It’s a Promise
“I want to be an… osmanthus cake seller?”
Ming Feizhen pulled for dear life to stop his steed from bolting off. “Oh, never imagined Liu Shan Men’s captain would want to be an osmanthus cake seller.”
Amused with the way Ming Feizhen struggled to rein his horse in, Shen Yiren casually responded, “I didn’t know you wanted to be a doctor, either. Doctor Ming, where do you want to set up your clinic?”
“Too much knowledge never hurts in the pugilistic world, and practice makes perfect. You need to be able to utilise what you learnt as a child. To be honest, I don’t think it’s such a bad idea to be a butcher. You could eat all the pork you want, when you want, and all you have to do is physical labour. Score a beautiful wife, have a few healthy kids, and life is perfect.”
Ming Feizhen and Shen Yiren rode off toward the capital after bidding everyone else farewell. Mountain Monster stayed behind in Hangzhou to finish reaching out to the others she needed to. The duo barely made any luggage, so it was a relaxing journey full of dialogue.
Shen Yiren caught Ming Feizhen glancing her way after mentioning having kids. She would’ve immediately told him off if it was any other day. Today, however, some sweet, burning feeling surged up inside her; she couldn’t tell if it was embarrassment or joy, but she couldn’t bring herself to reprimand him. All she did in the end was fake a soft cough to warn him against crossing the line.
Realising he was caught, Ming Feizhen cleared his throat, too, regretting his prior decision. He knew Shen Yiren was observant, not to mention how good their chemistry was; he just couldn’t control his eyes. Ever since that night, he perceived her differently. He could no longer admire the maiden, who somewhat resembled him, for her character. Whenever he saw her now, he’d imagine… not so good things… images he couldn’t put into words. His hands would move towards her out of instinct, or he’d fix his gaze on her lips. He knew the problems with those behaviours. Thankfully, she didn’t care, or he would have trouble explaining himself.
“What are you looking at me for?” questioned Shen Yiren.
“Huh?”
If she was honest, not even Shen Yiren could figure out why she asked the question. It was supposed to be all in the past after she faked her cough, but she couldn’t stop her mind posing questions afterwards. That was why her gaze only had curiosity in it when she voiced her question; she never considered the significance of the answer she’d receive.
“Because… Because…”
Ming Feizhen: Yeah, because of what?
While Ming Feizhen was still weighing his gains and losses from answering the question, he instinctively replied, “Because I…”
“The next time I catch you looking where you’re not supposed to, I’ll dig your lecherous eyes out.” Shen Yiren rode forward a tad, allowing her to feel some relief from having to face the consequences of asking the thoughtless question.
Shen Yiren: What did you were expecting to hear, idiot? Are you… in any position to be stirring another?
Ming Feizhen was equally relieved. Not even he knew what he was going to answer with or the ramifications of his answer. Nevertheless, he was confident the consequence would be more damaging than the kiss. All that said, he found Shen Yiren’s way of ending the topic to be uncharacteristic of her. Usually, she’d have the last word – and possibly smack him with his most despised inkstone.
Once Ming Feizhen caught up to Shen Yiren, they rode on for a while without exchanging any words.
“Why osmanthus cakes?”
“Because of my mother.”
Shen Yiren peered into the forest, paying particular attention to the movements of the leaves as though she was checking if it was safe or not. Really, though, Ming Feizhen’s instincts would’ve told him if there was any danger. The instincts didn’t just switch on and off because he was relaxed or tired. Shen Yiren’s tone just softened since she was talking about her mother.
“My mother often made osmanthus cakes for Kuang and I when we were kids.”
“She knows how to cook?”
“Pfft, if she cooked, you wouldn’t have enough time to run out of the house to call for help before the house was up in flames.”
Ming Feizhen’s reaction put a smile on Shen Yiren’s face.
“My mother is a beauty you’d only find once in a lifetime. She was a straight shooter who frequently loved to let people know what she thought of them. I’m similar to her in that regard.”
“Boss, I’d buy two boxes of osmanthus cakes from you even if I don’t eat them. How are you any inferior?”
“You can’t keep any conversation serious, can you?” Despite the chiding remark, Shen Yiren was all smiles. “My mother wasn’t a good cook. She wanted to learn after she married my father, but she didn’t progress after several tries. In contrast, my father was so good that she was always vexed about it. She never stopped pressing us to try her cooking, though. She sought out a teacher to learn how to make osmanthus cakes, and, for some reason, that was the best dish in her repertoire.
“Restoring Liu Shan Men to its former glory is my goal in life, and ensuring evil doesn’t go unpunished is my wish. That’s why I’d sell osmanthus cakes if I’m not a roving warrior. Or maybe I can be a roving warrior who sells osmanthus cakes. That doesn’t seem too bad.”
“If there was another roving warrior as beautiful as you, boy, there’d be some fun things to see.”
“Considering how much Liu Shan Men has on its plate, though, I’ll be eighty if not seventy by the time I can leave the capital. At that point, I can’t be a roving warrior; I could only be an old granny selling osmanthus cakes.”
“You’d still be pretty even when you’re a granny.“
Shen Yiren chuckled. “Would you come buy from me?“
Ming Feizhen shook his head. “I only eat free ones.”
Shen Yiren didn’t reply for a while. Following a nod, she responded, “… I’ll make them for you, then.”
Although Ming Feizhen didn’t understand the meaning of the short pause, he did understand that a path appeared before him after it. The path was shrouded in mist and littered with thorns for sure, but there was definitely a path in front of him. At the other end of it, a maiden had prepared some osmanthus cakes for him.
Looking Shen Yiren straight in the eyes, he softly expressed, “In that case, I shall cross all the mountains, oceans, dens of wolves and wyrms, windy deserts, thorny forests, towering cliffs, oceans of flames and roads of blades no matter what the cost to eat them.”
In a low voice, Shen Yiren looked back and replied, “… It’s a promise.”
“It’s a promise.”
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