the morning sunlight filling the room.

Ye Zi pushed the door open and walked in, carrying a tray of breakfast. She glanced at the bleary-eyed Feng Ya on the bed. “Awake? Go wash up and come eat.”

Seeing clearly who it was, Feng Ya finally snapped out of it. After a quick wash, she sat beside Ye Zi, picking up a steamed bun and staring at it for a long time without taking a bite.

Seeing Feng Ya looking so “affectionately” at a bun, Ye Zi asked with concern, “Did you not sleep well last night?”

“No, I was just thinking… after breakfast, let’s visit a tailor shop. These clothes you gave me… are a bit tight,” Feng Ya said, tugging at the outfit that was clearly a size too small, and sighed.

Ye Zi glanced at Feng Ya’s curves, which were noticeably constrained under the fabric, and gave a light huff.

This person! She eats my food, wears my clothes, and then has the nerve to complain they’re too tight. Simply outrageous!

Standing at the entrance of the largest, most established tailor shop in Pingyang City, Ye Zi nervously tugged at Feng Ya’s sleeve and whispered, “I agreed to come make clothes, but could you pick a cheaper place? All the money I have on me isn’t enough to buy a single bolt of silk here.”

“Don’t worry, someone else is paying,” Feng Ya said, leading Ye Zi straight into the shop.

The shopkeeper saw their coarse hemp clothes and was about to suggest they check out the place next door. However, when he saw the dark-grey jade thumb ring Feng Ya flashed, his expression immediately changed to a spring breeze, and he respectfully invited them in.

Seeing the shopkeeper’s performance, which rivaled a Sichuan Opera face-change, Ye Zi asked curiously, “What’s the secret behind that ring?”

“It was a gift from a friend. This shop is one of her family’s properties.”

A hidden mogul right beside me! This was the first time in Ye Zi’s memory that she had stepped into a shop of this caliber. Looking at the dazzling array of fabrics and garments, she sighed sincerely, “Truly the most famous old shop in Pingyang City, it certainly lives up to its name.”

Feng Ya measured Ye Zi with her eyes for a moment, then picked out a pink and white gauze dress and handed it over for her to try. “Consider this interest paid in advance.”

You’re certainly good at being generous with someone else’s money, Ye Zi grumbled internally, but she obediently went to the fitting room. After all, what girl her age didn’t love beautiful things?

When Ye Zi finished changing and stepped out, she saw Feng Ya holding two sets of pure white clothes, looking lost in thought.

Ye Zi curled her lip and said, “Such a light color, it’ll be a nightmare to wash.”

Feng Ya only gave Ye Zi the back of her head. “I’ll wash them myself.”

“Vain,” Ye Zi’s quiet mutter reached Feng Ya’s ears perfectly. Feng Ya turned, ready to retort, but the sight of the girl standing there in the pink dress made her forget her words for a moment.

The girl’s long, seaweed-like hair fell obediently, with a few soft strands resting on her slender shoulders. The dark hair made the skin of her neck look as white as snow. The pink gauze dress outlined her graceful curves; she looked like a fresh peach blossom on a March branch, possessing a beauty that surpassed a thousand colors even without makeup.

Feng Ya picked up an ornament from the counter—a hairclip in the shape of a peach blossom—and pinned it near Ye Zi’s ear. “It matches well like this.”

Ye Zi caught a glimpse of this face, both strange and familiar, in the large bronze mirror. She tried her best to hide the smile at the corners of her mouth, thinking: Fine, I guess I’m a bit vain too.

Feng Ya ultimately chose a white robe with cloud-patterned brocade. Just as she finished changing and stepped out of the stall, she heard a commotion at the entrance.

The shopkeeper was greeting someone with respectful tension: “Eldest Miss, why have you come in person today? I was just saying I would send this quarter’s ledgers to the manor…”

“I’m here to see someone. Everyone, get back to work, don’t stand in my way.” As soon as the woman called Eldest Miss spoke, the large main hall was cleared until only three people remained.

Ye Zi studied the woman who had made such a grand entrance. She was dressed in golden finery and adorned with gold and silver jewelry, looking for all the world like a walking ingot of gold.

Isn’t she afraid of being robbed, dressing like that? This genuine concern vanished when Ye Zi noticed two lines of people appearing at the door.

Every one of them was tall and brawny, wearing matching dark-gold martial attire with a heavy sword on their back that was five times wider than a normal sword. These were clearly the lady’s guards.

The Eldest Miss looked at Feng Ya, who had emerged from the fitting room, and said crossly, “I say, Stone-face, we finally get to meet after all this time, and instead of finding a tavern to welcome me, you ask me to meet you at a tailor shop? What for?”

“This is Chu Mingzhu, the Eldest Miss of the Famous Sword Villa,” Feng Ya introduced her to Ye Zi, who was still confused, ignoring Chu Mingzhu’s complaints.

“I told you not to keep mentioning my name!” The Chu Miss, upon hearing her real name, reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

As the apple of the eye of the Famous Sword Villa’s Master, Chu Mingzhu had resented her name since childhood, feeling it was too common and didn’t suit her beautiful and brilliant self.

“Very well, Miss Chu.”

The mollified Chu Mingzhu finally noticed Ye Zi, who hadn’t said a word since she entered. Her cunning fox-eyes darted over Ye Zi for a long time before she smiled, “This must be the ‘little benefactor’ you mentioned in your letter. I didn’t expect her to be such a delicate little beauty.”

Little benefactor, little beauty… this Eldest Miss speaks so improperly. Ye Zi felt a bit flustered, but she said seriously, “You’re mistaken. I am her creditor.”

“Creditor?” Now that was an interesting way to put it. Chu Mingzhu was about to tease her further but was interrupted. Feng Ya had somehow brought over five sets of clothes and piled them onto Ye Zi’s arms. “Go try these on. Miss Chu is paying.”

Ye Zi wanted to say she shouldn’t accept gifts for no reason, but seeing that the two of them clearly had things to discuss, she left tactfully.

Now that only Feng Ya and Chu Mingzhu were left in the hall, Chu Mingzhu dropped her playful expression and slumped into a chair as if she had no bones. “Speak. Why did you write to me and ask me here? It can’t just be to buy clothes for you.”

The two had been friends for years, so Feng Ya didn’t beat around the bush. “I need you to find every storyteller in the vicinity of Pingyang City for me, and I also need to borrow some of your people.”

Because Ye Zi had suddenly agreed to help, Feng Ya decided to act early rather than wait for her own people to arrive from afar. However, they were up against the Baqi Tower; she and Ye Zi alone still couldn’t get the job done, so she thought of Miss Chu, who was currently near Pingyang City.

“A small matter,” Chu Mingzhu agreed readily. Suddenly remembering something, she pulled a stack of banknotes from her robe and handed them to Feng Ya. “I heard that little beauty say she’s your creditor. Since when did you fall into such a pathetic state? Take these banknotes for now. If it’s not enough, your sister here has more.”

Feng Ya glanced at the woman who was a year younger than her yet called herself “sister.” She didn’t reach for the money, saying calmly, “I am currently just a destitute person who can’t produce five taels of silver. Don’t go ruining my character persona.”

Chu Mingzhu: “Wait, what?”

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