The afternoon brought even more people to Cloud Mist Street.
Nan Shiying and her two companions found a tea house facing the street.
As Nan Shiying sipped her tea, she gazed out at the bustling street. Inside the tea house, a hired Qing official played the pipa, its melody lingering and melodious.
Intertwined with the music were boisterous conversations. Eight out of ten people were mocking and ridiculing Nan Shiying.
Initially, Bai Zhi and Lu Wan were angry, but soon they grew tired of the incessant, repetitive remarks.
Bai Zhi nudged Lu Wan’s waist and whispered, "Sister Lu Wan, are we just sitting here drinking tea?"
They had already finished two pots of tea.
Weren't they leaving yet?
Lu Wan glanced at her, "Why so many questions? Eat your pastry!"
Her mouth hadn't stopped moving.
Bai Zhi huffed and, as if venting her frustration, stuffed an entire pastry into her mouth.
"Let's go!"
Nan Shiying suddenly stood up and strode towards the exit. Lu Wan quickly threw down some silver and followed. Bai Zhi choked on her pastry, grabbed the teapot and downed several mouthfuls of water before she could swallow it. By the time she looked up again, Nan Shiying and Lu Wan had already gone far ahead.
"Wait for me!"
Bai Zhi hurried to catch up.
Nan Shiying walked with long strides, her gaze fixed on a specific spot, as if tracking someone.
Lu Wan followed Nan Shiying's line of sight and spotted a child.
"My Lady, who is he?"
Lu Wan leaned closer to Nan Shiying and asked in a low voice.
Nan Shiying replied, "The little thief who stole the money."
"You mean, he's the child who bumped into me earlier?" Lu Wan was somewhat surprised. Even she, who had been bumped, couldn't remember the child's appearance, yet My Lady remembered?
"Mm!"
Nan Shiying gave a faint "Mm."
Just then, Bai Zhi's shout came from behind, causing quite a commotion.
The boy walking amidst the crowd turned his head, his body stiffened slightly, and the next moment, he bolted.
Nan Shiying cursed under her breath and took off in pursuit.
Lu Wan reacted a beat too late, already falling far behind the other two. She had to quicken her pace and chase with all her might. Bai Zhi, seeing Nan Shiying and Lu Wan running, couldn't react in time and had no choice but to run as well.
A peculiar scene unfolded on the street: people chasing people chasing people.
The boy ran for a full eight blocks, and Nan Shiying chased for eight blocks. Both were starting to falter.
"Keep running!" Nan Shiying said breathlessly.
The boy, supporting himself on his legs, bent over to catch his breath, "You keep chasing!"
"If you don't run, how can I chase!"
"If you don't chase, how can I run!"
Nan Shiying frowned. Hmph, this little thief!
"Where's the money!" she demanded.
The boy stubbornly replied, "Grandpa spent it all."
Nan Shiying almost burst out laughing. She pointed a finger at the boy's nose and said, "Hand over the money immediately, or I'll take you to the officials!"
The boy stuck out his tongue at Nan Shiying, "Kid, catch me first if you can."
He said this, placed his hands on a pile of scrap wood by the roadside, and vaulted over the wall. Before he could gloat, a stone hit his back fiercely.
He bared his teeth and turned his head.
Nan Shiying sat on the wall, waving the stone in her hand at him.
"Go to hell!"
The boy cursed loudly and, ignoring the pain, turned and ran.
"Swish~"
"Bang~"
The sounds of the stone whistling through the air and hitting the ground reached her ears.
After running dozens of meters, the noise from behind gradually faded. The boy dared not stop. He ran for another dozens of meters before turning to look back. Only when he confirmed no one was chasing him did he let out a deep sigh of relief.
That damn person!
He rubbed his sore back and cursed under his breath.
...
"My Lady..."
Lu Wan and Bai Zhi, panting, finally caught up to their mistress. If they lost My Lady while out, even eight lives wouldn't be enough to atone.
Nan Shiying jumped down from the wall, patted her clothes, and said to Lu Wan and Bai Zhi, "Keep up."
Lu Wan and Bai Zhi, with grim faces, had no choice but to follow again.
...
Compared to Cloud Mist Street, Sishui Street, separated by only a dozen blocks, was extremely simple and dilapidated.
The ground was stained with mud that could no longer be scrubbed off. On both sides of the street, the walls of the houses were covered in moss, and some walls had cracked or even broken open.
Yet, there were many people here, citizens wearing patched clothes everywhere.
"Gouzi is back."
"Gouzi, here are some vegetable leaves for you."
"Gouzi..."
The boy, clutching his back, walked into Sishui Street. People from all corners of the street greeted him. A woman buying vegetables handed him a basket of leftover leaves.
"Thank you, Auntie Wang."
Gouzi apologized politely. He greeted uncles and aunties all the way, heading towards the ancestral hall at the innermost part of Sishui Street.
"Brother Gouzi, you're back."
As he pushed open the door of the ancestral hall, a group of children swarmed around him.
Gouzi patted their heads and handed the vegetables to Yat Dan, who had come out upon hearing the commotion, "Auntie Wang gave them. We'll make more dishes today; we have money."
Yat Dan nodded, hugged the vegetables, and turned towards the kitchen.
"Gouzi, did you buy the medicine?" A voice asked from the inner room, having heard the noise outside.
"Bought it!"
After shooing away the little ones gathered around him, Gouzi walked into the inner room. As he opened the door, a pungent smell, even though he was accustomed to it, made him frown.
In the small room lay over a dozen people.
The oldest was no more than ten, and the youngest only two or three.
Each of their bodies was incomplete. Some had lost an arm, some a leg, some an eye. The most pathetic was an eight-year-old child, whose facial features were gone – his eyes gouged out, his nose and ears severed, and even his tongue was missing.
Gouzi entered the room, took out the medicine hidden in his embrace, and handed it to an old man who was pounding herbs on the ground.
"Old man, how much longer can you live?" Gouzi squatted beside the old man and asked.
The old man spared him a glance and chuckled immodestly, "What, scared?"
Gouzi feigned disdain and sneered, "Scared? I'm afraid there'll be no one to look after them after you die."
The old man handed the pounded medicine to Gouzi. Gouzi skillfully wrapped it in gauze. The old man then opened the medicine Gouzi had bought, examined it, and smelled it before pouring it all into the medicine pot.
He stood up and placed the medicine pot on the only cabinet remaining in the room.
Turning back, he placed a hand on Gouzi’s shoulder and said with a smile, "Yat Dan is also grown up. I'll try my best to prepare all the medicine Xiao San and the others need before I die. Once their wounds heal, they won't need it anymore. As for you..."
The old man noticed the stain on the back of Gouzi's clothes from being hit. His voice paused. He lowered his head, leaned in to smell it, and the scent that entered his nostrils made the old man's expression change instantly.
"This is bad!"
The old man cursed under his breath, "Gouzi, take off your clothes quickly and throw them into..."
Just then, a commotion suddenly erupted outside, followed by Yat Dan's questioning voice: "Who are you!"