The Innocent Heart - Chapter 14

“Aaaahhhh! Something! Something is crawling at my feet!!!” Guan Yueyao was screaming with her eyes closed, jumping in place, as if by doing so, the unknown thing in the darkness wouldn’t dare approach her.

“Woo-woo…” A few whimpers of a young animal sounded out, finally making Guan Yueyao calm down. She opened her eyes and looked down. Her eyes, long without the help of candlelight, had already adjusted to the dark environment. Although her eyesight was not as keen as Huo Qubing’s, focusing in the night, she could finally clearly see the furry, continuously wriggling mass.

This… isn’t this the puppy Laosan (“Third Brother”)? Guan Yueyao crouched down, picked up the puppy, and examined it closely. It was him!

It had apparently tired of its escapades and returned to Guan Yueyao’s room. Judging by its recent movements, it seemed to have been trying to settle down and sleep by their feet.

“Shh…” A sound of suppressed laughter reached Guan Yueyao’s ears. She felt her ears burn. She turned around and saw that Huo Qubing had also sat up, his back facing her, his shoulders shaking continuously. This was clearly not due to fear, but rather from trying to hold back laughter.

“Stop laughing!” Guan Yueyao put down the dog and roared, pouncing to cover Huo Qubing’s perpetually laughing mouth.

However, this action and command clearly achieved the opposite effect. Seeing that Guan Yueyao had noticed his reaction, Huo Qubing simply stopped trying to hold back and burst into unrestrained laughter. The laughter was so reckless that it seemed to be amplified infinitely in the silent night, almost lifting the already dilapidated roof.

Yet, it also seemed that the resentment and suppression accumulated over the past few days from the gossip about his birth, his mother’s relationship with her lover, and even his uncle’s origins, were all carried out of his chest with this laughter.

Initially, he seemed to be laughing at the friend beside him, who, intending to scare him, had ended up being frightened himself and was now utterly flustered. But gradually, after prolonged laughter, tears started to seep out of Huo Qubing’s eyes, and his stomach began to ache.

“Stop laughing! Huo Qubing!!!” Judging by Guan Yueyao’s voice, one could imagine his furious, flailing appearance without opening their eyes—he was clearly enraged and ashamed.

Pa! A sharp pain struck Huo Qubing’s back. He turned around, his face still holding traces of his lingering amusement, but his laughter finally subsided.

Huo Qubing roughly wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes, looking at the furiously glaring Guan Yueyao beside him with a hint of teasing.

“You made up a story to scare me, didn’t you!” Guan Yueyao’s voice demanded an answer. Laosan also squeezed in at this point, found a comfortable spot between the two of them, and lay down.

“And didn’t you make up a story to scare me?” Huo Qubing braced his arms behind him, casually glanced at Guan Yueyao, and countered with a smile.

Guan Yueyao choked. He had indeed been plotting mischief, but he hadn’t expected to fail and end up worse off.

In truth, this couldn’t entirely be blamed on her. The difference between the two regarding the concept of ghosts and spirits wasn’t just a matter of two thousand years. The Japanese-authored tale of a vengeful spirit that Guan Yueyao told couldn’t form a concrete image in Huo Qubing’s mind.

People in the Han Dynasty revered ghosts and spirits. However, their fear of them often stemmed from the belief that spiritual mischief often brought plagues and calamities to the mortal world. If someone in the family fell ill, it was often thought to be the ghost of an ancestor returning home to demand food or other necessities. Therefore, when someone in the family became sick, the first response was not to seek medical treatment, but to find a solution from a shaman.

While a masterless spirit was called a Li Gui (厲鬼 – fierce ghost) in the Han Dynasty, a fierce ghost that brought disease seemed considerably less terrifying than one that could directly take a person’s life.

Guan Yueyao’s failure lay in the fact that his mind was currently saturated with too many terrifying concepts of “ghosts” from all over the world, while Huo Qubing’s was not.

But Guan Yueyao didn’t realize this subtle difference between them; he was simply angry at himself.

Suddenly, Huo Qubing, whose voice had returned to calmness, spoke: “I wasn’t lying to you. The blood flowing like a river during the house raid, and the wealthy merchant who took over eventually losing his family and fortune, are all true. The room across from us must be the main house of this manor. I heard my uncle say that when the house was raided, the women of the household, unwilling to be disgraced, all hanged themselves there. The soldiers who went in to search saw the beams of the house full of over a dozen hanging female corpses.”

Every word of Huo Qubing’s speech drilled into Guan Yueyao’s ears, and his accursed imagination began to uncontrollably construct that horrifying scene in his mind.

Seeing that Huo Qubing didn’t seem finished and intended to elaborate on the gruesome details, Guan Yueyao finally couldn’t bear it and covered his ears with his hands.

This Young Master might cool down and go home tomorrow to enjoy a life of comfort and luxury, but unlike Huo Qubing, this dilapidated house was his shelter. No matter how scared he was, he had to grit his teeth and keep living here.

With his ears covered and his head buried between his knees, he didn’t know how long passed until he felt a warm hand grip his wrist, pulling away the hands covering his ears.

“I won’t talk about it anymore. Don’t cover your ears,” it was Huo Qubing’s voice. There was no mockery or laughter in his tone; on the contrary, there was a hint of seriousness.

He didn’t mock his fear, but instead smiled at him: “Thank you, Guan Yueyao. I feel much better now.”

Huo Qubing spoke frankly and sincerely, which made it difficult for Guan Yueyao to scold him for teasing him. Instead, Huo Qubing’s thanks made Guan Yueyao gradually forget his fear and feel happy for him.

“Is that so? That’s wonderful,” Guan Yueyao replied with a smile.

But his good mood didn’t last long; it vanished instantly because of Huo Qubing’s next words.

“Actually, everything I just told you was just idle city gossip made up by others. The house raid happened decades ago; who could possibly know the exact circumstances back then?” Huo Qubing fell backward, lying back on the straw pile, grinning at Guan Yueyao.

His bright, expressive eyes sparkled with mischief.

The next day, when the sun was already high, Guan Yueyao opened his eyes. The straw pile beside him was empty. Reaching out a hand, he felt the coldness, confirming that the boy who had been sleeping there was long gone.

For some reason, an indescribable feeling of loss arose in Guan Yueyao’s heart. Is it just me again? Guan Yueyao thought.

Fortunately, he turned his head and saw Laosan curled up next to him, his pair of big, dark eyes looking at him. Seeing him wake up, Laosan stood up, ran to Guan Yueyao’s head, and licked the corner of his mouth. This was the puppy telling him that it was hungry.

Guan Yueyao used a hand to fend off Laosan’s enthusiastic advances and sat up. Where had Huo Qubing gone? Had he already gone home?

As Guan Yueyao was wondering, a shadow flashed, and a person entered the room. It was Huo Qubing. His previously low spirits could not help but lift with joy upon seeing the young man.

“You certainly can sleep,” the moment the boy opened his mouth, however, this joyful feeling was immediately extinguished and completely vanished.

“People who never sleep in don’t know how great it is to sleep in,” Guan Yueyao said dismissively, stretching and picking up Laosan while looking up at Huo Qubing in a provocative manner.

“How long are you going to stay here? Aren’t your parents looking for you?” Guan Yueyao asked while looking him over, trying to figure out what he had been doing since getting up so early. Huo Qubing’s hair tie was messy, his clothes were untidy, sweat had dampened the loose hair on his forehead, and his face was flushed from exertion.

This appearance was all too familiar to him. He often looked this way after his morning exercises back in China. He’s really dedicated. He runs away from home and still doesn’t forget his morning practice. Guan Yueyao sighed inwardly, admiring Huo Qubing’s self-discipline.

“They’re probably searching all over the city by now,” Huo Qubing said offhandedly, pursing his lips. “But this place is really comfortable to stay in. I don’t want to go back yet.”

Even though everything had been cleared up, he still refused to go home, insisting on his family coming to find him before he would accept their endless apologies and return. This was probably the kind of pride typical of boys his age, a pride that adults struggled to understand. After all, having run away from home, going back on his own would feel quite humiliating.

As a former troublesome youth who caused headaches for teachers and parents, Guan Yueyao was very familiar with running away from home and understood Huo Qubing’s current predicament. Out of loyalty to his friend, he stood up, walked over to Huo Qubing, and patted his shoulder: “Just stay here without worry. If I have a meal, you’ll have one too.”

“Grrr…” However, the response he received was the sound of the boy’s stomach protesting.

The embarrassing truth was now facing both of them. Their hasty fight and flight yesterday meant that although they had money, they had no food stores at the moment. One of them had to go out and buy something to eat.

But given their current situations, one was evading his family’s search, and the other had offended the Grand Princess Guantao.

“Although the Emperor already mediated a resolution between our two families yesterday, Grand Princess Guantao is a vengeful person, and we injured her grandson. I’m afraid she won’t just let it go. How about I go out and buy the food?” Huo Qubing suggested first.

“No way!” Guan Yueyao rejected Huo Qubing’s proposal immediately without thinking. Instinctively, he seemed more afraid of Huo Qubing being recognized by his family on the street and leaving permanently than he was of being caught by the Grand Princess Guantao.

For a moment, the matter of foraging for food seemed to have reached a stalemate.