The Innocent Heart - Chapter 11

If one were to ask Huo Qubing where he had gone at that moment, he himself was not entirely sure.

He had just arrived home and, knowing his mother was always prone to overreaction and sudden worries, he intended to follow his maternal uncle’s (Wei Qing’s) suggestion to report his safe return to ease her mind. However, as soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he heard the sounds of stringed instruments, feasting, and the mixed voices of men and women flirting from inside the room.

Thinking of this, Huo Qubing’s face felt hot even in the dark night. It was not the first time he had encountered Chen Zhang at his mother’s residence, but he had genuinely never seen them in such a state of undress and dissolute behavior before.

Seeing his mother embracing the man he disliked, Huo Qubing felt his blood rush instantly to his head. By the time he calmed down again, he found himself standing on the streets of Chang’an.

The cool breeze of the late spring evening made Huo Qubing, dressed lightly, feel a chill. Not far away, the sound of the evening drum rang out, the signal that the neighborhood curfew was about to begin. The pedestrians around him immediately quickened their pace toward home, but Huo Qubing felt lost.

Where should he go? Home? Huo Qubing quickly rejected this idea in his mind. The thought of his mother and Chen Zhang in that state made him feel intensely disgusted.

Where could he pass the night?

Although the Wei family was currently enjoying a period of great influence and never lacked flatterers, Huo Qubing’s character was both solitary and straightforward. He had almost no one he could truly call a friend, let alone one close enough to borrow a place to sleep for the night.

A friend… Suddenly, a figure flashed through Huo Qubing’s mind. He hesitated for a moment and finally turned and walked away.

The night had now completely enveloped the quiet manor. If anyone were to walk in, they would discover a flickering firelight inside the dilapidated house that should have been uninhabited.

It was Guan Yueyao, sitting by a fire pit, boiling water. Thanks to Huo Qubing’s “favor,” she had not dared to leave to forage for food since returning to the abandoned house today. After all, she was still a child. Having struck someone, and hearing that retaliation from the other party’s family was possible, she had genuinely settled down and kept a low profile. However, the lamb spine stew had been entirely devoured by the two of them at noon. Now, her stomach was empty, yet she dared not go out to buy dinner, fearing it would expose her whereabouts.

She had no choice but to draw water from the pond in the courtyard and boil it to stave off her hunger.

The puppy, Laosan (“Third Brother”), was nowhere in sight, having run off to an unknown location. Looking at the dark courtyard outside, the bleak north wind howled through the broken windows like the mournful cry of a ghost.

Whether from the night chill or the frightening wind, Guan Yueyao shivered by the fire pit. The terrifying images from the ghost movies she had watched back in the modern era began to surface uncontrollably in her mind.

Guan Yueyao was not a timid person; she was even a partial horror movie enthusiast, always drawn to the sensory stimulation they provided. But now, alone in this vast, abandoned house, the sight of the desolation and ruin made her heart pound with fear.

She kept feeling that a terrifying female ghost with disheveled hair and a white gown would suddenly crawl out of a dark corner just beyond the firelight.

At this thought, Guan Yueyao swallowed, internally scolding herself for becoming so cowardly in a new place.

Just as she was pondering this, a rustling sound suddenly came from the overgrown weeds in the courtyard, as if some creature was moving through them.

Immediately, Guan Yueyao felt all the hairs on her body stand on end. She tried to assure herself that it must be Laosan returning. But for a moment, the intense fear dried her throat, and she could not utter a sound.

Trembling, she fumbled for a wooden stick nearby and held it defensively across her chest.

The sound approached, seeming to head straight for the room she was in. Guan Yueyao wanted to find a corner to hide, but her limbs were uselessly weak.

Just then, through the window opening that lacked any covering, Guan Yueyao saw a blurry human silhouette moving slowly toward her room in the pitch black of the night, illuminated only by the pale moonlight.

“Aah—!!! Ghost!!! A ghost!!!” A piercing shriek cut through the night sky of Chang’an, echoing over the Mingguang district, adding a new terrifying legend to this already spooky abandoned house.

Guan Yueyao finally squeezed her eyes shut, screaming with her mouth wide open. But after only a couple of cries, she felt a hand forcefully clamp over her mouth, muffling her voice.

The warm touch of skin gradually calmed her down. Opening her eyes again, she saw Huo Qubing’s familiar face staring at her with a complicated expression.

“How… how is it you?!” Guan Yueyao felt a little awkward, looking at the young man whom she had treated like a subordinate. “Damn it, you scared me to death.”

Guan Yueyao couldn’t help but curse, clutching her chest. She truly had been scared out of her wits just now. However, the feeling of her heart racing and her mind feeling light-headed after the unrestrained screaming made her quite addicted.

“I should say the same. I was just about to greet you and you startled me,” Huo Qubing said, glaring at Guan Yueyao. He felt a little embarrassed recalling how his heart had involuntarily tightened upon hearing her scream, causing him to instinctively look behind himself. Thankfully, Guan Yueyao had only been focused on screaming and hadn’t noticed his reaction.

“Here, I brought some food. Would you like to join me?” Unwilling to continue the awkward conversation, Huo Qubing produced the lotus leaf parcel he was holding and held it out in front of Guan Yueyao.

As the fear receded, the feeling of hunger resurfaced. Guan Yueyao took the lotus leaf parcel. The aroma of food wafted through the gaps, stirring her appetite. Without stopping to ask or think about why this “Young Master” Huo Qubing would appear at her humble dwelling at this hour, Guan Yueyao joyfully opened the parcel.

It was an entire roasted chicken, already somewhat cold. Peering closer to the stove, the grease had congealed, and it looked a bit oily in the firelight.

It was truly unappetizing to eat it as is… Guan Yueyao glanced at the greasy inner surface of the lotus leaf. She moved the clay pot aside, found a slightly larger ceramic bowl, and got up to go outside.

“What are you doing?” Huo Qubing’s puzzled voice came from behind her.

“This roasted chicken is no good cold. I’m going to wash a bowl and heat it up before we eat.”

In the wide-mouthed ceramic bowl, the whole roasted chicken sizzled, emitting a delicious scent. Guan Yueyao and Huo Qubing sat facing each other, with the roasted chicken between them, staring intently at it.

Wisps of oily smoke rose from the chicken, eventually disappearing into the air.

“Can we eat yet?” Huo Qubing, still not moving, looked at the chicken expectantly.

Guan Yueyao waved him off. “Wait a moment. If we fry out the grease a bit, the skin will be crispy and the meat tender inside. It’ll taste much better!” As she spoke, she used her chopsticks to turn the chicken over.

When she was in Japan, her mother was busy with work, and her mother’s Japanese partner was completely useless. To fill her own stomach, Guan Yueyao had learned to cook early on. Thinking about it now, this skill seemed to be of some use.

Finding the whole chicken took too long to heat, Guan Yueyao set to work, tearing the meat off the bone. She tossed the bones aside, thinking Laosan would have something to eat when he returned. She then used the chicken fat to fry the meat in the bowl until the outside was slightly browned and the inside tender.

“Eat!” Finally, seeing a slight char on the skin and meat, Guan Yueyao removed the ceramic bowl and placed it on the ground, inviting her “subordinate,” Huo Qubing.

Huo Qubing was a person who was extremely particular about his food, clothing, housing, and travel. But now, first, he was ravenously hungry, and second, the chicken heated by Guan Yueyao emitted a tantalizing, scorched aroma he had never smelled before. It was truly inviting.

Without further hesitation, Huo Qubing grabbed a piece of chicken with his hand and put it into his mouth.

“This tastes great! You can cook?” Huo Qubing said in surprise after swallowing the mouthful of chicken.

In the Han Dynasty, cooking methods were still quite rudimentary, focusing mainly on steaming, boiling, and roasting ingredients. They were not skilled at using animal fats to process food. Thus, Huo Qubing, who was used to steamed buns and noodle soup, couldn’t stop praising the flavor after tasting the lightly fried roasted chicken, and he quickly stuffed two more pieces into his stomach.

Since there were no outsiders present, he relaxed his posture and disregarded the elaborate rules that aristocrats were obliged to follow. He and Guan Yueyao ate to their hearts’ content.

In truth, it wasn’t entirely satisfying. Two adolescents in their growth stage sharing one roasted chicken still felt they could eat more.

“I could eat another one, but unfortunately, the curfew has begun, and there are no food stalls left on the street,” Huo Qubing said regretfully, wiping his greasy mouth.

“How about I buy two more roasted chickens tomorrow, and you cook them for me again?” Huo Qubing suggested, looking at the empty ceramic bowl.

“Aren’t you going home?” Guan Yueyao finally remembered that this Young Master’s situation was not the same as hers; he was not a homeless person.

“I had a bit of a falling out with my family… I don’t want to go back just yet,” Huo Qubing turned his head away awkwardly, not looking at Guan Yueyao. “Lend me a place to stay here for a couple of days.”

Guan Yueyao found this amusing and was not displeased with Huo Qubing’s suggestion. She readily agreed: “So, you’ve run away from home, huh? No problem, you can stay as long as you like, but I can’t feed you.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Huo Qubing pulled a money pouch from his robe and handed it over. “Is this enough?”

It was another pouch of Ban Liang (Half-Tael) coins. Adding this to what Guan Yueyao had received from Huo Qubing the other day, Guan Yueyao thought that even if Huo Qubing stayed in the courtyard for a month, the two of them wouldn’t have to worry about going hungry.

Thinking this, Guan Yueyao’s mood brightened considerably. Humming a tune, she tidied up the ceramic bowl and then led Huo Qubing to the pond to wash the grease from their fingers.

A crescent moon was reflected in the pond, casting shimmering waves. Perhaps it was the company of a friend, but the now-barren and dilapidated courtyard no longer held the terror it had before.

Guan Yueyao suddenly felt that in this world, she was no longer alone. Having a friend’s company wasn’t bad at all.