By the time they finished dinner, the night had fallen.
Xu Qing didn't immediately take Jiang He back as before. Instead, the two of them strolled and wandered the streets, taking a walk to digest their meal.
"Come here, and don't speak."
As they passed a bus stop, Xu Qing suddenly halted, pointing to the bus that was approaching, and said, "Don't panic, just follow me."
It was just a habitual reminder; Jiang He had always behaved well and hadn't been as flustered as imagined whenever encountering something novel. She kept her curiosity to herself, waiting for the right moment to ask questions.
Following his gaze, Jiang He saw the bus draw near, its door automatically opening. Xu Qing touched his pocket and stepped aboard, and she followed, watching as he dropped coins inside, then made his way to the back to take a seat.
The bus door closed, and it slowly started moving forward.
"Is this vehicle very steady?"
Xu Qing sat on the outer seat, whispering to Jiang He, who was by the window.
"Hmm."
"I thought you'd be surprised. You seem so calm about it."
"I've ridden in horse-drawn carriages."
Jiang He, steadfast in her principle of speaking less while outside, gave an explanation and then turned her attention back to the window. The nighttime street scene flashed by, and this city that never slept had already given her plenty of surprises.
There were few passengers on the night bus; some dozed off while others played with their phones. The bus stopped and started, with people getting on and off at various stops.
Xu Qing had only wanted Jiang He to experience what it was like to ride a bus, without any particular destination in mind and not knowing where to go. As they passed by Lanjiang Bridge, he thought for a moment and then pulled Jiang He to her feet.
"This place is called Lanjiang."
The cool night breeze blew gently, rustling their clothes, and the sound of river water flowing in the distance combined with the moonlight to reveal a glittering river surface.
Xu Qing raised his hand to point at the river and turned to Jiang He with a smile. "In your era, it would have been pitch black at night. Now it's different, this is what we call a modern city nightscape."
On the weekend evening, the river was calm, and the distant riverbanks were bustling with people. Standing far off at the edge of Lanjiang Bridge, they looked out at the bright neon lights on both sides of Lanjiang, the variously shaped buildings and skyscrapers fully lit, their brilliance shimmering and splendid, like edifices constructed from colored glaze.
Jiang He couldn't help but step forward, tilting her head back slightly, her eyes half-closed as she leaned on the railing, fixated on the distant sky.
If Xu Qing had told her this was the Divine Kingdom, she would have had little reason to doubt it.
"A thousand and two hundred years, seas change into mulberry fields."
Xu Qing wrapped his clothes tightly to ward off the chill brought by the night wind. A smile on his face, he was very pleased with the expression Jiang He was showing.
"Is this… really a thousand years later?" Jiang He asked softly, looking up at the distance.
In just a millennium, the world had already become completely different.
"You've already read most of the history. You should have your answer."
"…"
The sound of waves came from afar. Xu Qing turned to look at Jiang He. Under the moonlight, despite wearing modern clothing, the unique aura she possessed stood out against the surroundings.
Pulling out his phone to take another picture of her, he looked at the brightly lit high-rises in the distance and said:
"Although it might be difficult to settle your identity, you… you probably won't be able to go back. There are always more solutions than difficulties. Staying here isn't bad either."
Seeing Jiang He not responding, Xu Qing wasn't bothered. "Going into the skies, going underground, diving into the ocean… there's almost nothing that can't be done nowadays. People have even been to the moon—if one day we manage to sort out your identity, I'll take you on a plane up into the sky for a tour."
"The sky?" Finally reacting, Jiang He craned her head even higher, gazing at the moon above.
"Yeah, on a plane, buzzing…"
While Xu Qing spoke, he suddenly laughed and shook his head. "Talking about this is too far off. For a long time to come, you will have to stay in my shabby little house and learn about this world."
"And then?" Jiang He asked.
"What do you mean, and then?"
Her eyes held a mix of confusion and melancholy. "After getting to know this world."
Xu Qing frowned. He hadn't really thought about this question.
"After that... after that, it's just life."
On the Lanjiang Bridge, Xu Qing waved his arm, encompassing all the glittering lights in the distance: "Living here, enjoying the prosperity twelve hundred years later."
He glanced over at Jiang He and smiled, "No matter what, you'll always find a lifestyle you like and that suits you."
This was the best era in thousands of years, there was no reason it couldn't accommodate a girl, even if she had accidentally come from over twelve hundred years ago.
Jiang He looked into the distance without speaking, the wind lifting the hem of her dress. The girl stood straight, her slight figure hidden in the shadows, as if abandoned by the world in a corner.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking... how happy my second mother would be if she saw this world."
"Yeah, then do it for her, and for your Leader San, and for all of them. Take a good look for everyone."
"Thank you."
"It's nothing!"
...
...
If he had been born in ancient times, Xu Qing felt that he definitely would have been a ranger.
Wandering the land, robbing the rich to help the poor, occasionally enjoying a tune, visiting brothels, drinking bowls of wine, and feasting on large chunks of meat.
A lone man walking the world with his sword.
But now, he could only sulk at home as a skinny... oh, a skinny couch potato.
The real-life ranger sat in the living room studying history, along with the development of the industrial revolution — as Jiang He slowly adjusted to this place, Xu Qing had bought some books for her to read.
Meanwhile, Xu Qing himself was huddled with his computer editing videos. Without work, he still put in the effort to be a good content creator, causing his fans to exclaim that he was as productive as a breeding sow.
Golden autumn in October.
A month had passed since Jiang He arrived, and while the National Holiday Golden Week was a carnival for office workers, for the two of them, it wasn't any different from regular days — if there was a difference, it was probably that the stock market wasn't trading, so Xu Qing had one fewer activity of watching the stock market's ECG.
"Mrs. Cheng, is this the... mage you hired?"
At the entrance of the neighborhood, Xu Qing, who was returning with takeout, watched from a distance the yellow-robed Taoist priest somewhat irritatedly.
The residents had agreed to perform the ritual and even copied some surveillance footage to show the unaware neighbors covertly. Most people were quite afraid, but as the news leaked out with more people learning about it—
Neighbor Liang had been anxious for several days until he found out that it wasn't just their neighborhood with hauntings but others too, which reassured everyone. The police had been called but found nothing.
Xu Qing had also contributed money to the cause; after all, it was trouble caused by Jiang He, and it wouldn't be right not to chip in.
"Yes, look at those moves, professional," Cheng Yulan commented from a distance, munching on sunflower seeds and watching the mage perform his exorcism.
The Taoist priest grabbed a handful of rice, chanted a spell, scattered it, then grabbed another handful, and chanted again...
"Looks pretty professional," Xu Qing said as he looked around, noticing quite a crowd had gathered.
"You enjoy, I'm heading back."
"Sure thing."
Back home, Jiang He stood in front of the washing machine, rolling up her sleeves and holding the detergent bag, uncertain about how much to use.
"Let me do it."
"Okay."
Handing the detergent to Xu Qing, Jiang He stood by the window and looked outside, curious, "What are all those people watching?"
"Watching the mage catch ghosts."
Xu Qing saw her, the instigator of all this trouble, standing by the window as if nothing was out of the ordinary, and he didn't know whether to be angry or amused.
If she hadn't decided to play burglar in the middle of the night, would any of this have happened?
She nearly scared Mr. Zhao into retirement, and now he wanders around every day with a Peach Wood Sword.