"Ever since I was little, I've wanted to open an inn and be its proprietress."
Pei Zhuxuan spoke happily.
"An inn for people of Jianghu, where drinks wouldn't cost money. Instead, guests would tell me their own stories of Jianghu."
I'd do the accounts every day and listen to all those different life stories.
Joy and sorrow, partings and reunions-all the many faces of life."
Li Ping'an smiled and said softly, "That sounds nice."
Pei Zhuxuan suddenly stood up. "I've decided. After I die, I won't come looking for revenge against you. I'll go straight to reincarnation and hurry up with making my dream come true."
At that moment, the two of them no longer seemed like a killer and his prisoner.
Instead, they were two friends making ordinary conversation.
Three days later, the outline of the border pass gradually appeared in the distance.
It was a small, dilapidated city called Shu City.
Once they reached Shu City, they would be close to the Anbei Four Garrisons.
Many people were entering the pass, and the border soldiers inspected them rigorously.
The two sat side by side beside a large rock.
Everything around them was quiet, save for the sound of the wind.
"Hey, I still don't know your name," Pei Zhuxuan said.
"Just call me Blind Man."
"Tch, fine, keep it to yourself." Pei Zhuxuan suddenly sighed. "Do me a favor, will you? Once I fall into those bastards' hands, they'll definitely torture me to death. Do you have any poison or something I could hide in my teeth, so I'd die the moment I bit into it? I don't want to suffer their torture at the very end."
Li Ping'an considered for a moment. "All right. When the time comes, I'll grant your wish."
"Thank you, then."
Pei Zhuxuan suddenly hooked an arm around Li Ping'an's neck. "One last question. Are you sure you don't want me to help you relax a little?"
By nightfall, the two finally entered the pass.
They found an inn and settled in.
Pei Zhuxuan knew this was probably her last night.
Now that the moment had come, her earlier anxiety and helplessness had vanished, replaced by calm.
She took a bath, coaxed Li Ping'an into paying for a lavish meal, and watched him wince at the expense.
Pei Zhuxuan was thoroughly satisfied. Afterward, she dragged Li Ping'an into talking with her late into the night.
A wistful sense of loss suddenly rose in her heart.
Being alive... wasn't so bad, really.
But if she were given another chance to choose, she would still avenge her family without hesitation.
Looking at the hazy moonlight outside, Pei Zhuxuan finally closed her eyes.
The midday sunlight streamed in, falling clearly across Pei Zhuxuan's face.
"Judging by the sun, it must be noon already."
Pei Zhuxuan muttered to herself.
She climbed out of bed and took a deep breath.
She glanced around but saw no sign of Blind Man.
Had he gone to buy breakfast?
Pei Zhuxuan thought no more of it and burrowed back into bed.
This was the last comfortable sleep of her life. Naturally, she wanted a little more of it.
She slept until evening.
Pei Zhuxuan opened her eyes again and saw pitch darkness outside the window.
She couldn't help wondering, Where had that blind man gone?
Had something happened to him?
Pei Zhuxuan's heart tightened, and she instinctively began worrying about Blind Man.
She had completely forgotten that he was the man who had come to capture her.
Pei Zhuxuan dressed and was about to go outside to ask around.
Then she suddenly spotted a sheet of paper on the table, along with a money pouch.
[A person's life may be only a few pages of poetry, endlessly revised and copied anew.
From raven hair to white, someone still sits beneath the lamplight.
Your life has already reached its lowest point.
So nothing could be worse than this.
From here on, everything will get better.
I hope that when we meet again, I'll be able to call you proprietress.
Don't forget to pay me back then.
When we meet again in Jianghu, we shall share a cup and good cheer. Here, we part ways.
-Li Ping'an]
Pei Zhuxuan froze for a moment at the beautiful handwriting on the paper.
She reached out to feel the money pouch beside it, then burst into a laugh.
Immediately afterward, tears as large as beans fell uncontrollably, one by one, beside her feet.
Li Ping'an?
Peace and safety-a good name, but he wasn't a good killer.
Spring Beauty Courtyard.
"I didn't bring her back," Li Ping'an said honestly.
Ma Sanniang nodded, as though she had expected it all along.
"Understood."
"How much compensation is owed?"
"Why ask? Are you paying?"
"I have no money," Li Ping'an said without hesitation.
"Then why the hell are you asking?" Ma Sanniang rolled her eyes at him. "Aren't you going to explain? Tell me why you couldn't bring that woman back?"
"It was my mistake."
"Oh, spare me. You really haven't disappointed my understanding of you. I knew from the start you wouldn't bring her back."
Li Ping'an asked, "Then why give me the commission?"
"I did it on purpose~" Ma Sanniang said. "I know that woman's story. Her father, Minister Pei Xuan, was an upright man in office, one of the rare good officials. What a pity. I rather admire her. She endured humiliation and shouldered that burden for so long to get her revenge, and in the end, she actually succeeded."
Li Ping'an listened quietly.
Ma Sanniang continued, "I wanted to let her off. After thinking it over, I realized she would only survive if I sent you."
Li Ping'an considered for a moment. "So you don't have to dock my pay?"
"I do! Of course I do!"
Ma Sanniang was equally unhesitating.
"You didn't complete the commission. That's an ironclad fact. Let me work it out-the commission fee, your wages, your bonus..."
"Money-grubber."
Li Ping'an muttered under his breath and rose to leave.
"Hey! Your medicine."
Ma Sanniang slapped several packets of medicinal ingredients for Life-Pulse Powder onto the table.
"I haven't given you any money to buy those lately, have I?" Li Ping'an asked curiously.
Ma Sanniang arched an eyebrow and said deliberately, "I bought a few packets too many. I was going to throw them away, so you might as well have them."
Li Ping'an smiled faintly, and a word involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
Tsundere~
Li Ping'an accepted the payment Ma Sanniang had given him in this roundabout fashion.
"Thank you."
Leaving the Spring Beauty Courtyard, Li Ping'an walked along the familiar streets.
He listened to the familiar cries of vendors and smelled the familiar aromas from the roadside stalls.
With a spring in his step, Li Ping'an arrived at Liu's Noodle Stall, one of his usual haunts.
Old Liu spotted Li Ping'an from far away.
"Oh, Brother Li! How long has it been? Sit down, sit down."
"I went on a long trip a while ago. I've only just returned, and here I am for your noodles."
Old Liu's face bloomed with a smile. "The usual bowl of mutton offal noodles?"
Li Ping'an nodded.
Soon, a bowl of noodles heaped with mutton offal was brought over.
It came with a small plate of side dishes and a piece of braised meat.
"The side dishes and braised meat are on me. Consider it a welcome-home meal, Brother Li."
Old Liu knew how to treat people, which was one reason his business did so well.
"Thank you, then," Li Ping'an said with a smile.
A small spoonful of lard, or a few drops of sesame oil, went into the noodles.
Garlic and the fine aged liquor he had brought along completed the meal.
The city's clamor gradually faded as the sun sank in the west.
The lingering evening light fell across Li Ping'an, lending his face a little more radiance.
Li Ping'an bent his head over his noodles.
This was Li Ping'an's life, the life of a blind man content with peaceful days.
PS:
[A life may be only a few pages of poetry, endlessly revised and copied anew.
From raven hair to white, someone still sits beneath the lamplight-Xi Murong.
Meaning: a person's life is compared to a poem that is constantly revised and copied anew, even as raven hair turns white.
Some people are still pursuing a better future, chasing a more beautiful life.]
Before you continue