Su Xiaopei blinked her eyes and Ran Feize, influenced by her action, also blinked. People who occasionally passed them by would look at Su Xiaopei with an expression of astonishment.
Her short hair, the extremely large men’s garment draped on her person, the haphazardly tied belt, and with no shoes upon her feet except for the muddied pair of thick socks. Ran Feize knew that those scrutinizing her were like him, entirely unable to guess where such a strange looking woman came from.
Just where did she emerge from? He had been extremely vigilant of his surroundings after he discovered Tang Lian, making sure that no bandits had chased after them before deciding on the location to set camp and build a bonfire for the night. But suddenly, he heard the sound of breathing and movement on top of a tree, and he immediately thought that a skilled master must have come with how silent this person’s approach was. Yet when he went to investigate, he found it was actually a bizarre woman who hadn’t an ounce of skill. She didn’t even wear a bodice undergarment* and even if there was only moonlight, he was still able to see the exquisitely delicate curves of her body under those thin clothes.
[TL/N: See footnote.]
How had she appeared? How had she drawn near to them? Or gotten on top of the tree?
And now she was looking at him with such a serious demeanor as if she really wanted to calculate how long they could survive on five silver taels.
Ran Feize wanted to both laugh and sigh while looking at her pitiful state. She could barely stay standing. His heart knew she had given her all in keeping up with them on the journey today to the point where she might not be able to even lift a foot by tomorrow.
That Buddhist convent was half a day away. He looked at her feet. If he made her walk such a long distance, she would definitely be unable to endure it. And when he thought of her calculating mantou, he suddenly became soft-hearted.
“Five silver taels is five thousand coppers”, he answered.
5,000 coppers. Su Xiaopei considered it, then switched from using mantou to steamed buns for easier calculation. If 5 coppers got her 1 steamed bun, then 5,000 coppers would buy 1,000 steamed buns. If they ate 5 steamed buns a meal, so 15 a day, then hey, that would last them about two months.
But if they ate only mantou, including the cost of clothing, shelter, and travel, then even while spending frugally, can five silver taels last through two months?
“Miss.” Ran Feize called out to her. Seeing her deliberating with furrowed brows made him actually think she was quite pitiful.
“Warrior, let’s catch the criminal in exchange for silver.”
“It is already a blessing that Miss wasn’t mistaken as a thief when looking like this, how will one catch a criminal?”
Su Xiaopei pursed her lips. For her to say ‘we’ was of course, merely a courtesy as she didn’t know an ounce of martial arts. She couldn’t even catch a thief even if she was alive and kicking with energy, much less right now when she was half-dead. She was only being polite when she was hoping that Ran Feize had the skills to earn the five silvers.
Of course, on the premise being that he had the ability.
The way he had kicked the tree and sent her tumbling down was neat and precise. The maneuver of swathing her in clothing to land safely on the ground couldn’t possibly be done by just about anyone, right? Su Xiaopei knew little of such things but she was willing to believe in her heart that he had the skill set to catch thieves.
“Miss, catching the criminal is a small matter; let us seek a resting place first.”
“But with only fifteen coppers…..” She really wanted to motivate him to earn those five silvers.
“Miss plans to follow me on the same path?” It was clear that Ran Feize was not interested in catching criminals.
Su Xiaopei looked at his expression and sighed, “Fifteen coppers are better than not having even one.”
“Miss’ words are true.”
To think that fifteen coppers could make him stand with his head held high before her. She was truly wretched.
And to think that back when she was in her original world, she was considered an intellectual and a talented expert. She daren’t speak of having any status or position, but those who sought her expertise were not few and everyone treated her with courtesy and politeness. She never needed to worry over finances.
But as luck would currently have it, there were only fifteen coppers, only five mantous….
Su Xiaopei had no other option but to follow Ran Feize. The man headed towards the front entrance of a restaurant, bade Su Xiaopei to wait and entered alone. A moment passed before he exited with a shake of his head, “This establishment does not accept short-term workers. Let us seek the next place.”
Su Xiaopei nodded and dragged her half crippled legs along to continue following him. Disregarding the fact they needed to seek the next location, even if they had to head toward the nth location, she would not be able to object to it. They went on to inquire of the next three places with not a single positive result. Su Xiaopei’s heart had fallen to rock bottom, her legs seemingly about to fall apart, and her feet about to rot. She began to ponder- would she and her benefactor warrior need to spend the night on the streets like paupers?
After they walked a certain distance, she couldn’t resist any longer. “Warrior, what say you about returning to Miss Tang’s family to explain our hardship and see if her family is willing to take us in for a while.”
Ran Feize shook his head. “We best not disturb them.”
Su Xiaopei sighed and prepared her heart for the worst. At this time, Ran Feize entered yet another wine shop. The shop proprietor exchanged a few words with him, looked out at Su Xiaopei standing by a corner outside the door and contemplated for a while before finally nodding his head.
Su Xiaopei’s spirits lifted but didn’t dare hold onto too much hope and so, she waited and waited. She waited a good while until Ran Feize finally finished speaking and came back out, “The menial worker just happened to hurt his leg and is unable to work. He is lacking in helpers but has no extra room except for the one formerly used as a woodshed. Are you* willing to reside there?”
[TL/N: He actually addresses her directly as ‘you’ instead of third person ‘Miss’.]
Su Xiaopei swiftly nodded, “I go where Warrior goes.”
Ran Feize’s eyebrow twitched and sighed once more in his heart at this woman’s bold and valiant attitude; it was the kind of unaffected boldness he’d never seen before.
And just like this, Ran Feize led Su Xiaopei over to the former woodshed to settle in.
The woodshed wasn’t big and couldn’t be called clean either. The place no longer held any firewood but had miscellaneous items instead. The wine shop owner, surnamed Song, blabbed boastfully about his business in the inn while saying it was only because of his generosity that he took them in; he said he was not troubled in hiring a menial worker. Then, he went on to say that this room was not bad and had in fact, thought it a waste to hold firewood in, so he put together a shed in the yard to store them instead. He then vacated this room in preparation for converting it into a guest house for those with little money and needed an inn to stay at. Only it hasn’t been completed yet. And since they were currently looking for a place to shelter in, this was the only option. He explained that he would have a bed plank brought over for Ran Feize to set up his own bed.
As this Boss Song was saying all of this, he would occasionally take not so subtle looks at Su Xiaopei. Su Xiao hid behind Ran Feize’s large baggage as she listened in and took thorough note of his expression and behavior at the same time.
Once Boss Song finished speaking, he told Ran Feize that the original menial worker had not come in for the last two days, hence, none of the logs had been chopped. He instructed for Ran Feize to quickly settle in and start working as he was in need of some firewood.
Ran Feize complied and after Boss Song gave Su Xiaopei one last look, he left.
Ran Feize waited until he was gone before saying to Su Xiaopei, “Don’t take it to heart, for he was only looking at you out of curiosity. Your appearance is indeed a bit strange.”
“No, his expression was of disdain and contempt. He finds me repulsive.”
Ran Feize hadn’t expected Su Xiaopei to say this and was taken aback. She didn’t want to say more on the subject; she had an emergency to deal with.
“Warrior, where might the toilet be?”
“Toilet?” Ran Feize froze once again.
“Uh, the latrine*? It should be called the latrine, right?”
[TL/N: See footnote.]
Ran Feize continued to be stupefied. In all his years, this was the first time a maiden asked him for the latrine. He lightly coughed and left to circle the area before coming back, “In the Southwest corner.”
“The Southwest corner is which corner?” She was really desperate.
Ran Feize pointed out the direction and Su Xiaopei wanted to stride over there but nearly wrenched her feet. They were becoming increasingly painful; she won’t become crippled, right?
Ran Feize couldn’t stand watching this anymore and couldn’t resist supporting her elbow to help her over to the latrine before waiting for her outside.
Su Xiaopei had never seen a toilet as dirty as this one in her entire life, it was absolutely disgusting but there was no other option. She couldn’t squat down from the pain in her legs and nearly fell into the pit. Left with no choice, she grit her teeth, finished quickly, and hurried out. Only then, did she dare to gasp for air.
The expression on Ran Feize’s face while looking at her was quite bizarre. Su Xiaopei understood but could only pretend not to see it; things like space-time traveling was a practice in brazenness.
During the latter part of the day, Su Xiaopei didn’t go anywhere or do anything, Ran Feize put together the bed plank and placed it on the ground; this bed had no legs and was truly just a slat of wood. He even fetched a chair for Su Xiaopei to sit on. The moment she did, her legs hurt so much she couldn’t stand again. So she just sat there and watched Ran Feize work.
Ran Feize was quick and proficient in his tasks. Right after tidying up the woodshed, he went to chop wood out in the yard. The big axe seemingly appeared weightless in his hands as he quickly worked through half the kindling in the shed with a thud and a crack.
In the middle of it all, Boss Song came by to see Ran Feize’s work and as a result, was stunned while staring open-mouthed at his method of splitting kindling. Su Xiaopei figured he hadn’t anticipated anyone being able to cut wood like one would cut tofu.
Once Ran Feize finished with that task, he fetched water to clean himself in the yard and then went to tell Su Xiaopei he was heading out for a while.
“Where to?” Su Xiaopei was a little nervous as Ran Feize had a previous track record of leaving her behind.
“Whither.”
“Ah?”
“One should say ‘go whither’.”
“Then whither are you going?”
“Your attire is, in truth, inappropriate. I go in search of garments for you.”
“Can clothing be purchased with fifteen coppers?”
“Garments.”
“Can garments be purchased with fifteen coppers?”
“No.”
Su Xiaopei held her tongue. Would it be unseemly for her to pursue where he intended to get the clothes?
“Rest assured Miss, I am not one to commit crimes.” Meaning he won’t go and pilfer or steal, nor would he let her walk around wearing clothing that would get her arrested like a thief.
“En.” Su Xiaopei nodded, then took the opportunity to hint again, “It would be nice to earn those five silver taels.”
Ran Feize threw a look at her.
“Perhaps Warrior can look for a means to earn those five silvers along the way?”
“It’s too little so it seems meaningless.” Ran Feize’s expression was actually full of disdain.
Su Xiaopei was speechless. A person with only fifteen coppers was shunning five silvers as too little; what kind of worldly moral is this?
“In terms of monetary reward, five silvers are truly too little. The reward is not being offered to catch a petty thief but for information only. So it is meaningless.” He looked at Su Xiaopei. She clearly didn’t have a pitiful expression on her and yet, his heart softened. “Well alright, I’ll still go take a look.”
“Okay, okay.” Su Xiaopei had no objections at all, had no objections to anything in fact. Except for one. “Warrior won’t abandon me and not return, right?” Unpleasant things like this should be aired openly first.
Ran Feize made not a sound, merely picking up his massive bag and setting it next to Su Xiaopei’s chair.
Su Xiaopei felt more at ease with his baggage acting as a detained hostage here. “May Warrior stay safe on the road. Go and return swiftly.”
Ran Feize observed her serious and earnest expression, and nodded, his lips curving upward as he turned to leave. This maiden’s expression was surely amusing. Saving others sometimes brought trouble, especially when it came to women; he had experienced and learned much of this in the past. Yet, he felt unsettled at the possibility of abandoning her. It turns out that when frail people stubbornly pretended to show an ‘I’m not the least bit pitiful or frightened’ type of expression, it actually made them seem helpless and caused hearts to soften.
Ran Feize went out and circled around the area to first confirm that the earlier trouble had been drawn away and left town before heading over to read the reward notice. As he expected, the monetary reward was being offered for information as the perpetrator’s whereabouts were unknown. Trying to catch a criminal this way was equivalent to fishing a needle out of the sea; the chances of obtaining the reward were slim. Ran Feize shook his head, uninterested in matters that purely relied on luck and chance. But when he thought back to Su Xiaopei’s interest in the matter, he still went to the officials and requested a copy of the notice.
He then paid a visit to Tang Lian’s home. The Tang family was very guarded and wary, taking especially strict precautions against the eyes of their neighbors, and treated Ran Feize with estranged politeness. Ran Feize explained his intention was to help Su Xiaopei ask for two sets of garments. The Tang family’s reaction confirmed the thought in his heart that they cared very much about their reputation and so would be unlikely to help or shelter a stranger of unknown origins like Su Xiaopei. Seemed like sending her to the convent was the only solution.
While Ran Feize contemplated how to go about arranging a place for Su Xiaopei to settle in, Su Xiaopei herself was near catatonic, her mind empty of thoughts. Her feet hurt at the slightest of movements and so she did nothing else besides sitting there, keeping her eyes fixed on Ran Feize’s large bag in her stupor as she waited for his return.
She waited for a long time before he finally came back holding not only a small bundle in his hands but also shouldering quilts and a soft pallet for the bed. Su Xiaopei was quite surprised that he actually found clothes. She gave him more points for his capability.
Right when she was about to ask after those five taels, he left again after setting down the procured items, this time to fetch dinner. Boss Song may have taken them in and allowed Ran Feize to do temporary work, but he was not providing them a wage, only food and shelter.
Su Xiaopei was very compliant. If there was food, then she would eat it swiftly without regard to taste and was not picky. Once the two finished their food, she found the opportunity to finally ask, “Has Warrior obtained any information? How do we catch the culprit who’s worth five taels?”
Ran Feize smiled. “Miss’ use of words are improper and must be quickly corrected so as not to attract the trouble of criticism from those who hear of it.”
“It’ll be rectified, it’ll be rectified.” Her head was hurting. Way of speech and accent weren’t things that could be changed overnight; more important was the matter of earning money to secure survival.
Ran Feize took out the notice and handed it to Su Xiaopei, “The criminal will not be easy to catch as the local authority don’t have a trail or any clues, neither do they hold any expectations for what ordinary citizens can do. They are merely casting an empty net and throwing in a reward.”
He paused halfway in handing over the notice, “Is Miss literate?”
“I am.” Those two words managed to squeeze themselves out from between her clenched teeth. It was too insulting a question for a person with a doctorate, but in truth, she didn’t have much certainty realistically.
As soon as she took and opened the notice, her heart stopped.
Classical Chinese!
She was fortunate enough to recognize the words, or it should be said that a majority were recognizable. It was just that the script style was strange so she couldn’t be too sure of some characters. But the biggest problem was the sentences written on the notice were short and succinct with layers upon layers of archaic, textbook formality.
Su Xiaopei had studied for close to twenty years, had excellent grades and high academic qualifications, and was fluent in English and French. Though she had studied some classical Chinese literature before, it wasn’t useful for work so she had long since lost such knowledge. Who would have ever known that she would one day need to deal with classical Chinese?
She pondered over the notice with intense effort and surmised that it had written about a rapist who was roaming about committing crime in various regions, already having violated and murdered numerous women. As he may possibly have arrived at Shi’tou Town, if anyone with knowledge of his whereabouts reported to the local officials and helped them successfully capture the criminal, the person will receive five silvers.
The notice even included the killer’s characteristics and a drawn portrait. Su Xiaopei struggled to read it and simply turned to Ran Feize to confirm whether this was what it meant.
Ran Feize stroked his chin. “Though not completely accurate, it matched well enough. It seems that Miss is relatively literate and has studied before. Yet how is it you speak with such an accent?”
Su Xiaopei pursed her lips, ignored his comments and asked, “Is there a regular pattern to when this person commits the crime? What type of victims are they? How was his portrait noted, were there witnesses? Was there an eyewitness in every incident? How else were they able to confirm it was done by the same person? What is his method of committing crime? Any particularities? Serial murders are always linked by common features so what are they?”
Ran Feize raised his eyebrows, very much surprised. Where exactly did this woman originate from? Normal womenfolk would have been terribly frightened after reading this kind of thing, yet she came forth with a plethora of questions. Her use of words were bizarre as always but he understood most of it and furthermore, knew she hadn’t asked these questions erroneously. There were simply too little details provided on the notice and most people wouldn’t need to read such things. All everyone needed to know was the perpetrator’s characteristics and appearance so that anyone who saw him would only need to report it. Who would consider such details like her?
Su Xiaopei was still pondering over it. “This type of serial criminal is indeed not easy to catch. To only receive one thousand buns for it, isn’t it a tad too little?”
Buns? Ran Feize’s eyebrows no longer twitched but he couldn’t control the corners of his mouth. How did this maiden manage to calculate buns out of speculating over a serial murderer?
~~ * ~~
- 肚兜(Tudou)- A Chinese undergarment for women and children literally translating to ‘stomach/belly cover’. For women, it’s equivalent to the modern bra except it’s to hide the curves. They came in various styles throughout different eras: (1) Qin & Han Dynasties; (2) Wei & Jin Dynasties (16 states period); (3) Tang Dynasty; (4) Song Dynasty; (5) Yuan Dynasty; (6) Ming Dynasty; (7) Qing Dynasty; (8) 20th Century (1920’s and 30’s)
- 茅厕 (Latrine): As you can see in the diagram below, old style toilets are merely a hole dug in the ground covered by planks of wood to leave a gap in the middle and a hut built over it. You definitely wouldn’t want to fall in there……
