My Shijie Seems Intent on Destroying the World – Chapter 13
by Little PandaQuestioning the Heart
She Held a Pure White Flower Between Her Fingertips
Qi Zhi remembered that if she left the mountain and headed south, she would reach Qingshi Town.
That was the mortal town closest to Mount Qiongju.
Qi Zhi had heard the disciples who frequently went down the mountain for supplies say that there were many delicious foods and fun things there, and it was always bustling—much more fun than up on the mountain.
So after fleeing down the mountain that night, she didn’t even stop to rest before eagerly rushing southward.
It was just that the world outside the mountain was so vast. This road heading south was much farther than her walk to Suihan Hall.
Qi Zhi walked until her legs felt like they were about to break, yet she still couldn’t see the legendary Qingshi Town. She couldn’t help but start doubting whether she had gotten her directions mixed up.
Fortunately, her luck wasn’t bad. She encountered a horse carriage on the road.
The carriage was moving fast. Just moments ago, it had been far behind her. She had merely turned around out of curiosity for a moment when she saw it rush past her side, carrying a gust of wind with it.
Qi Zhi froze for a moment, then quickly quickened her pace to chase after the carriage.
The driver clearly noticed her chasing the carriage, glancing back in surprise several times before finally unable to resist pulling the horses to a stop and shouting back at her, “Miss, do you want to get on?”
Qi Zhi stopped with heavy pants, supporting herself with both hands on her knees for several seconds to catch her breath. She looked up and asked timidly, “I-is that okay?”
“Where are you going?”
“Qingshi Town!”
“Then come on up!”
Qi Zhi pursed her lips and sat on the carriage in a daze.
Actually, she hadn’t expected to hitch a ride at first. She had just been walking with her head down the whole way, never quite sure if she was heading in the right direction. So when she finally saw a human, her first reaction was to follow closely behind them.
Anyway, she didn’t know the way. Following someone, even if their destination was different, would at least lead her somewhere.
But in the eyes of the driver, it was a different story.
In this freezing, snowy weather, with no village ahead or behind, a skinny little girl had suddenly appeared, chasing tightly behind his carriage without saying a word.
Her little face was red, her eyes bright, looking at his carriage like she had seen a lifeline. No matter how he looked at it, she seemed like a pitiful girl wanting a ride.
How could a little girl with such thin arms and legs outrun a carriage?
Watching the figure chasing the carriage grow smaller and smaller, he couldn’t help but think of his own daughter who was about the same age. Since he was returning with an empty carriage anyway, his heart softened and he called the girl up.
“In this heavy snow, if I didn’t let you on, were you going to walk to Qingshi Town by yourself?”
“Mhm!” Qi Zhi nodded in response.
“That would be quite a walk,” the driver told her. “If you hadn’t run into me, you wouldn’t have arrived even if you walked until tomorrow night.”
“That far!”
“Yeah. You’re just a little girl, how come you’re walking such a long road all alone…”
Qi Zhi couldn’t answer. She just rubbed her frozen cheeks and looked back at the two long carriage tracks behind her.
If only she could fly.
The disciples responsible for purchasing supplies never stayed away from the mountain for too long in the past. They must have all come by sword flight. None of them would be like her, running this long road on foot.
As Qi Zhi thought this, her exhausted body grew drowsy, and before long, she fell asleep leaning against the carriage window.
The carriage she had hitched a ride on midway bumped along for a long time, finally bringing the drowsy Qi Zhi to Qingshi Town just before dusk.
After getting off, she bowed repeatedly in thanks. The driver just waved his hand and parted ways with her.
Watching the carriage gradually recede into the distance, Qi Zhi looked around, her face full of bewilderment.
There were simply too many people here. She would bump into someone every couple of steps. Some walked with their heads down, while others shouted loudly. It seemed bustling and lively, yet it was as if no one knew anyone else.
The buildings around here were even more densely packed, one right after another. Just the single street before her could probably house all the disciples of Tiandao Sect.
Qi Zhi looked around everywhere along the way, finding everything novel, yet not daring to get too close.
A sudden aroma of wontons drifted over from the roadside.
She touched her stomach and couldn’t resist following the scent.
It was a wonton stall set up by the roadside. Several people were sitting at the stall, all eating heartily with their chopsticks.
Qi Zhi stood to the side watching for a while, wanting to eat but not daring to step forward.
The wonton vendor saw her watching for so long that he couldn’t help calling out to her, “Miss, want a bowl of wontons?”
Qi Zhi snapped out of her daze and glanced left and right. Confirming that he was indeed talking to her, she was both surprised and delighted, nodding her head rather bashfully.
The vendor cheerfully ushered her to a seat and soon served her a steaming bowl of wontons.
Qi Zhi hadn’t eaten anything the entire journey and was already starving. She didn’t even care that it was hot, slurping down the entire large bowl until nothing was left, not even a drop of soup.
Still feeling unsatisfied, she turned her head to look at the vendor again.
The vendor glanced back, “Would you like another bowl?”
One bowl for strangers, two for friends1—this time, she nodded without any hesitation.
Before long, with two bowls of wontons in her belly, Qi Zhi let out a long, satisfied sigh.
Finally, she sat resting for a while. Thinking it over, she felt it wasn’t right to eat for free, but she truly had nothing good on her to repay him with. She had no choice but to condense a small white flower at her fingertips and quietly place it on the table.
Seeing that it was getting late, Qi Zhi looked up at the vendor, “Mister, may I ask, is there anywhere convenient to stay nearby?”
The vendor heard this and pointed, “Walk a bit further ahead, there’s an inn.”
“Inn…” Qi Zhi repeated softly, then earnestly thanked the vendor and hopped off in the direction he had pointed.
She didn’t pay. Because she ran off so naturally, without the slightest hint of guilt on her face, the vendor couldn’t help but stare in a daze.
After a moment of stunned silence, he looked back at the table and discovered that the girl hadn’t left any silver or copper behind—only a small flower from who knows where. He finally realized that he had encountered someone who dined and dashed2!
Such a pretty little girl, dressed so cleanly—how could she eat wontons and not pay?
Not paying was bad enough, but she even left some lousy flower to infuriate him!
He gritted his teeth and was about to chase after her, but a silver-haired girl reached out and blocked his way.
“I’ll pay for that girl’s food!”
“You’re paying for her?”
“Mhm, mhm!” The silver-haired girl nodded, counted out the copper coins, and placed them in his hand.
The vendor looked down to count the money, and when he looked up again, the silver-haired girl was already gone, along with the small flower on the table.
“How baffling…”
He muttered softly as he cleared the bowls and chopsticks from the table.
…
The sky grew darker and darker, and the pedestrians on the street grew fewer and fewer.
Qi Zhi searched earnestly along the way and finally spotted the inn that the kind wonton vendor had mentioned.
The inn’s main door was closed, though the candlelight inside was still lit.
Qi Zhi stared at the shut door, not daring to step forward and disturb anyone for a long while. It wasn’t until she saw someone knock and open the door that she hurriedly followed behind that person inside.
After entering, the innkeeper looked up and asked, “Staying the night, guest?”
The person replied, “Give me an upper-grade room.”
Qi Zhi stood quietly to the side. Seeing that person say this, register a name, and immediately be ushered upstairs to the second floor, she had a sudden epiphany!
The next second, the innkeeper turned his gaze to her.
Qi Zhi took a deep breath, moved to the spot where that person had just stood, and mimicking what she had seen, said, “Give me an upper-grade room!”
With that, she wrote her name on the register the innkeeper handed her, then happily followed the waiter to her room.
Before entering the room, the waiter politely told her to just ask if she needed anything.
Qi Zhi was half-convinced, but tried asking for a little food and was indeed satisfied. So she asked for a basin of hot water, comfortably washed her face, and soaked her little feet in the warm water.
Finally, wrapped in a soft quilt, lying in an unfamiliar bed, she felt like this entire day had been a dream.
Is this the world outside the mountain…
“It’s so nice.”
She murmured softly, tucked her head into the quilt, closed her eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.
…
The dark alley was silent, the night as black as ink.
Only one figure, slender and lean, sat leaning against the mottled high wall.
A small bird on her shoulder slept soundly.
She held a pure white flower between her fingertips.
The author has something to say:
Qi Zhi: I had nothing to repay you with, so I gave you a little flower!
Vendor: 🤨
Mu Qingshi: 🙄
Ah Yun: Don’t be angry, don’t be angry! Here, your little trash, I picked it up for you!
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