His eyes darted around Xiaoman, making her involuntarily break out in goosebumps. She smiled and said, "It's no trouble at all. Brother Shovel is busy practicing; how could I let him run errands? I happen to have nothing to do, and Dami likes to watch you all practice." She then opened the damp little package, inside which were various colored netting. "Master Qian, these are the five-colored netting and the red and black netting you requested. Do you like them?"
Qian Zilai grinned from ear to ear: "Satisfied, satisfied! Xiaoman is naturally skillful, of course Master Qian believes in your craftsmanship! Come in and sit down, there are many stinky boys here, don't let the smell bother you and your brother."
Dami rolled her eyes and suddenly said, "No, I want to stay here and watch my brothers practice! Master Qian, I'll come here next year to learn kung fu from you, okay?"
"Alright! If you can endure hardship, Master Qian will naturally welcome you. Well then, Xiaoman, your younger brother can stay here and play. Let's go inside and sit for a while. Master Qian will brew you some fresh tea."
"Sit down, my foot!" Xiao Man really wanted to poke his lecherous face with the umbrella, but she forced a smile and said, "No need, how could I disturb Master Qian's meditation? I'm also worried about leaving my younger brother outside, so I'll stay with him and make sure he doesn't cause any trouble here. Don't worry."
Qian Zilai could only click his tongue in regret and return to the backyard.
"Sister, that Master Qian is such a lecher," Da Mi said mysteriously. Xiao Man frowned and said, "Where did you learn such nonsense!" Da Mi pouted and said, "That's what Mom and Dad said behind my back! They said he gets lustful whenever he sees a young girl. Although he has amazing skills, his character isn't very good..."
Hmph... Xiao Man didn't say anything. He's just an old man with lustful thoughts but no guts. She can easily deal with him.
"Little Man!" Shovel chuckled unconsciously from behind again. Rice made a face at him and ran off to play. Little Man sighed inwardly, turned around with a bright smile, and said gently, "Brother Shovel, you must be working hard practicing lately, right? It's been a long time since I've seen you come to my house for dinner. My dad was talking about it yesterday. Are you free tonight? Come to my house for dinner!"
Shovel stammered and couldn't get a straight answer, while other fellow disciples who were watching the commotion laughed, "He'll go! Of course he'll go! Xiaoman, when you're not here, Shovel has been listless during practice, and Master has scolded him countless times! He even talks in his sleep calling for Xiaoman at night!"
Before they could finish speaking, the shovel's face was already a red, tattered mess.
"You... don't, don't talk nonsense!" he shouted rudely, then turned around and hurriedly explained, "Xiaoman, don't listen to them, don't gossip!"
Xiao Man said softly, "Brother Shovel, don't worry, I won't be angry. We're good friends, and we'll always be good friends."
Forever best friends, forever best friends, forever best friends!!!
Shovel felt as if those words had cast him into an inescapable abyss. "What a cliché way to refuse!" he roared inwardly in bitter anger.
"Are you coming to my house for dinner tonight?" The beautiful woman chuckled lightly, instantly dispelling his gloom. His mind wandered off to who-knows-where again—"Yes, yes, yes... Of course I'll go! Let's go! Let's go right now!" He turned and walked away, only to bump his head against the wall with a "bang," dropping a large chunk of putty. A burst of laughter erupted around him.
"Are you alright...?" Xiao Man looked at him with a hint of pity as he covered his nose, his face turning pale with pain.
"I...I'm fine," Shovel murmured, wiping away the blood from his nose. A man who bleeds for a woman is a hero! "Xiaoman, I bled for you...Xiaoman, do you know? A man only bleeds and cries for the woman he loves. Next time, I'll cry for you again..." He turned back emotionally, only to find that his beloved had already gone elsewhere to find rice.
He felt like crying right now. Shovel sniffed, feeling even more like a fool.
In the end, he still happily followed Xiaoman and the others to her house for dinner.
Master Qian sighed deeply as he saw Xiaoman to the door, wishing he could hold her soft little hand, tears streaming down his face, and beg her to come back a few more times.
As they were chatting away, they suddenly heard the sound of camel bells ringing out from the street. The tinkling was quite pleasant. Qian Zilai's expression changed slightly, and he peeked out to look. He saw a camel caravan passing by at the street corner. A dozen tall camels crossed the street, and each camel carried a person on its back. They were all dressed in ivory-white robes and had black gauze hats on their heads, which covered most of their faces.
Xiao Man exclaimed, "Ah!" and said, "Aren't these the guests who came to our restaurant this afternoon? Wow, it's so grand! So many camels!" They lived in a remote border region, where there were many camels outside the pass, so they were used to seeing them and no one was surprised.
Qian Zilai seemed not to have reacted yet: "What? Your guests? Oh... um, they're just some江湖 figures. So arrogant. Tell your parents not to offend them."
Da Mi asked curiously, "Master Qian, do you know them?"
Qian Zilai didn't answer, but watched the camel caravan walk away before saying, "Go back, it's getting late, don't wander around outside, remember what I said."
For the first time ever, he didn't try to take advantage of Xiaoman; he turned around, went inside, and closed the door.
Dami pouted again: "Why is Master Qian ignoring me! What's so great about knowing martial arts heroes!"
Shovel laughed and said, "That's not what Master meant, Rice. Don't misunderstand him. These people look very imposing; they must be from some big martial arts sect. It's best not to offend them if you can avoid it. Master is doing this for your own good."
A major sect in the martial arts world? Xiao Man watched the camel caravan gradually disappear into the street, suddenly remembering the blood-covered madman from before. He had even slapped her; that man must also be from the martial arts world. The martial arts world, what exactly is it?
She touched the delicate little corner inside her clothes, pondering how to sell it while dealing with the shovel's silly talk, and slowly walked home.
The Horned Chapter 3: Little Barbarian (Part 3)
Updated: 2008-10-04 15:08:47 Word Count: 3333
The next few days passed peacefully, and Xiaoman forgot all about the major martial arts sects and the men in black in the rain.
That day, Father returned from his shopping trip, and Stepmother and Rice fawned over him, one chattering and asking after his well-being, the other skipping and hopping around, begging for food. Xiao Man stood before the bronze mirror in the room, looking at the girl in the reflection. Suddenly, the corners of her mouth curved into a perfect, sweet smile—no, that doesn't seem warm enough, let's try again. She pushed up the corners of her mouth with her hand, revealing six clean, even teeth—perfect, just like that!
With that sweet, innocent smile, she slowly descended the stairs and softly said to the smiling middle-aged man, "Dad! You're finally back! We've been so worried about you. You must be very tired from your journey."
The old man patted her shoulder and laughed, "No wonder everyone says my daughter is so good. For miles around, no girl is as sensible as her." The second aunt readily agreed, and Dami nodded proudly. He pointed to the pile on the table and said, "Come here, my dear little girl, Daddy brought you the latest fabrics from Jiangnan. Take a look and see if you like them!"
She went over to examine it and saw that it was indeed fine silk. Touching it, the delicate feel was completely different from coarse linen. Most of the fabrics were in delicate colors, only suitable for little girls. Xiao Man turned around and saw the admiration in her second aunt's eyes, so she said gently, "Father, I think this emerald green suits Mother's skin tone best. And this peach pink, her skin is fair, it looks bright on her."
As she spoke, she held up the fabric in front of her second aunt and said, "Mother is busy at home every day and hasn't had new clothes for years. If she dresses up, when we go out, won't people say that she and I are sisters?"
This made everyone laugh. Second Aunt ruffled her hair and said with a smile, "You silly girl! Such a delicate color, how can I wear it out!" "Oh, why can't I wear it?" Xiao Man hooked her arm and smiled sweetly, "Mother, you just haven't dressed up. Dress up a bit, and I guarantee you'll look good!"
These words made the wrinkles at the corners of Second Aunt's eyes crinkle into a smile. In fact, she had already aged. In just six years, the gentle young woman with a beauty mark beside her nose had been worn down by time into a robust woman. The only color that suited her was drab gray, like a gray moth.
But why tell the truth? It's so easy to say flattering words, yet it takes just as much effort to hate and say harsh things. Why not put your energy into pleasing people? People love to hear nice things and subjectively assume that nice things are the truth.
She also loves to say nice things; it's almost like a terrifying potential bestowed upon her by nature. She knows how to please others as easily as she knows how to drink water, without even having to think about it.
Sometimes, when she was saying things she didn't mean, she would think of her own mother, and then she would feel a pang of regret—if she had known how to speak to people in a way that suited them, she probably wouldn't have died so tragically.
It started raining again that night, and the raindrops, as big as beans, pattered against the window.
Xiaoman started dreaming again. Six years ago, she and her mother were the only ones who depended on each other. Her father didn't want her mother, saying that she had mental problems, so he left home and stayed away for more than three years.
Undeniably, her mother does have some mental issues. She seems to do everything with resentment, as if the whole world has wronged her. She often becomes hysterical, either cursing or hitting, and after the outburst, she cries like a child.
They were really poor back then, their house was bare, and at night it was dark and cold. As usual, her mother would lie on the bed crying and cursing, and she would squat under the bed listening and staring blankly. She would hear her mother's voice become thinner and her breathing become heavier, and then her hand would grab her like a hook.
"Xiaoman, you must remember, your father is a beast!"
She nodded silently—at times like these, a nod was the best comfort. In fact, it wasn't until she was fourteen or fifteen that she learned her biological mother had been a young lady from a wealthy family. She had been kidnapped by bandits while going out to offer incense, presumably with the intention of extorting money from her. However, her family didn't care and abandoned her in Wutong Town, where her father rescued her.
In traditional Chinese opera, there's always the trope of a hero rescuing a damsel in distress, right? Why does it completely fall apart when applied to her family? The hero turns out to be a coward, and the damsel in distress is insane. In short, she married into the family unwillingly, and her spoiled, pampered nature remains unchanged.
Even the most beautiful woman will become tiresome to a man if she has mental issues. So he went to find a stepmother. The stepmother's presence pierced the dignity of this pampered young lady, making her even more problematic.
In her hazy dream, she felt herself crouching by the bed, coldly watching the woman clinging to life on it. Her mother must have been a great beauty, delicate and sweet, but now she was hardly more than a skeleton. Xiaoman's wrist was tightly gripped by five fingers, causing her great pain, but she was too lazy to cry out.
The woman on the bed groaned for a while, then suddenly jumped up and punched Xiaoman repeatedly in the chest, yelling and cursing. Xiaoman's chest went numb from the blows, and she was in excruciating pain. Terrified, she turned to run away, but her wrist was grabbed, and she couldn't struggle at all. In a panic, she lowered her head and bit down on the finger, her teeth grinding together—she woke up in a cold sweat; it had all just been a dream.
Xiaoman felt a tingling, burning pain in her chest, as if she had been hammered or crushed. She assumed it was her mother's vengeful spirit coming to cry to her, and she was so frightened that she quickly lit a candle and ran to the bronze mirror to unbutton her clothes.
A strange purplish-blue patch appeared on her chest, about the size of a fist, shaped like a flame, as if it had been painted on. No matter how much she rubbed it, the color didn't fade. She tried pressing it; it didn't hurt or itch, nor did it look like a bruise. The tingling sensation in her chest quickly disappeared, but the flame-like mark remained.
It really was a vengeful spirit coming to haunt her! Xiaoman turned pale with fright, fell back onto the bed, and quickly wrapped herself in the blanket. Outside, the wind and rain raged, the gale pounding against the windowpane with a clanging sound—it sounded like someone was knocking on the window! The clanging continued, followed by a man's voice: "Boss! Open the door!"
A customer?! This call snapped her out of her daze. She composed herself, turned to check the water clock; it wasn't even four o'clock yet, not time for business. She quietly opened the window and looked down, only to see many camels standing at the restaurant entrance—the very same group of martial arts figures she'd seen on the street corner that day.
Her father and stepmother, wearing their clothes, went out and said with forced smiles, "Sirs, it's late, and our shop is closed. Would you please come back at dawn?"
"Enough with the nonsense! Quickly bring out the hot food and wine!" A man in white stepped forward, drew half a knife, its blade gleaming menacingly, which frightened the old man and his stepmother, turning their faces ashen.
Another man in white came up from behind, grabbed his companion's hand, and said with a smile, "Sorry, he's young and doesn't know the rules. Please don't take offense, boss. Look at this heavy rain, we have nowhere to take shelter. Just consider it a good deed and let us get out of the rain. Boss, could you make an exception?"
Her father and stepmother dared not utter a word of dissent at this point, and tremblingly welcomed the guests in. The restaurant was small to begin with, and with more than twenty of them arriving, it was packed full. Her father was busy smiling obsequiously, and her stepmother quickly made hot tea. Strangely, this group of people remained completely silent, just sitting there quietly.
Her father had no choice but to muster his courage and ask with a smile, "Would the honored guest like something to eat or drink?"
A man in white asked, "Do you have cherry ducks here?"
The two women stared in disbelief, but the second aunt reacted quickly, forcing a smile: "I'm sorry, sir, this... we don't have any."
The man snorted, clearly disdainful. The man in white who had just helped them out then said gently, "This is a small place, why be so formal! Boss, just give us each a bowl of plain noodles and some braised beef, that will do."
The two hurried to the kitchen to get busy. When the second aunt saw Xiaoman coming downstairs, she quickly gestured to her, "Don't come over! Go upstairs quickly!" Xiaoman shook her head and whispered, "I'll help. Last time at the martial arts school, Master Qian said that these people are from some big martial arts sect and we shouldn't offend them."
Her father's face turned green, but he couldn't light the firewood no matter what he tried, and his wrists trembled with anxiety. Xiaoman took a tinderbox, lit it, and then turned around to fetch a pot of boiling water, saying, "I'll go make them some tea."
Whether it's the martial world or the vast ocean, it's all people, and people are easy to deal with.
She went over with a beaming smile to pour them tea, and at the same time took four braziers and made the charcoal fire burn very brightly, saying with a smile, "Sirs, your clothes are all wet. It's so cold today, don't catch a cold. If you don't have enough braziers, I'll go get some more."
The man in white smiled and said, "Thank you for your trouble, young lady. Do you have any fermented wine in the shop? Although this tea is hot, it's not as comfortable as wine."
"We have wine! We have Fenjiu, shaojiu, and our own homemade village wine, with medicinal herbs added. What would you like, sir?"
The man in white thought for a moment, but before he could speak, someone next to him whispered, "They don't even have Bamboo Leaf Green wine, it's too worn out!" He glared at the man, who immediately shut up. He laughed, "I've often heard people say that village wine is just as good as that of other famous brewers. We have a lot of people, so you can bring out a jar!"
Xiao Man agreed, smiling as she turned to fetch the wine. The man in white whispered, "We're here to find the young master of Cangya City. Don't let your sharp tongue ruin our plans! If you want food and drink, you'll have plenty to enjoy back home! If you act so rashly again, I'll have a serious talk with Master Jin!"
Cangya City? Master Jin? What are these? Xiaoman was completely confused. Master Jin, a landlord? Could it be that they were long-term laborers for landlords?
She took the wine and beef and poured them bowl by bowl. Suddenly, she heard the man in white exclaim, "Eh!" and say, "The thing around your neck, young lady, is quite interesting!"
She looked down and saw that the delicate little corner that had been hanging inside her clothes had somehow come out and was dangling there. So she reached out and put it back, saying, "It was sold by a traveling merchant. I bought it because it looked so nice."
Before she could finish speaking, her wrist was suddenly grabbed by the man. Xiao Man was startled and struggled secretly, but the hand was like an iron clamp, not moving an inch. The man in white stared at Xiao Man for a long time, frowning as if he was thinking hard. The other men in white around her also stopped drinking and eating, staring intently at her.
Chapter 4 of the Horned Scroll: My Little Master (Part 1)
Updated: 2008-10-04 15:08:48 Word Count: 3303
The second update for today is here.
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Xiao Man broke out in a cold sweat, her eyes darting around for a long time before she forced a smile and said, "Sir... this thing... is there something strange about it?" She couldn't help but secretly regret not selling it sooner.
The man picked up the small horn, examined it for a long time, and then said, "Young lady, did you really buy it from a traveling merchant? Little girl, it's not good to lie."
In fact, when a liar is exposed, the best reaction is not to admit their mistake, but to stubbornly refuse to admit it, and even more so to appear more reasonable than the person who exposed them. Xiaoman understood this principle deeply. Judging from his expression, she knew that this was just a test; she would be a complete fool to actually reveal her background.
So she widened her eyes and said with a slight reproach, "What do you mean, sir? Do I need to lie about buying such a small thing?"