My game even includes ancient times

After resting briefly at the post station, He Yu and He Shi continued their journey.

Nothing unexpected happened on the way, and they arrived in Dingyun City smoothly before sunset.

He Yu dismounted and gazed at the winding, thick, and towering city walls and the magnificent city gate in the distance. He silently marveled at how different big cities were. Then, with one hand holding the horse and the other holding He Shi's hand, he joined the queue to enter the city.

Perhaps because of the grain collection, the line was very long and there was no one managing it. All sorts of human and animal sounds were mixed together, making it seem chaotic.

Ahead of He Yu and her companion was a family of four.

The father drove the oxcart, while the mother and son sat backwards on the cart.

The middle-aged woman in simple clothes was holding a two- or three-year-old child in her arms. It was impossible to tell if the child was a boy or a girl. A long snot was hanging from the child's nose. The child was quietly nestled in her mother's arms with half-closed eyes and looked somewhat listless.

The smell of cow dung filled the nostrils, and the procession moved very slowly.

Feeling a bit bored, He Yu casually glanced around from behind the gauze curtain. Inadvertently, she noticed a boy of about ten years old sitting on the oxcart staring intently at He Shi.

He Yu followed his gaze and looked down at He Shi, only to find the boy staring absentmindedly at the tips of his shoes, seemingly lost in thought.

He Yu gently squeezed his calloused, slender fingers. He Shi paused, then immediately looked up at her, somewhat bewildered.

He Yu gestured for him to look ahead.

He Shi looked ahead in confusion and immediately met the gaze of the little boy.

The little boy wore a faded indigo short jacket with a button front, and a pair of matching trousers. The trousers were a bit short, revealing a section of his thin ankles that dangled from the cart floor. The soles of his cloth shoes were very thin, as if they were about to wear out.

His clothes and shoes, including those of the middle-aged man and woman, as well as the child's clothes and shoes, were all covered in patches.

Seeing that He Shi had noticed his gaze, the boy did not look away, but instead scrutinized him even more intently, his dark eyes full of curiosity.

At this moment, the woman sitting to the side finally noticed her son's somewhat impolite behavior, and quickly slapped him on the back, then grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

Then, with an apologetic smile plastered on his face, he bowed and scraped to He Shi and He Yu, saying softly, "I'm so sorry, he's just a child who's never seen anything like this before. Please don't take it to heart, gentlemen..."

He Yu naturally didn't feel that this harmless stare was offensive. She looked down at He Shi, wanting to see his reaction.

He Shi and the boy looked at each other for a moment, then asked in a very soft voice, "What are you looking at?"

The boy blinked and pointed to the sword hanging at his waist.

"Want to see it?"

The boy's eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously.

By this time, the woman's face was extremely embarrassed. She forced a smile and kept muttering "I'm sorry" under her breath. She gradually tightened her grip on the boy's arm until her knuckles turned white.

He Shi didn't say anything. He deftly unbuckled his belt, took off the sword and its sheath, and handed them to the boy.

"Oh dear, no, no..." The woman grabbed the boy's hand as he reached for the sword and slapped it twice. "You dare to take anything? How can we afford to pay for it if you break it!"

He Yu was surprised by He Shi's action of handing over the sword without hesitation. Seeing this, he quickly said, "It's alright, it won't break. Even if it does, there's no need to pay for it. Let the child take a look if he wants."

Upon hearing this, the woman gave an awkward laugh: "This, this is too much trouble..."

But she still let go of the child's hand.

Seeing his mother let go, the boy immediately leaned forward, grabbed the cold scabbard with both hands, and exclaimed in surprise, "It's so heavy!"

He Shi watched quietly as the other man stroked the scabbard with great curiosity, until the other man reached out to touch the red tassel hanging on the hilt, which resembled a burning cloud of fire, before he stopped him, saying, "Alright, stop touching it, you might hurt your hand there."

The boy obediently stopped what he was doing, took one last careful look at the sword from top to bottom, and then reluctantly returned it to He Shi.

The middle-aged woman put her arm around her son's shoulder, her smile becoming much more natural, and the words she murmured changed from "I'm sorry" to "Thank you so much, sir."

He Shi silently hung the sword back up, quietly rubbed his fingers together, and looked up at He Yu.

He Yu looked down into his bright, clear eyes, which were filled with the afterglow of the setting sun, and suddenly understood the meaning in them.

She reached out and took He Shi's hand again, and sure enough, she saw a faint glimmer in his eyes, which was quickly hidden by its owner.

Like a shimmering lake, the jewels that occasionally glide across the surface are hidden in the silt at the bottom.

He Shi, that awkward kid, never says what he wants, just makes people guess.

He would subconsciously hide the emotions that ordinary children can freely express, such as happiness, sadness, and anger. Even if he occasionally revealed a little bit, it probably only barely amounted to one-tenth of his true inner emotions.

He doesn't act like a child at all.

If a boy of that age were in modern times, he would probably be just starting junior high school, busy every day fighting wits with his teachers and parents, mischievous and rebellious. On the other hand, He Shi's words and actions most of the time, as well as his deep thoughts, make him seem like an adult.

Is it because the trauma I suffered throughout my childhood was too severe?

He Yu cleared his mind and quietly pondered the various matters concerning He Shi, and couldn't help but worry about his mental health.

The sun was about to set, and the queue to enter the city finally reached He Yu and He Shi.

The soldier standing guard at the door, dressed in half-armor, looked the two men up and down, then looked at the chestnut horse. The first thing he noticed was a small mark on the horse's belly.

He was startled, then quickly straightened up, his gaze shifting between He Shi and He Yu several times before finally settling on He Yu: "So it is the two young heroes of the Chu family who have arrived. I apologize for my rudeness."

He Yu was surprised that the government officials were so polite to Madam Chu. He was stunned for a moment before he realized what was happening and replied, "You're too kind, young man."

The soldier personally stepped forward to remove the roadblock and watched them go. He Yu led the horse and He Shi smoothly into the city.

Dingyun City is really big, with streets that lead in all directions and complex routes. Even though the sun is about to set, there are still quite a few pedestrians coming and going.

He Yu stood in the middle of the wide crossroads, pondered for a moment, then looked down at He Shi: "Where is Steward Chang?"

He Shi also looked deep in thought: "I don't know..."

He Yu: "?"

She regretted not asking the soldier guarding the city earlier, but since things had come to this, she could only ask someone else.