Nobody knew what Ye Beizhi had told Old Master Wu that night, but Ye Beizhi ended up staying in the Changfeng Escort Agency. To smooth things over, Master Wu issued a command forbidding anyone from bothering his guest.
The next morning, Ye Beizhi rose early and was fetching water to wash his face when Fang Dingwu walked into his courtyard, followed by the same young woman Ye Beizhi had met at last night's banquet.
Fang Dingwu greeted Ye Beizhi and introduced the girl.
"This is Miss Chi, Master Wu’s adopted daughter. Don't be fooled by Master Wu's usual stern demeanor; he really dotes on her. She was incredibly impressed when she heard about your spar with Master Wu last night and she demanded I bring her to visit you. Oh! Okay, okay, I'll let you do the talking, hahaha."
The girl blushed furiously as she kicked Fang Dingwu from behind.
The girl looked up at Ye Beizhi with a face flushed red, gave a polite bow, and softly said, "My name is Chi Nanwei. I am pleased to meet you, Young Master Ye."
Ye Beizhi nodded and, after a moment of thought, decided to say, "Hello."
The three of them then sat at a stone table in the small courtyard outside the wing room, and Fang Dingwu spoke up, "There is also something else that I wish to discuss with you today, Brother Ye."
Ye Beizhi turned to look at Fang Dingwu, signaling him to continue.
"Since you will be staying at our escort agency and your martial arts skills are so extraordinary, why not join the agency officially? You could accompany us on escort missions when you have time. With you on board, our travels would be much safer."
Fang Dingwu leaned in closer to Ye Beizhi and said, "This is also Master Wu's suggestion."
Fang Dingwu was prepared for Ye Beizhi to take some time to consider, but to his surprise, Ye Beizhi nodded immediately. "Sure."
"Great! Now I can report back on my successful mission. I was actually afraid you might not agree, Brother Ye!" Fang Dingwu cheered, laughing as he patted Ye Beizhi on the shoulder.
"Brother Ye, you probably haven't had breakfast yet, right?" Fang Dingwu abruptly asked.
Ye Beizhi pulled out a small piece of a bun wrapped in oil paper from inside his clothes and looked at Fang Dingwu. It was the leftover of what Fang Dingwu had given him the day before.
"Brother Ye, are you trying to embarrass me? How can you still eat stuff like that here?" Fang Dingwu tutted.
"You’re one of us now, so this is your home too. There will never be a lack of food for you! Just wait! I’ll go grab some food from the kitchen!" With that, he strode off.
Ye Beizhi watched Fang Dingwu leave, examined the dry bread in his hand, and then put it back in his pocket.
"Hey, what are you keeping it for?" As soon as Fang Dingwu left, Chi Nanwei leaned over with her chin on her hands, her curious eyes blinking as she stared at Ye Beizhi.
Ye Beizhi straightened his clothes to secure the bun and replied, "To eat."
"A piece of dry bun shouldn’t be that special," Chi Nanwei muttered softly before eagerly asking, "Hey, who won when you and Grandpa Wu fought last night?"
Ye Beizhi glanced at Chi Nanwei but didn’t answer her question.
She didn’t mind and continued to ask, "You must be an amazing fighter, right? I heard other people say that Grandpa Wu is a Martial Master. I’ve never seen him lose a fight before!"
As she got excited, Miss Chi seemed to be talking to herself.
"Although I haven't seen Grandpa Wu fight much in recent years, he’s always practicing and shouldn't have lost his edge. You were able to fight him to a standstill while you're still so young. Doesn’t that mean you’re pretty good too?"
Ye Beizhi wasn't sure how to respond.
"Why aren’t you talking?" Chi Nanwei faced Ye Beizhi and piled on even more questions. "You don’t like talking to others, do you? If you were outside alone and got lost, would you even ask for directions?"
Ye Beizhi decided not to respond.
"Speaking of which, you didn’t say much at dinner last night either, I only saw you force Big Brother Feihu to the ground. He is such a skilled fighter, yet you subdued him with one grab. It seems that you are really powerful, right?"
Chi Nanwei then looked at the Tang blade on Ye Beizhi’s waist.
"You must really treasure your blade. Yesterday, you shut down Big Brother Feihu the moment he tried to touch it."
Ye Beizhi responded this time, nodding, "Yes."
Chi Nanwei was delighted to finally get a response from Ye Beizhi, lighting up like a child who earned a sweet treat.
"How old are you? You don’t look much older than me."
Ye Beizhi thought and replied, "Twenty-one..."
Chi Nanwei counted on her fingers as she said, "Twenty-one. Hmm, that's two years older than me..."
"In nominal years."[1]
"Oh, nominal age." Chi Nanwei suddenly exclaimed, "Whoa! So you’re only a year older than me?" "You’re barely older than me and so strong already! How did you train your martial arts? Could you be one of those martial prodigies that storytellers love to talk about?"
Ye Beizhi reddened slightly, schooled his sight straight ahead at nothing, and then nodded. "Yes."
"To actually admit it," Chi Nanwei gasped very softly, thinking that Ye Beizhi couldn’t hear her. "How shameless."
Ye Beizhi suddenly thought it might be better to interact less with this girl, who became a completely different person when Fang Dingwu left.
Chi Nanwei was poised to ask more questions when Fang Dingwu’s voice drifted over from afar, "Brother Ye! Guess what I brought you?"
Chi Nanwei had been leaning across the stone table, but hearing Fang Dingwu’s voice, she immediately sat upright on her stool and tucked her hands back on her lap. By the time Fang Dingwu’s shadow peeked past the doorway, she had fully resumed her demure demeanor.
Ye Beizhi goggled at the ladylike Chi Nanwei, dumbfounded. When Chi Nanwei noticed Ye Beizhi looking at her, she glared at him as if to threaten him not to expose her.
Fang Dingwu strolled in carrying a box of food. He set it on the table, and opened it with a flourish.
He grinned at Ye Bezhi and said, "Look Brother Ye! Juicy lotus leaf-wrapped baked chicken fresh out of the oven! Haha, come and dig in, Brother Ye, take some chopsticks." Then he handed another set to Chi Nanwei, "Little Sister Chi, let's all eat together."
Chi Nanwei waved her hand, "Thank you Big Brother Fang, but I already ate this morning. You and Young Master Ye go ahead. I shall take my leave."
The girl stood up and bowed to Ye Beizhi.
"Young Master Ye, don’t forget about what we agreed on. When you have some free time in a few days, I’ll show you around Jiading Prefecture so you can get familiar with the area." With that, she slipped away.
"Whaa—" Ye Beizhi was at a loss and wanted to speak, but Chi Nanwei’s figure had already disappeared beyond the door and around the corner.
"Eh? Did you want to go sightseeing around the Jiading Prefecture?" Fang Dingwu asked Ye Beizhi.
"You should have told me, I know this area very well! Hehe, but then again, having a lovely lady show you around you is better than being with a rough guy like me." Fang Dingwu winked at Ye Beizhi.
"Miss Chi is..." Ye Beizhi shook his head and trailed off.
Fang Dingwu put down the chicken leg in his hand and soberly said, "Little Sister Chi actually has quite a tragic past."
"Hmm?" Ye Beizhi looked at Fang Dingwu with some curiosity.
"Her parents were once close friends with Master Wu, but later they were schemed against by some shady people. Before they died, they entrusted her into Master Wu’s care." Fang Dingwu explained, "She was only ten years old then. Master Wu wholeheartedly accepted her and treated her like his own daughter. He nurtured and supported her in everything so that she would never lack for anything else."
Fang Dingwu emotionally sighed, "Little Sister Chi is naturally well-behaved and lively, so the entire escort agency also dotes on her and cherishes her dearly."
Ye Beizhi gazed in the direction Chi Nanwei departed, lost in thought.
1. Traditional East Asian nominal age reckoning covers a group of related methods for counting human age practiced in the East Asian cultural sphere; it starts at 1 at birth and increases by 1 with each New Year. ☜