Chapter 7 – Is This Some Kind of Golden Finger?

She didn’t know if it was just her imagination, but Fang Yu felt as if the air around her had stilled.

The most frightening things were the ones you couldn’t see or touch, and she hated this feeling of being out of control.

So she simply closed her eyes, allowing her five senses to sink into the world around her.

The wind stirred, leaves rustled, and then… the joyful patter of footsteps, the steady marks of claws…

She let her mind rest in this piece of nature, even with a faint sense of delight…

Maybe it was just her illusion, but she felt that the plants all around her were a little “happy” as well. This mysterious sensation was something she used to call “entering meditation” in the cultivation world. But here… she wasn’t sure what to call it.

“Chirp—chirp!”

A crisp birdcall broke her state. The moment she opened her eyes, even someone like Fang Yu—who had seen her share of grand scenes—was momentarily stunned.

Before her, from near to far, big and small, all sorts of animals surrounded her. Many of them she didn’t even recognize.

Looking up, she saw birds perched on branches above her too. They didn’t chirp or fuss, just stayed quietly in place around her.

Fang Yu gazed around in a daze, and her heart suddenly softened. Back when she was cultivating on Moonwatch Peak, little animals would sometimes keep her company as well. But at that time, she had been so absorbed in cultivation that she never interacted with them.

“Do you like me?”

Afraid of startling them, she asked in a small voice.

And then she saw a squirrel on the ground to her left wag its tail and firmly nod.

This…

She hadn’t expected them to actually respond. She had just wanted to talk to them the way one would tease little animals, but the result was an unexpected delight.

Was this… some kind of golden finger?

She couldn’t sense any hostility from these animals, which was why she dared to just sit there.

And then she thought back to last night, when she went to the Chen family’s house—no wonder those chickens hadn’t made a single sound before she chopped off their heads.

A pang of guilt and regret hit her. If she’d known she had such an ability, she should have chosen another way to scare the Chen family.

But since it had already happened, she stopped dwelling on it. Normally so quiet in front of people, Fang Yu suddenly found herself becoming talkative.

She greeted the little creatures one by one, then began worrying about their living conditions.

“Why aren’t you preparing to move? If the drought drags on, the villagers might risk coming in here. You’ll be in danger by then!”

“I’ll be leaving here in a few days—you should go early too!”

“Tell me, if I cross these mountains, where will I end up? I still haven’t decided if I should take the main road or go through the mountains…”

…

Perhaps because she was so relaxed, she ended up rambling on and on without realizing it. She wasn’t saying anything deliberate, just talking. But the way they seemed to listen so attentively made her unconsciously keep going.

She had thought that the sound of her voice would scare off some of the animals, and that the rest would gradually leave.

But unexpectedly, they looked incredibly serious, and Fang Yu was certain that in those pairs of animal eyes, she saw attentiveness.

She had talked so much, yet not a single one left. On the contrary, even more little animals kept arriving.

Seeing the crowd nearly surrounding her completely, she casually reached out and stroked the little squirrel in front of her. Mm… soft and fluffy, such a nice feeling!

“Alright, that’s all I wanted to say. I need to go find something to eat. You all should go home too!”

With that, she patted her clothes and stood up. The little animals lingered around her for a few more minutes, but when they saw she really wasn’t going to say more, they finally left—reluctantly, step by step, looking back three times with every few steps.

Fang Yu couldn’t help but smile at their actions. These little fellows’ expressions were no different from people’s—so adorable!

She once again relaxed her mind, letting her five senses spread out to search the surroundings. She wanted to see if she could find some extraordinary herbs. After all, she still had to bow her head for five pecks of rice.

Because her eyes were closed, she didn’t notice that the little animals that had left immediately stopped and turned back the moment she closed them again, quietly waiting in her direction.

Two of them, upon seeing her happily dig up a certain plant, glanced back at her a couple of times before scampering off.

After digging up two unknown plants, Fang Yu was very satisfied. She was never one to drain the pond to catch the fish. As long as she had enough to get by for now, there was no need to dig up all the good things in the forest.

Just as she was about to leave, two sharp “squeak squeak” sounds reached her ears. She paused, only to see two shadows darting toward her. In the blink of an eye, they were right in front of her.

Two sleek, agile squirrels, their fur glossy, dropped two raggedly bitten plants onto the ground at her feet.

Fang Yu had already crouched down as they approached. Now she reached out to nudge the two unfamiliar “herbs” and asked with a smile, “Are these for me?”

Sure enough, the next moment the two little fellows stood upright, nodding rapidly and bowing, unbelievably cute.

She couldn’t resist—she stretched out her finger and tickled them between the brows. The two little fellows visibly brightened, scampering around her in circles with joy.

“Alright, alright, I need to head back now. Thank you! I’ll take these, and I’ll come see you again in a couple of days!”

“Go on now, all of you, back you go!”

She picked up the two plants from the ground, stood up, and left.

The two squirrels chased her for a while before she shooed them back.

As she descended the mountain, Fang Yu was in high spirits. With the animals’ friendliness toward her, she no longer feared traveling mountain roads. The dangers of fleeing famine felt far less daunting.

Even though she hadn’t encountered any large beasts today, she had a strong intuition that even if she did, they wouldn’t harm her.

Her doubts settled, she returned home, checked in on Father Fang, fed him his medicine, and, seeing that it was already late, didn’t rush to the city.

The few herbs she had gathered today would sell just as well tomorrow morning. She also wanted to buy a few other things then…

After tucking Father Fang’s quilt, she was about to step out when she heard a commotion at the gate.

“Is this the Fang Fusheng household?”

At the sound of that voice, her brows furrowed. She quickly told Father Fang not to come out, hung the latch on the door, and walked out to the courtyard.

At the fence gate stood two government officers, long knives at their sides, accompanied by Chen Dashan. Their faces were fierce as they stared her down.

Fang Yu calmly opened the gate and struck first: “Sirs, isn’t there still a few days left before the tax silver is due?”

The officer holding a ledger and brush sneered at her. “And who are you to decide? Just a little girl. Where’s your father?”

“My father’s ill. If there’s business, you can tell me.”

The officer gave her a once-over, noting her steady composure. Only then did he say, “When we came to collect tax silver last time, you didn’t say you were still unmarried. The court has a regulation: any woman between fifteen and thirty who has not married must pay five suan—that is, five times the normal tax. It’s called the ‘five suan fee.’ So, today we’re notifying you that on top of your original levy, your household must add another 600 cash. Payment is due within five days. If not, we’ll return to take someone.”

“Five days? Wasn’t it seven?”

“Who told you seven? I say five, so it’s five. Understand?”

Fang Yu glanced at Chen Dashan standing smugly behind them, and instantly understood.

So, this was the trick he came up with—using early tax collection to corner her. If she wasn’t mistaken, his next step would be to reveal his true motive.

Having figured it out, she decisively nodded, not bothering to argue. She politely saw them off to the next house. From the neighbor’s came the sound of weeping and scolding, cries rising and falling. Closing her own door again, she went back to find Father Fang watching her with worry written all over his face. For once, she offered comfort: “Don’t worry. I’ll handle this.”

Father Fang hated himself, hated the body that dragged his daughter down. Now he fretted that she might not be able to scrape together the tax silver. If she failed, it might mean eternal separation for the two of them. And he feared Chen Dashan’s family scheming further—after all, his daughter had beaten up Chen’s wife. He had no doubt they would retaliate.

As these troubles piled up in his mind, he grew frantic and began to cry again. Gripping something hidden inside his pillow, he silently made up his mind…

The next morning, as soon as Fang Yu left the house, Father Fang slipped out the back door with a bundle in hand.

These past few days, he had behaved himself, not causing any fuss. Fang Yu was preoccupied and never suspected that he might follow her. Father and daughter, each with their own secrets, set out toward the city—one ahead, one behind.

Meanwhile, in a small courtyard outside Qingzhou City’s south gate, a gaudy woman, dressed in garish reds and greens, her face thick with white powder and bright rouge, flapped her handkerchief as she hurried toward the county office…