The Witch Nichang– Chapter 29

After

My body was falling, falling endlessly. 

What I could see was my tousled hair whipped by the wind, and a ray of light above my head, getting further and further away. I reached out my hand but couldn’t catch it because that wasn’t my light. 

Is that it? Am I going to die? Am I going to die? Is this the end?

Splat, a clump of mushed flesh.

Quietly, I opened my eyes. It was dark around. Underneath was a comfortable cushion. I was lying nicely on it, just a little short of breath, teeth clenched tight. I touched my forehead. It was covered in sweat. 

Propping up my body, I sat up from the bed and leaned against the stone wall. I mopped my hand across my face and took a few deep breaths, letting the fresh air fill my body, clearing the stuffiness in my chest. Now I felt much better, and my heartbeat began to settle.

That was when I felt eyes on me. I lifted my hand rubbing my eyes and saw Lian’er was sleeping in her usual place, staring at me.

“…What’s wrong with you?” I asked a somewhat silly question, perhaps because I had just woken up and wasn’t thinking straight. 

Surely, this question made her frown and said in displeasure: “I’m the one who wants to ask you ‘what’s wrong with you?’ You were sleeping just fine, and suddenly, you looked like you were dying, mumbling who knows what. And when I was trying to listen carefully, you woke up.”

That’s close. Sighing to myself, I was wide awake. I barely put on a smile and replied: ”Nothing. It’s just a nightmare.”

“A nightmare?” Over there, she asked with curiosity: “You do that too when you have a fever. Is nightmare a scary dream? I saw you’d been sweating as if you were terrified.”

Scary? Maybe. Terrified? Indeed. I couldn’t help raising a wry smile and said: “Well, not really…I hope Lian’er will never know what a nightmare is.” As I said, I reached out my hand without thinking and wanted to stroke her head.

“No!” This act had prompted resistance. She cocked her head to dodge it and snarled: “Don’t rub my head! I’m not a child anymore!”

I took back my hovering hand and stared dazedly at her for a moment before I nodded: “Understood.”

I knew you weren’t a kid anymore. That was why it added a lot of trouble. If I could choose, I really hoped that I didn’t know and cared for you as a child for the rest of my life. It was better for me, and for you.

Too bad things didn’t always go your way.

I tried to get on with my life in the next few days, especially when I was with Lian’er. I would talk like how I would talk, smile like how I would smile. Just that inside, I could no longer be honest. Back when the feeling was still hazy, I could shrug it off without delving into it, even if being affectionate and sometimes being moved. But now that my feeling was clear, I felt as if I was doing something wrong. When I saw a casual expression or action from her, I acted as nothing happened on the outside, but on the inside, I couldn’t help being hung up on it.

I couldn’t control this inner conflict. If I could, I really didn’t like such a self who could no longer be calm and frank. 

The only thing I was glad about was I had considerably good control over this feeling. I had kept it secret from everyone. Although Master had a keen observation, she wouldn’t notice anything strange as she didn’t pay much attention to us when we were together. As for Lian’er, she had an exceptional intuition but didn’t care to read people. Thus she was even less likely to notice anything, not to mention she had something on her mind now.

After that day, she finally waited through three days and couldn’t wait any longer. She dragged me down the mountain in a hurry after finding an excuse to hunt in the morning. Of course, I couldn’t refuse her. Besides, it was impossible to let her go alone, so I could only go down the mountain with her.

This trip down the mountain was nothing like the last one. Our trip went without a hitch. Everything went surprisingly well. When we stepped into the ceramics store, the old man had been waiting for us. All three items were done. Lian’er played with them over and over again in her hands. The corners of her eyes and brows were brimming with uncontainable delight. I watched from the side and found my eyes drawn to her again, so I whisked my eyes away. I cupped my fists at the old master in gratitude and gave him many gifts that I prepared beforehand as thanks. The old man was a forthright one. He accepted them with good grace and called his apprentice to fetch a small jar from the back, saying how could we celebrate a birthday without wine? It was the good stuff he had buried in his backyard for decades. He had wanted to celebrate with it after firing a batch of the most satisfactory wares in the future. Now that he shared a jar with us, our friendship was made. 

I didn’t want to accept this thing at first. For one thing, it was too precious, and for the other, what were we going to do with this murky yellow liquid? But I couldn’t resist the fervor of the old man. Besides, Lian’er next to me had never seen wine. Now that she heard him speak about it as if it was something marvelous, I figured she was curious and tempted as she hinted to me with her eyes. I was used to letting her have her way, plus I had something to hide these days, so after being looked at for a few times, I could only thank him and accept it. 

When we left, it occurred to me there couldn’t be wine without food, so I took Lian’er to a restaurant to get some side dishes, wrapped them nicely in lotus leaf and oil paper, and hurried back to the mountain before dusk with packages of food.

When we appeared in front of Master in such a manner, it was hard for her not to understand what was going on, and she realized, for the past few days, we were secretly up to something behind her back. That said, it was a token of her disciples’ affection, so she couldn’t blame us. Instead, she couldn’t contain a gratified smile when Lian’er took her outside the cave and sat her down before a stone block, kneeling on the ground with reverence and presenting her handmade gift to her. 

Because of this smile, I put aside the mixed feelings that had been bothering me for the past few days and immersed myself in pure joy.

Although this was said to be a birthday celebration, there was no other plan after the gift-giving session. Thinking since it was about time, I served the dishes, portioned them out, and popped open the mudcap of the wine jar. The three of us just sat at the stone table outside the cave and enjoyed today’s dinner with the breeze and the setting sun.

When I poured the wine for Master, I was still a little worried, but maybe because she was happy, she said nothing about what we had done. Once I was done pouring, she picked it up, had a sniff, and took a sip. “Good stuff!” She praised with her brows raised. After that, one shot after another, she began to drink to her heart’s content like a real jianghu hero, not a sign of a lightweight a woman usually was.

I sat on a side, boggling at the sight of it. Fearing that it wasn’t good for the body to be drinking too much on an empty stomach, I kept putting food on her plate and told her to eat more. But when I looked away amid the haste, I saw Lian’er was holding the wine jar across me, blatantly pouring herself a full cup of wine. I panicked and called out to stop her, but Master squinted and waved her hand, saying: “It’s okay. It won’t hurt to let her try.”

Once she got her word, Lian’er brightened up, looking at me as if she had won. I was speechless. I couldn’t be teaching her about the rule that minors aren’t allowed to drink, so I could only watch her picking up her cup in triumph.

Lian’er never had alcohol before, after all. Although she was acting all smug, she was wary of it without knowing when the cup came close to her lips. She first imitated Master’s movement and took a sniff, looking a little bemused, but refused to give in. She held back her hesitation and took a gulp. Then she laid the cup and frowned. 

This series of actions had given away her thoughts. “See. I told you you can’t drink,” I said in delight and reached out my hand as I said, wanting to take the cup away. It was fine if I didn’t say that. Once I said that, she held the cup of wine with both hands like she was guarding her food and looked at me, taking a few sips as if to protest. Then she lifted the chopstick and started eating with a blank expression.

There was nothing I could do about her stubbornness, so I could only take away the wine jar in front of her while pouring wine for Master, hoping she would stop after that one cup.

Lian’er wasn’t much of a drinker at all. After a few sips, her face started to flush. Because of her fair skin, the flush seemed especially conspicuous, growing redder as the heat crept up. When a cup of wine was barely downed, her face had become like ripe red fruit. Her typically sharp eyes had become hazy. As she was chewing after taking two more bites of the dishes, she dropped her head at the table.

I witnessed the episode from the beginning to the end. When I saw her lower her head, I quickly leaned forward and held her. Perhaps because she sensed someone getting close, she looked up in bewilderment. When she saw it was me, she swayed her head and shone a beaming smile, mumbling something. Then she leaned on my shoulder and fell sound asleep just like that. 

With that, I felt so disconcerted. Not a part of my body felt right, but I couldn’t just pull away and let her fall, so I looked at Master for help, hoping she would step in. 

However, upon looking, I found that Master’s mind wasn’t here at all.

All my mind was on Lian’er just now, so I didn’t notice, at some point, the smile had melted away from Master’s face. Although she was still drinking one cup after another, looking calm, her mind had obviously drifted away. Even the cups of wine reflecting the golden setting sun weren’t in her eyes, her eyes unfocused as if she was absorbed in her thoughts.

“…Master?” As I called her with worry, she looked over here as if she just woke up, took a look around, and said with a smile: “Is Lian’er drunk? It’s good she behaves like this after getting drunk. It’s getting dark, and the wind’s strong outside. You’d better take her to rest inside…”

When I saw her slowly stand up as she spoke, dusted the hem of her robe, and took a stride, as if to go somewhere, I asked in a hurry: “Master, what’re you…?” She halted without turning around, just staring into the distance, and said with nonchalance: “It’s been a long time since I drink like this. I’m feeling a bit tipsy. While the sun’s still up, I want to take a walk to clear my head. Don’t worry. You just have to take care of your sister.”

After saying that, she let out a long sigh and left with a sway.

I looked at the direction she had gone. After a long time, I looked away without a word. Everyone says that wine eases sorrow, but who knows it will hurt more later. After exploring the stone chamber, I knew what was troubling Master. But what good is it to know? 

The word, love; Impossible to sunder, chaotic to disentangle, only oneself knows its joys and sorrows, others could never intervene. 

I looked at the person sleeping tight in my arms. What shall I do with my love? 

As the sun set, the wind outside indeed kicked up. Our hair was riffled in the wind. A strand of hair brushed her nose, and her face crinkled together, letting out a tiny sneeze.

I knew she wasn’t catching a cold, but I still wrapped my arms around her and went inside. Luckily, Lian’er was young and not that heavy, plus my persistent practice over the years, so I was still capable of carrying her back into the inner cave without breaking a sweat and laid her down on the padded stone bed she usually slept in. 

Lian’er was usually highly vigilant. A little noise would wake her up. But now when she was drunk, she gave no response even after being tossed around, just reflexively emitting hums in comfort when her body touched the soft bed. She rolled over. Seemingly unsatisfied, she rolled back over and grabbed my arm, nuzzling against it like hugging a pillow, and snuggled down. 

Being grabbed like this, I couldn’t pull off her hand, and I also didn’t want to. I sat beside the bed and looked at her, entranced. 

I seldom looked at her this closely. At first, because of her being haughty towards me, she didn’t allow me to look at her. By the time we got along, I had used to not look straight at her. 

She was sleeping so comfortably now, her nose quivering with her breaths. The light cast a faint shadow under her pretty lashes. Her face was flushed red from drinking, even her ears were red, yet they looked moisturized and plump. The white hue in the red gave it a natural glow.

I totally forgot about everything, only drawn to the sight in front of me. I wanted to get closer, a little closer. I closed my eyes, the tip of my nose and my lips could feel the delicacy and softness, stinging temperature yet so pleasant that it paralyzed me. There was a subtle scent of wine as she breathed, but it was more like the scent of woods, like the fresh leaves, the flowing water, the flower that bloomed for the first time, imbued with a unique innocence of a child, which formed a unique scent belonged to Lian’er. 

Taking in such a scent and being close to such warmth, I felt tiddly even though I didn’t touch a drop.

It wasn’t until she felt disturbed in her sleep, raised her hand, and scratched the part of the skin that was touched, like scratching an itch, that I realized how close I was to her. I leaped to my feet in a panic, the arm being held broke loose with the jerk, and I backed away to a side in a few steps. 

That was when my heart started racing, and compunction set in. 

The thing I hated the most was losing control, yet I had lost control of myself twice in just a few days. My mind went blank, and I did silly stuff, especially what happened just now. I actually…actually lost my head and let myself lean over and kissed her cheek! 

Not daring to look at the sleeping person on the bed, I turned around and ran straight to the water reservoir outside the cave, scooped a ladle of water, and poured it over my face to cool my head off. But it wasn’t enough, so I scooped a few more times with my hands. After a few more splashes, I finally calmed down.

My chin and hair were dripping water, and the water in the tank was rocking. Amid the rocking water vaguely mirrored a blurry face.

I stared blankly at that face. After a moment, I began to sneer.

“Wu Ying…” Between my teeth, I spat out a name, a name that should have been dead, a name that I never wanted to hear again.

“Wu Ying, do you want to die again?”

Slopaw’s note:
I still owe you guys a chapter for reaching my Kofi goal. Will update 2 chapters in the next release.

The Witch Nichang– Chapter 28

Who is she

The clear water was chilly to touch. Thankfully, it was summer now, so it wasn’t unbearable.

Cleaning Lian’er’s blood-stained clothes was much easier than I imagined because the bloodstain was still fresh. I dipped that part in the water, scrubbed it a few times, and the stain soon faded away a lot. After repeating this several times, I shook it out and looked at it against the moonlight. Once I made sure the stain was barely visible, I went to the edge of the woods, snapped off a branch, strung the clothes across it, and hung it between two scrubs to let it dry.

After doing all these, I rubbed my coldish hand and went back to the pool, looking up towards the water.

When I was doing the cleaning, I only focused on the task at hand. It didn’t take too long, so I thought the kid must still be playing in the water and wanted to call her up. When I looked over to that side, I found that she wasn’t playing but was in the water near the cliff instead with her back to this side, submerged in the water from the shoulders down, maintaining an odd, motionless posture.

I said it was odd because the water wasn’t exactly shallow. If a person wants to stay afloat, the person will have to keep treading water. It felt incongruous to be motionless like this. I had no time to care about other things. In the moonlight, I strained my eyes to look at the water before I could make out there was a rock underneath Lian’er, and she hid in the water sitting cross-legged, as if being in the middle of qi circulation. 

Only when I saw this that I understood what she was thinking. That palm of mine must have left a mark on her shoulder. That was why she found an excuse to get into the water. For one was to evade the check-up, and for the other, to circulate her qi to promote blood circulation while I was cleaning her stuff. I guessed she wanted to take the chance to clear out the bruise on her shoulder. That way, it didn’t matter if I insisted on checking later. 

Too bad she rarely did housework. She had no idea that the clothes didn’t need to be washed entirely, but just the area with the bloodstain had to be scrubbed, which took just a little time, not nearly enough for her to circulate qi to treat the bruise.

Before, she tried to trick me, and now, she tried to avoid me. She was getting better at using her wits on me. I didn’t know if it was because she was too proud to admit it or didn’t want me to feel guilty after seeing it that she was so reluctant to show me her injury. When I thought of this, I couldn’t help but smile and shake my head with resignation. With her temper, I think it was more reliable to guess the former. 

But anyhow, qi circulation and playing in the water were two completely different things. Now instead of calling her, I was worried something unexpected might disturb her, which would put her at risk of qigong deviation if she wasn’t careful.

And on the other hand…

Looking at the woods, rustled by the wind, I couldn’t help but frown. Out in such a wilderness and so uncovered, even though she was submerged in the water from the shoulders down, it was too… 

This place was deep in the mountain, and it was nighttime, and not even supposed to have a single ghost, but somehow, I felt uncanny. My mind began to recall all kinds of storylines about coincidence in various stories for no reason. I always had the feeling someone would see Lian’er the next moment.

As I was imagining these kinds of scenarios in my head, I laughed at myself for being infected by too many cheesy dramas, but at the same time, it unsettled me. It became intolerable at last, so I turned around and hurried to the woods.

This secluded pool was surrounded by cliffs on three sides. Even if you looked down from above, you couldn’t see anything, not to mention they were steep and craggy. The only way left to the pool was through these woods. I entered the woods but didn’t go deeper, just snatched a few branches and leaves, and deftly set up a few mechanisms on the path where people could pass through and the scrubs were sparse. This kind of mechanism is simple and harmless. It drops when touched and lets out some noises when it hits the ground. Although the noise wasn’t too loud, in such a quiet place and at such a close range, I think it should be enough. 

After setting up the defense line in a jiffy, I heaved a sigh of relief and fell silent for a moment before chuckling. I didn’t know what I was doing and actually got myself on the run by an imagination. 

But anyway, I felt safe now. I was mocking myself as I walked jauntily back to the pool, squatted down to wash my hands soiled by the branches and dirt, and at the same time, reflexively glanced at the pool.  

It was nothing if I didn’t look. Once I looked, it shocked me to my feet!

I was shocked not because I saw something terrifying. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I saw nothing. Over there, there was nothing in the crystal clear water! Lian’er who was quietly sitting in the water a little while ago with her shoulders above the water meditating and circulating qi was gone! 

This was an urgent matter. I went to the woods just now, but I was just skirting around it. It was just a few feet away from here. If there were any noises, I wouldn’t have not noticed it. But wouldn’t it be more worrying if she disappeared without a sound? Her clothes were still hanging on the branch, so she couldn’t be running away alone and naked, could she?

I daren’t take any reckless move, even more so when I am worried. My mind ran through every possibility, eyes kept searching the water. The best guess now was Lian’er was still in the water. But why would she go underwater? Did she finish with her meditation and dive into the water to play, or did she run into something? The worst of all thoughts was she somehow slipped into the water while she was still in the middle of the qi circulation. If so, I’m afraid… 

I got more and more anxious when I thought of it. Then I decided to count to ten. If she didn’t show up by then, I would jump into the water to look for her myself. But I just counted to five, and I couldn’t wait anymore. I lifted the hem of my shirt and was about to jump into the water.

But after taking two quick steps and the coolness was up over my ankles, the sound of someone getting out of the water suddenly came to my ears!

I looked up and stared. In the moonlight, a figure broke through the water, whipping off splashes of water, and then the figure whirled a round in the air, and landed, standing firmly on that rock in the pool, looking tall and upright. The translucent water droplets reflecting the moonlight trickled down the body, dripping off like little pieces of jade. But she paid no heed to it, just brushed the wet wisp of hair off her forehead, and inspected the small bright yellow freshwater snail in her hand, eyes sparkling with joy.  

She took no notice of me, but I was looking at her. Not that I hadn’t seen Lian’er like this before, it was just that I hadn’t really looked at her. So now, staring at the white jade-like figure in the water, I was actually entranced for a second. 

Who is she?

It was quiet around, the wind rattling the tree leaves, and the rhythm was like nature’s music sheet, crooning, giving rise to the sense of weightlessness like dreams. I was there, forgotten about the damp coldness on my feet and the worries I had a second ago, just looking at the blue water. The secluded pool was like a mirror, reflecting the shadow of the cliffs and a fair lady. She stood in the water. The moonlight gently shrouded her with a layer of tulle, wavering and faint, like a shimmer radiated from the smooth and flawless skin. 

Who is she? She is my Lian’er, but she isn’t my Lian’er either. In this moment, she is more like a complete stranger. She is a girl, a lady, but the one thing she isn’t is a child. She is no longer the child she once was. 

My mind was blank. Lost, I stood there for a long time, or at least I thought it was a long time. It wasn’t until the person in the water noticed my gaze and looked over, flourishing the bright yellow in her hand at me, and grinned that I gulped, snapped back to myself, stepped away from the water, and back to the dry ground, but then I slipped. If I hadn’t held on to a rock in time, I would have almost fallen.

With this slip and hold, my brain completely went back to normal. I felt my heart palpitating, the arteries in my neck throbbing, and a light film of sweat on my palms, as if waking up from a dripping dream. 

What is wrong with me? 

I was shocked and doubtful. 

This feeling isn’t…it’s impossible…

I was rubbing my temples. Before I could sort out all kinds of jumbled thoughts in my head, a cascade of faint tumbling sound abruptly came from the woods over that side.

Almost at the same time, I sprang and rushed towards the woods without even thinking!

Who’s it? Who triggers those mechanisms? Who’s coming this way? Absolutely no. Lian’er is standing in the water now, standing in the water just like that. Absolutely no. I can never let other people see her. She’s…she’s…

The answer was on the tip of my tongue. I deliberately suppressed it, single-mindedly going forward, and rushed to that place in the woods almost instantly. As expected, a mechanism I set earlier had fallen down, branches and gravel scattered on one side, but the surrounding remained quiet. I couldn’t see anything strange, and the other mechanisms were also intact. 

Panting, I pursed my lips, perked up my ears and looked around, not letting go of a single trail, but there was really no one around. However, the branches and gravel at my feet moved at this moment, and as I watched, a tiny hedgehog struggled out of it and waddled into the grass on the side.

Without moving, I watched this little guy disappear from my sight. I just stood still in silence. After a long time, I suddenly felt like all the strength had been sucked out of me. Unable to help myself, I crumpled to my knees, covering my mouth.

When did this start?

And how?

I don’t know. I really don’t know. It was just that the accumulated quantitative changes eventually turned into qualitative changes. As is now, here and now, I could no longer ignore it, no longer hide it, no longer able to find any other excuses. This feeling, for the first time, surfaced so vividly, so strongly that it alarmed me.

Even for that moment just now, only one thought was in my mind, that was, I could never let other people see that Lian’er. She’s…she’s…

She is, mine.

The Witch Nichang– Chapter 27

Mark

Lian’er only believed I was fine after I wiped the blood off my hand and showed it to her.

But when it was my turn to ask her if she was okay, she always slurred it over impatiently, acting as if nothing had happened with a little…awkwardness in her movement.

Perhaps it was to hide this awkwardness, Lian’er let go of me, turned around, and went back to where she had fought. I followed behind her, and when I took a look at that place, I couldn’t help but be dumbfounded. I had just turned around for a moment, and that place was already a mess.

Although I knew from the cries and screams earlier that Lian’er didn’t go easy on them, I didn’t expect it to be so vicious. No wonder the machete before was covered with blood. She actually…

The wind brought a strong smell of blood to my nose, which made me feel a little nauseous. I closed my eyes, rubbed my brows as I covered my mouth and nose, and said in frustration: “Lian’er, aren’t you being too…harsh?”

“You’re the one who said one hand each. I haven’t even had time to finish it.” She replied apathetically, pulling me to the windward side, and went straight to those guys. While Lian’er’s attention was distracted, those who were less injured and had yet to be “finished” had fled for their lives in panic. Other than those with a broken arm who were rolling on the ground moaning, only one was still left with his limbs intact among those who were down on the ground in front of us.

“You’re good at throwing knives, eh—” Lian’er was standing in front of him. Her voice was soft, but with what happened just now, only fools couldn’t hear the anger in her voice. “But, why didn’t you come at me? Rather at the person who had nothing to do with this!”

“Fuck! You two are in it together, anyway. I hate myself for missing it!” The leader’s limbs were intact, but he had wounds everywhere. Though they were shallow, the bloody wounds made his expression particularly hideous.

“I admit defeat today, so just cut the crap and kill me if you want to. I’m not a fucking hero if I frown the slightest bit!”

After hearing him say that, followed by a snicker from Lian’er, I knew that things were going to get worse, so I ignored the smell of blood in the air, got to her in a few steps, grabbed her, who was about to make a move, and said softly: “Wait.”

Lian’er gave me a glare and barked: “Are you being soft again? He was trying to hurt you just now!”

“I’m not.” I shook my head and said: “Just have a few things to say, so let me finish it first, okay?” I tugged at her sleeve as I was saying, but she was standing still, not moving and just staring at me. It wasn’t until I gave her a pleading look that she pursed her lips and took a step back to my side with reluctance.

When the man saw me take Lian’er’s place standing in front of him, there was a subtle change in his expression. He still looked spiteful, but he was somewhat reluctant to meet my eyes and didn’t look as hideous as he was before. It seemed like the sneak attack earlier still impacted him.

Under my observation, I grew more certain of it. I looked at him and spoke coolly: “You, pride yourself as a hero?”

He snorted and turned his head to the side. I didn’t mind and kept on: “If you pride yourself as a hero. Then may I ask how do you feel about the person you call brother who bullied and tried to take advantage of a lone lady on the street today?”

He kept quiet and gritted his teeth after a while, saying: “I’d punish my brother for what he did wrong. There’s no need for you to do it for me!”

“Easy for you to say. You know how important a woman’s reputation is? If we didn’t happen to know self-defense, I’m afraid everything would have been too late, and what use would your punishment do by that time?” With that said, even I couldn’t help but sneer, and my face inadvertently showed a trace of contempt: “For heroes, chivalry and justice come first, and chivalry comes before justice. People like you who don’t care about right and wrong and only talk about brotherhood and loyalty are nothing but uncultivated bandits people spit on. Not to say that you aren’t skilled in martial arts, even if you’re at the pinnacle, you’re at best just bandits and bullies who rob and kill people and do harm to the neighborhood. You pride yourself as a hero? What a joke.”

Being rebuffed by me, the person’s expression changed a few times, a pair of fists propping up his body, scrunching the dirt ground, but he just clenched his teeth and didn’t talk back.

“Besides…” Seeing him so, I toned down my voice slightly and said: “Besides, is there really brotherhood between you and whom you call brothers? Look in front of you, when faced with strong enemies, everyone flees for their lives in the face of danger, except for those who are severely wounded and unable to get away, is there anyone willing to stay and face life and death together with you?”

As I waved my hand, he lifted his head as expected and glanced around. Looking at the few people with broken arms who were still struggling to back away bit by bit and the weapons that scattered all over the ground, he was finally disheartened. With a sigh, his head drooped, and he said dejectedly: “What’s done is done. There’s no use in talking much. If you have a heart, give me a quick one…”

“Okay, as you wish!” Lian’er was on the side. After hearing this, she replied right away, raised her palm, and was about to swing down.

I quickly held her hand and shook my head sternly at her. Then I turned back around, thought about it for a second, took out a few ingots worth of silver nuggets, squatted down, and handed them to him, saying: “This is all I have right now. Take your injured friends and go to the doctor before it’s too late.”

“…Why?” After a moment of silence, two voices asked almost simultaneously. The man’s face was full of astonishment. I couldn’t see Lian’er’s. I guess, on her face, there was anger more than anything else.

“There’s no ‘why.’ I was once given a chance to change, so I’m willing to give others a chance too.” I smiled, stood up, and walked to Lian’er, turning around to look at him one last time: “If you’re willing to change, we won’t see each other again; If you’re not, I’m afraid we won’t see each other again either. In these troubled times, being a bandit may not be much better than being a common man. You may enjoy a moment of pleasure, but the price is that you won’t get to live in peace ever again. Even after you die, your corpse will be thrown in the open, eaten by birds and animals, and die a graveless death.”

After saying that, I withdrew my gaze and nudged Lian’er with a smile, meaning, let’s go? For which Lian’er looked at me with indignation, pouting in anger. At first, she wouldn’t budge even after nudging her a few times, but suddenly, she stomped and swished further ahead on her own.

Leaving the mess behind, I quickly lightened my body with qi and went along with her.

The sound of the wind was all I heard. Lian’er was in a rage, so she was walking fast. For all the way, I could only see a light-colored shadowy figure swaying ahead. Fortunately, she hadn’t gone full speed, so I managed to keep up, but it was impossible to catch up.

I thought we would stay like this until we got back to Yellow Dragon cave, but after covering some miles and going further into the mountain, the person ahead gradually slowed down.

Delighted, I immediately took the chance and sped up. Finally, I came to her side and turned into walking side by side with her.

Although her pace had slowed down a lot, Lian’er was still unhappy and ignored me even after I talked a lot to her. Just when I was racking my brain to think about what to do, I heard a whisper suddenly coming from next to me: “Acting nice and setting a tiger free. Beware of being bitten back later.”

That was undoubtedly Lian’er’s voice, but when I looked over, she had a straight face, and her lips shut tight as if the words I just heard had nothing to do with her. This awkward look of hers was amusing, but I mustn’t laugh now, so I could only stifle it, and my lips curled slightly.

“Does it matter? Even if he tries to turn on us later, as long as Lian’er is around, what’s there for me to be afraid of, right?” That said, seeing the expression of the person beside me brighten up a lot, I couldn’t help but add: “Besides, it’s not that I haven’t been bitten before. The mark’s still there even now. It’s nothing, isn’t it?”

Beside me, her expression had just brightened up, but with my remark, it instantly changed again after she pondered dully for a while. Only this time, it was blushing more than anything else.

“That’s not the same!” A rare sight, Lian’er actually got a little sheepish. She stopped and looked at me, trying to look angry, but her face was slightly flushed: “I was small at that time and knew no martial arts, plus I saw you as an enemy…” She paused for a second and saw I was looking at her with a smile. She couldn’t carry on and yelled the last sentence as a conclusion: “In short, you’re not allowed to bring it up again.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll never bring it up again.” Bringing up this past affair was meant to liven up the atmosphere, so I just left it at that. While promising her absent-mindedly, my hand, however, was reaching to her right shoulder where the handprint was and flipped the collar, doing what I had intended to do earlier: “How’s your shoulder? Let me see.”

When I flipped it, she seemed to be frightened and hopped back a step while tugging at her collar and said with a defensive look in her eyes: “What’re you doing? I’m fine. What’re you looking at?”

If it were someone else, I might see this defensiveness as shyness, but I knew this child’s temper very well. Someone who casually sunbathed in front of me a few days ago would never react like that out of shyness. Seeing her rub her shoulder twice without realizing while we were on our way here, I knew that that hit had affected her, but if I insisted on checking it, I figured it would be difficult with Lian’er’s temper.

So, I could only resort to a devious way.

“But Lian’er, I’m afraid it’s not a good idea to go back like this, what d’you think?” Once I had made up my mind, I pointed to her clothes and said: “If you go back like this, Master will surely notice it. Then I can’t help you hide it even if I want to.”

When she was slashing people just now, she didn’t let the blood splatter onto her body out of instinct. It was indeed spotless anywhere else, but unfortunately, it was all for nothing after being hit by my blood-stained hand. The bloody red handprint on the right shoulder of the light-colored shirt was conspicuous. It was evident even in the night sky.

She probably hadn’t thought of this before. It wasn’t until she was reminded that she frowned. Perhaps because my intention to check out her shoulder was too obvious, she didn’t respond right away even though what I said was well-grounded. Instead, she pensively tilted her head. As if a thought suddenly came to her, she smiled and said: “Alright, then we’ll go clean up first before we go back.”

Right after that was said, she grabbed my hand without thinking, lightened her body with qi, and headed in the opposite direction.

My initial intention was just to find an excuse to check on her injuries while helping her with the collar. But now, things had taken an unexpected turn, and I had no choice but to follow.

Lian’er held my hand and took a few turns in a hurry on the way. The more turns she took, the denser the woods were. By the last turn, it suddenly opened up. Surrounded by lush green trees, a clear secluded pool silently appeared before my eyes.

I looked at the deep blue water and the sparkling moonlight on its surface. My breath was taken away for a moment, and when I looked at the valley behind the clear pool, there was a white line on the steep cliff, meandering down along the cliff wall, quietly flowing into the pool. You could imagine, if it was the rainy season or after a heavy rain, the white line would turn into an impressive waterfall.

Mount Hua was indeed full of winding paths leading to enchanting places. I had never been to such a place myself. While I was admiring the view, the sound of clothes rustling came from the back. I turned around subconsciously. Before I could see anything, I felt a flash before my eyes, and something was coming head-on as the sound of someone plunging into the water entered my ears.

“Lian’er?” After catching the things flying into my face and taking a look, it was nothing other than her clothes. She took them all off, and now they all ended up in my hands. Then I looked at the person in the blue water. What else was that if not a naked body?

“Lian’er!” I was embarrassed and mad, and before I could go on at her, she talked back as she swam around and said complacently: “It’s you who stained my clothes, so you should get rid of the stain for me. As for me, I’ll take this time to wash myself and get rid of the blood smell on me, in case Master notices it, perfect, isn’t it?” With that said, she giggled and no longer listened to me, just swimming further into the pool.

It was too late to lecture her. I was choked with anger and could neither let it out nor swallow it. I was holding her clothes, looking at the faint dash of white in the water. Somehow, I reached out my hand and covered my face, my mouth muttering words that even I myself didn’t understand.

“Not…not again…”

The Witch Nichang– Chapter 26

Trick

I think I was supposed to be irritated.

This anger came from both the astonishment at what Lian’er had just said and the changes that happened before my eyes after that.

It wasn’t until I saw the changes that I realized.

It was getting darker, and for some reason, it was getting dark fast tonight. After Lian’er shouted, “come on out,” it got silent at one point. The wind blew past, and a few fuzzy leaves fluttered in the air. That was when I knew something was wrong.

This silence lasted for a while, and Lian’er waited patiently, like an assured hunter confronting her prey, eyes fixed on one point.

Perhaps her gaze was too assertive. It wasn’t long before the bushes in that direction began to rustle unnaturally, and then, one after another, figures started to jump out of the dark woods.

The figures were tall and sturdy, having the physique of a brawny man. There were about eight or nine of them. When they were approaching this way, their steps were steady, with a posture of strength and power. Only when they got closer did I see their faces. They were dressed in coarse shirts, of stalwart build, and dark-skinned. If it weren’t for the savagery and ferocity in their eyes, they looked no more different from the average farmers down the mountain.

But now, the one thing that really distinguished them from the average farmers was the gleaming machete they were holding in their hand.

Common folks would own cleavers and hatchets, but not house tools that were used as weapons, let alone everyone was holding one in their hand.

I glanced at the person beside me, but Lian’er paid no attention to my gaze at all at this moment, just looking at the other side with great interest, her eyes showing a hint of uncontainable eagerness. These people started tailing us at some point. I didn’t notice it, but she must have noticed it for some time. Yet, she had to wait until I gave my word before telling me, so she must have had the intention to confront them.

Realizing it, I couldn’t help but sulk over it. She might not intend to be calculating, but in truth, she had tricked me. It was nothing malicious, but I minded it.

But with the current situation, even if it was a great displeasure, I could only put it aside for now.

“Fellow folks—” Clearing my throat, I took a step forward, getting from being behind Lian’er to standing side by side with her, and said, loud and clear: “I wonder what do you want, maliciously tailing my sister at this time of the day?”

Obviously, they came with ill intentions, but it was better to make what I had to say clear if I could.

Too bad. Even though I had this intention, the other party might not appreciate it. Hearing what I said, a sturdy man with a full beard spat sputum and complained to the person beside him with curses: “Look! Big brother, I told you we should’ve made our move when we saw them at the outskirts just now! God damn it! Third brother insisted on finding out their background. But after working so hard following them all the way, we still got spotted anyway.”

I slightly knitted my brows at his words, not because of the vulgarity of the words, but from his words, I recognized that they had found us and been tailing us soon after we left the market. And supposedly, we should have been on our way back with our qinggong. Then we would have lost them already.

At that time, it was Lian’er who stopped me, wanting to have a walk. Now it looked like she was doing it on purpose from the beginning.

It added fuel to the pent-up fury in me. Taking a few deep breaths, I told myself it wasn’t the time to argue over this with this girl, but some vicious thoughts still grew out of this fury, and somehow, I even started to hope that the other party would hurry up and attack so I could be done with this in no time.

However, there was one with a better brain among them, so they were much more cautious than I thought. At least, after the bearded man spat and cursed, he was stopped by one of them, who looked like the leader. After stopping him, this man cupped his fist at us from a distance and said with a loud voice: “I’m sorry. May I ask which Way do you two ladies follow?”

Before I could think about how to answer, his words entered Lian’er’s ears. Then she blinked and asked in a heartbeat: “What which way? Isn’t there only one way under our feet?”

The reason she asked that was, of course, because she didn’t actually get it. These seemingly common Jianghu terms were entirely foreign to her. But at this time and place, when she said that, it made her seem somewhat mysterious and unfathomable. The person on the other side apparently hadn’t expected that. He hesitated for a while when he heard that. Then he cupped his fist again, speaking more directly than before: “Ladies, are you fellow outlaws?”

Lian’er was smart, although she wasn’t familiar with the ways of the world. Seeing him repeat his question like this, she understood there was an undermeaning in his words, so she stopped talking and turned to me, asking with a whisper: “Hey, what’s an outlaw?”

Although I was seething inside, I couldn’t bring myself to ignore her, so I still answered her. But since I was angry, my tone was inadvertently harder than usual: “Outlaws, are actually people who do robberies. The good ones are called robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. The bad ones are called nuisances to the people. The big ones are called the tyrant of a region. The small ones are called bullying the weak and fearing the strong.”

“Oh?” Listening to what I said, Lian’er raised her brows with interest and went on: “So this group of people in front of us are outlaws? Are they the good ones or the bad ones? The big ones or the small ones?”

I dropped my gaze and said calmly: “What d’you say?”

Lian’er nodded: “They don’t look like the good ones, so they should be the latter for both.”

We were obviously not taking them seriously with the way we were talking and chiming in with each other. Naturally, this attitude would infuriate them. They rose to a clamor on the other side. The bearded man was in particular furious, spewing out curses. The one who seemed to be the leader finally couldn’t take it anymore and showed his imperious face, yelling: “Ho there! You two ladies injured my brother’s arm in the marketplace today. I haven’t gotten back at you for that, and now you’re ruffling my feathers instead! It looks like they’re nobody. Brothers, there’s nothing to fear. Finish them!” After that, they came charging over, brandishing their machete.

Looking at the group of people savagely storming at us, I snorted, thinking to myself, as I expected. Other than the dispute with the thug, I couldn’t think of a reason that would draw these guys over. And their initial pretense was just the fear of offending forces they couldn’t afford to mess with.

Unfortunately, some might have no forces behind them, but they weren’t to mess with nonetheless.

At this moment, seeing this group of people charging over, wielding their weapons, the eyes of the kid beside me had already lit up. She giggled and patted on my shoulder, saying: “I’ll do it. You just stay here. Don’t steal my fun!” Before she finished her sentence, the pressure on my shoulder was lifted, and the girl had already leaped up. Like a streak of shadow across the dark sky, she descended in the group.

While Lian’er was daring and pugnacious, I had always not bothered to meddle too much. I certainly wouldn’t want to take it from her, so I just stood by and watched with my hands behind my back. After making sure that these guys only knew some basic martial arts and were far from being a threat to Lian’er, I shouted: “Don’t take it too far and don’t take their lives. Like what you did in the daytime, one hand each is enough.”

On the other end, she was weaving in the group, fighting with gusto. When she heard me, she didn’t seem too happy about it and bawled: “You’re just being soft and like to mind my business!” But she didn’t deny what I said, except her moves became trickier, and she snatched a machete from one of them, swinging it around playfully. The wounds she dealt were shallow, but every slash was inescapable no matter how hard they tried.

I had no sympathy for those guys, but I didn’t like the sight of it either. Anyway, Lian’er had the situation in control, so I simply turned around, went further away to a tree, got it out of my sight, and waited for her to call me when done.

Only that I could still hear a barrage of screams coming into my ears.

I pretended not to hear it, looking into the distance and spacing out. I was still seething inside. It was a fight that could have been completely avoided, yet she had to get herself into trouble on purpose, even going as far as using her wits to trick me. She loved to play hero, liked to fight, and was also mercilessly vicious. It still wasn’t a problem now that she stayed in the mountain with Master and me. But if she were to step into the outside world, there was no guarantee that she wouldn’t make enemies everywhere. The human mind is complicated, and she doesn’t understand it. I hadn’t stopped teaching her about it over the years, even Master would occasionally advise her, but they were mere words, after all. Without experiencing it or seeing it, she still wouldn’t have a real concept of it.

I fear that…by the time she sees and experiences it…, it’s too late.

While I was caught up in my thoughts, an exclaim suddenly entered my ears.

“You! Get out of the way!”

That was Lian’er’s voice but sounded nothing like her either because I had never heard her voice with such panic. However, it was such a voice that woke me up. Feeling the wind behind my head, I didn’t turn my head but leaned and intuitively took a step to the side, subconsciously sending out my left palm.

The moment my hand touched it, it felt hard and cold, and then I heard a clang. A blood-stained machete was slapped aside, hitting the tree and bouncing off to the ground, reflecting off flickering lights.

If I had been half a step slower, the machete wouldn’t be on the ground but in my back instead.

Looking at the machete, then at my left hand that was stained with blood because of the slap, it was a little hard to pull myself together for a moment. While my heart was still palpitating with fear, another gust of wind came from behind, along with the sound of clothes fluttering. Having no time to think it through, I wheeled around by instinct and threw another palm.

Once the palm was thrown, I regretted it. The fluttering robe my eyes skimmed over was none other than Lian’er! The strike was a fight-or-flight response of mine, so I didn’t hold back on my strength. I wouldn’t say I had used all my power, but at least seven or eighty percent of it. Although I immediately retracted my palm when I saw who it was, how could I take it back completely in a split second? The palm wind with the residual force that had yet to retract hit solidly on her bladebone!

“Lian’er!” The shock was even greater than before. As I had blood on my hand, the strike had left a bloody handprint on her shoulder, which looked especially appalling.

But as if she was unaware of it, her body just slightly tilted when she took the blow without thinking. She still kept her speed and leaped in front of me. Once landed, she reached out her hand and wrapped it around me, turning half a round along with the momentum. After taking a scan of me, her face changed abruptly, and she asked worriedly: “How are you? Why is there blood on your hand? Are you hurt somewhere? Huh?”

Our eyes met. Looking at the genuine concern in those eyes, I knew all the anger in me had been wiped clean.

Slopaw’s note:
Sorry for being away for so long. My old laptop broke down about a month ago, and my laptop order got delayed as well due to the stock shortage, so I couldn’t work much on the translation in the meantime. Now I’m back with a new chapter! I’ll post the extra chapter for reaching my Kofi’s goal tomorrow.

The Witch Nichang– Chapter 25

Right and wrong

By her nature, Lian’er had always been merciless and ferocious. I had always been well aware of it, although this nature of hers wasn’t so obvious over the years when it was just the three of us. Perhaps it was because her belligerence and hostility in our first year or two of living together left too deep of an impression.

So no matter how cold-blooded and ruthless she was now, I wouldn’t be surprised at all.

If there were things I hadn’t expected, it was the odd smile she had before she moved and the fact that she hadn’t had enough of it and didn’t intend to let him go after dislocating his hand.

I thought, with her temper, she wouldn’t even care to look at him after subduing him in one move. However, Lian’er was more like a feline now than a little wolf, intending to torment her prey at her feet.

Frankly, I wasn’t against this thought of hers. This thug obviously had no fear. If it were any other ordinary girl who bumped into him today, God knows what would have happened. This world was always harsh on women. If a woman was to be tainted by misfortune, people would unlikely sympathize with her but discarded her like an old shoe after that.

From this point of view, I wouldn’t want to stop Lian’er, even if she were to be more ruthless. Worse comes to worst, we would just stay in the mountain for another year or so.

But now, the thug’s pig-like squeal stuck out like a sore thumb. Although the market was over and the crowd on the street had thinned out, there were still people passing by, plus those shopkeepers and vendors on the street. When the thug went on a rampage earlier, they dared not show their faces and turned a blind eye, but now when he was down on his luck, they all came poking around.

I really didn’t like the feeling of being gossiped about and judged behind my back, so I took a step forward and called out: “Lian’er, enough.”

But she didn’t move a muscle when called, still pinning the sturdy fellow to the ground with no intention of letting him go, just turning her head to look at me. Her eyes were full of hostility, seemingly with defiance, just like her being haughty to me during the time she was a little wolf.

She’s acting up again. I sighed inwardly and walked up to her. Saying nothing, I took a hawthorn off the stick in my left hand and stuffed it in her mouth first before asking her with a smile: “Is it good?”

Having something stuffed in her mouth when she wasn’t paying attention, she closed her mouth with a deadpan face, only seeing a small bulge in her cheek. Then she tongued it several times. I guessed she got a taste of it. Her expression slowly softened. She blinked and replied with a nod: “Mmm, sweet and sour, not bad.”

“That’s good. I didn’t order the right dishes, so I bought this for you to make up for it.” I took her hand as I said and brought her closer to me while smiling and continued: “How much longer do you want to stay here? We’ve got work to do. It’s enough to teach him a lesson for a man like this. How much time do you want to waste on him?”

The kid didn’t resist and let me take her and moved along with the hawthorn in her mouth. But right before she finally let go of his hand, I heard a faint snap, and then the thug’s screams went up a few notches in an instant. I glanced at the hand, which was already dislocated, and saw the thumb was grotesquely twisted, apparently broken.

I looked at Lian’er, and she also looked at me with an innocent face. I shook my head, handed her the candied hawthorns with a smile, and walked on while holding her free hand.

When we returned to the restaurant, I took the front door and asked Lian’er to get in the same way she got out. So when I settled the bill with the trembling shopkeeper, she sauntered down the stairs. After she had calmed down, she finally remembered Master’s order. This time, she put on everything she was supposed to put on. And she gave me a displeased look and handed me the bamboo hat, meaning you should put it on too.

I wouldn’t try to tease her in front of others, so I just accepted it and put it on. Then the two of us left the restaurant side by side.

This hassle took more time than expected. We should have gone straight to the ceramics shop after we got out. But as we had made too much of a fuss earlier, I had to take Lian’er on the road out of the marketplace under the eyes of the crowd until we came to a remote and deserted area, then we leaped over two houses with our qinggong and quietly returned to our original route.

Lian’er was a little puzzled by this. I explained to her that I didn’t want to cause any trouble for the old potter. If we were seen going in and out of his place, the thug might stir up trouble someday. We weren’t afraid of him, but commoners might not afford to mess with him.

Lian’er didn’t quite understand. She was a little scornful about it at first, but when she figured it out, she blurted out that she should have taken his life just now to save the trouble.

Deep down, she was the same as she was before. Human life was no different from any other life in nature. Life and death couldn’t be more common.

I nagged her for a while, but I knew there was a long way to go with her thinking.

Back in the backyard of the ceramics shop.

The cups Lian’er made earlier were small, so they were almost dry now. The old potter didn’t want to leave the trimming to us at first because this part was crucial for the success of the firing. If you accidentally trim it unevenly, it will most likely be ruined when fired. But Lian’er insisted on doing it herself, so we couldn’t help it.

Of course, I had much more confidence in her with this than I did with the throwing because this part was all about the knife and handwork.

In Lian’er hands, all blades, regardless of their type, could only bow to her and fall under her control, as if she was born to be their master.

So I wasn’t surprised when she stood there and stroked the clay as shown by the old potter, handling the knife, angling it without hesitation, and trimming the clay readily and evenly without chattering it or misplacing the knife after seeing the old potter’s demonstration just once. Instead, the old man beside me was dumbfounded and asked me if this child had really never learned this before.

I could only gloss over it smilingly. In fact, I didn’t know how to explain it other than to evade it.

Fortunately, Lian’er didn’t take too long. While I was dealing with the old potter, she had already done all the work neatly and even smoothed out the tiniest of lines with the back of the knife. The old potter took them over in admiration and looked at them for a long time before coming to himself at my inquiry and telling us that he had a batch of wares to make tomorrow and would fire them together with these three, so we could set our mind at rest and pick them up in three days.

I could see Lian’er wasn’t so sure about this answer. Firstly, the time was too tight, and secondly, she was quite happy with what she had made, so she was a little reluctant to hand them over to anyone else. But when faced with areas she didn’t understand, she wasn’t of a character to question others easily, so after stepping out of the shop and turning around for a second look, she left with me without hesitation.

It was getting late now. The red sun in the sky was setting, but there was still a long way up the mountain, so when I left the market and came to the outskirts, I should have used my martial skills to get back as soon as possible. But the kid—I didn’t know what was in her mind—reached out her hand and grabbed me, looking like she wanted to take it slow for a while.

Baffled, I could only go along with her.

I thought she was trying to do or say something, but as we were approaching the mountain and the sky darkened, the person beside me stayed the same except for exchanging an occasional word or two with me, no more.

When she was being patient for once, I lost my patience instead, and at last, I halted at the entrance of a mountain pass and asked her what was wrong.

I stood still, and so did Lian’er. After hearing me, her eyes drifted left and right while holding the freshly plucked grass in her hand. Then she rolled her eyes around and finally prodded me with the grass in her hand and asked: “Will you tell Master…about that incident…today?”

“That incident?” Dazed, then I promptly realized what was going on. I smiled and asked her instead: “Right, is Lian’er afraid that I’ll tell Master about that?”

This question probably stirred her up a little. She raised her head, and her neck tensed: “Who’s afraid? I’ll bear the consequences of my own doing. I’m not afraid!”

“Okay, okay. I know you’re not afraid.” Seeing this look of hers, the curve of my lips couldn’t help but deepen: “What if I don’t tell Master?”

When she heard that, she looked at me again, toying the grass in her hand, and said, puffing up her cheek unconsciously: “You’re not supposed…to tell.” As she said that, she suddenly regained her confidence as if she had found a reason: “That’s right. Because of you, I was so angry that I forgot to put on the hat, and I hit him to help you too. Shouldn’t you keep this from Master?”

“I should.” I nodded and said solemnly.

Perhaps because my reply came out too readily, she was staggered for a moment before she asked doubtfully: “Really?”

“Yes.” I nodded again in the affirmative, only this time I couldn’t resist a smile. I reached out my hand to pull her closer and said as I looked into those eyes: “You disobeyed Master to help me. Of course, I’ll help you hide it. In the future, if Master learns the truth when she comes down from the mountain, worse comes to worst, we’ll face the punishment together, okay?”

Looking into my eyes, Lian’er probably realized how serious I was, so a glimmer of contented joy appeared on her face, and she said complacently: “Okay.”

Then she turned around, blocking me behind her, facing the woods in the distance that seemed shadowy because of the darkening sky. She held her head high and stood tall and proud, saying: “Well then, all you sneaky bastards back there, come on out!”

Slopaw’s note:
Kofi’s goal reached! I’ll be posting 2 chapters on the next release. Thanks for all the support and comments!
A reader commented on the previous chapter asking if there’s a schedule for this. I’m gonna reply here, in case other readers may have the same question. The answer is no. I didn’t set a schedule for this mainly because I can’t keep up with a fixed schedule. Once I can ensure a stable release, I’ll put the schedule on the website. Thank you for bearing with the slow releases.

The Witch Nichang– Chapter 24

Down the Mountain

I have to say there are people in the world who are born with unparalleled talent, even in more than one field.

I admit that such an explanation is somewhat biased. In some ways, sword training and pottery have something in common, especially the basic breathing, strength control, and even the most crucial aspects—finger precision and flexibility. Those who can master the former can achieve twice the result with half the effort and sail through the latter if they try.

Just like what was happening before me. After being guided step by step by me once, she tried again by herself several more times and seemed to get the hang of the hand positioning, getting skillful at it and becoming more involved, like a child who just experienced the joy of playing with mud, focused and enthusiastic.

When I saw her fingertips brushed over the clay, keeping the subtle balance, throwing it into shape, even figuring out other techniques that I had yet to teach her from those she learned, I could think of nothing else but to sigh.

Finally, she made three small cups within four hours. They looked plain and simple, nothing fancy, but the edges were smooth and neat. From the look of the finished products, it was almost impossible to tell they were from a novice who had never done this before. I cut the cups off the wheel with a cutting wire and placed them in the courtyard to dry in the shade. The old potter came over to look at them and praised her profusely, saying that it was a pity that she was a girl. Otherwise, he would have taken her as his apprentice.

I just smiled, not giving him any response. Lian’er, who came out from the room while tying her bamboo hat, tilted her head in disapproval, wanting to say something, but I held her back before she could do so. I held her, bowed to the old man, and said with a smile: “While the cups are drying, my sister and I have something to attend to. We’ll be back in a while to trim the cups. Please look after them for us.” With that, I took Lian’er out of the shop at once as soon as we got his consent.

Taken away by me, Lian’er was so baffled. She asked once she was out of the shop: “What’re you doing? What’s the rush? Do we have something else to do?” I looked back at her when I heard that and asked her instead: “If I hadn’t held you back, what would you have said to the old potter?”

“About that—” She nodded and answered: “I don’t want to be his apprentice. I just don’t understand, so I wanted to ask him why he said a girl can’t be his apprentice. What is it about boys? His two apprentices aren’t even as good as me.”

As expected, I smiled in resignation, shook my head, and sighed: “Lian’er, there aren’t many things on earth a man can do that a woman can’t. You’re not wrong about this, but in the eyes of most people, women are, after all, inferior to men. This is due to both biological factors and the various constraints imposed on women by the world. You and I are lucky enough to have met Master and not have to be bound by these ridiculous constraints, but we can’t change the opinion of most people in this world. If so, it’s pointless to talk about it as people of different principles don’t get along. We came to the old man for something, not to make friends with him, so why bother with what he thinks, right?”

For she grew up in the mountains, it might still be too early for her to talk about these norms. But I would have to tell her eventually, so when I had the chance, I just went along and told her to prevent her from causing trouble in the future.

After hearing that, she didn’t answer me right away but spaced out in silence as if she was digesting these words. Perhaps she had doubts about it before. It was impossible not to notice the villagers’ manners whenever she came down, though she had only been down the mountain a handful of times over the past few years. I didn’t know why she didn’t ask, probably because it didn’t matter again after she returned to the mountain.

I only hoped while she lived as she willed, she wouldn’t be too much at odds with the world and have no place in it.

The two of us meandered down the road while holding hands. Since we said we were out for something, it wasn’t fit to turn right back. Besides, we would just be hanging around if we got back before the clay dried. The sun was waning; it was already three in the afternoon. Lian’er and I only had some snacks at noon to fill ourselves up. We had nothing else to do now, so I took her to a clean-looking restaurant on the main street and ordered some food to treat ourselves.

We rarely had the food down here. Firstly, we seldom came down the mountain. Secondly, when we did, we didn’t like to stay for too long and were always in a hurry. This time, I deliberately ordered a few meat dishes that I couldn’t make myself, wanting Lian’er to have a taste of something new. But after she curiously took a few bites when a few plates of red and green dishes were served, I didn’t see much expression on her face when she chewed.

“How’s it?” I could not tell if she liked it, so I could only ask: “Does it suit your taste?”

She chewed again and swallowed it before giving me a vague response: “It’s okay…” Yet her hand reached for the tea beside her, and she took two sips before sticking out her tongue and added: “Just a little salty.”

Yeah. Because of her unique childhood experience, she had never been able to take strong-tasting food, and under the influence of the health concept I once had, I thought it was pretty good too. It was good for our health, so I was happy to make milder meals. As time went by, the three of us got used to it. When I was ordering just now, I only remembered not to order anything too spicy or too salty, but I didn’t realize even the usual dishes were salty to Lian’er.

Though she said it was salty, she didn’t put down her chopsticks—probably because she was hungry. Instead, she was eating and drinking at the same time, downing the food with tea. I frowned as I watched her. With dishes like these, the more you eat, the saltier it gets. I saw her drinking more and more often. Apparently, it couldn’t quench her thirst. Yet, it would be too filling if I ordered rice. I looked outside, and my eyes alighted on a vendor at the far end of the street. Suddenly, I got an idea. I told her to wait for me for a moment and went down the stairs.

It was a food vendor selling sparkling bright red candied hawthorns, sticks of plump and juicy hawthorns coated with glistening sugar syrup sticking out of the stall. I could taste the salivating, sweet and sour flavor just by looking at it. I asked for the price, and it was fair. Then I fished out my coins, paid for it, and took two sticks from the straw bundle full of fruit sticks. But when I was about to go back, I accidentally bumped into someone.

The village market was always held in the morning. The crowds would be much smaller past noon. Perhaps that was why I wasn’t as careful as I was in the morning when I was threading through the crowd. Now that I bumped into someone while not paying attention, I could not help but feel regret. I bowed my head, apologized softly, and was about to turn and leave.

But as I turned around, I felt a tight pressure around my arm and was stopped by a strong force.

The sensation on my arm was repulsive. I turned my head around calmly, and there before me stood a sturdy man. Though sturdy, he was vulgarly dressed, with a short knife strapped to his waist and evil in his eyes, resembling those thugs I had seen before who bullied the people in their neighborhood with brute force and barbarity. At that moment, I knew the bump wasn’t because of my carelessness but a wilful act from him.

This set-up was so common that I was in no mood to say anything more than a curt, “Let go.”

There were levels to thugs too. If you bumped into an observant one with some senses, the person would know how to act based on your reaction. Unfortunately, this one in front of me lacked some senses. Instead of letting go when he heard me, he grinned cheekily and tightened his grip even more: “I’m blessed today. It’s rare to see a beauty, with a little temper too. Where do you come from? You’re too imprudent to be alone outside. I’m most gentle towards women. How about I’ll come with you?”

I was so used to seeing Lian’er and Master, so I thought I looked average. Now it was a little infuriating and funny to be roguishly called a beauty. But I had been impatient, so I passed the two sticks over to my left hand in secret, freeing up my right hand to channel qi. I warned him sternly for one last time: “You’d better let go right now, or else…”

I stopped before I could finish my words because I caught a sight of the light-colored figure over the man’s shoulder that leaped down from the restaurant and floated down to the ground at the other end of the street.

“Lian’er, what’re you doing?” I called her subconsciously, frowning. It wasn’t because she made the leap, but because we had taken off our hat to eat for convenience after the food was served as there weren’t many people around after lunchtime. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have come across such a drama while making a quick purchase. Seeing her leap out of the restaurant with her face uncovered and swaggered over with her head up, I was a little unhappy.

My stream of thought and Lian’er’s leap happened in a split second. By the time the thug reacted and turned around, Lian’er had come much closer. When I saw the guy standing there, dumbfounded, eyes fixated on her, unblinking, I only grew more unhappy.

Lian’er didn’t care about the different expressions on our face. She stopped a stone’s throw away from us and asked curiously: “What’re you guys doing?” As she asked, she glanced seemingly unintentionally at the hand gripping my arm. Then she shifted her gaze upwards, looked at the thug, and asked: “What’re you trying to do to her holding her like that?”

When she said that, there was even a hint of a smile tugged at her lips. With her voice and expression at the moment, coupled with her young age, she actually looked like a naive girl asking a question. Only someone who knew her well, like me, could notice something was wrong from that glimpse, so I simply stopped moving to see what she wanted to do.

The thug had no idea of death or danger. He was snapped back to reality by the voice, and as if he had come to himself, he grinned and let go of my hand, instead, he moved in on Lian’er, his face beaming with joy: “I’m not going to do anything to her, nothin’. What’re the other women when you’ve got someone as gorgeous as you standing here? Haha, what d’you say?”

As soon as this was said, Lian’er’s smile grew softer, her brows slightly raised, and she asked: “Oh? So you’re saying I’m prettier than her? How much prettier?”

“That’s…that…how can the light of the fireflies compare with the light of the sun and moon?” The man probably thought she would be easy. He showed off his eloquence while smiling cheekily, leaning in even more and reaching out his hand: “Let’s not talk about this. Why don’t…”

He had no time to finish his sentence because the girl in front of him, who was smiling a moment ago, suddenly disappeared, and right after that, his world was turned completely upside down!

He wasn’t sure what was happening at that moment, but I knew it very well. Just as his hand was about to touch Lian’er, she grasped his pulse, and with a leap to the back, she took advantage of the momentum to pull and twist. It was just a simple grappling technique, but she flipped such a burly fellow weighing several times her weight and slammed him down on the ground.

With the flip and slam, the hand being grasped must be dislocated. I could only hear the man’s howl, as loud as a pig being slaughtered. But Lian’er was still clasping his dislocated hand behind his back, clamping him down on the ground, not moving the slightest bit.

“What’re you?” She stood there sneering, looking baleful and violent. Her eyes were cold and vicious, looking down at the person on the ground with disdain as if she was now stepping on nothing more than an ant that pissed her off: “When do something like you get to judge our appearances?”