Chapter 10

Shao Qing reconsidered and began to understand; she hesitated, “Hasn’t their money already been robbed?”

But could there still be some scattered coins on them?

Shao Qing’s shoulders grew heavier, and she glanced at Wei Jing. His complexion was even worse than when he’d left the hut earlier that morning. Clenching her teeth, she pushed aside the reeds and, supporting him, stumbled forward.

In the dense patches of reeds—where the trampled ground had already rebounded—there was an area splattered with deep red. Beneath it lay two bodies: one lying on his side, the other supine, already dead, eyes wide open; blood gushed steadily from the chest, staining the brown, muddied earth below.

Shao Qing set Wei Jing aside, silently murmuring an apology as she carefully approached to feel the bodies of the two men.

The master indeed had no money on him—which, though expected, still left her feeling disappointed. However, when her hand reached his chest and abdomen, she encountered something flat and hard. She took it out and discovered it was a palm-sized black cloth bag; although stained with blood, its contents were wrapped in oiled paper—something resembling an official document.

A thought stirred in her mind: could it be a travel permit or household registration document?

With some fresh blood still on her hands, she didn’t examine it further. Instead, she hurriedly tucked the small bag into her bosom and quickly turned back toward the servant.

This time, when she felt around him, she was delighted—he had a money pouch on his person, bulging with many copper coins and a few pieces of fragmented silver, totaling roughly six or seven taels.

This was likely what the master had given him for everyday expenses and lodging. The two bandits, after committing the murders, had hurriedly left without thoroughly searching him.

Compared with the large bundle that had been stolen, this small amount of silver and copper coins was almost insignificant—but for Shao Qing and Wei Jing, it was a timely blessing. She was overjoyed and quickly secured the money pouch.

This was the scene of a robbery and murder, and Shao Qing dared not disturb anything for fear of leaving a trace. She silently offered her thanks to the two slain men, gently closing their gaping eyes, then hurriedly got to her feet and helped Wei Jing to leave.

After staggering about ten steps, she pushed aside the grasses to reveal a small path that stretched from the river embankment down to the sandy riverbank. The fork in the road, at the three-way junction, should lead to the town, so Shao Qing asked softly, “Shall we go up there?”

Wei Jing, his breathing labored, nodded gently.

Seeing his condition, Shao Qing grew anxious. The embankment was rather steep, and being weak herself, she forced herself to take a deep breath and climb up.

A glance at the fork revealed that the three paths differed considerably. The route heading upstream was the narrow, overgrown trail they had come by—clearly seldom used—while the other two routes were broad and clean, and surely frequently traversed.

After a brief pause, she laboriously supported Wei Jing and headed toward the path the master and servant had taken.

That way must lead to the town.

She prayed for a smooth journey. Six or seven taels of silver might not sound like much, but in ancient times, silver possessed great purchasing power. Although seeing a doctor was expensive, it should still be enough.

However, the more anxious she became, the more likely complications arose.

As Shao Qing supported Wei Jing and turned the fork—having walked only about ten steps—she suddenly heard the sound of footsteps rustling through the grass, “swish, swish,” followed immediately by a young woman’s voice:

“…Well, tell me, what should we do now?”

Though her tone was soft, the urgency in her words was unmistakable. Shao Qing immediately halted in her tracks and quickly led Wei Jing into the clump of grasses by the roadside. The grass here was not as lush as beneath the embankment, and some pebbles were on the ground. She tried her best to tread lightly to avoid attracting attention from whoever might be ahead. There was nothing she could do—behind them lay two corpses, and she still kept something she had taken from above tucked in her arms. If she didn’t avoid that area, and the bodies were later discovered by the authorities, it would spell huge trouble. The two were already at their wit’s end, and whether they would manage to get medical help remained uncertain.

Peering through a gap in the grass, Shao Qing noticed a small pavilion by the roadside, beneath which stood a young man and a young woman. They had come through the grass from a small path on the other side, and after climbing onto the pavilion, they kept glancing around, clearly trying to avoid being noticed.

The young man was dressed like a scholar—refined, handsome, and quite attractive—but at that moment, he looked annoyed as he said, “What can you do? You need to get your elder brother to call off your engagement with the Sun family, and quickly!”

The young woman replied, “This engagement was arranged by our parents when they were still alive. Now, the Sun family is very powerful, and my elder brother is even on duty at the county office—how can I possibly cancel it?”

The young woman was moderately pretty—less striking than the young man—but her large eyes somewhat made up for it. She was so anxious that tears began to fall.

Shao Qing immediately realized they were a pair of secret lovers, but unfortunately, the woman had a fiancée who was not to be trifled with. The two continued their whispered conversation, but she wasn’t interested in their discussion; she simply held back her temper and waited for them to finish and leave.

Then she let Wei Jing lean against her, her eyes silently asking, “Are you okay?” Her worry was evident.

Wei Jing shook his head, indicating that he was fine. But his complexion told a different story, and his nod was so slight. Anxiously, Shao Qing gritted her teeth as she fixed her gaze on the pair of young lovers ahead and urged: Come on, hurry up!

Waiting is always agonizing. The little lovebirds had just exchanged a tender farewell when Wei Jing closed his eyes and leaned against her shoulder, and she vaguely felt that his weight on her made her burden even heavier. Just as she hesitated, wondering if they should take a detour, the two finally set off.

They split up— the man told the woman to take the long road back, which happened to be the path Shao Qing had intended to follow, while he hurriedly retraced his steps along the narrow path and disappeared within a few strides.

Shao Qing waited a moment before helping Wei Jing to stand up. She was already utterly exhausted—after squatting for a while, her legs had gone numb. When Wei Jing’s weight pressed against her, she staggered and nearly fell. After she finally managed to steady herself, she noticed that the frail Wei Jing’s eyelids fluttered as he slowly opened his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” she was about to ask when she suddenly heard a series of soft, delicate footsteps approaching. Then, the grass behind her was pushed aside and a gentle, feminine voice asked, “What’s wrong with you? Why are you hiding in the grass?”

Shao Qing turned around and met a pair of clear, large eyes—none other than the young girl from the small pavilion, now looking puzzled.

The girl’s puzzled expression instantly transformed into astonishment, and she gasped, “Ah!”

Shao Qing couldn’t tell just how disheveled she had become; even with fire ash smeared across her face, the pallor of her lips was unmistakable. Wei Jing was in an even worse state—extremely weak, with his lips tinged blue. The two of them barely managed to stand, swaying as if they might collapse.

The girl, clearly shocked, cried out, “You two have got to find a doctor immediately!”

“Come with me first; there’s a doctor right next door at my house!” she urged urgently.

The young girl had an unpretentious look and clear, bright eyes, while Shao Qing felt rather exhausted and lightheaded. The heart-stopping events since arriving here made it hard for her to fully trust anyone.

Wei Jing squeezed her hand and murmured a soft “mm.”

Without a change in expression, he quickly swept his gaze over the young girl before him, his hand briefly brushing the sword on Shao Qing’s back. Even in his severely wounded and poisoned state, dispatching someone like her would be no trouble at all.

Shao Qing smiled and said, “Alright, thank you so much. We ran into mountain bandits and got injured, but we barely managed to escape.”

“Ah! Over there in the mountains, there really are bandits—robbing passersby and caravans!” the young girl exclaimed. She immediately rushed forward to help support Wei Jing. His eyes flashed coldly, and he instinctively shifted aside, but when he remembered Shao Qing’s condition, he reluctantly held back.

The girl urged, “You two need to see a doctor right away—let’s hurry!”

Once they left the main road, she apologized briefly, then hurried into a small pavilion to retrieve an earring before returning to steady Wei Jing.

“It’s about one li ahead—that’s our district. My house is right at the edge; it’s very close,” she explained.

The young girl’s kindness and genuine warmth were unmistakable. Grateful once more, Shao Qing asked, “Which family are you from, miss? I don’t know how to address you.”

“I’m Kou Yue; at home, everyone calls me Yue Niang.”

Shao Qing skillfully steered the conversation and learned that the young girl named Kou Yue came from a family of four—her elder brother, his wife, a little niece, and herself. Her brother worked as a clerk at the county office about five li outside Hexiang, while her sister-in-law stayed home managing the household and taking care of the children. Also, next door to her family was the village’s only doctor, reputed to be very skilled.

In light of this, agreeing to receive help seemed like the right choice—Shao Qing wasn’t confident she could support Wei Jing all the way to the county city five li away.

A distance of one li wasn’t far at all; as they talked, they could already see yellowish earthen walls with thatched roofs of various heights. Hexiang looked rather small—no more than about two hundred households at most.

Kou Yue’s house was in a relatively secluded spot at the far end of the village. In broad daylight, everyone was busy with their own work; on the dirt roads between the houses, only a few children were chasing and playing, so engrossed in their fun that they paid no attention to the trio and scattered off laughing.

Kou Yue pushed open the courtyard’s old wooden door and called out, “Sister-in-law, sister-in-law!”

A young woman carrying a two- or three-year-old child on her back poked her head out from the kitchen. Startled and in a hurry, she rushed over, and Kou Yue said, “Sister-in-law, they’ve run into mountain bandits. Please help them get inside; I’ll go find Dr. Yan!”

Quickly, Kou Yue turned and left. The child-carrying woman, scrambling to take over her younger sister’s role, exclaimed in alarm, “How did it come to this? Sigh, these bandit troubles are growing worse and worse!”

This woman had gentle, refined features and was quite attractive, with nimble, efficient hands. When her younger sister-in-law brought these strangers home, she didn’t show any hint of disapproval; instead, she hurriedly helped Wei Jing and Shao Qing into the house.

Up to this point, things were looking good.

Shao Qing let out a quiet sigh of relief. With her peripheral vision, she took in the modest rural residence: a courtyard roughly six or seven zhang across, with the building constructed of rammed earth walls that were sturdier than those of the neighbors. The house was built higher and more spacious—with a main hall and adjoining left and right wings—clearly indicating the family was among the better-off in the village.

The woman mentioned that her maiden name was Wang. While Madam Wang and Shao Qing had just assisted Wei Jing onto the bed in the west wing, Kou Yue had already hurriedly pulled a man clad in blue—carrying a medicine box—into the room, exclaiming, “Dr. Yan, please hurry!”

Dr. Yan, who appeared to be nearly thirty, had an orange-tinted face with a few pockmarks, short and thick eyebrows, slanting eyes, and somewhat plump lips accented by two short, slightly upturned whiskers. His appearance was unremarkable, and his expression was not particularly affable.

Shao Qing quickly stepped aside as he took hold of Wei Jing’s pulse, listening intently for a long while. After uttering a surprised “eh?” he raised his eyes and fixed his gaze on Wei Jing for several moments.

When Shao Qing had left the hut earlier, she’d applied a bit of camouflage to their faces, but their features hadn’t changed. Especially in the case of Wei Jing—even though he lay weakly with his eyes half-closed—one could immediately tell he was no ordinary countryman. Knowing her background all too well, she felt anxious and maintained a cautious watch.

Glancing over at the bed, Shao Qing noted that she had already removed the sword from her back and, taking advantage of the moment, placed it beside Wei Jing. At that moment, Wei Jing still lay with his eyes half-closed, although his hand rested consistently on the sword’s hilt.

Maintaining her composure, she shifted her gaze back to Dr. Yan.