Dongxu Village was large enough that the walk from the main street to the back mountain outside the village took quite some time, yet small enough that one ran into familiar faces everywhere.
Wang Juaner walked forward with a basket in her hand, her mind seemingly elsewhere. Her steps were unsteady, and she occasionally tripped over protruding rocks on the road. Li Ting frowned, hesitating whether to continue walking the same path as her. Judging by her direction, she was likely heading to the fields on the mountain, which was the same destination as Li Ting and Xu Yanqiu.
Recalling the incident with Xu Wu this morning, Li Ting decided not to meddle in others’ business. What he wanted was to completely sever Xu Yanqiu’s ties with that family. Even if they had to see each other in passing, it was best to avoid greetings and simply ignore one another. To call a person like Xu Wu a scoundrel was a compliment because he was rotten to the core. Li Ting took a deep breath and squeezed Xu Yanqiu’s small hand. “We are almost there.”
“I have never been to this area before,” the little blind boy said, his face full of wonder. He surrendered himself entirely to Li Ting’s guidance, and every step he took reflected his absolute trust. “Father never allowed me to walk out of the village.”
In truth, he had been out once before, but that was when the unrepentant Gao Ke had forcibly taken him out, nearly costing him his life. However, if not for that ordeal, he would never have met Li Ting. Xu Yanqiu even felt that he had come out ahead in the deal. He was secretly delighted, letting out a couple of soft chuckles. Li Ting looked back at him. “Thinking of something happy?”
“I am just glad,” Xu Yanqiu looked up, smiling broadly toward the source of Li Ting’s voice. “Not only did I help Brother Li today, but I also got to come outside. I am very happy.”
The weather was pleasant today. The sunlight fell on Xu Yanqiu’s face, making his smile even more radiant. Li Ting was nearly dazzled by the sight. He remembered Gao Ke mentioning once that within a hundred-mile radius of Dongxu Village, no one was better looking than Xu Yanqiu. Seeing him smile now, Li Ting felt those words were true.
But there was another sentence Gao Ke had not dared to say: Xu Yanqiu was indeed the best-looking shuang’er in the area, but since Li Ting arrived in Dongxu Village, the title of the most handsome might belong to Master Li. However, the two were of entirely different types. Where Xu Yanqiu was beautiful, Li Ting was more striking and handsome. Unaware of his own beauty, Li Ting felt his heart race at the sight of Xu Yanqiu’s smile, completely oblivious to the fact that he had become a prized catch in the eyes of the village matchmakers.
Just then, the despondent Wang Juaner ahead heard their voices and looked back. Li Ting pulled Xu Yanqiu behind him, prepared to see what she might do. To his surprise, she did nothing. She did not even speak. After seeing them, she simply turned back and continued shuffling forward step by step, as if she had lost her soul. Li Ting felt suspicious but led Xu Yanqiu quickly past her. Wang Juaner did not even lift her head, letting them overtake her.
“Brother Li, was someone there?” Xu Yanqiu’s hearing was sharp; he had heard the dragging footsteps. Wang Juaner wore coarse cloth shoes, and the sound of the soles rubbing against the ground was quite loud.
Li Ting gave an affirmative grunt, hesitating whether to tell Xu Yanqiu who it was, when the boy asked, “Is it my cousin-in-law?”
The little fox said nothing, and Xu Yanqiu, knowing this was a silent confirmation, fell silent as well. A moment later, he gripped Li Ting’s hand and urged him forward. “Brother Li, let us go faster. Let us go and return quickly.”
“It is fine. She is far behind and cannot keep up with us,” Li Ting said. Xu Yanqiu’s pace immediately slowed down. He twitched his lips, wanting to say something but finding no words. He simply did not want to meet his relatives again.
Li Ting squeezed his palm, and the two walked forward in silence. They soon arrived at the fields outside Dongxu Village. Crossing the ridges led to the back mountain. From a distance, a floral scent he had never encountered before wafted through the air. Li Ting’s eyes sparkled. “We are here.”
They were currently on the last stretch of the field ridge. On both sides, villagers were busy with farm work, not just those from Dongxu, but from neighboring villages as well. This wild land had long been divided up by the locals, and no one bothered to manage it.
A few young men from a neighboring village recognized the blind boy being helped down the ridge. They knew him as the famously beautiful but unlucky shuang’er. Seeing him with a strange man sparked a bit of jealousy. They picked up soft mud from beside their feet, rolled it into balls, and threw them at Xu Yanqiu while joking around. “Hey, blind boy! Here is something fun for you, catch!”
A mud ball flew out and landed with a wet thud on the ground by Xu Yanqiu’s feet. He was familiar with this kind of behavior, but it still startled him. He let out a small cry and tipped forward. Li Ting quickly reached out and caught him in his arms, preventing him from falling and getting covered in mud.
The young men laughed loudly, and others began to imitate them, pinching mud to scare the blind boy. They had done this many times before, and no one ever intervened. Who would bother looking for trouble while they had work to do? Two or three more mud balls hit the ground near Xu Yanqiu. Some people noticed the commotion but only spared a glance before lowering their heads back to their work. No one cared.
Li Ting saw everything. The trembling blind boy in his arms sparked a flame of fury in his heart. He tucked Xu Yanqiu under his arm, lifting the boy’s feet off the ground. Holding him in this half-embrace, he turned back toward the path they had come from. Sensing what he was about to do, Xu Yanqiu grabbed his clothes. “Brother Li, do not.”
“I will not allow you to be bullied like this,” Li Ting said coldly. His tone was the same as when he had asked how much the boy knew earlier that day, perhaps even colder. However, this time Xu Yanqiu was not frightened. All he could think was that Brother Li said “allow,” not “can.” That single word made a completely different impression on Xu Yanqiu’s heart.
He closed his mouth as Li Ting took several large strides to stand before the men. As the young men opened their mouths to ask what he wanted, Li Ting kicked up a spray of mud that coated one man’s trousers. It looked as though he had lost control of his bowels and soiled himself. His companions quickly jumped away to avoid being hit, but Li Ting’s movements were exceptionally fast. None of the men who had acted could escape. The one who had thrown the first mud ball clutched his crotch and wailed, falling into the field. He had been hit by a small stone hidden in the mud, right in his family line!
The surrounding workers stopped what they were doing and looked over at the sound of the wailing. They saw a handsome young master holding a beautiful shuang’er, his expression grim as he spoke to the men. “If you throw things at us again, it will not be tit for tat next time. I will make you search through the mud for the teeth I knock out of your heads.”
“We did not mean to.”
“From now on, when you see us, you had better stay far away,” Li Ting said, giving a kick to the man clutching his groin, who was now pale and speechless with pain. “Do you understand?”
“We understand! We understand!”
It was not until Li Ting led him away from the fields and along the mountain path into the wild forest where they finally found the flowers with pale yellow petals that Xu Yanqiu snapped out of it. “Brother Li.”
“Mm?” Li Ting placed the little blind boy on a level patch of ground nearby and squatted down to carefully examine the flowers. The scent was indeed excellent. It seemed his father had not lied to him.
“That was so handsome,” Xu Yanqiu remarked. “When will I ever be as tough as Brother Li?”
“You probably will not be able to learn my style,” Li Ting chuckled. “Do not worry. As long as I am here, no one will dare bully you.”
Xu Yanqiu squatted on the ground, his chin resting on his hands. “But can Brother Li protect me for a lifetime? Father said that people always have to leave eventually.”
“I will not leave.” Li Ting plucked a flower, took one of the boy’s hands, and placed the bloom in his palm. “Rest assured, I will take you wherever I go.”
Xu Yanqiu lifted the flower to his nose. The scent he had smelled once before lingered around him again, but the person by his side had changed from his father to Li Ting. Xu Yanqiu’s nose crinkled, and he pursed his lips, weeping silently. No matter how quietly he cried, Li Ting was watching him. He saw the boy shed two rows of tears without warning, looking pitifully aggrieved and saying nothing, just crying in silence.
Xu Yanqiu thought Li Ting was busy looking at the flowers and had not noticed his embarrassment. He instinctively tried to wipe his tears before they were discovered, but a warm hand smelling strongly of flowers touched the corner of his eye. It gently brushed away the hot tears, and the familiar sensation of the fingertips moved from his cheek to his lips. Li Ting’s finger swiped across his lips and then moved to the other side to wipe the remaining tears.
“Thinking of your father?” Li Ting did not need to guess to know why he was crying. “Where is your father buried? Do you want to go see him?”
Xu Yanqiu took a deep breath. “My father’s grave is in the woods behind my house. No one was willing to help me, so I could only bury him there.”
That was the furthest he could carry his father alone. He had not even been able to give his father a decent funeral.
“We will go when we have time,” Xu Yanqiu added. “Brother Li, are there enough flowers for you?”
“I am only taking some nectar back.” Li Ting could tell Xu Yanqiu did not want to say more and did not push him. He took out a small white porcelain bottle and collected a bit of nectar. Once he returned and processed it, it would be ready for use because using pure nectar would be too wasteful. “There are seeds. If only I had a place to plant them.”
Xu Yanqiu’s eyes lit up, and he grabbed Li Ting’s sleeve. “Brother Li, I have a piece of land!”
Li Ting wondered what he meant by having a piece of land when a fit of coughing erupted nearby. It sounded as though the person was coughing themselves to death. Li Ting stood up abruptly, and Xu Yanqiu followed his lead, moving close to Li Ting and grabbing his arm. “Brother Li?”
“Someone is over there. Let us go and take a look.”
“Alright.”
The two never expected to see Wang Juaner in the woods, attempting to end her life by drinking poison.