Su Li reached out and took her hand.
Saina's hand was cold, her knuckles pronounced and her skin slack.
"Do you remember the first time you came to the forge?" Saina turned to look at him. "You were skinny as a bamboo pole back then, and your face was covered in soot."
"I remember." Su Li nodded. "You gave me a piece of flatbread."
"That's right." Saina smiled. "You ate so fast—gone in two or three bites."
Su Li smiled as well.
"I was hungry then."
The two fell silent for a while.
"I can't remember what I ate the day before yesterday," Saina suddenly said, "but I remember what you looked like hammering iron at the village entrance that day."
Su Li's grip tightened.
"You were wearing a ragged shirt, bare-chested as you swung that hammer." Saina looked into his eyes. "I stood there watching for ages, until my mother scolded me for being so hopeless."
"Your mother was right."
"Oh, go to hell." Saina lightly slapped him. "I was hopeless. Otherwise, why would I have fallen for a poor brat like you?"
Su Li laughed out loud.
He rose to his feet and turned toward the forge.
Saina called after him. "What are you going to do?"
"Wait here."
Su Li entered the forge, dug out a piece of Silverwood, and sat beside the anvil to begin carving.
The carving knife moved across the wood, shaving out the shape bit by bit.
The Old Locust Tree.
The forge.
The stone-paved road.
The well at the village entrance.
He carved slowly and meticulously.
Not until nightfall did he finish carving a miniature model of the entire Wading Village.
On the palm-sized wooden board, the village's outline was clearly visible.
Holding the model, Su Li left the forge and returned