Chapter 391: The Seventh Day of the Seventh Month

Although Nie Qianyu was only twelve years old, she was, after all, a blossoming young girl. Ahem, everything that should have developed had already developed, and her whole body carried the unique fragrance of a maiden. The way she moved, like a fledgling swallow returning to its nest, truly put Zhang Xiaohua in a difficult spot. Should he step aside? Wouldn’t that mean letting Miss Nie fall face-first into the dirt? But if he didn’t move, wouldn’t that be taking advantage of a young lady?

Even though Zhang Xiaohua hadn’t released his divine sense, Nie Qianyu’s movements were still easy enough for him to dodge, if he wished. Yet, after thinking it over again and again, Zhang Xiaohua ultimately stood there bravely and unwaveringly.

He only felt a warm and soft body fall into his embrace, a sweet, intoxicating fragrance wafting into his nose. Then, a delicate arm wrapped around his waist. Zhang Xiaohua swayed a couple of times, nearly falling backward to the ground. This body, tempered by heavenly thunder and refined by the world’s Yuan Qi, had never experienced such an encounter before.

All at once, he felt somewhat unaccustomed to it.

Just as Zhang Xiaohua was about to gently push Nie Qianyu away, to express the propriety that men and women should keep their distance, he heard Nie Qianyu, face buried in his chest, begin to sob: “Brother Ren, why did you only just come back? Little Orange, she… she’s been taken away!”

“Huh?” Zhang Xiaohua was taken aback and said: “Could it be that my words were prophetic? If I’d known I was so accurate, I wouldn’t have joked with you all. Quickly, tell me what happened! Was it the local bully in Pingyang City trying to forcefully marry Little Orange as his concubine? Or did the bandits outside the city want to abduct her as their captive bride?”

No matter what Zhang Xiaohua said, Nie Qianyu, as if she had suffered a great shock, just wouldn’t let go. She clung to his embrace, crying nonstop, not pausing for even a moment.

Although Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t see Nie Qianyu’s face buried in his chest, just listening to her sobs, he could imagine the sight of raindrops falling on pear blossoms. Unconsciously, Zhang Xiaohua curled his lips, thinking: “This child, with no parents to dote on her, is truly pitiful.”

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Nie Qianyu seemed to have cried herself out. Only then did she realize her impropriety and hurriedly escaped from Zhang Xiaohua’s embrace. Her face flushed crimson as she lowered her head, as if she wished she could hide her now-ripening cheeks against her chest.

Zhang Xiaohua found it a bit amusing and coughed twice before asking: “Little Fish, hurry and tell me what happened to Little Orange? How did she get taken away?”

Hearing this, Nie Qianyu quickly looked up, about to speak, but caught sight of the damp patch on Zhang Xiaohua’s chest—wasn’t that from her own tears just now? Instantly, she lowered her little head again in embarrassment.

Zhang Xiaohua stepped forward and patted her on the head, saying: “Little Fish, sit down first and tell me slowly. I’m back now, so leave this matter to me.”

However, this head-patting gesture was rather reckless. At home, he was used to being patted on the head by his parents and elder brothers, so he naturally thought it was a gesture of comfort. But never mind that Nie Qianyu was a young lady—patting someone’s head without permission was a serious breach of etiquette, even in other circumstances.

Fortunately, before Nie Qianyu could dodge, Zhang Xiaohua’s mischievous hand had already landed on her head. Though Nie Qianyu was a little displeased and lifted her head slightly, when she saw Zhang Xiaohua’s calm and reassuring smile, her heart instantly settled. That hand on her head felt a hundred times warmer, giving her a sense of security.

Obediently, Nie Qianyu sat down on the edge of the kang and recounted everything that had happened since Zhang Xiaohua left.

As it turned out, after Zhang Xiaohua departed amidst the wind and snow on the sixth day of the first lunar month, Nie Qianyu and Little Orange, though annoyed by his jokes, were just two lonely girls in the unfamiliar city of Pingyang. They couldn’t help but feel isolated from the world. So, they rarely went out; only when the weather cleared would they stroll around the courtyard. Most days, they stayed indoors, chatting and laughing just as they used to in their boudoir back at the manor. The only difference was that much of their conversation now revolved around that heartless little rascal who had left them in this inn and gone off on his own.

However, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the weather finally cleared, and it was the day for admiring lanterns. The lanterns in Lu Town had already captivated Zhang Xiaohua, so the grand festivities of Pingyang City’s lantern festival were all the more lively and spectacular.

So, in the end, Nie Qianyu and Little Orange couldn’t resist the clamorous drums and gongs outside the inn, and for the first time, they stepped out through the inn’s doors.

The lively atmosphere was only part of it; most importantly, in Nie Qianyu’s hometown of Mochou City, the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month carried another custom. On this day, young women could write their wishes on slips of paper, place them on lotus lanterns, and set them afloat on the river. If the river’s deity favored them, it was said the god would open the slip and grant the lucky girl’s wish.

In the past, Nie Qianyu never had any major wishes, so she always participated casually. But today, for the first time, she had a heartfelt wish. She didn’t care whether Pingyang City observed this custom—she dragged Little Orange out to the street to buy lotus lanterns.

To be fair, as Zhang Xiaohua had said, Nie Qianyu was just a twelve-year-old girl, still growing and not particularly striking in appearance. Little Orange, though delicate and pretty, was still just a maid, lacking any commanding presence. The two of them out on the street shouldn’t have attracted any trouble.

But man proposes, heaven disposes. As fate would have it, Pingyang City didn’t really have the custom of floating lotus lanterns. After searching for a long time, they finally found what they wanted. Just as they left the lantern shop, they saw a blind man by the roadside with a small stall, a sign reading: “Seek your fortune, ask about marriage.”

Nie Qianyu was preoccupied with the lantern release that night and didn’t notice, but Little Orange stopped in her tracks, insisting on dragging her mistress over, saying it was “to help Miss find her destined match.”

Nie Qianyu understood Little Orange’s intent, so the two went to have their fortunes told. The blind man asked for their birth dates and times, then gave each of them a reading—one was above average, fulfilling Little Orange’s wish; the other was below average, which soured Nie Qianyu’s mood.

Nie Qianyu pouted, tossed a few coins as a tip, and muttered as they walked away, “Not accurate, not accurate at all.” Yet, even as night fell and they released the lanterns, her face remained clouded.

Little Orange tried to comfort her, helping her set the lotus lantern afloat and saying, “The river god is surely more powerful than that blind man.” Only then did Nie Qianyu’s mood lighten a little.

But just as they turned the corner to return to the inn, a black-clad figure suddenly leapt down from the wall, swiftly sealing their acupoints with a touch. Before she lost consciousness, Nie Qianyu clearly saw that the man’s figure was none other than the blind fortune-teller from earlier.

When Nie Qianyu awoke, it was already the afternoon of the next day, and she was back in her room at the inn. According to the innkeeper, he had gone out to visit a friend the night before and happened upon the black-clad man committing the crime. The man, seeing someone approach, fled in haste, leaving Nie Qianyu behind and not taking her away as well.

At that time, Nie Qianyu had been so frightened that her face turned ashen, and she no longer dared to step even half a foot outside the inn. She didn’t even consider reporting the incident to the authorities. The innkeeper, as always, believed that the less trouble the better—since the victim herself didn’t report it, why should he get involved? So the matter was simply kept quiet.

After hearing all this, Zhang Xiaohua finally understood the looks the inn staff had been giving him. Of course—someone had gone missing, and yet no one dared report it. No wonder they suspected he might be a human trafficker himself.

Zhang Xiaohua stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up. He asked: “Little Fish, is Little Orange’s birthday the seventh day of the seventh month?”

“Huh?” Nie Qianyu exclaimed in shock, “How did you know that?”

Her face paled again as she said: “Did she even tell you that?”

Zhang Xiaohua was taken aback. “When did Little Orange ever tell me? How would I know?”

“You—you already know Little Orange’s birthday, and I didn’t tell you. If she didn’t tell you, did you dream it or something?”

Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t help but laugh, and he recounted what had happened to him in Lu Town. Only then did Nie Qianyu break into a smile through her tears. “I thought you were like the blind man for a moment.”

“A blind man? Haha,” Zhang Xiaohua laughed as well. “If I were blind, I wouldn’t be kidnapping people.”

Then his brows furrowed tightly. “I didn’t think much of it at the time. I just wanted the authorities to handle this human trafficking case, but I forgot to interrogate that black-clad man. That was careless of me.”

“That’s right, Brother Ren, it’s been nearly ten days now. Who knows what’s become of Little Orange?”

But Zhang Xiaohua remained calm. Indeed, as Nie Qianyu said, it had already been ten days. If something were to happen, it would have happened by now. Judging from the incident in Lu Town, where a black-clad man abducted a young girl, it seemed likely these two cases were part of an organized, premeditated operation. This was different from the usual flower thieves—what Little Orange truly needed to worry about was her life, not anything else.

“But Brother Ren, what should we do now? I didn’t dare report to the authorities at the time. If they started asking about my background, I was afraid it would attract more trouble from those villains. So… these past few days, I’ve been waiting anxiously for you, day and night. Do you think I was too selfish?”

Zhang Xiaohua smiled and said: “Little Fish, you’re very clever. Not reporting to the authorities was the right decision. Didn’t you hear what I said about… the place I went to? Even the officials there would run away at the first sign of trouble—they wouldn’t care about any of this. Maybe the authorities in Pingyang City are a little better, but if they started questioning your background, never mind Little Orange, you’d be the first to get caught up in trouble. That would be unwise.”

“Then, Big Brother Ren, do you think I did the right thing?”

Zhang Xiaohua gave her a thumbs up and said: “Not only was it right, but it was also downright brilliant.”

Nie Qianyu’s little face flushed red, and the grievances and frustrations she’d bottled up over the past ten days seemed to vanish without a trace.

In these few short months together, Zhang Xiaohua had come to know that this girl was always determined and proud, but after all, she was still young and a bit naive. Faced with something like this, it was hard for her to find a perfect solution. He smiled and said: “Alright, I’m back now. Leave Little Orange’s matter to me. Look at you—so worn out. You should get some rest.”

Then, glancing around, he said: “Little Fish, I’ll go next door. You should sleep.”

“Big Brother Ren…”