There were no pupils within the maiden’s eyes, only a field of white.
Wei WuXian wondered, This is clearly the look of someone who’s blind, but right now I can see, can’t I?
After the girl fastened her hair, she dusted her clothes and leaped up. Grabbing the bamboo pole by her feet, she skipped along the road. She swung her pole as she walked, ceaselessly swatting at the branches above her head, knocking at the rocks that she passed, scaring the grasshoppers within the bushes. As soon as somebody approached from afar, she immediately stopped skipping. Properly holding onto her pole, she knocked on the ground as she slowly wandered forward, appearing quite wary. The group that came was a few villager women. Seeing her situation, they all moved out of her way and whispered to one another. The girl nodded with hurry, “Thank you, thank you.”
One of the women seemed as though she felt sorry for her. Lifting the white cloth that covered her basket, she took out a steamed bun and gave it to her, “Sister, be careful. Are you hungry? Take this and eat it.”
The girl ah-ed and replied thankfully, “How can I take it? I-I…”
The woman shoved the bun into her hand, “Take it!”
She finally took it, “Sister, A-Qing is very thankful of you!”
So the girl’s name was A-Qing.
Bidding the villager women farewell, A-Qing finished the bun in just a few bites, and continued to skip along, hopping three inches high each time. Skipping with her inside of her body, Wei WuXian’s head spun from dizziness. He thought to himself, The maiden is so full of energy. Now I understand. She’s pretending to be blind. She was probably born with those white eyes. Although she looks blind, she can actually see, so she’s pretending to be blind with her eyes, tricking people into feeling sorry for her. Being a girl who roamed the streets alone, if she pretended to be blind, people would naturally think that she really couldn’t see and lower their guard. However, in reality, she could see everything. This allowed her to adjust according to the circumstances and was indeed a clever method of self-protection.
Despite this, A-Qing’s soul was truly blind, which meant that she did lose her sight before she died. Then, how did she go from pretending to be blind to being actually blind?
Was it that she saw things she shouldn’t have seen?
When nobody was around, A-Qing skipped along; when people were around, A-Qing shrunk down and pretended to be blind. Pausing now and then, she arrived at a marketplace.
Since it was bustling with people, of course she’d show off her skills. Performing to the fullest, she knocked on the ground with her bamboo pole, her act as believable as ever. Slowly walking through the crowd, she suddenly ran into a middle-aged man dressed in bright, expensive-looking clothes. She pretended as though she was frightened, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I can’t see. I’m sorry!”
She couldn’t see? She clearly rushed right into the man!
Having collided with someone, the man turned angrily around, as if he wanted to curse at whoever was in front of him. However, seeing that it was not only a blind person, but also a young maiden who looked rather pretty, if he slapped her face in the streets, he’d definitely be criticized by the passerby. He could only scold, “Watch where you’re going!”
A-Qing continued to apologize. As he was about to leave, he still wasn’t satisfied, and squeezed A-Qing’s buttocks with his right hand. Since they felt the same things, it was as though the squeeze landed on Wei WuXian’s body. Instantaneously, Wei WuXian felt as if a blanket of goosebumps climbed over his heart. He wanted no less than to slam the man into the ground.
A-Qing shrunk herself into a ball as if she was deeply frightened. However, after the man was some distance away, she tapped her way into an obscure alleyway, and immediately spat on the ground. Fishing out a money pouch, she poured the contents out, counted them, then spat again, “Those lousy men, all of them are like this. Dressed as if they really are something, but they don’t have any coins. You can’t even shake a penny out of them.”
Wei WuXian was halfway between frowning and bursting into laughter. A-Qing was still young, possibly younger than fifteen-years-old, but she was already quite adept at cursing, and even more adept at snatching people’s money. He reminisced, If you stole my money, you wouldn’t have cursed in such a way. Back then, I used to be wealthy as well…
Just as he was sighing about how he became so poor, A-Qing had already found her next target. Acting as a blind person, she walked out of the alleyway, wandered on the streets for a while, and did the same thing. With an “ah”, she drove herself into a white-robed cultivator, then apologized, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I can’t see. I’m sorry!”
Wei WuXian silently shook his head. This young beauty didn’t even change her lines!
Having been jolted by her, the person turned around. He helped her steady herself first, “I’m fine. Maiden, you can’t see either?”
The person was fairly young. His cultivation robes were simple yet clean, and he carried a sword wrapped in white cloth on his back. The lower half of his face was quite handsome, although somewhat emaciated. On the other hand, the upper half of his face was covered with bandages about four fingers wide. A soft tinge of blood vaguely seeped from beneath the bandages.
Chapter 39 Grasses—Part Seven
A-Qing seemed to have paused shortly before answering, “Y-yes.”
Xiao XingChen, “Then, walk a bit slower. Don’t be so fast. You wouldn’t want to bump into someone again, would you?”
He didn’t mention at all that he himself couldn’t see either. Holding A-Qing’s hand, he led her to the side of the road, “Walk here. There are less people.”
Both his words and his actions were gentle yet careful. A-Qing reached out with hesitation, but in the end, she still snatched away the money pouch that hung by his waist, “Brother, A-Qing is very thankful of you!”
Xiao XingChen, “Not Brother. It’s Daozhang.”
A-Qing blinked, “But you’re both Daozhang and Brother.”
Xiao XingChen smiled, “Then, since you call me Brother, why don’t you give back Brother’s pouch?”
No matter how quick a street-roamer like A-Qing was, they wouldn’t be able to fool the senses of a cultivator. Startled, she took her pole and sprinted as fast as she could. Yet, not having run very far, Xiao XingChen grabbed the back of her collar with one hand and brought her back, “As I’ve already said, you shouldn’t run so fast. What if you bump into someone again?”
A-Qing struggled to escape his grasp. With a twitch of her lips, her upper teeth bit down on her lower lip. Wei WuXian understood at once, Oh no, she’s gonna shout ‘molester’! Suddenly, a middle-aged man hurried out of a street corner. As he saw A-Qing, his eyes lit up at once. He stormed over as he cursed, “You little bitch. I’ve finally caught you. Give back my money!”
Simply cursing wasn’t enough to relieve his anger. With a wave of his arm, his hand swung toward her face. A-Qing immediately looked down and closed her eyes. Yet, before the slap landed on her cheek, it was stopped halfway through.
Xiao XingChen, “Sir, please calm down for a moment. It’s quite an impolite way to treat a young maiden, don’t you think?”