Chương 21: Encounter

Shu Yang left home with his two children and slowly made their way to Chunsi Town. This wasn't the first time they made the trip; he would take the children along once in a while to visit Zhangye and look around the town. Shu Yang first dropped off his son at the Boulder Bearing Hall, only leaving when he saw Yezi come over. Then he made his way to the market with his daughter. He looked around during the walk to see if there was a suitable storefront.

He wanted to use the money from next year's wine sales to buy a proper store in Chunsi Town. In previous years, he had sold all his wine to other storeowners. Since his wine was good and cheap, Shu Yang had no trouble getting it sold. But that was just all the more reason not to give a cut to anyone else.

'Besides, having property in Chunsi Town isn't a bad investment. It could be used to try selling other products in the future.' After getting his hands on a few things he had set out to buy, he took Tianyue to a small local bookstore, but they couldn't find any second part of Tianyue's book, much to his daughter's disappointment. After that, Shu Yang stepped inside a jewelry store to look around a little.

Qianyue had been very happy with her hairpin, so Shu Yang thought he should buy her some more expensive jewelry once he had money again.

"Do you think Shuangyu ever got her revenge, Dad?" Tianyue asked as she rested her head lazily against Shu Yang.

"I don't know. I haven't read the book yet," Shu Yang answered absentmindedly while wincing slightly at the expensive price of a necklace he liked.

"I've told you already. Didn't you listen?" Tianyue questioned.

"Sorry," Shu Yang said with a smile, patting his daughter's small head, "I must have forgotten. Why don't you tell me again?"

"Shuangyu! She became queen eventually, but Fan Ge escaped the kingdom. Do you think she found him in the end? Or did she give up revenge and focused on running the kingdom?" Tianyue asked.

"Haha," Shu Yang laughed at Tianyue's serious expression, "I don't know. But you know it's fiction, right? It's not something that actually happened. You can just choose your own ending."

"Even if it's not real, it doesn't mean it's not true," Tianyue argued, "Don't you always say there is truth in stories?"

"I guess that's what I've said," Shu Yang said, nodding while examining a pair of wedding rings, "But you still need to separate reality from fiction."

"I don't think so," Tianyue argued stubbornly, "Say Shuangyu actually lived a long time ago. Thousands of years ago. Or maybe she hasn't even been born yet. She might become queen many years in the future, long after I'm dead. Or perhaps it's all made up, and it has never and will never happen.

"The important part is that there can be no way of knowing which of those options is true! So does it really matter if it's fiction or reality?" Shu Yang turned away from the jewelry and looked at his daughter, stunned.

'Is that something a 7-year-old can think about?'

"Haha," Shu Yang laughed, "I admit defeat. You're too smart for me, dear."

"Hmph," Tinayue snorted with a proud smile, her head raised high.

"Even I can't help but be impressed," A voice suddenly sounded from the side. Shu Yang turned to look and saw a well-dressed woman in her forties, flanked by two girls who seemed to be maids. The woman was looking at Tinayue with a smile.

"I also don't think there is much point in obsessing over reality and fiction. Even if this Shangyu was never a real person, her experiences seem to have made you feel a lot of emotions and think a lot of things. How can that be discarded as something false?" The woman continued.

"Oh, right, right. You're so smart," Tianyue said, nodding.

"Haha," The woman laughed happily. Her laughter made her look almost twenty years younger.

"You have a sweet mouth. What's your name?"

"I'm Shu Tianyue, eight years old. Nice to meet you," Tianyue introduced herself politely. Shu Yang was watching from the side with a smile. While this woman seemed wealthy, she didn't seem like someone who looked down on people. Besides, at least in Chunsi Town, Shu Yang didn't feel like he would be at a disadvantage against anyone these days. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"How come I don't remember you turning eight?" Shu Yang asked, amused.

"Well…I'll be eight this winter anyways," Tianyue said, a little embarrassed.

"I see. You can call me Lady Jiangxi," The woman introduced herself. Her eyes scrutinizing Tianyue closely, seemingly fascinated by something. She then turned to Shu Yang and spoke, "Your daughter is quite bright. Does she go to Chunsi School?"

"No," Shu Yang said, shaking his head, "She has been taught at home so far. But I've been looking into finding a teacher for her so she can take the Royal Exam in the future."

"Is that so," Lady Jiangxi said slowly.

"Is she smarter than you, Dad?" Tianyue whispered in a not-so-low voice from the side. Shu Yang smiled awkwardly, and Lady Jianxi laughed again.

"I'm probably not as smart as your father. But I've read a lot of books, so I happen to know a lot of things," Lady Jiangxi answered Tianyue. Shu Yang raised his eyebrows slightly, impressed with the response. It required character to be able to humble yourself, even if it was just to please a child.

"Then do you know what the real ship of Qingxiao is?" Tianyue asked curiously. Lady Jiangxi looked up at Shu Yang in confusion.

"Lady Jiangxi might not have heard the story. You need to explain it first," Shu Yang instructed his daughter.

"Oh, oh," Tianyue said, nodding. Then she began to excitedly explain the story of Qingxiao and his ship. She had gotten stuck on that story for some reason, always trying to figure out a perfect answer.

"I haven't heard that story before," Lady Jiangxi said, raising her brows and smiling, "It was very interesting, thank you for telling me, Tianyue."

"It's my dad's story," Tianyue said proudly, "He has a bunch of stories that he tells me. Let me tell you another one There-" But just as Tinayue was talking, Shu Yang spotted something on the street outside and hurried out of the store.

"Tianren!" Shu Yang called out, running toward his son, who was limping forward on the street.

"Dad," Tianren looked up at him with a complex expression. Shu Yang's expression turned grave. Tianren's face was smashed bloody, and his whole body seemed to have taken a severe beating. One of his eyes couldn't even open properly because of the swelling.

"What happened?" Shu Yang asked, his voice cracking. He felt like crying, seeing his young son in such a miserable state. But the growing rage inside kept him from losing it.

"Nothing, I just-" Tianren began.

"What. Happened." Shu Yang repeated in a low growl. He knew injuries could happen when you practiced; it was to be expected. But something that could result in such severe injuries was obviously not a proper training fight but an intentional beating. Tianren flinched at Shu Yang's grave tone and began explaining. By this point, Tianyue and Lady Jiangxi, along with a few others, had come out of the store.

"Brother Ren," Tianyue called out softly, tears streaming down her face as she grabbed Shu Yang's shirt, her little hands shaking.

"Everything was fine at first," Tianren began, looking a little embarrassed by all the attention, "I practiced with Yezi and a few of his friends, and we all got along. But then, a few adults appeared. I don't know who they were, but I think one of them was from the Liang family, but not that Huang Liang.

"Someone among them spotted me, and asked how old I was. When they heard I was only 11 years old and found out I didn't belong to any martial hall, that guy from the Liang family asked me if I wanted to join the Boulder Bearing Hall. I said no. When they asked me why, I said that my dad didn't want me to." At this, Tianren looked up at Shu Yang, looking a little guilty. Shu Yang just nodded in understanding and asked him to continue.

"They then asked me who my dad was. When I said it was Shu Yang, that guy from the Liang family seemed to know about you. He made some kind of…face. Then he said it would be 'impolite not to entertain the guest.' So he asked his cousin, a teenager, to spar with me.

"I refused at first, because the situation didn't seem right, and that cousin of his seemed pretty strong. But then he started saying…stuff. I guess I got angry and agreed. Then…"

"That's enough," Shu Yang said, "I understand." Shu Yang wasn't stupid. It was obvious someone had something against him and took it out on his son. Who that was, he had no idea. As for the 'saying stuff' part, Shu Yang could imagine. Probably calling him a coward, possibly bringing Shu Yang's name and honor into question as well. It would be easy for an adult to trigger a kid into action with a few insults.

"Can you walk?" Shu Yang asked.

"Yeah. It's not that bad," Tianren said.

"Then let's go," Shu Yang said. He turned around and asked Lady Jiangxi to look after his daughter for a few minutes. Then he immediately set course for the Boulder Bearing Hall.

"Dad, where are you going?" Tianyue asked from behind.

"I'm just going to take care of something. Be good and stay with Lady Jiangxi," Shu Yang said, turning around and doing his best to give his daughter a comforting smile.

"It's okay, Tianyue, we can follow along," Shu Yang heard Lady Jiangxi say in a low voice. Shu Yang didn't wait any longer. He walked with determined footsteps, his son following behind.

"Dad. It's fine, I'm not that hurt," Tianren said carefully.

"That's enough. Just let your dad do the rest," Shu Yang said. He was trying his best to keep it together, but it was hard. Seeing his young son so injured awoke a new, strange emotion inside him. He had only felt something similar when that murderer approached his house three years ago. Just as Shu Yang felt the rage inside his chest was beginning to be too much to bear, he arrived outside the Boulder Bearing Hall. Straight away, Shu Yang leaped and punched the martial hall sign to pieces.

Tianren froze stiff beside him.

"Who did this to my son? Get out here!" Shu Yang yelled at the top of his lungs, striding inside while ignoring the stunned guards beside him.