The night wind stirred, and I sat in my room, contemplating life.
Liu Shinian, with his shameless disposition, had ultimately seized my room. He was now sprawled on the bed, gleefully playing with the sword in his hand.
He glanced at me, a lazy smile on his face, and said, "How long do you plan on just sitting there?"
I sighed, looking at him with an expression of utter helplessness.
He looked up, saw my lifeless demeanor, and found it amusing. With a slight twitch of his eyelids, he sat up and slowly walked over to sit beside me.
"Are you going to guard me tonight?" he asked with a chuckle.
I turned my head away, not wanting to engage with him.
He surveyed the room, then looked at me. Knowing I wouldn't give up so easily, he shamelessly proposed, "There's only one bed here. If you don't mind, you can sleep with me."
I had anticipated he would say something like this. If I had met him for the first time, I might have been flustered. But having witnessed his rogue nature, I was no longer bothered by his verbal provocations. I turned my head, gazing at the bed, waiting for the opportune moment.
Seeing my silence, Liu Shinian continued to chatter in my ear. "Whether you like it or not, I'm sleeping here tonight. You know I can't sleep outside, right?"
Despite his lengthy speech, I heard none of it. Noticing his lack of guard, as he was solely focused on talking to me, I suddenly sprang up and, to his astonished gaze, leaped onto the bed. Then, I spread my arms wide, claiming the entire bed, and laughed triumphantly.
"Hahaha, the bed is mine now. You go sleep outside."
Liu Shinian smiled calmly, watching me with amusement. Then, as if struck by a mischievous idea, he slowly ambled over to my side. Suddenly, he spread his arms, about to pounce. I scrambled to the side, looking at him in alarm.
"You, you, what are you doing?"
Liu Shinian lazily continued his rascally antics. "See? You're no match for me when it comes to a fight. Alright, go find a place to sleep. This bed is mine now."
With that, he flopped onto the bed, occupying the entire space by himself. I could only roar weakly, "You! Scoundrel!"
He turned his head, seeing my defiance, and a wicked thought sparked anew. "Oh ho, still not convinced? Come, come, let's sleep together."
Liu Shinian, seeing my indignant expression, found it even more amusing. He actively got up, grabbed my hand, and started pulling me towards the bed.
"What are you doing! Pervert!" I struggled, pushing him away.
Seeing that I was being uncooperative, Liu Shinian stopped his advances. He lay back on the bed himself and said solicitously, "The floor in this inn is quite good. It's not too cold; you could try sleeping on it."
I spat at him in anger, then turned and left the room, heading for Ah Li's room.
Ah Li saw me return and guessed that I hadn't managed to win against Liu Shinian. However, this was also to be expected. He looked at my dejected appearance and comforted me, "It's alright, you can sleep in my room."
"What about you?"
"I'll sleep with Brother Liu."
"Is that okay? He's so wicked."
"It's fine, he'll agree."
Ah Li slowly walked to the window, closed the slightly ajar casement, and then said to me, "Mu Ye, you sleep now. We have a lot to do tomorrow."
"Okay, thank you, Ah Li."
Ah Li was truly kind, unlike Liu Shinian, who only knew how to seize and bully, acting unreasonably.
"Then I'll head over."
"Alright."
With that, he voluntarily gave up his room and went to Liu Shinian's. I breathed a slight sigh of relief, lying on the bed, Ah Li's image reappearing in my mind. I thought that there was no other boy in this world as good as Ah Li. Lost in thought, I drifted off to sleep.
Outside, the wind blew that night, sometimes strong, sometimes weak. It rustled the trees beyond the building, creating a "swish-swish" sound that, if not listened to carefully, could be mistaken for heavy rain.
The next day, as dawn barely broke, a gust of cold wind hit me. I blinked my eyes open and saw that the window I had closed last night was now wide open. I suddenly remembered hearing the fierce wind outside last night; it must have blown open then. Remembering that we had to go to Qian Ji Hall today, I quickly opened the door and went out to wake Liu Shinian and Ah Li.
Pushing the door open, I saw them lying sprawled on the bed. Liu Shinian's splayed legs had one foot resting on Ah Li's legs. I sighed and walked over to remove his foot. Then, I looked out the window; the sun, like blood red, was slowly rising. I then called out to them, "Wake up, it's time to go."
Hearing my voice, he stirred slightly, then remained still. "Ah Li, wake up, it's morning."
Ah Li, hearing me call him, groggily woke up and asked, "What time is it?"
I thought for a moment and replied, "I'm not entirely sure, but the sun is already out."
"Oh, we still have to go to Qian Ji Hall today."
It seemed he remembered, so he propped himself up, ready to get out of bed. Liu Shinian, that scoundrel, I didn't know if he was awake or not. He vaguely turned, hugged Ah Li, who was about to get up, and pulled him back under the covers. He then pulled the covers over both their heads, pretending not to have heard anything.
I grew a little angry, lifted the covers, stuck my head in, and shouted, "Get up!"
Liu Shinian jolted, shaking as he emerged from the covers, and grumbled tiredly, "What is it? You scared me to death so early in the morning."
"We're going to buy clothes in town today, remember?" I reminded him.
"Oh, got it, got it." He waved his hand, then slowly got out of bed, taking several minutes before finally heading out.
"We might be buying quite a few things today, so I want a share too," he suddenly requested.
"What do you need a share for?" I had no intention of bringing him along, only wanting Ah Li and myself to go in.
"Don't tell me, I'm not part of your itinerary?" He looked at me with questioning eyes, awaiting a satisfactory answer.
I pouted and said, "You just need to take us to the entrance."
Liu Shinian let out a disgruntled snort, then waved his hand. "Since you're not taking me, you two go by yourselves. I've already told you how to do it, so I'm going back to sleep." With that, he turned to go back to bed.
Ah Li suddenly grabbed him and advised me, "Mu Ye, Brother Liu has been to Qian Ji Hall many times. No one knows it better than him. If he's with us, it'll be easier to find the Celestial Master."
"That's right, Ah Li understands me." Liu Shinian proudly put his arm around Ah Li's shoulder again.
I thought about it and felt that Ah Li had a point. The situation within Qian Ji Hall, and how to find Master Zhang, were all unknowns. Having Liu Shinian there would be beneficial. So I agreed, "Alright, then we'll bring him along. But first, let's see how much this Qian Hu Sword can be pawned for."
Liu Shinian patted his chest and guaranteed, "With me here, you can rest assured. It can only be pawned for more, never less." I could believe him on this point. When it came to being a scoundrel, he was still unmatched.
I glanced at the increasingly hot sun outside the window and said anxiously, "Shouldn't we be leaving now?"
"Mm, it's time to go. Let's go."
And so, the three of us, carrying a sword, set out onto the streets. The streets today were bustling, with even more people than yesterday. Throngs of people came and went, their cries of hawking rising and falling. Every passerby had a look of unfathomable anticipation on their faces.
"Why are there so many people today?" I asked curiously.
"It's probably because the Righteous Warriors' Assembly is about to convene," Ah Li guessed immediately.
Liu Shinian patted his shoulder, praising him, "You guessed correctly, Ah Li is getting more and more capable. This Righteous Warriors' Assembly is mainly focused on the strange occurrences in the four cities recently. Its purpose is to dispatch highly skilled martial artists to resolve them, or to find their source."
"So that's why it's so grand." Thinking this, I turned to Liu Shinian and asked, "Why aren't you going? Aren't you a master as well?"
Hearing me praise him for the first time, Liu Shinian laughed without restraint. "Hahaha, it's rare for you to praise me. However, I'm no longer a master. Therefore, I'm not within their invitation scope."
I felt a bit indignant on his behalf. "That can't be right. Seeing how much you enjoy using your sword, you must be a master."
"Perhaps I just don't catch others' eyes. Alright, let's not dwell on this. Let's hurry to the pawnshop." He clearly didn't want to discuss this topic. Since he didn't wish to, I wouldn't pry further. The three of us, squeezed into the surging crowd, could barely distinguish where we were going.
Ah Li asked him with some concern, "Brother Liu, where is the pawnshop?"
He casually rested his hands behind his head, looking like he was enjoying the spectacle, and said as he walked, "Go straight east. There's one at the street corner."
It seemed he knew the way after all. Liu Shinian, worried we might get lost, walked ahead to lead the way. We followed behind him, occasionally pushing through the crowd. We finally reached the street corner. Looking up, I saw a large character for "Pawn" hanging by the pawnshop's entrance. The slightly reddish, aged plaque read, "Feng Ji Pawnshop." It seemed the owner of this establishment was surnamed Feng.
"This is it," Liu Shinian said towards the inside, then led us in.
The shopkeeper greeted him like an old acquaintance. "Young Master Liu, you've arrived."
"How has Shopkeeper Feng been lately?"
"I've been well, just not much business. What do you intend to pawn today?"
"Oh, nothing much, just a sword. Take a look and see how much you can give me for it." As he spoke, Liu Shinian took the Qian Hu Sword from my hand and handed it to him.
Shopkeeper Feng drew the sword from its scabbard. The blade was crystal clear and as sharp as ever, as if it had just been bought from someone. He immediately recognized where it came from. "This sword looks like it's from Bai Xiaosheng's Weaponry Shop."
Ah Li said, "The shopkeeper has a good eye. It is indeed from there. We needed it for something previously, so we bought it from there. We're in urgent need of money now, which is why we thought of pawning it."
"Oh, this sword, from his shop, would cost at least six hundred coins. Since it's already been sold, it's not worth the original price. I can only give you half, plus a little more, so two hundred and fifty coins."
Liu Shinian was astonished at the figure. "Two hundred gold coins? Hey, are you kidding me? Such a good sword, and you only offer this much."
Shopkeeper Feng said helplessly, "There's nothing I can do. If you want to pawn something, this is all I can offer."
"I know your shop's rules, but this is too little. Add a bit more."
"I see you're a regular customer, so I'll add ten more coins. Two hundred and sixty coins."
"Alas, is this really all you can do?" Liu Shinian struggled, wanting to get more. But the shopkeeper refused to budge. Then he asked us, "What do you think of this price?"
Since ancient times, pawnshops have operated this way: they lend little and charge a lot for redemption. This owner's offer was already quite reasonable. Asking for more would not increase the price, so let it be.
"Alright, two hundred and sixty coins then," I said.
Seeing my agreement, the shopkeeper called out behind him, "One fine sword, pawned for two hundred and sixty coins!" At this moment, people from the back heard the voice, counted the money, took it out, and handed it to us. Then they took the Qian Hu Sword inside.
Shopkeeper Feng reminded us, "Please count the money to ensure it's correct."
The money was in Liu Shinian's hand. Just as he was about to count it, I snatched it away and handed it to Ah Li, saying, "Ah Li, please check if it's correct."
Ah Li took the money pouch, weighed it, then poked his finger inside and said, "It's two hundred and sixty coins." Seeing his confirmation, I no longer doubted and turned to thank the shopkeeper, "Thank you, shopkeeper." Then, I led Liu Shinian and Ah Li out.
"Next, let's go buy clothes." Liu Shinian walked ahead, full of enthusiasm, muttering, "It's been a while since I bought clothes. This time I can pick and choose properly." Two hundred and sixty coins plus the forty we already had totals three hundred coins. That should be enough, right? Oh, I forgot to mention, Liu Shinian paid for the steamed buns, hehehe.
Liu Shinian led us to a shop called "Hui Xian Zhuang." Upon entering, the entire shop was filled with a dazzling array of colorful fabrics. I worried inwardly, "These are all just fabrics. How long will it take to make them into clothes?"
As soon as Liu Shinian entered the shop, he eagerly approached the shop owner. The shop owner was a somewhat plump woman. Seeing Liu Shinian approach, her face lit up, and she said with a smile, "Isn't this Young Master Liu? Why have you brought friends?" It seemed everyone knew him.
Liu Shinian said, "We're going to Qian Ji Hall, but we don't have any good fabrics. So we came to see if you have any." The proprietress covered her mouth and chuckled, teasing him, "What, are you going to see Xue Ji again? She's probably quite busy these days."
"Oh, my dear old sister, you know I only have eyes for her."
"I knew you'd say that." The proprietress smiled shyly again and led us to the center of a row of fabrics, saying, "These are all top-quality materials. Take a look and see which ones you want."
Liu Shinian turned back and asked us, "Which ones do you want?" Ah Li and I stepped forward and looked closely. I picked out a pink one, and Ah Li picked out a yellow one. Liu Shinian looked and chose a blue one.
The proprietress looked at the fabric in each of our hands, then held up a finger. "Ten coins?"
Liu Shinian said, "Young Master Liu, you jest. One hundred coins."
"That's quite expensive."
"These are all top-quality materials. One hundred coins is not expensive."
"Mm, that's true. Ah Li, pay." Ah Li took out the money pouch and paid the proprietress one hundred coins. As we were leaving, the proprietress stood by the door and bid us farewell, "Safe travels, everyone. Come again if you need anything else."
"Alright, we will," Liu Shinian replied.
Stepping out of the shop and onto the street, I asked Liu Shinian, "These are all fabrics, how do we wear them?" Liu Shinian already had an idea. He looked at Ah Li and said, "I guess Ah Li knows transformation techniques, right? A little bit of finger-wiggling should do it." That's right, how could I forget Ah Li knew this trick.