Chapter 44: The Appearance of the Broken Blade

April brings charming spring scenery.

The air still carries the lingering chill of departing winter, but Mount Tubei is a scene of bustling activity.

Centered around the Su family's vegetable plot, newly cleared patches of land fan out and extend outward.

The people wielding hoes in the fields have beads of sweat glistening like tiny gems under the sunlight, and the smiles on their faces are brighter and more radiant than the climbing sun.

The fragrance of the earth is kneaded into the air, blending with the cool crispness. Breathing it in, that long-lost familiarity makes noses sting and eyes grow warm.

Behind the thorn-bush fence of the Su family's vegetable plot, a head pops out, calling out cheerfully and across the distance to the hardworking crowd, "Hey folks, what kind of vegetables are you all planting?"

The crowd is stunned at first, but someone immediately shouts out, "I'm Wang Chuan from the Su family's side! We live at the second house in from the mountain foot intersection. My family is planting chili peppers and rapeseed flowers!"

The person who answered first is thin and short, with ordinary, honest facial features. A pair of eyes shine brightly under the sunlight—a joy born from the heart, breaking through the gloom that had accumulated in his gaze.

Hearing his voice, Su Da immediately connects it to the person who knocked on their door earlier to pass along news, and laughs, "When the vegetables in the field are ready to pick later, I'll trade you for some chili peppers! Having been out here for so long, I must say, I really miss that chili flavor!"

"No need to trade! Just come straight to my patch and pick them when you want to eat them! That goes for everyone else too, come pick whatever you want!"

Once the conversational floodgates open, others join in one after another.

"I'm Chen Dafu, living right diagonally across from the Huo family. I'm planting tomatoes and green beans!"

"My family is planting luffas and kidney beans!"

"My family doesn't have any vegetable seeds, but there are wild greens on the mountain after spring arrives! I found a patch that grows baby greens two years ago, so as soon as the land was cleared, I sowed some baby green seeds!"

"Li Xiaoxiao, you really are a sly fox. No wonder the smell of vegetables always drifts from your house as soon as spring arrives—so you were secretly hiding a good spot all along!"

"Look at you talking! Didn't you also dig up wild yams in the mountain? You kept it all hush-hush as if nobody else knew!"

"Hahaha!"

Long-lost laughter echoes across the sky above Mount Tubei, carried far away on the wind.

The rest of the Su family are also busy in the fields. The three little Su boys scamper and romp playfully between the furrows, while the youngest, Tianbao, is placed inside a bamboo basket lined with a clean, thick, padded cotton jacket. The warm sunlight beats down on her, and the baby grows drowsy from the warmth.

Xiuer brushes a handful of pulled weeds into a pile beside her feet and smiles faintly, "That Li Xiaoxiao is the one who brought us news at the intersection the other day."

Su Er chimes in casually, "And Wang Chuan gave our family a heads-up too."

The vegetable plot is only so big, and there really isn't much work left to do. Old Man Su simply stops working, sits down beside the bamboo basket to shield his little granddaughter from the glare, keeping the sun out of her eyes.

Listening to the ripples of laughter and chatter coming from outside the garden, the old man narrows his eyes slightly, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothing out. "Life right now isn't actually all that bad, is it?"

Old Mrs. Su gives him a sidelong glance. "You're only good at speaking in hindsight. Of course it's not so bad now that we've made it through. If we hadn't made it through, would you still be able to say something like that?"

"Oh, come on, we *did* make it through, didn't we?" Old Man Su coughs lightly, his tone ingratiating. "Look, our family only planted Chinese cabbage, baby bok choy, and radishes—just three kinds, isn't that a bit sparse? Now everyone has cleared land to grow vegetables: chili peppers, green beans, luffas, cowpeas... We can trade with each other later, won't our menu become all the more varied? That's a good thing!"

Su Er chuckles and teases, "Mother, what Father says is right. When we have time later, not only can we trade for vegetables with everyone else, but we can also go up the mountain to pick baby greens and dig up wild yams!"

The vegetable plot falls silent for a fleeting second before laughter erupts all around.

Amidst everyone's merry laughter, none of them notice that an extra person has arrived at the homestead.

Only little Tianbao, seemingly fast asleep inside the bamboo basket, has her eyelids twitch slightly. She parts them just a tiny crack, glances toward the roof of the adjacent house, and then closes her eyes once more.

On the thatched roof of the Su family's main hall, a figure appears silently, sitting with knees bent and cradling a broken saber. Amidst the sounds of laughter and chatter, the person half-closes their eyes to bask in the sun.

The posture and attitude bear a striking resemblance to the tiny baby in the bamboo basket.

Because of physical constraints, Tianbao cannot see the person on the other side of the roof, and her tiny brows knit together slightly.

Since her rebirth, her reactions to the outside world have become extremely acute, and her hearing is sharp enough to catch the sound of falling leaves. Yet this time, she remains unaware until the person lands on the rooftop, which leaves her somewhat vexed.

Clearly, this person's martial arts are superior to anyone she has dealt with over the past two days.

Fortunately, there is no killing intent about the person that might provoke her hostility.

Tianbao thinks for a moment, makes no overt movements, but quietly opens her spatial entrance, leaving pear-blossom needles floating in the void on standby.

She still insists that there must be no dead bodies in her home, subconsciously refusing to let any ill fortune taint this household.

The Su family is entirely oblivious to this. With the weeds pulled, the soil loosened, and the watering finished, it is still only early mid-morning.

Xiuer stands up and brushes the mud off her hands. "Father, Mother, I'll go make lunch first. You all rest for a bit, and it'll be ready when you come in."

Old Mrs. Su nods. "Go ahead. There's nothing left that needs doing in the field, we'll head back to the front courtyard too!"

Xiuer and her two sisters-in-law set off first, leaving Su Da and Su Er behind to tidy up the garden briefly.

Old Man Su preemptively picks up the bamboo basket, taking his little granddaughter into his care. The old man smiles with utter satisfaction, his back carrying a swagger as he walks.

Old Mrs. Su is a step slower and misses her chance, spitting out a soft remark as she follows behind, "Look at that smug look of yours!"

The old man pretends not to hear, gently rocking the bamboo basket so that the baby inside sways as if on a swing. "Hehehe, fun isn't it, little Tianbao? Look at this little mouth—she's smiling! Hahahaha!"

Tianbao's tiny body sways in midair without a trace of fear. Opening her pitch-black, almond-shaped eyes, she looks at her grandfather's smiling, wrinkled face and parts her own little mouth into a grin.

As a nearly six-month-old baby, her facial features have blossomed; her skin is fair and delicate like carved jade. When she smiles, her eyes curve into crescent moons, revealing four tiny, neat, white rice-like teeth. Her soft, adorable appearance is enough to melt anyone's heart.

"Oh, look at our little Tianbao, she looks so pretty when she smiles, and her little face is just so sweet. She should smile more often!" Old Man Su's hearty laughter grows even louder, filled with carefree delight.

Old Mrs. Su hurries to catch up, leaning over the bamboo basket to look at her little granddaughter's smiling face. Her wind-weathered features also break into a smile, her gaze gentle. "That's right, she smiles so sweetly. Grandma loves watching Tianbao smile the most."

Tianbao deploys her smile once more, curving the corners of her mouth to match the previous arc, maintaining the expression even though her facial muscles begin to ache.

Three little short-statured figures crowd in beneath the bamboo basket, shouting and jumping to see how their little sister is smiling.

Taking advantage of their grandfather's and grandmother's inattention, Tianbao quietly stretches a tiny foot out of the bamboo basket and kicks wildly in a blur of shadowless blows, immediately eliciting yelps of pain from the three boys below.

Tianbao: "Giggle-giggle-giggle!"

Old Mrs. Su and Old Man Su narrow their eyes into slits. "Look at that, she kicks her brothers and then just laughs like that. Such a mischievous and bossy little one, hahaha!"

Su An, Su Wen, and Su Wu clutch the foreheads that were struck by the tiny foot, looking aggrieved and bewildered.

No matter how they listen to it, their grandparents' words don't sound like a scolding for their sister.

If they were the ones acting up and making mischief, they'd have been chased down with a broomstick long ago.

Why do they suddenly feel like they're worth so little?