“Hmm… May I?” she asked, gesturing at the charm. The man handed it over with a smile.

“Lovely, isn’t it?” he said. “Although it may seem like a trivial bauble, it holds more power than you would imagine. It is a protection charm, and offers good fortune to those who carry it. It is wonderful for those who perhaps are leaving home for the first time, or those who are preparing for battle.”

“I have no use for that,” Li Xiulan said with a quiet laugh. “But perhaps I could use some luck. How much is it?” she asked, rubbing her thumb against the bell. After a moment of silence, she looked up, blinking in surprise when she realized that nobody was there. The seat where the merchant had been talking to the children was empty, and there was nowhere nearby he could have disappeared to. She even looked behind merchant stalls and barrels.

The mysterious man had vanished. Li Xiulan would be lying if she said she wasn’t extremely suspicious, but… there was something about the situation that put her at ease. It might have been the man’s kind smile, or the smooth, cold surface of the charm she now clutched against her chest. Her fears had dissipated.

Keeping the charm close to her body, Li Xiulan wandered back home. The spell that had made her lose her way baffled her and stuck in her mind as she walked. It was possible for groups of cultivators to set up disorienting fields to trap trespassers using talismans, but those spells had to be put up in advance and tended to cover large areas. Nobody around her had any reaction to the spell. It couldn’t have been possible for the merchant to set up such a small-range spell around her without her noticing. 

She buried these thoughts the closer she got to home. She had failed to find the book merchant, and so she could no longer let these thoughts distract her. Studying was her first priority for the time being. Anything else could be dealt with later.

Over the peak of the hill, the straw roof of the small cottage rose into view. Her mother was standing at the front door sweeping leaves. She smiled as Li Xiulan approached.

“Did you manage to find the merchant?” she asked.

“I suppose not,” Li Xiulan said, her mind drifting. The vague reply earned a raised eyebrow from Li Jing, but Li Xiulan had already brushed past her and entered the house. 

When she sat down to read, it was with a heart lighter than before. The charm sat neatly in the sleeve of her robe, and somehow, she felt comfort wash over her. She picked up the next book and began to read.