Beside the fire pit, A Shui's face seemed to be burning as well. The gaze from the depths of her eyes was carried by the fmes to a distant past, to a city named Feng, to a great fire that could never be extinguished.
She turned her head slightly, wanting to share that unbearable memory with Wen Chaoshen. But the countless dead eyes in the fire, the swords buried by corpses and ruins, made A Shui swallow those words back down.
Enough people had died in that city; there was no need for one more.
Let it be.
She lowered her head, her tone complex and faint:
"…Maybe you're just overthinking it. Kuhai County is full of insignificant people. Any connections are likely coincidences. In such a small pce, where would all these conspiracy theories come from?"
Wen Chaoshen ughed, and A Shui gnced at him sideways, coldly asking:
"What are you ughing at?"
Wen Chaoshen rested one hand on his knee and replied:
"Do you know, just now, there was a fire in your eyes."
A Shui's eyebrows drew slightly together, forming a faint character between them.
"What fire?"
Wen Chaoshen:
"A great fire."
"You want to say it but won't, so I'll say it, and you listen."
"I've been thinking, whether it's the false letter you received or the one Hunter Zhang and the others received, they should have a simir purpose. To determine if there's a big hand maniputing everything behind the scenes, the method is simple."
"We just need to find the families of other soldiers, or, when you left Kuhai County back then, did you have any friends accompanying you? Their families should also be in Kuhai County. Finding these people will confirm my suspicions."
A Shui stared at Wen Chaoshen, her eyes seemingly trying to see through him. After a long while, she said faintly:
"Think it through, you might uncover something, find some unburned embers, and the fire could spread to you."
Wen Chaoshen replied bluntly:
"So you should heal well. Once you're better, you can protect me."
A Shui's right eyebrow raised slightly, her tone carrying a hint of mockery:
"A big man like you, needing a woman like me to protect you?"
"Isn't that embarrassing?"
Wen Chaoshen sighed:
"You've seen my plight. Embarrassment is better than losing my life."
"Besides, you're different from Mr. Lü. He has been incredibly kind to me and owes me nothing. Of course, I want to live with dignity in front of him... As for you, you owe me a life and a jug of wine, so it's only right for you to protect me. If one day you stand in front of me, I won't feel ashamed at all."
Hearing this, A Shui seriously scrutinized Wen Chaoshen from head to toe, her gaze openly filled with surprise.
"I thought, for you to survive outside Kuhai County as a refugee for three years, you must have some extraordinary skills, at least some cunning tricks. But now it seems your extraordinary trait is your shamelessness."
Wen Chaoshen shrugged helplessly:
"You've only just discovered my shamelessness?"
"I thought you noticed long ago, as this trait is hard to hide."
A Shui looked at him speechlessly and finally said:
"Tomorrow, I'll give you three addresses. Go check them out. It's been many years, and I'm not sure if anyone still lives there, or if the people living there are the same as before..."
"When you come back, remember to bring two jugs of wine... no, three jugs. I'll drink two myself."
"From the same pce."
Wen Chaoshen took out the copper coins he had, counted them carefully, and frowned:
"Aren't you supposed to treat me to a drink?"
A Shui zily replied:
"Sure, give me the money, and I'll treat you."
Wen Chaoshen counted the money in his hand twice, then without hesitation, pocketed it and shook his head:
"Spending my money to treat me to a drink, you're too shameless."
A Shui said smugly:
"Living with a shameless person, I should become a bit shameless too, otherwise I won't gain any advantage."
Wen Chaoshen looked at A Shui, rummaging through the ink in his mind, and began to preach to her, trying to persuade her:
"As the saying goes, wine is a gut-wrenching poison, and lust is a bone-scraping knife. You're injured now, drinking too much wine isn't good for your wound healing..."
A Shui interrupted him:
"No matter, I'll drink the gut-wrenching poison, it's just a bit salty."
Wen Chaoshen was at a loss for words, suddenly recalling that in the abandoned temple, this fierce woman really drank half a bottle of gut-wrenching poison.
After a long silence, Wen Chaoshen's voice carried a faint trace of resentment:
"Buy two bottles, I won't drink, you can have them all."
"With the way you drink, when will I ever afford a house?"
A Shui pced a hand on Wen Chaoshen's shoulder, squinting as she said:
"Buying a house, why are you so narrow-minded?"
"Keep the money for drinking and eating meat, isn't that more enjoyable?"
Wen Chaoshen ignored her, muttering to himself:
"Fifty coins a day is definitely not enough. Fortunately, I've chopped so much wood, Mr. Lü can't use it all, I can sell some to others for extra income... Now my body is better than before, once I get skilled at chopping wood, I can save half a day's time and find something else to do in the county city..."
A Shui listened to his ramblings, feeling a headache, and gave him a cheeky suggestion:
"Didn't you say you have some expertise in calligraphy?"
"You could sell your writing at entertainment venues, many nobles like to funt their literary taste. If your writing is really good, maybe some noble will take a liking to it, and the money will come."
Wen Chaoshen paused at her words, first gncing at A Shui, then shook his head:
"No way."
"I do have some research in calligraphy, but it's not worthy of the halls. It only looks good in form, cking personal style and charm. True art lovers often appreciate the inner essence, and I'm just a dabbler..."
A Shui sneered:
"Kuhai County is such a small pce, where would you find so many true art connoisseurs?"
"Why not try it tomorrow? If you earn money, I won't take it, just treat me to a drink."
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