Апрель - Глава 92
“Three years old!” Xiao Xiao held up four fingers and said.
Seeing this, Qi Xiu laughed heartily: "Hero, didn't you teach her to count?"
Huai Ren was taken aback again, but remained silent.
Seeing this, Qi Xiu said, "Hahaha, hero, just pretend I'm talking to myself."
After walking for about a quarter of an hour, they arrived at the foot of a mountain, where a cave was clearly visible in the mountain wall.
"Cough cough cough..." Qi Xiu stopped, cleared her throat, and said, "Hero, look!" She raised her hand and pointed to a wooden sign hanging at the entrance of the cave, "This is the famous 'Xiufeng Village' in the martial arts world..."
Huai Ren looked up at the wooden sign and said calmly, "That character is '抽' (chōu)..."
Qi Xiu froze, then slowly turned his head. "Hero... really?"
Huai Ren looked at her and smiled. "What do you think?"
Qi Xiu turned around angrily and shouted, "What kind of scholar is he?! He cheated me out of three coins! How despicable! I'm going to smash up his stall!!!"
Just as she was about to take a step, she suddenly turned around and said to the group of children, "Are you courting death?! Why didn't you stop me and watch me go to my death?"
Upon hearing this, the children immediately rushed over and grabbed her.
After all that fuss, Qi Xiu said with satisfaction, "That's more like it! If there's anyone in the village who's a bit dim-witted like me, you should stop him, and if necessary, beat him up too." As she spoke, she glanced at Qi Heng.
The children readily agreed and then ran into the cave in twos and threes.
Qi Xiu turned around and said to the stunned Huai Ren, "Hero, let's go!"
After entering the cave and traversing a winding passage, Huai Ren discovered a hidden world before him—a village. Thatched cottages and bamboo fences—aside from the slightly dilapidated houses, it was no different from any other village. The only oddity was that the village consisted only of women and children; not a single man was to be seen.
He walked forward slowly, gradually realizing something, and a sense of unease began to creep into his heart.
The villagers watched him with smiles, and several kind-hearted women came over to take the child from him. He remained wary, holding the child protectively in his arms, his eyes still cold. But the child in his arms didn't appreciate it; she smiled innocently, stretching out her little hands, waiting to be held.
"Xiao Xiao." He scolded her in a low voice, both amused and exasperated, but was met with an innocent look from Xiao Xiao.
"Hug me..." Little Xiao blinked her eyes and said pitifully.
Huai Ren looked at her, and then, with a sigh, handed her over to the women.
Seeing this, Qi Xiu, suppressing a laugh, patted his shoulder, "There's a saying that girls are outgoing, and I've certainly seen it for myself today! Poor you, your father... tsk tsk..."
“I’m not her father,” he said.
Qi Xiu looked up in surprise, only to see the coldness in his eyes vanish, replaced by a gentle tenderness that made it impossible to look away.
He looked at her and said, "So, I'm not the kind of man who's so poor that his wife ran away."
Qi Xiu took a step back and said plaintively, "Hero, why do you remember that sentence so well?"
He smiled and said, "People who have read books always have better memories."
Upon hearing this, Qi Xiu immediately put her hands on her hips and said, "Is being educated something to be proud of?"
He laughed and said, "Before I saw that wooden sign, I didn't think it was anything special."
Qi Xiu opened her mouth wide, speechless.
After a brief standoff, Qi Xiu raised an eyebrow and said, "Fine! I'll have a contest with you and show you that being educated is nothing special!"
Upon hearing this, he shook his head. "I was just saying it casually. If I offended you, I'll apologize. You don't need to take it so seriously."
"Hey, hero, it's too late now!" Qi Xiu rolled up his sleeves and said, "Everyone, what do you say? Should we still compete?"
The women and children immediately responded, "Let's go!"
The loudest shout came from Xiaoxiao, who raised her little hand high, "Let's compete!"
Huai Ren looked at Xiao Xiao, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Well, I'll take that as a yes," Qi Xiu said with a smile.
"What are we competing in?" Huai Ren asked helplessly.
"Don't worry, it's something you scholars are good at: painting!" Qi Xiu said earnestly.
"Painting?" He laughed. "You really mean it?"
"Of course!" Qi Xiu nodded. "However, I'll set the rules."
"good."
Upon hearing these words, the villagers immediately dispersed joyfully, and in no time, they had moved tables, taken pens, ink, and paper, and laid them out in the village.
Qi Xiu picked up a pen and said with a smile, "The rules are simple: whatever I draw, you draw too."
Huai Ren nodded. "Okay."
Qi Xiu's eyes darted around and she laughed, "Hey, just comparing isn't very interesting, let's make a bet."
"Are you really going to gamble?" Huai Ren asked, somewhat doubtful.
"Of course. ... Well, if you win, I'll return the money bag to you and add ten times the amount of silver! If you lose, you'll have to do something for me, how about that?"
Hearing this, he became even more confused. "I..."
Hearing this, the women and children in the village started urging each other on again, "We must gamble! We absolutely have to gamble!"
Xiao Xiao also shouted, "Bet!"
Huai Ren lowered his head and sighed heavily. "Fine, I'll bet with you."
A wicked smile crept across Qi Xiu's face. She picked up her brush and began to draw, grinning maliciously. After a moment, she stopped and said, "Your turn!"
Huai Ren walked over with a heart full of suspicion, and when he saw the picture, he was so surprised that he froze on the spot.
"Hurry up and draw! Once you're done, we'll show the picture to everyone and let them tell us if it looks like the real thing," Qi Xiu said proudly, arms crossed.
He looked up at the group of women and children in front of him, each of them full of interest and anticipation, waiting to see the outcome.
Show this to people? This kind of picture? Huai Ren lowered his head, looked at the picture, froze for a moment, and said, "I...I admit defeat."
"Hahaha... I won!" Qi Xiu laughed loudly, then crumpled the picture into a ball and stuffed it into his arms. "See? Everyone, being educated isn't anything special! Hmm!"
The women and children clapped their hands.
"Alright, a bet's a bet." Qi Xiu patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I won't let you be the 'bad guy,' hehehe..."
He looked at her, speechless.
...
The villagers had no concept of day or night, and relied on a water clock to keep track of time. After dinner, everyone in the village would go to bed early.
Huai Ren sat on the edge of the bed, watching Xiao Xiao roll around and play on the bed.
When Xiaoxiao saw him looking at her, she got up, pounced on his lap, and babbled incomprehensible words.
He reached out and poked her head. "I lost. Aren't you happy?"
She rolled over, grabbed his hand, and laughed happily.
"Why did I have to pick you of all things to pick up..." he said with a laugh, complaining.
Watching the children play, a sense of melancholy gradually crept into his brow. Then, a deep, icy coldness returned to his eyes, chilling one to the bone.
"Hero!" Just then, the door was pushed open, and Qi Xiu strode in. "Ah, you're not asleep, that's great!"
His eyes were still cold, and his tone carried a hint of murderous intent, "Don't people knock on doors here?"
Qi Xiu was stunned by the murderous intent and hesitated for a moment. "Ah, sorry, sorry, there are only women in the village, I was careless. Hey, I came to talk to you about the betting..."
He looked down at Xiaoxiao, remained silent for a moment, and said, "How could a girl like you draw such obscene things..."
Qi Xiu walked over to him and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I can draw..." she said seriously, "but I make a living from it!"
He looked up, incredulous.
Qi Xiu pulled out several erotic picture books from his pocket and said earnestly, "Ten coins a book, but I'll give you a discount, seven coins. Do you want it?"
His initial coldness and murderous intent crumbled, leaving only surprise.
"Yes!" Xiao Xiao suddenly stood up, stretched out her hand, and looked expectant.
Startled, he picked up Xiaoxiao with one arm and pushed aside the books with the other, looking at Qi Xiu and saying nervously, "Don't do anything rash!"
Qi Xiu looked completely innocent. "Me? Who would I mess with?" She laughed and put away the books. "Alright, if you don't want to buy them, then don't. You bookworms are really something. It's just a few erotic pictures, what's the big deal?"
He remained wary and said earnestly, "Stay away from the child."
Qi Xiu looked at Xiao Xiao and laughed, "Isn't this a bit unnecessary?" There was a hint of desolation in her voice, "...I'm just trying to make a living..."
Upon hearing that desolate sound, he paused for a moment, then looked up and asked, "What do you want me to do?"
Qi Xiu looked at him, her eyes crinkling with a smile, "It's very simple... teaching the children here to read..."
He looked at her, his eyes filled with surprise.
Qi Xiu was a little embarrassed. She scratched her hair and said softly, "Actually, being educated is really quite remarkable..."
There was a brief silence, followed by his soft chuckle as he leaned down.
"..." Qi Xiu frowned. "Hero, did I say something funny?"
He sat up, shaking his head with a smile. At that moment, a gentle smile returned to his eyes, so pleasing to the eye.
She stared blankly, forgetting what she was going to say.
"Want me to help you change the word '抽' back?" he said with a smile.
She snapped out of her daze and exclaimed excitedly, "Oh? Really?"
He nodded and held up two fingers, "I'll only charge you two coins."
She frowned. "You're trying to raise the price on the spot!"
"Then let's just 'go crazy'..."
"Hey, hero, let's talk this out. We're all family here. How about one coin, one coin?"
"Two coins!" Xiao Xiao suddenly came over, held up three fingers, and shouted.
"Wow, hero, you should teach her to count first!"
...