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Kapitel 10

She nodded.

"...I lied to you. My family members were actually killed in a revenge killing."

Yichun was slightly shaken and stared at him blankly. The candlelight flickered on the boy's face, making him appear unpredictable and elusive.

"My father was a down-on-his-luck wanderer. He couldn't run a school or a business. He was incredibly stupid and couldn't do anything right, so my mother always scolded him for being useless. He had a very difficult time every day. Later, an old friend introduced him to a newly opened security escort agency. His first mission was to cross the Central Plains and deliver a shipment of goods to the Western Regions. On the way, they encountered bandits who robbed the shipment. He killed a few people, initially thinking they were just mountain thieves, and didn't pay much attention. After returning safely, he received a large reward and said he would take our family out for a nice meal. But that day, I had an upset stomach and couldn't go out, so my parents entrusted me to Aunt Ma, our neighbor, and took my brother with them. They never came back; all three of them died on the road."

He spoke of all this calmly, his tone completely even. But his fists were clenched so tightly it was as if he wanted to crush his bones.

"Later I learned that the men my father killed were from the Juxia Gang in Chenzhou. Although they weren't part of the bandits, they were just passing by that day and saw an opportunity to make money, so they planned to take advantage of the chaos, but my father killed them. They were a big gang in Chenzhou, so of course they wouldn't swallow this insult. The only thing I can be thankful for is that my parents died quickly and without much pain."

Yichun didn't know what to say.

Yang Shen took a deep breath and whispered, "Senior Sister, I must inherit the Spring-Slaying Sword. I must take revenge."

Yichun walked over and slapped him hard on the shoulder, shouting, "Get your spirits up! Think about how you'll definitely inherit the Spring-Slaying Sword! Don't look so miserable. Just thinking about it won't get you anywhere."

"Senior Sister, don't you want to inherit the Spring-Slaying Sword?" he asked, looking up.

Yi Chun paused for a moment, then stroked her chin and murmured, "Of course I want to... This has been my mission since I was a child, but there's no use thinking about it now. To inherit Zhan Chun, we need to complete the mission assigned by our grandmaster, right? It's still early. We should focus on making our way in the world and accumulating more experience."

Yang Shen looked at her for a while, then suddenly smiled and said softly, "I thought you would say you'd just give it to me."

“I know you wouldn’t be happy if I said this, would you?” Yi Chun picked up the medicine bowl. “If you hadn’t earned Zhan Chun through your own true abilities, you certainly wouldn’t be happy, would you?”

He paused for a moment, then slowly nodded: "...You're right."

After saying that, he curled his lips into a gentle smile: "Senior sister, you are very good, I know that."

****

This is a heavily revised chapter.

Chapter Six

As the sun set, a gust of wind rose in the woods, and Yichun couldn't help but shiver.

"Ah, the sun looks like a duck egg yolk," she couldn't help but exclaim, her stomach growling at just the right moment.

Yang Shen led the way, pushing aside a clump of weeds, and said, "You took most of the steamed buns we stole yesterday. Did you eat them all today?"

Yichun smiled sheepishly: "Good junior brother, you must still have some left. Can you share some with me? I'll buy ten to return to you when we get to Tanzhou."

"No way." He refused decisively.

After leaving Xiande Town, they had been traveling through the forest for several days and encountered bandits more than ten times. Each time, they would rob the kind-hearted bandits of money and food, and even steal a horse.

Perhaps because this place is considered a poor and desolate area, the bandits are also pitifully poor. They were practically laughing all the way to the bank yesterday for managing to snatch a dozen or so steamed buns.

Looking up at the sky, the sun had already set, and a line of dark blue slowly spread across the horizon. Yang Shen tied the horse to a tree and said, "We'll have to camp out tonight. I'll go gather some branches, and you can spread out the blanket."

When he returned, he not only brought tree branches, but also two cleaned and gutted pheasants, which he skewered on a dagger and slowly roasted. Although his cooking skills were mediocre, and the two chickens were mostly burnt, the sizzling golden fat and the aroma of charred meat still made Yichun's mouth water.

She reached out to take it, but dared not. She had finally figured out Yang Shen's temper these past few days; if she really angered him, his sharp tongue would be absolutely unforgiving.

Yichun could only stare blankly as the two pheasants rolled around in the fire, back and forth. Her eyes followed them.

He peeled off the charred outer layer of skin, cut the chicken thigh meat into small cubes, put them in the steamed bun, weighed them in his hand, and suddenly looked up at her.

"Want to eat some?" He kindly gave her a way out, "Ten coins each, I'll sell them to you."

Yichun turned her head away: "I'm not hungry! Humph, stingy!"

"Then I'll eat it myself."

He opened his mouth and went to bite the steamed bun stuffed with chicken. Yichun's eyes were practically glowing with envy when she suddenly felt a salty taste in her mouth. He had stuffed a piece of scalding hot chicken into her mouth, and she almost jumped up from the heat.

Yang Shen laughed and said, "Fool, if I don't give it to you, can't you just take it yourself?"

Yichun was overjoyed and hurriedly grabbed a chicken, devouring it without any regard for her image, which made him frown repeatedly: "This is unbecoming! What a tomboy!"

Her tongue, throat, and stomach were stuffed with chicken, and she couldn't utter a single word. She could only let out two ambiguous hums, which earned her his definitive conclusion: "Pig."

After dinner, the two lay together on the blanket, looking at the stars through the shadows of the trees.

"Ah, those two are the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl stars." Yichun pointed to the two brightest stars in the sky, pretending to know what she was talking about. "Look, they are indeed separated by a Milky Way, right? They can only meet once a year, how pitiful."

Yang Shen said calmly, "Senior sister, the stars Altair and Vega only appear in summer. These two are just ordinary stars."

"Would it kill you to think of it as the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl stars?" Yichun said, a little embarrassed. "If you keep being so annoying, you might not find a girl who likes you in the future!"

His voice remained calm: "I've never considered such a question. Whether others like me or not is none of my business."

Yichun sighed: "You're still young. Look, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl are clearly husband and wife, and they even have children, but they're not allowed to be together. They can only meet once a year. Don't you find this kind of story poignant?"

Yang Shen gazed silently at the dark blue sky. After a long while, he whispered, "At least they can still see each other, but I will never see my family again."

She had nothing to say.

Yang Shen turned over and wrapped himself in the blanket: "I'm going to sleep. Don't forget to add some branches to the fire so it doesn't go out."

He was only fifteen years old, yet he carried a deep-seated hatred and a blood feud. It's unimaginable how he could live such a calm life on ordinary days.

If it were her, the thought of her parents and younger sister being killed would probably drive her crazy immediately.

Yichun shook her head, feeling an even deeper pity for him.

By midnight, Yichun was already fast asleep, half-asleep, when she suddenly felt someone watching her from above. That gaze wasn't from Yang Shen, but from a stranger!