Landlord… No, Sushang!!

After Sushang finished speaking, silence fell between them.

Shu wasn't sure if Sushang genuinely believed what she was saying, or if she actually understood more than she let on. He also didn't know what to say to comfort her.

The small figure hugged her legs, curled up on the ground, a tiny ball of vulnerability, yet also hinting at an inexplicable resilience.

Thankfully, Shu had been in awkward situations like this before. He knew how to change the subject.

"Um… Little Gym Master, Hero Li?" A gust of cold wind blew past, and Shu shivered, asking with a slight tremor in his voice, "Could I maybe… come inside and sit down for a bit?"

"Huh?" Sushang looked up, sniffling loudly, not quite understanding why the conversation had suddenly taken this turn.

"Look, you're even getting a runny nose!" Shu quickly pointed out. "And I don't have any thick clothes on me. It's freezing out here, and you still need to sleep tonight, right? How about we go inside and chat?"

Sushang sniffled again.

He had a point…

She wasn't sleepy yet, but the pitch-black night all around was making Sushang a little uneasy.

Glancing at the candle in her hand, she noticed it had already burned down quite a bit, and the flame was much weaker than before.

"Hmm…" Sushang sat cross-legged, rocking back and forth, humming as she thought. After a moment, she scrambled to her feet. "Okay! But you're only allowed in the main hall, okay? You can't go into Shishu and Shiniang's rooms!" [T/L: Shishu - Martial Uncle, Shiniang - Martial Aunt]

But I wanted to shower.

Shu was silent for a moment, then sighed. "Alright, main hall it is. Definitely won't bother your… martial uncles and aunts' rooms, okay?"

Sushang nodded in approval, holding out her hand to Shu, pinky finger extended. "You have to keep your word! Liars swallow ten thousand needles!"

A pinky promise?! Shu was taken aback.

"Maybe we should just sign a contract instead," he muttered under his breath. Reluctantly, Shu extended his pinky and linked it with Sushang's.

In that instant, Sushang lowered her head, and Shu tilted his head up. Both of them, hidden from the other's view, flashed knowing grins.

I'll let him have his way for now, hehe. Just wait until Shifu and her friends get back tomorrow. Then Shifu will beat you to a pulp and win back my sword!

I'll humor her for now, hmph. Kids are so easy to fool. Once Fu Hua's back, who cares about promises to a kid? Fu Hua will listen to me way more!

Each harboring their own secret plans, the two of them walked into the martial arts gym's main hall, a picture of harmony.

Shu hadn't been wrong from outside. It wasn't really a "gym" at all; it was more like a Grand View Garden.

Even the hall in front of them shouldn't be called a "hall"; it was more like a grand reception hall!

"Wow… this place is really huge…" Shu said in amazement. Remembering the dust on his clothes, he suddenly felt a little self-conscious.

"Hmph… never seen anything like it, huh?!" Sushang puffed out her chest, wiping her nose proudly.

Good thing she'd grown up here and knew her way around.

Shu didn't like Sushang's smug tone. In the next moment, Shu patted the good sword in his hand, then dropped the pretense of politeness. "Sushang, where's the bathhouse?"

Sushang's eyes widened. "What do you want to do?"

"Take a bath." Shu tugged at his collar, patting it, sending a cloud of dust into the air. "Or do you actually live in the bathhouse?"

Sushang: "…" Damn it! Miscalculated! That nasty adult actually shamelessly tricked a seven-year-old like me!

"It's over there." Pinching her nose, Sushang pointed Shu in a direction.

Actually, even if Shu hadn't asked, Sushang would have found a way to get him to take a bath. After all, she'd been cleaning the main hall floor by herself for over a month. With Shu tracking in all that dust…

Whatever. This guy's annoying, but I can't beat him.

Sushang fumed, pointing the way before turning around and stomping off.

Come to think of it, she hadn't eaten anything tonight! Shifu had left food. She just needed to heat it up over a fire…

Just then, Sushang suddenly thought of Shu.

Had that guy eaten? Judging by how miserable he looked, he probably hadn't eaten in ages, right?

She could almost picture Shu dragging his tattered clothes, picking up scraps of food in street corners.

Standing on tiptoes, she took out the food Fu Hua had prepared. It was actually enough for Sushang for two days, but she ended up taking out more than a day's worth at once.

Looking at the food in her hands, Sushang hesitated.

A moment later, Sushang pouted, and with a pained expression, took out a large portion to heat up.

"Just this one meal for him," Sushang muttered, spooning out servings. "If he's full, he won't try to steal more. Just one meal, so I have to make sure he's really full…"

Meanwhile, Shu, who had his breakfast stolen by Kiana, his lunch interrupted by a Honkai beast, and was chased by a Honkai Emperor and missed dinner, stood in the waterless bathhouse, lost in thought.

The bathhouse was huge, but there wasn't a single drop of water.

He searched around, but couldn't find the water tap anywhere.

Looks like there was only one thing to do…

"Sushang—!" Shu returned to the main hall and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Why is there no water in the bathhouse?!"

At the other end of the hall, a door burst open, and Sushang stomped out, a chopstick clenched between her teeth, radiating indignation.

"Water costs money, you know! You cheapskate!" Sushang grumbled, her voice muffled by the chopstick. She was really angry now that her food had been partially stolen.

Shu could only smile sheepishly, not daring to argue back.

Sushang expertly grabbed a small stool, and familiar with the routine, went to a metal box outside the bathhouse. Stepping onto the stool, she reached up, trying to open it.

It seemed the stool was still too short; it wasn't quite tall enough for Sushang to reach.

Shu silently walked up behind Sushang and helped her open the metal box. Then, he pointed at the row of switches inside and asked, "Which one?"

He'd seen this metal box earlier, but the stuff inside looked too complicated to mess with.

"…Third one from the left." Sushang tilted her head back, looking up at him, and caught sight of Shu's chin. She instantly felt even more annoyed.

Shu flipped the switch, then said a quick thank you before hurrying back to the bathhouse.

Change of clothes? He'd seen neatly folded towels and bathrobes in the bathhouse. He didn't know who had put them there, but thank you, kind soul!

His own clothes were tattered, but a quick soak and dry would make them wearable again. For now, he'd just borrow one of those kind soul's bathrobes.

Back in the kitchen, Sushang suddenly sneezed loudly.

Quickly stripping off his dust-covered clothes, Shu turned on a showerhead and jumped in, then immediately jumped back out, shivering.

Damn it, cold water.

Guess I'll have to make do. It's not like he hadn't showered in cold water before. No big deal, except he kinda missed that water heater on the train…