“I’ll go with A Yin. But,” Li Shiyi glanced at Song Shijiu, “only after two days.” With Song Shijiu’s state of growth, she’d be an adult in only a few days, but her figure wouldn’t undergo too large a change, and she wouldn’t have to prepare as many clothes. But Song Shijiu shot her an anxious look, lowering her head, aggrieved. Li Shiyi, not understanding, looked at her, and she curled her fingers into a fist and hit the back of Li Shiyi’s hand, still not speaking. Only after seeing A Chun off, and exchanging a few sentences with A Yin, did Li Shiyi finally lead Song Shijiu back home. Song Shijiu, in a rare form, didn’t clamour about being led, only silently shuffling her shoes from behind, carefully pushing the toes as she walked. Li Shiyi turned to look at her, and she wanted to speak but hesitated; Song Shijiu said in a quiet voice, “Don’t you want to say that I’m big now and don’t need to be led?” Li Shiyi was astonished, and her brows rose for a good few minutes without falling, ...

Tianjin was incredibly strange; the Western practice of opening the harbour to plunder the seas was, it turned out, combined with the high-speed crosstalk, just right, and the scent of phoenix tree wood and fried dough twists mingled together, accompanied by the scent of golden fried sweets, and Tianjin natives crouched on the sides of the street passing the morning, laughing and calling out “jiejie” regardless of whether or not they recognised you. It had been quite hard to come; A Yin begged Li Shiyi and Tu Laoyao to stay with her a few days in Tianjin and rent a small boathouse; each morning, as the scent of black coffee permeated the air, Tu Laoyao stood in line half a shichen to buy baozi that a dog wouldn’t pay attention to, and then she leaned out of the balcony to watch the opera, exclaiming earnestly down to rival immortals. Tu Laoyao was entirely unaccustomed to coffee; never mind drinking it, even if he were to catch its scent, he wouldn’t be able to smell it; it made his he...

“Since the past is the past, then in that case, let’s think of a path of retreat. How are we getting out of here?” A Yin asked, brushing the detritus off her hands. Once the words spilled past her chin, she looked at Xia Ji calmly despite the chaos. Xia Ji replied sorrowfully, “I was in this painting for several thousand years, and it was only with great difficulty that people came; how could I not ask guests to stay?” A Yin regarded her with extreme disdain at her coyness, and said with a cold laugh, “Just now, you experienced that talisman yourself, and although it might not be able to kill you, there are indeed ways to torment you, and it would be simple to write a few talismans and burn you thrice a day, so this lady here says, let’s see if it’s you who will first die of pain, or we who will first die of hunger.” Tu Laoyao also was thinking of solutions in bits and pieces, and said, “She loves beauty, so best to tie her up and put up a mirror in front of her, and shame her to death...

Translator's note: curious about why I'm working on the earlier chapters? You can find an explanation in the translator's note on the ninth chapter . - The party was not detained by the Herb of Yao for long, rather walking deeper into the tomb, and in the exact centre was a four-sided stone that formed a platform with a narrow bottom and a wide top, about half a metre tall, a new coffin resting on its top, its width equally wide at the top and the bottom, the black lacquered wood glistening. On either side of the stone platform were erected two glass lamps of the same colour, stretching out like tree branches, and Li Shiyi indicated to Tu Laoyao to advance and light them with the lamp, and with a whisper of fire igniting, the white oil candles pervaded the air with the scent of wax, suddenly and simultaneously scattering light across the cold interior of the tomb. The candle flames lit, after only half a minute of warmth, A Yin tugged her overcoat closer around her frame, t...

Translator's note: curious about why I'm working on the earlier chapters? You can find an explanation in the translator's note on the ninth chapter . - Arriving at Tianjin, the sky was already coloured with dusk, and Tu Laoyao woke from his doze, following along after Li Shiyi to get off the train with drowsy eyes, a suitcase in each hand. Outside the train station, someone sent by Master Wu was already waiting, wearing a smart tunic and standing by a rickshaw like a pine tree, and, seeing A Yin, called in a rather ostentatious tone, “A Yin-xiaojie,” [1] bowing as he opened the rickshaw door. A Yin didn’t stand on courtesy, getting into the passenger seat with ease, leaving the back row of seats for Li Shiyi and Tu Laoyao. At the front, A Yin fished out a mirror to fix her makeup, and Song Shijiu was slightly carsick, gently turning in towards Li Shiyi’s embrace; Li Shiyi softly patted her back, slightly distracted herself; only two or three days had passed, and yet she wa...

Translator's note: curious about why I'm working on the earlier chapters? You can find an explanation in the translator's note on the ninth chapter . - Once one night had passed and light returned, Song Shijiu’s height changed, more or less that of a two year old. This time, Li Shiyi took care, and before going to sleep, changed her into a large cotton garment that covered her hands and feet, and when she opened her eyes, found that it was just perfect, the sleeves enveloping her wrists, aligned neatly with the line like the joint of a lotus root. Li Shiyi had just fetched water and stooped at the front of the door, brushing her teeth, when she heard the gate of the courtyard creak, and Tu Laoyao, back inclined as he carried a bundle wrapped in blue and white cloth with a scattered flower pattern, stood upright and grinned; when Li Shiyi raised her brows in question, Tu Laoyao said, in high spirits, “I’ve packed, let’s go!” Li Shiyi stood up, wiping the water from the corne...

Translator's note: curious about why I'm working on the earlier chapters? You can find an explanation in the translator's note on the ninth chapter . - “Come to speak of it, this is strange as well,” A Yin said, tired of eating melon seeds, idly swinging the handkerchief, “previously, I had a client, who had obtained a wife whose beauty rivalled Xi Shi’s, [1] and from what I’ve heard, he couldn’t bear to part with her, passing night after night with music and singing, and it’s been quite a few days since he came here to me. But what I didn’t expect was that, after only a few months, this wife suddenly caught tuberculosis and died.” A Yin clapped her hands together, the sound sharp and clear, and then parted them like a bird’s wings. “That great master was heartbroken and lost his mind, and buried her grandly. But she’d only been buried eight days when a highly treasured object went missing, and thinking over it, he thought perhaps he had, without meaning to, interred it wi...

Translator's note: curious about why I'm working on the earlier chapters? You can find an explanation in the translator's note on the ninth chapter . - The cloak of the night was like a giant, satiated animal, and within Sijiucheng, [1] the lamp-light had scattered away, and Li Shiyi and Tu Laoyao each returned to their own homes without exchanging words. The winter wind whistled against the wood door, and Li Shiyi, holding Song Shijiu, entered the room, pushing the door open with her foot, and put Song Shijiu on the wooden bed; from within the willow wardrobe, took out a camphor-scented buckwheat pillow, putting it beneath her head, then fetched hot water and sat at the bedside and washed her body; seeing she didn’t make any sound, rather clever and obedient, she couldn’t help but reach out her index finger to tip up her chubby, pouting chin, and said to herself, “What sort of person are you?” Song Shijiu opened her eyes wide, and blew a perplexed bubble of spit. Li Shiyi...