Chapter 444: [Pawnshop] (Part 2)

Accompanying Qiqi on a shopping trip is truly no easy task—every shop, every stall, from jewelry and jade down to needles and thread, there's nothing she isn't interested in; hairpins, earrings, rouge and powder, dough figurines and candied haws—she wants to buy almost anything she picks up. In no time, Hu Xiaotian's hands were full of assorted items. He watched Qiqi coldly as she walked along, swaying, happily gnawing on a candied haw; to say this princess's eating manners are ungraceful is an understatement—let her gnaw, but she keeps sticking out her soft, tender little tongue to lick the haw.

Hu Xiaotian silently sighed, even a princess of a state doesn't bother with her personal image; nowadays, if there were paparazzi sneaking shots, this girl's ungraceful image would surely land on the front page of the second-day newspaper.

Qiqi, utterly engrossed, licked the candied haw once, her narrowed eyes suddenly snapping open as she glared at Hu Xiaotian and snapped, "What are you staring at? Haven't you ever seen someone eat?"

Hu Xiaotian thought to himself, he'd seen people eat before, but he'd rarely seen a girl with such ungraceful manners.

Qiqi's attention was drawn again to a street-side dough figurine vendor; she went over and asked for a monkey figurine. Although it wasn't worth much, the way she bought things as she walked made Hu Xiaotian's hands full to overflowing—being her attendant was no easy task. Hu Xiaotian kindly reminded her, "Hey, young master!"

Qiqi licked the candied haw and asked, "What's up?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "It's already noon—shouldn't we go get something to eat?"

Qiqi replied, "Eat, eat, eat—all you think about is food; I'm not hungry."

Hu Xiaotian exclaimed in disbelief, "Just now you said you were hungry!"

"That was just now!" Qiqi finally bit into the candied haw. Hu Xiaotian suddenly realized she had been nibbling here and there as she walked, so of course she wasn't hungry anymore. At that moment, gongs and drums sounded ahead—it was a troupe of acrobats beginning their performance on the overpass.

Qiqi hurried over, truly going wherever the liveliness was—after all, she had a child's heart.

Hu Xiaotian felt the silver in his pocket—by now more than half was gone; if this continued, the little princess would surely squander it all. Having accompanied her on a morning's stroll, he was hungry too, so while Qiqi was crowded among the crowd watching the acrobats, he bought two hot pancakes, sliced half a catty of hot beef, rolled them up and ate, because no one should shortchange their own stomach.

Qiqi, captivated by the acrobatic show, stood in the crowd clapping wildly until her little hands turned red. Seeing the performers come around for tips, she immediately thought of Hu Xiaotian, turned around and saw him standing right behind her, his cheeks puffed out like a monkey's. She blinked and said, "You actually embezzled my silver to sneak food—what did you steal?"

Hu Xiaotian spread his hands, shook his head, indicating he hadn't eaten anything, but his mouth was stuffed with beef so he couldn't speak.

Qiqi glared at him, then went straight for his waist pouch.

Hu Xiaotian took out the money pouch, about to pull some cash, but Qiqi snatched it all away in one go, generously dumping all the silver inside into the performers' copper basin with a clatter—most generous, most magnanimous, she declared, "It's all yours as a tip."

The performer, suddenly receiving several dozen taels of tip money, beamed and bowed repeatedly in thanks. Hu Xiaotian stared in disbelief—truly a spendthrift princess; the silver from the fur-lined cloak had vanished in the blink of an eye.

Qiqi felt nothing at all; she never had much concept of money. Whatever took her fancy, not just those few dozen taels—even if it were a thousand or ten thousand taels scattered about, she wouldn't frown. She patted Hu Xiaotian's shoulder to signal she wanted to leave.

Hu Xiaotian, however, reached out and pointed ahead. Qiqi assumed he was reluctant to part with that bit of silver and couldn't help sneering, "Look at your pathetic ambition—it's not even your money you're spending, yet you're agonizing like this."

... Hu Xiaotian, his mouth full of beef and unable to speak, anxiously stared blankly while still pointing into the distance.

Qiqi laughed, "Is it really such a big deal? My money—what are you worrying about?"

Hu Xiaotian, after great effort, finally swallowed the mouthful of food, mumbled indistinctly, "Horse… our horse…"

Qiqi abruptly turned her head and saw someone riding her white horse leisurely by, heading up the overpass ahead. The street bustled with pedestrians; white horses weren't uncommon, but Qiqi's red saddle was conspicuous, so Hu Xiaotian recognized it at a glance.

Qiqi hadn't expected to encounter a horse thief here; she flared up instantly and shouted, "Hurry up and chase!" Before Hu Xiaotian could react, she had already sprinted off. Worried she might come to harm, Hu Xiaotian hurried after her.

The horse thief was a man in his thirties. He galloped his horse to the highest point of the overpass, then instinctively glanced back and saw Hu Xiaotian and Qiqi desperately pushing through the crowd toward him. He frowned, not yet realizing they were after him, but when his eyes met Qiqi's, he instantly sensed her fury and killing intent. The thief was highly alert; he immediately sensed danger, gave a sharp jerk to the reins, and the horse flung its four legs forward and bolted. He shouted loudly, "Make way, make way! The horse is startled, the horse is startled!" His cry caused people to scatter to both sides; those behind, fearing the horse might turn back and injure them, also hurriedly retreated, inadvertently creating layer upon layer of obstruction for Qiqi and Hu Xiaotian, who wanted to give chase.

Seeing the thief pull farther and farther away, Hu Xiaotian advised, "Forget it, don't chase!"

Qiqi wouldn't hear of it. Seeing the crowd surging ahead, she knew pushing through would take considerable effort, so she suddenly had a brainwave, clambered onto the stone rail of the overpass, and ran forward by stepping on the balustrade.

Worried she might get hurt, Hu Xiaotian could only imitate her and climb up as well. Qiqi stood on the smooth bridge railing, leaping about effortlessly as if on flat ground—one could tell her lightness skill had a solid foundation, likely learned from Quan De'an. From this angle, Hu Xiaotian and she could be considered fellow disciples.

Qiqi successfully cleared the overpass; the road ahead remained packed. She blinked, then suddenly leapt into the air, landing on a passerby's head. Before the man could react, she sprang off his head again, choosing another head as her next landing point.

Although Qiqi was light as a swallow, stepping down still exerted some force—certainly not enough to injure the person beneath—but everyone out for the New Year seeks good luck; to have someone kick your forehead right after leaving the house naturally feels ominous, and curses, insults, and exaggerated shouts rang out in unison.

Hu Xiaotian merely pushed off a shoulder and reached the right‑side rooftop of the street, then sprinted along the sloping roof. Although the skills Quan De'an taught him paled in variety compared to Qiqi's, ever since Hu Xiaotian made a breakthrough in the Formless Divine Skill, the two techniques he had learned improved by leaps and bounds. For a martial artist, fundamentals are paramount—foundation determines the superstructure; without a solid, reliable base, how could one erect a towering edifice?

After passing the overpass, the congestion eased somewhat, and the horse thief spurred his mount into a frantic gallop.

Qiqi roared, "Where do you think you're going?" She sprang into the air, and as she came down she kicked a rider off his horse, seized the mount, and galloped away at full speed, burning with hatred for the thief; she was determined to catch him today to quell her fury.

The thief, while fleeing, didn't forget to glance back; seeing Qiqi pursuing him on a chestnut‑red horse like the wind, his face changed, he lashed his whip fiercely at the steed, and the white horse neighed wildly, flung its four legs forward, and bolted ahead.

... Hu Xiaotian, though lacking a mount, could still see the two from his elevated position; he scaled walls, cut through alleys, took shortcuts to keep pace with their footsteps, and even on foot he wasn't left behind by either of them.

On the road, a small vendor slowly passed by carrying two baskets of ceramics. Suddenly he heard a shout from his left, turned his head, and was shocked to see a knight on a white horse charging straight at him. The vendor's soul nearly left his body; he wanted to flee, but his legs wouldn't obey, he plopped down on the ground, and the two large baskets he carried tipped over, shattering the ceramics inside to pieces.

The white horse suddenly loomed before him; the thief jerked the reins, shouted loudly, and the white horse actually leapt into the air, soaring over the vendor's body.

The vendor still hadn't recovered when Qiqi came charging again on her chestnut‑red horse; he clutched his head, thinking his life was over. Qiqi, imitating the thief, gave a sharp tug on the reins, and her horse also leapt over his body. The two sturdy horses sped off, one after another, raising dust, leaving only the vendor's anguished lament over his loss.

The thief turned left into an alley ahead; Qiqi whipped her horse relentlessly, urging it to run faster. Suddenly a voice came from above—Hu Xiaotian's: "Young master, forget it!"

Qiqi looked up and saw Hu Xiaotian sprinting along the right‑side roof ridge, relying solely on his legs yet matching her speed—she hadn't expected his lightness skill to be so formidable. She ignored him, kept pursuing, turned into the right‑hand alley, but found no trace of the horse thief ahead. The alley was deserted, not a soul in sight.

Hu Xiaotian jumped down from ahead, blocked in front of Qiqi's horse, panting, "Forget it, don't pursue a desperate foe." He sensed something was off, fearing that recklessly charging ahead might lead into an ambush.

Qiqi snapped, "Get out of the way! If you dare block me again, I won't be polite." She raised the whip in her hand.

Hu Xiaotian felt utterly exasperated with this willful princess; he was acting out of pure goodwill—if she weren't the reigning princess, he wouldn't bother caring about her life or death.

Just then, a rickety wagon creaked up from behind, while hoofbeats sounded ahead—sure enough, the horse thief emerged from a manor on his white horse, coldly regarding Hu Xiaotian and Qiqi and saying, "It's New Year's Day; I was just getting some meat for my brothers to have a fat year, yet you're pressing me hard—do you really think I'm an easy target?"

He curled the index finger and thumb of his right hand together, placed them in his mouth, and blew a sharp whistle. Immediately a clatter of footsteps rang out, and dozens of ragged beggars surged from behind him, each wielding a dog‑beating stick, some also holding a begging bowl.