"Young miss, wait...young miss!"
The merchant desperately shouted for their attention again, but the two of them soon disappeared from his sight. He clicked his tongue.
He thought that because the lady seemed to be a pampered young miss, she would take the bait and buy this troublesome Muga silk from him. In the end, he lost another potential customer because of overpricing it too much.
"Well, the day isn't over yet..."
The merchant gave an irritated look at the roll of silk in his hands. Suddenly, he yelped out in surprise, jumping like an ant on a hot pan.
"This...this isn't the Muga silk that I was holding!"
He hurried back to his stall and overturned the various fabrics being displayed there, but the Muga silk that he was so proud of had completely disappeared. The merchant paled, thinking of how much his wife would scold him later on.
His eyes lifelessly stared around him.
"Where...where could it have gone...?"
...
Walking already a few distance away, Xiang Feng busily tried to hide the roll of silk into his satchel. He took the opportunity of Song Jia walking ahead of him to to hide what he had stolen.
He didn't like the merchant, but he liked the Muga silk. Its color was almost the same as Song Jia's hair, and Xiang Feng thought how beautiful she would look if she wore a dress that was made from it. His lips slightly curled upwards.
"Dear, my body is old but my spirit is strong. You best leave this work to me and go strolling around with your son."
Song Jia had walked ahead to support an old woman pushing a cart filled with watermelons. After hearing what the old woman said, Xiang Feng's smile disappeared.
"It's alright, we have all day to look around the market fair. It's no trouble at all," Song Jia said.
Xiang Feng hurried his pace to catch up with them. He saw that her cheeks were slightly flushed and quickly tugged on Song Jia's skirt.
"Jia, let me do it."
Although his figure was small, he had gained a bit of muscle from carrying wooden planks back in the slave encampment. He also held up an embroidered handkerchief that he pulled out from his pocket.
Both Song Jia and the grandmother laughed when they saw Xiang Feng's earnest appearance. He was still short and looked like a porcelain doll, so people couldn't help but pamper and dote on him.
"You've raised such a good child," the grandmother praised, her rheumy eyes twinkling with approval. "I wish my sons were half as nice as yours."
Song Jia simply smiled and crouched down, letting Xiang Feng wipe her sweat for her. The little bun's forehead was also furrowed, taking the task very seriously.
Xiang Feng didn't know why, but he was so nervous that his hand trembled. He felt that everybody could hear the loud pounding of his heart inside his chest.
He carefully pressed the handkerchief against Song Jia's alabaster-like skin. Her eyelashes were thick and long, framing the sky-blue eyes that were warmly staring at him.
Xiang Feng quickly turned red, his hand nearly dropping the handkerchief.
Suddenly, the loud cry of a horse was heard. There were also people screaming, and it was steadily getting louder. There was a crazed horse that was madly dashing towards their direction, and the three of them were blocking its path.
Song Jia abruptly stood up. Xiang Feng's eyes flashed and he stepped forward in front of her, stealthily palming the dagger that he always hid underneath his sleeves. He worriedly tugged at her skirt.
"Jia, let's move aside..."
"Ma'am!" Song Jia didn't hear him. She rushed towards the old woman, who anxiously tried to push her cart of watermelons forward. Xiang Feng's hand was left hanging in mid-air.
"Ma'am, there's a mad horse coming this way!"
"These watermelons were harvested by my sons, I can't let their efforts go to waste..."
The old woman's voice shook.
Because the medieval fair was crowded, she didn't have any place to stow away the large cart and could only continue to push it forward. Song Jia used all of her strength to pull the old woman away.
"Ma'am, your sons would not be happy at all if you used your life to protect these watermelons."
Just as Song Jia was persuading her, the crazed horse was almost in front of them. Xiang Feng started to run.
"Jia!" he screamed.
Song Jia turned around. Her eyes widened in shock, seeing the horse rear back on its hind legs, about to trample the two of them. She unhesitatingly pushed the old woman behind her, before raising her arms to protect her face. She didn't have enough time to think and pull something out of her storage space so she could only do this.
Song Jia braced herself for the pain, but after a long time, nothing happened. She didn't lower her arms and froze in this position for a while before realizing that there was something wrong. She slowly put her arms down.
"Ahh!"
Song Jia took a step back in alarm. The horse lay six feet away, on its side, its throat torn open. Scarlet blood spilled on the ground, quickly spreading into a small pool. Xiang Feng stood in front of her, his face splattered with blood. He was holding a dagger on one hand.
"Xiao Feng..."
Song Jia subconsciously reached out to him, only to pull her hand back when she realized that his whole body was trembling. His small face was white, and he looked slightly terrifying.
Song Jia swallowed and lightly placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Xiao Feng..."
Xiang Feng jerked his body, letting her hand fall. Song Jia tried to touch him again, but he directly slapped her hand away.
"Don't touch me!" he yelled. "Don't touch me, don't touch me, don't touch me! If you're planning to die, don't touch me!"
Surprised at his vehemence, Song Jia shrank back. The child's eyes were red.
"Who told you to go and save people? Who told you to risk your life and save them? Who told you that their life is more important than yours?!"
Xiang Feng's voice was hoarse.
"If you're going to pick a stranger instead of me, then don't touch me! If you're going to leave me behind, then don't touch me! I don't need your false promises!"
He harshly swiped his hand across his eyes.
Song Jia's own eyes were sore. No longer hesitating, she came forward and hugged him. But Xiang Feng pushed her away. Even though the force was light, it still made her stumble a few steps back.
"Leave! You want to leave me behind, right? Then go!"
Song Jia took a deep breath.
"No. I won't leave."
She came forward and tried to hug him again. Xiang Feng continued to try to push her away, but Song Jia persisted. She took out her own handkerchief and tried to wipe away the blood from his face.
After Song Jia stumbled a few times, heartache flashed across Xiang Feng's eyes and the hands that were pushing her fell to his sides. He let himself stand still as Song Jia hugged him, pressing his small body against hers.
She lowered her voice until only the two of them could hear it.
"I won't leave you, don't worry. It's a promise."
Xiang Feng didn't respond. He hid his face inside her embrace, pressing his hand over his chest.
Pain.
When he saw her recklessly throw her life away, an indescribable pain that he never felt before gripped him. It was as if someone had cut out his heart with a blunt knife, leaving a mess of flesh and blood.
He couldn't even breathe.
He didn't know why, but that kind of feeling seemed familiar to him.
When Xiang Feng continued to stay silent, Song Jia tried to pull away so that she could see his face better. But Xiang Feng grabbed her dress and didn't let her move.
A small voice then drifted upwards to her ears, as soft as a mosquito's hum.
"You promise?" he asked.
Song Jia eagerly bobbed her head up and down. He was finally communicating with her!
"I promise."
Song Jia even solemnly raised her hand.
The corners of Xiang Feng's lips slightly raised. He tried to stifle his happiness and asked, "Really? Say it again."
"I promise," Song Jia obediently repeated.
"Promise you'll never leave me."
"I'll never leave you."
"Promise you'll always stay by my side."
"I'll always stay by your side."
Then Song Jia put on a blank expression.
Eh? Why did it feel like she was the child and he was the adult? What a strange conversation.
When Xiang Feng finally let her pull away, he hurriedly wiped his face with the handkerchief that she gave him. The dagger also went back to his sleeve.
"..." Song Jia pretended not to see anything. Anyway, he saved her by killing the horse, so she could let the fact that he was hiding a dagger pass just this once.