Nüwa Mends the Sky, Fuxi Draws the Hexagrams, Shennong Tastes Herbs, Yellow Emperor Battles Chiyou—those names she had never heard, those stories she had never read. But holding the book in her hands, she felt her own bloodline faintly burning.
“Are you going to buy this?” Sigrdrífa’s voice came from behind her.
Xuan Xi snapped back to reality, realizing she had been standing on the same page for nearly ten minutes.
“…Yes.”
She carried the book to the counter. The proprietor was an old Dragon Race man with graying hair, wearing reading glasses and repairing a damaged Ancient Book. He glanced at the book in Xuan Xi’s hand, then at her face.
“Young lady, are you from the East?” His voice carried a hoarse gentleness.
“No,” Xuan Xi said. “I grew up in the West.”
“Oh.”
The proprietor nodded, took the book, and flipped through it.
“This book was consigned by an Eastern Peddler. It’s been sitting here for half a year. You’re the first person who wanted to buy it.”
He wrapped the book in brown paper, tied it with string, and handed it to her.
“Read it well. Eastern things are hard to find in the West.”
Xuan Xi paid and walked out of the bookstore hugging the book. Sigrdrífa followed behind, saying nothing.
“You didn’t buy anything?” Xuan Xi asked.
“Nothing I want to buy.”
“Then you’ve been accompanying me all this time?”
Sigrdrífa looked at her.
“I said, no plans today.”
No plans meant “accompany you” was today’s plan.
It was almost noon, and the streets were gradually getting more crowded. The aroma of food wafted from all directions, teasing Xuan Xi’s stomach. Her stomach let out a soft gurgle, and she instinctively pressed her hand against it.
Sigrdrífa’s ear twitched.
“Hungry?”
“…A little.”
“What do you want to eat?”
Xuan Xi thought for a moment. She had been eating at the academy Cafeteria for over a month now. Although the taste wasn’t bad, even a feast would get boring if eaten every day. Today she wanted something different. Her eyes scanned the street and finally landed on a familiar direction—the stall with a red lantern on the street corner, the Eastern Snack Stall.
“That one.” She pointed.
Sigrdrífa followed her finger and nodded.
The two walked to the stall. The Proprietress was still that middle-aged woman, her black hair in a bun, wearing simple Eastern attire. Seeing Xuan Xi, her eyes brightened.
“It’s you, young lady. The one who bought Osmanthus Cake last time.”
“You remember me?” Xuan Xi was a bit surprised.
“I remember. The color of your eyes is very special.”
The Proprietress smiled, her gaze pausing for a moment on the Destiny Mark beneath Xuan Xi’s right eye, just like the bookstore owner. But she didn’t ask, she just smiled and said.
“What would you like to eat today?”
Xuan Xi looked at the items on the stall: Tanghulu (Candied Hawthorn), Osmanthus Cake, Green Bean Cake, Red Bean Cake, Glutinous Rice Cake, Dragon Beard Candy. Many snacks she couldn’t name, and some hot foods: Wontons, noodles, dumplings.
“Two bowls of wontons.”
Xuan Xi said. She turned to look at Sigrdrífa.
“Can you eat spicy?”
“Yes.”
“Then both bowls with extra spice.”
The Proprietress smiled and acknowledged, then turned to get busy.
Xuan Xi and Sigrdrífa sat down at the small table next to the stall. The table was very small, and they sat facing each other, their knees almost touching.
The wontons were served. The white porcelain bowls held clear broth, with over a dozen small wontons floating on the surface. The wrappers were so thin you could see the pink meat filling inside. Scallions and chili oil floated on the broth, red and green, looking appetizing at first sight.
Xuan Xi picked up her spoon, scooped up a wonton, blew on it, and put it in her mouth. Hot, savory, spicy—three sensations exploded on her tongue at once. Her eyes instantly lit up.
“Delicious,” she said indistinctly.
Sigrdrífa looked at her, then lowered her head and began eating her own bowl. Her movements were far more elegant than Xuan Xi’s—gently scooping, blowing twice, bringing to her mouth, chewing, swallowing. The whole process was silent without a sound.
When Xuan Xi took her third bite, she looked up at Sigrdrífa.
“How is it?”
“Not bad.”
“Just ‘not bad’?”
“Very delicious.” Sigrdrífa added three words.
Xuan Xi laughed. She knew that going from “not bad” to “very delicious” was probably a big step.
The two ate wontons facing each other, neither speaking. After finishing the wontons, Xuan Xi went to buy two sticks of Tanghulu. She handed one to Sigrdrífa and started nibbling on the other herself.
The hawthorn inside the Tanghulu was sour, and the sugar coating outside was sweet. Sour and sweet mingled in her mouth, so delicious that she squinted her eyes.
Sigrdrífa held the stick of Tanghulu and looked at it for several seconds, as if studying its structure.
“You’ve never had this?” Xuan Xi asked.
“No, I rarely eat this kind of sweet.”
“Try a bite.”
Sigrdrífa hesitated, then took a small bite. The sound of the sugar coating cracking was very crisp. A very subtle change appeared in her expression.
“How is it?”
“…A bit sour.”
Xuan Xi laughed.
“Tanghulu is supposed to be sour. Hawthorn is sour by nature, but it’s coated in sugar. The sweet and sour mix is what makes it delicious.”
Sigrdrífa took another bite, this time a bigger one. She chewed a few times and swallowed.
The two stood on the street corner, each with a Tanghulu, like two ordinary girls. Not two Dragon Race beings whose true forms could destroy heaven and earth—just two girls hanging out and snacking on the weekend.
Xuan Xi suddenly felt that such moments were precious.
After finishing the Tanghulu, Xuan Xi remembered another purpose of today: buying clothes. She only had two sets of casual wear—one in the wash, one she was wearing. Tomorrow she would have to wear the one that hadn’t dried yet, so she needed to buy some new clothes.
“Do you know where to buy clothes?” she asked Sigrdrífa.
Sigrdrífa glanced at her.
“Don’t you have enough clothes?”
“I only have two sets.”
Sigrdrífa was silent for a moment.
“Follow me.”
She led Xuan Xi into a small alley. The alley was not wide, and the shops on both sides were smaller than those on the main street, but quieter and more refined. She stopped in front of a shop with a wooden sign, pushed the door open, and walked in. Xuan Xi followed behind her. The moment she entered, her first reaction was: the clothes here were too beautiful—not something a poor Dragon Race girl like her could afford.
Silk, gauze, embroidery, button knots. Dark cyan long robes embroidered with silver cloud patterns, moon white dresses adorned with light pink plum blossoms—every piece of clothing here was like a work of art.
Sigrdrífa walked to the rack, her fingers lightly brushing over rows of clothes. Finally she stopped in front of a dark cyan long robe. She took it down and handed it to Xuan Xi.
“Try it on.”
Xuan Xi took the robe. The feel of it was much softer than she had imagined. Silk slid over her fingertips like water flowing. She carried the robe into the fitting room. When she came out changed, she stood in front of the mirror and couldn’t recognize herself.
The dark cyan robe complemented her dark cyan hair. Silver cloud patterns glimmered faintly under the light. Deep blue piping outlined her waistline. She didn’t look like a blacksmith’s adopted daughter—she looked like… she didn’t know what.
Sigrdrífa stood behind her, looking at her in the mirror. Her amethyst eyes were particularly bright under the light.
“Beautiful,” she said.
Xuan Xi looked at the price tag. The number was so big that her pupils contracted.
“Too expensive.”
“I’ll pay.” Sigrdrífa was already walking to the counter.
“No, this is too much—”
“You treated me to wontons.”
“Wontons cost how much?”
“That was wontons.”
Sigrdrífa turned to look at her, her amethyst eyes carrying an unyielding seriousness.
“This is clothes. You treated me to wontons, I’ll treat you to clothes. It’s the same.”
Xuan Xi opened her mouth to argue, but found she couldn’t. Because her tone—that kind of “I’ve already decided, no use arguing”—was undeniable.
“Then you’ll have to let me pay you back later.”
“…Okay. Pay back later.”
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