Don't hit me with a hammer

The night road in Wading Village was difficult to navigate, riddled with potholes.

Su Li followed behind the girl named Sena, his footsteps uneven.

His oversized boots were stuffed with strips of rags, making every step feel like walking on cotton—soft, mushy, and lacking any real traction.

Yet, he didn't utter a sound, nor did he complain of fatigue.

Compared to hauling heavy sacks at the docks in his past life, this bit of hardship was nothing more than a tickle.

Sena walked ahead in a hurry, her two thick, braided pigtails swinging back and forth behind her.

She glanced back at Su Li from time to time, ensuring that the person who looked like he had stepped out of a painting hadn't run off or vanished into thin air, only then feeling relieved enough to continue leading the way.

Her eyes held a hidden, gleeful sense of having found a treasure, mixed with the nervous anxiety of someone terrified that the treasure might be snatched away.

Arriving in front of a courtyard at the west end of the village, Sena stopped.

It was a typical blacksmith's shop. Before even entering, Su Li caught the heavy scent of rust and charcoal.

The yard was cluttered with scrap metal: broken plows and rakes, rusted horseshoes, and an anvil that was missing its base.

"Shh—"

Sena pressed a finger to her lips in a gesture for silence. She pointed toward a doghouse in the corner of the yard.

A large black dog was sleeping there, its ears pressed against the ground, twitching occasionally.

Su Li nodded.

Sena pushed the courtyard gate open with light, cautious movements. The dilapidated wooden door let out a soft, creaking groan.

The large black dog snapped its head up.

In that instant, every muscle in Su Li's body tensed. He was already calculating an escape route.

If the dog lunged, should he climb a tree, or push Sena out as a shield? Well, using a girl as a shield was too low; he'd better stick to the tree.

"Little Blackie, lie down."

Sena hissed in a low voice.

The large black dog seemed to recognize its owner's scent, and the fur that had stood on end immediately smoothed down.

It wagged its tail, let out a whimper, and buried its head back into its paws.

Su Li let out a breath of relief.

It seemed this dog was still somewhat reasonable.

The two of them crept through the yard like thieves and entered the house.

The room was pitch black, save for a few dim, red embers remaining in the stove. The air was thick with the smell of pickled vegetables stewed with meat, along with the distinct, pungent sweat of an old man.

A thunderous snoring sound filled the room.

It came from the room on the left. The noise was as loud as a bellows, or perhaps like two sheets of scrap metal grinding against each other.

"That's my dad," Sena whispered, explaining. "He sleeps like the dead; he wouldn't hear it even if there were thunder."

Su Li used the faint glow from the stove to survey the room.

It was very primitive. A rough wooden table, a few three-legged stools, and some unsharpened sickles hanging on the wall.

It was poor, certainly, but the roof looked sturdy—a hundred times better than that drafty old tree.

"About that..."

Sena suddenly became fidgety. She twisted the hem of her shirt with both hands, looking down at her toes, her old leather shoes scuffing against the floor.

"What's wrong?" Su Li asked.

"My house... only has two bedrooms," Sena's voice was as faint as a mosquito's hum.

Su Li paused for a moment, then immediately understood.

This was a very practical problem.

The room on the left was her parents', and judging by the snoring, it was clearly occupied.

The smaller room on the right, with a dried flower wreath hanging on the door—there was no need to ask; it was undoubtedly Sena's boudoir.

Beyond that, there was only the kitchen, which doubled as the living room.

"It's fine," Su Li said, pointing to the pile of straw on the floor. "I'll just make do by the stove for the night. It's warm."

That was the truth.

For someone who had once spent a night freezing by the seaside, as long as there was no draft, this was a five-star hotel.

"No!"

Sena jerked her head up, her voice rising slightly, which startled even her.

She quickly covered her mouth, glancing in terror at the door on the left. Seeing that the snoring hadn't stopped, she let out a sigh of relief.

She turned back to look at Su Li. Her eyes were full of conflict, along with a flicker of desperate resolve.

How could she let a prince sleep in the hearth?

That was something only a wicked girl would do!

In the knightly romances Sena had read, even when fallen nobles were cast out among the common folk, they still slept in beds that smelled of lavender.

To let such a handsome face press against a soot-covered stove was a desecration of beauty, a crime that would surely invite a lightning strike from the heavens.

"You... you sleep in my room."

Sena held her breath for a long time before finally forcing the words out. Once she finished, her face flushed all the way to the roots of her hair, and she felt as if her entire body were steaming.

Su Li raised an eyebrow.

This girl was a bit bold, wasn't she?

"And what about you?" Su Li asked.

"I... I'll make a pallet on the floor. Or... or the bed is quite large..." Sena's voice grew quieter and quieter, the final words barely audible.

Watching her flustered state, Su Li roughly understood what the girl was thinking.

Naive. Easily fooled. And possessed of the unique fantasies of a young girl in the bloom of youth.

To be honest, that bed was certainly more comfortable than the hearth.

A soft quilt and a pillow carrying the warmth of a young girl—to a man exhausted to the point of collapse, the temptation was immense.

However.

Su Li glanced at the massive iron hammer hanging on the wall.

It was for blacksmithing.

The hammerhead was larger than Su Li's head and covered in black iron filings.

Just looking at it, one could imagine the sound it would make if it struck a person.

If Old Buck the blacksmith pushed open the door tomorrow morning and saw a strange man crawling out of his daughter's bed, that hammer would come down. Su Li's evaluation for this life would likely be a direct "F-," with the cause of death listed as "beaten to death by an enraged father due to moral impropriety."

Su Li took a step back.

"That wouldn't be appropriate."

Su Li's voice was soft, but his tone was firm.

Sena froze. She had expected Su Li to be happy, or at least to offer a token refusal before accepting.

After all, the young men in the village dreamed of sneaking into her room, though most were only after her father's modest assets.

"What's inappropriate about it?" Sena grew anxious. "You're a guest; how could I let you sleep on the floor?"

"Because you are a girl."

Su Li looked into Sena's eyes. In the dim light, they appeared exceptionally deep.

"I am a man. I have no known origin and not a penny to my name." Su Li pointed at himself. "If I enter your room, even if nothing happens, what will the villagers say about you tomorrow morning?"

"Do you not care about your reputation?"

"How will you ever marry in the future?"

These words were like nails, pinning Sena to the spot.

She had never thought of these things. She had only been thinking about how to be kind to Su Li and how to make him comfortable.

The rough men in the village had never spoken to her like this.

They only stared at her chest or mocked the freckles on her face. No one had ever defended her reputation with such solemnity.

Sena felt a sting in her nose.

"But..."

"There are no 'buts'." Su Li interrupted her. He smiled, a shallow but warm expression. "Though I have fallen on hard times, I still understand the basic principles of being a man. I cannot trample on the innocence of a good girl just because of my current situation."

That was well said.

Su Li gave himself a mental pat on the back.

"Then... then where will you sleep?" Sena sniffled, her eyes turning red.

Su Li looked around the room.

"I saw a shed in the yard?"

"That's the stable. There's a donkey in there," Sena said. "It smells quite strong."

"Can it keep out the wind?"

"Yes."

"Can it keep out the rain?"

"Yes."

"Then that's enough." Su Li turned and walked toward the door. "For me right now, that is plenty."