Hu Qiao’er was seeing fireworks for the first time, and the words she had just spoken were drowned out by the sound.
She turned around and looked up at the dazzling fireworks, thinking they were beautiful.
Jiang Che also heard the explosions. He knew what they were—products from the Starvault Chamber of Commerce.
So Jiang Che wasn’t particularly surprised.
He certainly didn’t think this world would suddenly see gun-wielding bandits throwing explosives to rob the ordinary townsfolk barely scraping by.
As for something like a demon clan invasion, that was even less likely.
Unless the other side was especially skilled at hiding their presence, they’d only become Contribution Points for disciples of the Shenxiao Sect.
Jiang Che held the bamboo stick in his hand.
The fireworks didn’t last long, and the two of them continued their stroll.
Compared to other small towns outside, Shenxiao Town was clearly much larger, but Hu Qiao’er seemed to have a purpose as she walked.
Soon, Hu Qiao’er led Jiang Che to a stall.
Judging by the boss’s cries, it was a stall selling toys children liked—hand drums, wooden swords, and other playthings.
Hu Qiao’er looked around and picked something out from the pile.
As she moved, the thing in her hand gave a crisp sound.
“Clang!”
Right after, Hu Qiao’er raised it next to Jiang Che’s ear and gave it a gentle shake.
“Ding-ling-ling——”
The clear, pleasant sound of a bell rang out by the bustling street, echoing clearly in Jiang Che’s ear.
Jiang Che instantly recognized it—it was a little bell.
Hu Qiao’er held the bell and turned to Jiang Che, her voice a bit playful yet very direct: “Ah Che, can you buy me one of these?”
She paused for a moment and added,
“Just now Wang Hao gave you money, didn’t he?”
Jiang Che really froze for a second.
He hadn’t expected Hu Qiao’er to spot the money pouch hidden in his sleeve.
What he’d been thinking was probably also seen through by Hu Qiao’er.
No wonder she’d led him here as if on purpose.
But he was more concerned about something else, so he asked, “Qiao’er-jie, why do you want a bell?”
Hu Qiao’er didn’t hesitate, answering as if it were only natural, “Can’t I?”
Her voice was straightforward, then she explained:
“That woman you looked after some days ago—she has a bell on her ankle, right? So I want one too. That way…”
“That way, when you hear this bell, Ah Che, you’ll know it’s me.”
“Maybe in the future, when your eyes are better and you open them and don’t recognize me, you’ll see the bell and know it’s me!”
Her tone became light, with a little hopefulness.
The woman she referred to was naturally Feng Yaqin.
Feng Yaqin did indeed have a small bell on her right ankle.
Jiang Che wanted to ask if it didn’t hurt her feet,
But when it came to Hu Qiao’er, he couldn’t ask it aloud.
He hadn’t expected the gift’s purpose was simply so he could recognize her.
He suddenly felt an inexplicable ache in his heart.
Jiang Che asked the boss how much it was.
It wasn’t expensive, so after paying a few copper coins, Hu Qiao’er immediately put the bell on her hand, utterly delighted with it.
The boss saw this and whispered to Jiang Che, saying this was a good girl.
Jiang Che knew that well enough; there was no need for anyone else to say it.
Even though Jiang Che could already distinguish others by their aura and even their slightest footsteps, when the crisp “ding-ling-ling” rang beside his ear, he still instinctively and quietly engraved this unique sound deep in his memory.
“Qiao’er-jie, I’m sorry. I lied to you just now. Actually, that person just now… was someone who helped me before.”
He was talking about Wu Qing.
He suddenly realized that, with Hu Qiao’er, those small lies meant to cover up or evade things had become an instinctive habit.
But this time, he didn’t want to keep doing that, at least not to Hu Qiao’er.
Hu Qiao’er shook her wrist and the bell rang softly again.
Her face held an unconcerned smile: “It’s okay, Ah Che, no need to apologize.”
“But Ah Che, you used to stay here, didn’t you? Someone here must have helped you too, right? Should we go see them? It’s the holidays after all, and we can bring them some business?”
Full of enthusiasm, she grabbed Jiang Che’s hand and set off immediately.
Compared to Jiang Che lying to her, she seemed to care more about other things.
This boisterous, fiery nature instantly brought Jiang Che back to three years ago, when he first woke up in Shuiquan Village.
At that time, it was as if his soul had been drained; he kept his mouth tightly shut and couldn’t even swallow food when it was brought to his lips.
Grandpa Hu Jingzhong saw at a glance that his eyes were a recent injury, guessed Jiang Che must have suffered greatly, and that his heart was also wounded—a Heart Meridian Injury.
It wasn’t a physical illness, but the withering emptiness after his spirit was completely crushed.
He’d lost all interest and strength for everything.
It was Hu Qiao’er, day after day, tirelessly holding his hand, leading him out of the small house to walk slowly through the village lanes, letting him feel the sunlight, hear the wind, smell the earth.
Bit by bit, stubborn yet gentle, she slowly gathered the shattered fragments of his spirit back together.
Jiang Che paused for a moment, then obediently let Hu Qiao’er lead him along, telling her about the Baozi Shop that had once helped him.
He didn’t mention anything about the sect, since that didn’t matter anymore.
Soon, relying on memory, Jiang Che led Hu Qiao’er toward the Baozi Shop.
But the closer they got, the more he felt something was wrong.
Logically, they should be able to smell the aroma of the baozi by now, but there wasn’t the faintest trace.
Hu Qiao’er tugged his hand, a hint of hesitation in her voice: “Ah Che, is it here? Seems like it’s not open.”
They stopped in front of a house with its windows and doors tightly closed.
By all rights, this should have been the Baozi Shop, but now there was nothing.
Jiang Che couldn’t figure it out. Had he remembered wrong?
But it shouldn’t be!
Even if the shop closed, it wouldn’t be today, and if they’d moved away, after three years in business here, that seemed unlikely.
Just as Jiang Che was puzzling over it, an auntie carrying a basket of vegetables passed by, saw Jiang Che and Hu Qiao’er, and came over to talk: “Are you looking for the owner of this shop?”
Hu Qiao’er turned and answered, “Yes, Auntie. We heard there was a Baozi Shop here, and the baozi are really delicious, so we wanted to come and take a look.”
“Auntie, is there a Baozi Shop here?”
“That’s right, this is a Baozi Shop. But it’s been closed for several days now. I heard someone in the owner’s family passed away, so they closed up. We don’t know the details.”
With that, the auntie said she needed to go home for the holiday and left.
Hearing that someone in the shop owner’s family had died, Jiang Che felt uneasy, a bad premonition stirring in his heart.
It seemed he was always running into these strange incidents.
If it were just him, he wouldn’t care, but with Hu Qiao’er by his side, if trouble came, he’d rather avoid it.
“Qiao’er-jie, how about we call it a day and go back?”