Zhan Ri Fei, observing him with faint amusement, could only hope that this time, the unlucky victim wouldn’t be him.
Huo Xiao Di’s large eyes finally centered in their sockets, and at last, he spoke. To Zhan Ri Fei’s surprise, his first words were:
“Are you the kind of person who never asks for help? It seems like getting you to ask for a favor is harder than climbing to the heavens.”
Before Zhan Ri Fei could respond, Huo Xiao Di began theatrically calculating with his fingers, pretending to divine something. “I just helped you peel off a few plasters from the Xiang Yang Prince’s Mansion, but you not only dealt with the people from Han Shui Palace for me—you even rescued this child. Don’t forget, we agreed from the start to settle our accounts evenly.”
Drawing out his words in a slow, leisurely tone, he added, “I, Huo Xiao Di, have never owed anyone a favor in my life.”
Then he stood there, smiling cheerfully, waiting.
Zhan Ri Fei couldn’t help but sigh. “And do you enjoy making others owe you favors?”
Huo Xiao Di’s nose almost seemed to sparkle as if he silently agreed.
Zhan Ri Fei sighed again. “The way you people from Ling Long Manor calculate favors is truly unique. It seems I have no choice but to owe you this time.”
What he didn’t say aloud was, Why are you so much like him?
The rain continued to soak the earth in fine, dense sheets. The air was filled with the fresh yet damp scent of soil.
Huo Xiao Di’s yellow robe, with its shortened sleeves, fluttered lightly in the dim light of drifting clouds, moving with the gentle breeze.
He stood there, still waiting.
In the darkness of the night, he watched Zhan Ri Fei silently, his expression resolute.
He kept waiting.
From a distant valley came a muffled sound, like thunder rolling beneath the weight of the clouds.
“Dong—dong—”
“Dong—dong—”
No, it wasn’t thunder. It was the sound of drums.
Each beat struck like a heavy blow, resonating slowly and sorrowfully. The deep, somber drumbeats echoed through the valley, lingering for what felt like an eternity.
Though still distant, the drumbeats were clear.
—Whose drums were these?
—Were they the drums of another approaching pursuit?
The faces of the three people at the edge of the forest changed instantly.
Zhan Ri Fei glanced at the boy, hesitating briefly before finally smiling and saying the words Huo Xiao Di had been waiting to hear:
“Could I trouble you to help me one more time?”
* * *
The night deepened.
The wind and rain began to subside.
In a small, dilapidated temple a few miles away, a tiny bonfire flickered weakly.
The light was dim and faint, as there wasn’t much dry wood to burn in the decrepit hall. Outside, in the grove of trees, night birds startled by the rain occasionally let out soft “coo-coo” calls.
The eerie drumbeats from earlier had faded into silence.
Zhan Ri Fei gently covered the boy with a dried-out cloak, his gaze lingering on the child’s sleeping face.
The faint, flickering flames cast shadows across the boy’s thin, small features. Even in his dreams, his face bore signs of vigilance and fear, as though tormented even in sleep.
This child was frail and small, with a disability, and he knew no martial arts. Yet, despite Huo Xiao Di’s repeated efforts to save him, the boy still harbored mistrust. Had he suffered so much cruelty at such a young age that he could no longer believe in anyone?
—What made this child different?
—By bringing him with them, had they brought themselves fortune or misfortune?
Huo Xiao Di sighed softly. He realized he had been frowning and sighing far more often lately.
“Before stepping into the jianghu [the martial world], it seemed vast and boundless. But once you’re in it, you realize it’s nothing but endless strife.”
—The troubles and grievances he had encountered recently were too numerous to count. First, he was unwittingly drawn into the conflict between Xing Yun Manor and the Tang Sect. Now, he had no choice but to share a shelter with this mysterious man in black. He couldn’t return to Ling Long Manor, had already lost San’er, the companion who had been with him for years, and now even this child had become his burden.
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