Jiang He, drenched, leaned against the door, her hair messily sticking to the side of her face, sword in her left hand, right hand resting on the door, watching Xu Qing fall silent.
She wasn't foolish, just lacking in knowledge.
Although she didn't know if what Xu Qing was saying was true, or if there were lies mixed with the truth, from the very first glance, she could see that this person meant no harm.
It was just an ordinary trip home, encountering her by chance, and seeing that it was about to get dark outside, he lent her an umbrella and let her go.
"Why help me?" she asked a second time.
Xu Qing scratched his head, realizing this heroine was not easy to fool.
"Honestly... it's kind of novel, this whole thing is just too magical, I—" Xu Qing gestured with his hands, "you should understand, right?... Like this, if I were to go to your era and meet you, and you saw a man from over a thousand years later, wouldn't you also find it magical, and then... "
"An inexplicable person appearing would only be killed by the clan leader."
"..."
"..."
The air suddenly grew silent, tinged with awkwardness.
"Times have changed, we can't just kill people here, everyone loves peace," Xu Qing felt a chill at his back, once again conflicted about whether or not to let her stay.
If he let her stay, it was too dangerous; if he didn't, it would be such a shame.
She was a living person from ancient times.
Silence continued for a moment.
"I don't know how you got here, but if we can find out why, you might be able to return. But before that, you need to learn how to live in this world—the first rule is, you can't just go around hurting people."
Xu Qing turned to look at the ruined TV on the wall and added, "Nor can you randomly destroy things."
After pausing, he stretched out his hand towards the doorway in a welcoming gesture, "If you can do that, I want to help you. Or you could leave now... Right, it's best not to hurt anyone outside, there are government officers everywhere these days, and they're quite formidable."
Outside, the sky had darkened, and the rain was easing, its pitter-patter sound drifting in from outside the window.
Jiang He looked up at the bulb on the ceiling, lips pursed in contemplation.
She knew nothing about this place, her clothes and appearance were different from everyone else's; she might not even be able to leave the city, and if she left now, she really didn't know where to go.
Gurgle gurgle...
Her stomach growled again.
Xu Qing looked at her for a moment, then went back to the sofa to pick up his phone, "If you agree, put down the sword, and I'll order some food for you, it's to have food delivered here.
Honestly, taking you in is a risk for me, a double risk at that; not only do I have to worry about you being discovered by others, but I also have to worry about any misunderstandings where you might chop me with a sword... So, do you understand?"
Jiang He thought for a moment, then nodded slowly, glancing at the sword in her hand before tossing it aside.
Clang.
The sound of a real iron sword hitting the ground rang out, and Xu Qing's mouth curved slightly as he turned back with his phone, asking, "What do you usually eat? You might not be used to the food here, let me see if there's anything familiar to you."
"Barley cakes."
"..."
After thinking for a moment, he shook his head and said, "Never mind, I'll order some porridge and steamed buns for you—you're all wet, you can take a shower first, and when you come out, you can eat... Hey, can you use Inner Strength to dry your clothes?"
Jiang He looked at him, puzzled, not quite understanding what he was talking about, "A bath... where?"
"This way."
Xu Qing didn't dwell on her Inner Strength, figuring there would be time for that later, and led her to the restroom, turning on the light and saying, "There are many incredible things in this world, so don't be surprised or always think someone is out to get you... at least I'm not going to hurt you, rest assured, see this."
He turned the shower tap on, and water gushed out from the showerhead; Jiang He just stared, watching him demonstrate.
"To the left is hot water, to the right is cold water, push down to stop it, and lift up to let it flow, try it."
Xu Qing quickly showed her how to use it and let her try it out for herself. Fortunately, although this ancient person had never seen it before, she wasn't dumb; just from his demonstration, she had learned how to operate it, her face unable to hide her curiosity.
"This is for washing your hair... press here, and it comes out, spread it in your hair, and there will be bubbles, which is normal, just rinse off the bubbles when you're done. And this is for washing your body, just spread it on yourself too..."
Xu Qing went through the restroom with his newly-acquainted ancient friend, casually explaining how to use the toilet, and upon seeing her nodding, excused himself and left.
Scratching his head, he sat on the sofa and looked back to see the light still on inside the restroom but no sound of the shower running. After thinking for a bit, he went back to the bedroom, took some of his own clothes from the wardrobe, and brought them over.
Jiang He was still standing there, fully clothed, eyeing Xu Qing warily as he re-entered.
"There are no women's clothes in the house; you'll have to make do for now. I'll go out and buy you a couple of outfits tomorrow."
Xu Qing's heart skipped a beat, realizing his oversight; he had forgotten that she didn't know how to lock the door.
Acting nonchalant, he placed the clothes aside and grasped the doorknob, "Come here, I'll show you how to lock the door."
Luckily, Jiang He hadn't started to undress; otherwise, there would surely have been blood splattered everywhere.
After teaching Jiang He to lock the bathroom door, Xu Qing felt a bit of relief as he retreated and sat on the sofa to calm down, reassured by the sound of running water from the bathroom.
Having picked up an ancient person, and a female knight at that...
Am I really not dreaming?
Xu Qing pinched his thigh hard, shook his head twice, and tiptoed over to pick up the sword lying on the floor, slowly drawing it out.
The blade reflected a chilly shimmer; there was some dark brown filth in the blood grooves, carrying a faint scent of metal.
A real deal.
It's worth having the old man check it out sometime, to see if this thing actually counts as an antique...
...
...
When Jiang He came out, Xu Qing was leaning over the table in front of the sofa, writing something. She turned her head to look; her sword was still in its place, but the TV on the wall had been taken down, and the diamond-shaped dart embedded in the middle of the TV had been removed and placed in a corner of the table.
"What are you writing?"
"Hmm?"
Xu Qing turned back to see Jiang He wearing his loose shirt and jeans, her hair wet and the tips dripping water, actually looking a bit like a modern person.
"This, just sorting out some of the issues we need to take care of," he said, shaking the paper in his hand. "Can you read?"
Jiang He took a careful look and said, "Some are strange and hard to recognize."
"Oh, I'll give you a summary after I'm done writing, and explain it to you."
"This outfit is also weird." She awkwardly tugged at the collar.
"It looks quite nice... cough, it's normal to compliment someone's looks around here. You won't take it as some sort of improper flirting or anything like that, will you?"
"It's best not to say frivolous things."
"Okay."
Xu Qing respected the ancient person's perspective and knew it would take her some time to adapt.
"There are slippers over there. Go ahead and throw out these broken... cough, these straw sandals of yours, and I'll buy you a new pair tomorrow."
Jiang He glanced in the direction he pointed, looked down at her own straw sandals, wiggled her toes inside them for a moment without saying anything, and went to put on the slippers.
Knock, knock, knock.
Before Xu Qing could react, she had already flashed to stand behind the door.
"It's just the food delivery, don't be nervous."
Xu Qing reassured her as he got up, feeling an indescribable emotion well up inside him.
This girl's wariness and caution mirrored that of a homeless stray cat.
He received the takeout through the door gap and laid it out on the table, gesturing to Jiang He.
"Let's eat."
Porridge, steamed buns, and a small dish of pickles.
Jiang He stood in front of the table but didn't immediately start eating. After a moment of silence, she suddenly said, "I remember something the second-in-command would often say."
"What's that?" Xu Qing was curious.
"Unrequested favors from strangers indicate a scoundrel or a thief."
After a moment's eye contact, Jiang He cracked a smile.
"But you're a good person."
"Of course."
Xu Qing returned the smile, "Lucky you didn't draw your sword again."
"What would have happened if I had?"
"I don't know."
Anyway, he couldn't beat her in a fight, but that didn't mean he could stay—having explained so much, being able to communicate was the very least required. It wouldn't do if they couldn't understand each other.
A biting stray cat deserves to wander.