Chapter 1

At lunch, Lin Fangzhou only ate one steamed bun and drank two large bowls of water. The bun expanded in her stomach upon meeting the water, so she counted herself half-full, though when she walked she could feel the water sloshing inside her belly, as though she were a walking bucket.

That one steamed bun was even bought on credit.

The old woman selling the buns had been extremely reluctant to extend credit, as though she had lost her husband or something, which irritated Lin Fangzhou so much that she glared and said, “Neighbors see each other every day, face to face. You think I’d cheat you out of a single copper coin?”

The old woman quickly said, “Don’t be angry, young master. It’s only because I had a fight with my old fool this morning, so I’m all out of sorts… Your mother and I were good friends when she was alive. It’s just one bun—never mind credit, I’d gladly treat you to one for free.”

Lin Fangzhou was the type to yield to kindness but not to force. Hearing the old woman speak this way, she waved her hand and said, “Who wants to eat your food for free? I’ll pay you back tomorrow for sure!”

…

After lunch, Lin Fangzhou strolled down the street with her hands clasped behind her back. It was broad daylight, and the street was bustling. In the roadside tea shed, people were eating wontons, and those with spare money would even add a plate of thinly sliced top-grade braised beef.

That beef—tch!

Lin Fangzhou seemed to smell the rich, savory aroma of the beef. She was just getting intoxicated by it when the person eating the beef suddenly looked up.

Lin Fangzhou immediately plastered a smile on her face and stepped forward with a cupped-hand salute. “So it’s Young Master Luo! Forgive my rudeness. What brings you out alone today?” She was fair-skinned and handsome, and when she cupped her hands in greeting, she managed to fake a bit of elegance.

Young Master Luo said, “Fangzhou, sit down. I was just looking for you.”

Lin Fangzhou quickly pulled out a bench and sat down, asking, “What instructions does Young Master Luo have?”

Young Master Luo noticed that though this young fellow was talking, his eyes were fixed intently on the beef on the table. So he asked, “You haven’t eaten yet?”

Lin Fangzhou touched her belly, looking somewhat dejected. “My luck was bad today. I lost all my money gambling…”

Young Master Luo understood and waved over the owner. “Another bowl of wontons and a plate of beef.”

“Coming right up!”

Lin Fangzhou shouted at the owner’s retreating back, “Make it a big bowl!”

Young Master Luo chuckled and grabbed the fan from the table, lightly tapping Lin Fangzhou. “You beggarly rascal!”

Lin Fangzhou felt embarrassed too and changed the subject. “Young Master Luo, what did you need to see me about?”

“Fangzhou, how old are you this year?”

“Seventeen.”

“Time to get married.”

Lin Fangzhou let out a heavy “bah” to show her disdain. She said, “What’s the use of getting married? It’s just another mouth to feed. I can barely feed myself!”

“You don’t think about women at all?”

Lin Fangzhou looked up and met Young Master Luo’s ambiguous, half-smiling gaze. She didn’t know how to answer that question—she couldn’t very well tell him she was actually a woman, could she?

She could only awkwardly rub her forehead. When she saw the owner approaching with the cooked wontons, she urged, “Hurry, hurry!”

Young Master Luo said, “Listen, Fangzhou. I have a distant uncle on my mother’s side. His daughter is very pretty and her family is well-off. She just turned sixteen this year and is also looking for a match… Slow down, you’ll scald yourself to death!”

Lin Fangzhou had burned herself, her face twisting. She lifted her face from the bowl, and through the white steam, heard Young Master Luo continue rambling about his distant marriageable cousin. Lin Fangzhou interrupted him. “Young Master Luo, are you getting married?”

“Don’t play dumb. I’m talking about you!”

“Such a fine girl—how could she be wasted on a rascal like me? You marry her yourself!”

“I haven’t finished. My uncle’s family only has this one child, treasured like a pearl in their palm. They can’t bear to marry their daughter off to someone far away. What they mean is, they want to find a young man of good character—even if his means are modest, that’s fine…” Young Master Luo trailed off as he saw Lin Fangzhou just burying herself in her food. Too lazy to beat around the bush, he said, “They want to take in a live-in son-in-law.”

Lin Fangzhou had been worrying about how to find an excuse to refuse, but when she heard the words “live-in son-in-law,” she immediately put on a look of trepidation.

Young Master Luo wasn’t annoyed. After all, few men were willing to marry into a woman’s family, especially since Lin Fangzhou was also an only child—it was even less likely.

Lin Fangzhou finished the wontons and beef, thanked Young Master Luo, and patted her bottom as she left.

After she had gone far, a customer in the tea shed quietly asked the owner, “What a handsome young fellow! Whose child is that?”

The owner’s voice was loud and clear. “That’s Widow Zhang’s boy from East Street. His proper name is Lin Fangzhou, but everyone calls him Lin Dalang. Widow Zhang wasn’t a local either. She came here as a refugee over a decade ago, and worked herself to the bone to raise the boy. Last year she caught a fever and died.”

The listener sighed. “What a pity, what a pity. Is the boy married?”

“No! He’s just a hanger-on with no land, no property, and no proper trade. How could he afford to take a wife?”

…

Having eaten her fill, Lin Fangzhou finally had the mental space to feel melancholy.

The whole world thought she was a man, but she actually wasn’t.

Everything, absolutely everything, stemmed from one of her mother’s bad ideas.

Fifteen years ago, her mother had fled with her, then two years old, to this place and registered their household. A household of a lone widow and orphan girl, with no man to hold up the family—her mother feared they would be bullied, so she lied and claimed Lin Fangzhou was a boy. That was how it was registered.

Once registered, it couldn’t be changed…

If anyone found out now that she was a woman and reported it to the authorities, a beating with the plank would be the light punishment. At worst, she could be exiled three thousand li to grow watermelons in the desert.

With her small frame, whether it was a beating or exile, she probably wouldn’t survive.

So she absolutely could not let anyone discover her secret.

After wallowing in melancholy for a while, Lin Fangzhou tossed the matter to the back of her mind. When she reached the city gate, she suddenly remembered something.

A few days ago, she had gone to the mountain forest outside the city to play and found a thrush’s nest. The thrush had been laying eggs then; by now the chicks should have hatched.

If she took the chicks and raised them, training them well, they would surely fetch a good price.

And if she didn’t wait for them to grow and just sold the nestlings, that would also earn some money to tide her over.

Lin Fangzhou lacked nothing but money. If she didn’t earn any today, tomorrow she’d have to sell her pants to eat.

So Lin Fangzhou headed toward the mountain forest outside the city. On the way, she ran into a farmer she knew. The farmer called out to her, “Dalang, don’t go into the mountains! There’s a tiger up there. It’s already eaten several people. Even the woodcutters don’t dare go up to chop firewood now.”

“Thank you for the warning, uncle. I won’t go into the mountains. I’ll just play outside.”

Lin Fangzhou thought to herself that the tiger was only in the deep mountains. She was just going to the woods on the small hill outside to grab a bird—nothing to worry about.

So she walked into the woods.

Lin Fangzhou quickly found the bird’s nest. She climbed the tree and looked—only to be greatly disappointed. Some bastard had beaten her to it and taken all the thrush chicks.

She climbed down, cursed a few times to vent her anger, but couldn’t change the fact that someone had beaten her to it.

Just as she was wondering what to do next, Lin Fangzhou suddenly heard a chorus of insect chirps.

It was the cry of a cricket, and the sound was remarkably loud. With such a full-throated call, this cricket must be impressively large.

If she had a magnificent cricket that could fight unchallenged across the whole city, what glory would that be? How would she be worshipped and admired by all?

Never mind not catching the bird—she had to catch this cricket!

Lin Fangzhou rolled up her sleeves and began searching the grass lightly and quietly.

That cricket was indeed no ordinary specimen. Jet-black, glossy shell, powerful legs, menacing mandibles, and a large body—probably over an inch long! At this time of year, it was rare to see such a robust cricket. Lin Fangzhou was overjoyed and determined to capture it!

That cricket was indeed no ordinary specimen—it jumped incredibly high and ran incredibly fast!

Lin Fangzhou’s feelings were complicated. On one hand, the stronger the cricket, the happier she was. On the other hand, because the little thing ran so fast, it was hard to catch.

No matter, no matter—she had to catch it!

She chased the cricket, running and running, and before she knew it, she had run deep into the mountain forest.

“Ha! Finally caught you!”

Lin Fangzhou pinched the cricket by its neck, as though she were a great general holding the military tally that commanded the world—smug and utterly unrestrained.

Suddenly, she sensed something was off.

It was too quiet around her.

She looked around and saw dense trees, sparse weeds and thick fallen leaves on the ground. The trees were all very tall—much taller than where she had been trying to get the bird earlier.

The sun was blocked out too, with only thin, feeble threads of light leaking through. The whole forest looked gloomy and ominous.

She remembered the rumors about the tiger and immediately felt afraid.

Go, get out of here quickly!

Lin Fangzhou was about to retrace her steps when she suddenly heard a rustling sound from the treetops not far away, as though something was shaking the branches. She assumed it was a monkey and looked up—but in her field of vision, a dark mass fell from the tree, hit several branches on the way down, and finally landed on the ground with a “thud.”

A monkey… shouldn’t be that clumsy, right?

Could it be a bear?

A bear… also didn’t seem that clumsy?

Uh…

Lin Fangzhou couldn’t guess what it was, and she was terrified now. This fear wasn’t the trembling kind when facing a tiger or bear—it was the fear of the unknown, a creeping dread.

But… what on earth was it!

She was also dying of curiosity.

Go take a look. Just one look. The thing fell to the ground and wasn’t moving—maybe it was just a rock! A few dozen steps that way was a hundred-zhang cliff. A rock or two falling was perfectly normal, right?

So Lin Fangzhou mustered her courage and walked over step by step, slowly.

The forest was too dark. Only when she got close did she realize that what lay in the pile of fallen leaves was actually a person.