CHAPTER 2

Naïve and Blind

LUO FAN

I listened to the sound of the departing carriage until it faded into silence. Li Yao had left, leaving me in front of this inn.

I might never see him again.

“Sir, this way, please.”

The innkeeper guided me upstairs and into my room. Though I was blind, I could still perceive faint silhouettes, enough to identify the bed and chair. Li Yao had warned me that this city was dangerous, though he insisted it was still safer than the neighboring ones.

Dangerous? For someone like me, raised in isolation and unaccustomed to the complexities of the outside world, I wasn’t sure what kind of peril he meant.

But this was my life now. Whatever awaited me here, I had to face it. Adapt. Survive.

That afternoon and night, I sat alone in my room, planning my uncertain future. Before he left, Li Yao had estimated that my remaining money would cover about six months of lodging and food. It seemed like plenty of time, but I was all too aware of my limitations. With my blindness, the odds of finding work were slim.

As for cultivation… that chapter of my life was over.

The dream I had chased for so long, the pinnacle of cultivation, was no longer attainable. It had been ripped away, leaving me hollow. For weeks, I had grieved the loss, reliving the pain and humiliation over and over again. Now, with the faintest semblance of stability, I knew I had to let it go.

My heart still ached at the thought of all I had worked for, wasted in an instant. But clinging to the past would only weigh me down.

From this moment on, I would not think about cultivation again. It was time to move forward as an ordinary blind man, living an ordinary life.

The next morning, I left the inn to explore Yueshu City. My first destination was the market.

The innkeeper had given me simple directions: follow the street ahead, turn right at the first intersection, and I’d find the marketplace.

I made my way down the road, my cane tapping the uneven stone. The noise grew louder with each step, and after half an hour, I arrived at a place teeming with activity. The hum of voices, the clatter of goods, and the sharp calls of merchants confirmed that this was the market.

The chaos was overwhelming. My poor eyesight made it nearly impossible to navigate the crowded streets. Several times, I collided with strangers, earning sharp rebukes and curses.

“Watch where you’re going!”
“Are you blind or just stupid?”

The hostility was jarring, a far cry from the quiet life I had known. Li Yao’s warnings echoed in my mind: Be careful of the people around you. Don’t trust anyone so easily.

The people here were hurried, irritable, and indifferent. I could feel their glares even if I couldn’t see them clearly.

Then, pain shot through my chest.

It was sudden and unbearable, as though an invisible hand had reached inside me and crushed my heart. My breath hitched, and my legs buckled beneath me.

What’s happening?

I staggered, struggling to stay upright, but my body refused to obey. The strength I thought I had regained vanished, and I collapsed to the ground, crashing into someone.

A pained cry reached my ears. “Watch it, you fool!”

I realized too late that I had fallen into a frail old man. He groaned in pain, trying to shove me off.

“I’m sorry—” I tried to apologize, but my voice was cut short by a sharp blow to my chest.

A fist struck me with such force that I curled up on the ground, gasping for air. My stomach clenched in agony, and the taste of bile rose in my throat.

Before I could recover, another blow landed—this time to my head.

The world tilted, and darkness swallowed me whole.

When I woke, I found myself slumped against a cold, rough wall in an alley. Someone must have dragged me here to clear the street, discarding me like unwanted refuse.

The chill in the air told me it was late afternoon. I tried to stand, but a sharp tightness gripped my chest, stealing my breath. The metallic tang of blood filled my mouth, and I doubled over, coughing violently until blood splattered the ground before me.

Pain radiated through my body, sharpest in my stomach, where it felt as though my insides had been crushed and rearranged. My arms buckled, and I collapsed again, but I fought to stay conscious. Each breath was a struggle, and fresh blood coated my lips as I gasped for air.

People passed by, their footsteps echoing in the narrow alley. Not one of them stopped. Not one even glanced in my direction.

Li Yao’s parting words echoed in my mind: People here are self-centered. No one spares a moment for the needy.

Why had he brought me here?

If this city was supposed to be better than others, what did the worse places look like? Was this what he had meant? That I hadn’t yet seen the depths of human indifference?

I clawed at the dirt, enduring the relentless pain. Slowly, my airway loosened, and I drew in a shaky breath. Relief was fleeting, though; I lay still for a while longer, gathering what little strength I could before forcing myself upright.

The world blurred and spun around me, but I managed to stagger to my feet. I needed to return to the inn. At least there, I could rest.

But as I wandered, I realized I was lost.

“Excuse me,” I called out to someone passing by.

“Hmph,” he grunted, shoving me aside.

I stumbled, nearly falling. The people here weren’t just indifferent. They were openly hostile.

This place was nothing like where I came from, where such behavior would have been swiftly punished.

Spotting a small shadow moving nearby, I recognized it as a child. Surely a child would show some kindness. I approached him cautiously.

“My child, could you point this blind man to the inn?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

“Ten copper coins,” he said without hesitation.

I froze, momentarily stunned.

Even a child, no older than five or six, knew how to extort money. From a blind man, no less.

Sighing, I reached for the purse tucked beneath my robe’s lapel. My fingers brushed empty fabric. The purse was gone.

Panic seized me. That small pouch of silver was my lifeline, the only thing giving me the courage to venture this far. Now it was gone. Without it, I had no idea how I would survive.

“Are you giving me the money or not?” the child asked impatiently.

“I… I don’t have any,” I admitted. “I’m sorry.”

“Then don’t waste my time.”

And just like that, the child vanished.

I sighed deeply, bitter resignation settling over me. Even a child could be so merciless. This city wasn’t just unfriendly. It was a lawless place, full of thieves and opportunists. How could people live like this, stealing from others without a second thought?

I resumed walking, clutching my aching stomach to dull the pain. Returning to the inn seemed pointless now. I had nothing left to pay for a room.

But I hadn’t gone far before my strength began to wane. My legs trembled, and a sense of overwhelming weakness crept over me. It felt as though something was sapping my energy, leeching the life from my body.

A chill ran down my spine. Poison?

But who would want to poison me? And why? And most of all… when? The only food I had eaten was the meal served at the inn.

My legs gave out, and I collapsed against a wall, coughing up blood once more. My hands trembled, my fingers numb. Cold sweat drenched my skin as dizziness overtook me, and the world spun violently around me.

I tried desperately to stay awake. Losing consciousness here would only make things worse. I had already lost my purse. If I blacked out, I might lose my clothes, or worse.

But it was no use. My body refused to obey, and my mind began to shut down. The alley around me faded into darkness as helplessness swallowed me whole.