Unfortunately, they failed to learn anything concrete. At the stables, they were told to ask elsewhere, somewhere that supposedly knew about the Zhao Clan, but when they reached that place, there were no answers either. From there, they were redirected to an establishment where caravan guards for hire gathered. The tiny figures wandered through the city from one place to another, blending into the crowds of the great city.

  They hurried past a dozen houses and small shops. Suddenly, bright ribbons and lanterns of the Red Lantern District appeared before them. Soft strains of the erhu or guqin filled the air, mingled with women’s sweet laughter and men’s lewd words, occasionally broken by a melodious song about love and loyalty, about wives waiting at home, guarding the hearth for brave warriors.

  In a nearby alley, a woman covered in sores coughed weakly, so emaciated her bones showed through her skin. A little farther on sat another woman, more corpse than living person, a costly hairpin still glinting in her tangled hair. Both looked like broken toys thrown away in the trash. One of them stretched out a trembling hand, holding a bowl.

  Xue and Minzhu hurried through this cursed place as fast as they could. Gripping each other’s hands as if they were anchors, they looked around in terror. They did not like Puyang at all, even though it was hardly different from Baohe. There, too, they had seen a Red Lantern District, a market, and even personally known a pickpocket. But here, everything felt grotesquely exaggerated, as if the city’s worst filth was being forced to the surface like pus from an infected wound.

  “Little ones, would you like to become my apprentices?” a heavily made-up woman in an expensive dress called down with a smile from a second-story window. “All my girls live like queens. Come here, don’t be afraid. You have potential… Where are you going?”

  “Should I catch them, Madam Ye Lan?” a man shouted from below.

  “No, leave them. I’m just amusing myself. Ha-ha-ha.”

  “They’ll grow into beauties,” the man commented. “If only they were five years older…”

  The sisters didn’t hear the rest of the conversation. Nearly running, they fled the streets of endless revelry, crossed a wide road thundered over by carts, and found themselves before the gates of a merchant guild. Neither of them could read the name. Gathering her courage, Xue knocked on the gate.

  “Come back tomorrow,” an indifferent voice replied. “Don’t knock again.”

  “It’s getting dark,” Minzhu said.

  “We should return to the market. Buy more flatbreads.”

  “Mm. But let’s take a different road… that place was scary…”

  “Alright.”

  The flatbread vendor was gone, so they circled the market in search of other cheap food. Night was approaching; merchants were closing their stalls, roadside shops were shutting their doors. Only taverns, eateries, and inns remained open. The aromas drifting from them were exquisite. Through wide-open doors, Minzhu watched servants carrying dishes to guests, wiping the drool from her mouth.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” a servant rushed out to block them. “We don’t serve beggars! Get lost, get lost. You’re disturbing the guests!”

  “We’re just passing by, sir,” Xue explained politely.

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  “We don’t want your food, even if it smells that good,” Minzhu added, then, just in case, asked, “Is it dumplings or meat soup?”

  “Ha-ha-ha!” boomed laughter from inside the teahouse, and soon a well-built, dignified man stepped out. “Let them in.”

  “What? Ah… yes! At once, sir!” the servant bowed hurriedly. “Quickly! Go inside!” he urged the girls.

  “Thank you for your kindness, but we can’t afford to eat here,” Xue said, bowing to the man.

  “What if I treat you?”

  “Our father taught us not to take on debt from strangers,” Minzhu chimed in, though her eyes never left the interior, her finger pressed to her lips as if she could taste the food that way.

  “Good,” the man nodded approvingly, clearly pleased with the sharp-witted girls. Turning to the servant, he said, “Bring bread. Two flatbreads.”

  “What? Ah! Yes! Right away!” The nimble youth disappeared inside.

  “I’ll sell you two flatbreads for ten copper coins,” the man said to the girls. “Deal?”

  “Yes,” Xue agreed immediately.

  The servant returned, and the transaction was completed.

  “If you need work, come to me,” the man added. “That way you can pay for a proper meal.”

  “Thank you very much, sir. We’ll definitely come back,” Xue said with another bow. “Now we’ll be going.”

  “Hmph. Agreed to bread when they could’ve eaten well,” the servant snorted after them. “Didn’t appreciate the master’s kindness at all. Stupid girls... what can you expect…”

  “Idiot,” the innkeeper muttered and went back inside.

  With their stomachs no longer empty, the sisters trudged through Puyang’s dark streets, no longer sure where they had wandered. Both were exhausted after the long day, but in an unfamiliar city they didn’t know where to seek shelter. They were afraid to go to an inn, unwilling to risk being locked inside with no way to escape. Finding some old baskets so they wouldn’t sit on bare ground, they settled against a wall, leaning against each other.

  Meanwhile, a group of guards marched past with torches in hand. Weapons and armor clanked in the darkness, their heavy steps breaking the night’s silence. Spotting two small figures by the wall, they hurried over at once.

  “Hey! Homeless ones there!” an officer pointed. “By order of the city lord, round up all vagrants!”

  “They look like just children…”

  “Or runaway slaves?” the officer shot him a stern look. “Take them to the guardhouse. We’ll sort it out there. What’s unclear, soldier?”

  “Forgive my insolence, sir!”

  Xue and Minzhu slept lightly; any noise woke them quickly. Hearing the clatter of armor, they sprang to their feet and ran. At the first corner, they turned into an alley without a word. From time to time, they glanced at each other, afraid of being separated. Xue occasionally reached out to touch her sister’s arm, as if to say, I’m here. Rare drops of rain began to fall from the sky.

  “They ran!”

  “Catch them! What are you standing around for?!”

  “There, left into the alley!”

  The guards didn’t pursue them for long, nor with much enthusiasm. They made enough noise to wake nearby residents but caught no one. A few courtyards cracked open their gates to see what was happening, then slammed them shut again in irritation. Soon the rain intensified, its steady patter blanketing Puyang as the streets filled with a pale mist.

  “Where are they?”

  “Did anyone see those vagrants?”

  “Damn it. A crowd of grown men couldn’t catch two kids. Are you mocking me?”

  The sisters were already far from that ill-fated spot. Huddled beneath a flimsy awning overgrown with weeds, they hid. Ever since Baohe, they had feared the guards and expected nothing good from them. The rain lashed down mercilessly; like two shivering kittens, Xue and Minzhu sat close, arms wrapped around each other for warmth.

  Suddenly, measured footsteps sounded farther down the street, two people. The girls tensed, ready to run again at any moment. Through the white curtain of rain, two figures approached: one tall and dignified, the other youthful. Soon, they saw an elderly gentleman and a teenage boy holding an umbrella over him. One of the man’s hands was clasped behind his back; the sleeve of the other hung empty, fluttering in the wind.

  “Good evening, little fish sellers,” he said with a smile.

  “Grandpa?” Minzhu’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “How did you end up here?”

  “Hm. Decided to take a walk. The weather suits me just fine.”

  “But it’s raining,” the girl fretted. “You could catch a cold!”

  “What a caring child,” he said, stroking his beard. “As thanks, I invite you to tea.”

  “We don’t wish to impose, sir,” Xue replied, repeating a phrase she had heard adults use before.

  “Oh? And what if I need your help? Would you refuse an old man?”

  “What? No!” Minzhu jumped out into the downpour. “We’ll help. Right?” She turned to her sister.

  “Mm,” Xue nodded, remembering the old man’s kindness back in Baohe.

  But I will definitely continue writing, there are still many adventures ahead.

  Happy New Year to all my amazing readers! Wishing you health, happiness, and prosperity in 2026!