During her two-day stay in Pingzhou, Bai Qingqing finally allowed her tightly strung nerves to relax.
Wen Jiang gave her daily acupuncture treatments, supplemented with herbal decoctions. Coupled with her own efforts to adjust her condition, her insomnia had largely abated.
With just one day left before they were to leave Pingzhou, Bai Qingqing was helping prepare their travel necessities when she suddenly heard someone calling her from outside.
Stepping out, she was surprised to see it was Chang’an.
“How did you know I was here?”
Chang’an stood in the shadow of a corner wall and waved her over. “I grew up in Pingzhou, running through its alleys all day long. That’s how I found you. Lanlan is doing a bit better—she wants to see you.”
Bai Qingqing thought of the little girl who had given her such a timid smile and couldn’t help the soft curve of her lips. “That’s wonderful news. But I wasn’t the one treating her—I’ll go fetch Brother Wen.”
“Lanlan only wants to see you!”
Chang’an’s voice grew urgent. “She’s a little afraid of older men. She just wants to thank you in person. You’re probably leaving Pingzhou soon, aren’t you? She’s afraid she won’t get another chance…”
His pleading gaze stirred something in Bai Qingqing. Thinking it was just a brief meeting, she agreed and followed him out.
“Are you and Lanlan still living in that temple? It can’t be easy for her, not with her health the way it is. I’ve heard Pingzhou has a charity orphanage—why don’t you both go there? At least it would spare you the hardship of drifting from place to place.”
She’d been thinking about this for days. She’d even asked Ning Yan about it, worried that Chang’an and Lanlan might not meet the requirements, and had carefully inquired about the conditions.
“You don’t have to worry. I can help you get in. Lanlan is still so young—it’s not right for her to go hungry one day and full the next. Once you both grow older and can support yourselves, you could leave then. That might be a better path forward.”
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With his head lowered, Chang’an walked ahead in silence, listening to Bai Qingqing’s words behind him. A long while passed before he finally murmured a quiet thank you.
Bai Qingqing smiled. “What are you thanking me for? You and your sister have had such a hard life, yet you’ve managed to support each other through it all. I truly admire that. Especially you—as her big brother, you’ve protected her so well. You’re quite the little man.”
As she spoke, she noticed that Chang’an’s steps were slowing, his thin, small figure trembling slightly. Concerned, she asked, “What’s wrong?”
Chang’an had stopped at the mouth of an alley. Slowly, he turned around. The eyes that had once stared unflinchingly at people twice his size were now brimming with anguish. “…I’m sorry.”
Bai Qingqing froze. Only then did she realize they were standing at the entrance of a narrow alley, and there wasn’t another soul in sight.
“What are you—”
“Hahahahaha! Well done!”
The sudden burst of laughter made her jump. She turned her head toward the alley and saw a few men stepping out from the shadows, grinning with twisted, malevolent smiles. One of them was holding a small figure in his grasp.
Chang’an shouted at them furiously, “I brought her—now let Lanlan go!”
“Relax, I’m a man of my word,” said the man in the lead, presumably Chen San. “Though this damn girl bit me twice—tch, what a nasty little thing.”
He waved his hand, and the man behind him let go. Chang Lan stumbled forward, her steps unsteady. One side of her face was clearly swollen. Chang’an’s eyes flared with rage as he pulled her behind him. “Did they hit you?”
But Chang Lan ignored him, her tear-filled eyes red as she cried. “How could you trick her? She helped us—how could you do this to her?!”
By now, Bai Qingqing was already surrounded. Her head buzzed with a dull roar.
So Chang’an… had lured her here?