"Xiao Kai, come out and have some breakfast!" I called out.
We resettled in a small farming village to the east. No longer using much of my fighting abilities, I turned to housekeeping. I wouldn't have imagined that Crimson Snow Valley Sect's top killer would be cooking home made gruel and vegetable sides for a morning meal. It didn't hurt my pride one bit. I adapted easily to changing situations just like when I naturally picked up the handle of a sword at Crimson Snow Valley. Now, it was just that I was picking up the handle of a knife to chop onions.
The wooden hut we lived in had big windows that we covered with straw curtains. Two small rooms with hard beds and not much furniture to decorate. The kitchen was attached to the main house through an outdoor hallway.
Setting down a pair of chopsticks, I waited for Xiao Kai to come out of his room.
Yawning, he sat down and said, "You made breakfast?"
"Aw, eat some."
He put a spoonful of congee into his mouth but could barely swallow it all.
"Wow! How can food--"
I stared at him, eager to hear praise.
"How can food taste so good? Hahaha." He continued to put spoonfuls of rice gruel into his mouth and stuffed pieces of vegetables in as well. He soon resembled the face of a full-cheek chipmunk.
"Where did you go last night? You didn't come home until late," I asked, chewing slowly.
"Ah, I was out with Wu Jing Ge. Just had a few drinks and some food in the nearby city."
"You know how I feel about Wu Jing. Plus, I don't want you both to get into trouble. What if they find you?"
"Na Li Jie, I'm always extra careful. Besides it's been five years, and we haven't run into anyone."
"That doesn't mean we should let our guard down."
"Yes! You're right. You're right. I'll try to come home early from now on." He smiled gleefully while munching on the hard stem of fried greens.
I decided not to lecture him any longer.
After breakfast, I went into the kitchen to check on my supply of wine. Although a painful memory, I remembered the days when I watched my father at the wine factory, pouring the clear, sweet liquid into jars. My mother would use rice wine in desserts on special holidays and have my brother and I take a bite. Those innocent moments were too fleeting in this hellish world.
"Ah Xin, Ah Xin, are you in there?" Aunt Meng yelled for me from outside.
The villagers knew me as Luo Xin. I went by the nick name to throw off potential trackers.
"Yes, I'm here," I said as I grabbed a jug of rice wine, "You're here?"
Greeting her outside, I handed her the small jug.
"Thank you, Ah Xin. Here," she placed a few coins in my palm.
It started as a hobby, making rice wine for me and Xiao Kai. After sharing wine with the villagers, they started to pay me to make wine for them. I was able to sell rice wine to travelers as well, making enough money to get by. Xiao Kai worked the fields for a few coins, but mostly he kept his business to himself, so I didn't completely understand what he did. As long as he didn't hurt people, I didn't care.
"Hey Ah Xin, can I ask you something?" Aunt Meng whispered and waved for me to go closer.
Taking a few steps toward her, I waited for her to reveal whatever she was curious about.
"Is Ah Kai really your brother?"
Taken aback by her question, I replied, "Yes. Why do you ask?"
"It's just that-- You both don't really look alike. He's tall, you're short. He's welcoming, you're reserved. He's cheerful, and you're gloomy. He's handsome and you're--"
Squinting at her, I wondered how she was going to end that comparison.
"Well... Of course, you're quite pretty, but Ah Kai is just so beautiful."
Smiling, I said, "He is my younger brother, although we're not related by blood."
"Really? That's interesting."
"What is?"
"I'm just wondering... just wondering... if you had any plans of marrying?"
"Marrying?"
"You and Xiao Kai aren't betrothed or you weren't adopted into his family to become his bride or the other way around, right?"
"What? No. No, we are not. Nothing like that."
How could she even?
"Oh, that's wonderful! It's just my brother's Xiao Feng has taken a liking to Ah Kai. His daughter wants to marry Ah Kai yah! She's young and pretty. And I've seen them walking to the fields together, I'm sure they'll make a great couple. It's that type of young love that makes you feel youthful all over again."
"Is that so?"
"I mean if you two aren't really siblings but live together, eat together and sleep in the same house... If they marry, I worry about you! Wouldn't sharing a small home with a newlywed couple be too much? I mean, they have to start a family too."
Not knowing what to say, I crossed my arms.
"If you want, I can set you up with a nice man from the village."
"Hahaha, there won't be any man on Earth who would want to marry me."
Especially if they knew that I was the Killer Child, Luo Na Li.
"Ai Yoh! Don't say that. Even though you're too old, I'm sure you can find a nice man to marry. What about Wong Lei Tian? Or Old Man Xi?"
"Wong, the widower with five kids? It's not possible. And Old Man Xi is... an old man."
"Don't worry. I'll keep looking. You see, marriage isn't all that different from how you and Ah Kai are living. It's not a scary thing!"
Why does she remind me of someone who keeps wanting me to get married?