Chapter 5

Chapter 5

“Guests! Meal or lodging?”

“I’m not staying, I’m not staying,” Chen Shu waved her hands emphatically. “Ask that ‘guest’ behind me.”

Faced with the outright refusal, the inn boy’s enthusiasm didn’t waver in the least. Without skipping a beat, he scurried towards the person behind her.

“Ai-ya, honored guest! Just one look tells me you’ve journeyed far and hard, busy all day! Our fine inn has upper rooms available, hot water ready. At this hour, lodging will cost you less silver than during the day! What do you say—”

“Do I look like someone who can afford an upper room?” Yun Shen flicked dust from his robe, asking with a faint smile.

“Nighttime is cheaper! Just indulge yourself this once, it won’t hurt,” the inn boy piled on the affable grin. “If silver is truly too tight, we have one ground-level room left. Every detail matches the upper rooms! Though… it’s near the stables. Horses resting or travelers staying overnight tend to cause quite a racket after dark—a rather vexing noise. Hence the price is significantly lower.”

Yun Shen agreed, tossed him some silver coins, found a small table, swept aside his robe as he sat, and poured himself a cup of water. “Serve us two dishes first. Whatever you have, whatever it is. We trouble you.”

Chen Shu stole a glance. Seeing him accept the situation with complete composure and no trace of embarrassment, fresh admiration bloomed within her. Emulating Yun Shen, she swept her robes aside and sat at the small table, watching as Yun Shen also poured a cup of water for her.

Shortly after, the Inn Boy trotted over carrying two steaming dishes. Though clearly leftovers, the simple evening meal at this countryside inn won out in being tender, flavorful and thoroughly braised—one bite, and the scalding broth within the meat nearly lifted one’s soul right out, sending Yun Shen gasping repeatedly for air.

Chen Shu devoured the simple dishes while puffing out breaths to soothe the heat, her mouth perpetually occupied. Unperturbed, Yun Shen merely frowned slightly and picked some vegetables into her bowl, gently reminding her: “Take it slow.”

“Yun Shen, you wouldn’t understand,” Chen Shu said between bites of glistening red pork. “My Master forbids such indulgence. Yu Jiu Shu—that’s my senior brother—sometimes sneaks me out to the valley for a treat behind Master and Senior sister’s backs. Every time we return, that old stick-in-the-mud would lecture us about weakening our Daoist resolve and being slaves to appetite, then assign months of extra duties. Patrolling the mountain is the worst! Those prankster monkeys torment me endlessly, and I can’t even fight back. Senior sister claims we must rescue the mortals seeking immortality, yet all I ever find are bones—”

“Your master truly cares for you,” Yun Shen murmured softly.

Chen Shu nodded, swallowed, then looked up at Yun Shen with a bright smile. “You’re good to me too.”

A faint smile touched Yun Shen’s lips, but he just shook his head silently and added more food to her plate.

“Meeting at all is karmic fate,” he said gently while still serving her. “You carry the chivalrous soul of a swordswoman, while I am but a Scholar. We cross paths just this once; today, we part ways. I shall bury myself in sacred texts, while you roam the rivers and lakes dispensing justice, vanish into the mountains seeking Dao—we likely shan’t meet again. We bid farewell forever. Your raw sincerity and untamed innocence move me deeply. With water as wine, I toast you one cup—may you reclaim your sword swiftly.”

“Alright!” Chen Shu chirped, joyfully lifting her teacup. The vigorous clinking against Yun Shen’s sent half his water splashing out. Even Yun Shen’s collected composure faltered, earning her a reproachful sideways glance.

Feeling no remorse at her first glimpse of Yun Shen annoyed, she only beamed wider. “How feeble your strength is!”

“…I was speaking earnestly,” Yun Shen replied.

“Ah, I know!” Chen Shu declared before downing her entire cup. “You’re sad that we must separate after this. No matter! Once I recover my sword, I can find you again. Or if you need me, visit Tian Yu—oh, on second thought, better stay away. If I’m not home and you trespass, Senior sister might retrieve your bones! She hoards them, and—”

“Unnecessary,” Yun Shen cut her off bluntly. “We need not meet again. I won’t seek you, nor should you seek me. We walk divergent paths. A wholesome bond in passing suffices.”

Darkness fully descended upon the inn as more candles flickered to life.

Amidst the wavering firelight, Chen Shu froze mid-bite, her bright dark eyes holding Yun Shen’s gaze. He too paused, returning her silent look. A long moment passed—perhaps an eternity to her unmoving posture straining to read him—before she finally uttered a dull, “Oh.”

By then, Yun Shen’s face betrayed thinly veiled impatience. Only after that delayed utterance did his expression clear. He resumed serving Chen Shu food, resettling into calm.

But Chen Shu ate with diminished enthusiasm now. After several bites, she abruptly thrust her chopsticks to block Yun Shen’s, her slender fingers clamping like iron hooks, forcibly depositing the meat piece back onto his plate.

“You eat some meat, Yun Shen,” she muttered. “Starved and frail as you are, not to mention poor—without me, you’ll be bullied to scraps.”

It startled a laugh out of Yun Shen. “Wasn’t today’s bullied victim you, not me?”

“I was falsely accused amidst civilians—no space to fight properly! If truly challenged, he wouldn’t pass half a move from me. One puff of breath would floor that rogue,” she retorted. “Whereas you tremble holding your cup. Once parted, any street brawler could abuse you.”

“…Fine,” Yun Shen conceded after prolonged silence, clearly weary of debate. “I am frail. But it’s no matter—I journey not toward Diancang Pass. Our roads inherently diverge. I appreciate your concern.”

Chen Shu tilted her head, propping her chin with a hand sparkling with curiosity. “Not Diancang Pass? Then where?”

Yun Shen met her eyes briefly before yielding under her unblinking stare once more.

“Mijiang Slope. To pay respects to an old acquaintance.”

“And where’s that? Aren’t scholars supposed to take imperial exams? Don’t you go to the capital?”

“…The exam awaits its season. Mijiang Slope lies east of Fangcheng, adjoining the Owl Beach,” Yun Shen replied indifferently. Then, as afterthought: “Hundreds of li from Diancang Pass. Nowhere close.”

Missing his implication, Chen Shu tilted her head thoughtfully. “But didn’t the innkeeper say waterways spiderweb out from Diancang Pass?” she asked, recalling every forgotten phrase strangers uttered. “No waterways lead there?”

Caught speechless, Yun Shen stalled as the Inn Boy returned carrying bowls of coarse rice porridge dotted with vegetable scraps. “Oh, vessels reach just fine!” the boy chimed in hastily. “Big boats traverse the Yushui River straight to Owl Beach. Faster than stallions by days! I know trusted boatmen—”

Before Chen Shu’s uplifted inquiry began, Yun Shen seized both bowls and slammed them onto the table. “No need.”

Instantly reading the atmosphere, the Inn Boy fled with an apologetic glance toward Chen Shu.

Glumly swallowing a mouthful of gruel, Chen Shu stewed in growing frustration. “Yun Shen,” she accused finally, “admit it—you doubt my swordsmanship! I’m Sword Sect’s most gifted disciple! Master, Senior sister and senior brother all confirmed my swordsmanship mastery before forty!”

“Words like that,” Yun Shen scoffed, finally speaking bluntly, “even the words of your own elders cannot be entirely trusted. How do you know they weren’t just saying those things to indulge you or coax you?”

Chen Shu blinked, stunned once more. Her cheeks puffed out slightly, a vivid expression on her face. She remained silent this time, only straining hard to swallow the broth in her mouth. The only faint sound at the dining table was the distant hail of the Inn boy outside.

Again, Yun Shen quickly broke the silence, adding with resignation, “…I meant no offen—”

“You haven’t offended me. There’s no need to keep apologizing,” Chen Shu said. Emotion finally surfaced in her eyes, tinged with a hint of pity. “I’m the one dying to ask but afraid of offending you… Shouldn’t all elders under the heavens indulge their juniors? Aren’t those cruel, ill-tempered elders just figments made up to scare children? Your question is truly strange. Could it be your own elders…”

Yun Shen fell silent instantly. For a long moment, he offered no rebuttal nor answer. Instead, he leaned down and drained his cup of water in one go.

“Young Lady only wishes to emphasize your formidable martial prowess, and on that point, I truly do believe you,” he said slowly. “I merely wonder, should the day come when you find your sword… what will you do if it has no wish to serve you?”

Chen Shu answered without hesitation, “A sword is a lifeless vessel, no match for grass, trees, flowers, or even birds or beasts. Brother Yun, you said it yourself; how could an inanimate object have ‘no wish to serve me’? Both your questions are quite strange.”

“…I wasn’t speaking solely of the sword,” Yun Shen paused, then clarified, “What if the person who picked up the sword has no intention of returning it?”

“Then I’d beg them.”

“What?”

“Persuade first, then beg. If they remain truly unwilling…” Chen Shu trailed off, her own conviction waning, “…then… let them keep it? What else could I do? I’m a good person; I couldn’t kill them. Maybe just wait until they grow old and die…”

Yun Shen let out another quiet laugh and sighed in resignation, cutting her off.

“Never mind. Didn’t you also say they probably did want to return it to you?”

“Yes! They probably do want to return it to me!” Chen Shu exclaimed, her spirits lifting with simple joy as if the previous turmoil was fleeting as mist.

Having eaten and drunk her fill, she patted her belly and pushed herself upright with an uncharacteristic air of command. With a cupped-hand salute towards Yun Shen, she was suddenly the picture of easy confidence. “Well then, Brother Yun! I’ll be off ahead!”

“Hold on,” Yun Shen said. He was still meticulously picking vegetable specks from his soup and spoke with deliberate calm. “What’s the rush? Didn’t the boy here say we’re heading the same way?”

This time, it was Chen Shu who stood frozen beside the table. She blinked with a confused “Ah?” before raising her eyes to seek out the Inn boy. Whether he’d been eavesdropping nearby or not, the boy now scuttled over, bending at the waist with the practiced smoothness of someone who knows their business.

“And what would you two like…?” he began nervously.

“Just one night,” Yun Shen stated decisively. “Finding your sword can wait until tomorrow. This Young Lady prefers quiet; forget the room that gets noisy at midnight. Just us exchange it for a superior chamber.”

“Eh?” The Inn boy’s eyes flickered uncertainly between Chen Shu and Yun Shen. Encountering only Yun Shen’s resolute gaze, he finally stammered,

“You two… will share only one room?”