“What an extraordinary man my master is.” Su Baiyi pondered for a while, and eventually opened the conversation with this remark.
Nangong Xi’er ate her rice in small bites, her expression indifferent. “Mhm.”
“He opened a school in Apricot Blossom Village to support the two of us, but the money was only enough for us to eat steamed buns, not enough for drinking, so he sold his calligraphy, which was very good, but he was too lazy to write himself, so he taught me how to write. Every New Year, when I wrote for those rich families in the city, we would earn enough for half a year’s expenses in just that half a month. He promised to give me whatever was left, but he never kept his word. He always spent it all, leaving nothing behind.” Su Baiyi watched Nangong Xi’er’s expression carefully as he spoke tentatively at first, but seeing that she remained indifferent, he became more talkative. “Later I learned to be smart, and I would secretly keep some for myself, but then the money was not enough. Master taught me how to listen to the dice, and then he let me go to the casino to make some money back, but I had to lose some on purpose, afraid of attracting attention.”
“Listen to the dice?” Nangong Xi’er took a sip of soup.
“Yes, I have excellent hearing now. I can close my eyes and hear how many petals fall when Master swings his sword at the apricot tree.” Su Baiyi said proudly.
“No wonder, this is training your ability to locate by listening to the wind.” Nangong Xi’er nodded. “But does your master love drinking so much?”
“He has a passion for drinking. He says it’s because the wine in Apricot Blossom Village is so good that he stayed there. But it’s strange… Sometimes he drinks jar after jar of apricot wine and he doesn’t get drunk at all, his eyes only get brighter. But sometimes he gets drunk after a few sips.” Su Baiyi shook his head with a smile. “Master, he’s always cheerful, gentle and playful with people, everyone in the village likes him. But I think he’s actually very sad every day.”
“Sad how?” Nangong Xi’er’s eyelashes fluttered slightly.
“Master would act strangely when he was drunk. Sometimes he would say nothing and practice his sword in the yard all night long. Sometimes he would lie on the apricot tree and gaze at the stars for the whole night. Sometimes he would tell me stories of his heroic deeds in the past. And very rarely, he would suddenly hug me and cry like a child, saying that he was useless, that he was not Xie Kanhua who was the best at sword intent, but a weak and worthless man.” Su Baiyi smiled and saw that Nangong Xi’er’s expression finally changed. Actually, he had a lot to say about Xie Kanhua, enough to talk for a day and a night, but he knew very well what kind of stories Nangong Xi’er wanted to hear.
“When he was drunk, he often recited that little song.” Su Baiyi picked up a chopstick and gently tapped the porcelain bowl in front of him. “Gathering firewood with care, under the three stars in the sky. What night is this, that I meet my beloved? Oh you, oh you, how could such a wonderful person be? Tying the hay with care, under the three stars in the corner. What night is this, that I encounter you by chance? Oh you, oh you, how could such a chance meeting be? Binding the branches with care, under the three stars at the door. What night is this, that I see such a radiant one? Oh you, oh you, how could such a radiant one be?”
Nangong Xi’er also hummed along softly, and when the song was over, they both suddenly fell silent, and ate their food quietly. They finished the meal in a calm but strange atmosphere. After they were done, Su Baiyi packed the food on the table back into the lunch box, and then poured a cup of wine for himself and Nangong Xi’er.
“Some things are indeed more flavorful when told with wine.” Su Baiyi suddenly straightened up and placed his sword on the table.
“I heard from my mother that my father was a very talented man, who had read many books and traveled to many places, but only—” Nangong Xi’er stopped short.
“But he only loved one person.” Su Baiyi drank a cup of wine. “Master told me the same thing. He was indeed very talented, he could quote classics at will, he could write ten poems from looking at an apricot blossom, he had indeed been to many places, he had been to a city called Suiye in the north, he had been to the islands in the South Sea, and as for the one he loved… Master said, he once promised that woman, he would lead three hundred disciples in white, ride a thousand miles from Weilong Mountain to Yunhuang, each horse would have a flag, it would say: Swordman Xie Kanhua will marry the fairy Nangong Yuwen. He would welcome heroes from all over the world to celebrate. But he failed to do so, by the time he arrived at Tianmen Holy Sect (Heavenly Gate Sacred Sect) with his sword alone, Yunhuang had become a wasteland again.”
Nangong Xi’er drank a sip of wine and said nothing.
“Master said he had three regrets in his life. The first was that he wanted to be free of any sect or school and roam the world, but he was forced to join Shanglin Heavenly Palace because he couldn’t defeat Su Han, and he was forced to have a place where he had to stay. The second was that he wanted to be free of any ties and forget his family, but he felt sorry for those children who had been treated so badly since they were young. Although those old men were hated by others, he couldn’t bear to leave those children behind, so he had to go back to Jiangnan from time to time and shake those old men up. The third was that he wanted to be free of any love or affection and live as he pleased, but he met that woman and his heart was bound, and he could never be free again, because no matter what he did, he always thought of that person in his mind. But what was even more hateful was that he actually liked this feeling of being unfree, and he always smiled involuntarily. The maple leaves in Suiye City were beautiful, the sea at the edge of the South Sea could show thousands of wonders, Yunhuang had nothing, but as long as he was beside that girl, everything was fine.”
“Didn’t I just say that Master could write ten poems from looking at an apricot blossom? Master’s poems are mostly love poems, let me recite a few for you…”
“Master also told me about his adventures with that woman in the wasteland of Yunhuang…”
“He also said he had a daughter who was as delicate as jade, but she disappeared later, and he has been searching for her all these years.”
“…………”
Nangong Xi’er mostly remained quiet, just drank that wine, sometimes smiled or asked a few questions, and listened to Su Baiyi’s endless talk for more than an hour until she finally felt a bit tipsy, and lay down on the table, snoozing.
“Senior sister, senior sister…” Su Baiyi called softly, but Nangong Xi’er did not answer. He sighed lightly, walked over and gently lifted Nangong Xi’er into his arms. “How could she just fall asleep like this? But it’s good that she fell asleep, I really couldn’t go on talking.”
“You’re lying.” Nangong Xi’er murmured, with a hint of drunkenness, not knowing if she was still awake or talking in her sleep.
“Huh?”
“He gave himself away. Xie Kanhua never saw my mother again after he left Yunhuang, so how could he know about me, this little girl who was as delicate as jade?”
“Maybe I remembered it wrong…”
“And also, Yunhuang has no wasteland, only endless mountains that stretch beyond the horizon.”
“…”
“You must have had a hard time making up stories all along since those three things. You’ve been lying to me. But I really, really like these lying stories.” Nangong Xi’er’s head swayed, and she finally fell into a deep sleep.
Thanks.