Two Kinds of Endings

"No one's here."

Just as his clothes dried, and spurred by his last shred of shame, Zhang Yu quickly put on his robe and tied his boots.

"Aren't I someone?"

"You're a child, only half a person."

"I'm turning twelve next year, so I'm not a child anymore."

She had two small buns for hair, pretty eyebrows, and big, round eyes, with red lips and white teeth.

She wore a little blue jacket and a silver silk peacock feather shoulder cape. This outfit alone was worth hundreds of taels of silver, showing how much her elders doted on her.

She hopped onto a rock.

"Did Bubble escape the Pockmarked Snake's pursuit?"

"Can Grandma Carp really be revived?"

"You still haven't said, I couldn't sleep well yesterday."

Zhang Yu smiled, "Are the endings of stories that important?"

The little girl licked a candied hawthorn and nodded, "Of course, they are. A good ending makes people happy."

Zhang Yu looked at her, "Story endings can be made beautiful, but life endings aren't always so."

The little girl bit off a haw, her eyes narrowing sweetly from the sugar, "Life is supposed to be colorful. When I came down from Blackwood Cliff, I drank herbal soup, and then ate candied hawthorns, it was especially sweet. If it were just sweet, that would be boring too."

Zhang Yu thought for a moment, "You're right. Then I'll tell you two story endings."

The little girl chirped excitedly, "Two endings? That sounds so interesting."

"The first ending: Little Carp escapes the pursuit, finds five Dragon Scales, leaps over the Dragon Gate, becomes king as a youth, defeats the Pockmarked Snake, revives her grandmother, and lives happily ever after with her friends in Carp Lake. Or perhaps..."

The little girl's clear black and white eyes widened, "Or what? Hurry and tell me."

"She couldn't revive her grandmother, and didn't even escape Carp Lake before the Pockmarked Snake killed her with its venomous fangs. Everything that followed—Aku, Xiaomei, Double-faced Turtle—was just a fantasy in her final moments, like a... bubble."

The little girl suddenly felt the candied hawthorn in her hand was no longer sweet, and mumbled, "The second ending is too sad, I don't like it."

"If you don't like it, then change it!"

The little girl pondered, "Story endings can be changed, can life too?"

Zhang Yu stood up and looked at the hundred-zhang Blackwood Cliff, saying, "Of course, life can be changed!"

The mist in the little girl's eyes dissipated, and a smile appeared on her face, "Your stories are more interesting, even the endings can be changed. The storytellers in Pingding City's teahouses just repeat the same old tales of the Three Kingdoms and the Tang Dynasty, all fighting and killing, it's so monotonous, not suitable for children at all."

Zhang Yu chuckled, "If you sneak out, you'll get your butt spanked by Right Emissary Qu."

"I didn't sneak out! Grandpa sent Sister Xiaochai and Uncle Wang to follow me."

Zhang Yu glanced at the reeds. He vaguely felt someone watching him. If he dared to make any move that harmed Qu Feiyan, someone would immediately rush out to kill him.

"Your grandfather is really good to you, sending people to escort you down the mountain to listen to stories."

Qu Feiyan smiled, "I'm collecting inspiration. Grandpa says that whether it's martial arts or music, only by learning from all schools can one achieve mastery. I want to collect stories from various sources so I can write my own."

"You want to be a novelist."

"Yes."

"This path is not easy."

"I will persevere."

"Little Carp's story is too long. When I have time, I'll write it out and give it to you to read slowly."

"Can't you do it now?"

"I have to return to Pingding City today."

Qu Feiyan invited, "It's on the way, why don't you ride in my carriage?"

On the official road.

The afterglow of the setting sun illuminated the harvested wheat fields on both sides.

A dark-faced man rode a yellow-maned horse, closely guarding the carriage. He carried a broadsword on his back, its blade as wide as a small door panel.

"Giddy up! Giddy up!"

The small carriage moved forward with difficulty.

A woman in a sturdy outfit sat on the carriage shaft, a long spear placed behind her. She cracked her whip, her face displeased.

Ever since Miss Feiyan met that strange man, their daily destinations, besides the Sihai Grand Teahouse in Pingding City, had added Gorilla Beach, increasing their workload for no good reason.

She flicked the whip, and the beautiful dark red mare yelped in pain and began to trot. She thought to herself, If he's such a good storyteller, why doesn't he go to the Sihai Grand Teahouse and tell stories there?

Zhang Yu sat inside the carriage, oblivious to the resentment of his hired help. He had to slightly lower his head, otherwise, he would hit the roof.

The small carriage entered Pingding City. Zhang Yu got off at a crossroads. He found Qi Zhaogu at the Taiping Inn, borrowed fifty taels of silver, and then left Pingding City's south gate alone.

Night fell. It was the fifteenth day, and a full moon hung in the sky, bathing the road in moonlight.

Zhang Yu used Flowing Clouds and Water. He could travel thirty li in an hour. His footwork gradually shifted from clumsy to proficient. Even without the Green Jade Thumb Ring, he could now use the Flowing Clouds and Water footwork with ease, marking his successful entry into the technique.

Meixi Village is located thirty li south of Pingding City.

In front of the village stands a mountain range. Every December, it is covered in white snow, and all the plum blossoms bloom at once, attracting many scholars and poets to tread through the snow and admire the blossoms.

For the villagers, the time when the plum blossoms on the mountain are in full bloom is also the most difficult time in their lives.

Winter is deadly. Severe cold, hunger, and illness can easily take a person's life.

Among the fifty to sixty households in Meixi Village, the Wang family was doing quite well.

The Wang family's great-grandfather had moved here from Hejian Prefecture, built a house of three rooms, and purchased sixty mu of prime paddy fields.

By the time it was passed down to Wang Liyu, the property had shrunk by two-thirds.

Later, Wang Liyu sold off his only ancestral property in exchange for two inferior horses and two treasured swords. He then set out to travel with a fellow villager, a young man surnamed Zhang with no attachments.

During those two years, Wang Liyu's name became synonymous with prodigal son.

Eventually, Wang Liyu became a Flag Master of the Sun Moon Divine Cult, returned home in glory, redeemed part of his ancestral property, and even got married.

In the villagers' mouths, Wang Liyu became a synonym for success.

When villagers passed by the Wang family's courtyard, they would always sigh about the Wang family's good fortune and their descendant's success.

Zhang Yu entered the village at night.

He was very familiar with the roads and avoided the houses of the wealthy families who could afford to keep dogs.

He hadn't been back in three years, and everything seemed unchanged.

The original owner was also from Meixi Village. When he was eight years old, heavy snow collapsed the roof of his house. Both his parents were crushed under the tiles and beams. Their injuries weren't severe, just some flesh wounds from rusty nails, but neither of them survived that long winter.

When the original owner was starving to death, Wang Liyu gave him a bowl of bean rice and told him, "If you don't have food in the future, you can always come to the Wang family's house for a bowl of bean rice."

"This is the Wang residence?"

He gripped his sword hilt.

The three grand blue-tiled houses were nowhere to be seen, not even a ruin remained. It was as if a sandcastle on the beach had been washed away by the water, leaving no trace.

"What happened to the Wang family? An earthquake? But the surrounding houses are intact."

Zhang Yu picked up a broken tile from the ground, tucked it into his bosom, and turned to walk towards the west end of the village.