Chapter 33: The Carpenter’s Cart and a Parting of Ways

The door clicked shut, isolating Liu Ruyan’s retreating figure and plunging the room into an odd silence.

Lu Hongzhuang’s brow furrowed deeply, her expression a mask of utter bewilderment.

“What did she mean by that?”

Turning to Su Qinghan, who was still by the bed, her voice was laced with profound confusion.

“What did she mean, ‘the next time we meet, we’ll be enemies’?”

“You saved her, you saved the entire town; how could she possibly say such a thing?”

Su Qinghan’s mind was as clear as a mirror, yet she knew she couldn’t voice her true thoughts aloud.

‘How could she possibly explain to this elite member of the Demon Exorcism Division, whose head was undoubtedly filled with nothing but “slaying demons and eradicating evil,” that fox ears would sprout from her head and a fluffy tail from her back?’

‘She would likely be cleaved in two by a sword on the spot.’

Su Qinghan shifted her body, leaning against the headboard, and winced as the movement pulled at the wound on the back of her head, making her grimace in pain.

“Ahem… perhaps this is precisely why the imperial court so stringently suppresses ‘itinerant mystics’ like us,” she mused.

She casually fabricated an excuse, stating, “The methods we employ are, in the eyes of these so-called righteous sects, ultimately unsavory and beneath contempt.

“As a member of the Demon Exorcism Division, she has her own stance, and it wouldn’t do for us to make things difficult for her.”

Su Qinghan waved a dismissive hand, her tone utterly nonchalant.

“It’s fine; at worst, I’ll simply leave the town on my own when the time comes.”

“I’ll go with you.”

The words practically spilled from Lu Hongzhuang’s lips.

Su Qinghan froze for a moment, then lifted her gaze to meet Lu Hongzhuang’s eyes.

“You’ll come with me? You’re not going to be a demon exorcist anymore?”

“In your current state, where could you possibly go?” Lu Hongzhuang retorted, casting a glance at her, her voice firm and righteous.

“A mere gust of wind could knock you over; I fear you’d perish halfway there.”

She paused, then added, “Besides, you still haven’t made good on your promise to teach me methods for exorcising evil spirits.

“What exactly is written in that tattered book? You’re still waiting to translate it for me.”

Gazing at Lu Hongzhuang’s face, which was practically emblazoned with the words ‘This is strictly business,’ Su Qinghan couldn’t help but let out a burst of laughter.

“Alright, alright, have it your way.”

Just then, a ‘knock-knock’ sounded at the room door.

A man dressed in coarse, short-sleeved clothing, his body covered in wood shavings, poked his head in, his face etched with a mixture of awkwardness and deference.

“Lady Lu, are you awake?” he asked.

“That… that four-wheeled cart you asked me to make before, I worked through the night to finish it for you; it’s right downstairs.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Hongzhuang reached into her robes, pulling out a shriveled purse, ready to pay.

Seeing her action, the carpenter hurriedly waved his hands, shaking his head like a rattle-drum.

“You mustn’t! You mustn’t!” he protested.

“Lady, and this immortal maiden, you saved our entire town, and you even saved my little daughter; how… how could I possibly accept money from my benefactors again!”

The carpenter spoke with genuine sincerity, his eyes growing somewhat red-rimmed.

Su Qinghan, however, was completely bewildered by his words.

“What four-wheeled cart?”

A faint, unnatural blush crept onto Lu Hongzhuang’s cheeks; she turned her head away, her voice barely a whisper.

“Before… didn’t I lose that mobility device of yours?” she mumbled.

“This is to compensate you.”

Su Qinghan’s eyes instantly lit up.

“Quick! Take me to see it!”

She struggled to rise, but her legs gave out, and she nearly toppled over.

Lu Hongzhuang, with swift reflexes, caught her.

“What’s the rush!” she chided.

“It’s not going anywhere!”

“I’m hungry,” Su Qinghan declared with righteous conviction.

“Let’s eat first, then we can go see it after.”

Lu Hongzhuang sighed, resigned to her fate, and bent down, expertly hoisting Su Qinghan onto her back.

As Su Qinghan lay draped over her back, her head resting in the hollow of Lu Hongzhuang’s shoulder, she inhaled the faint scent of sweat mingled with soapberry from her companion’s body, and a mischievous grin suddenly spread across her face.

“Hey, are you getting addicted to carrying me?”

“How about it? Am I not very light, and quite soft?”

“Silence! You have no decorum!”

The tips of Lu Hongzhuang’s ears instantly flushed crimson, and she nearly stumbled.

“If you utter another word of nonsense, you’ll crawl downstairs yourself!”

Su Qinghan immediately changed her demeanor, wrapping her arms around Lu Hongzhuang’s neck and cooing in a syrupy, affectionate tone.

“Sister Lu is the best! I was wrong; please forgive me just this once.”

“Hmph!”

Lu Hongzhuang let out a cold snort, yet the corners of her lips involuntarily curled upward.

“Always picking on me,” she grumbled.

Despite her complaints, her steps became even steadier.

Carrying her downstairs, they found the carpenter standing guard over a brand-new four-wheeled cart in the inn’s main hall.

The cart’s frame was crafted entirely from wood, as were its four wheels, but the seat was thoughtfully padded with a thick layer of cotton cloth.

Su Qinghan observed it, a warmth spreading through her heart.

‘That carpenter truly put his heart into it,’ she thought.

Lu Hongzhuang gently settled her into the cart.

Su Qinghan tried pushing the wheels, and the cart glided forward smoothly.

She examined the purely wooden construction, then smiled at the still-present carpenter and said, “My old cart’s wheels had iron-banded rims, Master; I fear these pure wooden ones won’t last long before they wear out.”

The carpenter scratched his head with a good-natured, rustic air.

“I… I don’t know how to work iron,” he admitted sheepishly.

“I wouldn’t know how to make the iron strips round…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s already wonderful!” Su Qinghan quickly waved her hand.

“Thank you so much, Master!”

The two found a table in the inn and sat down, preparing to order some food.

No sooner had they settled than the waiter, accompanied by several others, approached, bearing platters of dishes, and in moments, a lavish spread covered their large table.

Roasted chicken, pork hock, fresh fish, and an array of stir-fried dishes, all steaming hot, filled the air with their enticing aromas.

Lu Hongzhuang stared, utterly dumbfounded.

“Waiter,” she stammered, “we… we didn’t order this much.”

The waiter, his face wreathed in smiles, deftly set out bowls and chopsticks for them both.

“Lady, you and the immortal maiden are the great benefactors of our Bluestone Town!” he announced.

“Our manager said this meal is on the house! Feel free to order anything else you desire, and please, don’t be shy!”

Lu Hongzhuang desperately wanted to say, “We’ll pay,” but as she felt her meager purse, the words caught in her throat.

Indeed, her pockets were quite empty.

Su Qinghan, however, showed no such reservations, picking up her chopsticks and promptly snatching a large piece of roasted chicken.

After traveling day and night and expending all her strength, she had long been famished, her stomach practically clinging to her back.

Witnessing Su Qinghan devour her food with such gusto, Lu Hongzhuang finally abandoned her reservations, picked up her own chopsticks, and began to eat.

Outside the window, the intermittent wails of the town gradually subsided, replaced instead by the ‘thud-thud’ of nails being hammered into coffins and the mournful strains of suona horns from funeral rites.

It was a meal consumed with a bittersweet mix of emotions.

Once they had eaten their fill, the two did not return to their room.

Lu Hongzhuang retrieved their belongings and longswords, then, pushing Su Qinghan, they departed the small town that had just endured such a profound catastrophe, all under the grateful yet complex gazes of the townsfolk.

The wooden wheels produced a soft ‘rumble-rumble’ as they rolled over the stone-paved road.

They walked to a hillside outside the town and came to a halt.

From this vantage point, the entirety of Bluestone Town lay spread out before them.

Cooking smoke and funeral banners intertwined, painting a somber scene.

‘Aren’t you going to say goodbye to Liu Ruyan?’

A slightly languid voice, audible only to Su Qinghan, echoed in her mind.

It was Jiu Li.

Su Qinghan touched her nose, gazed at the distant town, and shook her head.

‘No,’ she thought softly.

‘Our paths diverge; we cannot conspire together,’ she mused internally.

‘Should we meet again in the jianghu, whether as foes or friends, it will be by our own capabilities.’

She turned her head, looking at Lu Hongzhuang, who stood beside her, pushing the cart.

In the sunlight, Lu Hongzhuang’s face, usually imbued with a certain heroic spirit, was now etched with a profound uncertainty about the future, and a hint of dependence that even she seemed unaware of.

Su Qinghan smiled.

“Let’s go, Little Hongzhuang,” she said.

“Push me back to the village so I can pack my things.”

Elsewhere, on a different slope, Miao Beisang watched Su Qinghan depart into the distance.

Luo Li asked her, “Aren’t you going to say goodbye?”

Miao Beisang shook her head.

“My Lady has her own plans; it’s not for us to interfere,” she replied.

“Come, Luo Li, I’ll take you to see the myriad waters and thousands of mountains.”

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