Plain Talk

After resting for half an hour, everyone except Li Qi had recovered.

Though Li Qi was still a little exhausted, he could at least force himself to perk up. At first glance, he seemed to have recovered as well.

But only he himself could feel that he was still somewhat weak. It was like after doing two hundred frog jumps and resting for a while—he looked recovered, able to walk and run again, yet his inner thighs were still trembling.

The traveling merchants also came over one after another to greet Li Qi and ingratiate themselves with him, calling him "strong man," "brave warrior," "true hero," and all manner of praise as they thanked him profusely.

Li Qi was not particularly aloof either. Smiling, he exchanged pleasantries with them. After all, they had worked together and weathered last night's ordeal as one. It could be said they had risked their lives together.

If not for the battle formation made from woodcutting blades, Li Qi reckoned the Black Mist would have dealt with him in two or three moves.

Even with the battle formation, if Ba Kui had not gone up there to risk his life alongside him, they would most likely still have been finished.

All he could say was that they had been truly lucky last night.

Having survived the ordeal together, their relationship naturally grew closer.

Once dawn began to break and everyone had regained their strength, they chopped more firewood and lit a fire. They tossed in dry Spirit Rice cakes—something like rice patties—to boil, added salt and freshly gathered wild vegetables, and made a pot of rice-patty soup. The group gathered around the fire, drinking soup and chatting away in high spirits.

"Li Qi, this really was fate. If we hadn't happened to run into each other, and then happened to meet again at night, I'm afraid both our groups would have faced grim odds. But once we came together, we turned misfortune into fortune! Hahaha." A traveling merchant raised his bowl, took a sip of soup, and chewed on the softened rice patty with a grin.

"Yeah, truly lucky," Li Qi agreed, then took a sip himself.

These rice patties were hard as stone when dry, but once boiled, they became soft and glutinous, like rice cakes. With the wild vegetables added in, they smelled wonderfully fragrant—far tastier than what he usually ate.

Just as he was echoing the others, A'Du sat down beside him again.

"Brother Li, that woman still hasn't woken up. Are you really planning to carry her all the way to Feng County? Even if you do get her there, if she still doesn't wake up, are you going to hire a physician for her? How will you pay for that? And even if you hire one, what if she can't be saved and dies? Then you might end up tangled in a homicide case. The authorities will have to investigate. It's not worth it," A'Du said to Li Qi.

"Then what am I supposed to do? Abandon her here now and wait for her to die?" Li Qi rubbed his temples in frustration, feeling a terrible headache coming on.

Did he not know what A'Du was saying?

Saving someone meant inviting a whole heap of trouble upon himself. Once they reached the city, he would have to explain to the Soldiers guarding the gates what had happened to her. If she still did not wake up, he might have to get her treated. If she could not be treated, then abandoning her would leave him saddled with the crime of murder.

Besides, even if the woman woke up, was he supposed to keep looking after her? If he did, would he have to find her family? What about her food, drink, and daily needs? Her clothes were in tatters, so she obviously needed a new set. And clothes were no small expense—at the very least, twenty or thirty coins.

But if he did not look after her and simply left her alone on the streets, how was that any different from killing her outright? A frail woman all alone being abducted by bandits was the most ordinary thing in the world.

"If you ask me, just leave her here and let her live or die on her own. Pretend we never saved her. We risked our lives to pull her from the hands of demons and monsters—we've already saved her once. If she dies afterward, she can't blame us," A'Du suggested to Li Qi.

The other traveling merchants all nodded in support of A'Du's suggestion.

"Brother A'Du understands reason. When traveling abroad, don't go looking for extra trouble."

"We already saved her life. She ought to be grateful to us. She can't repay kindness with enmity by instead bringing us trouble, can she? We're all people with hard lives—why make things difficult for each other?"

"Exactly. Brother Li, in the dead of winter, you're traveling alone. Anyone can see you have something important to do. How can you let this woman drag you down?"

The merchants chimed in one after another, speaking with great seriousness, as though bringing the woman along would make it impossible to take even a single step.

The leader of these merchants, the burly man named Ba Kui, looked the woman over repeatedly before suddenly smiling. "Hahaha, Li Qi, don't tell me you aren't married yet?"

The moment he said that, the chattering merchants all fell silent.

Including A'Du, every one of them wore a subtle smile.

Those who had not understood at first came to a realization when they saw their companions' expressions, and they too revealed the same look.

"I'd say this woman is quite pretty. Her figure isn't bad either, her skin is smooth, and she has no calluses or scars. She's probably never done hard labor. A woman like this may look good, but she isn't the sort who can run a household. Brother Li Qi, don't let a pretty face blind your eyes. Marrying this kind of woman may bring a moment's pleasure, but you'll have plenty to suffer through for the rest of your life," Ba Kui told Li Qi earnestly, as though speaking from experience.

"Exactly. Li Qi, this woman looks pretty, but her hips aren't wide and her waist is thin. One look tells you she has the face of a woman who'll have a difficult birth. Besides, this sort of woman can neither carry loads on her shoulders nor lift things with her hands. She can't help with work at home. Even if she gives birth, how will she care for the child? You can't be busy with the household all the time and neglect affairs outside, can you? Then who'll earn the money?"

"I think so too. Even in the very best case, she learns how to work. But once she starts working, in less than two years she'll become like our wives. Then her face will turn ugly and her waist thick, yet she still won't be good at the work. You'll have to teach her everything from scratch—that's what a real loss is!" someone said, slapping his thigh.

"Exactly. If you're truly craving that smooth, tender skin, there are plenty of pleasure houses and courtesans in the city. Just make a trip whenever the craving hits. Why keep one at home too? She can't do any work or help support the household."

Several merchants chattered away all at once, talking as if it were all perfectly real.

"I think Big Brother Li should be matched with a woman like this," A'Du said instead.

"Though we've only known each other for two days, Big Brother Li acts with both courage and wit. He does things methodically and neatly, he's capable, he knows sorcery, and he doesn't use his strength to bully others. If you ask me, he'll definitely make money in the future, build up some property, and hire a few servants to wait on him. Then why would he need to fear that a pretty wife would turn ugly from doing hard labor?" A'Du said with a grin as he drank his soup.

"Hahaha, A'Du really knows how to talk!"

"What do you mean, knows how to talk? I think Brother Li Qi is a man destined for great things!"

The merchants all echoed him, though it was plainly flattery. Their praise sounded good, but it lacked the sincerity from before.

Li Qi, meanwhile, did not know whether to laugh or cry.

What were these people thinking... He had picked up some random woman by the roadside, so how had it suddenly turned into him wanting to marry her?