White Robe

Chapter 19

I have to admit that although we are both women, her beauty cannot help but make me admire and envy her.

The three of us entered the noodle shop, and a short, elderly man in his sixties rushed out. His apron was still smeared with noodles, indicating the shop was doing brisk business. Despite the cold weather, the old man's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat. A brazier burned inside, and the shop was already packed with customers. When the old man saw us, his eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "Oh dear! No wonder my eyelids have been twitching all day! It turns out we have distinguished guests! Young Master Yun, what brings you to my humble shop today?" After greeting Yun Yiyang, he turned to me and said, "Eh, these two young ladies are unfamiliar faces. Please forgive my poor eyesight..." Yun Yiyang was about to reply when I chuckled softly, "Grandpa Zhao, don't you really recognize me?" My voice lowered, revealing the same voice I used to use when I was dressed as a man.

The old man surnamed Zhao exclaimed in surprise, "You...you are..." He quickly patted the flour off his clothes and shouted, "Little Guozi—quick! Quickly tidy up the inner room, our benefactor has come to us—" He didn't even bother making noodles and hurriedly invited us into the inner room.

So the three of us ate the noodles made by Old Man Zhao while comfortably warming ourselves by the fire and chatting with him.

Finally, the conversation turned to me. Old Man Zhao was utterly astonished: "So...Young Master Bai really is a young lady, just as the rumors said! This...this..."

Yun Yiyang laughed, "Grandpa Zhao, perhaps you're not used to Sister Bai dressing like this. We weren't used to it either when she dressed as a woman." Old Man Zhao shook his head, saying kindly, "Alas, no, it's not that. Young Master Bai… no, she should be called Miss Bai. If it weren't for Miss Bai saving us back then, where would this old man and Xiao Guozi have found shelter? Now…" Old Man Zhao rubbed his reddened eyes, murmuring, "Now it's so much better than those days of begging. It's all thanks to Young Master and Miss Bai…"

I quickly waved my hand and said, "Grandpa Zhao, you're too kind. It's just a coincidence. Grandpa Zhao, please just call us by our names. Calling us 'Miss' and 'Young Master' is too formal." Grandpa Zhao was referring to what happened three months after I arrived at Guiyun Manor. At that time, Guiyun Manor was starting to prosper. One day, I met an old beggar outside the manor with a seven or eight-year-old boy. They were dressed in tattered clothes and looked very distressed. I learned that they had fled from Anhui and weren't from the same family, but they had relied on each other for survival during their escape and addressed each other as grandfather and grandson. The boy was very filial, giving most of the leftover food and steamed buns he had begged to the old man. I learned that the old man had run a noodle shop back home, and his skills were passed down through generations. He had been forced to flee due to a flood in his hometown. I discussed it with Yiyang and we allocated him a small plot of land from the Yun family's property so he could start a business again, charging only a token amount of rent each year. Unexpectedly, Grandpa Zhao's ancestral skills were quite remarkable, and the noodle shop became very successful.

I took a bite of the noodles and couldn't help but praise them. The noodles were smooth and chewy, and the taste was superb. The hot noodles warmed me instantly. I slowly loosened my mink coat. I've always been sensitive to the cold, but I never imagined it would be even colder in ancient times. The mink coat Yun Yiyang gave me was made of the finest black mink fur, its surface glossy and non-repellent, far more valuable and warmer than the fox fur coat Youhua wore. Just then, Yun Yiyang suddenly said, "Sister Bai, Brother Shang left a note last night, but he's gone. He said he won't be back for a while..."

"Oh..." I took another sip of noodle soup and said dismissively, "That scoundrel should have left long ago."

Yun Yiyang muttered to himself, "Brother Shang only taught me a set of palm techniques and lightness skills. I wanted him to teach me more. His kung fu is really amazing and practical... Hey, Sister Yun, why did you call Brother Shang a scoundrel?"

I silently thought to myself: Calling him a scoundrel is too lenient. But I said aloud, "Didn't you used to call him 'Shang' all the time? Why have you changed your tune now?"

Yun Yiyang exclaimed, "But he's not as bad as he was at the beginning. For example, the Cloud-Sweeping Palm technique he taught me..." Watching Yun Yiyang, full of energy and spittle flying, begin to demonstrate his martial arts experience, my heart couldn't help but wander elsewhere... Seeing Yun Yiyang still talking about his martial arts experience, I couldn't help but chuckle and pat his shoulder, "Alright, we've finished our noodles, it's time to go."

Stepping outside, the snow had lessened, but a few snowflakes still drifted down. The three of us strolled along the street, our footsteps crunching in the snow. Yun Yiyang was interested in the various snacks, while Youhua insisted on dragging me to look at cosmetics. I wasn't interested in cosmetics, but I found the little wooden boxes containing rouge interesting. Just as we were engrossed in looking at them, Yun Yiyang suddenly ran into the cosmetics shop and whispered in my ear, "Sister Bai, go quick! There's a commotion up ahead!"

Without even looking up, I said, "What does that have to do with us... Hey! Don't pull me!" It turned out that Yun Yiyang, with his monkey-like temper, grabbed my sleeve and ran outside. He ran straight towards the crowd that was packed about twenty meters away from the shop.

It took Yun Yiyang a lot of effort to pull me into the crowd and squeeze me to the front row. Only then did I realize that the reason so many people were watching was because two porters and a girl were arguing. Next to the girl was a basket filled with withered branches and vines. The two porters were both in their thirties, burly and strong, with a fierce appearance, but their eyes gleamed with cunning. They said in unison, "No way! Everyone in Jiangzhou knows our rules for carrying loads: no matter how heavy the load, it's ten taels of silver!"

The girl was dressed in a simple green top and a plain jacket, her hair styled in two cute buns tied with a light green ribbon on each side. Her skin was fair and smooth, and her eyes were large and round; she was remarkably pretty and delicate, looking no more than fifteen or sixteen years old. But now her fair face was flushed red, and tears were almost welling in her large eyes. She nearly choked out, "But...but this basket with the herbs weighs only a dozen or so pounds at most. I really couldn't carry it, that's why I asked you to carry it. Everyone, you all know how reasonable this is. Others only get ten copper coins for carrying it, but you want so much! I...I can't possibly afford it!"

A murmur of voices arose, most of them pitying the girl in green: "This little girl is so pitiful." "Isn't she a stranger here? Otherwise, how could she have offended these two notorious ruffians of Jiangzhou City?" "Even ten baskets of rotten grass roots wouldn't be worth ten taels of silver!" The chatter was lively and bustling. Yun Yiyang nudged me and whispered, "Sister Bai, these two brothers, Mao Da and Mao Er, are notorious ruffians in Jiangzhou. They usually extort and beat people. No one in Jiangzhou City is unafraid of them, and no one dares to mess with them. This little girl probably doesn't know who these two are, which is why she's suffering their wrath. Should we help her?" I looked towards the center. The girl stood there, looking both ashamed and angry, biting her bright red lips with her pearly white teeth. More and more people gathered around, whether to watch the spectacle or to admire the delicate and beautiful girl, the girl in green felt increasingly embarrassed and lowered her head, a thin layer of snowflakes clinging to her green coat.

I glanced at Yun Yiyang and saw him staring intently at the girl in the center of the field, his eyes filled with a mixture of pity and anxiety. He seemed even more excited than the girl herself, almost rushing forward. I couldn't help but cover my mouth and chuckle, "What? Silly boy, are you going to play the hero and save the beauty?" Yun Yiyang's dark face flushed red, and he was about to reply when the porters on the left side of the field chuckled, their tone laced with lewdness: "Little beauty... it doesn't matter if you don't have any money. It's fate that you've asked us to carry your load today. How about this..." The porters next to him grinned even more, "Why don't you repay us with your body? We won't be shortchanging you!" As soon as these words were spoken, some bystanders whistled and cheered loudly. The girl in the green coat reddened her eyes, lowered her head, and a few bright tears streamed down her cheeks.

Yun Yiyang, already suppressing his anger, became even more furious upon hearing this, saying, "Sister Bai, no, we have to do something about this!" He reached out to tug at my sleeve, but grabbed nothing—

I pushed through the crowd and slowly walked into the center of the room, smiling leisurely, "Shall I pay these ten taels of silver?"

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, I slowly strolled into the center of the street, adjusted my sable cloak, and chuckled, "Ten taels of silver for such a beautiful young woman? Even our Guiyun Manor couldn't make that kind of deal." A gasp rippled through the crowd: "Guiyun Manor from Shanxi! She's from Guiyun Manor!" Someone else exclaimed, "Look at that cloak! The quality of that sable fur is worth a thousand gold pieces!" Hearing the crowd's comments, I smiled at Mao Da and Mao Er, who were already somewhat stunned, and said, "How about it? I'll pay the ten taels of silver."

Mao Da paused for a moment, about to reply, but then a look of doubt appeared on his face. I continued, "These two brothers have worked so hard carrying the load, it's only fair that they get ten taels of silver." Upon hearing this, Mao Er's face lit up with joy, and he said shamelessly, "Yes, yes, yes! This young lady is so understanding, she knows how hard our brothers have worked!"

"Young lady? Even Young Master Shang wouldn't dare speak to me like that."

Just wait a moment, and I'll show you how powerful this "little lady" is!

I frowned and said, "But brothers, this carrying fee is too expensive. Is it the same price no matter how much you carry?" Mao Da quickly replied, "We brothers do business honestly... It's the same price for children and grandpas. Carrying ten catties of goods is ten taels of silver, and carrying a thousand catties of goods is also ten taels of silver! It's just that this little beauty didn't ask clearly, so she can't pay the carrying fee now. It's not our fault, is it?"

A faint smile appeared on my lips as I replied, "Very well, very well." I then reached into my sleeve and pulled out a silver ingot, weighing about forty taels, and said with a smile, "Do you two gentlemen think this ingot is enough for your expenses?"

"Enough! Enough! This lady is really generous!" Mao Er reached out to grab it, but missed. I deftly withdrew my hand, secretly chuckling to myself. This ancient rogue changed his tune quickly; I went from "little lady" to "big sister" in an instant. I laughed and said, "We were just wondering how to take this jar of Daughter's Red wine we bought at Peach Blossom Inn up ahead back. Here's forty taels of silver for you two brothers, and we'd also like to trouble you two to carry this jar of wine back for us." I called out, "Yiyang, bring over the Daughter's Red wine we bought, and let them carry it back to the manor!" But then I saw Yun Yiyang squeeze through the crowd, carrying a small jar of wine on the ground. He looked at me hesitantly, full of suspicion. This jar of wine, including the wine, weighed at most ten jin. For two big men to carry it was truly an exaggeration.

I pretended not to see Yun Yiyang winking at me, turned around and smiled, "Look, this is the jar. This is top-quality Daughter's Red wine, at least sixty years old. This one jar is worth a hundred gold pieces. If you break or spill it, Guiyun Manor will not let you off the hook!"

Mao Da rubbed his hands together excitedly and said, "We two brothers have really met a Goddess of Wealth today! Miss, you can rest assured, if we spill a single drop on you, we'll pay you with our heads!" He was so outspoken that I changed from "elder sister" to "Miss" again.

“Okay!” My smile became even brighter. “Your carrying pole is too old. Our other condition is that you have to use the carrying pole we chose for you. Only then will we feel comfortable letting you carry the wine.”

Mao Er hurriedly replied, "This is because Miss is considerate of us. Whatever pipe Miss likes, that's what she'll use. Even if it's the Sea Dragon King's pipe, we'll use it."

I shook my head and said, "The Sea Dragon King's pipe... I don't have that kind of skill. That'll do—" I stretched out my right index finger and pointed towards the back of the crowd, laughing, "It's that one..."

Chapter Twelve: A Trustworthy Flow of Water, Like Your Affection

I stretched out my right index finger and pointed behind the crowd, laughing, "That's it!"

The onlookers involuntarily turned their eyes in the direction I was pointing, automatically making way for me. After a moment of silence, they burst into a deafening roar of laughter.

I was pointing to a large tree that had fallen to the ground, its trunk as thick as a person's arm.

The tree trunk had been struck by lightning during a heavy autumn rain, falling to the ground with charred remnants near its roots. Its branches and leaves were long since withered and dead, and the trunk lay in the mud, making it difficult for people to walk through. Yet, no one moved it. Today, I had Mao Da and Mao Er use this trunk as a carrying pole, which naturally amused everyone. Moreover, many in the crowd had been holding a grudge against Mao Da and Mao Er, so their cheers were particularly loud.

Mao Da stared at the massive tree, which weighed a thousand pounds and lay across the ground. His purplish face had turned a deep purplish-red, and he stammered, "This...this is the carrying pole that Miss picked for us?"

I nodded and chuckled, "Not bad!"

Large beads of sweat rolled down his face, but he didn't bother to wipe them away. He forced a smile and said, "Miss...you're not joking with us poor guys, are you..."

"Of course not!" I straightened up slightly and smiled, "When have you ever heard me in white joking?"

"White Robe! She's White Robe!" "The talented woman of Guiyun Manor, the White Robe Minister renowned throughout the twelve states of the north and south!" "So the rumors that she's a woman are true!..." "Look at her all-black attire! Who else in Jiangzhou City would dress like that?" Whispers suddenly broke out in the crowd, pointing and whispering about Yun Yiyang and me. I nonchalantly said to Mao Da, "Don't forget, one of the conditions we agreed on was that you had to use the pole I chose for you. If you want to back out, all the villagers around here are witnesses." A chorus of cheers erupted around us: "Yes, yes, yes! We're all witnesses for the White Robe Minister!" "We heard what you just said with our own ears, how can we go back on our word?" "It's this pole!" The crowd's words were powerful, leaving Mao Da speechless.

I paused, a sly smile flashing in my eyes, and said, "Don't forget, I paid you thirty taels of silver to carry this wine!" Upon hearing this, even the green-clad girl wiping away tears couldn't help but burst into laughter. A burst of laughter erupted around us.

I said calmly, "However, if you spill the wine with this pole, you will have to pay me eighty taels of silver."

Mao Da's face had turned from a liverish color to a stone-gray, and he remained speechless for a long time. He exchanged a glance with Mao Er, then suddenly grinned maliciously, "What haven't I seen in Jiangzhou City? The one who dares to mess with me on this turf is just a little brat with barely shed her baby hair! I recognize your white and black clothes, but my fists don't!" Suddenly, he swung his fist, aiming a punch at my face—

I didn't dodge, nor did I need to.

Because Yun Yiyang was behind me. But he was at least three zhang away from me, so theoretically he shouldn't have been able to withstand Mao Da's fist, which was as big as a vinegar pot.

Yun Yiyang blocked it.

He burst forth from an almost impossible direction, at an almost impossible speed. I only felt a flash, and Yun Yiyang was already in front of me, Mao Da's fist striking Yun Yiyang's chest!

Yun Yiyang didn't yell, but Mao Da did. He was jumping up and down, clutching his fists!

I was also surprised and turned around slightly to look at Yun Yiyang. Yun Yiyang, however, acted as if nothing had happened, brushed the dust off his clothes, and gave me a bright smile.