Chapter 24 Part 2

Yu Nian was helpless. Dirty clothes still had to be washed by Tian Yao. In such cold weather, Tian Yao hated heating water and his hands always turned bright red from the cold laundry each time. “Once you finish this page, I’ll teach you archery.”

“You said the same thing yesterday,” Tian Yao pouted, but still diligently finished the page.

Yu Nian tilted his chin in a gesture. Tian Yao immediately understood and excitedly went to fetch Father’s bow and arrows.

He still vividly remembered the arrow Yu Nian had shot on the mountain—fast, accurate, and deadly.

Yu Nian’s arm strength, thanks to recent activity, was now even greater than before. He drew the bow with hardly any effort. Under Tian Yao’s gaze, the arrow again sliced through the wind with exceptional speed, embedding itself straight into the brick seam of their courtyard wall with a thud.

Tian Yao couldn’t help applauding, then rushed to Yu Nian’s side. “Quick, teach me.”

Yu Nian handed him the bow. Tian Yao imitated his stance and drew the bowstring. His strength was immense; the string sang with tension as he pulled it.

“Drawing the string requires skill, not just brute force.” Yu Nian gestured for him to crouch down a bit.

Tian Yao bent his body, squatting before him. Yu Nian held his hands. “It’s not about pulling with all your might. Pull to a position that’s comfortable for you. Draw it naturally, instinctively.”

Feeling Yu Nian’s breath behind him, Tian Yao’s back stiffened. The more he was told to relax, the more tense his body became. “Isn’t it better to use more strength?”

Yu Nian shook his head. “In everything you do, you must be in a state where you are comfortable. Only then can you achieve twice the result with half the effort. If you’re constantly tense, it will only feel more strenuous.”

Tian Yao took a deep breath and, following Yu Nian’s instructions, gently drew the bow.

“Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Fix your gaze on your target. Nock the arrow.”

Tian Yao did as instructed. The arrow left the string, but instead of flying where Tian Yao intended, it veered off course, heading straight for the gate.

And at that very moment, their closed gate suddenly swung open. The arrow flew directly toward the face of the person entering.

Yu Nian’s pupils contracted. A small stone happened to be at his hand. With a flick of his wrist, he precisely deflected the arrow. It grazed the back of the newcomer’s neck, shearing off a lock of his hair, before flying out the door.

Tian Yao finally let out a sigh of relief. Although the arrow’s head hadn’t been sharpened in a long time, Tian Yao’s strength was tremendous. If it had hit someone, blood and injury would have been unavoidable.

Only upon focusing his eyes did Tian Yao realize the newcomer was Li Song, whom he’d met at the temple fair before.

Seeing Li Song’s frightened, paralyzed expression, a flicker of disdain passed through Yu Nian’s eyes. It was merely an arrow with almost no force behind it, yet it terrified someone to this extent. If anything really happened in the future, would Tian Yao then have to step up and protect him?

It seemed this man was not a suitable match for Tian Yao after all. After understanding Ame Ye’s considerations, Yu Nian had thought that someday, when Tian Yao had other options, he could even help vet them.

He’d initially figured that Li Song, given the two families’ familiarity and Ame Ye’s apparent fondness for Tian Yao, might be worth keeping an eye on. But today’s incident had severely diminished Li Song’s image in Yu Nian’s mind.

“Yao Ge’er, my dad sent me to see you,” Li Song paused, “…and your husband. What were you two doing just now?”

Tian Yao went to greet him, taking the things from his hands. “You didn’t need to bring anything!”

Despite his words, he still very warmly accepted the items.

Seeing him accept them, a look of delight crossed Li Song’s face. He quickly added, “These are all things I brought back from my trading trips. Local specialties. You can’t buy them around here.”

Yu Nian observed their interaction and thought only that Li Song was far too transparent with his feelings. As the saying goes, keep your joys and angers hidden. With him, a single glance at his eyes revealed everything he was thinking.

And Tian Yao didn’t look all that clever either; his face practically read “easy to fool.” If two people like that actually ended up together someday, this whole house might get swindled right out from under them, wouldn’t it?

“Thank you so much. Why didn’t Ame Ye come?”

“The snowy roads are slippery. I didn’t let my dad come. You got married, and neither my dad nor I gave you any kind of keepsake. Just think of this as… congratulations.” His words truly didn’t sound much like congratulations.

“Ame is too thoughtful,” Tian Yao said, bringing out a stool from the room and placing it beside Yu Nian. “You two chat? I’ll go cook.”

After Tian Yao left, the two men sat staring at each other, neither wanting to speak first. But Yu Nian was the host, after all; neglecting a guest wasn’t proper.

Li Song recalled Ame Ye’s words. Facing Yu Nian, he wasn’t as nervous as he’d been facing Tian Yao. “Brother Yu, where are you from originally? You don’t look like someone from our Xixin Prefecture?”

Yu Nian replied, “My ancestral home is Yuancang Prefecture. My family met with disaster. I drifted here, and fortunately, Yao Ge’er took me in.”

Li Song glanced toward the kitchen, ensuring Tian Yao couldn’t hear their conversation, then straightened his expression. “My father at home was also a traveling merchant. Seeing Brother Yu for the first time, one can tell your origins are not ordinary. My dad was a friend who shared hardships with Ame Ling, so he is very concerned about Yao Ge’er.”

Tian Yao’s Little Dad’s surname was Ling, given name Qi.

Yu Nian merely lifted his eyes to look at him.

Li Song’s gaze met his without flinching. “My father believes that your marriage to Yao Ge’er is merely a matter of expediency. Someday, Brother Yu will surely have a broader world to go to. When that time comes, how exactly do you plan to settle Yao Ge’er?”

Yu Nian hadn’t expected him to say such things. Only then did he recall Tian Yao’s words: Li Song was also a traveling merchant; he’d surely seen a lot of the world. It indeed wasn’t surprising he could speak thus. It was just that this current attitude was drastically different from his manner at their first meeting.

Yu Nian frowned. Such a fickle person—could Tian Yao really handle him?

It seemed this Li Song truly wasn’t suitable for Tian Yao. Whoever was worthy of him… had to be clean and pure. He, Yu Nian, didn’t qualify. And this Li Song qualified even less.

“This is a matter between Yao Ge’er and myself. You needn’t concern yourself.”

Li Song’s expression flickered. He was about to say something when he heard Tian Yao’s footsteps returning from the kitchen. He said nothing more.

Tian Yao, seeing they were chatting amiably enough, was reassured and went back into the kitchen. Li Song stood up. “I’ll go help Yao Ge’er.”

As he walked, he said, “Yao Ge’er, among the things I brought you are specialties from the South Prefecture region. I was afraid you wouldn’t know how to prepare them, so let me teach you.”

This left Yu Nian and Little Gray—one man, one dog—alone in the yard. Yu Nian shot Little Gray a look. As if in telepathic understanding, Little Gray wagged its tail and trotted into the kitchen, wedging its entire doggy body directly between Tian Yao and Li Song.

Yu Nian looked at Li Song’s back. Not tall enough. Not sturdy enough. Completely unsuited for Tian Yao. Moreover, knowing full well Tian Yao was a married man right now, he was still impatiently cozying up to him—clearly, his character wasn’t much good either.

Yu Nian then lowered his head to look at his own legs. He sighed.

The meal was set out in the main room. Afraid Yu Nian would be cold, Tian Yao added another charcoal brazier.

Tian Yao didn’t offer Yu Nian any wine but drank quite a bit himself with Li Song. As the sun began to set in the west, Li Song took his leave from Tian Yao.

Tian Yao didn’t urge him to stay. He didn’t even have a proper guest room, after all. Under Yu Nian’s guidance, Tian Yao had prepared some return gifts for Li Song to take home. “Tell Ame I’ll come visit properly in a few days.”

Li Song’s cheeks were slightly flushed. The wine wasn’t really that strong, but Li Song got red-faced easily when drinking, making him look as if he’d had much more than he actually had.

Tian Yao felt a bit torn. What if he’d had too much to drink, and with the sky growing dark, something happened to him on the road home? He turned to look at Yu Nian. “Should I… escort him back?”

Yu Nian said nothing.

“No need, no need. I’m not drunk. I can walk home just fine,” Li Song quickly said. “You’re a Ger. Coming back alone would be even more dangerous. I’m leaving now.”

Tian Yao wanted to say he could stay at his place. But looking at Yu Nian, he remembered that he was no longer an unmarried Ger living alone. He had a family now. Housing another man overnight—if word got out, it would invite gossip. While he himself didn’t care, he had to consider Yu Nian.

After mulling it over, he chose the safest solution: he went to find Chen Xu.

The Chen Xu household, still wondering how to repay Yu Nian and Tian Yao, immediately agreed upon hearing it was just escorting a friend home.

Watching them leave the village entrance, Tian Yao finally turned to head home. He couldn’t say why, but he had a persistent feeling that today’s Yu Nian wasn’t too happy.