The Good-for-Nothing Servant
A Chai, a servant who has just turned eighteen, spends day after day washing and starching clothes in the courtyard. Today, the female cultivator Qinglian stands behind him watching for a long time, until at last she rests her chin on his shoulder and wraps her arms around him. His hands go still on the wet clothes; she whispers in his ear, yet he keeps staring at the water in the tub, shakes his head, and goes on scrubbing. She doesn't back away — instead, she takes the wet cloth from his hands. In the noon courtyard their eyes meet, one bent on his work, the other set on interrupting. Can this ordinary day hold?
