Song Jin raced back home as fast as she could.
The moment she thought of that unreliable, good-for-nothing wanderer seeking out her mother alone, she grew frantic with worry.
Even if his attitude had been strange last time, he still didn't seem like good news, and Town Mayor Lin, who looked perfectly respectable, was nothing but a weathervane who couldn't be counted on in a real crisis.
But no matter how fast she wanted to go, her mount simply couldn't fly.
Clop, clop, clop, clop.
Clop, clop, clop, clop.
Little Black was running as hard as he could, looking quite earnest about it, but all he could do was stare at the rear end of the fine horse ahead of him.
Utter humiliation.
Little Black snorted and shook his head, then started letting out farts again to express his displeasure.
Song Jin smacked him on the head and gritted her teeth. "…You useless thing that ruins everything—why are you taking it out on me? It wasn't me who asked him to come along."
Ahead, the tall black Sweat-Blood Horse trotted along at a leisurely pace, its long, powerful limbs and sleek, flowing lines moving gracefully as it flicked its tail and mane with each step.
Upon the horse sat Qi Zheng in a plain black robe—understated and solemn, yet silver threads glinting on the flowing fabric betrayed its luxury. He sat tall and straight, holding the reins with easy grace, carrying an air of carefree confidence.
Qi Zheng tilted his head slightly, his gaze landing on Little Black beneath Song Jin. He watched the mule's stubborn, indignant expression at failing to catch up, and his eyes held a note of appreciation.
"That's a fine mule."
Mules had great endurance and strength, capable of traversing mountain paths, muddy roads, and waterways alike—and Little Black was the best of the best. Even an outsider could see its quality at a glance.
At his praise, Song Jin couldn't quite tell whether he was sincere or mocking her. Still, she lifted her chin and said proudly,
"Naturally. My Little Black's father was also a Sweat-Blood Horse, you know. When the old headmaster of Wenyuan Academy returned to the capital, one was specially sent to fetch him. He… uh… got together with Little Black's mother. Who knows, maybe he's even this horse's grandfather."
"…"
Qi Zheng was certain she was mocking him. He glanced at her bold, spirited features but didn't bother arguing, continuing instead,
"I used to have a mule too. Not as fast as yours, but it could carry a heavy load. It traveled north and south with me."
Song Jin perked up with interest. Wasn't this man a prince? A prince riding a mule across the land? He had to be bragging.
She curled her lip. "Sounds nice and all, but look at you now—riding a fine horse. That mule of yours probably got tossed aside somewhere long ago."
The moment she said it, she saw Qi Zheng's expression darken. His low voice drifted on the rushing wind.
"It died. Killed and eaten by people."
Song Jin thought she'd misheard. She froze for a moment, then looked at Qi Zheng's quiet, still features and realized she'd poked at a wound. A pang of guilt hit her, and she stammered,
"Th-then… did you avenge it?"
Then she remembered this man was a prince, and she immediately wasn't sure whether she should feel sorry for the mule or for the people who'd killed it.
Qi Zheng paused for a long moment. "No. They were just starving refugees."
Putting herself in his shoes with Little Black, Song Jin could already imagine the scene and the feelings involved.
If it had been people with malicious intent, you could beat them half to death and torment them to vent your anger—but these were people with nowhere left to go.
A thought struck her, and her phoenix eyes suddenly lit up. She tugged on her reins and struggled to catch up alongside the black horse, mule and horse now running side by side.
She said animatedly, "I read a story like this before! The protagonist was so furious he wanted to kill those people, but in the end he held back and shared the mule meat with them. The mule was already gone—it couldn't die for nothing, right? Saving a few lives counts as a good deed. Maybe it'll be reborn as a human in its next life."
Qi Zheng turned his face toward her. "Is that so?"
Song Jin said with conviction, "Definitely! Being a mule can't be better than being a person. Since the mule's gone, we might as well look on the bright side. And in that story, the protagonist shared the mule meat and then led them to safety."
Qi Zheng's gaze settled on her face. The barely concealed glee in her expression was impossible to hide. Even though he already knew what happened next in the story, he couldn't help but feel a flicker of anticipation.
He asked, "And then?"
Song Jin grinned, clapping her hands together with great satisfaction. "He shaved all their heads and sent them to a temple. He also donated money to the temple and had a statue made of the mule, making those people pay their respects at regular intervals. They weren't allowed to leave until their hair grew back."
That was a truly vicious trick.
In this era, people believed that one's body and hair were gifts from one's parents—both men and women valued their hair greatly. Everyone wore it long and flowing; anything shorter than the shoulders marked you as an oddity, let alone a shaved head.
And growing it back to a presentable length would take at least a year or two.
During that time, they'd have to follow the temple monks in chanting sutras and worshipping Buddha every day, doing manual labor and eating vegetarian. Most people couldn't endure such hardship.
But there was no helping it—a life for a life, a debt to be paid.
Whether to endure one year of hard living and settle the debt, or to refuse and owe a massive sum instead—considering that even a fifty percent annual interest rate counted as a fair loan these days—
Any normal person knew which to choose. And those who weren't normal didn't deserve to be dealt with by normal means.
Song Jin felt more and more satisfied the more she thought about it, laughing uncontrollably. "You should have done that from the start. Paying debts is only natural—they owed a life, so nothing you did would be too much."
Qi Zheng felt the same way. That mule had been with him since he was six, practically family. Even if it was old and would eventually die, it shouldn't have ended like that.
But words could be sharp as knives. In the eyes of outsiders, his revenge made him look petty and lacking in the chivalrous spirit of the jianghu. Scholars would call him small-minded and narrow-hearted.
Qi Zheng looked at Song Jin clapping and cheering, and felt a bit of warmth in his heart. He asked, "Don't you feel sorry for those refugees? They were just trying to survive."
Song Jin raised an eyebrow. "They're pitiful, sure, but being pitiful doesn't give you the right to do whatever you want. Forget killing and eating the mule—people get beaten to death for stealing around here. Besides, they've got food, drink, and shelter. Which refugee family gets treatment like that…"
Anyone could say nice things like that—it's easy when it's not happening to you.
To truly resort to ruthless measures, either you're ruthless yourself, or the thing you're protecting really matters.
Song Jin always spoke bluntly. Even though Qi Zheng was a prince, he hadn't volunteered the information, and he'd be leaving soon anyway. He was just a distinguished passerby, so she didn't need to be too careful.
She laughed. "I'm just a petty, vengeful person. I don't care what others say—as long as I'm happy. Life's only so long; worrying too much about everything is no fun. Of course, I'm just a country girl, so take my silly words with a laugh and don't take them to heart."
Song Jin had striking features and bright phoenix eyes. Sitting on the mule's back, she laughed with unrestrained boldness, making anyone who saw her feel lighter, as if they too were freer for a moment.
Qi Zheng looked away. "Very insightful. Let's go."
Song Jin, riding the mule: …
Go where? Wasn't she already going?
**
The horse went clippity-clop.
The mule went clop, clop-clop.
Little Black's speed, unmatched among mules, still fell short of the finest Sweat-Blood Horses, but overall it wasn't slow.
When Song Jin and the others returned to Linxi Town, the sun was still hanging in the sky, and the sound of reading drifted from the academy.
The Prefectural Examination was over, and results would come out soon, making the academy's study atmosphere even more intense.
Anyway, it was always the same—study for the Prefectural Examination, study for the Provincial Examination, study for the Metropolitan Examination, study every day. Just pass the Licentiate exam, just pass the Recommended Candidate exam, just pass the Tribute Student exam…
It was all the same routine.
Song Jin shook her head, clicking her tongue as she passed by. One look at her expression and you'd know she wasn't someone who loved studying.
Qi Zheng was silent.
She really wore everything on her face. At a glance from afar, she seemed similar to Song Shang, but spend a little time with her, and it was hard to imagine them as related.
Nothing alike except their faces.
Song Jin didn't notice his subtle observation. Her gaze landed on someone on the road ahead of the academy. She let out a light scoff and rode her mule over, looking down at the person.
"Lin Jiaojiao, what are you doing? Sneaking around like that."
Lin Jiaojiao looked flustered, clutching something tightly to her chest and shaking her head. "N-nothing. I-I'm getting medicine for my mother. She twisted her ankle."
Song Jin raised an eyebrow, looking at the bundle of medicine in her arms with schadenfreude. "What happened? Did she break her leg that you need this much medicine?"
Lin Jiaojiao's eyes reddened slightly. Her mouth opened as if to say something, but then she caught sight of Qi Zheng on his black horse, clearly someone of distinction. Her expression turned panicked, and she hurriedly scurried away.
Song Jin watched her stumble and nearly fall after just two steps, and her eyes narrowed slightly.
Qi Zheng: "What's wrong?"
Song Jin composed her expression, pulled the reins, and turned around. "Nothing. Let's head back. Who knows what those two idiots are up to."
At that moment, Idiot Number One, Song Xingzhi, and Idiot Number Two, Town Mayor Lin, were sitting in the mayor's house drinking tea.
Beside the tea table sat the mayor's seventeen-year-old eldest grandson—a capable scholar in town, already a Child Student at his young age.
But a town was just a town. Capable in town, he was only slightly above average at the academies in the city, with no real confidence in the Prefectural Examination.
It was because of this only hope of the family that Town Mayor Lin had been so attentive to Song Xingzhi.
He naturally didn't expect his eldest grandson to be taken to the capital's great academies and soar to greatness—he just wanted to find him a reliable teacher to smooth his path of study.
Town Mayor Lin felt all his efforts these past days had been worth it. He cheerfully poured tea for his guest. "Just plain tea and water, Lord Song, don't mind it."
Song Xingzhi didn't mind the tea at all—he was just anxious. He took a distracted sip. "When is Song Jin coming back?"
Town Mayor Lin studied his expression, carefully gauging his words. "Shouldn't be too long now."
Song Xingzhi: "You've been saying that all day."
Town Mayor Lin laughed awkwardly. "That girl's timing is hard to predict. She might come back in the morning, or in the afternoon, or in the evening, or tomorrow."
Song Xingzhi nearly choked on his tea. He steadied himself, keeping the shock off his face, and maintained his elegant demeanor as he asked, "Evening? Tomorrow? What is a young lady like her doing?"
Town Mayor Lin: "Usually, she goes hunting. She's skilled, learned from a hunter, and often goes up the mountain to hunt. She provides a good amount of meat for the town."
Especially wild boars—though their meat is tough, it's still meat. And the more beasts they hunt, the less likely they'll overrun the mountain and harm people below.
All in all, hunting is actually a good thing, but to Song Xingzhi's ears—
"Roughhousing in the mountains," "wild girl," "improper behavior"…
Though he'd known before that Song Jin was a wild one, hearing it from strangers was entirely different from hearing it from family.
His vision went dark. He struggled to swallow his tea, barely managing to comfort himself that he could change her, he could change her.
Town Mayor Lin continued: "Otherwise, she's out settling scores. Whoever in town crosses those mother and daughter during the day better be mentally prepared at night—a swollen nose and black eyes are the least of it; the real worry is having your house torn apart or your chickens and ducks slaughtered…"
So the mother and daughter had done plenty of good deeds over the years, yet still faced mixed reputations and endless gossip in town—all because of this.
Town Mayor Lin, intending to dissuade Song Xingzhi from his plans, added more details he hadn't mentioned before—like which family's good-for-nothing got his hair shaved off, whose beard was yanked out, and who got stung by bees until they swelled up like a balloon…
Listening, Song Xingzhi couldn't help but touch his bruised and purple mouth, thinking of his departed little Jin. Grief welled up in him immediately, and he wanted to interrupt the words that stabbed straight at his heart.
From outside came the clatter of horse hooves.
Town Mayor Lin: "Ah, that should be Jinjin coming back. In this town, only her little Black runs that loud."
Song Xingzhi: "Jinjin? What Jinjin?"
Town Mayor Lin sighed: "That's Song Jin. Her nickname is Jinjin, also called Xiao Jin. Such a lucky name—I always said Niu Jinjin would've been better."
Song Xingzhi: "…"