Great Sheng Dynasty, Jingde Year 25, Spring
The morning light of the chen hour had just spilled over the wooden fence of the valley training ground, dyeing the newly sprouted willow branches a tender gold.
Morning dew clung to the fist marks on the wooden posts, scattering fine shards of light. The members of the Shadow Vein had just finished their morning drills. Several feathered arrows still stuck out of the targets on the wooden racks, the character “Xiao” painted on their tails swaying gently in the wind. Over the past two years, Xiaoyao Pavilion had gradually taken shape. The training ground now had new wooden benches and tool racks, and in one corner lay stacks of polished wood and coils of rope—materials the Shadow Vein used for mechanism practice. At the moment, however, they had become a certain small figure’s “treasure trove.”
“Brother, is this rope long enough?”
Lingxi’s voice was sweet as honey. Six years old, she wore a pink floral ruqun embroidered with tiny dandelions along the hem. Two little pigtails stuck up jauntily as she ran over to the tool rack, clutching a thick hemp rope in her hands.
Wen Junye, squatting on the ground, did not answer right away. He wore a washed-out blue coarse-cloth short jacket, the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing arms that were slender yet sturdy. Strands of hair at his forehead were damp with morning dew, sticking to his smooth skin.
Using a stone polished smooth, he was carefully shaving a short piece of wood in his hands. It was scrap wood he had picked up from the tool rack, carved into a palm-sized “trigger plate.” Shallow grooves had been cut along its edges, just deep enough to catch the rope.
“A little longer,” Junye said. His voice still had a child’s softness, yet carried an unmistakable focus that discouraged interruption.
He set the stone aside and took the hemp rope Lingxi handed him. His fingers deftly looped it twice around the groove, then tugged the end to test the tension. He had watched Wen Yinyue demonstrate these motions countless times while drawing defensive diagrams. He remembered every detail—the depth of the groove, the number of wraps—without the slightest error.
Lingxi squatted beside him, propping her chin on her hands as she watched. “Brother, are we making this to catch little birds?” She remembered how last year Junye had made a small trap from branches and caught a sparrow that had lost some feathers, only to release it afterward.
Junye shook his head and pointed at the crooked-neck tree not far away. “Making a net… to catch bad people.” He still could not express complex ideas, but he knew this “trigger trap” was meant to protect the people of the pavilion. Mother had said there were bad people outside the valley, and mechanisms could stop them.
As he spoke, he picked up the finished trigger plate and pulled Lingxi along toward the crooked-neck tree.
A coarse-cloth net bag was already hanging from one of the branches. Lingxi had pestered Aunt Zhang Ping to sew it yesterday. It was made from old cloth, but stitched solidly, just big enough to cover an adult. Standing on tiptoe, Junye buried the trigger plate in the soil beside the tree, then covered it with dry grass and fallen leaves. Only a hair-thin trip line was left exposed, almost invisible, connected to the knot of the net.
“All done.” He patted the dirt off his hands and pulled Lingxi to hide behind a nearby wooden bench. His small face was expressionless, but his eyes shone like stars. This was the result of half a month of work. Every night, while Mother taught the Salvation Vein how to make medicine, he would take out the defensive diagrams she left on the stone table and sketch trigger mechanisms on the ground with a stick. During the day, he would sneak to the training ground to find materials and test them. Today, it was finally complete.
Lingxi covered her mouth, holding back giggles, as she stared with Junye at the patch of ground covered in dry grass.
The morning trainees had already dispersed. Only the two of them remained in the training ground. The breeze carried the scent of herbs from the direction of the infirmary, along with the occasional thump-thump of Wen Qing pounding medicinal ingredients.
“Brother Lin Feng!” Lingxi suddenly whispered, pointing toward the entrance of the training ground. Lin Feng, dressed in gray fitted clothes, a quiver slung over his shoulder and a freshly maintained bow in hand, was walking over.
He had just finished checking the mechanisms at the valley entrance and planned to stop by the training ground to inspect the wear on the targets. He did not notice the “trap” by the tree at all.
Junye’s small hand instantly tightened around Lingxi’s clothes. His eyes did not blink as he stared at Lin Feng’s feet.
Lin Feng walked briskly, still thinking about Lin Wu’s suggestions for improving close-combat techniques that morning. He paid no attention to the ground beneath him. Just as the tip of his boot brushed the thin trip line—
Crash!
The net bag dropped from the branch, landing squarely over him!
The knot of the coarse-cloth net was tied using a “slip knot” Junye had copied from the defensive diagrams. The more one struggled, the tighter it became. Lin Feng instinctively raised his hands to undo it, only to find the knot hidden deep within the mesh. For a moment, he could not even tell where to start.
“Hahaha! Brother Lin Feng got caught in the net!” Lingxi could no longer hold it in. She ran out from behind the bench, clapping her hands and laughing nonstop, her little pigtails bouncing wildly.
Junye stepped out as well, walking up to Lin Feng. A trace of pride finally appeared on his face. “Brother Lin Feng didn’t see it.”
Lin Feng looked down at the trigger plate by his feet, then at Lingxi laughing so hard she could barely stand, and at Junye’s unmistakably smug expression. He shook his head helplessly. “You little rascal—when did you learn to make something like this?”
He reached out to pinch the knot on the net, secretly astonished. The way the slip knot was tied was exactly the same as the mechanisms at the valley entrance. Even the angle of the trigger plate was calculated perfectly. How could this possibly be the work of a four-year-old?
“I looked at Mother’s diagrams,” Junye said, pointing toward the stone table, where Wen Yinyue’s mechanism sketches from the day before still lay. “Mother said this can stop bad people.”
“Junye, Lingxi, what are you two up to?” Wen Yinyue’s voice suddenly rang out.
She was coming over from the infirmary, still holding a ceramic bowl filled with herbs, a bit of licorice powder clinging to the rim. Seeing Lin Feng trapped in the net, Lingxi laughing with her eyes squeezed shut, and Junye standing there clearly seeking praise, she immediately understood what had happened.
“Mother! Brother is amazing!” Lingxi ran over at once, tugging at Wen Yinyue’s clothes as she excitedly recounted the whole thing. “The net Brother made caught Brother Lin Feng in one go!”
Wen Yinyue walked over to Lin Feng and helped him out first. With a flick of her fingers, she pinched the rope end hidden inside the net and gave it a gentle pull. The net loosened at once.
Lin Feng rubbed his arm and said with a smile, “Pavilion Master, this child Junye is truly a mechanism genius. The ingenuity of this trap is even more meticulous than the basic mechanisms I teach the Shadow Vein.”
Wen Yinyue said nothing. She crouched down and picked up the trigger plate from the ground. The wood had been shaved smooth, the grooves evenly cut. The number of rope wraps was just right to drive the net’s drop. This was not simple imitation—it showed genuine understanding of the principles behind the mechanism.
She recalled how, over the past two years, Junye loved flipping through her defensive diagrams and drawing little mechanisms on the ground with sticks. Before bed, he would pester her with questions like, “Why does the stone fall when you pull the rope?” She had thought it was just a child’s curiosity. She had never imagined he could actually build one himself.
“Junye,” Wen Yinyue said, handing the trigger plate back to him, her eyes filled with surprise, “did you calculate the grooves on this trigger plate yourself?”
Junye nodded and pointed at the grooves. “On Mother’s drawing, there are little lines here. I carved it to match.”
He stretched out a finger and traced a circle in Wen Yinyue’s palm. “You also have to wrap it twice, or the rope will slip.”
Wen Yinyue’s heart softened instantly, as if soaked in warm water. This child had not only remembered what she taught him, but had observed details and adjusted his methods on his own. This was not ordinary cleverness—it was an innate talent for mechanisms.
Unable to resist, she lifted Junye up and kissed him on the cheek. “Junye is amazing! From today on, Mother will teach you real mechanism arts—how to make mechanisms that protect everyone. All right?”
Junye’s eyes lit up immediately. He nodded hard. “All right! Mother, I want to learn! I want to protect Mother, protect Lingxi, protect Xiaoyao Pavilion!”
Hearing this, Lingxi tugged at Wen Yinyue’s hand and said softly, “Mother, I want to learn too! I won’t learn mechanisms—I want to learn medicine! I saw Aunt Zhang Ping brewing medicine just now. She added two spoonfuls of licorice. Mother said if there’s too much licorice, it makes people sleepy!”
Wen Yinyue froze for a moment. Then she remembered that Lingxi had indeed spent some time in the infirmary that morning while Aunt Zhang Ping was brewing cough medicine. She had thought Lingxi was just playing nearby. She had not expected her to remember the dosage.
Smiling, Wen Yinyue picked Lingxi up as well and kissed her cheek. “All right, Lingxi will learn too! Let’s go to the infirmary first. Today I’ll teach you to recognize licorice. In the future, when Junye coughs, Lingxi can prepare medicine for her brother. How about that?”
“Yes, yes!” Lingxi clapped happily, rubbing her little head against Wen Yinyue’s neck.
Lin Feng stood to the side, watching the warm scene with deep satisfaction in his heart.
Over these two years, Xiaoyao Pavilion had grown from a tiny outpost of just a few people into a force with real structure.
“I’ll go put the trigger plate away, so no one accidentally steps on it later,” Lin Feng said with a smile, bending down to pick up the trigger plate and rope. He was still mulling over Junye’s clever design. Perhaps in the future, the Shadow Vein’s mechanism training could even ask this little fellow for some “guidance.”
Wen Yinyue carried the two children toward the infirmary. Junye lay against her shoulder, still whispering questions. “Mother, when will you teach me spring mechanisms? I want the net to drop faster.”
In her arms, Lingxi counted the little flowers along the roadside, occasionally adding, “This flower can stop bleeding—Mother said so.”
Morning light poured over them, stretching their shadows long. Ceramic jars in the infirmary clinked softly in the breeze. The targets in the training ground still swayed, and the herbal fragrance in the valley grew stronger. Wen Yinyue looked down at the two chattering children in her arms and suddenly felt that all the hardship of the past two years had been worth it.
“We’re almost at the infirmary,” Wen Yinyue said gently. “Junye, you look at Mother’s mechanism diagrams first. Lingxi, help Mother hand over the herbs, all right?”
“All right!” the two children answered in unison, their voices full of anticipation.
The spring breeze carried a sweet scent, wrapping around their laughter as it circled once by the wooden fence of the training ground, then drifted off toward the infirmary.