Xiao Bang Chui gazed at him silently. Though her face remained calm, her heart was pounding fiercely in her chest.
She had never known what it was like to have parents. Since childhood, she had wandered with her master, occasionally wondering why she didn’t have parents like other children. Now, suddenly learning that she had drifted down from upstream and that her parents might soon be found, she didn’t know how to feel.
Was it intentional abandonment? Or were they forced to abandon her? She couldn’t guess the answer and a vague feeling of rejection arose in her heart. She didn’t want to know the truth.
“My… birth parents might be upstream?” she hesitantly asked.
Master shook his head and sighed, “I searched with you for over two years, asking every household along the riverbank, but never found them. I guess your birth parents were probably passing through when they abandoned you…”
Realizing he might have said too much, he glanced at Xiao Bang Chui. Being abandoned by one’s parents was certainly not a pleasant thing for a child to hear. Her expression remained unchanged, but her eyes dimmed slightly. She was affected, after all, she was only ten years old.
Master patted her cheerfully, “When you’re older and can stand on your own, you can search for your parents yourself. There’s plenty of time. Come to think of it, your master is getting old and can’t help much with finding your parents. You can ask your Senior Brother for help in the future.”
Huh? A Senior Brother suddenly appeared.
Xiao Bang Chui’s stoic face finally cracked a bit. What was going on today? Was it a day for revealing secrets? Where did this Senior Brother come from?
“…Senior Brother? You had other disciples before?”
Master boasted proudly, “Of course! Your master is so old and skilled, how could I have only one disciple? Years ago, before you came, I had a very talented disciple. Your Senior Brother was much smarter than you, learning spells with just one teaching, never needing a second lesson.”
“Where is he now?”
Had he gone off to make his way in the world after learning all the spells? She had never met this Senior Brother, and Master had never mentioned him before.
“Your Senior Brother was a prodigy. By the time he was ten, I had nothing left to teach him. He had his destiny and met an immortal. He’s probably found another master by now.”
A prodigy… finding another master… it sounded like some legendary tale, completely unreal. Xiao Bang Chui looked at Master suspiciously. More than these things she was hearing for the first time, Master’s unusual talkativeness today was even more suspicious. He had never been one to talk so much.
“I’ve talked so much, my mouth is dry.” Master tapped out his finished tobacco on a rock and stood up, stretching. “Xiao Bang Chui, let’s eat. Your master is hungry.”
Was he done talking? She nodded and pulled up a few more radishes. With no other vegetables, she’d make radish soup and braised radishes…
“Add more salt to the braised radishes, your master likes it salty,” Master instructed lazily from behind.
“Mm.”
As Xiao Bang Chui pushed open the kitchen door, Master suddenly called out to her again: “Xiao Bang Chui.”
“What is it?” She turned back. Master stood by the door, smiling at her. She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but a fleeting look of reluctance seemed to flash in Master’s eyes.
“Oh… nothing,” Master smiled. “Be careful while cooking, don’t get your new clothes dirty.”
For this meal of braised radishes, Xiao Bang Chui added three handfuls of salt, making it salty enough to be eaten as a pickle. She ladled out a bowl and took it to Master’s room, knocking gently, “Master, dinner’s ready.”
She called three times, but there was no response from inside. Had he fallen asleep? But in the past, whenever she called for meals, Master would come running out immediately, whether he was asleep or not.
An ominous feeling gradually spread in her heart. Although she had sensed something was off earlier – Master’s unusual behavior, suddenly buying her clothes, and talking about things he’d never mentioned before – she hadn’t thought much of it. But now…
Xiao Bang Chui’s heart raced as she yanked open the door. The room was filled with swirling blue smoke, which billowed out as the mountain breeze rushed in. She stumbled into the smoke, her eyes stinging, coughing repeatedly.
It took a while for the smoke to dissipate. Xiao Bang Chui slowly entered the room. It was empty except for a bed. Master, who had been there before dinner, had vanished.
“…Master?” she called softly, but there was no reply.
The blue smoke was familiar to her. It was Master’s vanishing spell, summoning a large amount of smoke to obscure vision while the physical body could instantly travel thousands of miles. It was one of Master’s genuine magical skills, which had convinced many people that he was a true immortal. She never expected him to use it at home. Where was he now? Had he vanished thousands of miles away?
Xiao Bang Chui’s heart sank slowly. For the first time, a sudden panic gripped her, leaving her at a loss.
She dropped the bowl and ran out, searching around the courtyard, even peering down the well, though of course, no one would be there.
Where was Master? Had he suddenly disappeared?
Breathless, Xiao Bang Chui searched the woods once more before returning dejectedly to Master’s wooden cabin. She looked around helplessly – the Master’s room contained nothing but a bed. The coarse bedding, which she had washed and laid out just last night, was neat and undisturbed, showing no signs of having been slept in.
A blue cloth bundle sat at the head of the bed. She recognized it as the one Master often used when traveling. It was round and full, seemingly packed with things.
Suddenly, all the sound around her ceased. Xiao Bang Chui felt as if she were in a dream. Slowly, she opened the bundle. Several silver ingots rolled out, and beneath them was a piece of old jade-colored cloth with unwashed bloodstains. Under the cloth was a letter.
She opened the letter, recognizing Master’s scrawling handwriting. The ink was still wet, seeping through the paper.
“Xiao Bang Chui, eat the radishes yourself. Eat plenty, you’ll need strength for the journey. The silver is what your master has secretly saved over the years. I’m giving you a few pieces for travel expenses. You’re so stupid, you haven’t mastered anything I’ve taught you, it worries me. Your master has some matters to attend to and must leave. I can’t take you with me.
Keep this money safe and go find your Senior Brother. I’ve attached a portrait of your Senior Brother at the end of this letter. He should now be apprenticed at Wuyue Palace and seems to have become quite skilled. You can’t go wrong finding him. That bloodstained cloth was the swaddling cloth you were wrapped in. The blood stains could never be washed out, so keep it as a memento.
Don’t rush to find your parents, there’s still plenty of time. Xiao Bang Chui, although you’re a girl, your master believes you can take care of yourself. Live as if you’re a man, but don’t think you are one. Girls should smile more. You never smile, your master worries if you even know how to smile.”
The writing stopped abruptly, so careless even in writing a farewell letter, leaving an emptiness in one’s heart where it ended.
Xiao Bang Chui felt her wrists trembling. Just this morning, she had wondered how she would survive on her own if Master passed away, given that she hadn’t mastered any spells. She never expected this day to come so quickly. Master hadn’t passed away; he had left without saying goodbye, abandoning her alone.
She dropped the letter and pulled out another piece of paper from the envelope. It contained a crooked drawing of a person, with slanted eyes and a twisted mouth, looking utterly ridiculous. Master had even added a note: “Your Senior Brother probably looks something like this.”
She couldn’t help but laugh, “Heh.” Who said she couldn’t smile? Stupid old man.
After laughing, she suddenly felt as if waking from a dream. Her eyes stung, and she couldn’t hold back anymore. Large tears fell, blurring the ink, making the portrait even more comical.
Why? Even if he had urgent matters, couldn’t she have gone with Master? Even if she was too stupid to learn any spells, couldn’t she have waited for him at home? If he wanted to leave, why couldn’t he just leave normally, as if nothing had happened? Why did he have to buy her clothes, and tell her about her background and Senior Brother, with such obvious hints that even a fool could sense something was wrong? Why did he leave a letter? He had never given her a single coin since she was little, so why give her money now? He had kept the swaddling cloth for ten years and never mentioned her parents, so why give it to her now?
She thought of the ten years they had spent together, this stingy, eccentric, moody, annoying, and willful old man. Even his departure was willful, infuriatingly so.
Xiao Bang Chui angrily threw the blue cloth bundle, accidentally hitting her foot with a silver ingot. The pain made her gasp, clutching her leg, unable to get up for a while. She was still wearing the new dress Master had just bought her, with orchids embroidered on the hem. Tears welled up from the pain, wetting the new dress. As she cried, it turned into loud sobbing, leaving her breathless.
She didn’t even want to know why she was crying. Was it the intense pain in her foot? Or perhaps, it was the ten years spent with Master, long yet fleeting, all turning into water rushing out through her eyes.