Wu Lingyuan shook his head. If he could forget this experience, the temple wouldn’t have refused to tonsure him.
Neither spoke further. They sat until sunset before An Jiu finally rose to take her leave.
She found a place to rest for the night and returned to the wonton stall early the next morning.
The riverside was shrouded in morning mist. Wu Lingyuan had already lit the stove, boiling a pot of water.
An Jiu didn’t conceal her presence. He listened carefully and said, “It’s you, my benefactor.”
“Call me A-Jiu,” An Jiu said as she sat down.
Wu Lingyuan obliged without hesitation. “A-Jiu.”
As he had the day before, he prepared a bowl of wontons and set it before her. Today’s wontons were generously filled with meat, their rich aroma drawing passersby. Business was much better than the previous day.
Yet Wu Lingyuan remained as serene as ever—neither disheartened by fewer customers nor elated by more. When the stall grew busy, he attempted to speak to An Jiu a few times but received no response. Realizing she preferred silence in crowds, he stopped trying.
By mid-morning, Wu Lingyuan had sold over a dozen bowls of wontons, all to traveling merchants except for An Jiu.
As noon approached, more vendors set up around them, and Wu Lingyuan’s tucked-away stall saw fewer visitors. He extinguished the stove and sat quietly with her for the rest of the day.
“I’ve heard scholars are stubborn, rigidly clinging to benevolence, righteousness, and virtue,” An Jiu said, glancing at Wu Lingyuan. “I gave you money to start a business, yet you’ve never spoken of repaying me.”
Wu Lingyuan paused, then smiled. “If A-Jiu has any task for me, I’ll gladly do it.”
An Jiu said nothing.
Seeing her dissatisfaction with his answer, Wu Lingyuan understood she wasn’t truly asking for repayment but probing his earlier statement. “There’s no denying some pedantry exists, but behind the scenes, cunning is just as common. Take the academy I once attended—students were outwardly courteous but often harbored grudges in secret. Learning etiquette taught them to bury their hearts deeper. They neither gave sincerity lightly nor revealed malice easily.”
An Jiu pondered his words and found them insightful. “You know a lot.”
Wu Lingyuan chuckled. “This is all I have to occupy my days—trivial matters. I’m just glad A-Jiu is willing to listen.”
After a stretch of silence, Wu Lingyuan continued, “This place is poor, but I love it here. Once, when I was starving, a neighbor gave me their family’s last bowl of leftover rice. How many well-dressed men would empty their coffers to save someone insignificant?”
Abruptly, An Jiu said, “I have matters to attend to. We’ll meet another day.”
Wu Lingyuan didn’t press further. “Till we meet again.”
The Mei family was immensely wealthy. The jade pendant given to An Jiu by its head likely represented a vast fortune. Who could remain unmoved by such wealth? Alone in the Song Dynasty, having these resources would offer her security. Part of her resisted returning the pendant or reconnecting with the Mei family, yet she also needed to continue practicing Plum Fist.
After two days of deliberation, An Jiu made her decision. That night, she headed straight for the Mei family’s temporary residence in Bianjing.
She had been here before—the first place she visited outside Plum Blossom Village after arriving in the Song Dynasty, when she came with Mo Sigui.
An Jiu vaulted over the courtyard wall and strode toward the main hall.The main hall's doors were wide open, casting warm yellow light onto the smooth stone slabs outside. The lanterns on the corridor swayed gently in the breeze, their light mingling with that from inside, creating a dreamlike shimmer.
The moment An Jiu appeared at the doorway, all three people inside noticed her simultaneously.
The man remained composed, while the woman showed brief wariness before quickly relaxing.
"Shi Si," said Mei Zhengjing, still dressed in white robes—though now they were mourning garments.
His eyes somewhat resembled Mo Sigui's, yet their demeanors were worlds apart. Mo Sigui carried an air of rakish charm whether laughing or scolding, while Mei Zhengjing had once seemed indifferent to everything but now appeared more solemn and grounded.
Standing beside him were Mei Tingzhu and Mei Tingyuan, also clad in mourning white.
Both Mei Zhengjing and Mei Tingzhu were formidable, yet they hadn't detected An Jiu's approach until she was right before them, which surprised them.
"You've progressed this far," Mei Zhengjing remarked.
There was no joy or pride in his tone, for he knew well that Mei Shisi held no affection for the Mei family—if anything, only resentment remained.
"I'm here to make a deal," An Jiu stated.
Mei Tingyuan had initially been pleased to see An Jiu, but her expression darkened at these words. "Mei Shisi, if you weren't going to show up, fine—but to come back only to speak so coldly! The Mei family raised you for a time, and this is how you repay us?"
Mei Zhengjing remained impassive, gesturing. "Please, sit."
His manner made it clear An Jiu was being treated as an outsider.
An Jiu didn't refuse. After everyone was seated, Mei Zhengjing waited for her to state her purpose.
"Before discussing the deal, I'd like to know—does anyone still practice Plum Fist?" An Jiu asked.
Since the Mei family had prioritized Inner Cultivation, Plum Fist had become an awkward martial art. Accustomed to Inner Cultivation techniques, its usefulness in combat had dwindled, yet discarding it entirely seemed wasteful.
"Of course," Mei Zhengjing replied. "Though no one has mastered the complete set since the previous family head passed, the manual remains."
"The late Mei family head told me before his death that the Loyalty and Righteousness Pavilion is the lifeblood of the Mei family," An Jiu continued, noticing Mei Zhengjing's expression grow serious. "He gave me a jade pendant that may be connected to this so-called lifeblood. Having safeguarded something so crucial for the Mei family, it's only reasonable I ask for some compensation, don't you think?"
"You're Mei family by blood. Even without this matter, you could have studied Plum Fist," Mei Tingzhu interjected. "Why call it a deal?" (To be continued...)
PS: Actually, it was just 200 words short of 2,000, but I ran out of time. Also, I made a mistake yesterday about the character voting—it's not by clicking "like" but through free votes (three per VIP). Sleeve Paper here asking for votes to shower on the two little tigers
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