Volume 1: Forgetting Each Other in the Jianghu Chapter 349

Miss Nie and Little Orange always held completely different attitudes when it came to Zhang Xiaohua’s identity.

Miss Nie believed that Zhang Xiaohua must be an extraordinary individual. Just from the way he sat upright on that Sibu Xiang, feigning deep thought, he made people ponder endlessly. Of course, this was also because Miss Nie was familiar with the habits of such a creature, if it were anyone else, they’d probably just think he was some young fellow riding a mule. Speaking of “young fellow”, another reason for Miss Nie’s hesitation was Zhang Xiaohua’s age. Although he had more or less grown into his full height, his face had changed little from a few years ago, his features had merely elongated a bit, losing the naivety of youth and gaining the vigor of a young man. The aura of youth that emanated from him clearly showed that he was in the prime of his life. This left Miss Nie puzzled, how could an extraordinary person be so young?

Yet, with her keen insight into people, Miss Nie had, in those few chance encounters, glimpsed a certain depth in Zhang Xiaohua’s seemingly ordinary eyes, a depth she rarely saw in others. This was the key reason she insisted Zhang Xiaohua was no ordinary man. But if asked to describe what exactly that depth was, she couldn’t quite put it into words.

“It’s just a woman’s sixth sense!”

That’s what Miss Nie would say.

“So only you’re a woman, and I’m not?”

Little Orange pursed her lips, thinking this to herself.

Indeed, in Little Orange’s eyes, getting up early and appearing outdoors was perfectly normal. She’d heard that the farmers outside the manor all rose at sunrise and rested at sunset; for a young man from the countryside, waking up that early was nothing special. Not afraid of seeing a corpse? Nonsense, he’s a man, after all! And what are men? Thick-skinned fellows, so long as they have a bit of courage, they shouldn’t be afraid of corpses! Most importantly, if he really were some extraordinary being, would he talk to girls the way he did?

Thinking back on those details, Little Orange’s face flushed a bit. That guy was definitely no extraordinary being!

Little Orange had already made up her mind about Zhang Xiaohua.

It must be said, first impressions are truly important, and Zhang Xiaohua was a perfect example.

So, when Little Orange was about to nonchalantly order Zhang Xiaohua to do something, Miss Nie hesitated and said: “Is this really appropriate?”

Little Orange secretly laughed and muttered inwardly: “Miss, when you were asleep, you have no idea how many things you had that guy do.”

Still, she put on a thoughtful expression, and after a while, tentatively said: “It should be fine, Miss. He looks honest and speaks kindly. Even if he is an extraordinary person, he seems easy to get along with. Besides, helping a beautiful lady is exactly the sort of thing men love to do, they probably can’t wait for the chance!”

“Pfft!” Miss Nie spat playfully at Little Orange and laughed: “If you say you’re a beauty, I’d believe it, but how could I be one?”

Ah, those close to ink are stained black. If Zhang Xiaohua were to extend his divine sense, he’d surely understand why Little Orange liked to spit at him.

A blush rose on Little Orange’s cheeks as she smiled and said: “The world always judges by appearances, but they don’t know that your heart holds a thousand splendid things, Miss. Not to mention that this humble maid dares not look up to you, even ordinary men cannot compare.”

Miss Nie rolled her eyes in boredom and said: “Little Orange, why are you blushing? Usually, when I hear you brag, you’re always so pleased with yourself. Why are you different today? Could it be…”

Little Orange’s embarrassment deepened, and with a quick turn of her eyes, she changed the subject: “Oh, Miss, speaking of that medicine prescription, what a pity! If you hadn’t given all the pills you brought to that injured lady hero last time, we wouldn’t have to go to the pharmacy to sell medicine now. And we wouldn’t have to trouble the ‘extraordinary person’ in your heart, either.”

Hearing this, Miss Nie’s interest was piqued. A bit of color returned to her pale face as she said enthusiastically: “Now that you mention it, Little Orange, you’re actually mistaken. If we hadn’t met Lady Xue and helped her out, taking care of her for half a day and thus delaying our journey, think about it. If we’d been attacked yesterday morning or the night before, would we have had anyone to save us? It’s hard to say. We might already be two corpses by now. This is the cycle of cause and effect; every drink and every bite is destined by the heavens.”

Little Orange nodded thoughtfully.

Miss Nie grew even more animated, seemingly forgetting her illness, and continued: “Seeing that Lady Xue’s heroic and valiant bearing, I can’t help but admire her. Alas, I’m still young, and my father only wants me to follow in his footsteps and forbids me from learning martial arts. But he doesn’t know that I’ve loved the roaming life of the Jianghu and the thrill of settling scores since I was a child. If only I had martial arts skills, would I have feared those villains last night?”

Little Orange didn’t want to spoil her mistress’s good mood, so she could only respond perfunctorily: “Indeed, if you possessed martial skills, Miss, this humble maid wouldn’t need to accompany you, and there’d be no need to hire those eight bodyguards either. With your lightness skill, you could come and go as you pleased, and naturally wouldn’t encounter such dangers.”

But with that one sentence, Little Orange had touched on Miss Nie’s sore spot. Her enthusiasm faded, and she said: “Sigh, even if I’d practiced martial arts since childhood, I might still not be a match for eight bodyguards. Do you know who that senior expert wielding the flying sword was? If I could have the chance to meet him and take him as my master, how wonderful that would be.”

Then, Miss Nie’s eyes turned, and she said: “I wonder how strong that extraordinary person’s martial arts are?”

“Miss, didn’t I already tell you? His name is Ren Xiaoyao. Just call him by his name. All this ‘extraordinary person’ talk sounds so awkward to me.”

“Oh, that’s right! Miss, we’ve been chatting away, but don’t you still need to get your medicine? You’d better tell me the prescription. I’ll write it down, and in a bit, we’ll have your ‘extraordinary person’ go fetch the medicine for us.”

Miss Nie was rendered speechless. Though she was still ill, having just escaped danger, she couldn’t help but feel joyful and had been chatting away with Little Orange, forgetting all about the medicine.

Little Orange looked around. In this simple inn room, there was no sign of pen, ink, paper, or inkstone. Helpless, she stood up and said: “Miss, I’ll go find the innkeeper and borrow some writing materials.”

Just as Little Orange stood up, she glanced outside and suddenly exclaimed: “Oh no, Miss, it’s almost dark! Aren’t you hungry?”

At the mention of “hungry,” both their stomachs rumbled loudly, and their faces flushed. Indeed, since the attack last night, nearly a whole day and night had passed. Other than a bit of water, they hadn’t eaten a single grain of rice. How could they not be starving?

Little Orange stomped her foot and said: “That Ren Xiaoyao, how has he been gone the whole afternoon? He must have fallen asleep! And when he ate at noon, why didn’t he call us?”

Seeing her huffing and puffing, she hardly looked like someone searching for an “extraordinary person”.

Meanwhile, in the other small room, Zhang Xiaohua had already fully stabilized his cultivation at the sixth level of Qi Refining. His speed at absorbing the world’s Yuan Qi had increased considerably, and the range of his divine sense had expanded as well. Within his divine sense, his understanding of the world had grown even clearer. At this moment, Zhang Xiaohua was maximizing his absorption of the energy from the yuan stones, circulating and tempering it through his meridians, familiarizing himself with the sixth level’s pathways.

Though Little Orange left in a huff, as soon as she stepped outside, she became gentle again. Glancing at the small room next door with its closed door, she walked over shyly, raised her small hand, and gently knocked on the door.

Although Zhang Xiaohua hadn’t released his divine sense, his senses were still sharp. At this moment, he neither contemplated the Carefree Heart Sutra nor pondered the Dao of Heaven. As soon as Little Orange’s footsteps approached the door, he was already aware. When the knocking sounded, Zhang Xiaohua called out: “Who is it? Please wait a moment.”

Only then did he get up and open the door. Seeing it was Little Orange, he feigned surprise and said: “Oh, Little Orange, are you here to call me for dinner?”

Little Orange, seeing this, couldn’t help but get a little annoyed and scolded: “You rascal, now you remember to eat? When we first checked into the inn, why didn’t you call us? Now Miss is so hungry her stomach’s sticking to her back.”

“Huh? Your Miss is awake already?” Zhang Xiaohua asked, “Earlier, when I settled Miss in, I wanted to ask if you needed anything, but you chased me out before I could say a word. How was I supposed to ask?”

At this, Little Orange was momentarily speechless. Indeed, Zhang Xiaohua had wanted to say something then, but she had hurriedly driven him out. How could she blame him now?

So, Little Orange argued: “Even if you didn’t say it inside, couldn’t you have said it outside? Weren’t you just waiting to see us make fools of ourselves?”

Zhang Xiaohua only smiled in response.

Then he asked: “Is your Miss’s illness better now? Can she eat?”

Little Orange replied worriedly: “Yes, Miss is awake, but her fever hasn’t fully subsided. She’s written her own prescription and needs you to go to the pharmacy and fetch some medicine.”

“Oh?” Zhang Xiaohua was a little surprised. “Can your Miss write her own prescriptions?”

“Of course! My master is…” Little Orange began proudly, but realizing she’d almost said too much, quickly changed her tune. “My Miss is very clever. These are just minor ailments, a single dose will have her cured. She’s not like the town’s doctors, who’ve been giving her medicine all day without bringing down the fever.”

“I see.” Zhang Xiaohua mused. “So what medicine do you need me to get?”

“Oh, go find some pen and ink from the inn first. Once Miss tells me, I’ll write it down for you.”

Zhang Xiaohua nodded and turned to leave.

“And also,” Little Orange added, “don’t forget, it’s getting late. We need dinner, too.”

“Hehe,” Zhang Xiaohua chuckled. Of course he knew.

To avoid drawing attention, Zhang Xiaohua hadn’t asked the inn staff to bring food over, but had fetched it himself in a food box. This small town’s inn was simple, and the food was nothing special.

Carrying the food box and writing materials, Zhang Xiaohua went to Little Orange and Miss Nie’s room and gently knocked. Little Orange cheerfully opened the door. Just as Zhang Xiaohua was about to hand over the items and return to his own room, a soft, hoarse voice sounded from inside: “Hero Ren, please come in as well.”

Hearing this, Zhang Xiaohua was greatly startled.