The Assistant Magistrate’s Mischievous Daughter and the Flying Thief

On the night of the River Lantern Festival, Miss Xu Niantang, the biological daughter of Lord Xu Mingyi, Assistant Magistrate of Yicheng, found herself kidnapped by a flying thief. She was famously known throughout Yicheng as the notorious ‘Demon King’.

Yet, far from being afraid, she struck up a lively conversation with the flying thief:

“Hey, I’m talking to you! Why aren’t you answering me?”

Perched on the eaves of a Yicheng residence, the two whispered conspiratorially, like thieves.

Xu Niantang, a mischievous spirit by nature, was known to cause minor havoc, even scaling roofs, if left unchecked for merely three days. Scaling eaves and traversing walls posed no challenge to her whatsoever.

The flying thief replied:

“Heh.”

Xu Niantang immediately grew agitated and retorted:

“Are you implying that I’m foolish for running away to escape an arranged marriage at home?”

That question hit a nerve.

The flying thief, cloaked in black robes, his face obscured by a dark scarf, cast a glance at her and said:

“When you’re done playing, go home.”

“I’m not playing around!”

Xu Niantang declared righteously,

“I’ve always said that unless a man is as exceptional as Sword Immortal Ye Di, I won’t marry anyone!”

As the only daughter of her family, she was treasured immensely. Having been spoiled since childhood, she possessed a formidable temper and was certainly no easygoing person.

Fortunately, she was born with a charming, jade-like beauty and a mischievous, clever spirit. Her captivating looks were such that any elder who saw her would feel compelled to shower her with silver.

After she reached adulthood, suitors flocked to her family’s mansion in an endless stream. Xu Niantang, much like playing Whac-A-Mole, would knock down every suitor who dared to show their face.

She would also loudly declare confusing statements like, “I will marry no one but Sword Immortal Ye Di.” Among Yicheng’s unmarried young masters, few had managed to escape a thrashing from Miss Xu’s feather duster.

Originally, the Assistant Magistrate couldn’t control her, so he simply turned a blind eye, letting the matter drag on.

Who would have thought that today coincided with Yicheng’s River Lantern Festival? The streets were thronged with people, and families gathered in joyful reunion.

The Assistant Magistrate, moved by the festive scene, suddenly remembered the unruly ‘Demon King’ still at home. He immediately resolved to assert his authority, taking up a volume of sagely texts to properly discipline her.

How could Xu Niantang possibly submit obediently? Cornered by household guards, who were ‘armed’ with the Four Books and Five Classics, she found herself pressed against a wall.

With a powerful leap, she used a water vat in the courtyard corner as a springboard, soaring over the wall as if executing the legendary ‘Ladder to the Clouds’ technique. She left them only with the fleeting image of her back, like a crimson bird taking flight.

Even the guards, who couldn’t scale the wall even if they stacked all the Four Books and Five Classics beneath their feet, had to exclaim in admiration, “Our young lady is truly f***ing skilled!”

Then, outside the wall, Xu Niantang, who had landed face-first in the dirt, was ‘scooped up’ by a passing flying thief.

The flying thief, disdainful of Xu Niantang’s girlish antics, let out another ‘heh’. However, out of politeness, he lowered his voice slightly.

Xu Niantang’s ears perked up like a rabbit’s, still catching that impolite ‘heh’. Earlier, in her haste to escape, she had kicked off her embroidered shoes.

Now, she lifted a long leg and, with bare, jade-like feet, stomped firmly on his foot, saying sharply:

“That’s for laughing at me!”

This flying thief was notoriously infamous, known to stop children from crying at night. ‘How is it that today, upon seeing his true face, this young lady finds him to be nothing but a ‘heh-ing’ simpleton?’

The more Xu Niantang thought about it, the angrier she became. Her jade-like foot remained on his, twisting instinctively a few more times.

The flying thief subtly shifted his leg away. ‘What kind of servant dodged a beating?’

Her next stomp, following the momentum, landed on empty air. Immediately, she shrieked, “Ahhh!”, her eyes welling up with tears as she teetered on the verge of falling from the eaves.

In a flash, swift as a rabbit rising and a falcon swooping, the flying thief moved with lightning speed. He seized her by the collar, lifting her up as if she were a small chick.

After he gently set her back down, Miss Xu instantly became much more subdued. Though still shaken, she couldn’t quite swallow her indignation.

Unable to bring herself to thank her savior, she merely puffed out her cheeks. She let out a ‘Hmph’, turning her face away before settling cross-legged on the roof tiles.

Silence fell between them. In the quiet night, a gentle breeze stirred. Far in the distance, festive lanterns began to glow, and the myriad lights of homes twinkled through windows.

As if finding the evening air stuffy, Ye Di removed his mask. Hearing a rustling sound, Xu Niantang, still cross, turned her head to look.

“So… so handsome!”

She nearly drooled. Snapping back to reality, she quickly cleared her throat twice, striving to maintain her dignified image as a young lady, and declared:

“You, why did you take off your mask? Are you planning to surrender to the officials? I’m not done playing yet; you’re not allowed to go without my permission!”

Yet, deep down, she secretly rejoiced that darkness had fallen. Otherwise, her flushed face would surely have been exposed.

The flying thief said earnestly:

“Speaking of which, you wish to marry Sword Immortal Ye Di, but he lived a hundred years ago and has long been dead. What will you do?”

Xu Niantang didn’t see this as a problem at all. With an arrogant toss of her head, she declared:

“Then this young lady shall never marry!”

The flying thief stroked his chin, a thoughtful expression on his face, and said:

“How about this? I’ll tell you a secret…”

A girl like Xu Niantang was at an age where she was naturally curious about all sorts of strange and peculiar things. Immediately, she stretched her neck, leaned her ear close to the flying thief, and excitedly urged:

“What secret?”

The flying thief smiled faintly:

“Actually, I am Sword Immortal Ye Di.”

“Hmph!”

Predictably, he was once again stomped on vigorously by the young girl, complete with a 180-degree twist.

****

With the mask having changed hands, the flying thief, now claiming to be Ye Di, strolled through the streets with Xu Niantang. It was the River Lantern Festival, and the evening crowds were dense and bustling with excitement.

Xu Niantang, her face obscured by a black scarf, sported a pink high-waisted ruqun dress, her hair styled in a high bun. She bounced and skipped like a fawn, the silver bells in her hair tinkling with every movement.

She bought a new pair of embroidered shoes from a vendor, and once she put them on, she could run and jump as if completely transformed. The mask clearly bolstered Miss Xu’s audacity significantly.

She grew emboldened, darting mischievously between the bustling stalls. Either she would reach out and grab an apple to eat, or she would suddenly leap up in front of a sugar figurine vendor, exclaiming, “Ha!”, and snatch the largest, most beautiful sugar figurine from the top of their broomstick.

After causing mischief, she would quickly drag Ye Di along to flee, leaving a trail of startled vendors and scattered goods in their wake. As she panted, her slightly damp hair clung to her temples.

Beads of sweat dotted her fair, unadorned face, and her delicate chest rose and fell softly, like a pigeon’s. Yet she showed no sign of fatigue. Despite her dusty, disheveled appearance, her apricot-shaped eyes sparkled brightly.

She asked Ye Di:

“Hey! Earlier, when I was being chased by those street vendors, where did you sneak off to, silently, by the riddle stall? What were you doing?”

Ye Di replied:

“I wrote a lantern riddle and asked the owner to hang it up for me.”

Xu Niantang immediately lost interest, made a face, and stuck out her tongue, saying:

“Well, don’t let me know what it is. I’ve always had a terrible relationship with anything related to pens, ink, paper, or inkstones.”

Ye Di chuckled:

“Where shall we go next?”

Xu Niantang’s eyes darted around, as if struck by a brilliant idea. She clapped her hands together and said:

“Hey, give me a copper coin!”

Ye Di didn’t understand her intention, but still pulled a coin from his pocket and handed it to her.

“Thanks a bunch!”

Xu Niantang unceremoniously took it, tossed it high, and watched as the coin spun gracefully before landing back on her hand. She pressed down with a ‘smack!’, then revealed it, declaring loudly:

“Heads! We’re going east!”

Heaven knew how she connected a coin toss to cardinal directions, but regardless, Xu Niantang seized Ye Di’s hand and started to move.

Suddenly, Ye Di’s brow furrowed as he stared into the distant night.

“What’s wrong?”

Realizing she couldn’t budge him, as if he were a heavy weight, Xu Niantang released her grip, turned back, and asked.

“I suddenly remembered something I need to attend to,” Ye Di said. “You can play around here for a while. If you get tired, just head home.”

Xu Niantang immediately wrinkled her nose, her delicate brows drawing tightly together. ‘This scoundrel, he couldn’t be thinking of abandoning me and running off, could he?’

In truth, they couldn’t run far; they would be caught by the officials sooner or later. To play so unrestrainedly and joyfully was something she could only dream of within the confines of her usual grand estate.

She felt that, as the daughter of the Assistant Magistrate and a young lady of an official family, she ought to maintain a certain decorum and dignity in front of the thief. Thus, she suppressed her unfulfilled desire to play and a touch of loneliness.

She waved her hand at him, feigning generosity, and said:

“Then hurry and run! Don’t let my father’s subordinates or the officials catch you!”

She genuinely liked this thief who had spent a wild night with her. Xu Niantang’s world was simple: she liked whoever played with her and whoever treated her well.

As for others’ hidden sides, that was a world beyond her grasp. She neither wished nor bothered to pry.

Ye Di’s figure gradually faded into the night. Xu Niantang plopped down onto the ground, completely unconcerned that her silk-woven skirt might get dirty.

She rubbed her somewhat aching ankle, muttering:

“Ouch, ouch, ouch.”

Suddenly, she shrieked, leaping straight to her feet. ‘I haven’t returned his mask yet!’

‘What if he tries to rob houses without his mask to conceal his identity? What would he do then?’ Such a valuable item as a mask couldn’t be easily replaced, unlike the jade pendant she wore. ‘No, I have to find him quickly!’

In truth, Xu Niantang understood deep down that she was merely deceiving herself, finding an excuse to see him again. As if renewed vitality surged through her legs,

Xu Niantang pushed through the bustling crowd, shouting, “Make way, make way! Fire at home! Urgent help from the jianghu!”

Such coincidences often occur in this world. It’s like walking down a street and running into someone head-on. You step right, they step right; you step left, they step left.

Murong Qihuang was looking for the ‘flying thief’. Xu Niantang was also looking for the ‘flying thief’.

They ran into each other in the lively night market. Crimson lanterns strung together along the eaves resembled a luminous, elongated dragon.

The light illuminated their faces, reflecting mutual astonishment.

Xu Niantang thought, ‘This elder sister is so aloof and beautiful, but why does she look so anxious and flustered?’

Murong Qihuang thought, ‘Her face is filled with such urgency, as if she’s chasing someone she’ll never see again. But why does she look so happy, so joyful?’