HNYWEF -Chapter 58 Return

Zhenguan Era, Second Year, Eleventh Day of the Second Month.

The skies had finally cleared.

Several days of drizzling rain had washed the alley spotless. The stone pavement was still damp, reflecting the daylight in shining patches. In the corners by the walls, several nameless weeds had sprouted fresh shoots—tender green and vibrant, enough to make anyone feel at ease just looking at them.

The Zhou family blacksmith shop was open.

The forge had been lit, crackling softly. Zhou Yi stood before the long workbench with a cloth in hand, wiping down the finished tools one by one. Kitchen knives, sickles, hoes, scissors—each neatly arranged, every blade gleaming coldly in the light.

He wiped them very slowly.

A few strokes at a time.

Then he would pause.

One thought kept circling in his mind.

Taking the imperial examinations.

Ever since his father had asked him that question the other day, he had been thinking about it constantly.

After so many days, he had finally figured it out.

He stopped what he was doing and turned around.

Zhou Xiong sat on the wooden bench, holding a bowl of tea in his hands. Firelight flickered across his face, bright one moment, dim the next.

Zhou Yi walked over.

And stood in front of his father.

Zhou Xiong lifted his head and looked at him.

Zhou Yi opened his mouth.

The words reached his lips, then retreated again.

He tried once more.

Zhou Xiong said nothing.

He simply looked at him.

Waiting.

Zhou Yi took a deep breath.

Then finally spoke.

“Dad.”

Zhou Xiong nodded.

“That matter…” Zhou Yi said quietly. “I’ve thought it through.”

Zhou Xiong still did not speak.

“I don’t want to pursue official rank.”

After saying it, he looked at his father carefully.

Zhou Xiong’s expression did not change at all.

He only kept looking at him.

A little panic rose in Zhou Yi’s chest.

But he still continued.

“I’ve spent a lot of days thinking about it.”

He paused.

“I understand now.”

Another pause.

“You don’t necessarily need official rank to do things for the common people.”

Something flickered in Zhou Xiong’s eyes.

Just once.

Zhou Yi saw it.

So he continued:

“Living like this… repairing pots and basins for everyone, forging hoes and knives. They bring me broken things, and I fix them. They come in worried, and leave happy.”

As he spoke, his voice gradually steadied.

“I think… this is pretty good too.”

He finished speaking.

Then stood there, looking at his father.

Waiting.

Waiting for him to speak.

Waiting for him to nod.

Waiting for him—

Zhou Xiong looked at him.

Three breaths passed.

Then five.

And then he smiled.

Zhou Yi froze.

It was a smile he had never seen before.

Not the faint twitch at the corner of the mouth he usually showed.

This was a real smile.

His eyes curved. The corners of his lips lifted. His entire face came alive.

As though some invisible shell had suddenly cracked apart.

Zhou Xiong stood up.

Walked over to Zhou Yi.

Raised a hand.

And rested it on his son’s head.

He rubbed it gently.

Zhou Yi stood there motionless.

He did not know what to say.

He only knew that his father’s hand was large.

And warm.

It rested on his head and ruffled his hair softly.

Just softly.

Then Zhou Xiong withdrew his hand.

Without saying a word.

He turned around and walked outside.

At the doorway, he stopped.

Reached out and pulled the door fully open.

Sunlight poured in, falling across him.

He stood there, looking out at the alley.

For a while.

Then he stepped over the threshold and walked out.

Zhou Yi remained inside, watching that departing figure.

Watching his father stand at the entrance and look outside.

Watching him leave.

Opening the shop?

But his father had already opened the door long ago.

Then what had he gone outside for?

Zhou Yi did not know.

And that smile just now—

It was the first genuine smile he had ever seen from his father.

He stood there, staring at the doorway.

The door remained open.

Light streamed in from outside, forming a neat square upon the floor.

The breeze drifted through the entrance, carrying the earthy scent left behind by the rain.

Zhou Yi stood there.

For a very long time.

Then he smiled too.

A very faint smile.

He turned around and returned to the long workbench.

Picked up the cloth again and continued wiping the finished tools.

Kitchen knives, sickles, hoes, scissors.

One by one.

Slowly.

Carefully.

Until they shone brightly enough to be used as mirrors.

Then footsteps sounded from outside.

Not one person.

Several.

Zhou Yi looked up toward the doorway.

In the alley, several men were walking toward the shop.

The man in front strode with long, powerful steps.

Cheng Yaojin.

Behind him came Qin Qiong, then Yuchi Gong, followed by several uncles whose names Zhou Yi did not know.

They stopped at the entrance.

Cheng Yaojin glanced inside.

“Where’s your father?”

Zhou Yi pointed outside.

“He went out.”

Cheng Yaojin blinked.

“Where’d he go?”

Zhou Yi shook his head.

“I don’t know.”

Cheng Yaojin scratched his head.

Then turned and looked toward the far end of the alley.

The alley stretched long into the distance.

At its far end was a lone figure, slowly walking away.

Cheng Yaojin looked at that figure.

For a while.

Then suddenly laughed.

Without saying anything.

He just laughed.

Qin Qiong stood beside him, also looking at that distant figure.

He smiled too.

Yuchi Gong had no idea what they were smiling about.

But he grinned along with them anyway.

Zhou Yi stood inside the shop, looking at all these people.

He did not know why they were smiling.

But suddenly, he felt that today seemed somehow different.

He could not explain what was different.

It simply was.

The breeze drifted in from outside, carrying the earthy scent of rain-soaked soil.

Sunlight poured into the alley, shining upon those men.

Bright and dazzling.