Chapter 70: Still as a Maiden, Swift as a Hare

Lin Shenlu was truly about to laugh out of sheer exasperation. This fellow actually dared to lecture her—as if her own Mandarin were flawless.

“What’s your name?” Su Bao’er squatted nearby, watching Lin Shenlu dry her face, and asked nervously.

“My name is... Lin Shenlu, as in ‘the forest deep, the deer appears’...” Before she finished, she saw Su Bao’er, still crouched, rubbing her messy hair and muttering while glaring at her.

Listening closely—

“Lin... Shenlu... Deer girl? You’re called Deer girl... Do you know Dog boy?” Su Bao’er suddenly looked up at her.

She was speechless.

...

“Deer girl... I’m hungry...” Not long after, Su Bao’er timidly stood beside Lin Shenlu, rubbing her stomach.

“Didn’t you just eat bread?” Lin Shenlu took her hands off the keyboard.

“I want meat...” Su Bao’er stared at her blankly.

“I haven’t had any meat myself...” Lin Shenlu checked the time—she’d had lunch with An Muxi, another meal on the plane in the afternoon... She wasn’t really hungry! Still, it was about time for dinner.

“Let’s go, I’ll take you to get some meat. But could you wash your face first? And your hair... I...” Lin Shenlu scratched her head in embarrassment. She couldn’t just bring Su Bao’er, looking so disheveled, to eat.

Su Bao’er nodded as if she understood, then hunched her back and shuffled toward the courtyard.

Three minutes later—

“Deer girl... come look at this...” Su Bao’er called from the yard.

Lin Shenlu peered through the window and saw Su Bao’er playing with a shovel propped up against the side of the courtyard.

“Look at this... it’s fun... you can even bury things with it...” Su Bao’er swung the shovel toward her.

“Go wash your face!”

...

Life is sorrowful like this—you never know whether surprise or shock will come first.

Yet after Su Bao’er washed her face, Lin Shenlu was taken aback by her beauty. Even though her gaze was still vacant and her expression blank, the simple wash revealed a lovely and captivating face, loose and clean black hair falling over her chest. Even the shabby clothes couldn’t hide the sleek black straightness of her hair.

Lin Shenlu thought to herself that she had guessed right: once cleaned up, this girl was indeed beautiful, tall, and fair-skinned. Just looking at her, she was at least an eight out of ten! Such a face needed no deliberate embellishment to be striking, and when Su Bao’er removed her coat, wearing only a thin black shirt—her figure was remarkable.

At that moment, Lin Shenlu understood why the ancients described a girl as “serene like a maiden, lively like a startled hare”—surely, this was what they meant by lively as a hare!

“Let’s go. Now you look presentable—I’ll take you to eat meat!” Lin Shenlu nodded in satisfaction.

...

The two walked along the road, Lin Shenlu admiring the scenery, while Su Bao’er looked around curiously, as if everything caught her interest.

Not far ahead stood a towering ancient tree, its age unknown—perhaps a thousand years or more. In this tranquil, rustic village, the camphor tree adorned the riverbank dock. Under its shade, a group of elders chatted after their meal, while several dirty children ran circles around the giant tree.

This lively, everyday scene was exactly what Lin Shenlu sought. She knew she had chosen well with this trip to Lishui.

“Deer girl... look at this big tree... do you think it’ll become a tree spirit?”

“Yes, its roots are its feet, its branches are its hands, and at night it walks around battling monsters!” Lin Shenlu replied without looking back.

“I think... I remember... there was a big tree like this at my home... Dog boy used to run around it...” Su Bao’er mumbled.

“If only you could remember where your home is... By the way, do you have an ID card? Let me see—it should have your address on it!” Lin Shenlu stopped and asked suddenly.

“ID card... don’t have one... can’t remember...” Su Bao’er scratched her hair out of habit.

“Then how did you get here?” Lin Shenlu was curious now.

A girl with no ID, no money, and no memory... how did she even end up here?

Yes, she really was a “three-nothing” girl: silent, expressionless, and emotionally closed off...

In this world of “three-nothings,” she’d met a silly variant...

“I just walked... kept walking... walked here...” Su Bao’er tilted her head.

“I’m hungry... Deer girl... meat...” Lin Shenlu sighed. Was there anything she cared about besides meat?

Passing under the camphor tree, they made their way to the water’s edge, waiting by the dock for the black-roofed boat to ferry them across. It felt just like a scene from a movie.

Unlike the famous tourist attractions, this place was steeped in simple, authentic life, making one want to stay forever; perhaps that’s why artists and poets chose to remain here.

...

An ancient path along the riverbank, lush camphor trees peeking between wooden buildings. In the distance, a shop with gourds hanging at the door marked their dining destination.

Inside the gourds was peach blossom wine, and red lanterns hung to welcome guests.

Lin Shenlu quickened her pace, leaning by the wooden window, letting the river breeze blow away her worries, sipping the peach blossom wine.

She slipped through an alley beside the wooden building, stepping onto a sun-dappled cobblestone path beneath the shade of trees. Gray roof tiles and tender green moss glimmered. Dirty children ran and laughed, a scene warm and beautiful.

At the restaurant entrance, a painter was capturing the camphor tree’s beauty. The interplay of light and shadow expressed through pigments, the brush dancing across the canvas.

The scene was rendered with vivid artistry.

“Deer girl... let’s go in for meat...” Su Bao’er gently tugged Lin Shenlu’s sleeve.

...

Inside, old wooden boards formed the walls, and a weathered frame of unknown age hung there. Within the frame, two lines in white read:

Walking is the road, sitting becomes the scenery.

Lin Shenlu couldn’t help but take a photo of this.

Whether the words on the wall were written intentionally or not, they captured the truth.

At this moment, Lin Shenlu truly needed to sit down and attend to Su Bao’er’s empty stomach.

“Hello, I’d like a braised stream fish. Is the fish fresh?” Lin Shenlu asked.

“Rest assured, our fish were caught this morning in the Ou River—stone bass, one jin each, very fresh!”

Lin Shenlu nodded in satisfaction, feeling her mouth water.

Su Bao’er pressed her face to the table, staring blankly at the dishes on the other tables.

“And a plum sauce duck... how’s the duck?” Lin Shenlu asked.

“It’s Jinyun duck, we select the best breast and leg meat. The duck is served with plum sauce, the stream fish with tea oil. Please wait!”

This was the true color and flavor of the water towns of the south.

“And a pot of peach blossom wine, please!”