Wading Village's roads were full of potholes at night, making them hard to walk.
Su Li stumbled along behind the girl called Sena.
His ill-fitting boots were stuffed with strips of rag, so every step felt like he was walking on cotton—soft and yielding, with no traction.
But he didn't complain or say he was tired.
This was nothing compared to hauling heavy sacks at the docks in his previous life. It was barely a tickle.
Sena hurried ahead, her two thick braids swinging back and forth behind her.
She glanced back at Su Li from time to time, making sure that the handsome young man hadn't run off or turned into a puff of smoke and vanished. Only then would she relax and keep leading the way.
Her eyes held the delight of someone who'd found a treasure, along with the anxious fear that someone might snatch it away.
Sena stopped in front of a yard at the western end of the village.
It was a typical blacksmith's workshop. Before they even went in, Su Li caught a heavy smell of rust and charcoal.
The yard was a chaotic mess of scrap metal: broken plowshares, rusty horseshoes, and an anvil with only half its body left.
"Shh—"
Sena put a finger to her lips and gestured for silence. Then she pointed to the doghouse in the corner of the yard.
A big black dog was sleeping there, its ears pressed to the ground and twitching every now and then.
Su Li nodded.
Sena eased the yard gate open. The rickety wooden door gave a soft creak.
The big black dog suddenly raised its head.
In that instant, every muscle in Su Li's body tensed. He was already calculating his escape route.
If the dog charged, should he climb a tree or shove Sena in front of it? No, using a girl as a shield would be rotten. Better to climb the tree.
"Little Blackie, down."
Sena barked softly.
The big black dog seemed to recognize its owner's scent. Its fur, which had stood on end, immediately settled.
It wagged its tail and whimpered before burying its head in its paws again.
Su Li breathed a sigh of relief.
At least the dog seemed reasonable.
The two of them crept across the yard like thieves and went inside.
The house was dark, with only a few dim red embers left in the stove. The air was thick with the smell of meat stewed with pickled cabbage, along with the distinctive stench of an old man's sweat.
The snoring was deafening.
It came from the room on the left. The sound was as loud as a bellows, or two sheets of iron scraping against each other.
"That's my dad," Sena whispered. "He sleeps like the dead. He wouldn't hear a thunderclap."
By the dim light of the stove, Su Li took a look around the room.
It was very bare. There was a rough wooden table, a few stools with only three legs, and several unfinished sickles hanging on the wall.
The place was poor, but the roof looked sturdy enough—far better than that drafty old tree.
"Um..."
Sena suddenly grew shy. She twisted the hem of her clothes, head bowed as she stared at her toes. Her old leather shoes scuffed back and forth on the floor.
"What is it?" Su Li asked.
"My house... only has two rooms people can sleep in." Sena's voice was as quiet as a mosquito's buzz.
Su Li paused, then understood.
It was a practical problem.
The room on the left belonged to her parents, and judging by the snoring, it was already occupied.
The one on the right was a little smaller. A wreath of dried flowers hung on its door, so it had to be Sena's bedroom.
That left only the kitchen, which doubled as the living room.
"It's fine." Su Li pointed to the pile of straw on the floor. "I'll make do here by the stove for the night. It's warm."
He meant it.
For someone who'd once spent a night freezing by the sea, anywhere that kept out the wind was a five-star hotel.
"No!"
Sena jerked her head up and spoke a little too loudly, startling herself.
She quickly covered her mouth and looked in alarm at the door on the left. When the snoring didn't stop, she relaxed.
Then she turned to Su Li, her eyes full of conflict and a hint of desperate resolve.
How could she let a prince sleep by the stove?
Only a wicked girl would do such a thing!
In the knights' tales Sena had read, even fallen nobles who ended up among the common folk still slept in beds that smelled of lavender.
Making such a handsome face rest beside a soot-covered stove would be an insult to beauty. Heaven itself would punish her for it.
"You... you can sleep in my room."
Sena struggled to get the words out. When she finally did, her face turned red all the way to her neck. She felt as though she were about to start smoking.
Su Li raised an eyebrow.
This girl was certainly bold.
"Then where will you sleep?" Su Li asked.
"I... I'll make a bed on the floor. Or... or the bed's pretty big..." Sena's voice grew quieter and quieter, until her last few words were almost inaudible.
Looking at her flustered expression, Su Li could guess what she was thinking.
Innocent. Easy to fool. And full of the fantasies of a girl with a crush.
To be honest, the bed would definitely be more comfortable than the spot by the stove.
A soft quilt and a pillow warmed by a young woman's body were incredibly tempting to a man who was utterly exhausted.
But...
Su Li glanced at the huge iron hammer hanging on the wall.
It was used for smithing.
Its head was bigger than Su Li's, and it was covered in black metal filings.
Just looking at it, he could imagine the sound it would make when it hit someone.
If Old Buck the blacksmith opened the door tomorrow morning and found a strange man getting out of his daughter's bed, the hammer would probably reduce Su Li's life's grade to an "F-." Cause of death: killed by an enraged father over "improper conduct."
Su Li took a step back.
"This wouldn't be right."
His voice was soft, but firm.
Sena froze. She'd thought he would be happy, or at least refuse at first before agreeing.
The young men in the village dreamed of sneaking into her room, though most of them were after her father's property.
"What's wrong with it?" Sena asked anxiously. "You're our guest. How can I let you sleep on the floor?"
"Because you're a girl."
Su Li looked into Sena's eyes. In the dim light, they seemed especially deep.
"I'm a man. I have no money, and no one knows where I came from." Su Li pointed to himself. "If I go into your room, even if nothing happens, what will the villagers say about you tomorrow morning?"
"What about your reputation?"
"How will you ever get married?"
His words pinned Sena in place like a handful of nails.
She'd never thought about any of that. She'd only been thinking about how to be kind to Su Li and make him comfortable.
The rough men in the village had never said anything like this to her.
They only stared at her chest or mocked the freckles on her face. Not one of them had ever taken such pains to protect her reputation.
Sena felt her nose sting.
"But..."
"No buts." Su Li interrupted her. He smiled. It was a faint smile, but a warm one. "I may be down on my luck, but I still know the basics of how to treat people. I can't take advantage of a good girl just because I'm in a bad spot."
That was beautifully put.
Su Li gave himself a pat on the back.
"Then... where will you sleep?" Sena sniffed, her eyes a little red.
Su Li looked around.
"Is there a shed in the yard?"
"That's the stable. There's a donkey in there too," Sena said. "It smells awful."
"Will it keep out the wind?"
"Yes."
"Will it keep out the rain?"
"Yes."
"Then that's good enough." Su Li turned toward the door. "For me, that's all I need right now."
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