Another month later, a man and a woman, worn and dusty from the road, arrived at a small village.
The man's face was slightly pale, and he coughed softly from time to time. A long spear was strapped to his back. The woman was petite in stature, but her features were strikingly beautiful. She carried a long sword in her hand.
These two were none other than Yang Kai and Luo Tinghe, who had set out from Haqi Hall and traveled all the way here.
The village was nothing special—just an ordinary place. By the worn-out walls, children laughed and played. Wisps of cooking smoke rose from every household, the fragrance of food lingering in the air.
There was even the loud voice of a sturdy woman calling her child home for a meal.
The children, who had been roughhousing with makeshift wooden weapons, were quite curious about the arrival of these two uninvited guests and crowded around, looking them up and down.
Xiao He sniffed the air and patted her flat stomach. "I'm hungry!"
Then she looked at Yang Kai with eager eyes.
Yang Kai sighed, unfastened the money pouch from his waist, pinched out a small piece of silver, and said to the children around them, "Whoever can take us somewhere to get a good meal, this silver is yours."
A dozen or so children's eyes lit up immediately, and they all rushed forward.
"My house has good food—I'll take you there!"
"Mine too!"
"They're lying to you—they don't even eat meat at their house. My family has salted fish!"
...
After a scuffle, a slightly older child finally snatched the silver. He took a few punches and kicks from his friends for it, but didn't care at all—he just clutched the silver tightly in his palm and tugged at Yang Kai's clothes. "Follow me!"
Yang Kai nodded and gestured for Xiao He to follow.
The two soon arrived at the child's home. Both parents were alive and well, dressed in the typical garb of farming folk—simple clothing, with the deep marks of years of hard labor etched onto their bodies.
The man was not much for words, only smiling bashfully. Facing Yang Kai and Xiao He, he acted as though he were receiving two wealthy benefactors.
The woman of the house was tall and robust, and incredibly warm in her welcome.
Upon seeing the piece of silver the child brought, she cheerfully served up two large bowls of rice and even placed her treasured salted fish on the table.
Xiao He grabbed the big bowl and wolfed down the food.
The man of the house squatted by the doorway smoking his pipe, the woman stood nearby with an ingratiating smile, and the child sat on the table watching Xiao He devour the food with an expression of great interest.
"You're not eating?" Xiao He had quickly finished every last grain of her portion and looked up to see Yang Kai sitting upright, his bowl of rice completely untouched.
"Go ahead and eat." Yang Kai smiled faintly.
Xiao He didn't stand on ceremony. She took the large bowl of rice in front of Yang Kai, buried her head in it, and ate voraciously.
It was hard to imagine that such a petite woman could have such a voracious appetite. In truth, Yang Kai had brought quite a bit of money when he left Haqi Hall, but over the course of this month, Xiao He had eaten through nearly all of it.
"My sister here was born with a big appetite. Please don't mind, madam." Yang Kai turned his head toward the sturdy woman standing nearby with an ingratiating smile.
The woman was warm but not much for words. She waved her hand dismissively. "It's nothing, it's nothing. We've got rice at home—as much as you want to eat."
Yang Kai looked at the child sitting beside him. "You're at the age where you're still growing. Why don't you eat something?"
The child smiled. "You eat first. I'll eat later."
Yang Kai nodded and said no more.
Xiao He suddenly held her empty bowl high and called out to the woman, "Another bowl!"
"Cough, cough, cough..."
The man smoking by the doorway started coughing so hard he nearly couldn't catch his breath.
The corner of the woman's eye twitched violently. She accepted the bowl with a slightly unnatural expression and turned to go into the kitchen for more rice.
One bowl after another...
After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the woman returned with a long face and an empty bowl, telling the still-hungry Xiao He, "There's no more. It's all gone."
The man at the doorway had lost all interest in his pipe. When Xiao He asked for her third bowl of rice, he had been staring at her without even blinking.
The child sitting beside Yang Kai looked even grimmer.
Xiao He looked disappointed. "I'm still not full..."
The woman turned to look at Yang Kai with an expression of utter disbelief, unable to fathom how he had managed to raise a sister with such an appetite—enough to eat a well-off family out of house and home.
"Was it good?" Yang Kai asked, looking at Xiao He.
"It was good, but it tasted a bit astringent." Xiao He answered honestly.
"Of course something poisonous would taste a bit astringent." Yang Kai chuckled.
The moment his words fell, three figures lunged at Yang Kai and Xiao He.
The man who had been sitting by the doorway suddenly curled his body into a ball and came crashing toward them like a sphere of flesh. A sharp blade gleamed in and out of visibility in his hand, carrying with it a vicious killing intent.
The woman tossed aside the empty bowl and took a step forward, her enormous fan-like palm crashing down toward Xiao He's head.
The child sitting beside Yang Kai produced a long sword from seemingly nowhere and thrust it at Yang Kai's heart from an unpredictable angle.
Xiao He's figure suddenly swayed.
The man and the woman both grunted and were sent flying backward, spattering blood in midair.
Yang Kai extended his fingers and lightly caught the sword that had been thrust at him. The child pulled with all his might, but could not break free no matter what he tried, his face turning red with exertion.