The Secret in the Quilt

Time flew by like sparks from a blacksmith's forge, vanishing in an instant, only to be replaced by another year.

Two years had passed in the blink of an eye.

Wading Village remained the same small hamlet, reeking of chicken droppings and earth.

Old Buck's snores still shook the heavens, and Auntie Martha's voice was as loud as ever. Only the man and woman in the blacksmith's shop had changed.

Su Li was now a true blacksmith.

His hands were calloused, his tiger's mouth covered in hardened skin.

His once fair complexion had been roasted to a bronze by the furnace, and coupled with the chiseled muscles that looked carved by a knife, he was a walking embodiment of virility.

But his personality remained the same. Lazy.

He wouldn't stand if he could sit, and he wouldn't sit if he could lie down.

Except when he was forging, when he was as focused as an artist, the rest of his time was spent like a salted fish, sunbathing on the lounge chair in the yard.

Even so, the village girls and young wives still flocked to his shop.

Unfortunately, there were no more opportunities.

Because Sena had changed.

As the saying goes, a girl changes greatly by eighteen.

The freckled, scrawny girl who looked like a bean sprout from two years ago was gone.

The current Sena, while not breathtakingly beautiful, was certainly pretty. Those annoying freckles seemed to have been filled in by the good food of the past two years, her skin becoming fair and delicate, with a healthy flush.

The most striking change was her figure.

Perhaps it was the excellent food Su Li provided, or perhaps it was just her age, but Sena's body had ballooned like an inflated balloon.

Her old, loose linen dress was now tight.

Her waist was slender, and her curves were anything but lacking. The way she swayed when she walked was enough to make one's heart skip a beat.

(The cover image is of Sena)

This girl was now very confident.

She used to not dare to look up when talking to Su Li, but now she could stare him straight in the eye.

The awkwardness in the room was long gone.

It was even a bit too much... she treated Su Li like he wasn't an outsider.

That evening.

Su Li had just returned from the forge, covered in sweat. He pushed open the door, preparing to grab a towel to wipe himself down.

Inside, Sena was changing clothes with her back to him.

The setting sun streamed through the gaps in the window, illuminating her smooth back.

Her skin was dazzlingly white, her spine forming a beautiful curve, and the butterfly bones on either side were faintly visible as she moved.

She held the shirt she hadn't put on yet, her movements slow.

Hearing the door open, Sena didn't panic or call out.

She merely turned her head slightly, glancing at Su Li standing at the door with her peripheral vision.

There was no shyness in her eyes, but rather a hint of indescribable provocation, and a tiny bit of anticipation.

"You're back?" Sena asked, her movements still unhurried. She even deliberately puffed out her chest, showcasing her side profile even more perfectly.

Su Li stood at the door, his Adam's apple bobbing.

This girl truly didn't see him as a man.

Or perhaps, she saw him too much as a man?

"Mm," Su Li replied, his gaze unwavering as he walked to his sleeping mat, grabbed a towel, and headed out. "I'm going to take a shower."

A soft laugh came from behind him.

A little triumphant.

Su Li went outside and poured well water over his head.

The icy water flowed down his back, finally suppressing the heat in his heart.

"What a sin."

Su Li wiped the water from his face and sighed.

These past two years, he had practically been cultivating immortality.

This child, in his past life, wouldn't have been punished.

Even though Sena was indeed tempting now.

In fact, she could be called... very tempting.

Su Li shook his head, trying to dispel the messy thoughts.

Nighttime.

It was story time, as usual.

Su Li leaned against the wall, recounting the tale of Wu Song fighting the tiger from Water Margin.

Sena sat on the bed, hugging her knees, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on Su Li's profile.

In truth, she hadn't taken in a single word about how many bowls of wine the man named Wu Song had drunk, nor did she care how that tiger had died.

She only cared about the person telling the story.

The lamplight flickered.

Su Li's shadow was cast upon the wall, dancing along with the flame.

As Sena watched, she began to feel a bit hot. That heat seeped out from the marrow of her bones, crawling up her veins and burning until her mouth and throat were parched.

"...In the end, the tiger was beaten to death."

Su Li finished his story.

He yawned and blew out the oil lamp.

"Go to sleep."

The room plunged into darkness.

Outside the window, the chirping of insects rose and fell, annoying enough to fray one's nerves.

Su Li lay on his floor mat, hands pillowed behind his head, listening to the sound of his own heartbeat.

It was a bit stifling tonight.

There was no breeze.

A while later.

Just as Su Li began to drift off, he heard the sound of tossing and turning from the bed.

There were only he and Sena in the room.

The sound had to be either his or Sena's.

Su Li raised his head to look at the bed. Sena was alone, her back against the wall, only her head visible, and she happened to lock eyes with Su Li.

Su Li was stunned. Why wasn't she asleep yet?

He gave Sena a look, signaling for her to get some sleep.

Not long after Su Li lay back down, the sound of tossing and turning started again.

It was the sound of fabric rubbing against fabric.

Every muscle in Su Li's body tensed up.

This damn girl.

Do you really not take the only man in this room seriously?

Or is this, in fact, intentional?

He rolled over, turning his back to the bed.

He closed his eyes and began to recite the multiplication table in his mind.

One times one is one, one times two is two...

At this moment, she wished more than anything that Su Li couldn't hold back and would climb onto the bed.

Su Li was not asleep. He was struggling with whether he wanted to continue living this life.

If he accepted it, he would have to take responsibility.

That night, the moon over Wading Village was exceptionally round, shining in a way that made one's heart flutter with unease.

Early the next morning.

Su Li was awakened by the sound of clothes being scrubbed.

He rubbed his throbbing temples and crawled up from his floor mat.

This sleep had left him feeling more exhausted than a full day of blacksmithing.

He glanced at the bed.

Empty.

The quilt was gone, too.

Su Li pushed open the door and stepped outside.

In the courtyard, the morning light was just beginning to break.

Sena was squatting by the well, soaking that thick cotton quilt in a massive wooden tub.

She had her sleeves rolled up, revealing two snow-white arms as she scrubbed the quilt cover with all her might.

The quilt was heavy with water, making it quite a struggle to wash; fine beads of sweat had already sprouted on the tip of her nose.

Hearing footsteps, Sena turned her head.

Her fair face flushed a deep, vibrant red in an instant.

Her gaze darted around, not daring to meet Su Li's eyes at all.

"Th-that..."

Sena wiped her hands on her apron, her voice trembling like a child caught doing something wrong.

"I... I was drinking soup last night..."

"And accidentally spilled it on the quilt."

"Yeah." Sena nodded heavily, as if trying to convince herself. "It was all soup... so I... I just brought it out to wash."

Su Li stood on the steps, watching the girl who looked as if she wanted to bury her head inside the wooden tub.

He didn't expose her.

The excuse was appallingly bad.

Who drinks soup in bed in the middle of the night?

But he only smiled, a gentle expression with a hint of slyness that showed he saw through her but wouldn't say it.

"Take your time washing, then."

Su Li stretched, working the stiffness out of his neck.

"Be more careful when you drink soup next time."

"Don't burn yourself."

With that, he turned and walked toward the blacksmith shop.

Behind him.